Titanium Today, 1st Edition 2022 by TITANIUMTODAY

Issue 5; 2022 All Markets

Amaero Focuses on Additive Manufacturing Solutions

In this issue: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Setting Off Shockwaves in Global Titanium Industry After 2 Years of Virtual TITANIUM USA to be held in Person in Orlando Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves To Achieve ‘Qualification’ of Global Aerospace Industry ASTM Program, National Center at Auburn University Mark Milestones War in Ukraine, Pandemic, Supply Chain Bottlenecks Create Challenges for Titanium Distribution Business

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CONTENTS Meet the ITA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Industry Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Editorial: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Setting Off Shockwaves in Global Titanium Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 After 2 Years of Virtual TITANIUM USA to be held in Person in Orlando, October 9-12, 2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves Incrementally To Achieve ‘Qualification’ of Global Aerospace Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Amaero Focuses on Additive Manufacturing Solutions For Titanium Industry’s Key Global Business Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 ASTM Program, National Center at Auburn University Mark Milestones in Additive Manufacturing Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Editorial Published by:

International Titanium Association www.titanium.org 1-303-404-2221 Telephone ita@titanium.org Email Editor & Executive Director: Jennifer Simpson EDITORIAL OFFICES

International Titanium Association PO Box 1300 Eastlake, Colorado 80614-1300 USA DISTRIBUTION LIST

Join this free distribution by emailing us at ita@titanium.org

War in Ukraine, Pandemic, Supply Chain Bottlenecks Create Challenges for Titanium Distribution Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 From the Wire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 ITA Member Roster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Advertiser Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

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MEET THE ITA Board of Directors Executive Committee

Frank L. Perryman

President and Chief Executive Officer Perryman Company ITA President 2020-2022

Mr. Perryman graduated from Millikin University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. In 1988 he co-founded Perryman Company with his father and brother. Since December of 2008 he has held the position of President and CEO of Perryman Company. Perryman Company is a fully integrated supplier of specialty titanium products. From melting through finishing, founded in 1988, Perryman Company is headquartered in Houston, Pennsylvania, with office locations in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, London, Zurich, Tokyo and Xi’an. Perryman is an integrated titanium producer from melting of ingot to finished products. The company’s product portfolio includes ingot, bar, coil, fine wire, net shapes, and hot rolled products. The Forge and Fabrication group offers medical device contract manufacturing in a range of materials including plastics and titanium. A titanium global leader, Perryman supplies and services customers in the aerospace, medical, consumer, industrial, recreation, additive/3D printing and infrastructure markets worldwide.

Dr. Markus Holz

Professor, ITA Academic Member Education Committee Co-Chair Titanium Europe Conference Chair ITA Vice President 2020-2022

Dr. Markus Holz is presently an industry consultant. Formerly President of AMG’s Engineering Systems Division and CEO of Vacuum Technologies GmbH from 2012 to 2019. He joined the ALD Management Board in October 2011. Dr. Holz graduated in Aerospace Engineering in 1986 and earned his PhD in 1992. Following his 10 years of service in the German Airforce, Dr. Holz began his career with ThyssenKrupp in 1992, where he assumed several executive positions mainly in the stainless steel and special metals branch. In 1999, Dr. Holz became Managing Director of ThyssenKrupp Titanium GmbH (formerly Deutsche Titan GmbH) and in 2002 he was appointed Managing Director of ThyssenKrupp Titanium S.p.A. (formerly Titania S.p.A.). Furthermore, he was responsible for Tubifi cio di Terni, Italien, from 2004 through 2007. From 2007 to 2009 he was CEO of the ThyssenKrupp Titanium Group (Germany and Italy). In January 2010 he joined the Managing Board of Hempel Special Metals, Oberhausen, Germany. He is Honorary Professor at University of Applied Sciences Anhalt Teaching Operations Management. 6

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Martin Pike

Vice President - Commercial ATI Specialty Materials ITA Secretary/Treasurer 2020-2022

Martin Pike is the Vice President - Commercial for ATI Specialty Materials with responsibilities which include international product management, sales, and long-term agreements with customers. Martin joined ATI in August 2001 and held several positions with increasing responsibility including Titanium Rolled Products, Product Manager and Director of Sales. Prior to joining ATI, Martin worked in manufacturing where he held various commercial positions including Regional Vice-President of Sales. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Donald E. Larsen

President, KineTic Engineering ITA Past President 2020-2022

Donald E. Larsen is currently President of KineTic Engineering a consulting firm that provides expertise across the Titanium industry. Prior to this he spent over 30 years at Howmet Aerospace/Arconic retiring in 2018 as Vice President, R&D, General Manager Advanced Manufacturing for Arconic. In this role, he was responsible for leading R&D and production teams working on priority titanium technology projects, including 3D printing and advanced manufacturing activities. He also served as a liaison to the Arconic Technical Center (ATC) and Arconic’s Whitehall Technology Center. Don retired in Q3 of 2018 and temporarily took on the role of Interim Plant Manager Ti-Ingot Operation and Director of Special Projects. Don joined the Howmet Aerospace in 1988 and served in a number of roles focused on the research, development and production of titanium products. He has also held operational and sales and marketing roles with the company. Don has a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from The Ohio State University, and is the holder of 11 U.S. patents. He has published more than 30 technical articles in the field of titanium.

ITA Directors

Mike Marucci

Edward Sobota Jr.

Phil MacVane

Sam Stiller

Brett Paddock

Michael Stitzlein

John J. Scherzer

Jennifer Simpson

Chief Technology Officer Kymera International

Vice President, the Americas PCC Metals Group Global Sales

President and Chief Executive Officer T.I. (Titanium Industries, Inc.)

Vice President – Medical Markets Carpenter Technology Corporation

President TSI Titanium

Vice President – Commercial Howmet Structure Systems

President Tricor Metals

Executive Director, Ex-Officio Board Member

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ITA Committee Chairs

Safety Education

Robert G. Lee

Women in Titanium

Holly Both

President Accushape Inc.

Vice President of Marketing Plymouth Tube / Plymouth Engineered Shapes

Medical Technology

Industrial Applications

Vincent Rocco

Robert Henson

Vice President: Eastern Sales & Operations VSMPO-Tirus US

Manager, Business Development VSMPO-Tirus, US

Ti Today Contributors

Michael C. Gabriele

Bill Bihlman

Watch our New Industry Spotlight Available Today

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Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Setting Off Shockwaves in Global Titanium Industry By Michael C. Gabriele, International Titanium Association (Editor’s note: The following article is a compilation of recent news stories, press releases and company statements regarding the effects on the international titanium industry due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. As a non-profit trade group, the International Titanium Association does not weigh in on political issues. However, the information provided here comes from the titanium and aerospace industries, industry observers and trusted news sources, all of which has a direct impact on global business conditions. Sources of information collected here are identified, along with the content that they provided.)

s the war in Ukraine continues to unfold (now in its fifth week at the time of this writing), the titanium industry and major users of titanium are making moves to react to the situation. In early March, a host of news outlets— Aviation Week, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, and others—reported that Boeing Co. halted titanium purchases from Russia. The Wall Street Journal, on March 7, reported that Boeing stopped purchasing Russian titanium since the invasion of Ukraine. Boeing also closed its engineering offices in Moscow and Kyiv and stopped sending spare plane parts to Russian airlines. Citing a statement from a Boeing spokeswoman, reported by the Journal, the aerospace giant said it will focus on sourcing its titanium from the United States, Japan, China and Kazakhstan. “Our inventory and diversity of titanium sources provide sufficient supply for airplane production, and we will continue to take the right steps to ensure longterm continuity,” the spokeswoman said. The Journal also reported that, after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Boeing began diversifying its

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titanium sources as the United States imposed Russian sanctions.” Last year, according to an article posted on PRNewswire, Boeing and VSMPO-Avisma announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) affirming that VSMPO would remain the largest titanium supplier for current and future Boeing commercial airplanes, reaffirming a business relationship that began in the mid-1990s. VSMPO provided titanium used on Boeing 737, 767, 787, 777 and 777X airplanes. The two companies issued a statement on the MOU at the November 2021 Dubai Airshow, held in the United Arab Emirates. A March 1 article by the news service Reuters indicated that Russia’s VSMPO-Avisma supplies European aerospace manufacturer Airbus with about 50 percent of its annual titanium needs, while it estimated that Boeing receives about 30 percent. News reports stated that Airbus continued to weigh the situation regarding of its sourcing of titanium from Russia. The Seattle Times, in a story posted online on Feb. 24, wrote that “engine makers for Boeing and Airbus jets are working to diversify sources of

titanium away from Russia as the conflict in Ukraine threatens access to the metal needed to make critical plane equipment.” Russia’s VSMPOAvisma is the main supplier for Safran, while Rolls-Royce Holdings gets about 20 percent its titanium from Russia. ATI Terminates Uniti Venture Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Technologies Inc., on March 9, announced the termination of Uniti LLC, its joint venture with Russianbased VSMPO-AVISMA, to market and sell a range of commercially pure titanium products. The joint venture primarily focused on selling to industrial markets such as power generation, chemical and petroleum processing, automotive, and transportation. The joint venture is expected to wind up by the end of this year. “We appreciate our nearly 20-year collaboration and thank our partners for working with us to serve our shared customers,” said Kevin Kramer, board member of the joint venture and Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer of ATI, quoted in the announcement. ATI formed the Uniti joint venture with VSMPO in April 2003. Views from Industry Observers New York-based Fitch Ratings Inc., one of the “big three” credit rating agencies, registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a “Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization,” stated that “a protracted war between Russia and Ukraine could lead to elevated production and supply chain risks

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine (continued)

that might affect aerospace original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and supplier credit profiles, especially as the industry is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.” The report from Fitch, dated March 1, added that if the conflict is resolved in the short term, “then we do not expect orders or deliveries will be materially dampened. We have not changed our 2022 forecasts for U.S.based OEMs or suppliers, as we believe many manufacturers have taken steps to reduce supply and commodity risks for the next several months.” Fitch went on to point out that global aerospace and defense supply chains could face constraints “due to retaliatory behavior from Russia or transportation and supply chain issues if the war persists over a prolonged period. There could be meaningful medium-term risks for the global aerospace industry if the war leads to a prolonged tightening of commodity supplies. This could limit OEMs and suppliers’ ability to meet demand. If the conflict leads to a protracted elevation in oil prices and a material slowdown in the global macroeconomic recovery, airlines’ appetite for new aircraft could be affected, particularly those with heavier exposure to international routes. Under such a scenario, widebody aircraft production recovery would be most at-risk.” The report cited Russia and Ukraine as being among the top global producers of titanium, “a vital input” for aerospace and defense and industrial equipment manufacturing, used in a variety of parts and applications including castings, forgings, fastening systems, extrusions and engine parts. (According to information presented at TITANIUM USA 2021, Russia’s VSMPO (in 2019) had a titanium sponge capacity and output of 44,000 metric tons, and

a titanium ingot capacity of 72,000 metric tons.) Fitch indicated that many U.S. OEMs and suppliers recently have taken steps “to build up inventory of titanium and/or to diversify and solidify sourcing channels to other nations such as Japan. These actions should help minimize risks of a titanium shortage or production bottleneck in the intermediate term. There should be a minimal negative effect on commercial aircraft production in 2022, as any near-term supply chain disruption (for titanium) is likely be isolated. However, there could be meaningful medium-term risks for the global aerospace industry if the war leads to a prolonged tightening of commodity supplies.”

and Boeing in their aircraft hulls. “The interesting issue is that Airbus and Boeing are reliant on VSMPO. We know they have already approached competitors because of the political situation. Other sponge producers such as Japan’s Toho Titanium could be used as alternative sources for titanium products.” Overview on Titanium Sponge Regarding an overview on the global titanium sponge market, Reuters, in a March 1 news story, reported that China is the world’s top producer of titanium sponge, accounting for 57 percent of global output at 210,000 metric tons in 2021, according to U.S. Geological Survey. Japan was next at nearly 17 percent

Titanium sponge production is essential to the production and sustainment of many U.S. defense systems, and preserving this critical capability is imperative to the national security. —Bureau of Industry and Security and the Office of Technology Evaluation, 2019 report

A European perspective came from Argus Media, based in London, which produces price assessments and analysis of international energy and other commodity markets. A Feb. 23 report posted online—one day before Russia’s war against Ukraine began—stated that sanctions and raw material embargoes could threaten a substantial portion of the titanium sponge market. Russia’s VSMPOAvisma is the world’s largest titanium sponge producer, with nameplate capacity of 34,000 metric tons per year, and supplies a large portion of the titanium products used by Airbus

of global output, followed by Russia with nearly 13 percent of the market. Last year Kazakhstan produced 16,000 metric tons sponge and Ukraine produced 3,700 metric tons. Reuters quoted an analyst at London-based CRU Group, which tracks global commodity markets such as metals and mining and offers consulting and analysis services, who said that China was the largest importer of titanium sponge in 2021 with more than 16,000 metric tons, up from 6,000 metric tons in 2020. The second-largest importer was Continued on page 26 TITANIUMTODAY

After 2 Years of Virtual: TITANIUM USA to be held in Person in Orlando, October 9-12, 2022 The International Titanium Association (ITA) will host the 38th annual TITANIUM USA conference and exhibition Oct. 9-12, 2022 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Golf Resort in Orlando, FL.

xhibition booth reservations, floor-plan layout and information on conference registration and hotel bookings will be offered during the first quarter of this year. Visit the event website at www.TitaniumUSA.org for details. There is also a “call for abstracts,” for those interested in making a presentation at the event. Depending on ongoing health concerns from the Covid-19 pandemic, this will be the first inperson titanium conference since the 2019 gathering, which was held at the Mobile Convention Center in Alabama. Jennifer Simpson, the ITA executive director, said that for the last two years, Covid-19 vaccines remained a point of optimism. “Once we were all vaccinated, the thinking went that life could go back to ‘normal’. Now that reality has shown otherwise, we can only do our best to keep taking that next one step forward.” Plans for the USA conference in Florida later this year are part of that “back to normal” process for the titanium industry. The October conference program in Florida will feature global aerospace industry forecasts from Boeing and Airbus executives, speaker panels on world titanium industry demand and supply trends, and presentations on titanium raw materials, industrial applications; manufacturing and medical developments, titanium powder and additive manufacturing. Additional

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details on TITANIUM USA will be posted on the ITA website in the coming months. TITANIUM USA 2022 is designed to suit the needs of titanium industry professionals, suppliers, engineers, designers, metallurgists, customers and stakeholders. The gathering offers a full spectrum of information on the latest business, technology and market trends and developments in the global titanium industry. It provides an excellent forum for expert discussions, continuing education, and networking opportunities. Current ITA membership is comprised of more than 100 organizations and over 1,000 individual members worldwide. Based in Denver, Colorado, the ITA is a non-profit, membership-based, international trade association dedicated to the titanium metal industry. Established in 1984, the ITA’s mission is to connect the public

interested in using titanium with specialists from across the globe who can offer sales and technical assistance. Working through its extensive membership resources, the ITA seeks to expand the knowledge base for the metal, providing technical literature and sponsoring seminars and conferences. For nearly three decades the organization has instructed thousands of professionals in all aspects of titanium usage. The ITA educates engineers, designers and business executives on titanium’s superior properties in critical industry applications, and explains how those properties can be exploited to enhance products and services. The ITA also looks to advance ideas in research, design, metallurgy and engineering. ITA conferences serve as forums to cultivate the exchange of ideas and support a diverse, dynamic, global industry. n

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Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves Incrementally To Achieve ‘Qualification’ of Global Aerospace Industry By Bill Bihlman

ost people are familiar with the concept of 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) as it pertains to aerospace manufacturing. What most do not understand, however, is its level of maturity and the implications for their respective businesses. Titanium castings and smaller machined titanium parts are particularly at risk. Yet the timeline might not be as aggressive as many believe, or hope. AM has evolved substantially since its genesis in the mid-1980s. Nearly simultaneously, Scott Crump, Chuck Hull, and Carl Deckard were experimenting with various ontologies or “modalities” of an additive process. These involved fused deposition modeling, stereolithography, and selected laser sintering, respectively. (ASTM has subsequently established the taxonomy: Material Extrusion, Vat Photopolymerization, and Powder Bed Fusion, respectively.) Initially, this new manufacturing paradigm was limited to rapid prototyping (as evidenced by the name of the largest AM conference in the United States, RAPID, established by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1990). Nowadays, AM is being used for some serialized production metal parts for aircraft and turbine engines. One of the more compelling use cases is the GE Catalyst engine. The company boasts of printing 35 percent of its gas turbine, replacing over 850 castings with only a dozen printed parts, likely using Ti-6Al4V. Perhaps even more intriguing is printing titanium-aluminide (Ti-AL) 14

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low-pressure turbine blades for the b) produce high near-net shapes with GEnx engine. smooth surfaces. Regardless of the Most of the examples of AM modality, processing titanium (and in aerospace involve one of two aluminum) requires shielding. This modalities: powder-bed fusion (PBF) usually involves gas, such as argon, or directed-energy deposition (DED). to protect the melt pool from oxygen Powder-bed fusion uses an energy contamination. source (e.g. laser) to melt a thin layer It is believed that PBF represents of metal powder. These particles are at least 70 percent of the metal tiny—a fraction of the thickness of a parts printed for aerospace, when human hair. A mechanical including commercial “recoater” spreads layerspace applications. upon-layer of powder after Furthermore, it each passing melt cycle. is estimated that Parts are limited to the titanium alloys size of the build chamber, represent roughly with dimensions often 25 percent of the referenced in millimeters. total (see Figure 1). Larger parts require Note that titaniumthousands of layers and powder additive tens of hours to build. The manufactured parts benefit is that designs can are also extensively Bill Bihlman is founder of include nested features used for medical Aerolytics (website: www. or “conformal” cooling applications due to aerolyticsllc.com channels. In many cases, its biocompatibility. additive manufactured In either case, the parts have such dominant titanium sophisticated geometry and features alloy is Ti-6Al-4V. (e.g. internal lattice) that they cannot be created conventionally. The other common modality for aerospace is directed-energy deposition. This uses either wire or powder as a feedstock. In both cases, the feedstock is fed through a nozzle and melted to form a part as the nozzle traces a pattern of the future part. The advantages of DED are the larger build envelope and higher rates of deposition. The disadvantages are the inability to: a) create complex, Figure 1: Rough estimate of powder demand detailed parts compared to PBF, for aerospace PBF parts (source: Aerolytics) including “thin-wall” sections; and,

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Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves Incrementally (continued)

The global aerospace community is trying to move beyond prototyping to use AM routinely for serialized production. This requires a strong business case given higher costs often associated with high-volume printing. The return on investment calculations are confounded by the need to alter the design, compared to conventional manufacturing. Indeed, this is an emerging technology; as such, it is difficult given AM’s modest Technology Readiness Level (TRL). As a point of reference, generally speaking, metal AM is a 5 or 6 on the NASA scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being fully mature/deployable. An important element in the maturation of metal AM for aerospace is qualification. For the most part, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and their European counterpart, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), are aligned with their methodology. Furthermore, this process is not a major departure from past convention, and the regulations have not changed. Realistically, all metal forming processes need to be controlled and monitored. It could be argued that castings were the first process sensitive technique that introduced great uncertainty in terms of final mechanical properties. For this reason, the industry has accepted casting factors for most airframe structures. This can be as conservative as adding an additional 50 percent to the margin of performance (e.g. stress rupture) when creating a part. Alas, this additional metal adds unwanted weight. An alternative is a “premium casting,” which includes much tighter process controls (and higher associated costs). Even more nuanced, though, are composite parts. These parts were commercialized in the 1980s by 16

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Airbus and then Boeing for major aircraft structures, such as the empennage. There are two important considerations: a) its mechanical properties (particularly tensile strength) can be easily manipulated to provide extraordinary anisotropy, and b) the details of the manufacturing process are essential. Accordingly, manufacturers need to quantify (and measure) a

and substantiate design. This is known as the “Building-Block” approach (see Figure 2). The base of the pyramid is the “bulk material allowables” that are used as the basis for the engineering design allowables. Mechanical properties ascertained by a coupon-level testing can be extrapolated to predict the static and dynamic properties of a final part of known geometry and loading

Figure 2: The FAA Building-block framework (Source: FAA)

multitude of key process parameters (KPVs) involved in the cure-cycle (e.g. thermal and pressure profile of the autoclave), in addition to design details, including the orientation and number of the plies, the fiber modulus, resin chemistry, etc. Similarly, AM is process intensive, requiring a massive amount of build and pre-build information. Part pedigree is increasingly critical. As an alternative to “Point Design,” the FAA introduced a framework to help qualify material

condition. Indeed, this was true for homogeneous materials such as metal. But this became vastly more complicated when fabricating process intensive materials (PIMs). The industry therefore must pivot from a list of ingredients, for instance, to the complete recipe. Clearly, the aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are reluctant to share their trade secrets and intellectual property. As a result, other public actors are needed to help diffuse this technology, ultimately

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Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves Incrementally (continued)

Figure 3: List of SAE AMS AM specifications for metal powder (Source: SAE AMS)

enabling the smaller organizations that comprise the majority of the supply chain. Arguably, the materials handbooks and standards development organizations (SDOs) play an important role in technology development. As a consequence of funding from the Pentagon and NACA/NASA – particularly during the 1950s and 1960s – the United States developed an extensive materials properties database. Much of this data migrated into military handbooks in the form of MIL-HDBK-5 (for metals) and MIL-HDBK-17 (for polymer composites). At the same time, other nations followed with their own materials research and development, particularly in Europe, due to the build-up of the Cold War. These handbooks are now known as MMPDS (Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization) and CMH-17 (Composite Material Handbook). Each has added additional volumes/ chapters to address the novelty of AM. Meanwhile the role of materials standards was largely enhanced. 18

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Standards development organizations such as SAE International have created AM working groups. The SAE AMS (Aerospace Material Specifications) AM committee was created in 2015 to address material and process (M&P) specifications, predicated upon a consensus process to ensure industry guidelines. These M&P specifications facilitate procurement by providing assurance of the physical (and chemical) properties of a raw feedstock. Metal powder is particularly complex. Issues such as morphology (e.g. size, shape, sphericity, particlesize distribution) and chemistry (e.g. oxygen, nitrogen, humidity, element vaporization) are critical considerations when building parts. For this reason, a major of the SAE AMS AM standards involved metal powder (see Figure 3). As previously discussed, titanium is highly reactive, yet widely used; it’s no surprise that it is well represented within this group. As the prominence of PIMs grew, standards were needed to help guide the process at large, offering insight concerning certification and

continued airworthiness of aviation parts. As a consequence, SAE AMS AM is developing documents that move beyond M&P. Examples include AMS7032 that considers the operation/qualification of the AM machine itself, or ARP7042, that addresses issues associated with the approval of parts within the supply chain. These types of specifications have become increasingly important as both the FAA and EASA move towards performance-based regulations. What is the future state of metal AM? Clearly, the industry needs to walk before it runs, particularly for aerospace, where the likelihood of catastrophic failure is bounded by “one-in-a-billion.” For this reason, SAE and other organizations are printing and testing myriad coupons to establish bulk material characteristics for common aerospace alloys. The SAE ITC AMDC (AM Data Consortium) is developing detailed process control documents (PCDs) that can be adapted for all AM metals. The initial goal is S-basis bulk material allowables—the ultimate goal of providing C- and

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Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves Incrementally (continued)

Figure 4: Example of material property’s distribution for the MMPDS Handbook (Source: Battelle)

D-basis bulk material allowables, or T99 and T90, respectively (see Figure 4). More forward looking, the industry will pursue more advanced AM processes, such as in-situ closedloop process monitoring, multi-laser machines, and internal powderreuse systems. The latter would be highly beneficial for titanium for the reasons mentioned. Ultimately, the goal is robust standards that minimize the need of Point Design, extensive testing, and 100 percent inspection of parts. One possibility would be to qualify parts based upon demonstrating a known, fixed/stable process. The first step would be to substantiate machine qualification. A “process qualification” of parts

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would be facilitated by a criticalpart classification schema. Invoking the notion of proportionality, less critical parts would be subjected to less scrutiny. The FAA and EASA have convened a working group to address this issue. The challenge, notwithstanding, is reaching a consensus within a broad coalition of disparate stakeholders – from cabin interiors, to airframe structures, to life-limited parts (LLPs) within the turbine engine. This last category is considerably challenging, given that the fatigue behavior of AM parts is difficult and costly to quantify. In closing, AM is quickly emerging technology that shows promise for aerospace. A large proportion of additive manufactured parts involve titanium. It will challenge suppliers

of titanium castings, although the actual threat is difficult to assess. At the same time, there could be opportunities for titanium printed parts to displace convention parts, including aluminum castings and extensively machined forged parts, if the business case supports new part redesign. For AM to be cost effective for newer designs, the entire artifact needs to be considered. Targeting single parts is rarely prudent for serialized production. Parts usually need to be designed with additive in mind, from the beginning. This mentality will take time. Meanwhile, the titanium industry can expect to see novel use cases for both aerostructure and turbine applications. There will be no step change. The industry will indeed continue to incrementally evolve, for the benefit and safety of the flying public. But someday, AM will be just another tool in the toolbox. n (Editor’s note: Bill Bihlman is founder of Aerolytics (website: www.aerolyticsllc.com), a strategic consultancy founded in 2012 and dedicated to aerospace materials, manufacturing, and the supply chain. He started his career at Raytheon Aircraft in 1995, and is actively involved in SAE Aerospace Material Specifications. He has a BSME, MSME, and PhD in IE from Purdue University, and an MBA and MPA from Cornell University.)

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Amaero Focuses on Additive Manufacturing Solutions For Titanium Industry’s Key Global Business Sectors (Editor’s note: Amaero International Limited provided the following guest article for TITANIUM TODAY.)

n a world experiencing a new paradigm in supply chain discontinuity due to Covid-related disruptions and new complexities in geo-political global trade and international borders, it is crucial that companies—especially those in the titanium industry—can source quality metal powders from stable supply chains, preferably sovereign and/or allied capability, for their manufacturing operations. In Australia, one company is creating that supply chain solution. Amaero International Limited (website: https://www.amaero.com. au) is an Australian-based public company specializing in the provision of end-to-end metal additive manufacturing solutions in terms of materials, services, equipment and technology to its key clients in the aviation, defense, space, and medical sectors, as well as in the specialized tool and die industry. Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing is rapidly evolving as a global force in the specialty metals sector. Aviation, defense, space, medical and specialty tooling industries are realizing the design potential and opportunities enabled by the AM process in terms of reduced material to part ratios (buyto-fly), complexity, reduced mass, and parts consolidation. Thus, the additive manufacturing sector is developing as an imperative field of interest for the titanium industry. With titanium’s unique

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An Amaero AM materials engineer examines the world’s first 3D-printed, full-size jet engine.

characteristics of strength, corrosion resistance, light weight and its high melting point, titanium alloy powders are a pivotal fabrication material for additive manufacturing in the aerospace, defense, and space sectors. For these industries, AM offers a high degree of design flexibility, with enormous potential to reduce the scrap levels currently associated with traditional subtractive manufacturing methods (i.e. casting, machining, forging, etc.). The company works with many of the world’s leading manufacturers of aerospace and defense products in research and development as well as in scaling up serial additive manufacturing capability. Amaero established its facility in the greater Los Angeles area of El Segundo in 2020 to service and be strategically located nearby the leading global

defense contractors. Having set up its manufacturing bases in Australia and the United States, Amaero is tackling the issue of strategic supply of titanium alloy powders, on which its business relies. With the bulk of the global supply of titanium metal feedstock coming from Russia, China and Kazakhstan, it’s challenging to source titanium powder that has been manufactured from feedstock produced only in allied nations. Fortunately, Australia holds some of the world’s largest reserves of ilmenite and rutile, the two major ore sources for the production of titanium sponge, the processed and extracted feed material for the majority of titanium production. Vast reserves of ilmenite and rutile lie within mineral sand deposits across Australia, commercially extracted

Amaero (continued)

and exported by a range of mining companies. Major reserves exist on the east, west and southern coastlines of Australia. Given its vast reserves, Australia presents as a strong candidate to be a sovereign processor of the two minerals into high-grade titanium sponge and the resultant titanium products including titanium alloy powder. The logistics of processing in Australia would appear attractive. Australia presently exports approximately 9 percent of the world’s Ilmenite and 29 percent of the world’s Rutile, as a result being ranked as the number 1 global holder of Rutile reserves and number-two global holder of Ilmenite reserves, the source prime ores for titanium sponge synthesis. The significance that can be extrapolated from these ore reserve figures, through vertical integration and sovereign production, is that Australia could easily move into a leadership position for the global supply of titanium products and ensure a strategic supply for sovereign application and allied supply chain networks. In addition, this vertical integration and sovereign production creates an industries and job market for rapid economic growth and export market potential for the Australian GDP. Australia has an opportunity to make itself a reliable and secure supply base for titanium alloy and titanium alloy powder, by developing onshore processing facilities to take advantage of domestic raw material reserves, according to Amaero. Australia should be exploiting its comparative advantage in raw mineral supply by adding value before exporting the outputs: high value titanium alloy powders and additively manufactured components. With COVID-19 related disruptions to global supply chains as well as recent geopolitical tensions, both Australia and the United States have acknowledged the heightened importance of accessing critical minerals and rare earths for onshore manufacturing stability and economy. Amaero has committed to build an Australian domestic titanium alloy powder facility, producing aerospace grade titanium. While initial feedstocks for the first atomizer will need to be sourced offshore, expansion plans in the following years will enable local recycling of feedstock material and use of locally produced titanium feedstock to enable independence of titanium alloy powder production. The company’s processing facility in Australia would be regarded as a highly desirable allied source for Australia’s global defense 24

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Australia’s Monash Centre’s Applied Research Develops Additive Manufacturing Applications The Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing (MCAM; website: https://www.monash.edu/mcam/home), located in a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, is a central Monash University Technology Research Platform, performing cutting-edge fundamental and applied research and translating innovative solutions for revolutionary additive manufacturing. MCAM conducts innovative research at the forefront of additive manufacturing and offers world-class instrumentation, expertise, collaborative opportunities, and training to researchers for the university, government, and industry sectors. The research in MCAM has led to pioneering achievements in the real world, including the world’s first 3D-printed full-size jet engine, and the first international aerospace standard for 3D printed titanium components to enable 39 parts installed in civil aircraft. According to information posted on its website, MCAM has 60 world-class researchers and technical staff from disciplines ranging from metallurgy and materials, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering to computer simulation specifically for application in additive manufacturing. It is becoming one of the top destinations in the world for research and application in additive manufacturing. MCAM has formed successful, ongoing collaborations with both local and international partners across a broad range of industries, including: aerospace, automotive, defense, mining as well as medical. MCAM’s research on titanium alloys is revealing significant new science in the crucial, much-studied material system. The advanced knowledge has tackled the toughest challenge in titanium alloys; for example, creating the strongest titanium fasteners for aircraft. Such titanium fasteners have the highest property requirements of all components: tensile, shear, and notch-fatigue strength (other components usually need only one or two of these). MCAM has also extended the design concept to develop a new titanium alloy for fasteners, yielding a 40-percent improvement in tensile, shear, and notched fatigue strength compared to the current Ti6Al4V alloy. The state-of-the-art facility uses the latest technology for manufacturing specialized and complex components from a wide range of metal powders (titanium, nickel, aluminum alloys and steel). Production equipment includes:

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Amaero (continued)

Australia’s Monash Centre (continued)

partners. Increasing global capacity for titanium alloy powder manufacturing would also put downward pressure on prices, making additive manufacturing with titanium alloys more economically attractive. Amaero International evolved out of one of the Technology Research Platforms of Monash University, Australia’s largest university. Monash is a researchintensive university. The Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing does fundamental research from a broad range of disciplines and addresses manufacturing challenges (see sidebar). In its formative years, embedded in the Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing, Amaero engaged with a number of significant aviation and defense prime contractors on research and development projects, prototyping and pre-production qualification that honed skill sets and capabilities that continue to be implemented and expanded on current and upcoming initiatives. In conjunction with its industry partners, Amaero has achieved a number of world firsts, including the world’s first 3D printed jet engine, the world’s first 3D printed aerospike rocket motor, as well as the first 3D printed metal components approved by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to fly on commercial jets. The publicly listed company Amaero International Ltd. (ASX:3DA) was established in 2019. Amaero has manufacturing plants in the Australian cities of Melbourne (where it is headquartered) and Adelaide, as well as in Los Angeles. n

selective laser melting machine (EOS), which is capable of producing high precision and complex, structured parts; the largest selective laser melting machine (Concept Laser) in the southern hemisphere, pushing the boundaries of additive manufacturing; direct laser deposition machine (Trumpf), which is capable of rapid materials development and large, scale part manufacture and repair; and a hot isostatic press (Avure) with unique high temperature and pressure combinations. MCAM Highlights: • Attached to one of Australia’s pre-eminent research institutions • Spun-off Amaero to commercialize its research work in additive manufacturing • Applies high-level research to a range of disciplines including material science and metallurgy including: alloy design, metals processing, surface engineering, corrosion and hybrid materials. • Research themes cover portfolio of metallic elements, ranging from titanium alloy and nickel-based super-alloys to aluminum alloys, steel and high-entropy alloys.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine (continued from page 11) the United States with about 16,000 metric tons last year, down from 19,000 metric tons in 2020. Japan is the largest exporter of titanium sponge to China and the United States, shipping 8,000 metric tons and 14,000 metric tons, respectively, in 2021. “The recovery of industries such as construction and aerospace last year led to a jump in demand for titanium products post-pandemic,” the CRU analyst said. Aside from any short-term economic or industrial consequences, a reliable supply of titanium sponge is critical for the long-term national security interests of the United States. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s 26

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Bureau of Industry and Security and the Office of Technology Evaluation spelled out this concern in a Nov. 29, 2019 report “The Effect of Imports of Titanium Sponge on the National Security.” The report summarized findings of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The 2019 report stated that a titanium sponge—produced domestically or sourced from other countries—is essential to the manufacturing and maintenance of U.S. defense systems and other key business sectors such as healthcare, food and agriculture, energy and

transportation. “Titanium is used in many military applications, including aircraft frames, jet and helicopter engines, satellites, ships, submarines, and ground vehicles. Titanium sponge is the intermediate product resulting from the conversion of titanium ore into a form of titanium metal that can be melted to manufacture slab or ingot, which in turn is used to produce finished titanium products. Consequently, titanium sponge production is essential to the production and sustainment of many U.S. defense systems, and preserving this critical capability is imperative to the national security.” n

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ASTM Program, National Center at Auburn University Mark Milestones in Additive Manufacturing Technology (Editor’s note: TITANIUM TODAY has dedicated significant editorial coverage on the topic of additive manufacturing (AM) technology for the titanium industry. As a complement to the feature article by Bill Bihlman, the following story provides excerpts of two articles that ran in 2021.)

he ASTM Global Additive Manufacturing (AM) Program has emerged as a wellconnected “Center of Excellence” to accelerate standardization and therefore industrialization of the AM technologies, a strategic field of interest for the titanium industry. Established in 2018 as a partnership between ASTM and founding partners (NASA, Auburn University, the Manufacturing Technology Center of England, and Edison Welding Institute [EWI]), the mission for this effort is to accelerate standardization of AM and provide critical education and workforce development offerings to support the adoption of the technology. The partnership roster has grown to include the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University, Kansas, and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster in Singapore. In addition, the AM Center of Excellence (AM CoE: www.amcoe.org) supports the ASTM F42 Additive Manufacturing Committee, which has over 1,000 members, in addition to other Standards Committees interested in AM. ASTM technical committees can utilize the AM CoE tools and resources to expedite their standard development. Dr. Martin White, head of AM CoE Programs for Europe, said ASTM and its partners launched the AM CoE “to accelerate the closing 28

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of gaps in standards for additive manufacturing, and to provide critical training and workforce development offerings to facilitate the broad adoption of this technology in multiple industries. The ‘normal’ pace of development of standards does not keep up with the rapidly progressing world of AM, and we cannot wait for standards to be ‘reactive’ to information and data from industry.” One of the key missions of the AM CoE is to identify gaps in AM standards, and then to fund targeted research and development projects “to close the gaps and accelerate standards,” Martin said. “The Center of Excellence ensures involvement of all 30,000-plus ASTM members as well as AM related technical committees in this process, by engaging them in the idea solicitation process for research and development projects. The same applies to already existing AM standards, as they must be regularly reviewed to ensure they are relevant and suitable for new technologies. Collaboration and shared funding have been utilized from other government agencies such NASA and America Makes.” While its mission spans a variety of industrial materials systems (metals, polymers, ceramics), the AM CoE covers metallic systems such as titanium alloys and Inconel (a family of nickel/chrome superalloys) in its development projects. The center pursues “collaboration and

Dr. Martin White, Head of AM CoE Programs for Europe

coordination between government, academia, and industry to advance AM standardization and expand ASTM and our stakeholders’ capabilities,” according to Martin. “We bridge standards development with research and development.” The trek towards the goal of arriving at a much-anticipated “inflection point” for AM technology has reached a major milestone, given the research, training and partnerships coalescing at the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) at Auburn University, Auburn, AL. The center operates as additive manufacturing center of excellence, a collaborative effort among Auburn University, NASA, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and ASTM International, according to information posted on the group’s

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ASTM Program, National Center at Auburn University (continued)

Shamsaei Nima with lab technicians at NCAME

website (https://eng.auburn.edu/ ncame). In addition to conducting research to advance the technology, NCAME’s mission is to facilitate effective collaborations among industry, government, academia, non-profit organizations, and ASTM committees, ensuring a coordinated, global effort toward rapidly closing standards and workforce development gaps in additive manufacturing. Nima Shamsaei, the founding director of NCAME and professor of mechanical engineering in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, said the program initially began to take shape in 2015 when Auburn established a partnership with the NIST, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In the fall of 2017, NCAME became NASA’s strategic academic partner and together they became the founding partners of the ASTM Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (see above). NCAME has benefitted from strategic capital investments in recent years, which, collectively, have helped to transform the group into a hub for leading-edge technology. 30

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The list of investments and grants include a $18-million renovation of Auburn’s Gavin Engineering Research Laboratory; support from Auburn’s Presidential Awards for Interdisciplinary Research grant to explore additive manufacturing for medical implants; $7-million in grants from the NIST; a $4.5-million grant for the FAA; a $10-million award from NASA; and a $250,000 Concept Laser MLAB 100R metal printer from GE Aviation.

Auburn’s Gavin Engineering Research Laboratory

Developing AM systems to produce parts for biomedical and aerospace industries are high on the list of priorities for NCAME. Shamsaei said the group focuses on powder metal and laser systems. Commercially pure titanium (for medical implants), along with Ti6Al-4V, nickel-based superalloys, and aluminum alloys (for aerospace) are the materials being explored. “I envision the NCAME as a center to serve as a platform for transferring fundamental research to the applied knowledge allied with the needs of industry,” Shamsaei said. “We are working with our partners to develop commercial applications.” He stated that NCAME is working to meet the commercial production inflection point to establish three areas of additive manufacturing: design, processing, and material behavior. “Additive manufacturing is a challenging field. It’s unlike conventional production methods. You can’t separate those three areas. If you change the part geometry, it affects the microstructure and mechanical properties.” n

War in Ukraine, Pandemic, Supply Chain Bottlenecks Create Challenges for Titanium Distribution Business By Michael C. Gabriele

itanium distributors and service centers, moving into the second quarter of 2022, are forced to navigate through complex global supply chain issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, bottlenecks at ports and warehouses, and disruptions in trade resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Based on anecdotal feedback, it appears that, so far, the titanium industry is weathering the storm, but no doubt major challenges lie ahead. Stephen Smith, director of marketing at Banner Industries, Carol Stream, IL, said the company is a major distributor of titanium and other specialized metals for the medical market, including cobalt/ chrome and medical grade stainless steels. Through its Supra Alloys division, Banner supplies titanium bar, plate, and sheet to the aerospace market and has recently added nickelbased aerospace grades to the list of products available from stock. “To date (as of early March 2022), we have not seen any major impact on our business by Russia’s invasion in Ukraine,” Smith said. “The majority of our titanium and specialty metals is melted and rolled in the United States. There will certainly be some volatility in pricing; the recent surge in the cost of nickel and cobalt continues to trend towards the higher numbers last seen in 2018. For distributors, the concern is having too much high-priced inventory when raw material costs go down again.” As for tracking current business conditions, Smith reported that Banner’s sales revenue in the first 32

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TMS Titanium, a stocking distributor of titanium mill products, provided photos of its inventory and warehouse. Founded 15 years ago by Todd Harrison, TMS, based in Poway, CA, has a 10,000-squarefoot facility and 12 employees, with shear, plate saw and lathe production equipment.

quarter of this year is higher than the first quarter of 2021, “but much of this can be attributed to an increase in prices due to escalating costs that are being passed on to the customers, rather than a surge in volume. However, I would say that overall, distributor inventories of titanium and related metals are currently lower than they were a year ago, due in part to constraints from the manufacturing mills.” He explained that the response to federal- and state-mandated social distancing in the workplace due to Covid-19 has reduced mill capacity, at least temporarily, and the subsequent shortage of labor as the economy started to expand in 2021 led to further constraints on output. “Covid-19 has obviously had some negative effect on all aspects of business and the latest Omicron

variant has certainly created more absenteeism than normal, but generally, especially with crosstraining, the impact on sales/output for distributors has been very limited. Many mills simply could not keep up with demand resulting in an even lower than normal on-time delivery performance. Normally, poor ontime delivery is a bonus for those distributors that have inventory on the shelf, and that has certainly been the case over the past year.” Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) believe that they should deal directly with the mills because of the perceived lower cost of materials, but buying direct leaves these companies subject to ever-fluctuating lead times and erratic deliveries, according to Smith. “Contract Manufacturers (CMOs), particularly the larger ones, would also prefer the lower cost of

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Challenges for Titanium Distribution (continued)

U.S. Companies Ponder ‘Reshoring’ And Restoring Domestic Production

buying mill direct, but they do not always have the volume or the forecasting/firm commitments from the OEMs to take such long-term risks. Many CMOs are job shops and generally need material sooner than the mills can deliver.” “The important and vital role of the stocking distributor is having material readily available for immediate delivery, in less than mill minimum quantities,” he continued. “Distributors can help the CMOs and OEMs by a certain degree of cost averaging because they are supplying to multiple industries across a wide range of products.” As for demand from key customers, Smith said medical is a major market for Banner Industries. “This continues to be strong as there is a growing aging population that wants to remain active as possible as they age. This leads to increasing demand for replacement joints, whose quality and longevity continue to improve.” In order to keep pace with that demand, Banner is responding to the continued increasing demand for all its value-added services and actively investing in expanding both our footprint and our capabilities. “We have a new location in Windsor, CT to provide both grinding and cutting services, as well as off-the-shelf deliveries to aerospace and medical customers in the Northeast. We are expanding the California location to include a wider range of grades and sizes and expanded value-added services, particularly for the aerospace market, which we believe will see a resurgence in demand as air travel shakes off the negative impact of Covid.” Value-Added Services This increased demand for providing expanded valueadded services reflects how the role of the distributor is changing from simply being a resource for material off the shelf to offering a wider range of value-added services. “Especially with expensive material like titanium and other metals used in the aerospace and medical applications, CMOs in particular are looking for a greater degree of accuracy in sizes and tolerances than the mills are set up to produce,” Smith said. By offering in-house grinding services, companies like Banner Industries (incorporating Banner Medical, Edge International and Supra Alloys) can supply the optimum size with tighter tolerances with a short lead time (days, not 34

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Disruptions in caused by Covid-19 and other issues during the last two years have led to much discussion about re-examining the length and strength of global supply chains. The Brookings Institution, the highly regarded non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, DC, published an essay in July 2020 that offered commentary on “reshoring advanced manufacturing supply chains to generate good jobs” in the United States. “Reshoring is the practice of bringing manufacturing and services back to the United States from overseas,” the Brookings’ essay stated. “This process can help balance trade and budget deficits, reduce unemployment by creating wellpaying manufacturing jobs, and develop a skilled workforce. Reshoring also benefits manufacturing companies by potentially reducing the total cost of their products, improving balance sheets, and making product innovations more effective. While many of these supply chains can operate less expensively in Asia, the COVID-19 crisis has underlined the societal risks of leaving this production offshore.” It’s fair to say that “operating less expensively” meant many U.S. manufacturing companies searched for cheap labor markets as the integrated global economy unfolded in the 1980s and 1990s. The New York Times, in a Jan. 5, 2022 news article, reported that the Covid-19 pandemic sent shock waves through many organizations, forcing executives to focus on supply-chain resiliency. “A quarter of a century ago, U.S. factories employed more than 17 million people, but that number dropped to 11.5 million by 2010. Since then, the gains have been modest, with the total manufacturing work force now at 12.5 million.” The Brookings essay pointed out that supply chain issues and labor costs are being re-evaluated throughout the world. “It is widely accepted that countries such as China are evolving their manufacturing from cheap labor to capabilities such as custom

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Challenges for Titanium Distribution (continued)

months) that helps the CMOs achieve improved throughput. For example, using precision ground bar stock in Swiss Automatic screw machines enables companies to run lights out 24/7, increasing capacity without additional labor costs.” “There are a number of other value-added services that the proactive distributor can offer such as precision sawing so that the cut pieces can go straight on to the CMOs machine, or water-jet cut profiles to provide nearer net shapes for reduced yield loss. Mills, on the other hand, need to concentrate on melting and rolling standard sizes to produce maximum output and achieve a better return on investment. Mills’ investment is in expensive plant and equipment: distributors’ investment is in inventory of bar, plate, sheet, and wire.” West Coast Flexibility Given the current business conditions, titanium stocking distributors and service centers must demonstrate “flexibility;” not only in the in-house production services they can offer, but in their response to particular customer needs. Todd Harrison, the chief executive officer and president of TMS Titanium, Poway, CA, a supplier and stocking distributor of titanium mill products, said “we need to be very creative and have outside-the-box thinking to accommodate customers and their specific needs. Without our customers, we do not exist. We need to be very flexible in our ‘newnew’ world.” TMS Titanium defines its flexibility to its customers in the car racing business sector by fulfilling small orders and last-minute requests for repairs, as well as providing quick-turnaround on broken parts. Harrison indicated that this agility pays off in the long run by gaining the trust of customers for ongoing business opportunities. As posted on its website (https://tmstitanium. com), TMS “has become a go-to supplier of titanium for the racing industry, and we work with our trusted network of suppliers, finishers and fabrications in order to provide the best quality products available.” Founded by Harrison 15 years ago, TMS has a 10,000-square-foot facility and 12 employees, with shear, plate saw and lathe production equipment. Flexibility cultivates good will between TMS and its customers, which includes metal finishing distributors and companies in the aerospace, architectural, automotive, biomedical, chemical processing, industrial, marine, and oil and gas markets. Harrison said that, while the current business environment is particularly stressful, “most of our customers are very good about understanding what everyone is going through.” Good will also means that TMS is candid and forthright with its customers. “We don’t promise what we can’t do. I think our customers appreciate that. All sectors are up and down, depending on the time of year and economy. There are so many outside influences that dictate what sectors are busy at any particular time.” He said TMS’s vendors are also feeling the pinch on supplying titanium stock (sheet, plate, block, bar, fasteners, tubing, pipe, billet, ingot, and forgings). n 36

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‘Reshoring’ And Restoring Domestic Production (continued)

machining, design, and product innovation. Therefore, incentivizing or funding existing manufacturing-enabling organizations such as Manufacturing Extension Partnerships could guide new and existing manufacturers in creating or expanding capabilities.” In recent months, major companies like Intel, Ford and General Motors have announced plans to invest billions of dollars in new American-based production facilities. A September 2020 report by Forbes (“Why Reshoring U.S. Manufacturing Could Be the Wave of the Future”) observed that “many countries, including the United States, will need to recalibrate the delicate balance between on-shoring and offshoring to maintain the autonomy needed to survive future crises while supporting a consumer-driven economy. Reshoring U.S. manufacturing would not only save enormous transportation costs; it would tie up less capital for less time.” However, an online essay from Harvard Business Review, posted on April 15, 2020, cautioned that bringing manufacturing back to the United States is “easier said than done.” In order to successfully re-shore industrial production, “a manufacturer not only has to source all of the components of a product, it also has to scale up production,” the essay stated. “This task is often taken for granted, but it is part of the really hard work of taking a product to market. The process includes setting up the supply chain for all of the raw materials, designing an assembly process with the appropriate tooling and fixtures, building or securing test equipment, establishing testing and quality procedures, and working through materials handling, staffing, and countless other details.” The Harvard Business Review essay suggested that companies could consider conducting a “stress test” to measure the resiliency of supply chains (foreign or domestic). Once a supply chain is defined and mapped, manufacturers “can think about executing a series of programs and strategies to address some of the concerns regarding cost competitiveness.” n

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BY ADVERTISING IN TITANIUM TODAY you connect with a specific target market unlike any other.

Each edition includes: Member Profiles, Timely Editorial, Advertising opportunities, Press Releases, Classified Ads, Calendar Events, Executive Summaries from Titanium Conferences. As an ITA member, you have the opportunity to submit press releases, classified ads, and host your updated company profile in the trade publication all INCLUDED in your annual membership. International Titanium Association www.titanium.org 1-303-404-2221 Telephone 1-303-404-9111 Facsimile ita@titanium.org Email

From the Wire

ITA ISSUES CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS ABSTRACTS ARE BEING ACCEPTED UNTIL JUNE 1, 2022 DENVER, Colorado —International Titanium Association’s Global Industrial Applications Committee (IAC) is sponsoring a two-hour track of presentations at the upcoming Titanium USA Conference. The IAC is seeking a minimum of 8 technically related presentations on a variety of topics related to Maritime Applications, Additive Manufacturing for Industrial Components, Downhole Use of Titanium and Subsea Applications. The Industrial Session will be held Tuesday, October 11, 2022 from 1:00pm until 5:00pm at the Rosen Shingle Creek Golf Resort in Orlando, Florida USA. Topics of interest could include: Application of titanium for the control or mitigation of corrosion in seawater and other corrosive environments, use of titanium in oil and gas production equipment and new technologies for the production of titanium components.

Experts are invited to submit an abstract for a detailed Power Point presentation at the Conference. Speakers will be allocated 25 minutes (to include 5 minutes for questions). Abstract Submission Guidelines • 100-200 words • A relevant main title • Clearly outline the presentation topic and scope • Should be technically based -- no sales or marketing content • Include your name, job title, company, and contact information – phone number and email address • Original PowerPoint presentations are due to the ITA by Monday, September 19, 2022 for advanced review.

Submit your Abstract here: https://titanium.org/page/2022Abstracts All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by technical experts at the International Titanium Association in conjunction with the Conference Organizing Committee. Authors will be contacted as soon as their abstract is accepted. The Call for Presentations Deadline is June 1, 2022.

TITANIUMTODAY

ITA is the global trade association of the world’s primary titanium metal producers who together account for over 90% of worldwide titanium production. Visit ITA at www.Titanium.org. TITANIUM USA will host slide presentations and will not require formal written papers from speakers. Questions may be directed to Jennifer Simpson, ITA 1-303-404-2221 Telephone or ita@titanium. org Email Additional information on the upcoming event may be found at: www.TitaniumUSA.org

From the Wire (continued)

MANUFACTURING, LLC

Kymera International Acquires AmeriTi Manufacturing, LLC KYMERA INTERNATIONAL ACQUIRES AMERITI MANUFACTURING, LLC

Addition AmeriTiTO to ENHANCE Enhance and Compliment Kymera’s Titanium ProductPRODUCT OFFERINGS -OF of AMERITI AND COMPLIMENT KYMERA’S TITANIUM ster Alloys-- ADDITION &-- Titanium Powders Offerings -company focused on non-ferrous powders, granules, Research Triangle Park, NC, April 5, 2022 – Kymera Critical Applications Research Triangle Park, NC, April 5, 2022 – Kymera International (“Kymera”), a global leading specialty

including aluminum, copper, tin, tantalum, International (“Kymera”), a global materials company, announced today leading that it hasspecialty closed its transactionand withpastes AmeriTi Manufacturing Company 1 (“AmeriTi”), acquiring announced substantially today all theirthat assets. intitanium, Detroit, Michigan, AmeriTi a leading and their alloysis as well as vanadium, niobium, materials company, it hasHeadquartered closed manufacturer value-added ferrotitanium, titanium sponge, titanium and powders, and specialty forms. molybdenum master alloys. Kymera sells its its transactionofwith AmeriTi Manufacturing Company technically developed products (“AmeriTi”), acquiring substantially all their 1assets. “AmeriTi is a growing company led by a talented, dedicated employee base that culturally aligns with our into a wide variety of end markets, including aerospace, medical, electronics, Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, AmeriTi is aofleading mission and objectives to be the leading manufacturer specialty materials that shape the future,” said Barton White, CEO of Kymera. We believe this istitanium a synergistic acquisition that will give our auto, combined chemical, specialty and numerous industrial manufacturer of value-added ferrotitanium, company strong technical and commercial resources to help fuel our growth in the aerospace, medical, applications. Kymera International has manufacturing sponge, titanium powders, and specialty forms. defense, and industrial markets." facilities in the U.S., Australia, Europe, and Asia. www. “AmeriTi is a growing company led by a talented, “The sale of AmeriTi to Kymera is an exciting next step for the business. Kymera and AmeriTi together will kymerainternational.com dedicated employee base that culturally aligns with our continue to build the product lines and grow into new areas. The combined business will be able to build on

About AmeriTi Manufacturing Company mission andexperience objectivesand to knowledge, be the leading manufacturer its titanium and maintain its strong customer focus and service,” said Bob owner of that AmeriTi for 25 ofSwenson, specialtythematerials shape theyears. future,” said Barton AmeriTi Manufacturing Company is an integrated White, CEO of Kymera. We believe this is a synergistic manufacturer titanium metallurgical products. "We are thrilled to help support the acquisition of AmeriTi, Kymera's fifth to date underofPalladium's acquisition thatsecond will give our combined company strong ownership, and completed over the last 3 months," said AdamAmeriTi Shebitz, is a Partner at Palladium. "The a producer of a wide array of titanium technical commercial resources to help 5-year fuel our addition ofand AmeriTi will help to realize Kymera’s business planproducts to diversifyand intoalso new,processes margin accretive, recycled products for and growing end markets.” medical, Kymera isdefense, Palladium’s specialty materials platform, and these acquisitions growth in the aerospace, andthird industrial titanium industry. bring the total investments in specialty materials, including follow-ons,the to 29 across the last fourAmeriTi funds. produces titanium markets.” metallurgical products for use by the producers of

The terms the transaction were not disclosed. titanium, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and powder “The sale ofof AmeriTi to Kymera is an exciting next step metallurgy products. AmeriTi is based in Detroit, for the business. Kymera and AmeriTi together will About Kymera International USA. www.ameriti.com continue to build the and to grow into new Kymera International canproduct trace its lines roots back the 1800s and today is aMichigan, market leading specialty materials (+1)areas. 610-693-5822 company on non-ferrous granules, and pastes aluminum, copper, tin, tantalum, Thefocused combined businesspowders, will be able to build on its including About Equity Partners, titanium, and their alloys as well as vanadium, niobium, and molybdenum masterPalladium alloys. Kymera sells its technicallyLLC sales@kymerainternational.com titanium knowledge, andmarkets, maintain its aerospace, medical, electronics, chemical, developedexperience products intoand a wide variety of end including Palladium is the oldest minority-owned private equity strong customer andindustrial service,”applications. said Bob Swenson, specialty auto, andfocus numerous Kymera International has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., www.kymerainternational.com buyout firm in the industry with over $3 billion of Australia, and Asia. the ownerEurope, of AmeriTi forwww.kymerainternational.com 25 years. assets under management. The firm seeks to acquire About Manufacturing Company “We areAmeriTi thrilled to help support the acquisition of and grow companies partnership with founders and AmeriTi Manufacturing Company is an integrated manufacturer of titanium metallurgical products.in AmeriTi is a AmeriTi, Kymera’s fifth to date under Palladium’s experienced teams by providing capital, producer of a wide array of titanium products and also processes recycled products for management the titanium industry. ownership, and second the for lastuse 3 months,” AmeriTi produces titanium completed metallurgicalover products by the producers of titanium, steel, stainless steel, strategic guidance, and operational oversight. Since its aluminum, powderametallurgy AmeriTi is based in Detroit, Michigan, USA. www.ameriti.com said Adamand Shebitz, Partner atproducts. Palladium. “The addition founding in 1997, Palladium has invested over $3 billion ofAbout AmeriTi will help to realize Kymera’s 5-year business of capital in 38 platform investments and 149 add-on Palladium Equity Partners, LLC plan to diversify intominority-owned new, margin private accretive, and growing Palladium is the oldest equity buyout firm in the industry with over $3 billion22 of assets under acquisitions, realizing of these platform investments. management. firm seeks to acquire and growspecialty companies in partnership with founders and experienced end markets.”The Kymera is Palladium’s third The firm focuses primarily on buyout management teams by providing capital, strategic guidance, and operational oversight. Since its founding in 1997, equity investments materials platform, and these acquisitions bring the total Palladium has invested over $3 billion of capital in 38 platform investments and range 149 add-on acquisitions, realizing in the of $50 million to $150 million. The principals investments in specialty materials, including follow-ons, 22 of these platform investments. The firm focuses primarily on buyout equity investments in the range of $50 of the firm have a meaningful experience in consumer, to $150 million. The principals in consumer, services, industrials, tomillion 29 across the last four funds. of the firm have a meaningful experience services, industrials, and healthcare and healthcare businesses, with a special focus on companies they believe, will benefit from the growth in the U.S. businesses, with a Hispanic Palladium iswere basednot in New York City. For more information, visit www.palladiumequity.com. special focus on companies they believe, will benefit from The termspopulation. of the transaction disclosed. the growth in the U.S. Hispanic population. Palladium About Kymera International 1 AmeriTi’s parts business known now as TriTech Titanium Parts, is not included in the transaction. https://tritechtitanium.com is based in New York City. For more information, visit Kymera International can trace its roots back to the www.palladiumequity.com. 1800s and today is a market leading specialty materials

TITANIUMTODAY

From the Wire (continued)

RESULTS OF GENERAL MEETING AND CHANGE OF NAME IperionX Limited (formerly ‘Hyperion Metals Limited’) (HYM) (“IperionX” or “Company”) advises that a General Meeting of Shareholders was held today, 9 February 2022, at 10.00am (AWST). The resolution voted on was in accordance with the Notice of General Meeting previously advised to the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”). Change of Name Following shareholder approval at the General Meeting held today, the Company’s name has been changed to ‘IperionX Limited’. A certificate of change of company name from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (“ASIC”) is attached. The ASX code for the Company will change to “IPX” in due course.

North Haven, Connecticut — Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc. has reached an agreement with ATI Specialty Rolled Products (ATI) to acquire ATI’s distribution facility located in Pico Rivera, California. Effective January 31, 2022, this facility will operate under the name Ulbrich of California. On this date, all shipments from the Pico Rivera operation will become orders serviced by Ulbrich Steel and its personnel. ATI will continue supplying Ulbrich with the quality Nickel, Titanium and Specialty alloy products their customers rely on. Ulbrich and ATI are committed to a smooth and seamless transition with the primary goal of maintaining continuity of quality, supply, and customer service for all customers that rely on the specialty products produced at the Pico Rivera facility. Ulbrich is working closely together with ATI and the team at the Pico Rivera facility to ensure the product quality and service from

About IperionX IperionX’s mission is to be the leading developer of low carbon, sustainable, critical material supply chains focused on advanced industries including space, aerospace, electric vehicles and 3D printing. IperionX’s breakthrough titanium technologies have demonstrate d the potential to produce titanium products which are sustainable, 100% recyclable, low carbon intensity and at product qualities which exceed current industry standards. The Company also holds a 100% interest in the Titan Project, covering approximately 11,100 acres of titanium, rare earth minerals, high grade silica sand and zircon rich mineral sands properties in Tennessee, United States. For further information and enquiries please contact: info@iperionx.com +1 704 461 8000 | www.iperionx.com

this location continues to meet or exceed customer expectations. Customers of this location should expect to see no change or interruption in the service they have come to expect from doing business with ATI at this facility as this transition takes place. Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals also anticipates that they will have the facility’s Pratt-Whitney Laboratory Controlled at Source (LCS) certification recertified under Ulbrich by mid-February. The Ulbrich family is excited to operate a facility once again on the West Coast. Ulbrich Steel is closing in on 100 years of providing solutions for metals applications within the Aerospace, Medical, Automotive, Nuclear, and many other markets. The addition of the Pico Rivera product line will help enhance what Ulbrich can offer to new and existing customers and allows the company to continue charging towards an even more successful future as a business. TITANIUMTODAY

International Titanium Association

ITA Member Roster 2022 A

A. M. Castle

ELG Utica Alloys, Inc.

Abkomet

Epoch Wire

Accushape Inc.

ACNIS ® International Advanced Metal Industries CO (AMIC) ALD Vacuum Technologies, Inc All-Met Recycling

Fort Wayne Metals FRIGGI N.A. Inc. G

Alpha Resources American Titanium Works LLC Andersen Horie & Co.

GfE Metalle und Materialien GmbH Grandis Titanium Greystone Alloys, LLC

Aries Manufacturing ATI

ATX Co.,Ltd.

Hempel Special Metals AG Howmet Aerospace

B Bahco Banner Industries (Banner, Edge & Supra Alloys) Baoji Sino-Swiss Titanium Co.,Ltd Baoji Titanium Industry Co., Ltd Bodycote Butech Bliss

I Independent Forgings & Alloys Ltd Industrial Metals International Ltd. IperionX Limited (formerly Hyperion Metals) K KASTO Inc.

C Carpenter Technology Corporation Consarc Corporation

KineTic Engineering Kings Mountain International (KMI)

Coogee Titanium PTY LTD

Kymera International

D Dr. Markus Holz, Academic Member Duferco SA

Keywell Metals LLC

L Laboratory Testing Inc.

www.TitaniumResourceCenter.org 46

TITANIUMTODAY

ITA Member Roster 2022 M

Solar Atmospheres

M3 Metals

Specialty Metals Company

Medart Processing Technologies

Specialty Metals Processing Company

Mega Metals LLC

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA)

MetCon Technologies, LLC Michelle Pharand, Individual Member

Monico Alloys, Inc.

Timesavers International B.V.

TITAN Metal Fabricators, Inc.

Neotiss

Titanium Engineering

NSL Analytical

Titanium Fabrication Corporation

Nu-Tech Precision Metals

Titanium Finishing Company

TIMET, Titanium Metals Corporation

Titanium Industries, Incorporated

Titanium International Group SRL

Oerlikon Metco (Canada) Inc. Osaka Titanium technologies CO., Ltd.

Toho Titanium America Co., Ltd. Tricor Metals

TSI Titanium

Perryman Company Plymouth Engineered Shapes

President Titanium Co., Inc. Product Evaluations Systems, Inc (PES)

Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals United Performance Metals (UPMET) Uniti Titanium

US Vanadium

Retech Systems LLC Rex Heat Treat

Rolled Alloys Inc Ross Precision Manufacturing

VSMPO AVISMA W

Weber Metals Inc.

S+D Metals / Bibus Metals Sandvik Materials Technology Product Unit Service Steel Aerospace

Titanium Processing Center

Weldaloy Specialty Forgings Westbrook Light Alloys Ltd

Shasta Services LLC

Simonds Saw LLC

Xi’an Metals & Minerals Import & Export

www.TitaniumResourceCenter.org TITANIUMTODAY

Advertiser Index

Company

Titanium Industries (T.I.)

Alpha Resources LLC

Laboratory Testing Inc.

North American Alloys

www.titanium.com

www.alpharesources.com/titanium

www.labtesting.com

www.northamericanalloys.com

WeldAloy Specialty Forgings

Retech Systems

www.weldaloy.com

www.retechsystemsllc.com

Rolled Alloys

Kymera Reading Alloys

MPS Technology

www.rolledalloys.com

www.kymerainternational.com

www.mps-tech.pl/en

Company

Titanium Finishing

Edge Intl / Supra Alloys

Aries Manufacturing

Titanium USA 2022

United Performance Metals

ALD Vacuum Technologies

Perryman Company

Ulbrich

TIMET

Baoji Xilitong Non-Ferrous Metal Production Co., Ltd.

Solar Atmospheres

Tricor Metals

Fundamentals of Titanium Workshop

www.titaniumfinishing.com

www.aries-manufacturing.com/

www.upmet.com

www.perrymanco.com

www.timet.com

www.solaratm.com

Product Evaluation Systems

Butech Bliss

Centro Metalcut

www.productevaluationsystems.com

www.butechbliss.com

www.centrometalcut.com

www.edgeintl.com

www.TitaniumUSA.org

www.ald-vt.com

www.ulbrich.com

www.xlt-china.com

www.tricormetals.com

www.TitaniumUSA.org

TITANIUMTODAY

tricormetals.com

astrolite.com

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tricoralloys.com

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OFFERED VIRTUALLY & IN-PERSON Why You Should Attend

Fundamentals of Titanium Workshop

The International Titanium Association is the global trade association of the world’s primary titanium metal producers who together account for over 90% of worldwide titanium production. Since 1984, ITA’s mission has been to promote and support the use of titanium metal in new and existing applications by connecting the public interested in using titanium with specialists from across the globe who may offer sales and technical assistance.

This comprehensive workshop will provide attendees with detailed information on the types, uses, and properties of common titanium alloys. Attendees will leave with an understanding of applied titanium metallurgy fundamentals.

Objectives & Content:

Next Live Virtual Workshop: Tuesday, June 7th 9:00 am ET RSVP today on 2022 Portal CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Sessions Include:

• Historical overview of Titanium • Titanium characteristics • Comparisons with other metals Titanium manufacturing • Titanium Alloys

• • • •

Heat treating Corrosion resistance Mechanical Properties Joining, Forming, Finishing, Safety

Fundamentals of Titanium will prepare you to present and work effectively with job related functions that involve titanium. Participants will receive a complete overview of titanium and a thorough grounding in its metallurgy, characteristics, properties and uses.

• Recent technology advances • Additive Manufacturing • Current and emerging applications

As part of the course, ITA will provide attendees with access to an online comprehensive study guide and the slides and videos offered during the course to serve as reference tools to utilize the information as needed in the workplace. About the Instructor: Donald E. Larsen is currently President of KineTic Engineering a consulting firm that provides expertise across the Titanium industry. Prior to this he spent over 30 years at Howmet Aerospace/Arconic retiring in 2018 as Vice President,

R&D, General Manager Advanced Manufacturing for Arconic. In this role, he was responsible for leading R&D and production teams working on priority titanium technology projects, including 3D printing and advanced manufacturing activities. He also served as a liaison to the Arconic Technical Center (ATC) and Arconic’s Whitehall Technology Center. Don retired in Q3 of 2018 and temporarily took on the role of Interim Plant Manager Ti-Ingot Operation and

Director of Special Projects. Don joined the Howmet Aerospace in 1988 and served in a number of roles focused on the research, development and production of titanium products. He has also held operational and sales and marketing roles with the company. Don has a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering from The Ohio State University, and is the holder of 11 U.S. patents. He has published more than 30 technical articles in the field of titanium.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW! TITANIUMTODAY

Titanium Today, 1st Edition 2022

Articles inside

Amaero Focuses on Additive Manufacturing Solutions For Titanium Industry’s Key Global Business Secto

Titanium Additive Manufacturing Evolves Incrementally To Achieve ‘Qualification’ of Global Aerospace Industry

War in Ukraine, Pandemic, Supply Chain Bottlenecks Create Challenges for Titanium Distribution Business

ASTM Program, National Center at Auburn University Mark Milestones in Additive Manufacturing Technology

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Setting Off Shockwaves in Global Titanium Industry

After 2 Years of Virtual TITANIUM USA to be held in Person in Orlando, October 9-12, 2022