Advanced Metallurgical Solutions (AMS) has announced that it plans to bring online an additional 100 tonne automated injection moulding press, an additional vacuum/hydrogen sintering furnace and ancillary equipment in the first quarter of 2015 to form a dedicated Titanium manufacturing division.
AMS is the only manufacturer of Metal Injection Moulded (MIM) components and sintered metallic membrane in Australia.
MIM is a net shape technology for the production of highly complex metal components. MIM technology can dramatically reduce the cost of complex metal components.
“A dedicated Titanium Injection Moulding (TIM) division opens new opportunities for customers requiring production runs smaller than the minimum 1,000 to 4,000 parts required by many MIM manufacturers. Pooling groups of similar components allows much of the variable cost to be spread over several smaller runs, bringing the component cost of runs of 50-100 components in line with the cost of much larger runs. Once the 3D printed or machined prototyping phase for a component is complete, AMS can offer substantial savings in both low and high volumes,” the company revealed in a press release.
With the new equipment, the wholly-owned Australian company will boost its average weekly capacity in Titanium by 24,000 Injected Moulded components or 150 m2 of metallic membrane.
“We see an increasing trend towards using Titanium in component manufacture due to the efficiencies of the advanced manufacturing techniques we use. Complex parts can be made quickly with high consistency, high strength, tight tolerances and almost no waste. These efficiencies bring the cost of Titanium components down severalfold, making them competitive with components made of inferior materials using traditional methods,” said Director of Development Craig Erskine in the press release.
“This opportunity should also be of interest to potential small- and medium-run customers in the USA since there is no customs duty for Titanium goods imported into America from Australia and no language barrier either. These factors help make switching to TIM with us easier and more economical.”
