Titanium alloy printing has great potential

Recently, titanium alloy materials have been used in many popular smartphone products. For example, innovative materials such as 99% titanium middle frame and titanium hinges. A new titanium body also appeared earlier, becoming Apple's first mobile phone to use aviation-grade titanium. Titanium alloy has significant performance advantages and can better combine the characteristics of strength and thinness, thereby reducing the thickness and weight of mobile phones and improving strength. In the future, if it is further penetrated into various 3C consumer electronics brands and product types, it is expected to increase the demand for titanium alloy, polishing and 3D printing equipment.

The results show that titanium alloy 3D printing has a clear cost reduction and efficiency improvement path based on the localization of raw materials and core components and the optimization of post-processing links to improve the yield rate. The market space in consumer electronics is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan, or it may become the future of 3D printing. The key development directions of printing.

While major consumer electronics manufacturers are deploying titanium alloy materials, the combination of 3D printing and titanium alloys has become a new trend in industry development. Titanium alloy materials have become an important option for consumer electronic structural parts based on their advantages of high strength and lightweight. Titanium alloys are poor conductors of heat. The selective laser melting additive manufacturing process avoids traditional The disadvantages of subtractive manufacturing may become the future of titanium alloy structural parts processing technology.

Manufacturing moves towards lightweighting

3D printing has the characteristics of short production cycle and the ability to process complex shapes. 3D printing is a technology that is based on digital model files and stacks bondable materials layer by layer to build realistic three-dimensional objects. Compared with traditional manufacturing technologies, 3D printing has the advantages of removing molds, reducing waste and reducing inventory. Why use 3D? Print to make titanium alloy structural parts:

1. It is difficult to machine titanium alloy. Titanium alloy is a poor conductor of heat, and the thermal conductivity of TC4 is only 7.96W/m·K, which is much lower than stainless steel and aluminum alloy. This causes titanium alloys to easily accumulate heat during processing and locally heat up quickly, which has a negative impact on cutting tools and processing yields. According to Aibang Polymer data, the overall yield rate of mobile phone middle frames made of titanium alloy materials is about 30%-40%. , far lower than 80% of the aluminum alloy middle frame.

 

2. 3D printing is suitable for titanium alloy processing. SLM is an additive manufacturing process that uses laser melting of metal powder to accumulate and integrate layer by layer. This avoids the disadvantages of cutting titanium alloys from a technical route; secondly, additive manufacturing has low-cost sensitivity for complex structures. Therefore, the design freedom is high and lightweight can be achieved through more cavity structures.

3D printing can be widely used in equipment such as titanium metal, which can improve yield and reduce costs in mass production. It is widely favored by industries such as military industry, medical treatment, and consumer electronics, but its high production cost is the main reason that limits its wide application. 3D printing technology uses adhesive materials such as powdered metal, ceramics, or polymer materials to pass layer by layer. Printing and superimposing continuous layers of different shapes to construct three-dimensional objects can solve the mass production pain points of titanium alloy technology and the problems of titanium alloy material molding. It can simplify production processes such as melting and casting, achieve integrated molding, and improve titanium alloy processing yields, forming a future Costs are expected to be further reduced after the scale effect.

The 3D printing market has vast space, and the Chinese market is growing rapidly. According to data, from 2021 to 2025, the global 3D printing market size is expected to increase from US$15.2 billion to US$29.8 billion, with an average annual compound growth rate of 18%; from 2021 to 2024, China's 3D printing market size is expected to increase from US$26.2 billion Yuan increased to 50 billion Yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of 24%. The growth rate of China's 3D printing market is slightly higher than the global average.

In the future, cost reduction will mainly come from three aspects: domestic substitution of raw materials and core components, and optimization of post-processing links to drive yield improvement. Taking into account the price drop brought about by the localization of raw material powders and core components, as well as the improvement in yield, the results show that the cost of 3D printing is expected to drop below 100 yuan in 2023-2024.

Recently, an international research team including Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the University of Sydney combined alloys and 3D printing processes to create a new titanium alloy that is strong but not brittle under tension. The development of a new class of more sustainable, high-performance titanium alloys for applications in aerospace, biomedicine, chemical engineering, space and energy technology offers hope. According to reports, the research team used laser directed energy deposition to print their alloy from metal powder, a 3D printing process suitable for manufacturing large and complex parts. They combined alloy design concepts with 3D printing process design and identified a series of alloys that are strong, ductile, and easy to print. The team says the attractive properties of these new alloys are comparable to those of commercial alloys.

 

In traditional manufacturing processes, α-β titanyl iron alloys face two challenges: one is that oxygen can make the titanium brittle, and the other is that adding iron can cause serious metallurgical defects and form large chunks of β titanium. The researchers say the new study may provide a template for mitigating these oxygen embrittlement issues through 3D printing and microstructural design.

 

Since this year, 3D printed titanium alloy materials have emerged in folding mobile phones to achieve lightweight design. At present, the metal structural parts of electronic products are generally made of stainless steel and aluminum alloy. The weight of the former is not dominant, while the hardness of the latter is average. Although titanium alloy has both hardness and weight advantages, it is difficult to process and has a low yield rate. The 3D printing process can effectively solve the problems of titanium alloy material molding and technical mass production pain points, and enhance the overall experience of mobile phone products.

Thanks to the low density, high strength and corrosion resistance of titanium alloy, it will bring better durability and better scratch resistance. At the same time, titanium alloy manufacturing will be combined with 3D printing technology to meet consumer needs in a personalized manner, bring greater innovation and freedom to the appearance design of consumer electronics products, and break the limitations of traditional manufacturing. As the demand for personalized consumer electronics products increases, more consumers hope to customize products according to their own preferences and needs. Through 3D printing, consumers can choose different appearances, materials, and functions to customize electronic products and obtain a better user experience.

Titanium Alloy 3D Printing

In addition to improving the yield rate, the application of 3D printing in the field of consumer electronics can also help to effectively reduce product manufacturing costs and improve efficiency. 3D printing does not require molds and mechanical processing. It can directly convert design drafts into entities, efficiently create product models for testing and evaluation, simplify the production process, reduce the time cost and production assembly cost in the traditional manufacturing process, and promote follow-up Development and innovation. At the same time, additive manufacturing is regarded as an unattended manufacturing process that requires less labor costs. It is molded in one go, reducing waste materials and improving material utilization, which also helps reduce material costs.

 

In recent years, the 3D printing market has grown rapidly. According to statistics, global revenue from 3D printing manufacturing products and services will reach approximately US$18 billion in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 18%. The 3D printing industry has maintained a double-digit growth trend for 25 consecutive years. According to media reports, Apple is actively adopting 3D printing technology. The use of 3D printing can shorten the company's production time and reduce production costs.