On June 22, 2023, it was learned that Wayland Additive Company has approved the processing of 6K Additive tungsten powder on its Calibur3 additive manufacturing system, which is driven by NeuBeam technology.
△6K Additive的生产的钨粉在Wayland Additive Caliber3 AM平台上创建复杂的晶格结构
This approval means that the tungsten powder of 6K Additive has passed actual testing and verification, demonstrating its good processability and production capacity for high-quality parts on Wayland Additive's equipment. This progress has opened up new prospects for the additive manufacturing of tungsten materials and provided a feasible solution for related industries.
The two companies believe that this will enable users to address new application needs in the fields of nuclear energy, aerospace, and supersonic technology. Tungsten has a wide range of applications in aerospace, national defense, energy, and medical fields.
Tungsten powder produced using 6K Additive's UniMelt technology
Tungsten is a refractory metal with a melting point of up to 3422 ° C, known for its extraordinary hardness and excellent thermal conductivity. 6K Additive's tungsten powder is produced using its flagship product UniMelt microwave plasma process, which is said to be able to prepare metal powder while accurately controlling chemical composition and porosity. The company uses recycled waste as raw material and is able to achieve over 90% production to provide more sustainable materials to the market.
Wayland's Electron Beam 3D Printing System Calibur3
By obtaining this qualification, the material can now be used by Wayland's electron beam powder bed fusion process operator. This process utilizes NeuBeam electron beam technology to neutralize charge accumulation. It is said that this eliminates the need for pre sintering beds and makes it possible to easily remove components without the need to harden the sintering cake.
Will Richardson, CEO of Wayland Additive, commented: Wayland Additive has successfully overcome the obstacles faced by traditional electron beam technology through our NeuBeam process, enabling additive processing of more metals and alloys. 6K Additive can produce these difficult to process materials on a large scale and prepare for NeuBeam's Calibur3 system. We are very excited about the opportunity to discover tungsten material properties in nuclear applications in the UK.
△Earlier, Wayland Additive announced an increase in production of the Calibur3 metal 3D printing system
Frank Roberts, President of 6K Additive, added: The UniMelt process can manufacture an almost infinite range of materials, including metals and alloys that are difficult to manufacture. Although these materials have excellent performance, they are difficult to process under traditional additive manufacturing techniques and often pose commercial challenges due to their high cost. By combining our two innovative technologies, 6K Additive and Wayland can produce and process metals that were previously difficult to achieve. The excellence of refractory metals such as tungsten We can now fully utilize additive manufacturing technology to create exciting new applications in the fields of nuclear energy, aerospace, and national defense.
Earlier this year, 6K Additive announced that it had agreed to supply tungsten powder for the 3D Systems DMP metal 3D printing system. Meanwhile, Wayland Additive successfully raised £ 4.6 million to meet customers' demand for electron beam 3D printing. The company had previously announced that it would increase its flagship model production in February.
