While major consumer electronics manufacturers are laying out titanium alloy materials, the combination of 3D printing and titanium alloys has become a new trend in industrial development. Titanium alloy materials have become an important option for consumer electronic structural components based on their high strength and lightweight advantages, while titanium alloy is a poor conductor of heat. The Selective Laser Melting (SLM) additive manufacturing process avoids the drawbacks of traditional reduction manufacturing by laser melting powder forming and layer by layer stacking, which may become the future of titanium alloy structural component processing technology.
This article discusses why titanium alloy and 3D printing are chosen, how to view the relationship between 3D printing and CNC (Computer Numerical Control) and Metal Injection Molding (MIM), typical case cost estimation of titanium alloy 3D printing, and future market space estimation.
The results indicate that the cost reduction and efficiency improvement path of titanium alloy 3D printing based on the localization substitution of raw materials and core components, as well as the optimization of post-processing processes, is clear, and it is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan in the consumer electronics market, or become a key development direction for 3D printing in the future.
Why are consumer electronics laying out titanium alloy materials?
Major consumer electronics manufacturers are starting to use titanium alloy materials: Apple has started using titanium alloy watch cases as standard for the Ultra series watches, and the newly released iPhone 15 Pro version has also started using titanium alloy frame. Huawei used titanium alloy material in the structural components of the Mate Xs 2 foldable screen phone released in 2022, and used titanium alloy frames in the Watch 4 Pro. The combination of high strength and lightweight advantages of titanium alloys has become an important reason for promotion. According to data from Souti.com, the tensile strength and yield strength of TC4 titanium alloy can reach 960 Mpa and 892 Mpa, respectively, higher than 520 Mpa and 205 Mpa of 304 stainless steel and 320 Mpa and 160 Mpa of A380 aluminum alloy. The density of titanium alloy is lower than that of stainless steel, with TC4 and 304 stainless steel having densities of 4.51 g/cm, respectively ³ And 7.93g/cm ³， This makes titanium alloys weigh less in the same volume. According to our calculations, compared to using stainless steel, using a titanium alloy case on an Apple Ultra watch can reduce the weight of the entire device by 12.9%.
The combination of titanium alloy and 3D printing has become a new trend in industrial development.
For example, foreign watch manufacturer Barrelhand and head 3D printing equipment manufacturer Materialise have collaborated to produce titanium alloy watch cases using SLM additive manufacturing technology. Honor has released a new folding screen phone, the Magic V2 hinge cover, which uses titanium alloy 3D printing technology, making it the first large-scale use of titanium alloy 3D printing technology on mobile phones. Why use 3D printing to make titanium alloy structural components:
1) The difficulty of machining titanium alloy is high. Titanium alloy is a poor conductor of heat, and the thermal conductivity of TC4 is only 7.96W/m · K, which is much lower than that of stainless steel and aluminum alloy. This leads to heat accumulation and rapid local heating during processing of titanium alloy, which has a negative impact on the tool and processing yield. According to Aibang Polymer data, the overall yield of mobile phone frames made of titanium alloy materials is about 30% -40%, far lower than 80% of aluminum alloy frames.
2) 3D printing is suitable for titanium alloy processing. SLM is an additive manufacturing process that integrates layer by layer accumulation through laser melting of metal powders, which avoids the drawbacks of cutting titanium alloys from a technical perspective; Secondly, additive manufacturing has low cost sensitivity to complex structures, resulting in a high degree of design freedom and can be lightweight through more cavity structures.
How do you view the relationship between 3D printing, CNC, and MIM?
The complementary and substitutive relationship between 3D printing and CNC coexist: 3D printing at the structural end can replace traditional machining when processing customized and complex structural components; 3D printing on the material side can help CNC complete the forming process of difficult materials, while the post-processing process also requires the intervention of precision machining, presenting a complementary relationship with CNC. 3D printing and MIM are mainly complementary and suitable for different scenarios: metal injection molding MIM is suitable for batch processing of small parts, and economic application scenarios are common within 50g. The part size is around 25mm, and the maximum does not exceed 150mm. For 3D printing, there is no mold making requirement in MIM technology, and it is more suitable for customized production. With the introduction of large-sized equipment, printing for bulk integrated parts has more advantages. Therefore, compared to MIM, 3D printing has more advantages in large volume, customized, and high complexity processing. The two are mainly complementary in different fields of adaptation. In addition, 3D printing can help MIM make molds, with the advantages of low cost and fast delivery.
We calculate the 3D printing cost and future cost reduction path based on typical cases.
The results show that the total cost of 3D printing processing and post-processing for a certain titanium alloy component is about 136 yuan, mainly due to the cost of powder use, polishing and sandblasting, and equipment work, accounting for 45.9%, 25.5%, and 20.3% of the cost, respectively. According to our calculation, the current cost of the CNC process is about 100 yuan. The future cost reduction will mainly focus on three aspects: the localization and substitution of raw materials and core components, as well as the optimization of post-processing processes, which will drive an increase in yield. We have comprehensively considered the price decline brought by the localization of raw material powders and core components, as well as the improvement of yield rate. The results show that the 3D printing cost is expected to decrease to below 100 yuan between 2023 and 2024, which is more economical compared to CNC. The future cost reduction path is clear.
How much space does titanium alloy 3D printing have in consumer electronics?
We calculate the market space of titanium alloy 3D printing in consumer electronics based on two main lines:
1) At present, the only one using titanium alloy hinge shaft covers for foldable screens is Honor foldable screens. Therefore, the penetration rate of 3D printing in this segmented field is 100%. Based on our calculations, if 3D printing maintains a 90% penetration rate in the titanium alloy foldable screen hinge shaft cover segment, with the continuous increase in penetration rate of titanium alloy materials, the market space is expected to increase from the expected 400 million yuan in 2023 to 1.8 billion yuan in 2027, From 2023 to 2027, the CAGR reached 45.6%; For the global market, if 3D printing maintains an 80% penetration rate in the titanium alloy folding screen hinge cover segment, the corresponding market size is expected to increase from nearly 600 million yuan in 2023 to 2.1 billion yuan in 2027, with a CAGR of 37.7% from 2023 to 2027.
2) If Apple adopts 3D printing technology, assuming that 30% and 10% of the initial Ultra case and Pro frame respectively adopt 3D printing technology, the corresponding market space will reach 3.1 billion yuan; In the long run, if 90% and 30% of the Ultra case and Pro frame are printed in 3D, the corresponding space will be about 9.3 billion yuan. Overall, the market space for titanium alloy 3D printing in the field of consumer electronics is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan.
Risk factors:
The expansion of process applications is not as expected; The calculation results deviate significantly from the facts; Technological progress is less than expected; The domestic substitution of core components and raw materials did not meet expectations.
Investment strategy: We believe that we should focus on the following directions:
1) Titanium material suppliers: Both the titanium alloy powder required for 3D printing and the titanium alloy rod required for CNC process come from upstream titanium material processing, and relevant manufacturers will continue to benefit from downstream demand and release dividends;
2) In the processing process, attention should be paid to 3D printing equipment manufacturers and potential beneficiaries of CNC technology. Given that the core components of 3D printing equipment are still mainly assembled with imported products, it will take some time for large-scale domestic substitution. Therefore, overall equipment suppliers are the main beneficiaries. Due to the higher difficulty in processing titanium alloy materials at the CNC end, attention should be paid to the release of demand for high-end CNC tools;
3) MIM process recommendations focus on leading companies in the industry chain;
4) Manufacturer of post-treatment process: Titanium alloy structural components require post-treatment after 3D printing or CNC process, including heat treatment, polishing, etc.
