6K Additive
Titanium UniMelt System in 6K Additive's Burgettstown, PA facility.
Titanium UniMelt System in 6K Additive's Burgettstown, PA facility.
6K Additive has announced the immediate availability of ultra-low oxygen titanium 64 with a parts per million (PPM) rate of 500-700.
The company says today's announcement 'greatly surpasses' what is available today's additive manufacturing capabilities, and provides customers with a high-quality material that enables low oxygen levels at production scale, and the ability to process additional jobs through their 3D printers without sacrificing quality.
“The global supply chain crisis has caused volatility in the market for metals like titanium which leads to uncertainty in costs and availability. Our ability to provide low-oxygen titanium at production volumes enables our customer to stretch their powder use well beyond what’s available today, essentially increasing value and lowering costs for their Ti64 parts,” said Frank Roberts, president of 6K Additive.
Mark Barfoot, director of AM programs at EWI commented, “When we talk to Ti64 users in the market, quality always is top priority with costs following a close second. Increasing the value of their Ti64 purchase by extending the life of the powder with more uses is a definite win.”
6K’s UniMelt plasma technology enables a more sustainable method of production for AM metals, effectively allowing the recycling of virtually any scrap metal into a 3D printable material, which currently includes Ni718, Ni625, stainless steel 316/17-4, copper 18150, GRCOP, and refractory powders such as tungsten, tantalum, and rhenium. The company recently commissioned Foresight Management to conduct a lifecycle assessment of both their titanium and nickel powders. This study was conducted to quantify the environmental impacts associated with the production of printable metal powders and specifically compare atomisation technology methods to 6K Additive’s. It was found that for Ti64, 6K’s UniMelt process at minimum delivered a 74% energy reduction and 78% carbon emission reduction from traditional processes. The company also recently announced a collaboration with Fraunhofer ILT on another complete lifecycle assessment (LCA) into Ni78 powder produced by 6K Additive for an industrial component additively manufactured with laser powder bed fusion.
