Digital Metal is upgrading its metal binder jet 3D printer offer with the new DMP/PRO that will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Rapid + TCT show in Detroit. Developed as a modular component of a complete binder jet solution, the PRO series is meant to be a paradigm shift in binder jet 3D printing for high volume manufacturing.
When speaking about the upcoming generation of production-grade binder jet systems many often forget to mention Digital Metal. Desktop Metal/ExOne, HP 3D Printing and GE Additive are the first names that come to mind and that’s because the Swedish company is not very active on the broader marketing side of things. Those in the know, those who are deep in the AM industry know it well, ever since it began offering production level binder metal jet printing services over a decade ago but if the company truly intends to move beyond this niche, it is time to scale its marketing efforts as well as its production capabilities.
The DMP/PRO’s 70,400 nozzles precisely deposit material letting the system produce up to 1,000 cm3 of parts per hour at 1600 dpi, ejecting 2 pL droplets at 15.5 kHz. It’s a technological advance that ensures high-quality, high-volume production in countless applications. Typical production values will see customers make around 500 cm3 of parts per hour throughout the day. Every day. This high productivity comes with a robust platform, custom software and a fast material change powder magazine, to minimize downtime and turnaround times. The DMP/PRO has been engineered for the precision production of metal binder jet components for industry, luxury goods, medical manufacturing and consumer products.
The DMP/PRO’s 70,400 nozzles precisely deposit material letting the system produce up to 1,000 cm3 of parts per hour at 1600 dpi, ejecting 2 pL droplets at 15.5 kHz
“As a team, we have previously gone from a single machine to a production machine and now we’ve launched a true production platform,” said Digital Metal CEO Christian Lönne states. “We´re moving away from the rest of the binder jet market towards tighter tolerances, higher volumes and higher precision. We´re heading towards a higher level of maturity. We do not just offer a machine in isolation. We have a true platform optimized to work in concert with debinding, sintering and post-processing equipment. This platform is modular, extensible and a stepping stone for Industrialization.”
The launch customer of the new Pro series is Ann Arbor Michigan-based Azoth 3D, a manufacturer of high volume precision 3D printed parts for Fortune 500 Companies. “Digital Metal´s new machine speed, while keeping quality and reliability, is compelling,” Azoth 3D General Manager Cody Cochran, commented. “The PRO Series reduces the capital needed to scale and also reduces part costs through higher machine throughput. We want to run it round the clock, 7 days a week, making thousands of parts daily. Azoth 3D wants to be the largest and best independent binder jet manufacturing company and this is the system we need to get us there.”
Manufacturing on Demand
The DMP/PRO comes equipped with linear motors, air bearings and a diabase stone base are the foundation of stability process control. Robustly designed for now the system is also modular, adaptable and future-proof. The current DMP/PRO systems can be extended in future through inertization and automation modules. It is also completely customizable, with remote monitoring, KPI monitoring and traceability.
Built on Siemens MindSphere cloud IoT OS the software system ensures that future IoT integration and connections will be reliable and secure. The system is intuitive and easy to use and optimized for production environments. New support structure minimization increases productivity and reduces part cost. Higher powder utilization means that now 100% of excess powder can be recycled. This environmental benefit also reduces part costs.
The DMP/PRO is a production system created for day-in-day-out the manufacturing of the most demanding of components for industry. With more throughput, automation and a robust modular architecture the DMP/PRO enables binder jet industrial production both today and tomorrow. Rather than a single loose box that sits isolated in your factory the DMP/PRO can integrate with existing software, IoT infrastructure, reporting and other equipment.
With a build volume 250 × 217 × 70 mm, the DMP/PRO is – according to the company – “a true production system built to provide years of service to discerning manufacturing customers that are ready to take the leap from binder jet promises into binder jet reality”. Borne from the thousands of parts made daily by existing Digital Metal customers, the DMP/PRO has been shaped by manufacturing realities and needs. The DMP/PRO series of machines will shape binder jet and let the industry ramp up production in a realistic, traceable, reliable way. Through Digital Metal manufacturing firms have found the dependable partner that they need to make real parts.
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Author: Davide Sher
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