3D Printing Trade is internet hosting a dwell webinar to preview the 2025 AMUG Convention. Be part of us and our friends on Wednesday, twelfth February.
Following final yr’s Apollo 3D printer launch, EVO 3D’s Exeter-based sister firm Speedy Fusion is about to introduce what’s described because the UK’s first domestically developed giant format hybrid 3D printer.
With a reputation from Greek mythology, Medusa, the machine is predicted to contribute to reshoring efforts within the manufacturing sector by providing a UK-built different to present worldwide techniques. The revealing of this method is scheduled for February 26 on the firm’s Skypark R&D facility from 10 am – 4 pm.
Help from a £1.2 million grant from Innovate UK has pushed the event of this superior platform, which mixes additive manufacturing (AM) with CNC machining. Designed as a single-source resolution for producing giant molds and tooling, Medusa integrates a pellet extruder, filament, and CNC machining software.
Industries comparable to aerospace, automotive, marine, and building stand to profit from its capabilities, says the corporate. Alliances with automotive large Rolls-Royce, 3D printing software program firm Ai Construct, and the Nationwide Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) have performed a vital position in its creation.
“We have been proud to assist Speedy Fusion and the broader consortium with our vary of specialisms in the course of the challenge – it’s a nice demonstration of what may be achieved via collaboration between educational experience and trade knowhow,” stated Sampan Seth, Additive Manufacturing Group Lead, Digital Manufacturing unit at NMIS.
Trade professionals fascinated with attending the open day occasion should register upfront resulting from restricted availability.
New Medusa hybrid system
Outfitted with the flexibility to function at speeds of as much as 1,200mm per second, Medusa gives thrice the pace and twice the accuracy of standard machines. The system can also be designed to cut back coaching and upkeep prices by 30%.
Synthetic intelligence (AI)-driven enhancements, together with predictive upkeep, thermal modelling, and laptop imaginative and prescient, additional improve its effectivity, making it a aggressive possibility for large-scale manufacturing functions.
Curiosity within the new platform has already gained momentum, with Tier 1 suppliers and main trade gamers expressing robust curiosity. Priced at £500,000 per unit, Medusa is predicted to generate as much as £5 million in income inside its first yr available on the market, reinforcing its potential influence on the sector.
Reflecting on the event, Jewell described the launch as a “actual landmark second for additive manufacturing within the UK.”
He famous the flexibility to carry a domestically constructed industrial 3D printer to market, one which surpasses the pace of worldwide opponents, has been achieved via intensive engineering experience and collaboration with key companions. Funding from Innovate UK has been instrumental in supporting R&D, finally resulting in a system that enhances manufacturing effectivity and accuracy.
Anticipation for the disclosing occasion continues to construct, with greater than 150 delegates anticipated to attend.
The occasion will characteristic a dwell demonstration, the place Medusa’s capabilities will probably be on show via the manufacturing of a giant mould designed for aerospace functions. Trade representatives and challenge companions are additionally scheduled to ship keynote addresses, providing additional perception into the machine’s capabilities and market implications.
Addressing the broader influence, Jake Hand, Managing Director of Speedy Fusion highlighted the nation’s historic lag in giant format AM (LFAM), citing “how simply provide chains can crumble” in the course of the pandemic.
An absence of domestically constructed giant format 3D printing techniques has left producers reliant on abroad options, limiting flexibility, rising prices, and lengthening lead occasions. The event of Medusa goals to bridge that hole by increasing entry to high-value, environmentally accountable manufacturing for companies of various sizes.
With Medusa’s launch, the corporate hopes to extend home manufacturing capabilities, not only for financial advantages but in addition for strengthening resilience and decreasing carbon emissions. The capabilities provided by Medusa may play a pivotal position in attaining these targets, offering producers with an environment friendly and domestically produced resolution.
Novel hybrid 3D printers
Because the 3D printing sector continues to evolve, a rising variety of hybrid techniques have come to market. Throughout Formnext 2023, US-based metallic 3D printer producer Additec launched the Hybrid 3, a metallic 3D printer combining liquid metallic jetting (LMJ), laser directed vitality deposition (LDED), and CNC machining.
Designed for automotive functions, this hybrid system integrates two additive processing heads for multi-material metallic printing, attaining a 0.5 mm LMJ decision and a 4 kg/hr LDED deposition charge. Suitable with iron, nickel, aluminum, and copper alloys, the Hybrid 3 was developed in simply eleven weeks following Additec’s acquisition of Xerox’s additive manufacturing enterprise.
Plans included increasing materials compatibility and enhancing LMJ with laser help. Priced at $500,000, shipments have been anticipated by Q1 2024, with a white-label model launching in Q2 2024 at round $200,000.
In associated information, Sugino Machine Restricted launched XtenDED, a hybrid manufacturing system that integrates CNC machining with LMD 3D printing. Outfitted with a Hybrid Manufacturing Applied sciences AMBIT printhead, the machine allows each additive manufacturing and precision ending in a single platform. Designed for nickel superalloys, cobalt-based superalloys, and stainless steels, XtenDED is positioned for aerospace functions requiring excessive warmth resistance.
By combining Directed Vitality Deposition (DED) with CNC machining, the system improves accuracy, productiveness, and materials effectivity whereas decreasing the heat-affected zone (HAZ). With a 300 x 400 x 200 mm construct quantity, it facilitates prototyping, metallic half restore, and alloy mixing, enhancing manufacturing flexibility in minutes.
Who received the 2024 3D Printing Trade Awards?
All of the information from Formnext 2024.
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Featured picture Martin Jewell, CTO of Speedy Fusion, placing Medusa via its last testing. Picture by way of Speedy Fusion.
