Metal reclamation company 6K Additive has launched a range of refractory metal powders for 3D printing. According to the company, it has spheroidized the full spectrum of refractory powders including tantalum, niobium and molybdenum. 6K Additive says that its UniMelt system is the world's only microwave production-scale plasma system.
‘The uniqueness of 6K's UniMelt microwave plasma process […] has allowed us to manufacture production scale volumes for many of the refractory powders like tungsten and tungsten/rhenium,’ said Frank Roberts, 6K Additive president.
Recently the company supplied tungsten-rhenium powder to produce a non-eroding throat insert for a solid rocket motor nozzle, an application which requires high-temperature, high-strength materials, according to Joe Sims, director of Quadrus, which made the nozzle.
This story uses material from 6K, with editorial changes made by Materials Today.
