• Zahiri, Saden
• Prentice, Leon

Abstract

The challenge to reduce the cost of titanium well below the current market is partly related to the high cost of manufacturing. This includes additive manufacturing i.e. Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM) as well as traditional approaches that are involved with melting process. Additive manufacturing approaches that, in particular, involve melting have been limited by the cost of titanium powder for broader commercial applications beyond military, aerospace and implants. More than a decade ago, Australia adopted cold spray technology as a melt-less additive manufacturing to fabricate titanium through a strategic initiative at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO). The high deposition rate that was ~100 times faster than the other additive technologies and solid state deposition were among the rational for investment in cold spray technology. A combination of carefully designed experiments and sophisticated 3D models (Fig. 1) were developed to assess performance of the current industrial scale cold spray systems for commercial clients. The success and challenges of this solid state deposition technology will be detailed in relation to real impact to the industry. The highlights for future development of melt-less titanium manufacturing using cold spray will be discussed with consideration of commercial and environmental benefits.

Topics

• Deposition
• impedance spectroscopy
• experiment
• melt
• laser emission spectroscopy
• selective laser melting
• titanium
• electron beam melting
• titanium powder