en.Wedoany.com Reported - German company Gefertec has launched its new system, Arctitan, for additive manufacturing of titanium components. The system combines a fully sealed protective gas atmosphere with a plasma-based WAAM process, maintaining constant process conditions throughout the entire manufacturing cycle and controlling oxygen levels within the build space to 10–15 ppm. Gefertec states that the equipment achieves a deposition rate of up to 3 kilograms per hour.

Titanium is a material of interest for industrial applications due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent corrosion resistance, and performance under extreme conditions. However, its processing is sensitive to impurities and imposes stringent requirements on manufacturing processes. Gefertec states that Arctitan was specifically developed to address this characteristic, aiming to achieve precise control over process conditions.

At the core of Arctitan is a fully enclosed build space. The entire process chamber is filled with protective gas, maintaining a uniform atmosphere throughout the manufacturing process without the need for additional enclosures or external protective gas systems. The equipment also employs a plasma-based welding process, utilizing a focused and stable arc to achieve precise control of energy input and uniform part quality. Gefertec points out that the combination of the enclosed build space and the plasma process allows users to precisely control process conditions throughout the entire build, thereby ensuring repeatability of process conditions in titanium processing.

The standard machine features a build space of 2000 × 700 × 1000 mm, enabling the production of components in various sizes; Gefertec also offers customized designs in terms of dimensions and configuration upon customer request. The company states that the system's application areas include aerospace, the energy sector, and other similar industrial applications where titanium is the material of choice, thereby paving the way for scalable additive manufacturing of titanium components.