On February 18, 2019, Antarctic Bear learned from foreign media that Swiss security company UrbanAlps has started selling metal 3D printed security keys called Stealth Key.
UrbanAlps was founded in 2014 by mechanical engineers Felix Reinert and Alejandro Ojeda, and focuses on 3D printing of high-security metal keys and locks. Last year, the security company received more than $ 2 million in funding to enable it to go into production.
Dr Ojeda said: "In addition to mechanical keys, there is much more to satisfy. We are pleased that well-known industrialists support our vision. The introduction of metal 3D printing in the centuries-old sheet metal drilling industry.
UrbanAlps' High Security 3D Printed Stealth Key
The new industry standard for security?
In an interview two years ago, Dr. Ojeda acknowledged that the industry was not accepting the idea of 3D printing machinery safety solutions as he initially thought.
"Our goal is to convince the industry to rethink their approach and show them the potential of 3D printing, and we fully believe that the key to high security is additive manufacturing: it just has its advantages."
In 2018, UrbanAlps received funding from seven industrialists in Germany, Switzerland, Finland and Norway, as well as Swiss footballer Stephan Lichtsteiner, currently signed by Arsenal F.C. That same year, UrbanAlps won the Messe Essen Security Innovation Award.
A year later, the security company is shipping to four continents and nearly a hundred customers.
The Stealth Key is a fully customized mechanical key with a cylindrical cover that hides the unlock code. This means that the occlusion of the key (the part that engages the unlocking mechanism) cannot be photographed or scanned. Stealth Keys is available in short and long sizes, and can be engraved or affixed with a colorful password cap for identification.
In addition to Stealth Key, UrbanAlps also produces various types of locks. These include semi-cylindrical, double-cylindrical, double-cylindrical thumb rotation, as well as camlock cylinders and invisible padlocks. The padlock is made of the same superalloy used in the SpaceX rocket engine. In addition, it has the ability to resist cutting, sawing and high temperature torches.
All of these products are made from SLM Solutions' SLM 125 HL powder bed molten metal system.
Stealth Key and other products can be purchased by submitting them in the order. On request, orders can be delivered at the military level.