Amy's fairies are no stranger to the selection criteria of mascara: the paste should be waterproof and smudge-proof, so as not to take a long time to make up the makeup; the brush of the small brush should be laid out to help the brush to be thick or slender. And of course the most important point, the paste must be sure to stick evenly on the brush to avoid brushing out the "fly legs"...

 

However, it is estimated that these exquisite girls will not think that a seemingly small and ordinary mascara tube will connect them with a group of "technical houses" that shuttle through different devices throughout the day. Exquisite girls enjoy the beauty of the makeup products, and the “technical houses” treat the harsh demands of them as a “carnival”. Today, as 3D printing technology is becoming more and more popular, countless mascara molds require sophisticated and rigorous problems to be solved, which has led many people to pay attention to this technology. In Ningbo, there is such a group of people who have played the role of this hot technology, their focus is more precise - to provide a unique "ink cartridge" for 3D printing, namely metal powder.

 

On January 19th (this Saturday), the Southeast Business Daily's 45th Venture Sharing Conference, the founder of Zhongyuan New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Lida will share entrepreneurial experience, new industry technologies, etc., welcome entrepreneurs and 3D printing Readers interested in the new materials industry come to participate!

 

Eight parties support, hand in hand Ningbo

Lida has shown the unique temperament of the science and technology man since he was a child. In 1988, when the telephone was not popular, Lida, a five-year-old, learned how to make this rare item "severe."

In 2007, after graduating from the material physics major of Harbin Institute of Technology, Lida entered the Chinalco Southwest Aluminum Work and engaged in the development of special aluminum alloys.

More than 20 years ago, the research and achievements in the field of 3D printing in China began to take off. In recent years, with the strong support of the government and the promotion of the market, metal 3D printing technology has developed rapidly and has broad application prospects. Relying on a keen professional nerve, Ledda saw a great opportunity for the development of metal powder materials in 3D printing applications.

So, after working for nearly ten years, in 2018, he and several brothers and brothers jumped out of the comfort circle, resolutely chose the road to entrepreneurship.

 

Although Lida himself is a Ningbo native, the factory landing in Ningbo Gaoqiao is not their original vision.

"I am not a member of Takahashi. I didn't want to go to Ningbo. The original idea was to land in Suzhou, because our customer relationship is mainly in Shanghai and Jiangsu." Lida introduced.

However, people who are engaged in the new materials industry know that this factory does not mean that a place can draw a circle. Because the production machinery and equipment are generally tall, the requirements for the site are relatively high, not only the area but also the height. The conventional factory can not be solved. In a circle around Jiangsu, Lida did not find a suitable venue.

On the first step of entrepreneurship, several young people were poured a cold water. Fortunately, at this time, Ningbo Haishu District handed them olive branches.

It turned out that in late April, after discovering the difficulty of landing in Jiangsu, Lida turned its attention to the hometown and held contact with the talent introduction department of Ningbo Haishu District with a lucky attitude. To his surprise, after contact with the staff, the relevant departments of Haishu District immediately set out to help find the suitable venue, and finally with the Gaoqiao Chamber of Commerce, and the landlord of a factory in the Fuyang Industrial Zone in Gaoqiao Town.

 

“The landlord of this land originally opened a factory on this land. Under the cooperation of the Haishu District Department and the Takahashi Chamber of Commerce, he decided to rent the land for her factory, and his factory moved. Come out and find another location." Lida was very touched by this. "So, we came to Ningbo, which is the result of 'eight-party support'. Now we as Ningbo enterprises should also take the power to contribute to Ningbo's economy. development Goals."

 

On August 1, 2018, Zhongyuan New Material Technology Co., Ltd. officially entered Gaoqiao.

 

Dozens of tons of output can feed a company's magic powder

What magical magic does the powder of the gray ash do not slip, so that Lida and his party are excited to jump out of the stable working environment, and do their best?

“The metal 3D printing technology developed based on these metal powders has greatly expanded the idea of ​​industrial design.” Li Dayan succinctly explained the enormous impact of these powders.

 

Lida explained that, for example, in the traditional manufacturing process of molds, after a piece of steel is produced, we often use a way to make a mold by means of “抠”, and with metal 3D printing technology, the producer can In the space, according to the mold structure, the metal material is superimposed and printed on the layer by layer.

 

This not only means reducing the waste of raw materials, but more importantly, this technology provides more room for industrial design and can be designed with more complex structures, just like a small mascara mentioned earlier. Through the metal 3D printing technology, we can make a more detailed interior design to meet the stringent requirements of exquisite girls.

"The image says that the metal powder we produce is the 'ink cartridge' of 3D printers. It is a consumable item. We are not targeting the terminal products. We are the raw material supplier in this field. The quality of raw materials directly determines the performance of the products. Good or bad."

Due to the vast market of metal 3D printing technology, the research and production of metal powder is also supposed to follow the rise.

 

Taking the addition of titanium alloy powder TC4 produced by the new materials produced by Zhongyuan as an example, TC4, the titanium alloy Ti6Al4V, is a light alloy with excellent mechanical and corrosion resistance, and this pile of powder that looks like its appearance is very popular. . Amplifying it under certain technical conditions reveals that the powder itself is a small sphere of one size, which is only half or even one-third the diameter of our hair. Because of its high strength, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, it is a hot "romatic" in the aviation, marine and medical fields.

"Our line is not expensive. If there are dozens of tons of output per year, then it will be more than enough to support our company." Lida said with a smile.

 

Look up at the stars and be down to earth.

To talk about the results, Zhongyuan is indeed too young. From the time of landing in Ningbo in August 2018 to the present, it is half a year. Although this is the first venture of Lida and others, it does not prevent them from using their years of experience to sum up a professional development blueprint.

The application of metal powder in 3D printing sounds very illusory and futuristic, and must be an important exploration direction. However, the starry sky is obviously not the only "oxygen cylinder" on the way to climbing the peak of entrepreneurship. As a technology-oriented enterprise, the core competitiveness must be squeezed to the forefront, but the foundation of the body must be found at the "bottom."

 

Therefore, Ledda also attaches great importance to the combination of technology and traditional manufacturing. In his view, a seemingly simple demand can actually make the “golden” metal powder play a big trick.

"We want to use our products to tell you that our manufacturing industry is changing quietly, but this is not to say that traditional manufacturing will die, but under the general trend of technology development and popularization, what we are doing. Will become a powerful complement to traditional manufacturing."

However, although in recent years China's metal powder technology industry has made some achievements, it still can't avoid the mentality of some people's subconscious importing blindness, which has become a challenge for this young enterprise.

It is true that compared with the process of preparation of high-end spherical metal powder materials in Europe and America that has entered the stage of industrial production and application, China started later in this field. In addition, the research work of 3D printing applications of some old companies in Europe and America has been done very systematically. Printer equipment manufacturers have also developed in-depth research on powder raw materials to form a complete set of materials, equipment and application technology systems. However, these three aspects of China are relatively out of touch. Research will inevitably leave the impression of a big leaf.

"But we can confidently say that China is basically in sync with the international community in those newer fields. Our team members have a research experience of more than ten or twenty years in this industry. Some indicators can even exceed imported products. I think that the substitution of domestic products for imported products is a big trend. Of course, this also requires continuous efforts."