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Elementum
Additive manufacturing research and development company Elementum 3D has received investment from Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) through its Series A funding round.
The undisclosed amount has been given to Elementum in order to support its endeavours in the development of advanced metal, composites and ceramic materials for 3D printing. It represents SCOA’s fourth investment in the additive manufacturing market, after backing aerospace supplier Sintavia, manufacturer AREVO, and service bureau Shapeways.
Elementum is working to develop and deliver materials to market that it believes have previously not been processable on Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) platforms. These materials are said to boast a range of high-performance properties, such as high strength, durability and conductivity and resistance to heat, oxidation and corrosion, and are enabled by the company’s patent-pending Reactive Additive Manufacturing (RAM) technology. So far, the company has developed aluminium, tungsten, copper, steel MMC, nickel MMC and tantalum grades, all of which have been tested on an EOS M290 platform, and some of which will be supplied to Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing after a partnership was agreed last year.
SCOA believes the materials Elementum is working on inside its 6,600-square-foot laboratory in Colorado would be of use in a variety of markets, including aerospace, and has the potential to disrupt supply chains to such an extent that additive manufacturing users could work directly with Elementum rather than traditional raw materials suppliers. Such is its high regard for Elementum, it has joined AM Ventures in financially backing the company, which is set to be used to expand the marketing and sales of its powders.
“We are excited to have Sumitomo Corporation of Americas come onboard as an investor,” commented Elementum President Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein. “It speaks volumes that a company of this size and reach has such confidence in what we are creating. With this Series A funding, we are eager to get our product further out into the marketplace and continue to grow our client base.”
“This investment is an excellent complement to our growing portfolio in the additive manufacturing space,” added Kazuaki Tsuda, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Steel and Non-Ferrous Metal Group at SCOA. “Elementum is pioneering new intelligence related to the raw materials supply chain in additive manufacturing and we see abundant opportunity for these applications in the near future.”
