News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Last week SLM Solutions held a large company and customer meeting at its HQ in Lubeck to show off the final and functional version of the huge NXG XII 600 SLM 3D printer. Now Sintavia, one of the premier manufacturers of advanced propulsion and thermodynamic systems for the aerospace, defense, and space industry, has ordered two NXG XII 600s in a move that will significantly advance the entire industry.
Sparks flew as Bugatti tested its generatively designed 3D printed brake caliper, additively manufactured with SLM Solutions technology. Volumetrically this part is the largest functional titanium component built with SLM technology.
SLM Solutions has started a cooperation with MAHLE, one of the leading automotive suppliers and development partners from Stuttgart, Germany. MAHLE will utilize SLM Solution’s systems to empower OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to fulfill their need for metal Additive Manufacturing in serial production. By joining forces, the two companies are improving the speed and quality of automotive components in both prototype and serial production.
Divergent Technologies harnesses the power of additive manufacturing to unleash innovation in the automotive industry, making them a global innovator in the advancement of economical serial production. They have developed a state-of-the-art Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), which will now be strengthened with the addition of three production SLM NXG XII 600 systems, following a years-long development partnership with SLM Solutions. Deliveries of the machines will start in Q1 2022.
Kanfit 3D, the Israel-based firm specializing in 3D printing with aluminum and titanium alloys, has entered into a partnership with Anthill Ventures, a speed scaling ecosystem that invests in and scales early-stage companies to penetrate the Indian market.
Specialists of All-Russia Research Institute of Technical Physics (VNIITF) have developed and manufactured prototypes of lasers with a power of 200, 400, 700 and 1000 W to be used in SLM printers. The development was carried out within the framework of R&D “Lasers”, which is supervised by the integrator “Rusatom – Additive Technologies” (RusAT, an enterprise of TVEL Fuel Company).
Chinese medical 3D printing provider Huaxiang Group has been granted landmark clearance from the country’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for a novel 3D printed spinal implant.
AMEXCI and SLM Solutions strengthened their partnership with the objective to further accelerate the industrialization of metal-based AM. To achieve this and to create the basis for increased productivity and part quality, AMEXCI has invested in the Selective Laser Melting machine SLM®500, equipped with four 700 W lasers.
Australian company, SPEE3D, designers and manufacturers of kinetic consolidation (cold powder spray) metal 3D printers, continues its global expansion by entering the large Brazilian market. A recent agreement with Infocus Laser Systems, a consolidated and experienced distribution of industrial AM products based in the capital Sao Paulo, led to the establishment of a SPEE3D Brazil presence.
Desktop Metal has begun shipping a new, intermediate version of its P-50 Production System, the new P-1 printer, globally to its early customer base. Key clients who have already received the machine include Ford Motors, an early investor in Desktop Metal, and Cetim, the Centre Technique des Industries Mécaniques, in France, which is the first European institution to receive it. The P-50 remains on schedule to begin volume commercial shipments in 2021: achieving this milestone will be a key passage in DM’s strategy for growth, especially now that the company is publicly listed.