Additive manufacturing technology has become one of the important means to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry. However, most of the additive manufacturing powder materials are imported, with limited types, and high-performance powders are banned from sale in China. With the increasing demand for weight reduction of defense weapons and equipment, the demand for additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy parts has become more urgent. At present, AlSi10Mg is the only material commonly used for additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy powder materials, and the tensile strength at room temperature is less than 400MPa, which cannot meet the needs of the aviation and aerospace fields. In response to the demand for additive manufacturing of aluminum alloy parts for aviation, foreign Airbus companies have developed the world's first high-strength aluminum alloy powder material for additive manufacturing, which has a room temperature tensile strength of 520 MPa or higher, which is an internationally advanced level and has been applied to A320 aircraft. Additive manufacturing of cabin structural parts.
In March 2019, the HNHT New Materials Group, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, successfully developed a new product through the addition of rare earth elements and chemical composition adjustments, and post-processing process exploration. This kind of high-strength aluminum alloy powder material has applied for several related patents. After being verified by a number of domestic users with different models of equipment, the room temperature tensile strength of this alloy powder material reached 535 MPa, the yield strength reached 510 MPa, and the elongation reached 12%. It has the same performance as the high-strength aluminum alloy powder products developed by foreign Airbus companies, and has been widely used in aviation and aerospace fields.
HNHT, as a member unit of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation's Additive Manufacturing Technology Innovation Sub-center and the Special Materials Working Group of the National Additive Manufacturing Standardization Technical Committee, has introduced nickel-based superalloys and copper alloys , Titanium alloy, stainless steel, and tungsten, tantalum and other high-quality spherical metal powder products, product performance has been highly recognized by customers inside and outside the group. Aerospace New Materials will uphold the win-win attitude of cooperation with various units at home and abroad to jointly promote the rapid development of China's additive manufacturing industry and help China's manufacturing transformation and upgrading.
China metal 3D printing powder material manufacturers, on the whole, are continuously striving to catch up. This time, the performance of high-strength aluminum alloy powder products has reached the international advanced level, which is a good case.