Timothy Pumphrey
Desktop Metal John Zink
UHT Atomiser printed on a Studio System in 316L stainless steel by John Zink Hamworthy Combustion.
In 1913, at the Ford Highland Park Plant in Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford introduced the first assembly line. The moving production line reduced the assembly time of a Model T from 728 to 93 minutes. Similarly, 106 years later at a location just a ten-minute Model T drive away, Desktop Metal will demonstrate to the world how its technology is drastically reducing the production time and price of additively manufactured automotive components at RAPID + TCT 2019.
"The Desktop Metal Production System is able to mass produce parts faster than any other process in the world," says CEO and Co-Founder Ric Fulop, "and is also able to do it at a cost structure is that competitive with casting and other traditional techniques. Selective laser melting and powder-bed fusion technologies produce parts at a price between 700 USD and 2,000 USD a kilo; the Production System can do them under 50 USD a kilo, it is a totally different level."
In the two years since Desktop Metal uncloaked itself from stealth mode at RAPID + TCT 2017, the company has focussed on developing not just its two technology platforms - the Studio System and the Production System - but also robust sales network channels. The appealing combination of tech + sales has seen Desktop Metal become the most funded 3D printing company in the world after a 160 million USD Series E round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies took the total backing to 438 million USD.
Ric Fulop believes Desktop Metal's decision to run the company as a technology business is allowing it to scale at unprecedented rates:
"We have almost 300 people here, and practically everyone's an engineer. We use contract manufacturing to make the machines, and we use a channel to do the distribution and sales. We built a channel that now has distribution in 48 countries with close to 90 partners. And that is a differentiator; it allows all of the resources of companies to focus 100% on product development."
Studio Line
Though Desktop Metal's Production System has the most headline-grabbing speeds and production scalability, the Studio System has hit the ground running. The office-friendly metal 3D printing solution package comes with a debinder station and Desktop Metal's microwave-enhanced sintering furnace. The eco-system along with Desktop Metal's software, gives access to metal 3D printing to an entirely new level of business and as such Desktop Metal is shipping at volume - as many as ten units per week according to Fulop.
The Studio System is being put to use in all manner of applications and one of its early customers, Alpha Precision Group (APG), recently revealed that it has printed around 200 parts for the contract manufacturing of metal components.
Ilya Mirman
Desktop Metal AG tour
Former Vice President, Al Gore on a tour of Desktop Metal HQ.
"In 2016, we looked at some of the powder bed fusion technologies, and we were pretty serious about moving forward but it just didn't make sense for our specific case, we wanted to be able to do something that leveraged our current expertise," Said Nate Higgins, Business Unit Manager at Alpha Precision Group (APG). "So that's why when we started that investigation, Desktop Metal's technology made sense for us. The sintering side really tied with us because we have a large installation of high-temperature sintering, we're able to use that and really grow and have a niche that we can tie to and we can help push the technology."
Parts that Studio System customers are making range from prototyping golf clubs, injection moulding tools, orthotic finger splints, through to a fuel atomiser for the marine tanker corporation, John Zink Hamworthy Combustion. The UHT Atomiser is particularly interesting as its internal channels that aid effective combustion reaction could only be made with additive. The fuel atomiser is made with a material Desktop Metal recently introduced to the Studio System, known for its corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties at extreme temperatures, 316L stainless steel.
Roadmap to Production
The quartet of functional prototyping, jigs & fixtures, manufacturing tooling and low-volume production is low-hanging fruit for the Studio System but the Production System has its eyes set on some of the juiciest top of the tree applications, namely in automotive.
"The automotive manufacturing industry is one of the most underserved categories in additive manufacturing," says Desktop Metal Co-Founder and CTO, Jonah Myerberg. "A lot of the early adopters in medical and in aerospace have been well served over the past decade. They are the early adopters that could afford the expensive equipment, the expensive price of parts, and they could tolerate the slower speeds and the fine-tuning. But automotive has been standing by and asking, 'when is this going to become a viable investment for us?’"
Jonah is particularly well-placed for this perspective having previously worked on the Porsche 919 project and Mahindra Racing's Formula E team. Desktop Metal count Ford and BMW as substantial investors and Jonah points to the work of the latter on the i8 Roadster bracket, which was made using powder-bed fusion technology, as a turning point for AM and auto:
"It's [the i8 Roadster bracket] a tipping point. It didn't exactly make financial sense to print, but the volumes were low enough and the cost of the i8 is high-enough that BMW was able to get the value from demonstrating internally, externally, and having this as a use case for AM. "
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Tim Pumphrey
BMW water wheels.
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The BMW water wheel prototype printed on a Studio System.
Although BMW hasn't revealed the costs per-part of that i8 Roadster bracket, Jonah does have another example he can offer further specifics on:
"BMW had a DTM race series of vehicles that were optimised for performance. One of the parts was this water wheel - it's a water pump, traditionally made out of multiple plastic components. What BMW did is consolidate the assembly, optimise the shape and geometry for performance and mass, and print it using DMLS technology. BMW could justify doing that for the DTM series race car, but they couldn't justify it for the 3 Series, 5 Series or 7 Series. However, if we used binder jetting technology, that's something that could bring the cost down from roughly 200 USD to approximately 5 USD a part. And that's when it gets really exciting for them."
As RAPID + TCT 2019 approaches in Henry Ford's hometown, Desktop Metal believes its technology could be as revolutionary as that moving assembly line.
"The automotive industry has been looking at additive for over 10 years," said Jonah. "They had never been able to justify the return on the investment of buying these machines, simply because they're too slow. Now, with Desktop Metal technology, the game has changed."
See Desktop Metal at RAPID + TCT 2019 Booth #1041.
