Australia’s Titanium AM Community Convenes at RMIT

Australia’s leading researchers and industry experts in titanium additive manufacturing (AM) gathered at RMIT University on 10 September for the inaugural Australian Titanium Additive Manufacturing Workshop, highlighting the nation’s growing capability in a technology set to play a critical role in the future of aerospace, defence, medical and advanced engineering.

Hosted by the Centre for Additive Manufacturing (RCAM), the workshop brought together experts from more than 10 universities, along with representatives from research organisations and industry, to share the latest advances in titanium materials, processes and applications.

The day commenced with a keynote presentation from Professor Christoph Leyens, Professor of Materials Science at Technische Universität Dresden and Director of Fraunhofer IWS, who explored how tailoring microstructures in additive manufacturing can unlock improved performance and create new opportunities for titanium components in demanding applications.

Throughout the day, presentations showcased research spanning the entire titanium AM value chain, from feedstock and alloy development through to process optimisation, microstructure control, machining, post-processing and qualification. Topics included Ti-Nb alloys, high-strength Ti-Cu-Fe-Al systems, high-entropy alloys, crack propagation in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), high-temperature alloys for wire-based directed energy deposition (DED), titanium feedstocks and binder jetting technologies.

A key theme emerging from the workshop was that titanium additive manufacturing is evolving well beyond the production of complex geometries. Researchers are increasingly using AM as a platform to accelerate the development of new alloys, engineer microstructures and tailor material properties, opening new possibilities for high-performance applications.

Discussions also reinforced the importance of taking a whole-of-value-chain approach to industrial adoption. Successful titanium AM depends not only on the manufacturing process itself, but on the integration of alloy design, feedstock production, processing, post-processing, machining, mechanical performance and qualification.

Microstructure control was identified as one of the sector’s most significant research opportunities, with improved understanding of the relationship between processing conditions and material properties seen as critical to producing reliable, repeatable titanium components.

Perhaps the strongest message from the workshop was the value of bringing Australia’s titanium AM community together. The breadth of expertise on display highlighted the significant capability that exists across Australian universities, research organisations and industry, while also underscoring opportunities for greater collaboration and coordination.

Initiated and chaired by Professor Milan Brandt, the workshop provided an important forum to connect researchers and industry, strengthen national capability and explore how additive manufacturing can accelerate the development of next-generation titanium materials and components for high-value industries.