6K Additive, a division of 6K, has announced the commercial availability of refractory metal powders for additive manufacturing (AM). Materials such as tungsten, rhenium, tungsten/rhenium and niobium-based powders used for defense, aerospace and medical industries are sought after materials for high-temperature, high-strength applications.
Frank Roberts, 6K Additive President, said, "The leading defense organizations are not only looking for refractory materials like tungsten and rhenium, they are looking for it at production scale. The uniqueness of 6K's UniMelt microwave plasma process, combined with the expertise of our operations team, has allowed us to manufacture production scale volumes for many of the refractory powders like tungsten and tungsten/rhenium. We have spheroidized the full spectrum of refractory powders including tantalum, niobium and molybdenum and we are ready to help organizations advance their applications with these materials."
Huntsville, AL, based Quadrus Corporation recently used 6K Additive's expert services for making spherical tungsten/rhenium they used to produce a non-eroding throat insert for a solid rocket motor nozzle. "We have a focus on propulsion applications that require high-temperature, high-strength materials used in modern rocket nozzle applications. Our tungsten/rhenium powder spheroidized by 6K processed exceptionally well in our selective laser melting machines," explained Joe Sims, Director of the Quadrus Advanced Manufacturing Division. "Having a reliable, trusted supply chain partner like 6K Additive for refractory materials is critical to our business and to our defense customers. Our powder quality requirements are extremely high and 6K Additive easily cleared that hurdle for us."
"The UniMelt system is the world's only microwave production-scale plasma system, with a highly uniform and precise plasma zone with zero contamination and high throughput production capabilities," said a company spokesperson. 6K Additive currently produces, as commercially available powders, Ti6Al4V (Grade 5 and Grade 23), SS316L and nickel superalloys Ni718 and Ni625, along with the refractory materials.
For more information contact:
6K Additive
541 Steubenville Pike
Burgettstown, PA 15021
724-215-7049
www.6Kinc.com