AMALLOY is the first metal additive manufacturing raw material designed for laser beam powder bed melting (PDF LB) systems in the Middle East. This low-cost, high-strength aluminum alloy exhibits excellent printability and performance.

Compared with commercially available AlSi10Mg alloy, AMALLOY has a 33% increase in strength and its ductility is not affected. This makes this new material an excellent candidate for lightweight and high-strength components necessary to meet high demand applications.

Due to its unique chemical composition and inherent metallurgical compound properties, AMALLOY exhibits an extremely low sensitivity coefficient to hot cracking, which means that this material can achieve higher strength without experiencing hot cracking problems.

AMALLOY aluminum alloy has a stable eutectic microstructure and high saturation, combined with precipitation hardening and grain refinement, which can achieve higher strength. TII researchers collaborated with the University of Oxford to analyze and reveal the presence of nano precipitates in the original microstructure of AMALLOY aluminum alloy using atomic probe tomography (APT) characterization, which further enhances the strength of the alloy.

In addition to excellent mechanical properties, AMALLOY alloy has also undergone testing up to 300 ° C, demonstrating excellent thermal stability, making it possible for this brand to be used in high-temperature environments.

Dr. NesmaAboulkhair, Director of Additive Manufacturing at TII, said: Our focus is on developing high-strength alloys with excellent printability. We plan to use these new materials to manufacture defect free parts for critical and high-value applications. We are adopting a comprehensive computational and experimental approach to design and produce these new materials for metal additive manufacturing. The framework consists of six stages, including alloy design, experimental verification, and in-situ alloying through accelerated process optimization Additive manufacturing, material testing, metal powder optimization, and final database establishment.

The fact has proven that the proprietary material development model established by TII has been very successful in developing AMALLOY, and he has applied for a patent for the alloy to the US Patent Office.

TII plans to apply this method to the development of new alloys for other metal families and traditional manufacturing processes. Dr. Federico Bosio, Chief Researcher of TII Additive Manufacturing Materials, stated: Our target customers for developing new metal 3D printing materials are global metal powder manufacturers, and we are exploring the licensing of our new patented alloy components to global manufacturers. The new AMALLOY alloy is suitable for manufacturing low-gravity components, such as antennas, aircraft supports, nanosatellites, etc. in the aviation/aerospace industry; as well as high-strength components such as topology optimized engine supports.

In the printing state, AMALLOY has a series of excellent material properties. These attributes include a relative density of 99.9% or higher, ensuring its structural integrity and strength. In addition, it also has the minimum Hot Crack Sensitivity (HCS) coefficient, measured below 0.3 according to Clyne and Davis models, which enhances its elasticity during the manufacturing process. In terms of hardness, AMALLOY's Vickers hardness range is 140 HV to 200 HV, which is determined by its unique chemical formula. The alloy also exhibits considerable mechanical properties, with yield strength ranging from 200 to 350MPa (determined by its chemical composition) and ultimate tensile strength ranging from 350 MPa to 500 MPa, further consolidating its applicability for various applications.

The AMALLOY alloy series materials will be further developed based on the TII development framework to produce high-strength aluminum alloys specifically designed for high-temperature applications. Once completed, the material will open up a series of new applications in fields such as aerospace, space, oil and gas, and nuclear energy.