Osaka Titanium targets aerospace and medical with TILOP64 additive manufacturing powder
Sep 29, 2016 | By Benedict
Osaka Titanium, a world leader in titanium manufacturing, is expanding its range of titanium powders for additive manufacturing. The company’s TILOP grade of gas atomized spherical titanium powder is now available for AM systems.
Headquartered in Amagasaki, Japan, Osaka Titanium has been commercially manufacturing titanium and titanium products since 1952. To prepare itself for the digital future of manufacturing, the company has now expanded its range of additive manufacturing titanium powders, introducing an AM version of its TILOP grade of gas atomized spherical titanium powder. The company has developed TILOP64, a new Ti-6Al-4V AM powder produced using the company's unique premixed atomization process.
Having produced TILOP gas atomized titanium powder for injection molding, spraying, and powder metallurgy for over 20 years, Osaka Titanium has earmarked additive manufacturing as a key market for its titanium products, both at home in Japan and worldwide. The company sees the aerospace and medical sectors as particularly important target areas for the titanium 3D printing powders, citing the success of aerospace manufacturers and medical devices companies in creating functional 3D printed titanium parts.
“The titanium products manufactured by this new additive manufacturing technology have only a short track record so far in the aerospace sector, thus presenting a somewhat higher hurdle to clear certification,” Osaka Titanium explains. “But just recently, some overseas aerospace part manufacturers have received certification on some of their parts, and have been promoting commercial production and practical application of these parts. Also, in the medical sector, practical applications for manufacturing product such as artificial hip joint are gradually progressing.”
The TILOP powder produced by Osaka Titanium is manufactured using the Induction Melting Gas Atomizing Process (IAP), a gas atomizing method which does not require a crucible for melting. The process results in minimal contamination by impurities, and has an annual melting capacity of 150 tons, one of the highest production rates in the world. Because of its spherical shape and relative purity, TILOP has been evaluated as being suitable for additive manufacturing applications, with the material already tested by various businesses, universities, and research organizations around the world.
The fine structure and spherical shape of the TILOP powder particles are achieved through the rapid quench solidification procedure applied in the process, while contamination is avoided by not using a crucible. The powder even has some historical significance: after the fine-structured, low-oxygen material was developed by Osaka Titanium, titanium injection molding and spraying became commercially viable techniques.
TILOP64, which has been optimized for additive manufacturing, contains individual powder particles which are slightly different with respect to the concentration of their components. An alloy structure of “alpha phase + beta phase” is formed in each particle of TILOP64 as a result of the process of rapid quench solidification. And since every particle of the powder is an alloy, TILOP64 particles have far greater uniformity compared to a powder mix produced using a blended elemental method. The particles of the powder contain not only aluminum and vanadium, but also other components which satisfy the chemical composition specifications provided in ASTM for grade 5 titanium alloy.
“Taking advantage of OTC’s strength in high quality titanium sponge and the powder manufacturing technologies OTC has cultivated, OTC aims to proactively develop the market for titanium powder for additive manufacturing, both at home and abroad, in response to the varied needs of customers,” the company adds.
TILOP64 can be used for applications in additive manufacturing, metal powder injection molding (MIM), spraying, and sputtering targets.
