3D Printing Events Additive Manufacturing Additive Mass Production - AMP

Over 300 AM production parts from Desktop Metal on display at Rapid

As CEO Ric Fulop applauds the White House's support of AM Forward initiative

VoxelMattersMay 11, 2022

3 minutes read

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Desktop Metal, Inc. (NYSE:DM), a global leader in additive manufacturing technologies for additive mass production, will display a historic collection of more than 300 AM production parts at RAPID + TCT, North America’s largest and most influential AM event. The parts will be presented alongside production-capable printing platforms for metals, polymer, elastomers, ceramics, composites, and upcycled wood materials.

Desktop Metal’s parts and printer collection, which will greet attendees in Booth No. 3301 at the main entrance of the show, demonstrates how the AM industry stands ready to deliver on President Joe Biden’s recently announced AM Forward initiative to accelerate the adoption of industrial 3D printing. Biden spoke in detail May 6 about the power of 3D printing to modernize the nation’s manufacturing infrastructure and lower prices by producing high-demand parts locally with the technology.

“3D printing technology is incredible. It can reduce the parts lead times by as much as 90 percent …,” Biden said. “That all helps to lower the cost of making goods here in America. … These technologies revolutionize the way of life; they keep prices low for businesses and families. So, let’s make them in America again. Let’s build the future here in America.”

Valeria Tirelli with a valve 3D printed on a Desktop Metal binder jetting system.

Desktop Metal’s mission is to enable production 3D printing with accessible AM 2.0 technologies so companies of all sizes can deliver more advanced parts and products faster, while also producing more sustainably and closer to the point of end-use.

Desktop Metal’s new portfolio of Team DM brands was carefully curated over the past year to deliver on this mission. By pairing 3D printing technologies that are truly production-capable – such as binder jetting and digital light processing – with high-performance materials and select applications, the Desktop Metal team is passionate about driving the next generation of additive manufacturing.

“The COVID pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of our current manufacturing infrastructure, and we applaud the Biden Administration for working to fix it. The time is right for manufacturers of all sizes to take a new look at the low cost and high quality delivered by today’s additive manufacturing technologies, which can de-risk supply chains and offer many other benefits,” said Ric Fulop, Co-Founder and CEO of Desktop Metal. “With today’s AM technologies, every country can have its own self-sustaining manufacturing industry with parts that can be shipped digitally and printed quickly.”

Production AM On Display at RAPID + TCT

While Desktop Metal will showcase a variety of AM 2.0 platforms at the show, a highlight of the portfolio will be the Production System P-1, which was launched during the height of the COVID pandemic and will be shown for the first time in a public form at RAPID.

A high-speed 3D printing system for end-use metal parts, the P-1 was designed as a gateway to the top-of-the-line Production System P-50 – the world’s fastest system to 3D print metal parts at scale. The P-1 shares the same patent-pending Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology as the P-50, as well as common software and electronics for easy scalability.

The P-1 is now being used for a variety of development and serial production applications by a growing number of customers worldwide, including Ford Motor Co., Indo-MIM, Formula 3D Corporation, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and Cetim, the Technical Centre for Mechanical Industry in France.

Two new videos released today showcase small manufacturers using the technology for production today – including FreeFORM Technologies, a metal parts manufacturing startup in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, and Christian Tse Designs & Manufacturing, a luxury design and manufacturing house in Monrovia, California.

The Production System is one of several Desktop Metal printing platforms that rely on binder jetting technology, which is widely regarded as one of the 3D printing methods likely to deliver mass production additive manufacturing at high speeds and competitive prices.

Nearly a dozen metals are now qualified for printing on the Production System P-1 and P-50 – delivering excellent part quality and surface finish, with sintered part mechanical properties that meet or exceed applicable industry standards, and final part densities up to or exceeding 99 percent. To date, the list of qualified materials includes: