6K Additive’s Approach to a More Efficient Manufacturing Process

At RAPID + TCT in LA earlier this summer, Nick Pflugh, Chief Commercial Officer at 6K Additive, provided us with some insight into the company’s production of metal powders using sustainable methods. These powders, sourced from recycled materials, are gaining attention within the additive manufacturing industry for their efficiency and environmental benefits.

Understanding 6K Additive’s Process

6K Additive specializes in producing metal powders through a process that begins with “revert,” or scrap streams from various alloys such as titanium and nickel. These materials, which are often otherwise be discarded, are repurposed through a proprietary cleaning and sizing process tailored to the needs of additive manufacturing.

The materials are then processed using 6K’s Unimelt system, a microwave plasma technology that produces metal powders with desirable properties like high flowability and low porosity. This system can process a wide range of materials, from low melting point metals like aluminum to high melting point refractory metals such as tungsten.

Applications and Material Portfolio

This flexibility allows 6K Additive to offer portfolio that includes standard metal powders frequently used in additive manufacturing — Inconel 625, Inconel 718, stainless steel 316, and 17-4 — as well as traditionally tough-to-process materials like pure tungsten, tungsten rhenium, and tantalum niobium-based alloys like C-103. This variety supports a range of applications, particularly as additive manufacturing expands into new industries that are searching for materials with novel properties.

Sustainability and the Unimelt Process

A distinguishing feature of 6K Additive’s production process is its focus on sustainability. Traditional gas and plasma atomization methods often involve high energy consumption and result in significant quantities of off-spec powder (i.e., too small, to large, too porous, non-spherical, etc), which may be discarded as waste. In contrast, the Unimelt process aims to be more efficient and environmentally friendly.

The Unimelt system sizes powders before processing, reducing waste and ensuring that energy is used more effectively. This method helps lower the carbon footprint of the production process and minimizes hazardous waste. Additionally, by utilizing scrap materials and reprocessing out-of-spec powders, 6K Additive contributes to a more circular economy within the additive manufacturing industry.

A Circular Approach

6K Additive’s sustainability efforts extend to establishing a circular relationship with its customers. Used powders that have gone out of specification—due to factors like oxygen pick-up or agglomeration—are returned to 6K Additive for reprocessing. The company then restores these powders to specification, allowing them to be reused by customers. This approach reduces waste and provides customers with a practical solution for managing their powder inventories.

This ability to reprocess and reuse materials highlights 6K Additive’s commitment to sustainability while offering customers a cost-effective way to maintain high-quality production.