Renishaw, an engineering technology company operating in 36 countries, has collaborated with Cookson Industrial, a UK-based specialist in precious metal additive manufacturing (AM), to enhance the viability of producing platinum rhodium components through AM. By implementing targeted system modifications, the partnership has reduced powder wastage, making the production of this high-cost metal more economically feasible. The advancement opens opportunities for large-scale manufacturing and the exploration of new applications for platinum rhodium in industries such as aerospace and catalysis.
Addressing the Challenges of Platinum Rhodium with Advanced Additive Manufacturing
Platinum rhodium is critical for high-temperature applications, such as glass fibre production, where it is the only metal capable of withstanding the extreme temperatures and corrosive conditions of molten glass. Cookson Industrial aimed to use platinum rhodium for 3D printing an extrusion mould for glass fibre manufacturing. However, due to its high cost—around £80,000 per kilogram—effective material utilization is essential. To address this challenge, Cookson Industrial adopted Renishaw’s RenAM 500S Flex, part of the RenAM 500 series of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems, to enhance powder retrieval and reuse.
The RenAM 500S Flex system, designed specifically for research and development (R&D), offers advanced powder management capabilities. Its open-loop powder system enables efficient powder swapping, accelerating the qualification of material properties, part design, and process parameters. Furthermore, the system supports external sieving, providing increased flexibility in powder selection.
Initial tests revealed a powder loss of 1.5%, but Cookson aimed to reduce this to under 0.5% to minimize platinum rhodium wastage and the related expenses. “Achieving near-zero wastage of its precious platinum rhodium powder was, quite understandably, a top priority for Cookson Industrial,” commented Jason Morgan, Senior Applications Engineer at Renishaw.
Renishaw’s team collaborated with Cookson to identify powder traps and redesigned key components to optimize powder retrieval without affecting system performance.Renishaw’s customizations resulted in a 95 %reduction in trapped powder, enabling Cookson Industrial to retrieve almost all of the platinum rhodium powder. This improvement, equating to savings of about £1,000 per cycle, made the commercial production of platinum rhodium components feasible.
“The ability to minimise powder loss will allow our company to save hundreds of thousands of pounds over the machine’s lifetime, which makes the difference between the application being commercially viable or not,” said Nikesh Patel, Head of Cookson Industrial.
The Future of Platinum Rhodium: Expanding Applications
Looking ahead, Cookson Industrial intends to investigate new applications for platinum rhodium in areas such as catalysts and aerospace engine nozzles. “This successful collaboration with Cookson Industrial highlights how Renishaw supports its customers from the outset of their additive manufacturing journey, particularly when working with new materials,” said Morgan.
Precious Metals in Industrial AM and Metal Powder Production
Renishaw is not the only firm working to address the growing demand for high-performance metal powders. 3D Lab, a Warsaw-based service bureau, is introducing the ATO Suite at Formnext 2024. This modular set of equipment manages metal powder production from feedstock preparation to final refinement. The ATO Lab Plus, ATO Noble, and related systems enable custom powder production, reuse of scrap materials, and control over particle size distribution. The equipment occupies a small footprint and includes vacuum casting and ultrasonic sieving options. Such configurations can support the handling of high-value materials by improving powder quality and minimizing contamination.
Elsewhere, NASA, licensed its GRX-810 superalloy powder to five US-based companies. GRX-810 is an Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) alloy designed to withstand extreme temperatures found in aerospace and space applications. The licensing agreement will see 3D printing material developers Carpenter Technology Corporation, Elementum 3D, Linde Advanced Material Technologies, Inc., and Powder Alloy Corporation manufacture and sell the powder in America. They will primarily target aerospace equipment manufacturers, as well as the broader supply chain.
What 3D printing trends should you watch out for in 2025?
How is the future of 3D printing shaping up?
To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don’t forget to subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter or follow us on Linkedin.
While you’re here, why not subscribe to our YouTube channel? Featuring discussion, debriefs, video shorts, and webinar replays.
Feature image shows platinum Rhodium with Advanced Additive Manufacturing. Photo via: Renishaw
