6K Additive, a division of 6K, a leader in the sustainable production of engineered materials for additive manufacturing and lithium-ion batteries can produce refractory metal powders using their innovative UniMelt microwave plasma process.
Frank Roberts, president of 6K Additive commented, “3D Systems has a proven, high-quality solution with their line of DMP printers. This agreement provides their customers with a high-quality material that will meet the demanding requirements for tungsten powder where high temperature and high strength properties are needed in applications such as medical, defense, hypersonic and other rocket parts.”
Last year 6K Additive announced the ability to produce a full range of refractory materials that have historically not been available in production because of the difficulty to process these materials into powder simply due to their high melting temperatures. The uniqueness and control of 6K’s UniMelt® microwave plasma process, combined with the deep knowledge and expertise of 6K Additive’s team, allows the company to manufacture production scale volumes for many of the refractory powders like tungsten and other refractory materials such as rhenium, tantalum, niobium and molybdenum.
6K Additive is the world’s first producer of AM powder made from sustainable sources and offers a full suite of premium powder including nickel, titanium, copper, stainless steel, aluminum alloys and refractory metals such as tungsten and rhenium. The proprietary UniMelt system is the world’s only microwave production-scale plasma system, with a highly uniform and precise plasma zone with zero contamination and high throughput production capabilities. The UniMelt process produces powders that are truly spherical, void of porosity and satellites with better flowability than other processes.
