Alloys and semi-finished products
We control the complete process chain for manufacturing your shape memory alloy components and systems. From melt metallurgy, through various semi-finished products and forming methods to your specifically designed and configured products. This allows you to profit from a vast range of possibilities: Because with our ability to make adjustments at every point of the process chain, you will receive unique shape memory alloy components specifically tailored for you. Therefore, you can be sure that your product or system will perform exactly the task that it’s supposed to when you install it in your destined area of application. This has proven to be a key reason for the success of our customers.
Alloys (melt metallurgy)
Melt metallurgy forms the basis for your solution. This is where we produce individual alloys according to your requirements. You can profit from a wide variety of alloys based on nickel and titanium. In their most relevant properties, alloys based on NiTi usually exhibit significantly superior parameters to other shape memory alloys. When adding further elements to the alloy, you would usually use Cu, Fe, Cr, V, Hf, Nb, Co, Mo, Zr, Pt or Pd. Your choice within our portfolio therefore allows you to choose among binary, ternary, quaternary and higher-grade SMA alloys:
Your custom alloy
On the market you will merely encounter few available standard alloys. However, when choosing your alloy, you should also consider the individual characteristics of shape memory alloys that may be relevant for your application; in particular their mechanical properties and switching temperatures. You will find that the market does not offer you enough flexibility with the limited standard alloys available.
At Ingpuls, however, you will receive custom alloys which are designed exactly in accordance with your requirements. This allows you to profit from significantly superior alloys which have been designed or adapted in order to comply with your exacting requirements for your application. These will prove far superior to standard alloys conventionally available.
Identifying your requirements / confidentiality
Already during alloy development or selection, it is essential to understand the necessary properties of your subsequent application. In order to achieve this, the mutual exchange of information in a structured manner has proven beneficial. Thereby, our customers usually prefer to work under a non-disclosure conditions: This type of agreement can be established with us in advance and serves to provide mutual protection of the respective know-how.
For documenting and forwarding your requirements, please make use of standardised query process. This ensures that:
- you will significantly reduce the response time to your inquiry
- you will receive a qualified answer in all cases: Even if it turns out that your requirements may not be met by using shape memory alloys
- you can ensure the integrity of your data
- you may receive a solution which corresponds fully with your requirements
Generally, you will be given the option of signing a non-disclosure agreement on point of contact. And at the same time, you will normally receive the questionnaire regarding your technical requirements.
Semi-finished products made of Nitinol: Which ones are available and where are they being used?
Semi-finished products
The alloys are then transformed to semi-finished products. Semi-finished products are types of raw material that exist in a basic geometric shape. These semi-finished products are usually produced for you by first manufacturing (melting) the material and then processing / reshaping (e.g. forging, wire drawing, rolling), with a heat treatment being carried out after every single step. We can also produce shape memory alloy sputter targets for you: You would not typically use these as a product itself but for producing thin-film shape memory alloy applications (passive semi-finished product, see also section thermal coatings).
The semi-finished products are produced according to your requirements: If you are looking for a component or a finished system based on shape memory alloys, the semi-finished product merely constitutes an intermediate product during the production process. Some customers, however, prefer purchasing semi-finished products in order to continue processing those on their own premises. This often applies to areas in which value chains have been subdivided for historical reasons, such as in medical technology (e.g. tubes which are processed into stents).
The semi-finished products available to you as standard are listed below: However, remember you can also obtain individual semi-finished shapes (such as bars, billets), as flat product (e.g. trapezoidal sheets) or long product (e.g. rings, discs). In individual cases, we may resort to manufacturing these together with a partner.
Portfolio of available semi-finished products as PDF
Should you prefer NiTi SMA components specific for your application instead of semi-finished products, please take a look at our portfolio of standard components available.