Sciaky's EBAM metal 3D printing solution reduces time, waste, costs

Chicago, Illinois – Sciaky Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries Inc. (PSI) and leading provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, announced that its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) technology helped aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Space Systems reduce production time, material waste and overall costs for producing titanium propellant tanks for satellites.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems approached Sciaky back in September 2012 with a materials research and development (R&D) initiative to investigate the performance of Ti-6Al-4V (titanium) with its satellite propellant tank. Over many months of testing, the metallurgical experts at Lockheed and Sciaky were able to identify a solution that would drastically reduce time, waste and costs of the part as compared to the traditional forging method.      

"When our Space Systems business area was looking for ways to reduce costs on our satellite parts, while also maintaining product quality, a company called Sciaky came to us with a solution," said Marilyn A. Hewson, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin, while addressing attendees of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Supplier Management Council Summer Meeting on June 14, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. "We worked together to develop titanium propellant tanks that can be 3D printed through the use of their electron beam additive manufacturing process. The result was a tank that met our customer's performance standards, with an 80% reduction in the amount of time needed to manufacture it, a 75% reduction in waste, and a 55% reduction in cost."

Click here to read Hewson's entire AIA Supplier Management speech. 

As the most widely scalable metal 3D printing solution in the industry (in terms of work envelope), Sciaky's EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from 8” (203mm) to 19ft (5.79m) in length, but can also manufacture smaller and larger parts, depending on the application. EBAM is also the fastest deposition process in the metal additive manufacturing market, with gross deposition rates ranging from 7 lb to 20 lb (3.18kg to 9.07kg) of metal per hour. Plus, with a dual wirefeed option, you can combine two different metal alloys into a single melt pool to create "custom alloy" parts or ingots. In addition, you can change the mixture ratio of the two materials to create "graded" parts or structures.   

About Sciaky Inc. 

Sciaky Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, is a world leader in metal 3D printing solutions. Our exclusive Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) process is the fastest, most cost-effective 3D printing process in the market for large-scale metal parts, allowing manufacturers to save significant time and money over traditional manufacturing and rapid prototyping processes. Sciaky also provides industry-leading electron beam (EB) and advanced arc welding systems, as well as the most robust EB job shop welding services in the world, for the aerospace, defense, automotive, healthcare and other manufacturing industries. Our welding equipment meets rigid military specifications to manufacture items such as airframes, landing gear, jet engines, guided missiles, and vehicle parts.

About Phillips Service Industries Inc.
Established in 1967, Phillips Service Industries Inc. (PSI) is a privately-held global manufacturing and services holding company, which oversees a diverse collection of innovative subsidiaries: Beaver Aerospace & Defense Inc., Mountain Secure Systems, POWERTHRU, PSI Repair Services Inc., PSI Semicon Services, and Sciaky Inc. We serve a wide range of high-tech industries like aerospace, defense, automotive, alternative energy, healthcare, security and semiconductor. Our award-winning products and services help reduce costs and maximize efficiency for many Fortune 500 companies around the globe, as well as the U.S. Military. We push the boundaries of technology on critical programs like Homeland Security, Defense research and space exploration, delivering innovative solutions for land, sea, air and space. We're PSI: Always innovating. Everywhere.

Source: PSI