Desktop Metal
Justin Nardone, CEO of Figur, a Desktop Metal brand, shown with the Figur G15 machine tool with Digital Sheet Forming (DSF) technology.
Desktop Metal has announced the first commercial shipments of its Figur G15 Digital Sheet Forming (DSF) machine tool.
Saltworks Fab, a Florida-based automotive restoration and hot rod company, is installing two Figur G15 machines at its Sarasota, Florida facility in a bid to support its creation of metal body panels that are no longer commercially available with manual hammering and forming processes.
By investing in two Figur G15 machines, Saltworks Fab expects to ‘dramatically reduce’ production times, while also being able to create complex shapes, one-offs and short-runs of designs. At the recent SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Saltworks Fab exhibited an entire 15-piece side body of a Mercedes Gullwing produced in 6061 aluminium panels on the G15 machine in under 10 hours.
Desktop Metal/Saltworks Fab
Side body of a Mercedes Gullwing, created with 6061 aluminium panels formed on the G15 in under 10 hours.
“Our team has over 100 years of combined metal-shaping experience, and we’re excited to bring the latest digital metal forming technology in-house,” commented David Jacobsen, CEO of Saltworks Fab. “The Figur G15 buys us time. It allows us to bring vintage vehicles back to their former glory while also enabling us to enter a whole new level of business helping customers that currently don't have the ability or resources to form metal. Figur G15 allows us to expand access to metal-shaping services to a broader variety of small businesses, design shops, and self-builders.”
“The response to Figur G15 from the market across a wide variety of sectors has been exciting,” added Justin Nardone, CEO of Figur, a Desktop Metal brand. “The G15 eliminates a lot of the work required when forming metal, such as the design and manufacturing of tools and dies. Our system produces designs quickly, accurately, and repeatedly, so manufacturers are able to focus on the craftsmanship of design while getting their products to market faster and more efficiently.”
Saltworks Fab hopes to eventually purchase two additional Figur G15 platforms, with the plan to run all four machines over three shifts to ‘keep up with demand.’
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