Amaero completes qualification of Addman’s Niobium C103 powder
September 11, 2024
Amaero International Limited, based in McDonald, Tennessee, USA, reports it has completed the qualification of Niobium C103 powder for Additive Manufacturing in accordance with Addman Group and its subsidiary Castheon’s technical specifications. The successful qualification triggers Addman’s obligation to purchase no less than 2.25 tonnes of C103, with 0.25 tonnes expected to be shipped in 2024 and 2.0 tonnes expected to be shipped in 2025.
The agreement also establishes Amaero as the preferred and primary supplier of C103, refractory, and titanium alloy AM powders to Addman Group, including its Castheon and Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing (KAM) subsidiaries. The preferred supplier agreement is for a period of five years and does not establish a minimum order threshold.
“Since I assumed the role of chairman and CEO in October 2022, we have taken bold and decisive actions to position Amaero as a leading US domestic producer of C103, refractory and titanium alloy AM powder,” stated Hank Holland. “In order for Additive Manufacturing to achieve its potential, it’s imperative that we create a more resilient, more scalable, and more responsive US domestic supply chain for C103 and speciality alloy AM powder. And time is of the essence.”
Castheon, under the leadership of Chief Scientist Dr Youping Gao, primarily serves the defence and space industries with additively manufactured Niobium C103 and refractory alloys. With over twenty years of experience in the traditional processing of C103 for space-borne products, including leading NASA-certified AM projects, Dr Gao has played a crucial role in refining the use of C103.
Addman’s acquisition of Castheon and KAM creates one of the largest US domestic metal AM providers, with over fifty Additive Manufacturing machines across multiple locations. The companies actively collaborate with US Department of Defense-funded laboratories and major defence contractors on critical national security projects, including hypersonic and strategic missiles, space launch systems, and satellites.
“Amaero has acted with a sense of urgency to relocate its business to the United States to attract a leading technical and manufacturing team and to prioritise production of C103 and refractory alloy AM powders,” stated Lieutenant General (retired) HR McMaster, Special Advisor to Chairman and CEO. “These were vital efforts to address critical vulnerabilities in US defence and national security supply chains and will help advance hypersonic and strategic missile programmes to serial production.
“Amaero’s scalable production of C103 and refractory alloy powders and Castheon’s leadership position in material science and Additive Manufacturing demonstrate that it is possible to use cutting-edge technologies to re-shore and scale critical industrial base capabilities that are atrophied to a dangerous level,” McMaster concluded.
Amaero has stated it looks forward to collaborating with Addman to advance manufacturing readiness levels (MRL) and technical readiness levels (TRL) to enable broad insertion of metal Additive Manufacturing to support the US Department of Defence, DoD-funded laboratories, and defence prime contractors to progress hypersonic and strategic missile platforms from development and demonstration phases to serial production.
Joe Calmese, CEO of Addman Group, added, “To fully unlock the potential of Additive Manufacturing, we need to improve the scalability and responsiveness of US production for C103 and speciality alloy AM powders. Amaero’s commitment to these priorities, along with their collaboration with Addman Group and the broader US defence ecosystem, will significantly accelerate the adoption of Additive Manufacturing and drive important advancements in materials and manufacturing.”
