Additive Manufacturing
High-performance scandium-containing Aluminum alloy powder and wire are developed for additive manufacturing industry. 5xxx Aluminum-Magnesium-Scandium metal powder is specifically been developed for AM of high-strength aerospace structures. It has exceptional high-fatigue properties with specific strength approaching that of titanium. In comparison, the AlSi10Mg aluminum silicon powder, widely used for additive manufacture, is only half as strong. By using aluminum-scandium alloys, a large aircraft could reduce the weight by 10%-15%.
Scandium-containing aluminum alloy wires could be applied to the Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing process. At present, Hunan Oriental Scandium manufactures scandium-containing aluminum wires of 2xxx (Al-Cu), 5xxx (Al-Mg) and 7xxx (Al-Zn). Among them, the 5xxx aluminum alloy wires, aluminum-magnesium-scandium alloy wires, is most in demand.
Market Demand
Scandium-containing Aluminum alloy can find wide utility in the fields of aviation, aerospace, military, and shipbuilding. It is stated that the aluminum AM part production is expected to overtake prototyping by 2027. In one of aluminum AM reports, it is estimated that a new generation of AM high performance Al-Mg-Sc alloy will become the most highly demanded types of aluminum alloys in AM, leading the drive toward production applications.
Market Supply
Hunan Oriental Scandium is one of the global manufacturers of Scandium-containing Aluminum alloy powder and wire. OSC current production capacity of Aluminum-Magnesium-Scandium powder is 50 tons per year, 100 tons for wire. The market demand is growing annually so as the production capacity, and the production costs will be further reduced significantly.