Sintavia develops proprietary niobium printing technology

C103 material parameter specification set to enable full alloy adoption across defence and space applications according to the company.

by Oliver Johnson

30 November 2022

16:13

Sintavia

Sintavia niobium

Sintavia has developed proprietary material parameters for alloy C103, a high-performance niobium alloy suited to rocket, jet, and satellite propulsion applications.

The refractory metal, which is difficult to print without extensive parameter development, was developed on an EOS M290 printer. The material is the 29th proprietary material parameter developed by Sintavia for use by its aerospace, space and defence OEM customers.

The mechanical properties of Sintavia's C103 include an as-printed density of 99.94% and a Z-direction elongation of 32% after a standard stress relief cycle according to the company.

"Due to its extremely high melting point, niobium is widely recognised as an excellent material for space propulsion applications, specifically reaction control thrusters and attitude control thrusters," said Pavlo Earle, Sintavia's Vice President of Technology Engineering. "With this development, Sintavia is able to offer its space customers components that embody industry-leading mechanical properties. When combined with Sintavia's equally best-in-class design and additive production capability, our C103 parameters offer our customers a high-quality and reliable industrial solution for extreme temperature applications."

Earle added that Sintavia is currently developing proprietary standards for other refractory materials for use across aerospace, space and defence.

Earlier this year, Sintavia invested in two NXG XII 600 metal additive manufacturing systems from SLM Solutions, after producing a large Inconel shrouded impeller with an exposure area of more than 50% and a weight of 17kg as a test. It successfully manufactured the part in under a week.

by Oliver Johnson

30 November 2022

16:13

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