Superior materials specialist 6K has been acknowledged on the NATSEC100 checklist by the Silicon Valley Protection Group (SVDG).
The 2024 NATSEC100 report offers an outline of the rising techno-security panorama, aiming to stimulate dialogue on the Protection Industrial Base (DIB) and Nationwide Safety Innovation Base (NSIB). This 12 months’s report options corporations which are pioneering new applied sciences in nationwide safety, lots of which had been beforehand deemed unattainable.
“Investments, funding, and assist for smaller corporations focused at protection initiatives are vital to our nationwide safety. These organizations are on the chopping fringe of expertise that may underpin the event of vital supplies for our nation’s infrastructure and the nation’s homeland safety and intelligence,” mentioned Michael Falcon, Associate at IQT. “Silicon Valley Protection Group’s NATSEC100, in live performance with JPMorgan Chase has put collectively a powerful checklist of those organizations. Congrats to the 100 spectacular corporations.”
6K’s function in protection sector
6K says its experience lies in enhancing protection capabilities with high-quality metallic powders for additive manufacturing, enabling superior, light-weight elements. CEO Dr. Aaron Bent emphasizes their mission to deal with manufacturing limitations and meet stringent materials calls for in vital sectors, as evidenced by the corporate’s NATSEC100 rating.
Again in 2020, 6K secured a Part Two Small Enterprise Innovation Analysis (SBIR) award from the U.S. Protection Logistics Company (DLA) to develop a closed-loop provide chain for high-performance metallic powders from scrap. Constructing on the success of Part One, this system utilized 6K’s UniMelt system to transform nickel superalloy scrap into aerospace-grade powders for 3D printing. This effort aimed to boost the provision and high quality of superalloys, assist sooner adoption of additive manufacturing, and scale back prices for the U.S. Division of Protection (DoD).
Elsewhere, the U.S. DoD awarded a $23.4 million grant to 6K’s AM division 6K Additive as a part of a broader $50 million funding program. Granted via the Manufacturing Functionality Growth and Funding Prioritization (MCEIP) directorate, this funding was aimed for use for enhancing the corporate’s metallic upcycling capabilities.
The grant allowed 6K Additive to double its capability, enhance home recycling of vital metals, and increase manufacturing for high-grade supplies. The funds sought to assist facility renovations, expertise acquisition, and gear upgrades, to realize full-rate manufacturing at its Burgettstown, PA facility by the top of 2026.
6K expands its capabilities over time
As part of its development technique, 6K has made notable strides by leveraging its experience via strategic initiatives. By a $51 million Sequence C funding in 2021, the agency completed its Battery Growth Heart of Excellence, expanded its 6K Power crew, and tripled its manufacturing capability for 3D printing metallic powders.
Focusing on the protection, aerospace, and medical industries, 6K additionally launched a line of refractory metallic powders for 3D printing. These powders, composed of invaluable metals together with tungsten, rhenium, and niobium alloys, are engineered to resist excessive warmth and strain.
In 2020, 6K Additive commissioned two patented UniMelt techniques at its 40,000-square-foot facility in Pennsylvania. These techniques had been set to supply 200 tons of high-grade feedstock powder yearly by convering recycled supplies into premium metallic powders. The agency’s UniMelt system helps scale back prices, increase throughput, and mitigate provide chain dangers whereas enhancing materials efficiency and supporting nationwide safety via environmental sustainability.
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Featured picture exhibits 6K’s UniMelt plasma manufacturing system is uniquely able to changing high-value metallic scrap of quite a few kinds into high-performance metallic powders for additive manufacturing. Picture through 6K Additive.
