{"id":19472,"date":"2020-03-10T00:05:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T00:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=19472"},"modified":"2020-03-10T08:43:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T08:43:37","slug":"6k-advanced-materials-additive-manufacturing-100320204","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/6k-advanced-materials-additive-manufacturing-100320204\/","title":{"rendered":"#3Dstartup: 6K on creating advanced materials for additive manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. company 6K is focused on creating premium materials to advance relatively new industries such as additive manufacturing<\/a>, renewable energy, and more. If we focus on additive manufacturing, the company has identified the growing demand for metals<\/a> that can be used in production<\/a> for sectors like aerospace, medical, automotive and others. In order to meet this demand the company has developed a technology, which they call UniMelt, that enables them to create alloy powders that are truly spherical, void of porosity and satellites and that offer better flowability, or in other words high-performance powders. The UniMelt system uses spheroidization and densification processes to create these premium quality powders. In order to learn more about these processes and what type of materials 6K is working on exactly we had a chat with Dr. Aaron Bent, CEO of 6K since 2014.<\/p>\n

3DN: Can you present yourself and your relationship with 3D printing?<\/h3>\n

My name is Dr. Aaron Bent and I am the CEO of 6K, having joined the company as CEO in 2014 as employee number 3 \u2013 we have just under 100 employees today. Over the last 25 years I have founded or run technology startups across markets as diverse as telecommunications, defense & aerospace, automotive, solar, and others, with a common thread that an advanced material has been the enabler for a class of new products. I look for companies that provide a fundamental ability to change the way things are done today, with the goal of having a profound impact on markets and products. 6K is such a company, and the one that has the most potential impact of any I have been involved with in my career.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Aaron Bent, CEO of 6K<\/p><\/div>\n

3DN: How did the idea of developing 6K come up?<\/h3>\n

6K (at its inception was called Amastan Technologies) started as a research project at MIT and later moved to the University of Connecticut focused on microwave plasma as a way to synthesize materials for various markets.\u00a0 We demonstrated the versatility of the platform to manufacture metal powder for AM, advanced materials for energy storage, phosphors for LED lighting, semiconductor materials, defense IR-transparent materials, and more. We quickly began an effort to focus and commercialize the technology, starting down the path of matching capabilities, materials and applications.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

We commercialized the microwave plasma into a formal product called UniMelt\u00ae which is a manufacturing production system that creates the final material that is used for metal powder production today.\u00a0 Over the course of the last five years we\u2019ve honed in on the additive manufacturing market and the energy storage market because of the advantages we can bring to those two markets with respect to sustainability, quality of materials and in the case of additive, being able to create not only the more common materials like In 718 and Ti 64, but custom materials that have never been available for AM.<\/p>\n

3DN: What is the meaning of 6K anyway?<\/h3>\n

As for the name 6K, we recently rebranded the company to 6K from Amastan Technologies which reflects the UniMelt process in name and visually through our logo.\u00a0 6K represents 6000 degrees, setting 6K technology apart from all others. It is the temperature of operation of UniMelt (5778K to be exact), the world\u2019s only microwave production scale plasma, and is also the temperature of the surface of the sun.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3DN: Can you tell us more about your UniMelt system?<\/h3>\n

At the heart of the UniMelt\u00ae system is an atmospheric pressure microwave plasma generation unit that enables a large production zone with uniform temperature distribution, unmatched by arc-electrode or inductively-coupled plasmas.\u00a0 It is important to note that Unimelt is Not Gas Atomization (GA) or Plasma Atomization (PA). UniMelt is the world\u2019s only<\/em> microwave based plasma metal powder production system. At 6000 degrees, UniMelt is capable of processing ceramics, metals and alloys, both common AM metals like In 718 or Ti 64, but also custom alloys that haven\u2019t previously been available for additive manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Organizations can now design with an unprecedented range of materials because any metal or alloy that is machined can now become a feedstock for 6K\u2019s premium powders. UniMelt does not use a wire of ingot as feedstock. Instead UniMelt utilizes certified machining scrap as feedstock opening up the possibilities for AM premium powder to include whatever material that has typically been produced using subtractive technologies such as CNC.\u00a0 In addition, we can rejuvenate used powder and even take AM supports and failed builds as a feedstock for the UniMelt process. This is important on two fronts. First, we can ensure certified chemistry because we start with certified chemistry in the form of scrap, used powder etc. Second, we are driving the circular economy and delivering the world\u2019s first premium AM powder derived from sustainable sources.<\/p>\n

\"6K

The UniMelt system is the world\u2019s only<\/em> microwave based plasma metal powder production system according to 6K.<\/p><\/div>\n

In short UniMelt delivers:<\/span><\/p>\n