Melbourne, Australia, October 22nd: Industrial-scale additive manufacturing company Titomic (ASX: TTT) has agreed to supply Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) additively manufactured tooling to Hockley Pattern & Tool, a UK-based tooling company. The commercial unison will form a foundation for future opportunities, as the companies work collaboratively to deliver TKF’s advantages to Hockley Pattern customers.
Manufacturers experience extreme demand for tooling required to create carbon fibre parts, with order books filled years in advance with current supply being unable to meet demand due to production limitations of casting and wrought manufacturing.
To fulfil this demand, over the past two years, Titomic has undertaken extensive R&D to validate TKF to manufacture tooling. Now, these breakthroughs allow Titomic to create large tooling components in weeks, rather than 6-12 months.
Traditional machining of Invar metal billets to manufacture tools sees up to 90% of material wasted, and casting produces tools which are porous, which reduces tool lifespan considerably. To overcome these challenges, TKF manufactured near-net-shape tools only require 10% of material to be machined away, and with only 0.5% porosity, these tools exceed all vacuum leak testing standards for aerospace carbon fibre moulding.
With these benefits, clients reduce costs, lead and downtimes, and waste. Titomic now offers this unique capability for the $200B tooling market – estimated to grow to $368B by 2026.
Commenting on the announcement, Titomic’s Managing Director, Jeff Lang, stated:
“TKF for tooling has been proven to meet certifications and standards, positioning Titomic to revolutionise this global industry. Now, we’re excited to partner with Hockley Pattern – a global tooling leader – to make a strong entrance into the British and European markets”.
Ian Eaves, Head of Technical & Innovation at Hockley Pattern, added:
“HPL and its customers are keen to explore and embrace the benefits available through the adoption of the TKF process for their current and future tooling requirements. Reducing carbon footprint, quicker time to market and reliable supply are just some of the key benefits we hope to bring to our clients through our partnership with Titomic” … “We are excited about the future”…
