The technological basic principles of Titanium Metal Injection Molding technology were developed by Fraunhofer IFAM in Bremen and Helmholtz-Zentrum in Geesthacht in the late 1980’s.
In 2011 Element22 was founded by CEO Matthias Scharvogel. The first years were focused on closing technological gaps in order to master the Titanium MIM technology and create a path towards a safe, repeatable and efficient high volume production process. An important step was the first Ti6Al4V MIM part to receive approval for implantation in the human body by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012. More approvals and certifications for the medical technology and aerospace industries followed. In order to reduce time and costs, we started developing computer simulation tools of the critical process steps molding and sintering around 2014.
The thermal debinding and sintering technology is key to manufacturing Titanium parts with Powder Metallurgy processes. Together with the furnace company MUT Advanced Heating GmbH in Jena, Germany, we developed the ultimate equipment and profiles for thermal debinding and sintering of Titanium and its alloys. These principles can also be applied to other reactive metals as well. In 2017, we founded the Joint Venture with MUT Advanced Heating, called Titanium Generation GmbH.
Over the years, we’ve optimized the binder systems and furthermore can tailor them to specific applications. These efforts, together with the continuous enhancement of the Debind & Sinter process have resulted in material properties equal or superior to wrought product. This includes the chemistry as well as static and dynamic mechanical properties.
In 2017, we started expanding the production capacity to about 60 tons of finished Titanium product per year. We created redundancy of all critical process steps and continued ramping up High Volume Production in 2019.
In 2020, we started implementing several 3D Printing technologies that allow manufacturing Ti PM products with fast lead time at moderate costs. As well, we offer raw material for 3D Printing and Debind and Sinter (D&S) Service to raw material customers.
Element22 is certified according to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 since the start in 2011, while we managed to add EN/ AS 9100 in 2020. From the beginning of the company to this day, excellent product quality is paramount. We strive for continuous improvement throughout our organization.