Breaking through technical challenges such as low plasticity of high-strength aluminum alloys and cracking during laser selective melting (SLM) forming, the new high-strength aluminum alloy powder MT-AlMgErZr (internally named “HSAL-13”) for additive manufacturing by AVIC Maite has been launched, with innovative material composition design and fully independent intellectual property rights (patent number: CN113025853A).
Aluminum alloy plays an important role in aerospace, rail transit and other fields due to its advantages of low density and high specific strength, and is the most widely used lightweight and high-strength structural material. However, due to limitations in the 3D printing process, the mainstream 3D printed aluminum alloys in the market are limited to traditional casting based Al Si alloys. However, high-strength aluminum alloy powders such as 6000 series and 7000 series with better performance and higher strength still cannot be applied on a large scale in additive manufacturing due to printing cracking and other issues; At the same time, limited by the strict patent lockdown in the field of foreign materials, the development of additive manufacturing high-strength aluminum alloy materials with independent intellectual property rights in China is of great significance.Breaking through the blockading of Airbus Scalmalloy patented ingredients, MT-AlMgErZr innovative ingredient design with fully independent intellectual property rights
Unlike the successful application of Airbus high-strength aluminum alloy material Scalmalloy in the current foreign market, the R&D team of AVIC Maite Materials uses rare earth Er as the main strengthening element. Based on the Al Mg series aluminum alloy system, the team systematically regulates micro alloy elements such as Zr, Fe, Si, etc. Through precipitation phases such as Al3Er, Al3Zr, and Al3 (Er, Zr), the grain size is refined and the strength is improved. They have developed a high-strength aluminum alloy powder MT-AlMgErZr with independent intellectual property rights for additive manufacturing, The cost is significantly reduced compared to Scalmalloy, meeting the demand for domestic substitution. MT-AlMgErZr achieves SLM tensile strength ≥ 520MPa and elongation of 11% -13%, which is equivalent to Scalmalloy; Yield strength ≥ 500MPa, significantly better than Scalmalloy; Meanwhile, compared to the other three high-strength aluminum alloy powder grades in the industry, as well as conventional AlSi7Mg and AlSi10Mg powders (with a yield strength of 240-280MPa and an elongation of 7-10%), the overall performance advantage is outstanding. After heat treatment, the material’s transverse and longitudinal mechanical properties are basically the same.
Fine control of physical properties such as powder purity, particle size, morphology, etc. on a dedicated 500kg level high capacity vacuum induction atomization powder production lineIn terms of powder physical performance control, the AVIC Maite powder production team has broken through key powder production processes such as aluminum ingot melting, satellite powder control, and atomizer design. They have successfully developed a 500kg level high capacity vacuum induction gas atomization (VIGA) production line for high-strength aluminum alloys, effectively ensuring the high purity of powder preparation, and precise control of physical performance indicators such as powder particle size, morphology, sphericity, and oxygen content, The metal 3D printing process has superior adaptability. At present, the preparation production line has entered the hot trial stage, with multiple rounds of thermal preparation of MT-AlMgErZr high-strength aluminum alloy powder. The average detected sphericity reaches 88%, and the tensile strength at room temperature is 548MPa, yield strength is 528MPa, and elongation is 12.5%, exceeding the expected indicators. It has the capacity for large-scale production and sustainable and stable supply.
Multi round printing and heat treatment process optimization with excellent powder forming performanceIn terms of optimizing the performance of MT-AlMgErZr powder parts, the R&D team of AVIC Maite relies on the independent MT280 laser selective melting equipment and heat treatment process production line to carry out a series of printing and heat treatment process optimizations such as laser power, scanning speed, scanning spacing, etc; Powder printing does not crack and has excellent formability. It has been tested and certified by a third-party organization and meets the requirements of national standards, industry standards, and other standards.
With the rapid development of various application fields, the demand for aluminum alloy powder materials will become even stronger in the future, especially high-strength aluminum alloy materials with higher strength and better comprehensive mechanical properties; After repeated application verification, MT-AlMgErZr powder has excellent comprehensive performance. For applications such as aerospace, it can achieve lightweight manufacturing of large structural components, with high service reliability and low manufacturing costs; At present, it has been favored and tested by multiple customers, and has started mass production.
Avimetal has been deeply innovating high-performance metal powder materials for more than ten years, continuously enriching and optimizing the types of powder products, actively building its own brand, and continuously expanding material innovation in application fields to provide high-quality material solutions for the industry.
