The new business unit, which is already shipping production parts to customers, combines the company’s expertise in materials science and wear-resistant solutions with additive manufacturing capabilities to supply high performance metal additive powders and fully finished 3D-printed parts for wear, erosion, corrosion and high temperature applications.
Its first production parts have been shipped to customers in the oil and gas and power industries. These high performance wear components include parts printed with powders specifically designed and optimizsd for 3D printing, including Kennametal KAC89 tungsten carbide and Stellite 6 AM, a wear-resistant cobalt-chrome alloy.
Kennametal has been leveraging 3D printing materials and processes within its existing businesses for some time to manufacture prototype components and cutting tools. The new Kennametal Additive Manufacturing business builds on these capabilities to offer comprehensive 3D-printing solutions, from raw material to finished part.
The company’s gas atomisation powder production capabilities supply cobalt, nickel, and iron powders optimised for specific additive manufacturing processes. At its research and development, pilot production and prototyping centre in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the business utilises laser powder bed and binder jet printing technologies, combined with post-print processing capabilities, including sintering, hot isostatic pressing and machining, to produce fully finished components.
The business unit is led by Sherri McCleary, director, Additive Manufacturing Business, who brings 30 years of materials science and business development expertise to the role.
“Kennametal Additive Manufacturing combines our recognised expertise in wear materials, such as tungsten carbide and Kennametal Stellite, with the advantages of 3D printing—design flexibility, shorter development cycles and reduced lead times,” said Ron Port, vice president, Kennametal Inc. and president, Infrastructure Business Segment. “We are focused on high-growth potential additive solutions and this new business unit is advancing both what we make and how we make it, so we can produce better parts, faster and more efficiently, for our customers.”
