Titomic Signs MoU with China’s Lasting Titanium to Secure Supply of Metal 3D Printing Powders

Titomic, a top metal 3D printing company in Australia well known for its innovative Kinetic Fusion technology, announced that it has just signed its latest Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), this time with Shaanxi Lasting Titanium Industry Co. Ltd, which is China’s largest manufacturer and global exporter of titanium powder and titanium alloy products.

The new MoU, which will commence immediately, will allow Titomic to secure a high quality supply of low-cost, commercially pure titanium powders from Lasting Titanium for use with its Kinetic Fusion technology, which includes benefits such as the ability to join dissimilar metals and composites for engineered properties in a single structure and a decreased time to market, thanks to its high deposition speeds.

“This MoU will provide exclusive supply of large volumes of price point titanium powder for use in Titomic’s TKF systems to create new commercial opportunities for titanium in traditional industries in a more efficient and sustainable way for industrial scale manufacturing,” said Jeff Lang, Titomic’s Managing Director.

Headquartered in Xi’An, Lasting Titanium has spent the last two decades supplying titanium products to multiple industries around the world, including aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, and 3D printing. In addition, Lasting Titanium, which has achieved international ISO, AMS, ASTM, and MIL standards across multiple industries, is also involved in research regarding rare metal production, forging, finishing, rolling, smelting, non-destructive testing, and both physical and chemical analyses.

The new partnership between Titomic and Lasting Titanium will, according to a Titomic press release, “enable the cooperative development of new titanium powders for Titomic Kinetic Fusion,” as well as attain an exclusive supply of new price point powders for Titomic’s technology.

Titomic’s unique Kinetic Fusion can be used to manufacture large parts with heat-related distortion or oxidation issues, so there are no size or shape constraints when it comes to the rapid 3D printing of large, complex parts. The process works by spraying titanium powder particles at supersonic speeds of about 1 km per second, using a 6-axis robot arm, onto a scaffold. These particles move so fast that when they collide on the scaffold, they fuse together mechanically to produce huge, load-bearing 3D forms.

The Kinetic Fusion process is also versatile enough to use both spherical and irregular morphology metal powders to 3D print industrial scale metal products, which provides the company with additional opportunities in industries like automotive, marine, building, and oil & gas that previously could not apply titanium due to a lack of economic viability.

L-R: Lasting Titanium’s Gloria Wang, Cai Longyang, Zheng Xiaofeng, and Wang Qi Lu, and Titomic’s Jeff Lang and Vahram Papyan.

Lasting TItanium’s irregular powder morphology is the perfect fit for industrial scale 3D printing with Titomic’s Kinetic Fusion systems. By using this irregular titanium powder, Titomic’s customers will be able to access “a price point alternative” that will go well with the company’s additional range of aerospace-grade and mid-end titanium powders; other 3D printing methods can’t use this price point irregular powder in the same way, which will set Titomic apart in its field.

The new MoU between Lasting Titanium and Titomic will open up new commercial opportunities for 3D printed titanium products over multiple industries, and will specifically create a viable way for Titomic’s Kinetic Fusion systems to compete with traditional methods of manufacturing.

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