Since 2023, the consumer electronics industry has achieved major breakthroughs in the field of folding screen technology, and titanium alloy 3D printing technology is gradually replacing the traditional manufacturing processes with its advantages of high specific strength, corrosion resistance and precision molding. After Honor took the lead in adopting the technology in the Magic V2 folding screen phone, OPPO launched the Find N5 folding flagship phone with 0.15mm ultra-thin titanium alloy hinge in February 2024, and Apple, Xiaomi and other manufacturers have also been exposed to use 3D printing titanium alloy components. Industry analysts pointed out that the popularity of this technology will drive the upgrading of the entire industrial chain from the equipment and the materials to the service side.
In response to market demand, a domestic material manufacturer has completed the third phase of plant expansion. It will achieve full quality control through the clean workshops and digital intelligent platform. The oxygen content of its recycled titanium alloy powder is controlled below 0.13%, the fluidity reaches 45 seconds /50g standard, and the tensile strength exceeds 1250MPa. The powder has passed the aerospace grade certification. It is expected that the annual production capacity of Ti6Al4V alloy powder will reach 700 tons by the end of 2025, and more than 50 intelligent production lines will be completed by 2026. So these can meet the needs of the consumer electronics, aerospace, the automotive manufacturing and other fields.
The company has built a complete closed-loop recycling system for titanium alloy, transforming the industrial waste into high-purity 3D printing raw materials through the innovative recycling technology, with a resource recycling rate of 100%. The certified cycle titanium alloy powder reduces the carbon emissions by 68% compared with the traditional process, and the production cost per ton is reduced by 40%, laying the foundation for large-scale application of the end products. At present, its material solutions have been applied to the smart wearable devices of the head manufacturers, and completed the verification test of the turbocharged parts of the automobile.
Global Market Insights predicts that the titanium alloy market scale of the global 3D printing will exceed 3.2 billion US dollars in 2025, and a compound annual growth rate will be kept in 21.3%. with the continuous cost decline of materials, the penetration rate of titanium alloy in the consumer electronics field is expected to increase from 0.8% in 2023 to 5.2% in 2026, and only the annual demand in the smartphone field is expected to exceed 1,500 tons. This technological innovation is reshaping the precision manufacturing industry and driving the development of electronic products in the direction of thinner and more durable.