Cookson Industrial
Assembly Line
Renishaw helps with cost effective 3D printing of the world’s most expensive metal
Renishaw has enabled Cookson Industrial, a UK-based leader in precious metal additive manufacturing (AM), to significantly reduce the cost of 3D printing platinum rhodium, one of the world’s most expensive metals. Cookson Industrial can now produce platinum rhodium components on Renishaw’s RenAM 500S Flex AM system with exceptional material efficiency. High-temperature corrosion-resistant parts, for industries like glass fibre manufacturing, can now be viably manufactured with AM.
Cookson Industrial, a division of Cooksongold and a subsidiary of HM Precious Metals, brings over 30 years of expertise in the design and production of precious metal alloys. The company set out to redefine platinum rhodium’s use in additive manufacturing. However, with platinum rhodium prices averaging £80,000 per kilo, minimising material waste was crucial to making production commercially viable.
To meet this challenge, Cookson Industrial selected Renishaw’s RenAM 500S Flex, a laser powder bed fusion system designed for research and development applications. Renishaw’s AM engineering team worked closely with Cookson Industrial to adapt the system to the specific demands of platinum rhodium production. As standard, the RenAM 500S Flex is capable of achieving powder waste levels as low as 1.5 per cent. However, to align with Cookson Industrial’s requirements, customisations were needed to reduce it to less than 0.5 per cent.