Mon, 23 August, 2021
A new cold spray additive manufacturing (AM) cell is due to be installed at TWI’s facilities near Cambridge. Funded by the Aerospace Technology Institute, the new cell will provide TWI members with access to state of the art manufacturing capability through the use of Titomic’s TKF-1000 system. This will build upon TWI’s extensive background in cold spray technology development and pave the way for new applications in solid state additive manufacturing.
Titomic are an Australian company specialising in industrial-scale metal additive manufacturing with their own patented Titomic Kinetic Fusion® (TKF) technology. This technology provides the capability to quickly create bespoke, light and strong multi metal parts. The process uses high-performance metal alloys, such as titanium, to create commercially viable, high-performance parts that can readily compete with traditional manufacturing methods.
The new AM cell will include Titomic’s TKF 1000 modular additive manufacturing system, enabling high build rates and a competitive 2m3 build envelope, to deliver rapid manufacturing and prototyping, R&D, and small-run production. Using cold spray for additive manufacture brings a number of potential advantages, particularly when considering fabrication from materials that are typically challenging to process by fusion-based approaches (e.g. those that suffer from oxidation, solidification cracking, anisotropic grain growth, etc). Able to work with a wide range of metals, cold spray has the potential to create large components in a short space of time, creating cost reductions, reduced lead and down times, and simplified supply chains.
The installation of the new cell, which will form the basis of the overarching Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) Project, is due to be completed before the end of 2022. The new cell will allow our Industrial Members to join a portfolio of projects under the umbrella of the CSAM Project, to increase the TRL as we develop and validate manufacturing opportunities while providing a unique competitive advantage to UK aerospace.
Please contact us, below, to find out more.
The CSAM Project has received funding from Innovate UK under No 89716