Praxair to begin full scale production of fine titanium powders
September 1, 2015
Praxair Surface Technologies, headquartered in Indianapolis, USA, has announced it will begin full-scale production of its fine, spherical titanium powder specifically for use in Additive Manufacturing systems in the third quarter of 2015.
“Until now, there’s been limited availability of fine, titanium powder in the marketplace to create parts,” stated Dean Hackett, Vice President of Advanced Materials and Equipment for Praxair Surface Technologies. “That won’t be the case for long as we move into full-scale production of aerospace-grade, fine, spherical, titanium powder starting in the third quarter of 2015. In addition to supplying the powder, Praxair also offers the associated industrial gases to the Additive Manufacturing industry.”
Praxair’s ability to produce large-scale volumes of titanium powders designed for Additive Manufacturing is rooted in its more than 50 years of experience producing gas atomised powders for the thermal spray coating industry. In recent years, research and development efforts have focused on the production of metal powders, including cobalt, iron and nickel, for 3D printing purposes. Further development of a proprietary atomisation process designed specifically for titanium allows Praxair to make some of the largest batches of fine, titanium powder in the world, stated the company.
“What makes our production of titanium powders different from those currently on the market is that we use close-coupled, high-pressure gas atomisation to produce fine, spherical titanium powder in large quantities,” stated Andy Shives, Additive Manufacturing Marketing Manager for Praxair Surface Technologies. “Adding titanium powder to our portfolio enables us to better support the manufacturing needs of aerospace and other industries.”
Praxair is currently working with major aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by providing limited quantities of its fine titanium powder to further OEM research and development efforts ahead of Praxair’s full commissioning of its gas-atomised titanium powder line.
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