a-metal is a startup that develops innovative entry-level solutions for metal 3D printing, with the aim of making additive manufacturing of metal parts accessible to as many people as possible. The company’s goal is to establish metal 3D printing technology in SMEs and make current machines significantly cheaper, smaller, and simpler, so that in the future, anyone can purchase a 3D printer and start production. After a successful launch, the pilot machine entered the practical testing phase, with eight 3D printers used in a pilot program. Now that this machine has been developed further, beginning this November, a-metal will deliver a limited batch of 10 pre-production systems to select users. We met with the a-metal team to learn more about the vision behind the metal 3D printing solution, the challenges, and the startup’s plans for the future.
3DN: Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us how a-metal came about?
a-metal is a spin-off from ETH Zurich and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. After many years of experience in the plastic 3D printing industry and research in the field of metal additive manufacturing, we have been involved in the development of numerous technologies and have seen how advanced plastic 3D printing already is today. Unfortunately, metal 3D printing is still lagging behind and is only available to a very limited extent and reserved for large companies. This is what we want to change with our startup and our solution. After several years of research and development of a new coating concept at ETH Zurich and inspire, it became clear that this concept would significantly reduce the size of the machine and the dangerous contact with powder, while even increasing the robustness of the process. Thanks to initial innovation support funding from Innosuisse and Swiss foundations, we were able to build a great team and found our startup on a solid technological basis.
Photo credits: a-metal
3DN: What are the current barriers to entry into metal 3D printing?
In addition to the high purchase price of current equipment, the complexity and sometimes dangerous nature of operating the machines, as well as their enormous size, often constitute barriers to market entry. Based on discussions we have had with our target groups, the current solutions are not suitable for them. Either because they do not have the space, the budget, or the infrastructure and in-house expertise they need to operate the available metal 3D printers.
3DN: What makes your solutions unique and what technology do you use?
Our machine concept is tailored precisely to the needs of our target group—no compromises on quality. It is based on laser powder bed fusion, where metal powder is fused layer by layer into parts using a focused laser beam. Thanks to our new coating concept, which uses powder cartridges, our system can be very compact and protects the user from hazardous metal powder. Years of proprietary development and new approaches to machine design have made our solution not only more compact, but also significantly more affordable.
Photo credits: a-metal
3DN: There are more and more innovative metal solutions on the market. How do you plan to conquer the market with your solution?
We believe that the metal 3D printing market for SMEs is still in its infancy and is not sufficiently addressed by current systems. We regularly see that new systems need to produce larger parts more quickly. But this does not meet the needs of SMEs that are just getting started with this technology. As a result, we do not believe we are competing with the current large machines, but rather opening up an entry-level market that everyone can benefit from. We believe it is very important to focus clearly on this entry-level customer group, specifically in the dental and tool manufacturing sectors. In concrete terms, this means that instead of productivity and part size, we focus more on accessibility, compactness, and ease of use for beginners.
3DN: Where do you see a-metal in the 3D printing market in the coming years?
We believe that the metal 3D printing market will experience significantly stronger growth than other mechanical engineering markets in the coming years, despite the current difficult economic situation. For us, this means that after the pilot program, we want to test other pre-series installations in the Swiss market and in southern Germany, with the aim of launching series production in 2026. Only then will it make sense for us to embark on internationalization with partners. Even though the market would allow for faster growth, we are very aware that this has also brought more than one startup to its knees. Our approach is therefore a realistic, reasonable, and healthy growth until internationalization in 2026.
Photo credits : a-metal
3DN: Any final words for our readers?
After selling and installing 10 machines with customers, we are now looking for strategic and institutional investors as part of our seed funding round who want to support us in our future growth towards mass production and internationalization.
To learn more about a-metal, click HERE. What do you think of a-metal’s metal 3D printing solutions? Let us know in a comment below. You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on Facebook or LinkedIn! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly Newsletter here, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox!
*Cover photo credits : a-metal