Desktop Metal
Desktop Metal's Production System P-50.
Desktop Metal has announced the shipment of its first Production System P-50 metal additive manufacturing machine to Stanley Black & Decker.
The company says it marks the commercialisation of its flagship technology, in which it has invested nearly $100 million as part of a four-year development programme.
Desktop Metal first introduced the concept of its Production System printer back in April 2017, and in the meantime has successfully commenced shipping of its Studio System, launched alongside the Production System, and the Shop System which was rolled out in 2020. The company also rebranded the Production System in December 2020 in line with the introduction of the benchtop P-1 system.
Although Desktop Metal’s commercialisation of the Production System P-50 has been a long time coming, the company has been working aggressively to build out a portfolio of qualified materials for when the system was ready to be deployed. Among the materials to be qualified so far are 316L stainless steel, 420 stainless steel, nickel alloy IN625, D2 tool steel and HH stainless steel, while aluminium 6061 is being developed in partnership with Uniformity Labs. In November, Desktop Metal also announced it has tripled the final assembly capacity for the Production System P-50, as it sought to address ‘growing, pent-up demand.’
That demand may finally be about to be satisfied as Stanley Black & Decker is named as the first company to install the Production System P-50. Stanley Black & Decker, also a user of Desktop Metal's Studio System, is a leading tools and storage business, and while no details have been given as to how the company intends to apply the P-50 machine, Desktop Metal has designed the platform with production applications in mind.
