JUN 20 2019— Desktop Metal, the company committed to making metal 3D printing accessible to manufacturers and engineers, today announced it has begun shipping its Studio System to customers and re-sellers throughout Europe.The world’s first office-friendly metal 3D printing system for functional prototyping and low volume production, has met with strong adoption in North America among leading companies, including Ford, Stanley Black and Decker, Google’s ATAP, Goodyear, Owens Corning, and John Zink Hamworthy Combustion. Building on that momentum, the Studio System is now CE certified for international compatibility and being installed at customers throughout Europe, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The Tri-Tech 3D Team are delighted to be the first UK resellers to have installed the Studio System at our customers sights in the weeks just gone.
Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal comments –
“When Desktop Metal first launched, we set forth a mission to fundamentally change how the world designs and produces metal additively manufactured parts, from functional prototyping to mass manufacturing. We have been delivering on that vision throughout the U.S. and Canada, and are now ready to step onto the global stage to further accelerate our business expansion and answer the impressive demand of the European market.”
Studio System for Metal Prototyping and Low Volume Production
The Studio System is designed to make metal 3D printing more accessible, enabling design and engineering teams to print metal parts faster, without the need for special facilities, dedicated operators, or expensive tooling. The three-part solution, including printer, debinder and furnace, automates metal 3D printing by tightly integrating through Desktop Metal’s cloud-based software to deliver a seamless workflow for printing complex metal parts in-house—from digital file to sintered part.
To date, Studio Systems worldwide have fabricated more than 10,000 parts, with applications ranging from functional prototyping of extruder nozzles and shock absorber pistons; to jigs & fixtures, including robotic end effectors and smartphone fixtures; to manufacturing tooling of zipper molds inserts and extrusion dies; and low volume production of gears and motor mounts. Each of these benchmark parts has shown drastic cost reduction – some by as much as 90 percent relative to machining and selective laser melting (SLM) – as well as speed in fabrication, producing parts in days instead of weeks or months.
Early Customer Applications and Highlights
Customer feedback on benefits companies can now achieve include:
- Built to Scale: The Studio System offers a 10 times larger sintering volume than competitive systems, which enables cost-effective, low-volume production of metal parts. One Studio furnace supports up to five printers, allowing for batch processing for high throughput.
- Superior Parts: Mechanical properties, material properties, surface quality, feature fidelity, geometry, size, dimensional accuracy – the Studio System considers each of these critical factors with expertly engineered features to ensure great parts.
- Safe for the Office: A key differentiator of the Studio System is that it prevents exposure of solvents to users and does not require external ventilation. The system is designed for use in a range of environments — office, lab, shop — making it easy for any engineer to make metal parts in-house.
The first UK installations with Tri-Tech 3D
The University of Sheffield have been working with our team to install their Desktop Metal Studio System at the Royce Translational Centre. Royce@Sheffield is part of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and is a major partner of the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials. It comprises the Royce Translational Centre (RTC), and the Royce Discovery Centre, which is currently being built at the University’s city centre campus.
Royce Translational Centre’s Director – Prof Iain Todd, commented:
“We at Royce@Sheffield are very excited to receive our Desktop Metal Studio System. Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) is a critical part of the strategy for many high-value manufacturing sectors, as they look to reduce material waste and increase productivity. ALM covers many technologies, and with the Studio System, we are expanding our set of advanced 3D metal printers, which already includes electron and laser beam powder beds, and blown powder methods. Our industry partners range from start-ups to multinational aeronautical manufacturers: for them we represent a valuable missing link between small-scale laboratory metals processing and industrial scale manufacturing. The Desktop Metal Studio System keeps us at the cutting edge of near-net shape manufacturing capabilities in the UK.”
In addition, Wier Group have also been amongst the first to receive and install their DM Studio System in the UK.
Weir Group Head of Additive Manufacturing – Sozon Tsopanos, commented:
“The additive manufacturing arena is dynamic, growing rapidly as a market, and presents exciting opportunities for innovative companies such as Weir. We are continuing to partner with world-class organisations as we proactively develop our additive manufacturing offering. The addition of this versatile system complements our existing capabilities at Weir Additive Manufacturing Solutions, allowing us to explore, prototype, test and commercialise components and tooling that will deliver significant benefits for our Mining and Oil & Gas customers globally.”
Since its founding in 2015, Desktop Metal has rapidly grown to become a leading systems developer for additive manufacturing technologies, with the Studio System attracting business interest all over the world. Tri-Tech 3D are proud to be working alongside Desktop Metal to roll out the first shipment of the Studio System and are looking forward to following the progress of our customers throughout the upcoming months.
Our Desktop Metal Specialist comments –
“These first installations lead the way in a new direction for metal 3D printing, making metal parts available and more accessible to a wider range of customers. It complements all those currently using FDM, that require a metal part instead.”
For more information on the Desktop Metal Studio System, head over to the webpage, or alternatively get in touch with the team on 01782 814551.
Read the full Desktop Metal Press Release here