Amaero Focuses on Additive Manufacturing Solutions For Titanium Industry’s Key Global Business Sectors (Editor’s note: Amaero International Limited provided the following guest article for TITANIUM TODAY.)
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n a world experiencing a new paradigm in supply chain discontinuity due to Covid-related disruptions and new complexities in geo-political global trade and international borders, it is crucial that companies—especially those in the titanium industry—can source quality metal powders from stable supply chains, preferably sovereign and/or allied capability, for their manufacturing operations. In Australia, one company is creating that supply chain solution. Amaero International Limited (website: https://www.amaero.com. au) is an Australian-based public company specializing in the provision of end-to-end metal additive manufacturing solutions in terms of materials, services, equipment and technology to its key clients in the aviation, defense, space, and medical sectors, as well as in the specialized tool and die industry. Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing is rapidly evolving as a global force in the specialty metals sector. Aviation, defense, space, medical and specialty tooling industries are realizing the design potential and opportunities enabled by the AM process in terms of reduced material to part ratios (buyto-fly), complexity, reduced mass, and parts consolidation. Thus, the additive manufacturing sector is developing as an imperative field of interest for the titanium industry. With titanium’s unique
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TITANIUMTODAY
An Amaero AM materials engineer examines the world’s first 3D-printed, full-size jet engine.
characteristics of strength, corrosion resistance, light weight and its high melting point, titanium alloy powders are a pivotal fabrication material for additive manufacturing in the aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For these industries, AM offers a high degree of design flexibility, with enormous potential to reduce the scrap levels currently associated with traditional subtractive manufacturing methods (i.e. casting, machining, forging, etc.). The company works with many of the world’s leading manufacturers of aerospace and defense products in research and development as well as in scaling up serial additive manufacturing capability. Amaero established its facility in the greater Los Angeles area of El Segundo in 2020 to service and be strategically located nearby the leading global
defense contractors. Having set up its manufacturing bases in Australia and the United States, Amaero is tackling the issue of strategic supply of titanium alloy powders, on which its business relies. With the bulk of the global supply of titanium metal feedstock coming from Russia, China and Kazakhstan, it’s challenging to source titanium powder that has been manufactured from feedstock produced only in allied nations. Fortunately, Australia holds some of the world’s largest reserves of ilmenite and rutile, the two major ore sources for the production of titanium sponge, the processed and extracted feed material for the majority of titanium production. Vast reserves of ilmenite and rutile lie within mineral sand deposits across Australia, commercially extracted
