It's not hard to understand why some of the larger companies in the world have recently invested heavily in metal 3D printing. However, the cost, complexity, and time of metal 3D printing make the technology trivial in trillions of dollars in manufacturing.
Desktop Metal is working to change this. Later this year, the company will begin shipping an early version of its production system, a 3D printer capable of producing up to 100,000 metal parts in a short period of time at a low cost and high speed, compared to traditional manufacturing methods Very competitive. The company's first product, the Studio System, improves the safety of 3D printed prototypes and small batches of metal parts. It is fast and inexpensive.
"Metal manufacturing is one of the biggest drivers of overall manufacturing, and manufacturing drives the world," said A. John Hart, co-founder of Desktop Metal, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an experiment in manufacturing and productivity. Director. "3D printing is an amazing technology in terms of features and reinventing the product life cycle, but we are still in the early stages and need innovative processes to open the door."
To achieve this, the team includes four current MIT professors and alumni of the Sloan School of Management, who have overseen and led an extraordinary innovation that has enabled the company to submit (including applying) more than 200 patent.
This innovation explains why Desktop Metal has enjoyed an unprecedented trajectory since its establishment in 2015. The Boston Business Magazine reported that last summer, it became the fastest growing company in US history, valued at billions of dollars, and raised $ 277 million in venture capital.
For such a young startup, centuries-old manufacturing seems like a strong target. Investments from corporate giants such as Google, Ford, BMW and General Electric have provided funding for Desktop Metal, which could disrupt the industry, a scale it has never seen in the 3D printing industry.
A great opportunity
In 2012, Ric Fulop MBA '06 became a general partner of North Bridge Venture Partners. He saw a business opportunity because the current process of 3D printing metal is too slow for mass production and very expensive for prototyping. . It took him three years to find the right company to solve these problems before he decided that he should start his own company.
Recognizing the huge technical challenges he faced, Fulop decided to convene a group of people who have promoted the development of 3D printing-related fields in their careers, including materials science, machine design, automation and software.
When he founded the company, there were six people, including Hart, Jiang Mingming, a professor of materials science and engineering at Kyocera, Christopher Schuh, a professor of materials science and engineering, and Ely Sachs, a professor of mechanical engineering. Ely Sachs was a pioneer in 3D printing and he invented the widely used adhesive Agent spray printing method. Other co-founders are veterans of computer-aided design software, Rick Chin and Jonah Myerberg. He has worked with Fulop in the same company and is currently the chief technology officer of Desktop Metal.
"We got together and said, 'Let's start inventing,' it was an amazing experience," Hart recalled. "Desktop Metal is inseparable from us-it's a team created by opportunities and visions that needs to be invented and innovated quickly in the context of market demand."
Desktop Metal studio system prints metal parts. Image source: Desktop Metal
One of the team's breakthroughs is a printing technology called tethered metal deposition, which prints by extruding metal powder mixed with a binder in a manner similar to the layer-by-layer process common in plastic 3-D printing. These parts are then placed in a debonding agent, where a proprietary fluid dissolves the adhesive before sintering and densifying in the furnace.
In combination with metal deposition, the metal injection molding (MIM) process has been widely used in manufacturing since the 1980s, including stainless steel, copper and titanium.
"We have made metal 3D printing office-friendly and can be placed anywhere," Fulop said. "You just need to insert it to make metal parts."
Studio System makes 3D printing practical for office prototyping and small series production. But in order for Desktop Metal to respond to the global manufacturing market, the company needs to further reshape the printing process.
The company's production system utilizes another proprietary technology, called single-pass spraying, a complex but smooth-looking process in which a printhead with powder spreading units on either side slides back and forth across the build area. With each pass, the printer deposits a precise layer of metal powder before spraying the adhesive onto the powder. Each layer of powder is as thin as human hair.
According to the company, the system is the world's fastest metal 3D printer, 400% faster than the closest adhesive spray system, and 100 times faster than today's laser printers.
"A big part of the inability to enter the market so far is the cost and speed of printing," Hart said. "If you've ever seen 3D metal parts being printed … some plants grow faster."
bright prospect
Fulop initially estimated that with the company's continuous expansion, more than twenty production systems will be produced in 2019. With the launch of the order, many Desktop Metal customers are looking to purchase multiple systems to print in quantities greater than 100,000 parts.
However, it is unclear how much 3D printing will disrupt mainstream metal processing in the near future. Traditional manufacturing processes, such as casting, do facilitate the production of relatively simple parts in large quantities.
"When people say that 3D printing will account for 20% or 40% of manufacturing in decades, I think, 'probably not', 'it's too early to say,'" Hart said. "That said, it's still early, and I believe that additive manufacturing will grow 10 to 100 times in the next five to ten years."
Using current sales of machines and materials to measure the impact of metal 3D printing may underestimate its true value. The unique capabilities of 3D printing should provide engineers and designers with novel options to make components such as more efficient aircraft engines and lighter automotive structures.
"3D printing allows you to make complexity simple," Hart explains. "Consider how many products require parallel engineering and final assembly of multiple parts, and how the design constraints of manufacturing shape the way we develop our products. 3-D printing allows you to integrate components into a single part and design for the best Performance. The cost of 3D printing, as well as the speed and flexibility of operations, are urgent issues. When you think about these areas, you see real breakthroughs. "