Sandvik and BEAMIT return to Rapid + TCT – sharing their advancements to industrialize additive manufacturing

In 2019, Sandvik acquired a significant stake in the BEAMIT Group. During the following years, BEAMIT has grown to become one of the world’s largest independent additive manufacturing (AM) service provider, supporting the most demanding industries with high-end components. At Rapid + TCT 2022, Sandvik and BEAMIT will co-exhibit to present the widest range of premium metal powders for all additive manufacturing processes, as well as several additive customer cases in different materials, to showcase their expertise along the additive value chain.

With our recent, joint advancements in high-end AM and metal powders alike, our offering has never been stronger

Kristian Egeberg, President of Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, says:
“We are very excited to co-exhibit with BEAMIT at Rapid + TCT in Detroit. Following a successful show at Formnext in Frankfurt last fall, we are ready to meet with our existing and new customers and partners in North America, and discuss opportunities leveraging the combined power of Sandvik and BEAMIT. With our recent, joint advancements in high-end AM component manufacturing and metal powders alike, our offering has never been stronger. We have our eyes set on driving the shift toward sustainable manufacturing – through the industrialization of AM”.

Andrea Scanavini, Chief Commercial Officer of the BEAMIT Group, says:
“Our strategic and industrial partnership with Sandvik gives us a competitive advantage when it comes to leading materials expertise, materials development capabilities, and supply of the widest range of alloys for different AM technologies. Together, we have leading capabilities throughout the AM value chain and know what it takes to industrialize end-to-end additive manufacturing to meet increasingly ambitious sustainability targets. We are really looking forward to meet with companies on the North American market to discuss their needs – and have an opportunity to present the full power of the Sandvik-BEAMIT offering”.

3D printed cemented carbide by Sandvik

Sandvik recently introduced their additively manufactured cemented carbides – allowing for one of the hardest materials available to be 3D printed into virtually any shape. Sandvik has been working with cemented carbides since 1932 providing, for instance, metal cutting- and mining tools such as turning inserts, end-mills, and drill bits. Now, the world leader in hard materials broadens its offering to also include superiorly wear-resistant components free from design restrictions – enabled by a unique material developed through a proprietary and patented process.

Sandvik has developed both a powder and a process that are unique. Our powders are optimized to print components that look great, work well and are fit for use

Anders Ohlsson, Lead Product Manager at Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, comments:
“The most critical component in our process is working with powders that have the just-right properties. Above all, high density crucially impacts the quality achievable in terms of material properties and geometry. Sandvik has developed both a powder and a process that are unique. Our powders are optimized to print components that look great, work well, and are fit for use in actual applications, demanding environments, and serial production. It’s also well worth mentioning the ability to 3D print cemented carbide speeds up our time-to-market rather dramatically. Prototyping used to take 6-12 months – and now our lead time to date is a matter of weeks.”

Anders Ohlsson, Lead Product Manager at Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, holding a 3D-printed cemented carbide nozzle.

Mikael Schuisky, VP and Head of Business Unit Additive Manufacturing at Sandvik says:
“The main enabler behind us continuously building on our additive offering is the fact that at Sandvik, innovation never stops. Thanks to our longstanding experience in materials technology paired with our expertise along the additive value chain, made even stronger by our partnership with the BEAMIT Group, we can innovate at a speed few others can. This makes us uniquely positioned to drive the shift toward the industrialization of 3D printing, and prove sustainable manufacturing isn’t just possible – it’s already happening”.

Several components printed in cemented carbide will be on display in the Sandvik-BEAMIT booth at Rapid + TCT 2022.

Additively manufactured super-duplex stainless steel

At Rapid + TCT, Sandvik and BEAMIT will also showcase their impellers reinvented – printed in offshore essential Osprey® 2507, the strong and corrosion-resistant metal powder tailored for AM, and manufactured in-house at Sandvik to the highest international standards. When presenting their ability to print in super duplex, Sandvik and BEAMIT also let on they were continuously collaborating to develop process parameters for larger applications. Since then, the companies’ additive experts successfully designed and manufactured an impeller with a diameter of 380 millimeters – as well as a number of internal features catering to the needs of the most demanding marine industries.

Impeller, 3D printed in Osprey® 2507 super-duplex stainless steel.

Johan Wallin, Product Manager for super duplex at Sandvik Additive Manufacturing, comments: “Sandvik has been driving the materials evolution since 1862, with duplex stainless steels – including super duplex and hyper duplex – being one of our flagship material families. By our joint forces with BEAMIT we are set up to drive the implementation of AM across a number of industries where the impact of optimized, corrosion-resistant components, as well as on-demand production of spare parts is potentially enormous.”

Significantly increased manufacturing capacity of Osprey® metal powders for AM

Sandvik’s ever-evolving and market-leading range of Osprey® metal powders continue to grow and now includes, for instance, premium titanium alloys and copper powder, as well as nickel-based superalloys, cobalt-chrome, and ultra-hard maraging steels. Produced in state-of-the-art and highly automated powder manufacturing facilities in-house at Sandvik, the Osprey® range of metal powders provide unsurpassed levels of consistency and traceability. Due to the materials authority controlling the entire additive value chain, from powder to finished component, the Osprey® metal powders are an ideal fit for industries where reliability is key.

We significantly increase our production capacity for premium metal powders, and are even better positioned to meet the increased demand for metal powders for AM

In 2021, Sandvik announced they are continuing to invest in metal powder capacity for AM by installing two additional atomization towers at their production site in Neath, UK. This expansion followed investments in manufacturing capacity for titanium and nickel-based superalloys in Sandviken, Sweden.

We offer the widest range of gas-atomized metal powders on the market.

Andrew Coleman, Business Unit Manager at Sandvik’s metal powder business, says:
“Sandvik offers extensive capabilities in terms of providing high-quality and consistent metal powders to customers engaged in a variety of AM processes such as laser powder bed fusion, electron beam melting, and binder jetting. By installing these additional atomizing towers, we significantly increase our production capacity for premium metal powders, and are even better positioned to meet the increased demand for metal powders for AM”.

The Sandvik-BEAMIT booth 3431 at Rapid + TCT will be filled with industrial customer cases covering a wide range of materials and additive processes, as well as the leading metal powder and AM experts of Sandvik and the BEAMIT Group – ready to discuss customers’ specific needs and challenges. For further information about Sandvik’s presence at Rapid + TCT 2022, please visit our campaign website.