According to 6K, the availability of the powder significantly expands the number of parts that can be printed from a manufactured lot while maintaining material specifications
November 15, 2022
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.— Ultra-low oxygen titanium 64, with a parts per million range of 500-700, is now available from 6K Additive, the company said in a release.
6K Additive is a division of 6K, a company that provides sustainable production of engineered materials for additive manufacturing and lithium-ion batteries. According to 6K Additive, its ability to deliver titanium at low oxygen levels at production scale “greatly surpasses what is available for additive manufacturing today.”
The company’s ultra-low oxygen titanium is said to provide customers with “an extremely high-quality material that enables them to get additional print jobs through their additive manufacturing systems without sacrificing quality.” The low oxygen Ti64 effectively lowers users’ overall cost for titanium parts with powder that stays within printable specification longer, according to the release.
“The global supply chain crisis has caused volatility in the market for metals like titanium, which leads to uncertainty in costs and availability,” said Frank Roberts, president of 6K Additive, in the release. “Our ability to provide low-oxygen titanium at production volumes enables our customers to stretch their powder use well beyond what’s available today, essentially increasing value and lowering costs for their Ti64 parts.”
Mark Barfoot, director of additive manufacturing programs at EWI, said, “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 developed UniMelt®,, a proprietary advanced microwave plasma production system for engineered materials that is reported to offer multi-faceted sustainability benefits.
The company said it recently commissioned Foresight Management to conduct a life cycle assessment of its titanium and nickel powders. The study was conducted to quantify the environmental impacts associated with the production of printable metal powders and to specifically compare atomization technology methods to 6K Additive’s.
According to 6K, the study found that for Ti64, 6K’s UniMelt process delivered, at minimum, a 74 percent energy reduction and 78 percent reduction in carbon emissions versus traditional processes.
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