Described as the most commonly used of the refractory metals, Molyclast™ MC1200 would be the strongest molybdenum alloy ever commercialized. Developed by material company Foundation Alloy, this class of metals combines superior performance, versatility, and reliability with simple, clean, rapid manufacturing.
According to Foundation Alloy, MC1200 is up to 3x stronger than the current market leader, with exceptional room temperature ductility.
“With MC1200, Foundation Alloy takes a leap towards the ideal for refractory metals, unlocking persistent ductility in an alloy of very high strength,” said Dr. Christopher Schuh, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern, former Head of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, and co-founder of Foundation Alloy. “This is the result of advancements in both formulation and processing together, the only way to realize the full promise of metals. MC1200 will not only redefine the current uses of refractory alloys, but also open new markets for them by eliminating multiple of their greatest limiting drawbacks.”
Removing long-standing tradeoffs in materials selection
MC1200’s high strength doesn’t come at the expense of room temperature ductility, improving manufacturability and margin of safety in service. Likewise, engineers no longer have to choose between strength and high temperature performance. MC1200’s fully recrystallized microstructure delivers predictable strength from 25C to over 1500C, avoiding the embrittlement and precipitous property loss common in refractory alloys.
These advantages extend directly to manufacturing. Because MC1200 achieves its superior properties in the as-sintered state, components can be produced as near-net shapes. This enables true geometric freedom in part design, guarantees uniform performance in all dimensions — a first in the molybdenum market — and eliminates more than 60% of processing time and scrap in refractory component manufacturing.
Read key insights from Foundation Alloys’ CEO Jake Guglin in the materials segment of this 3D ADEPT Mag: What if refractory metals didn’t need all that post-processing?
MC1200 is processed using Foundation Alloy’s proprietary MetalsFIRST™ metallurgy platform, which eliminates melting and enables precise control over alloy chemistry and microstructure. This process produces a fully recrystallized part with grain sizes approximately 100× smaller than conventional molybdenum alloy components, contributing to MC1200’s high strength.
Foundation Alloy is already manufacturing customer parts and validating this material performance through in-field testing.
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