Titanium alloy (Ti) wire is a major feedstock for wire additive manufacturing (wire-AM) and for making high quality Ti powder for use in powder-based additive manufacturing.
Technology
- Production of Ti wire/rod from any low-cost Ti particulates (powder, granules, pieces, particles, machining swarf), that is significantly cheaper than Ti wire/rod made from conventional processes.
- Patented modification of an existing rotary extrusion process to allow Ti wire from particulates.
- Reduction in capital equipment, fewer process steps compared to ingot metallurgy-milled product route, Ti wire to grade, reduced waste and cost, higher productivity.
- The wire production process has been demonstrated at pilot plant scale for 5 to 12mm diameter product produced continuously up to 10m in length.
- The next stage in development is to demonstrate production of up to 100kg of 3mm diameter product per tooling change-over cycle.
Applications
- There is a lucrative market for 2.5mm to 3mm Ti wire as feed for wire-AM.
- Markets include aerospace, biomedical, marine, automotive, construction and consumer goods.
Intellectual property
We have a patent for continuous fabrication of wire from particulates. The patent provides broad process claims for continuous production of wire from powder-like materials.
The team
The team comprises materials engineers/scientists, and process modellers. The team is linked to the Lab22 Innovation Centre, Australia's premier metals additive manufacturing R&D centre located in Clayton, Victoria.