6K Additive secures purchase agreement with the US army

Recycling of critical materials 6K Additive secures purchase agreement with the US army

2023-10-01 From 6K Additive 2 min Reading Time

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3D printing company 6K Additive has entered into a five-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with the US Army Development Command. This collaboration emphasises national security by facilitating the development of weapons using domestic feedstocks of critical materials sourced from 6K Additive's advanced Unimelt production process.

6K’s Unimelt plasma production system is capable of converting high-value metal scrap of numerous forms into high-performance metal powders for additive manufacturing.(Source: 6K Additive) — 6K’s Unimelt plasma production system is capable of converting high-value metal scrap of numerous forms into high-performance metal powders for additive manufacturing.
(Source: 6K Additive)

After a competitive source selection process, 6K Additive announced the award of a 5-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) from the Army Contracting Command in support of the US Army Development Command (Devcom) for strategic high performance metal powders. The BPA supports increased weapons research and development initiatives at Devcom and helps meet additional prototype and low-rate initial production (LRIP) production requirements. The BPA can be used by units at Picatinny Arsenal in NJ, Benet Labs in NY, Adelphi Laboratories in MD and Rock Island Arsenal in IL. 6K Additive's metal powders will be produced using the company's proprietary Unimelt microwave plasma platform, which underpins 6K's ability to source, process and reclaim scrap components, shop scrap and used powders for conversion into aerospace grade metal powders.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter J. Stambersky, USA Retired and Director of Federal Affairs at 6K, said: “My experience in the Army gives me a unique perspective on this agreement. There is clearly a benefit to 6K Additive, but more importantly, this agreement provides the US Army Devcom with access to critical additive manufacturing materials sourced from feedstock right here in the US. This agreement further establishes 6K Additive as a trusted partner for powders and as a source for remanufacturing retired components from military aircraft and vehicles, providing a closed-loop, secure supply of materials to the US Army.”

6K's Unimelt plasma production system is capable of converting high-value scrap metal in a variety of forms into high-performance metal powders for additive manufacturing, metal injection moulding and other powder metallurgy production processes. This provides, for the first time, access to a vast domestic supply of strategic metals and alloys such as nickel and titanium from machine shops and scrap yards, as well as refractory powders such as C103, tungsten and others critical to the modern warfighter's mission. The patented 6K Additive process cleans, prepares and spheroidises scrap alloys into high quality powders with performance superior to atomisation technologies. This process provides the US military with a secure, traceable domestic supply of critical materials while eliminating unexpected performance anomalies due to questionable foreign sourcing.

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