Norsk Titanium, the world's first FAA-approved supplier of aerospace-grade, additive manufactured, structural titanium components, is the recipient of the International Titanium Association's (ITA) 2018 Titanium Application Development Award.

Norsk executives will receive the award during a presentation ceremony at the annual TITANIUM USA conference and exhibition, which will be held October 7-10 at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

As reported last year, Norsk Titanium began delivering the structural, additive manufactured aerospace parts to industry giant Boeing. These first OEM-qualified components are now flying on the Boeing 787. Norsk utilizes its Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) wire-fed process to produce near-net-shape titanium parts at its production facilities in Hønefoss, Norway, and Plattsburgh, NY.

"Norsk Titanium is honored to be recognized by ITA for the 2018 Titanium Applications Development Award," Michael Canario, chief executive officer of Norsk Titanium, stated. "This achievement by our dedicated team follows the vision of our Norwegian founders to revolutionize the titanium manufacturing industry with our Rapid Plasma Deposition technology. We want to expressly thank our research and development partners for their support in promoting new titanium applications."

Edward A. Sobota Jr., the president of TSI Titanium, Derry, PA, and the chair of the ITA's TAD award selection committee, praised the accomplishments of Norsk Titanium, saying the company is leading the titanium industry into the next phase of industrial additive manufacturing. "This is good for our industry," Sobota observed. "Additive manufacturing will help get titanium into applications never before possible." In addition to his executive duties at TSI, Sobota serves as a member of the ITA's board of directors.

Norsk's Plattsburgh Development and Qualification Center (PDQC) houses nine of Norsk's proprietary RPD titanium printing machines. The Norsk's Norwegian facility, known as the Engineering and Technology Center, continues to operate qualified and approved RPD machines. The RPD process uses titanium wire with plasma torches to print titanium structural components on an industrial scale.

According to Norsk officials, this additive manufacturing technology has demonstrated it can be used to produce parts weighing over 100 lbs. They said that RPD is also 50-100 times faster than powder-based additive manufacturing systems and uses 25-50 percent less titanium than incumbent forging processes. In addition to producing parts for commercial jets, the RPD process can be used to manufacture structural parts for the space, transportation, oil and gas, and maritime business sectors.

The ITA (https://titanium.org) sponsors the TAD award to recognize: significant achievement towards improving and expanding the use of titanium; promoting titanium products into new applications or enhancing the performance of titanium in an existing application; unveiling a technical breakthrough that specifically expands the use of titanium; inaugurating or influencing outstanding research or marketing programs leading to the expansion of the titanium market or titanium products; initiating or creating important new and imaginative uses for titanium.