Page 44 - Materials Australia - April 2019

FEATURE – Additive Manufacturing
Making Australia a Leading Voice in Additive Manufacturing
Source: Sally Wood
Based in Melbourne, Titomic was incorporated in 2014 to research and develop a new solid-state additive manufacturing process using Cold Spray to produce bulk 3D forms and coatings from metallic and non-metallic powder feed stock. This new metal additive manufacturing process is known as Titomic Kinetic FusionTM, with a focus on manufacturing of large size metal parts as well as high volume production of complex shaped parts.
Co-inventor, Professor Richard Fox, identified an alternative use for the cold spray equipment. Drawing upon Richard’s extensive medical research into the benefits of a scaffold process in tissue engineering, the co-inventors explored IP incorporating Cold Spray onto a scaffold to build a 3D object. This was found to be a patentable application.
The co-inventors requested the CSIRO to patent and license the technology to the co-inventors’ composite sporting goods company, Force Industries. A new company, Titomic, was established to commercialise this technology.
To date CSIRO has invested significantly
into Cold Spray processes and various licences have been granted.
Titomic has the exclusive rights to commercialise CSIRO’s proprietary and patented process for the application of cold-gas dynamic spraying of titanium or titanium alloy particles onto a scaffold to produce a load-bearing structure.
The Kinetic FusionTM Process
The process relies on the impact of titanium particles to mechanically fuse. There is no need for any melting, which reduces oxidation issues as well as distortion due to heat. This helps materials to retain their properties, while also providing all of the following:
• The ability to create large seamless structures with enhanced properties by fusing dissimilar metals
• Increase the rate and volume of production without extensive tooling
• Create stronger structures due to the absence of weak points from welding, bending or folding
• Reduced production costs thanks to more efficient use of resources, including energy
Impact of Titomic Kinetic FusionTM
On 3D Printing
Titomic’s goal wasn’t just to contribute to 3D printing but to exceed it. With this technology, they have achieved that. It still resides within the field of 3D printing and the broader industry of Advanced
Manufacturing, but there are a few key points that make this innovation very different.
Firstly, Titomic machines offer build rates that significantly outstrip anything provided by current metal 3D printers. Every manufacturer is looking for faster production, and Titomic machines can cut times not just by hours, but by days. This time saving is also essential in responding to changes in the market by being able to shorten design cycles, create and test prototypes and gain the type of capital that comes from being the first mover.
It also makes an essential contribution by removing the heating element from 3D printing. Heat and melting have always been necessary, which means processes involving titanium had to be conducted within an inert gas environment. This is necessary because the effect of oxidation must be mitigated. No melting means there is no need to mitigate oxidation.
A current limitation with 3D printing machines is that manufacturers are limited to printing small components. These components are also completed at low rates. This process allows for product customisation by removing the size constraints. Automated production lines can also be customised without the need for tooling, welding, folding or bending. That means you get customisation without increased complexity.
Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
DFM is all about engineering a product or part that leads to both ease of production and a reduction in costs. It also allows for any potential issues to be addressed in the design phase, which makes it far easier to fix.
This is an emerging practice, particularly with the freedom in design that AM technologies provide. A concurrent practice is Design for Additive Manufacturing in which the entire design phase – functional performance, reliability, cost, manufacturability – are optimised to suit AM technologies.
Titomic employs both of these practices and improves upon them by integrating material science into their design processes.
44 | APRIL 2019
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