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Titanium metal productionand additive manufacturing –

contributing to a vibrant new industry

Dr Dawie van VuurenMr Hardus Greyling

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Outlay

• South Africa’s global Ti position• South Africa’s Ti beneficiation strategy• Primary Ti metal production• Large area high speed additive manufacturing

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South African’s global Ti position in 2006

South Africa World Approximate Value

South Africa World

Reserves 220 Mt TiO2 1300 Mt TiO2

Mineral Production 1090 kt TiO2 5200 kt TiO2 $ 175m p.a. $ 840 m.p.a.

Slag Production 1090 kt TiO2 $ 490m p.a. $ 2500 m.p.a.

Pigment Production ~20 kt TiO2 5100 kt TiO2 $ 37m p.a. $ 10000 m.p.a.

Sponge Production Nil 125 kt p.a. Ti $ 1250 m.p.a.

Ingot Production Nil 145 kt p.a. Ti $ 2600 m.p.a.

Mill Products Nil ~90 kt p.a. Ti $ 4500 m.p.a.

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Industrialisation & Commercialisation

R&D Platforms

Technology Development

SATi Industry

Supplier Development

Design, Simulation and ModellingCSIR, ULim, Wits, NMMU

Laboratories and R&D FacilitiesCSIR, NLC, SU, UCT, UP, NMMU, UJ, CUT, VUT, Wits, Mintek, Necsa

Physical Metallurgy and CharacterisationUCT, CSIR, UP, VUT

PrimaryMetal

Production

CSIR

PowderConsolidation

CSIRSU

UCT

InvestmentCasting

CSIR

FrictionWelding

NMMU

High SpeedAdditive

Manufacturing

CSIR, NLCAerosud

CUT

High Performance

Machining

SUFh IWUAerosud

SheetForming

AerosudCSIR

R&D Platforms

Developing and commercialisingTechnology Building Blocks

for the South AfricanTitanium Industry

Oil & GasMarine

ChemicalAutomotive

AerospaceMedical

Titanium Centre of Competence

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Cheaper Titanium powder – Changing the industry

Final Products/Components:

USD/kg 150 – 20,000

Ilmenite1 USD/kg Ti

TiO2 Slag1.45 USD/kg Ti

Ti Sponge10 USD/kg Ti

TiCl4

4.4 USD/kg Ti

Ti Ingot20 USD/kg Ti

Ti Mill Products50 USD/kg Ti

TiO2 Pigment5.3 USD/kg Ti

Ti Powder40 USD/kg Ti

Ti Powder10 USD/kg Ti

Typical prices

Current SA industry

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Titanium Centre of Competence

2011 2012 2013 2014 20162015 2017 2018 2021 202220202019

Primary Ti Production (CSIR Process)

STAGE 2:Basic Development

STAGE 3:Pilot Phase (2kg/h)

STAGE 4 Implementation:Demonstration Plant

500 tpa Commercially Pure (CP) Ti

STAGE 5:World-Class Plant:20 000 tpa CP Ti

R29m R700m – R1bnCompleted

STAGE 4: Feasibility

Phase

R50 - 80m

Commercial partnersCSIR

Industrialisation plan for CSIR-Ti project

Concept designCost estimate & feasibilityBasic designCost estimate & approval Detail designConstructionCommissioningOperation

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CSIR-Ti pilot plant flow diagram

Metal Melting& Feeding

TiCl4 Transfer

& FeedingReaction

SaltLeaching

Ti PowderClassification

Drying & Packaging

SaltCrystallization

SaltDrying

Molten SaltElectrolysis

UTILITIESCooling water, Steam, Compressed air, Argon, Electricity,

Off-gas scrubbing, Waste disposal, Storage

Reducing Metal

TiCl4

Cl2

Ti

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CSIR-Ti process advantages

• Continuous operation - 60 years after scaling up the batch Kroll process,

there is still not a commercially proven continuous process.• Economy of scale with lower capital and operating costs• Downstream production and fabrication costs of titanium components are

significantly less for Ti powder than for Ti sponge.• CSIR-Ti process has lowest process temperature of all developments in

the world that is currently being tested on a similar scale of operation.

Scaling up is less risky with less corrosion, less salt entrapment,

reduced reagent and by-product vapour pressures and less hazards.• Closing of metal recycle loop much simpler than in other processes• It is the only direct titanium powder production process that is currently

being considered that gives the means to control Ti powder morphology.

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Panoramic view of CSIR-Ti pilot plant

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Additive Manufacturing (or “3D printing”)

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• Additive manufacturing (AM) is defined by ASTM as “the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies.”

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Additive Manufacturing (or “3D printing”)

Source: Wohler report 2014

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AM used in final part productionIndustries served

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Additive Manufacturing in aerospace

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• Manufacturing of high-value low-volume components

• Reduction of machining and processing time and material waste

• Manufacturing of parts in exotic materials

• Manufacturing of complex 3-D parts • Manufacturing of assemblies • Manufacturing of tools

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AM in the Aerospace industry

“Composite materials make up 50% of the primary structure of the 787 including the fuselage and wing”

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Ti beneficiation

Ore

Sponge

Ingot Billet

Extensive Machining

Final Part

90+%

Additive Manufacturing

Powder Min Machining

<5%Waste

South African Development

South African Capability

AeroSwift

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Present limitations/opportunities

• Limited production rate

• Inefficient laser manipulation

• Limited energy input

• Serial processing

• Limited part size

• High Cost

• Capital cost

• Production cost

• Material cost

• Aerospace Qualification

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Aeroswift - Objectives

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• Design and construct a large area, powder bed AM system, for metallic components:o Powder layer manufacturing o High speed system for

Production of large metal parts High throughput

o Versatile to support optimisation of parameter fieldo Build volume:

2m x 0.6m x 0.6m Scalable build volume

o Pre-heating and environmental controlo Materials that can be accommodated

Ti-6Al-4V Stainless Steel alloys Inconel Other metals

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Characteristic Laser Metal Deposition (Direct Energy Deposition)

Selective Laser Melting (Powder Bed Fusion)

Materials Most metals, functionally graded builds Most metals

Part size Depends on handling system

600mm x 500mm x 450 mmAeroswift 2m x 620 mm x 620 mm

Part complexity Limited Nearly unlimited

Build rate 20 -30 mm3/sec Commercial systems 10 -20 mm3 sec, Aeroswift up to 60 mm3/sec

Base Many geometries, also existing parts Flat plate

Surface roughness (Rz) 60 to 100 µm 50 to 70 µm

Laser Metals Deposition vs Selective Laser Melting

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Part size

Wire depositionsystems

Powder Deposition

systems

Powder bedsystems Aeroswift

<500mm >2000mm

Par

t co

mp

lexi

ty

HIGHER VALUE

Aeroswift in the AM technology landscape

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Aeroswift – Summary of 2014 Achievements

• Phase 1: Machine design and construction completed

• Phase 2: Process development and optimisation started. (Nov 2014)

• Machine testing, evaluation and optimisation• Parameter testing and optimisation• Milestone: End 2017: Flight-ready demonstrator part

• Process development achievements• Consolidation rates up to 60mm3 /sec demonstrated• Low sample porosity (lower than 0.5%)

• Commercialisation strategy develop and presently being implemented

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Progress – Process development

© CSIR 2015 www.csir.co.za

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Sample

¼ Charpy impact

toughness at 25°C(J)

Vickers Micro Hardness(HV)

Ti6Al4V manufactured by 400W laser powder bed fusion machine

6 370-440

Milled and annealed reference sample

7-8350

Ti6Al4V made by Aeroswift high power laser powder bed fusion technology

8-10 320-390

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Thank you

Questions?

Hardus Greyling Dr. Dawie v Vuuren

hgreyling@csir.co.za dvvuuren@csir.co.za