Cooksongold
Parts printed in precious metal powders
Cooksongold has announced the launch of a new industrial division specialising in the adoption of precious metal additive manufacturing for critical applications.
The Birmingham-based provider of jewellery-making supplies, known in the 3D printing industry for pioneering the use of gas atomised precious metal powders, says its new Cookson Industrial division will serve as an end-to-end provider of consultancy, R&D, NPD and production. This will include conventional and subtractive manufacturing alongside its additive capabilities, which features six EOS Precious M 080 and M 100 systems, alongside a Renishaw AM 500S Flex.
Nikesh Patel, Head of Cookson Industrial, said: “While the use of precious metals in additive manufacturing has largely been confined to the jewellery, luxury lifestyle industries, many more organisations are beginning to explore its potential for use in critical applications.”
Cookson Industrial says precious metal AM provides a ‘new frontier’ for performance in extreme environments. The company has already been working with the University of Birmingham to explore the development of precious metal 3D printing for aerospace, healthcare and glass fibre manufacturing industries, and was jointly awarded a 750k GBP Early-stage Prosperity Partnership funding from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It believes aerospace will be a key growth market for this new venture and is exploring developments in satellite thruster design to help light-weight parts and reduce the volume of hazardous materials used in the manufacturing process.
Nikesh continues: “For extreme environments such as aerospace, where there is no room for compromise, the performance characteristics of precious metals can offer a whole new world of design parameters compared to traditional alloys.
“There is also a lot of dynamism in the UK aerospace sector with many legacy processes set for disruption. However, given the significant cost of the powders themselves – a full hopper often outweighs the purchase price of the AM machine – many organisations have struggled to fully commit to R&D. As we produce and print with our own powder supply, we can help de-risk the process by offering the optimum parameters for powder production, storage and use. This will help reduce powder loss and the associated impact on project costs, while giving organisations access to one of the most innovative production environments in the UK.”
