Australian additive manufacturing specialist Titomic has received a purchase order from TWI, a leading research and technology organisation in the UK.
Funded by the UK Aerospace Technology Institute, the $2.28 million purchase order will see Titomic supply a TKF1000 system which will form the basis of TWI’s overarching Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing Project, due to be completed before the end of 2022.
Titomic CEO Herbert Koeck said the use of the TKF System offers a number of advantages, particularly when considering fabrication from materials that are typically challenging to process by fusion-based approaches (e.g., those that suffer from oxidation, solidification cracking, anisotropic grain growth, etc.)
“TWI are recognised as a leader in metals research for manufacturing applications and with their strong membership portfolio, this acquisition highlights the importance of the TKF System as a manufacturing technology,” Mr Koeck continued.
“We are excited to be working with TWI and look forward to continued growth opportunities in the UK”.
Section Manager, Dr Henry Begg, said the UK Aerospace sector would gain strategic advantage from the system’s ability to work with a wide range of metals and the potential to create large components in a short space of time, creating cost reductions, reduced lead and downtimes, and simplified supply chains are of strategic advantage to the UK aerospace sector.
“Having been active in cold spray research for the past 15 years, we will now be able to perform larger and more complex fabrications and, working closely with Titomic and our wide industrial membership base, develop the potentially revolutionary opportunities this technology brings,” Mr Begg added.
“Complementing our existing facilities for laser, arc and electron beam additive manufacture, the TKF1000 offers a fundamentally new approach to fabrication, bypassing some of the challenges associated with solidification and opening up the possibility of multi-material builds.”
