Titanium powders have been called the Holy Grail of gas atomization by materials scientists

Metal 3D printing is developing at an alarming rate in many important industries, such as aerospace, automotive, medical, and others have listed the technology as a routine means of manufacturing parts. However, the development of this technology is still limited by a number of factors, the most important of which is the high price and limited variety of available metal powder materials. However, this situation may soon change, as the high-quality and economical titanium powder materials previously successfully achieved by Ames Laboratory using new technologies are about to be commercialized for mass production.

Titanium is the holy grail of manufacturing because the metal is not only strong and light, but also has excellent biocompatibility and corrosion resistance. So it's ideal for making aerospace parts and medical implants. Today, thanks to research at Ames Laboratory, high-quality, low-cost titanium powders that can be used for metal 3D printing are a reality. Ames National Laboratory is a research facility jointly managed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and Iowa State University. The organization focuses on the development of innovative material technologies and energy solutions, and their research is often used at NASA and other high-tech fields. According to Iver Anderson, a scientist at the lab, titanium powder determines the future of high-quality 3D printing. "The application of titanium powder in 3D printing technology has great potential to save manufacturers materials and money." "The mass production of high-quality titanium powder is what we materials scientists call the Holy Grail of gas atomization," he said.

The key innovation in Ames Lab's new process is a new type of molten heating conduit. It is able to increase the melting temperature by at least 100 ℃, thus better adapting to water-cooled clean melting technology. The latter is a necessary means of melting and casting strong and durable aerospace titanium components. This new "hot nozzle" enables precise feeding of high-energy coupled atomizers, enabling efficient production of fine titanium metal powders.