6K Additive – a manufacturer of metal 3D printing materials and Metal Powder Works (MPW) – a manufacturer of solid-state powders, announced at the Formnext fair a strategic partnership in the production of pure copper and copper alloys, leading to the creation of copper/nickel and bronze alloy powders, for additive manufacturing. The high efficiency that can be achieved with both Metal Powder Works’ DirectPowder process and 6K Additive’s UniMelt microwave plasma technology provides economic benefits, faster time to market and sustainable production in both the creation of raw materials and the production of these materials.
Metal Powder Works CEO and founder John Barnes added: “This partnership is a win-win for both 6K Additive and Metal Powder Works, but most importantly for our customers who want to use copper in a variety of applications such as heat sinks, battery components – especially for the rapidly growing market for electric vehicles and critical parts for the maritime industry. “The collaboration with 6K Additive opens up MPW’s technology to deliver more materials to the AM market.”
The MPW DirectPowder process enables production-specific powders to be produced with a patented process that ensures consistent powder size and shape. Its current powder portfolio includes high-strength aluminum powders and high-conductivity copper powders, with new alloys being actively developed within MPW’s newly launched developer network.
6K Additive is the world’s first manufacturer of sustainably sourced AM powder and offers a full range of premium powders including nickel, titanium, copper, stainless steel, aluminum alloys and refractory metals such as tungsten, niobium and rhenium. The patented UniMelt system is the world’s only production-scale microwave plasma system with a highly uniform and precise plasma zone, zero contamination and high-throughput production capability.
Source: www.6kinc.com