OXYMATE

Additive manufacturing of titanium components offers decisive advantages over conventional manufacturing processes: less material usage, the creation of complex geometries, and significantly reduced development times. However, manufacturing-related residual stresses and, in particular, the oxygen content in the material have a significant impact on the mechanical properties and service life of the components. To date, the relationships between oxygen content, microstructure formation, and fatigue strength are poorly understood, especially in new, sustainable manufacturing processes such as lithography-based metal manufacturing (LMM) and cold metal fusion (CMF).

OXYMATE focuses on the characterization and targeted control of the oxygen content in powder-based titanium components. The goal is to develop a new, practical factory standard that guarantees high mechanical properties (such as those required for implants or aerospace components) even for components with partially elevated oxygen content. This will enable innovative additive manufacturing processes to be integrated into previously standard-critical applications, while simultaneously achieving significant resource savings and increasing component service life.

The project includes:

• The systematic determination of the influence of variable process and powder parameters on the oxygen content and microstructure of the manufactured components.
• The development and validation of test concepts for evaluating fatigue strength and the role of internal compressive stresses.
• The construction of a process chain including a new LMM system and comprehensive material and strength analyses.
• Simulation-supported optimization of the sintering process and continuous validation through experimental component tests.

With this approach, the project not only strengthens basic research in the field of innovative metallic materials and additive manufacturing, but also directly promotes technology transfer between universities and industry. Element22 and Kiel University of Applied Sciences are pooling their expertise in both materials engineering and fatigue strength to enable market-ready applications. At the same time, OXYMATE makes a significant contribution to environmental and climate protection by reducing material and energy requirements and creating recycling opportunities.

The project's results, including new material standards, optimized process routes, and scientifically sound lifetime models, will be made accessible to industry on a non-discriminatory basis and will directly feed into teaching and further application-oriented research at Kiel University of Applied Sciences. OXYMATE thus lays the foundation for the sustainable and market-oriented development of additive manufacturing in Schleswig-Holstein and beyond.