US company Desktop Metal introduces two systems for 3D printing metal products. DM Studio enables rapid prototyping of metal parts, while DM Production is aimed at mass production of high-resolution metal parts.
With the DM Studio and DM Production, Desktop Metal says it wants to bring about a fundamental shift in the way products are developed and marketed. With the two systems, the US company aims to make prototyping and mass production of metal parts both cheaper, faster and safer.
DM Studio
The DM Studio system consists of a printer, a system for deburring and a system for sintering. The solution allows users to 3D print complex metal parts in-house. This uses 'Bound Metal Deposition' (BMD), a process developed by Desktop Metal to produce accurate and reproducible parts from metal. The company calls the technology similar to 'Fused Deposition Modeling' (FDM), the technology used by many 3D printers. According to Desktop Metal, the system makes it 10 times cheaper to produce metal prototypes than existing technology.
The system uses cloud-based software, which allows designers to print prototypes of parts designed in CAD software directly in DM Studio. In some cases, it is necessary to print support along to print more complex parts, such as objects with free-hanging parts. In this case, DM Studio uses the 'Separable Supports' developed by Desktop Metal, which can be removed by hand.
The system uses print cartridges that can be easily changed, allowing a quick switch to a different print material. In total, several hundred different metal alloys are available that users can switch between. This makes it possible to produce prototypes in the same material that will be used for mass production of the part at a later stage.
DM Production
In addition, Desktop Metal is launching DM Production, a system aimed at the mass production of metal parts. According to the company, DM Production is the fastest 3D printer for mass production of high-resolution metal parts currently available. The printer uses Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology, which Desktop Metal says makes DM Production 100 times faster than any laser-based additive manufacturing system. This higher speed translates into lower part production costs for users, allowing 3D printing to compete with other mass production techniques such as casting for the first time.
The DM Studio system is available from $120,000 and comes complete with 3D printer and equipment for both deburring and sintering products. The system is expected to be available from August 2017. The DM Production system will be available from 2018.
By: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Desktop Metal
