Titomic partners with Triton Systems to deliver AM to US Department of Defense
March 31, 2020
Titomic Limited, Melbourne, Australia, has partnered with product development and technology company Triton Systems Inc, headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, USA, in order to implement Titomic’s Kinetic Fusion (TKF™) capabilities for validation through R&D projects with the US Department of Defense (DoD). The companies have signed a strategic agreement which leverages Triton’s extensive access to US Government DoD and sector expertise with Titomic’s TKF technology, as applied to DoD’s mission to develop innovative products and solutions for adoption in its platforms.
Established in 1992, Triton has introduced many products used by the defence and healthcare sectors. The company specialises in bringing specific products to a validation stage where DoD approval leads to product manufacturing, and as part of the Defense Industrial Base, develops and delivers critical solutions to address complex challenges that support the DoD through applied research and development, including the design, development and supply of products, subsystems, and components to meet US military requirements.
The focus of the partnership between Triton and Titomic will be to enable products additively manufactured with Titomic’s TKF technology to meet stringent military requirements, including performance in temperature extremes, robustness, and durability under very demanding operating environments.
This is expected to fill an important performance gap for US DoD industrial-scale Additive Manufacturing and fusion of dissimilar metals. Current metal Additive Manufacturing production processes and materials have reportedly not been able to satisfy the requirements of the DoD for certain mission-critical applications.
According to Titomic and Triton, a primary goal of this partnership is for the companies to jointly apply the unique capabilities of Titomic’s TKF industrial-scale metal Additive Manufacturing systems to the next generation of materials for the US DoD. These materials will combine the flexibility of the additive process with the “engineered properties” of dissimilar mixtures, delivered at a high rate of material deposition.
There are six specific areas of collaboration which form this agreement:
- Utilising Triton’s existing DoD network, Triton will execute DoD programmes to deliver prototypes using the unique capabilities of Titomic TKF metal Additive Manufacturing systems
- The parties will collaborate on a technology transfer program to ‘upskill’ their respective technical teams with metal manufacturing capabilities only achievable using the TKF process
- Titomic and Triton will actively explore opportunities for the acquisition of one or more TKF systems within Triton’s facilities in the USA for further research and OEM production
- In the interim, Titomic will provide sample and prototyping fabrication services for existing Triton development efforts from its Melbourne TKF bureau
- Triton will be a preferred partner for distributing TKF systems and TKF metal powder consumables throughout the USA
- Triton will explore opportunities to secure investment to fund TKF system acquisitions for US service bureau roll-outs at locations across the USA
“The signing of this agreement with Triton Systems, a successful US technology venture company, represents a strong pathway to explore commercial opportunities within the US Department of Defense,” stated Jeff Lang, Titomic Managing Director.
David Model, Chief Operating Officer of Triton Systems, commented, “We are excited to bring Titomic’s cutting edge cold spray technology to our DoD customer base. The defence community has been looking for the capability to quickly and flexibly manufacture large scale parts using additive technology. We believe the TKF solution will allow Triton and Titomic to closely work with our DoD end users and prime partners to facilitate the qualification and adoption of critical additively manufactured parts for military platforms.”
