October 27 — Swiss research institute Empa, in collaboration with a Polish team, has developed a new solvent-free debinding process for AA6061 aluminum alloy material extrusion printing, achieving 98% relative density after sintering. Conventional metal material extrusion (MEX) debinding relies on chemical solvent immersion, which involves long process chains and high solvent disposal costs. The new process uses a dedicated binder system to enable purely thermal debinding, eliminating the solvent bath step, shortening the process chain, and reducing environmental compliance burdens. The process is currently at the laboratory scale-up stage; the team's next steps are to validate complex thin-wall structures and batch-to-batch consistency, and to assess feasibility for extension to other aluminum alloy grades. Value for powder buyers: (1) demand for MIM-grade fine aluminum alloy powders for material extrusion printing will rise as solvent-free debinding simplifies the process; (2) if AA6061 partially replaces AlSi10Mg laser powder in the market, it will affect the demand structure for mid- to low-end aluminum alloy powders; (3) monitor powder particle size and oxygen content specifications once the process is industrialized, and secure supplier qualification early.