Metalpine & Renishaw Partner to Develop CuNi Powders for Naval Use

UK-based LPBF OEM Renishaw has worked with Austrian powder firm Metalpine to make a copper-nickel alloy (CuNi) powder that will enable marine parts. The powders have been developed for the Renishaw RenAM 500Q Flex, at the wishes of a European Navy that wanted the capability to do more with MRO and make parts using LPBF themselves. This is a fantastic development, and I hope that we see a lot more navies globally experiment with novel AM powders, settings, and work towards efficient spare parts production with additive.

In the US, we’ve seen significant investments in 3D printing for sustainment and MRO. In radar components, polymer submersible hulls, offering training, and investing in new technologies and capacity, the US Navy leads the world in additive. Meanwhile, all the other navies in the world seem content in taking their Ultimaker printers for a spin. Now, that too will really help extend capabilities, and maybe even save ships. But a lot of the key components on ships will need LPBF, DED, or other technologies, and we’ve seen precious little investment in that from anyone outside the US. Eventually everyone will figure out that keeping a modern navy afloat is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, and that additive is a cost-effective solution for some parts.

For now, however, we have this gem of news. CuNi powders are special because they have excellent corrosion resistance, especially in sea water. A protective oxide film forms on the part, and it’s this layer that inhibits corrosion; think of it as sunscreen for your boat. The material is also strong and is used for heat exchangers, pipes, valves, pumps, propellers, and manifolds. For this application, the team created two alloys, CuNi10 & CuNi30, with 10% and 30% nickel, respectively.

Metalpine is a Graz-based producer of powders that does the typical stuff everyone else does, but certainly also has some niche and cutting-edge materials such as molybdenum, GRCop, several copper variants, and a previous marine nickel copper alloy, K500. They’ve previously partnered with EOS, and have also worked on manganese aluminum carbon (MnAlC) magnets.

Metalpine CEO Gerald Pöllmann said,

“Metalpine uses a stable and outstandingly efficient process to manufacture high-quality metal powders focused on particles with high sphericity and no pores. So, it is straightforward for us to develop and produce new powders, Collaborating with the AM engineers at Renishaw was a great experience. The team quickly shared what they achieved with our powders during their qualification process, enabling us to create and deliver powders that fit the application perfectly.”

Alex Garcia, AM Design and Applications Engineer at Renishaw, said,

“Metal powders made with copper are difficult to process with AM. CuNi 10 is a highly reflective material which is resistant to laser energy, whereas CuNi 30, due to its higher nickel content, is easier to process, Leveraging Renishaw’s advanced laser melting technology, we conducted extensive experimentation to refine the energy input parameters. We adjusted the RenAM 500Q Flex power, scan speed and hatch distance to optimise the process for manufacturing with these materials.With these precise settings, we have been able to overcome the material’s challenges, ensuring high-quality, durable parts that can withstand harsh marine environments. This optimisation not only enhances part strength and longevity but also ensures consistent results, allowing our naval customer to manufacture parts that perform reliably under tough conditions.”

The team said that the RenAM 500Q Flex lets them easily swap powder, and had a Reduced Build Volume (RBV) accessory that allowed them to test minuscule quantities of powder, down to 0.25. That could, in this case, save a lot of time and money. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the major European naval force mentioned here was the UK´s Royal Navy, however hilarious it would be for the German Navy to have forgone choosing both SLM and EOS and opted instead for Renishaw. The UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) has already had at least one 500Q Flex working on spare parts for the RAF at Wittering since 2022. It would be logical for it to be them, but it could also be Italy, or perhaps Spain? Whomever it is, I hope that they take the time to educate their counterparts across Europe on the realistic uses and benefits of additive. For submarines, surface ships, and new drone vehicles, an ocean-resistant alloy could make many parts that enhance performance, speed up repairs, and keep ships afloat.