Tailor-made alloys and highly reactive metals: Neue Materialien Bayreuth expands its plant technology for the development of new materials and processes

In order to conduct material and process-related research, the corresponding raw material must be available. Standard alloys are readily available on the market; however, this is not the case for highly reactive materials, such as titanium alloys, and for alloys specifically tailored to a particular application, such as low-density steels and aluminum materials. Such raw materials must be specifically manufactured.

For this purpose, the new high vacuum casting system of NMB enables the production of corresponding semi-finished products in the form of bars, blocks, or cylinders. These can be further processed for tests on processability, for example, with additive manufacturing methods or in coating processes, possibly into metal powder or wire.

The high vacuum casting system offers ideal conditions for the development of new materials and processes. It operates with a two-chamber mode, where the melting and forming chambers are operated at different pressure levels. This allows for targeted control of the melt during the filling of the mold and the subsequent solidification. As a result, there is a high flexibility in dealing with various materials, as the solidification conditions can be precisely adjusted to the requirements of the respective alloy.

The high vacuum casting process enables casting under high vacuum down to a pressure level of 10⁻⁵ mbar and at a maximum temperature of 2,100 °C, thereby preventing unwanted reactions between the melt and the surrounding air. This is particularly true for highly reactive metals, such as titanium-based materials, as oxygen and nitrogen cannot engage in unwanted reactions at high temperatures. 

Through effective degassing during the high vacuum casting process, pore-free semi-finished products with high purity are produced, which are characterized by excellent material quality.

NMB has created even better starting conditions with the new system to develop novel alloys – especially highly reactive materials.