Cold Metal Fusion Makes It Easy to 3D Print Titanium

CADmore Metal has introduced a fresh take on 3D printing metal components to the North American market known as cold metal fusion (CMF). John Carrington, the company's CEO, claims CMF produces stronger 3D printed metal parts that are cheaper and faster to make. That includes titanium components, which have historically caused trouble for 3D printers.

3D printing has used metals included aluminum, powdered steel, and nickel alloys for some time. While titanium parts are in high demand in fields such as aerospace and health care due to their superior strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and their suitability for complex geometries, the metal has presented challenges for 3D printers.

Titanium becomes more reactive at high temperatures and tends to crack when the printed part cools. It can also become brittle as it absorbs hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen during the printing process. Carrington says CMF overcomes these issues.

Our primary customers tend to come from the energy, defense, and aerospace industries," says Carrington. One large defense contractor recently switched from traditional 3D printing to CMF as it will save them millions and reduce prototyping and parts production by months."

How CMF Enhances Titanium 3D Printing Efficiency

CMF combines the flexibility of 3D printing with new powder metallurgy processes to provide strength and greater durability to parts made from titanium and many other metals and alloys. The process uses a combination of proprietary metal powder and polymer binding agents that are fused layer by layer to create high-strength metal components.

The process begins like any other 3D printing project: A digital file that represents the desired 3D object directs the actions of a standard industrial 3D printer in laying down a mixture of metal and a plastic binder. A laser lightly fuses each layer of powder into a cohesive solid structure. Excess powder is removed for reuse.

Where CMF differs is that the initial parts generated by this stage of the process are strong enough for grinding, drilling, and milling if required. The parts then soak in a solvent to dissolve the plastic binder. Next, they go into a furnace to burn off any remaining binder, fuse the metal particles, and compact them into a dense metal component. Surface or finishing treatments can then be applied such as polishing and heat treatment.

Our cold metal fusion technology offers a process that is at least three times faster and more scalable than any other kind of 3D printing," says Carrington. Per-part prices are generally 50 to 60 percent less than alternative metal 3D printing technology. We expect those prices to go down even more as we scale."

3D printing with metal powders such as titanium makes it possible to create parts with complex geometries.CADmore Metal

The material used in CMF was developed by Headmade Materials, a German company. Headmade holds a patent on this 3D printing feedstock, which has been designed for use by the existing ecosystem of 3D printing machines. CADmore Metal serves as the exclusive North American distributor for the metal powders used in CMF. The company can also serve as a systems integrator for the entire process by providing the printing and sintering hardware, the specialized powders, process expertise, training, and technical support.

We provide guidance on design optimization and integration with existing workflows to help customers maximize the technology's benefits," says Carrington. If a turbine company comes to us to produce their parts using CMF, we can either build the parts for them as a service or set them up to carry out their own production internally while we supply the powder and support."

With the global 3D printing market now worth almost US $5 billion and predicted to reach $13 billion by 2035, according to analyst firm IDTechEx, the arrival of CMF is timely. CADmore Metal just opened North America's first CMF application center, a nearly 280-square-meter (3,000-square-foot) facility in Columbia, S.C. Carrington says that a larger facility will open in 2026 to make room for more material processing and equipment.