LPW partners with TNSC on metal powders for Additive Manufacturing
LPW Technology Ltd, Runcorn, UK, has announced a strategic partnership with Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, Yamanashi, Japan, with the aim to drive the adoption of Additive Manufacturing in the production environment. According to LPW, Taiyo Nippon Sanso is one of the world’s largest suppliers of industrial, specialty and electronic gases.
Through its extensive sales and distribution channels, Taiyo Nippon Sanso will supply a new range of AM metal powders developed and optimised by LPW Technology. The new powders form part of a total solution including gases, metal powders, and metal heat treatment techniques. All products will be readily-available through Taiyo Nippon Sanso’s established sales network. Initially, LPW’s products will be available through Taiyo Nippon Sanso group sales hubs in Singapore and China, and in the USA through its subsidiary company Matheson Tri-Gas.
According to LPW, Taiyo Nippon Sanso will leverage its industry expertise in welding processes, metal heat treatment and controlled gas atmospheres to help lower costs, secure supply, streamline production and eliminate defects for metal AM customers globally. “This alliance with Taiyo Nippon Sanso is truly ground-breaking for the industry and will lead to further understanding of the total AM process and ultimately the development of more robust processes and novel alloys,” commented Dermot Desmond, LPW’s Asia Pacific Sales Manager. “Taiyo Nippon Sanso is experienced in operating in the industries we see as key to widespread AM adoption and is aligned with our laser-like focus on the safety-critical aerospace, biomedical, automotive and energy sectors.”
With the demand for AM metal powder forecast to grow by around 60% in 2017, LPW is also investing in new UK based manufacturing facilities capable of processing 1000 tons of metal powder each year. The company is certified to ISO 9001, AS9100, AS9120, and ISO 13485. Taiyo Nippon Sanso has a dedicated Additive Manufacturing technical team at its gas application R&D lab in Yamanashi, Japan. In addition to developing a partnership with LPW, Taiyo Nippon Sanso is developing partnerships with other key providers of technology within AM, including Optomec.
“This will be the first integrated Metal Additive Manufacturing Technology Lab in Asia,” stated Tadaharu (Ted) Watanabe, General Manager of Global Business Development and Global Operations at Taiyo Nippon Sanso. “LPW’s understanding of AM from the perspective of the powder is globally recognised and combined with our knowledge of gases, heat treatment and welding, we are dedicated to the technical advancement of AM solutions to support and develop customer applications worldwide.”
