Metal 3D printing is rapidly becoming the fastest growing part of the 3D printing market. Correspondingly, metal powder has become the most concerned part of the 3D printing material market. Although the types of metal powders have been quite limited for a long time in the past, this situation has been greatly improved. Many companies are developing metal powder products with excellent properties for applications in the aerospace and medical industries.
Metal alloy developer Arconic is one of them. The company has just announced that they will develop a metal powder it calls proprietary "smart ink", which has been specifically optimized for 3D printing for aerospace, aviation, automotive and other applications High-performance components.
If you say that you have never heard of Arconic, this is normal because this company has not yet been established, and it will not be officially spun off from the light metal giant Alcoa until November 1, 2016. According to Tiangongshe, Alcoa's split is mainly based on strategic considerations to change its market positioning, because the company's main business is suffering from the impact of cheap metals from China. So Alcoa decided to take out its high-quality polymetal alloy business and set up a separate company.
According to Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa's chairman, they hope that the move will unlock the value of the high-value-added business after the spin-off and protect it from the sluggish commodity market.
Although the spin-off is still ongoing (Alcoa announced the spin-off plan as early as 2015), investor response has been very positive-the company's stock price has increased significantly after the news was released. After the spin-off, Alcoa will continue to engage in upstream business, while Arconic, which focuses on value-added business, will become a supplier of high-performance aluminum alloy products.
In addition, some of Alcoa's core intellectual property rights will be directly transferred to Arconic-several members of the board of directors will also be transferred to the new company, and Klaus Kleinfeld will serve as Chairman and CEO of Arconic.
But this does not mean that they will continue to follow Alcoa's original path. In fact, 3D printing technology will become an important part of their new business, and the company will combine it with traditional manufacturing processes to form a comprehensive platform through its patented Ampliforge process. "Through innovation in 3D printing metal powders and processes, we are advancing the development of high-performance component manufacturing technology in the aerospace industry. Arconic will bring 3D printing technology out of the laboratory and into the sky."