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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 6 MARKET SPOTLIGHT TITANIUM USE IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TO REACH $330 MILLION BY 2020 Titanium Opportunities in Addi- tive Manufacturing, a new report from SmarTech Markets Publishing, Charlot- tesville, Va., explores opportunities for titanium and its alloys in this growing industry. Titanium is becoming one of three premier metal groups used for additive manufacturing (AM) sys- tems, sought after for its high strength to weight ratio, biological inertness, and other desirable properties when combined with additive processes. Analysts project revenues for titanium powders used in AM to reach more than $330 million by 2020, corresponding to 730,500 kg (1,610,477 lb). The report provides 10-year fore- AM titanium will continue to be used where premium performance is required, say analysts. In the short term, the supply chain for AM titanium pow- der will continue to be controlled by smaller specialty providers, although larger global metal firms are beginning to enter the market. The vast majority of Ti powder used in current AM systems falls into two types—Ti-6Al-4V and com- mercially pure titanium. Titanium is being explored for

FEEDBACK

SILICON CARBIDE GETS DISSED I just reviewed the article on beryllium space telescope optics in the Septem- ber issue and immediately wondered why there is no mention of silicon car- bide—for example, reaction-bonded Si/ SiC composites. Table 1 mentions ULE, aluminum alloy, andmagnesium, but not SiC. There is no mention in the text either, unless I missed it. The article is incomplete without such a mention. Joe Greene [Our article traces the development of Be as an optical material that proved to be the best and final choice for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mirrors. We compare it to ULE, the primary mirror material of the Hubble telescope, for which JWST is the suc- cessor. The article is not meant to com- pare optomechanical materials in gen- eral. While SiC is an optomechanical material with successful applications of space-basedmirrors and structures, it was not seriously considered for JWST mirrors. The reasoning was that SiC could not be fabricated into mirror panels of the required size and weight. The density of SiC is 47% greater than that of beryllium, with obvious ramifi- cations for overall weight. In addition, most types of SiC are a composite of SiC and Si and, as several studies have shown, exhibit dimensional instability when cooled to cryo temperatures. — Don Hashiguchi, James M. Marder, and Roger Paquin] We welcome all comments and suggestions. Send letters to frances.richards@asminternational.org.

smaller structures in aircraft engines such as brackets and housings, but may expand into larger structural com- ponents to drive demand. By 2020, aerospace is forecast to consume al- most 155,000 kg (341,717 lb) of tita- nium. In addition, titanium has good prospects in medical markets due to bio-inertness and as-manufactured bone ingrowth performance. Current production of titanium implants using AM is growing rapidly, with new prod- ucts in spine, hip, knee, and other or- thopedic areas. Medical applications of AM titanium will account for roughly 274,000 kg (604,067 lb) in 2020 due to this growth. For more information, visit smartechpublishing.com.

casts for titanium—in both $ millions and kg—used in aerospace, automo- tive, jewelry, dental, medical, service bureaus, and other industries. Addi- tional applications discussed include heavy equipment, marine, energy, and consumer products. Projections pro- vide breakouts by Ti-6Al-4V and other alloys. The report also profiles leading companies within the industry, includ- ing 3D Systems, Arcam, Concept Laser, EOS, GE, GKN Hoeganaes, Honeywell, Optomec, Praxair, Puris, SLM Solutions, and others.

Source: SmarTech Publishing LLC