6K Additive has been awarded a $1.95 million Part II contract to assist the US Protection Logistics Company (DLA) in changing home scrap into metallic additive manufacturing powders.
The contract will run for an 18-month time period, with 6K Additive taken receipt of Nickel, Titanium, Tungsten, and Niobium scrap from choose United States Navy Depots.
The initiative, titled “Recovering Strategic Worth, goals to reduce the U.S. navy’s dependence on international sources for essential strategic metals.
A heavy reliance on imported metals – China controls over 80% of worldwide Tungsten manufacturing, and the U.S. relies upon fully on imports for Niobium, primarily from Brazil and Canada, per Statista – is alleged to be presenting the US defence industrial base with a strategic vulnerability.
The US Protection Logistics Company is due to this fact trying to maximise the worth of end-of-life elements by leveraging ‘the baseline processes developed in earlier 6K Additive DLA awards. Particularly, the Scope of Work (SOW) for Part III is anticipated to deal with supplies from DLA Disposition Companies, the Navy and the Air Drive Life Cycle Administration Middle and aligning processes to maximise worth for the DoD.
By the contract, a proof of idea for a robotic system that permits identification and sorting of fabric will probably be carried out, and chilly spray trials to research the mechanical properties of upcycled Nickel and Titanium powder to be used as a restore expertise will probably be accomplished.
Particular operations will happen at main aviation depots, which generate upwards of 60,000 kilos of blended scrap metallic weekly. Upcycled powders will probably be returned to the navy for rigorous testing towards virgin metallic requirements to make sure efficiency in essential defence purposes.
“The U.S. Authorities has made it clear that to advance our defence readiness, we can not depend on geopolitically delicate areas for the supplies important to our most superior weapon methods,” stated Frank Roberts, CEO of 6K Additive. “By upcycling home scrap from DoD stockpiles and upkeep centres, we’re making a round, safe, and sustainable provide chain for the US defence sector. This Award permits us and the DoD to additional determine end-of-life elements and scrap to transform again into high-value powder, finally resulting in strategic elements for the navy.”
6K Additive will leverage a number of IP expertise pillars for this exercise, together with its strategic course of for sizing stable scrap into angular powder, the UniMelt platform, and its in-house post-processing capabilities that full the transformation of scrap into ‘premium spherical powders.’
The contract is topic to plain U.S. authorities contract phrases, together with efficiency milestones and termination rights.
