DOD invests in 6K Additive UniMelt tech

Awarded a five-year Blanket Purchase Agreement from the United States Army toward the end of September, 6K Additive LLC announced the receipt of $23.4 million in funding from the Department of Defense to expand its refining capabilities for defense and commercial supply chains.

Considered a leader in the sustainable production of materials for additive manufacturing, 6K Additive is a division of 6K Inc., a company focused on delivering next-generation materials at the highest levels of sustainability.

Utilizing its proprietary advanced microwave plasma technology, called UniMelt, 6K Additive became the arm of the company advancing its tailor-made, extremely pure, and best-in-class materials for industries across metal 3D printing, renewable energy, aerospace, consumer electronics, and more.

On Sept. 25, 6K announced it had been awarded a five-year BPA from Army Contracting Command in support of U.S. Army Development Command (DEVCOM) – the Army's technology leader and largest developer – for its strategic high-performance metal powders following an extensive competitive sourcing selection.

Selected from multiple leaders in additive manufacturing, 6K's UniMelt plasma production system stood out as it is uniquely capable of converting high-value metal scrap of numerous forms into high-performance metal powders for additive manufacturing, metal injection molding, and other powder metallurgy production techniques.

With its technology, for the first time, the U.S. Army has access to a vast domestic supply of strategically important metals and alloys such as nickel and titanium from machine shops and boneyards, as well as refractory powders such as C103 (a niobium alloy powder), tungsten, and others that are critical to the mission of the modern soldier.

The patented 6K Additive process cleans, prepares, and spheroidizes scrap alloys into high-quality powders with performance superior to atomization technologies, according to the company.

This process will provide the US military with a secure, traceable domestic supply of critical materials while eliminating unexpected performance anomalies due to questionable sourcing from foreign supply.

Now, DOD has announced its awarding of $23.4 million to bolster 6K's capabilities to better meet its supplier agreement.

"U.S. dependency on foreign sources for specialty metals presents a significant risk to national security," said Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. "6K's products will feed supply chains that form the basis of our military's core warfighting capabilities."

This award will enable 6K Additive to execute facility renovation, equipment acquisition and installation, and engineering. The intended result is an increase in production capacity for high-grade metals, including titanium, niobium, nickel, and tungsten.

Used in nearly all branches of defense and in key applications, with a strengthened supply, it will add confidence to the nation's defensive bodies and provide security in knowing the quality is American-made.