Sandvik to begin production of titanium powder at new atomiser plant
October 3, 2019
Sandvik AB is adding titanium powder specifically developed for Additive Manufacturing to its range of Osprey™ metal powders. A new state-of-the-art atomising plant for the production of titanium powders, the result of an investment amounting to SEK 200 million, will be inaugurated in Sandviken, Sweden, on October 22, 2019.
With the recent additions of titanium and nickel-based superalloys to its powder offering for AM, the company believes that it offers one of the widest product ranges in the industry. It is also capable of customising materials to suit customer specifications.
Kristian Egeberg, President of Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, stated, “With 157 years of leading materials expertise and more than forty years’ experience in powder manufacturing, Sandvik is a true expert when it comes to gas-atomised AM-powders, as well as in matching or adapting the materials to the customer’s specific print processes and applications.”
Sandvik’s new state-of-the-art titanium powder plant will produce titanium powders with low oxygen and nitrogen levels and will include a high level of automation, said to ensure even better reliability and consistency. It has a dedicated downstream sizing and large scale blending and packing facility. The plant will initially produce Osprey™ Ti-6Al-4V Grade 5 and Osprey™ Ti-6Al-4V Grade 23.
The new titanium powder plant is located close to Sandvik’s Additive Manufacturing Center. With all relevant Additive Manufacturing processes for metals in-house, Sandvik stated that it can adapt the powder to any Additive Manufacturing process.
“Besides being a leading supplier of metal powder for Additive Manufacturing, we have since 2013 made sizeable investments into a wide range of AM process technologies for metal components, including Powder Bed Fusion (Laser and Electron Beam) and Binder Jetting,” Egeberg added. “Adding seventy-five years in post-processing methods like metal cutting, sintering and heat treatment, Sandvik has well-established and leading expertise across the entire AM value chain.”
In January 2019, Sandvik merged its Powder and Additive Manufacturing divisions. As a result, it now offers services covering the full metal AM process chain, from powder production to the supply of finished AM components. In July 2019, the company acquired a significant stake in BeamIT, Italy, an Additive Manufacturing service provider to the aerospace, automotive, energy and racing industries. The company is a trusted supplier of advanced metal AM and holds a number of quality certifications, including AS 9100 for aerospace and NADCAP approval.
