According to the company the refractory metal is difficult to print without extensive parameter development, which it carried out on a EOS GmbH M290 printer.
Sintavia’s C103 material has an as-printed density of 99.94% and a Z-direction elongation of 32% after a standard stress relief cycle.
“Due to its extremely high melting point, niobium is widely recognized as an excellent material for space propulsion applications, specifically reaction control thrusters and attitude control thrusters,” said Pavlo Earle, Sintavia VP. “With this development, Sintavia is able to offer its space customers components that embody industry-leading mechanical properties.”
