Additive Industries, based in the Netherlands is accelerating industrial additive manufacturing of metal parts by offering a modular, end-to-end laser powder bed fusion system, the MetalFAB1 system. This system is seamlessly integrated with the manufacturer’s information platform, the Additive World Platform, for demanding industrial markets. The company revealed a few days ago that it had sold another 6 MetalFAB1 to one of its clients, an aerospace company located in California. Additive Industries did not reveal the name of their customer.
Currently, the aerospace company owns 4 MetalFAB1, and the 6 new machines will arrive to site by the end of the year. This customer was able to consolidate approximately 700 kilograms of powder in the month of June with the 4 laser MetalFAB1 systems currently in operation. The MetalFAB1 is an extremely flexible system, thanks to its modular feature it’s possible to configure it in such a way that it includes between 2 and 11 modules, depending on needs.
The aerospace company in question should be able to cost effectively produce over 420 mm diameter by 400 mm tall parts weighing 180 kilograms using Additive Industries’ metal additive manufacturing system. “This part is likely the largest, most complex powder bed fusion part ever produced in series production. We are proud of our multi-disciplinary team that worked with this customer to make this production a reality as well as the capabilities of our MetalFAB1 systems to print for days back to back” said Shane Collins, General Manager for Additive Industries North America, Inc.
“This order will bring the North America MetalFAB1 installed base to 17 systems which has been achieved since machine #1 was installed late in 2017. Considering each system has four, 500 [W] lasers, the powder consolidation capabilities would equal roughly 68 single laser systems” he added.
The aerospace industry being one of the earliest adopters of 3D printing, it makes sense that it has contributed massively to the advancements of the technology. Today, it is one of the most mature industries for 3D printing, which explains why companies are going beyond simple prototyping and moving towards industrial use. Of course metal additive manufacturing brings value to rapid prototyping, tooling applications and end-part production too. As aerospace companies reveal more of their applications of 3D printing and how they are benefiting from it, we can expect more players to jump on board.
Daan Kersten, CEO of Additive Industries explains: “The fast growth in North America is partly due to our focus on the aerospace sector and the aeronautics adoption curve for production additive manufacturing. We expect this growth to further accelerate when our customers publicly release their applications and more companies are able to visualize the large, complex parts that can be manufactured on the MetalFAB1 system in titanium, aluminium, steel and nickel based alloys”.
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