Desktop Metal acquires multi-material solutions provider Aerosint
July 12, 2021
Desktop Metal, Inc, Burlington, Massachussets, USA, has acquired Belgium-based Aerosint, a developer of multi-material deposition systems for powder-based Additive Manufacturing.
“This transaction advances our strategy to own differentiated print technologies that enable an expanding set of AM 2.0 applications at scale,” stated Ric Fulop, co-founder and CEO of Desktop Metal. “Multi-material printing is the next frontier in AM. Today people print parts, but in the future, people will look to print full products, which may be composed of multiple materials. Industrialising Aerosint’s core technology and related powder processing systems will provide many benefits to the broad adoption of AM solutions.”
Fulop continued, “We look forward to partnering with our new colleagues at Aerosint to mature this unique technology and integrate it into upcoming Desktop Metal products over the next several years. We are also excited for Aerosint to independently continue its growth trajectory by offering selective powder deposition solutions and services to third-party manufacturers and customers of powder-based AM systems.”
Founded in 2016, Aerosint utilises a powder deposition system based on a proprietary digital process that selectively deposits two or more powders to form a single, thin powder layer containing multiple materials. The company’s patented selective powder deposition technology enables three-dimensional control of material placement during manufacturing and can be integrated into any powder bed AM process, such as Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) or Binder Jetting (BJT). This multi-material approach to powder deposition is designed to support the high-speed Additive Manufacturing of a broad range of metals, ceramics and polymers.
Reported to be the only high-throughput, multi-material powder recoating system in the market, Aerosint’s selective powder deposition enables a range of new applications for AM. In addition to reducing powder waste, material cost, and post-processing time associated with single-material, commercially available powder bed AM processes, multi-material powder deposition has the potential to realise further benefits at scale, such as localised optimisation of mechanical properties (wear resistance or vibration dampening) and improved chemical and physical properties (thermal and electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, or aesthetics).
“At Aerosint, we believe the future of AM is going to be multi-material,” added Edouard Moens de Hase, co-founder and Managing Director of Aerosint. “We are thrilled to partner with Desktop Metal to accelerate the execution of this vision, now with access to its scale, distribution network, and industry-leading AM 2.0 technology portfolio. We look forward to beginning a close collaboration with Desktop Metal while strengthening our ongoing efforts with our existing partners to transform the AM industry and capture new market opportunities.”
Aerosint will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal and continue to be led by founders Moens de Hase and Matthias Hick, Innovation Director. Aerosint multi-material products and services will continue to be available to the AM industry with integration into Desktop Metal platforms targeted within the next two years.
