en.Wedoany.com Reported - Swedish steel producer SSAB has launched Armox 500 AM powder at the Eurosatory defense and security exhibition in Paris, the first in a planned series of powder grades, which the company claims is the world's first armor steel powder with performance equivalent to that of plate steel of the same grade.

Armox protection steel plates have held a leading position in the armor steel market for over four decades, and the powder variant aims to extend these ballistic and blast-resistant properties to geometries that cannot be produced through plate-based manufacturing.

The foothold of additive manufacturing in armor applications lies in manufacturing capabilities that plates cannot achieve. Components made from Armox 500 AM powder—whether solid parts such as hinges and housings, or multi-layer structures containing lattice or honeycomb geometries—can absorb and dissipate the energy of projectiles and explosives in the same way as plates, while achieving organic shapes and weight reduction enabled by additive manufacturing design. Parts of equivalent complexity would be difficult or impossible to produce through traditional machining and welding.

Global demand for protection steel is growing, and SSAB's unique product positions it ahead of defense industry customers, with demand also growing for high-performance metal powders for 3D printing, said Per Elfgren, head of SSAB's special steels division. Based on decades of experience in high-performance steel products, the company has developed its own high-strength steel powders optimized for additive manufacturing, enabling advanced designs with low weight and high strength.

A particular focus of the material is the protection of external components on armored vehicles, which must be exposed to function but are also concentrated weak points. Cameras, antenna mounts, sights, radar systems, hydraulic couplings, and cable assemblies can all be fitted with customized additive manufacturing housings made from Armox 500 AM powder, requiring no post-print heat treatment. SSAB notes that disabling a single sensor or antenna mount can render an otherwise intact vehicle combat-incapable, making targeted protection of these devices operationally significant.

SSAB produces Armox 500 AM powder at its facility in Oxelösund, Sweden, and the material has been tested against standards for flowability, particle shape, and particle size distribution. Printed parts have also passed ballistic and blast tests. The Oxelösund plant will be expanded from 2026 to support commercial-scale production, with capacity gradually ramping up from the first quarter of 2028, ultimately reaching approximately 350 tons per year.

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