Aluminum Iav Piston Head - A2024-Ram10

Aluminum

The Most Advanced Aluminum Alloy Feedstocks


Elementum 3D offers innovative gas atomized aluminum alloy additive manufacturing feedstock powders, including enhanced versions of traditional alloys, and advanced dispersion-strengthened aluminum AM powders enabled by our proprietary Reactive Additive Manufacturing (RAM) process.

Most traditional high-strength aluminum alloys are designed for wrought processing and not additive manufacturing and suffer from hot tearing (solidification cracking) if printed. Elementum 3D’s RAM process inoculates alloys against hot tearing and produces an equiaxed fine-grained microstructure with exceptional properties.

RAM alloys give additive manufacturers the opportunity to 3D print better alloys that are suitable for more types of components. RAM aluminum alloy AM powders take advantage of chemical reactions in the melt pool to form dispersion-strengthened metal matrix composite (MMC) aluminum alloys with superior product performance, even in the most challenging environments. The RAM feedstocks are designed for optimal powder flow and stability.

Our aluminum alloy powders come in a range of formulations, sizes, and shapes for use in:

  • Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive processes, also referred to as selective laser melting (SLM) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS).
  • Blown powder directed energy deposition (DED) processes.
  • Other leading powder additive manufacturing processes.


Elementum 3D offers a family of proven aluminum alloy feedstocks together with AM processes and printed property data. We also formulate and test new innovative aluminum alloy AM powder feedstocks to meet client-specific property targets.

Elementum 3D’s RAM Aluminum Alloy Additive Manufacturing Powders

In our patented RAM process, we mix gas-atomized aluminum alloy materials with ceramic particulates to deliver aluminum alloy powders with higher performance than unmodified, off-the-shelf varieties.

 

Our advanced RAM alloys can make all the difference for aerospace, automotive, and military manufacturers that need to reliably 3D print their aluminum-based structural parts. Our patented RAM process enables alloys with characteristics including:

 

  • Improved thermal stability.
  • Increased strength at low and high temperatures.
  • Excellent fatigue resistance.
  • Extreme wear resistance.
  • High thermal conductivity.

More Information on RAM and MMCs

Our reactive additive manufacturing (RAM) technology utilizes exothermic chemical reactions to synthesize product materials during the additive process to improve printability and properties.

 

The RAM process enables formation of advanced metal matrix composites (MMCs) that combine a continuous metal matrix and high strength reinforcing ceramic or intermetallic phases. This approach enables printing of materials with unique and advantageous combinations of ductility, strength, toughness, stiffness, fatigue resistance, and high-temperature performance.

 

The MMC formulations can be customized by varying the type and fraction of reinforcement materials and the alloy of the metal matrix.

 

Thanks to the RAM process, many previously un-weldable and therefore unprintable aluminum alloys are now available for metals 3D printing as feedstock powders with excellent printability, processing flow, and spreadability.

3D Printed Aluminum Properties Comparison Chart

(Elementum 3D Products vs. AlSi10Mg)

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Elementum3D is a reliable source of high performing aluminum alloy additive manufacturing gas-atomized powders.

AM Powder Research & Development Services

Our team of additive manufacturing materials experts also provides materials and application development guidance for our customers. We design and test new varieties of aluminum alloy powders based on a customer’s requirements to develop feedstocks and their 3D printing processes to meet these needs. We also provide application development services to qualify robust, high-yield, and cost-effective processes with highly reliable part performance.

Jamie Perozzi

VP of Technology 6K Additive

Mr. Perozzi has 20+ years of specialty metals experience with a focus on process, new product development, product management, and application engineering. Before joining 6K, Perozzi spent seven years at AMETEK Specialty Metal Products responsible for quality and process engineering. Prior to Ametek, he spent 10 years at Hitachi Metals – Metglas and 3 years at J&L Specialty Steel. Perozzi holds a BS Metallurgical Engineering degree from Penn State University.

Dr. Timothy Smith

Materials Research Engineer NASA Glenn Research Center

Tim Smith graduated with a PhD in materials science and engineering from Ohio State University in 2016. After graduating, his pathways internship at NASA Glenn research center became a full-time position. His research focuses on high temperature alloy development and characterization. He has contributed to 29 peer-reviewed publications including journals in Nature Communications and Nature Communications Materials. His research has also produced 10 new technology reports and 3 utility patents. He recently received both the Early Career Achievement Medal in 2020 and the Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 2022.

Dr. Douglas Hoffman

Senior Research Scientist (SRS)/ Principal Section Technologist NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dr. Douglas Hofmann is a Senior Research Scientist and Principal at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he serves as the Section Technologist for the Mechanical Fabrication and Test Section. He is also a Lecturer and Visiting Associate at Caltech in the Applied Physics and Materials Science Department. Dr. Hofmann founded JPL’s Metallurgy Facility in 2010, was a charter member of the Materials Development and Manufacturing Technology Group, and helped establish the JPL Additive Manufacturing Center. He is the Principal Investigator of the NASA FAMIS Flight Experiment and was a 2012 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from President Obama. He has spent more than 12 years working in metal additive manufacturing and has over 30 granted patents and over 60 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein

President/Founder Elementum 3D

Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein is the founder and president of Elementum 3D in Erie, CO. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy at the Colorado School of Mines. Jacob has been researching, teaching, or consulting on topics such as casting and powder metallurgy for the last 14 years. Elementum 3D’s work with powder bed laser additive manufacturing is based on these principles. In addition, is thesis work in thermodynamics and formation kinetics of metal matrix composites is directly related to all 3D printing processes.