6K Additive Awarded Major Project for Powder and Process Optimization to Drive Sustainable Additive Manufacturing

6K Additive’s Titanium Powder Selected as Ideal Fit for America Makes Sustainability Project Call

Proposal Selected as Best Fit to Prove Sustainability and Environmental Benefits of Additive Manufacturing for Next-Generation Production of Aerospace and Defense Products

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass., Aug. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Accelerating its market leadership in sustainable production of advanced materials for additive manufacturing, 6K Additive – a division of 6K today announced the company has been selected by RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC) and the University of Arizona for the America Makes and National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) EARTH project. The proposal directly addresses more sustainable production of aerospace and defense products via additive manufacturing.

The EARTH Project totals $1.2 million and is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering Manufacturing Technology Office (OSD(R&E)). The proposal is expected to increase the deposition rate by at least 2X and reduce feedstock production energy by at least 75% while maintaining part quality, providing an overall 50% reduction in energy used to produce a component using additive manufacturing.

Leveraging 6K Additive’s tested track record in sustainable production of additive manufacturing powder, the RTRC will utilize advanced mode-guided process development techniques, emerging commercially available laser optics, and more efficient powder feedstock to optimize additive build Ti-6A1-4V material for deposition rate, feedstock reuse, and recyclability. The feedstock and print process optimization will be paired with techno-economic and lifecycle analyses to quantify and exploit its benefits to sustainability.

“RTX is pursuing sustainable additive manufacturing processes to produce next-generation aerospace and defense products as well as support out-of-production part replacement. As part of this plan, our goal is to introduce hundreds of additively manufactured parts to the market over the next several years,” said Brian Fisher, principal investigator for the POSAM project, RTX. “We selected 6K Additive because of their process of converting revert and used powder into high-value, premium powder, which helps us to measure quality and carbon footprint in the same project. These advances not only make additive manufacturing more sustainable but will drive down costs for production at scale.”

This POSAM approach, coupled with a rigorous assessment of its impact, is expected to dramatically accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing within the Department of Defense (DoD) supply chain. The RTX, 6K Additive, and University of Arizona team will prove the POSAM approach’s ability to speed print rates and reduce energy, but also its ability to streamline complex supply chains through lower cost, sustainable processes, and use of flexible material sources.

“Time and again, 6K Additive continues to prove itself as having one of the market’s only tested processes to achieve new levels of sustainability and quality in a highly regulated market in aerospace and defense. And much of this success is driven by our proprietary technology for processing titanium and refractory metals at scale – powering both customers and the environment by recycling scrap streams back to premium powders,” said Frank Roberts, President of 6K Additive. “The project award by the prestigious team at America Makes in collaboration with a leading defense and aerospace prime in RTX and a well-respected AM research institution in the University of Arizona further proves that 6K Additive is leading the sustainable, high-quality powder production for additive manufacturing. We’re honored to be selected for this important and market-critical project.”

6K Additive is the world’s first producer of additive manufactured powder made from highly sustainable sources – offering a full suite of premium powders including nickel, titanium, copper, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, and refractory metals such as tungsten, niobium, and rhenium. Backed by the award-winning UniMelt® production-scale microwave plasma process, the technology precisely spheroidizes metal powders while controlling the chemistry and porosity of the final product with zero contamination and high-throughput production. Based on a recent LCA study [LINK], the approach makes it possible to achieve reductions of 90% in energy usage and carbon emissions for its nickel-based alloys and a 75% reduction for titanium alloys.

Companies interested in working with 6K Additive regarding their specific powder requirements are urged to visit 6K Additive’s website at 6KAdditive.com.

Notes for Editors
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About 6K
6K Inc. produces and innovates with UniMelt® microwave plasma technology for the localized production of critical materials. 6K’s UniMelt technology is applied across a vast range of markets, from additive manufacturing (6K Additive) and essential battery materials (6K Energy) to future growth sectors (6K Next). UniMelt plasma creates a path for true sustainability, reducing carbon emissions, lowering energy use, and utilizing recycled content to create a circular economy—all while reducing conversion costs and providing a secure, domestic supply chain. UniMelt is industrially operational, at scale today, with headquarters and a Battery Center of Excellence in North Andover, MA, 6K’s Additive production facility in Burgettstown, PA, and a full-scale PlusCAM™ battery material manufacturing plant in Jackson, TN. For more information, visit www.6Kinc.com.

About America Makes
America Makes is the nation’s leading public-private partnership for additive manufacturing (AM) technology and education. America Makes members from industry, academia, government, and workforce and economic development organizations work together to accelerate the adoption of AM and the nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Founded in 2012 as the Department of Defense’s national manufacturing innovation institute for AM and the first of the Manufacturing USA network, America Makes is based in Youngstown, Ohio, and managed by the not-for-profit National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). Visit americamakes.us to learn more.

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