Desktop Metal Shop System on display at Formnext.
During the opening day of Formnext 2019, Desktop Metal unveiled its latest piece of metal 3D printing hardware; the Shop System.
Described as the world’s first metal binder jetting system aimed directly at machine and metal job shops, the Shop System is a high-speed, single-pass print engine said to be 10x faster than laser powder bed systems, allowing for up to 70kg of steel parts to be processed per day. With prices starting at 150,000 USD (depending on configuration based on build size: 4L, 8L, 12L and 16L), the machine sits comfortably between desktop metal’s smaller Studio System and larger Production System.
The full platform consists of the printer itself, powder station and revamped furnace. The printer offers the highest resolution single-pass binder jet system currently on the market, with a spot size of 16 microns per drop, 1600 dpi resolution and distribution of up to 670 million droplets per second. It also offers the smallest drop size of any single pass binder jet system, down to 1pL, which allows for superior surface finish, and its 70,000 nozzles are said to provide 25 % higher redundancy compared to other systems.
The company’s CEO and co-founder Ric Fulop said the printer gives machine shops a “robust solution that also captures mid-volume production and enables affordable, reliable and flexible batch production of complex parts.” Those parts, Desktop Metal suggests, could be anything from tooling to end-use automotive parts.
“Shop owners have been enamoured by the versatility, speed and cost reduction that binder jetting technology can provide, but until now, it hasn’t been accessible to them,” said Jonah Myerberg, co-founder and CTO, Desktop Metal, who led the technical development of the system. “The Shop System offers users the same fully-dense metal parts at an affordable price that works in harmony with machining on the shop floor. What’s more, the system enables owners to both save and make money by eliminating tooling costs, lowering lead times, and bringing in new business because of an improved part-cost equation.”
Mitch Free, CEO and founder of ZYCI CNC Machining, the kind of machine shop Desktop Metal is aiming to cater to with this latest piece of kit, said: “At Zyci, we are engineered for speed, with a culture that obsesses over exceeding customer expectations. With customers across aerospace, medical, electronics, robotics, luxury goods, and defense, we are a trusted partner for both high volume and low volume, high mix jobs.
“The Shop System’s ability to seamlessly go from producing one-offs, to hundreds of parts per day, is an important breakthrough for CNC shops looking to both cut costs, and bring in more revenue.”
The system is scheduled for availability next Autumn.
