Morf3D and 6K Additive Partner to Qualify Metal Powders for Additive Manufacturing

6K Additive's sustainably produced powders will be qualified for full industrialization and high-volume production.

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass., May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 6K Additive, a division of 6K, the leader in the production of sustainable advanced materials for additive manufacturing and energy storage, has announced that Morf3D, a solution integrator leader in additive manufacturing for aerospace innovation, are collaborating to qualify metal powders for additive manufacturing. Through this partnership, 6K Additive's metal powders will be approved for use by Morf3D's aerospace and defense application customers. Throughout the qualification process, Morf3D will manage the printing, characterization, post-processing, and data generation framework in order to qualify 6K Additive's sustainably produced powders.

"By working with Morf3D, we're able to leverage their deep industry experience and application expertise to help guide the qualification process," said Frank Roberts, president of 6K Additive. "This is a conduit to acceptance by a demanding customer base in space, aviation, defense industries, and more. We want our powders to be part of manufacturing solutions for the most intense applications in additive manufacturing and partnering with Morf3D provides us with another channel to these important customers."

Morf3D, which is based in El Segundo, CA, will use domestic, sustainably sourced 6K Additive powders to react quickly to customer needs once they have completed qualification. The sustainable sourcing of powders, as well as their high quality, is a key aspect for Morf3D's customer requirements. 6K's UniMelt technology upcycles used and end-of-life powders, scrap material, and test parts into feedstock to produce its highly spherical powders. This mutually beneficial circular economy allows Morf3D to reduce cost and waste while gaining access to premium quality metal powers for production.

"6K Additive's innovative business model helps us leverage our low-value waste streams into high-value credits against virgin powder sales," said Dr. Behrang Poorganji, vice president of material technology at Morf3D. "By using 6K Additive powders, we are able to source materials like high-temperature refractories at production scale, with the added benefit of using a US based supplier."

6K Additive operates a state-of-the-art, 45,000 sq/ft powder production facility in Burgettstown, PA with up to 10 fully operational UniMelt microwave plasma systems. The commercially available powders that 6K Additive currently produces include Ti6Al4V (Grade 5 and Grade 23), SS316L and nickel superalloys Ni718 and Ni625, along with the announced refractory materials. Companies interested in working with 6K Additive regarding their specific powder requirements are urged to visit 6K Additive's website 6KAdditive.com

6K press releases are available here: https://www.6kinc.com/about/news/

About 6K

With sustainability at its core, 6K was founded in North Andover, Massachusetts, has developed UniMelt®, a proprietary advanced microwave plasma production system, to transform engineered materials into revolutionary products that advance industries across additive manufacturing, renewable energy, aerospace, consumer electronics, and more. 6K represents 6000 degrees, both the temperature of the operation of UniMelt®, the world's only microwave production scale plasma system, and the temperature of the sun's surface.

The 6K Energy division is focused on the production of low-cost, sustainable, and domestically produced battery material accelerating the pace of battery production and adoption of electric vehicles. The 6K Additive division specializes in sustainably sourced, AM metal powders production and reclamation, using a proprietary milling and cleaning process that ensures contamination-free, high-quality powders. For more information, visit www.6Kinc.com and follow @6KInc on Twitter.

To learn more about 6K, please visit www.6Kinc.com

About Morf3D

Morf3D Inc., a subsidiary of Nikon Corporation, specializes in metal additive manufacturing technology that transforms engineering design into full production systems. Morf3D's mission is to enable client proficiency in fully exploiting the benefits of additive engineering and manufacturing, while delivering innovative solutions that solve complex design and manufacturing challenges.

For more information about Morf3D, visit https://morf3d.com