Metal 3D Printing & Additive Manufacturing

In case you missed it, 3DEO recently presented on the economics of metal 3D printing and showed off its production capabilities for metal 3D printed parts at RAPID 2018. Get the full story here:

AM Shows and Disruptive Magazine have decided to join forces in the lead up to Additive Manufacturing Americas 2017 and bring you the Exhibitor Spotlight Q&A series. This is an opportunity for exhibitors to share their views on the future of industrial additive manufacturing and 3D printing as well as a preview of what you'll see on the show floor. If you like what you read, all the more reason to come and meet them December 6-8, in Pasadena, California.

3DEO are, like Desktop Metal, aiming to make metal 3D printing more affordable. And like Desktop Metal and Markforged, they are using MIM powders and a secondary sintering step to achieve that. However the big difference comes in their process, 3DEO describes six steps to achieving a finished metal part that is more affordable and meets the high industry benchmark MPIF Standard 35 while still achieving tight tolerances.

Rachel Park: I was really interested to get deeper insight into the 3DEO offering. There is some cross-over with the Desktop Metal narrative here, specifically it is a new, low-cost metal 3D printing process, it uses MIM materials and it is innovative and disruptive in nature. There is plenty to differentiate it though, because the extremely clever team behind it is offering this process as a service, demonstrating good results and does not appear to be over-promising anything. The process itself is intriguing — it is, at first glance, a powder bed binding process. However, the nature of the binder delivery is absolutely key and there is a hybrid approach included in the process in that a subtractive tool precisely cuts away at the defined geometry every few layers. Moreover, the team is open about the limitations of MIM materials, particularly in terms of shrinkage and densities. But, like, I said they are demonstrating some impressive results.

Another new player in the metals field is 3DEO. This group sees the need for low-cost, high volume, on-time-delivery of parts and is producing them with a unique, in-house binder/powder process termed Intelligent Layering. Offered as a cost-effective manufacturing service, 3DEO’s approach combines expertise in powder metallurgy, CNC machining, sintering, materials science and AM. Intelligent Layering eliminates the classic stair-stepping effect with on-the-fly adjustment of the deposited powder layer, applying a delicate binder-spray that avoids particle agglomeration and using micro-end-mills to precisely machine part-perimeters. Sintering then creates 97% totally dense parts with no infill required. 3DEO includes complete mechanical testing facilities, yet its approach yields 60 to 80% lower part costs.

Singularity University will be hosting its annual Exponential Manufacturing Summit May 17-19 in Boston.  The Exponential Manufacturing Summit will bring together over 600 global executives, entrepreneurs and investors to take part in a three-day program to prepare them for the changes brought forth by the rapid technological progress in manufacturing.

The 2017 RAPID + TCT conference was held in Pittsburgh this week and featured new products and technologies from all the major players in the additive manufacturing industry.  The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and TCT Magazine did a terrific job of producing the conference this year and ensured representation spanned the entire industry including 3D printing equipment manufacturers, parts suppliers, and supporting products such as scanners, design software and many others.

3DEO, Inc. will be showcasing its breakthrough technology at the Technology LaunchPad RAPID + TCT conference in Pittsburgh May 8-11.  The Technology LaunchPad is a showcase around the latest must-see technologies, applications and new product announcements.  The technology is a novel high-volume/low-cost additive manufacturing (AM) process with demonstration parts highlighting the technology.