Taniobis produces high-quality materials, powders, and alloys based on tantalum and niobium, forming the basis of many everyday objects. Alongside its influence on global technology trends such as the Internet of Things and big data, Taniobis just recently unveiled a new metal powder for additive manufacturing: AMtrinsic.

From its roots as H.C. Starck Tantalum & Niobium, the company has been doing business as Taniobis GmbH since July 1. With over 60 years of experience in metallurgy, Taniobis produces products for customers from fields including the automotive, energy, aviation, electronics, chemicals, and medical technology industries. In the course of these activities, the company also serves the booming worldwide field of additive manufacturing – primarily based on its biocompatible alloys, which are used to produce patient-specific implants made using 3D printing. The specific processing of Taniobis powders in 3D printing processes is made possible by the powders' spherical morphology.

Advantageous properties of AMtrinsic powders

Taniobis developed the spherical AMtrinsic powders as part of its portfolio of solutions for additive manufacturing. The "AM" part of the name stands for "additive manufacturing," while "-trinsic" reflects the powders' intrinsic material properties. Pairing the versatility of these gas-atomised spherical powders made from tantalum and niobium alloys with the design freedom offered by additive manufacturing technologies opens up new application opportunities for manufacturers while ensuring high process reliability. The primary fields of application for AMtrinsic are medical implants and production of components that are resistant to heat and corrosion for the chemicals and aerospace industries.

These properties are based on those of tantalum and niobium: high temperature and corrosion resistance and conductivity. The specially designed alloys feature elasticity, strength, and hardness as additional intrinsic properties. Despite the high melting points of the materials, they can be printed using the usual processes. The powders were also developed after parameter optimisation to yield completely dense structures. Even highly complex compositions can be generated and printed, with the homogeneous distribution of elements being maintained in the printed parts. Thanks to their superior processing capability, the powders can be adjusted according to specific requirements, and the alloys are variable.