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100x Faster, 10x Cheaper: 3D Metal Printing Is About To Go Mainstream (newatlas.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the mass-producing-with-metal dept.

Big Hairy Ian shares an article from New Atlas: Desktop Metal -- remember the name. This Massachussetts company is preparing to turn manufacturing on its head, with a 3D metal printing system that's so much faster, safer and cheaper than existing systems that it's going to compete with traditional mass manufacturing processes... Plenty of design studios and even home users run desktop printers, but the only affordable printing materials are cheap ABS plastics. And at the other end of the market, while organizations like NASA and Boeing are getting valuable use out of laser-melted metal printing, it's a very slow and expensive process that doesn't seem to scale well.

But a very exciting company out of Massachusetts, headed by some of the guys who came up with the idea of additive manufacture in the first place, believes it's got the technology and the machinery to boost 3D printing into the big time, for real. Desktop Metal is an engineering-driven startup whose founders include several MIT professors, and Emanuel Sachs, who has patents in 3D printing dating back to the dawn of the field in 1989. The company has raised a ton of money in the last few months, including some US$115 million in a recent Series D round that brings total equity investments up over US$210 million. That money has come from big players, too, including Google Ventures... And if Desktop Metal delivers on its promises -- that it can make reliable metal printing up to 100 times faster, with 10 times cheaper initial costs and 20 times cheaper materials costs than existing laser technologies, using a much wider range of alloys -- these machines might be the tipping point for large scale 3D manufacturing.

16 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. I get immediately suspicicious when... by Nutria · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I see things like this written: The company has raised a ton of money in the last few months, including some US$115 million in a recent Series D round that brings total equity investments up over US$210 million.

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    1. Re:I get immediately suspicicious when... by cunina · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Also when an article repeatedly claims "this isn't hype" yet is written in breathless promotional style.

    2. Re:I get immediately suspicicious when... by Nutria · · Score: 4

      You should be old enough to have seen so many companies that get huge up-front investments, have snazzy demos and then fail to perform up to the hype.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    3. Re:I get immediately suspicicious when... by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      At a guess what they are trying to achieve is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.... Clean metal particles being bonded together naturally. The trick of course how to keep them apart when you want to keep them apart. A solvent that prevents bonding and is vacuum stripped away as the fluid with metal in suspension is sprayed or rolled (photo copier style magnetic pick up and deposition) onto the target surface, electro statically charging the metal particles to repel each other, interesting problem. Cold welding only when you want to cold weld.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    4. Re:I get immediately suspicicious when... by BoRegardless · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As an engineer, I have deep suspicions when 'better' RP machine press articles don't have a single reference to accuracy or tolerances. That usually means they are still trying to improve the technology and don't want to get caught in a lie.

  2. Walks like an ad... Talks like an ad... by Reaperducer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Translated: "Step right up, folks, and buy some stock! You want to be a part of this miracle company that's going to change everything forever! We're buzzword compliant and going to revolutionize the world, just like every other company that's come before us! How are we different? We managed to get through the outsourced overseas /. BS filter with our astroturf advertisement! So, step right up and have a swig of tonic!"

    --
    -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    1. Re:Walks like an ad... Talks like an ad... by sheramil · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are production parts manufactured on 3d lathes, you can see it on youtube if you like. How is this different?

      A milling or lathing machine starts with a block of stuff and carves away anything that isn't needed, producing a part and a bunch of shavings (called "scurf"). This system is additive; it starts with nothing and adds stuff until you've got a part.

    2. Re:Walks like an ad... Talks like an ad... by dbIII · · Score: 3, Interesting

      There's shapes you can't make on a lathe or mill since you've got to hold onto something and can't get to the inside.
      Also this is an additive process which can be nice with expensive material. Instead of throwing away most of a block of material you build it up out of powder.
      Another thing is that this might actually be cheaper than machining for some very hard to machine materials.

      I don't see this as being useful for everything but instead really useful in a few situations.
      If this takes off as a hobby early adopters should not that you do not want the powder in your lungs and do not want the fumes from the burning organic additives there either - face masks and some sort of fume extraction should be used. It doesn't need to be expensive, take a look at what some hobby woodworkers do for dust extraction and that's going to get enough air moving to take care of a lot of fumes as well.

    3. Re: Walks like an ad... Talks like an ad... by Elfich47 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, but the retooling time to produce a different part takes time and re-calibration. Assuming this machine works as advertised (and the team behind it has an impressive list of credentials), then it will outright slay previous casting processes because the retooling time is now negligible. Hell, each run could be twenty or thirty different parts out of a specific assembly.

      --
      Architectural plans are like computer source code with a couple of differences: You only compile once.
  3. Not that tough. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They use regular, low-cost, easily available MIM powders.

    This press release is overstating the toughness of the things this can produce. You won't be making transmission parts or turbofan blades that will last very long if at all.

    1. Re:Not that tough. by toonces33 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Basic metallurgy. Metals have a crystalline structure - things like turbofan blades are oftentimes carefully cast so they are one single crystal, and they do this to maximize strength. The grain boundaries are places where the metal is weaker, and where it is more likely to fail. I don't know the metallic properties of the supposed 3d-printed metals - if they are just sputtering tiny metal blobs, you are probably going to end up with a metallic glass, which won't be very strong at all.

    2. Re:Not that tough. by Nutria · · Score: 3, Interesting

      To be honest, not every part needs to be as strong as a turbofan blade.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  4. Maybe by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At first I was skeptical of the claim but after reading the article it appears they're actually producing a system. The inclusion of Emanuel Sachs lends credibility also. Shouldn't be a long wait, part of the system ships in a few months the second part next year.

  5. The printer is nothing special, filament is by ka9dgx · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a normal 3d printer, with filament that is heavily laden with metal, so they probably use a nozzle that is tougher (like carbide or sapphire).... the magic is the metal gets sintered after a bath to remove most of the plastic. Enterprising folks could probably use a different extruder on their existing 3d printers, and get similar results.

    I have no problem believing this thing works, as there is nothing really revolutionary happening.

  6. Waiting for the panic. . . by Salgak1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    . . . when some legislator realizes this could be used to print "ghost guns". And then demands limits on what can be printed on them. ..

  7. Only 100x faster? by Namarrgon · · Score: 5, Informative

    This Australian startup has a new additive metal process that is 1000x faster, and 100x cheaper!

    Seriously - and it's working today, not still in development. No filament, no lasers - they have a six-axis arm holding the part over a nozzle that blasts it with high-speed metal particles that stick to the part. Sounds crude, and it looks crude, but a quick bake to sinter it and a run through the CnC mill to finish it, and the completed result is as good as any slow laser-sintered part (which will also require milling).

    They figured that since existing additive metal processes still require a final milling step to smooth out the surfaces, it takes just as much time to mill off a few hundred microns as a couple dozen, so you might as well go quick & dirty for the additive stage - same result, and much faster overall.

    --
    Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?