3D Systems and Oerlikon AM have entered a collaboration agreement to further scale metal additive manufacturing. Combining both organizations’ deep process and applications expertise with 3D Systems’ Direct Metal Printing platform and Oerlikon AM’s surface engineering capabilities will enable a faster path to market for applications in high-criticality industries such as semiconductor and aerospace.

As part of this agreement, Oerlikon AM is acquiring its fourth 3D Systems DMP Factory 500 system, the first Oerlikon AM is adding in the U.S., to be part of the manufacturing workflow in its North Carolina facility. This will help expand Oerlikon’s end-to-end supply chain solution for high-precision, complex aluminum components for the U.S. market.

3D Systems’ Application Innovation Group (AIG) collaborated with Oerlikon AM’s Application Engineering to develop this solution. Both teams possess deep expertise not only in additive manufacturing but in high-value applications across a variety of industries. Their combined experience with the laser powder bed fusion process and material and process qualification is invaluable to the production of high-criticality parts with lower lifecycle costs. 3D Systems’ industry-leading direct metal printing (DMP) technology and Oerlikon’s AM production and surface engineering capabilities will result in a validated, certified production process for Oerlikon’s customers. This workflow includes the DMP Factory 500, an industry-leading platform featuring a vacuum chamber to ensure the lowest O2 content, and a 3-laser configuration for the production of seamless large parts as large as 500mm x 500mm x 500mm. This results in the highest surface quality for metal 3D-printed parts with outstanding material properties.

“The adoption of Additive Manufacturing technology for series production occurs at an ever-increasing pace. For our customers to remain competitive in core technology markets (including Semicon and aerospace), scale up to series production is dependent upon the successful execution of application development, qualification, and timely ramp up to full-scale production,” stated Jonathan Cornelus, business development manager, Oerlikon AM. “With Oerlikon and 3DSystems joining forces, this partnership will accelerate the industrialization of metal AM through an integrated team approach between the customer, printer OEM, and manufacturing partner. The efficiency gains will maximize the benefits of additive manufacturing across design, materials, printing, and post-processing to break performance barriers in the manufacturing supply chain.”

“Industries such as aerospace and semiconductor manufacturing require precision without compromise,” said Scott Green, solutions leader, 3D Systems. “Companies focusing on these areas require constant innovation to meet the accuracy, speed, reliability, and productivity demands of increasingly complex production. Bringing together the industry-leading technology and applications expertise of 3D Systems and Oerlikon AM is delivering increased quality, improved total cost of ownership, reduced time to market, and minimized supply chain disruption. I’m looking forward to seeing how our collaboration can amplify and accelerate the potential of metal AM.”