3 D P R I N T I N G MetalFAB1 defines a new Category in 3D Printing: industrial Daan Kersten is sure to attract plenty of attention when he speaks at Inside 3D Printing 2016 in Düsseldorf, February 24-25. Inside 3D Printing, the leading B2B conference for 3D printing and additive manufacturing will be the opportunity for the co-founder and ceo of Additive Industries to showcase and introduce his company’s industrial additive manufacturing system, MetalFAB1. This comprehensive system embodies the ambition of additive industries to take 3D metal printing beyond the current lab and prototyping use, to actual fabrication use on the factory floor: the fab. The high reproducibility of MetalFAB1 takes its inspiration from the semiconductor industry. Stability is achieved by robust machine design in combination with a continuous calibration strategy. Additive Industries believes in an integrated process flow for industrial additive manufacturing, therefore multiple process steps are incorporated in 34 February 2016 one machine for the first time. Additive Industries’ describes the unit as the first truly industrial 3D metal printing system. MetalFAB1, it says, offers substantially improved performance over typical midrange systems. “The industrial grade additive manufacturing machine and integrated Additive World software platform will deliver up to a tenfold reproducibility, productivity and flexibility,” the company announced in a press release. “The improved performance is achieved by robust and thermally optimised equipment design, smart feedback control and calibration strategies, elimination of waiting time and automation of build plate and product handling.” The modular design of the MetalFAB1 system allows for customer- and application-specific process configuration. Multiple build chambers with individual integrated powder handling make this industrial 3D printer the first to combine up to four materials simultaneously in one single machine. The MetalFAB1 can be equipped with a maximum of four full field lasers, thereby eliminating the need for stitching when printing large objects. MetalFAB1 is also the only system to include a furnace for integrated stress relief heat treatment. The size of a single build envelope (420x420x400 mm) places the MetalFAB1 among the top three largest 3D metal printers available. Additive Industries has begun its Beta test programme and four Beta machines have already been reserved by customers from demanding markets like aerospace, high tech equipment and tooling. “We are eager to work closely together with our Beta customers. We will team up to further develop the process, new materials and applications as well as testing the performance to substantially improve the business cases of our customers’, says Mr Kersten. EN
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