On January 11th, Innovate UK, a UK innovation agency, has invested in and launched a research project called FAST-forge to develop a new manufacturing process to produce “Titanium†3D printing materials more cost-effectively.
The study will be implemented jointly by Safran Landing Systems, the University of Sheffield, the Strathclyde University Advanced Molding Research Center (AFRC) and Metalysis. Among them, Safran will be responsible for managing the project, providing component specifications and testing components, and evaluating whether new processes can be applied elsewhere in their products; Metalysis is developing and manufacturing spherical metal powders for metal 3D printing at a cost that is currently The prevailing $70/kg dropped to only $2.5/kg. If successful, this will definitely become a competitive titanium production program.
“This project has the potential to diversify the titanium supply chain and allow it to enter areas that were previously infeasible,†said Sam Evans of Safran.
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Metalysis will supply titanium alloys for the project and is scheduled to be completed by mid-2018. The Sheffield, UK-based company holds global access to titanium and other metal alloys such as Fray, Farthing, and Chen (FFC) Cambridge, and the FFC process is said to be more efficient than other existing methods. .
The FAST-forge process is divided into three main steps:
1 Preparation of titanium powder from rutile sand - Rutile sand is a natural source of inexpensive titanium oxide and is readily available.
2 Rapid heating of too powder by on-site auxiliary sintering technology (FAST) - FAST, also known as spark plasma sintering (SPS) or pulse current sintering (PECS), is very suitable for the manufacture of dense metal or ceramic parts. The principle is to use current, pre-sintering. Or the green part is densified to allow processing at a lower temperature than in a furnace or kiln.
3 Manufacturing a specific part by a conventional forging process.
The FAST-forge project has the potential to have a major impact on the aerospace industry as it is expected to make titanium, a lightweight but sturdy material cheaper and easier to obtain, while reducing the cost of forging titanium parts by at least 2/3 and reducing waste. . In addition, the project has the potential to enhance the UK's influence in the aerospace sector, helping to expand the UK's supply chain in this area, while bringing more high-value jobs. Original title: UK investment research new process, or significantly reduce the cost of 3D printing titanium powder
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