Next Generation Burner Head for SSAB Steel Production
Delva and EOS pave the way for AM with copper
Dezember 01, 2025 | Reading time: 5 min
Perfect is the enemy of good: This might be the motto for the development of a completely new type of burner head for SSAB’s gas planers at steel production in Finland. To get there, SSAB contacted AM specialist Markku Lindqvist, CTO at Delva Oy. Technology service company Etteplan was taken in to help with simulating and designing the burner head. The task: overcome the old design of burner heads, increase output and improve quality. Today, even more than that was achieved – due to close cooperation and the unique characteristics of additive manufactured copper components.
The challenges in steel production: Output rate, quality and sustainability
SSAB is a global steel company with focused on high-strength steel and related services. At the company’s production site in Raahe, Finland, one of the plants uses gas planers to smooth and remove surface imperfections from steel slabs before they go into sheet metal manufacturing. With the conventional setup, the slabs’ surface was rough and had many deeper grooves. To improve product quality and reduce scrap material, SSAB looked for ways to optimize the production process.
"In our first discussion, SSAB told us they wanted to develop a new type of burner head. It should have an optimized gas flow and thus enable better results regarding quality and productivity."
Markku Lindqvist, CTO at Finnish company Delva Oy
At the start of the project, it was yet unclear how exactly the requirements could be fulfilled. At that point, Delva contacted Etteplan to help with designing and simulating the new burner. Delva, Etteplan and SSAB embarked on an exciting AM journey. And at that time, no one foresaw that sustainability would be part of the game in many ways.
Joint forces for copper AM: When giving up is not an option
When you look at metal additive manufacturing in general, Laser Powder-Bed Fusion works with a wide range of materials and makes it possible to produce precision components in complex geometries without joints. “This was also our goal for the SSAB application,” explains Lindqvist. “However, the first burner head prototypes built with nickel-based alloys were not able to withstand the extremely hostile environment in the SSAB application. We thought that Inconel 718 is high temperature alloy, it will be a good material choice”. What was learned after the first tests was that high temperature tolerance was not the issue, main material property is conductivity. That was when the question arose if using copper alloy CuCrZr could be the answer.
Copper has many advantages, such as high softness, malleability and thermal conductivity. However, for a long time the right AM processes to handle the material and achieve reliable, repeatable results had not been found. In 2024, EOS came up with a new pure copper material and solved core issues such as thermal management and part resolution using the EOS M 290 1kW system. “For the first tests, we did not yet have the EOS killer machine”, says Markku. “So, we worked closely with EOS and soon realized that copper AM was the answer to all our questions.”
In the first copper test, the top of the burner head was made in CuCrZr and smaller channels were made with 316L. The copper “lip” was manufactured directly on top of additively manufactured 316L. “We wanted to make sure that smallest 0,7 mm channels remain open and we did not have much experience with copper materials at that point”. Some design improvements and on-site tests later, the entire component could be made in copper, including those 0,7 mm channels with 80 µm layer thickness. “SSAB was very open-minded all the way, and I am very happy that we succeed.”
“For the first tests, we did not yet have the EOS killer machine. So, we worked closely with EOS and soon realized that copper AM was the answer to all our questions. SSAB was very open-minded all the way, and I am very happy that we succeed.”
Markku Lindqvist, CTO at Finnish company Delva Oy
Benefits at all levels: More than just a new burner head
Meanwhile, Delva invested in an AMCM M 290-2 1kW machine with two 1 kW lasers and started production. In addition, Delva designed and optimized the piping leading to the burner head. Additive manufacturing and hybrid printing was in a key role. Today, 14 printed copper burners work side by side in SSAB’s gas planner. One of the most obvious benefits is the smooth surface of the steel billets produced with the new setup, which also leads to better yield. Both are related to the improved gas flow that has been achieved with the complex geometry of channels. “Plus, with 6,7 kg our burners are light-weight compared to the old models with 12,9 kg”, Markku says. “The whole system works with less vibration – we are talking about a heavy assembly that weighs tons. Less vibration thus means less fatigue for the machine, which pays off in increased durability.” In addition, burners last way longer without any maintenance.
By making the process more efficient, CO₂ emissions will also be reduced. Estimations reach from 14.000 to 30.000 tons per year and will be verified throughout the coming months. Saving up to 30,000 tons of CO₂ is equivalent to eliminating the annual carbon footprint of an entire small town — roughly the size of St. Moritz in Switzerland. “Calculated another way, savings can be 5M€/a making this a true sustainability story”, adds Markku. As the new burner heads are printed in one piece, also maintenance efforts causing downtimes due to leaks are eliminated. “Longer service life is a nice improvement. We don’t need to do maintenance to the machine and production can be kept running”, comments maintenance personnel at SSAB. A final advantage that Markku Lindqvist mentions is the short delivery time of two weeks, compared with two months for the conventional burner head, at a component price that is comparative to the conventional manufactured one.
Looking back and ahead: Ready for the next projects
“It was quite a long journey”, resumes Markku Lindqvist. “But the recipe to success was that we were able to identify the problem at each step and solved it to take the next step – thanks to a very good and close cooperation with SSAB and Etteplan.” The final product is still under the last small adjustments to get the absolute best out of the product; still previous iterations are doing hard work as we speak. Delva tamed the copper AM beast which opens the door to other projects. “Copper behaves so differently – let’s see what we can get out of it in the future with all the know-how we have acquired.” One of the most interesting applications will be the development of heat exchangers, benefiting from a full freedom of geometry and a perfect balance between maximum conductivity and productivity.
Learn more about Delva and our Manufacturing partners:
- EOS Manufacturing Partners: EOS Manufacturing Partners for 3D Printing
- Delva: https://delva.fi/en/
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