Titomic
Titomic Kinetic Fusion
Titomic Kinetic Fusion
Titomic has taken one step closer to seeing its Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) process become a manufacturing option for a leading shipbuilding group after a Material Science Testing (MST) agreement was reached.
Earlier this year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Titomic and the Australian division of Fincantieri, to evaluate the potential of Titomic’s additive manufacturing process. Fincantieri is one of the largest shipbuilding organisations in the world, with 20 shipyards across four continents.
Partnering with Titomic, the Fincantieri Group will assess the capabilities of TKF in the context of a series of tests on a specified alloy in accordance with International Standards of ASTM. Fincantieri will be assessing such values as hardness, strength, and porosity, as well as carrying out chemistry analysis of the manufactured parts. These parts will likely be the kind of mechanical components that Fincantieri installs on its Naval and Merchant ships. It has some 100 ships on order around the world, and looking to take advantage of the benefits 3D printing offers, has aligned with Titomic.
“Titomic’s technology combined with Fincantieri’s technology transfer program to Australia creates the potential to return Australia’s capability in mechanical componentry,” said Sean Costello, Director at Fincantieri Australia. “Our aim is to return high-value jobs to Australia, reduce costs and become sovereign as a shipbuilding nation.”
The Titomic Kinetic Fusion technology is to be housed in what Titomic believes is the largest metal 3D printing system in the world, with a build envelope of 9m x 3m x 1.5m. It leans on a process licensed from CSIRO, which sees the cold-gas dynamic spraying of titanium alloy particles onto a scaffold. Being commercialised exclusively by Titomic, the company promises large structures with enhanced engineering properties, incredibly fast deposition speeds, and up to 80% material savings compared to traditional manufacturing methods.
Titomic Kinetic Fusion has been developed with future-ready industries in mind, those that desire large, durable and accurate structures, but manufactured in more efficient manners. Working with Fincantieri, the company believes it can achieve that in the shipbuilding sphere.
“We are pleased to kick off this first project with Fincantieri as part of our MoU,” commented Jeff Lang, CTO, Titomic. “We will be producing test samples at our new state of the art facility in Melbourne in order to conduct the stringent tests required. This is the first step towards manufacturing large marine parts on our metal 3D printers of limitless scale.”
