ExOne announces AM/3D Printing with industry standard metal and ceramic powders of less than 10 microns
October 27, 2016
The ExOne Company (NASDAQ:XONE), a global provider of three-dimensional 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing machines and related products, materials and services, has announced advancements to its Innovent™ direct 3D printing machine which enable production using industry standard metal and ceramic powders of less than 10 microns.
ExOne’s fine powder Innovent machine manufactures metal and ceramic objects that have higher printed density and achieves significant improvements in surface finish quality, offering finishes as low as Ra 120 µin (average roughness measured in microinches).
The Innovent is designed to target industrial research and development, commercial and laboratory research, and educational institutions, facilitating qualification of materials. Innovent’s build box size is sufficient to offer prototyping and production quanitites ideally suited for the Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) and Powder Metallurgy (PM) industries.
ExOne is now offering a fine powder Innovent machine, as well as an Innovent upgrade package for existing equipment. Additionally, the Company plans to apply these machine enhancements to its M-Flex™, as well as its next generation larger format printing system.
Jim McCarley, ExOne’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “The fine powder Innovent is a critical technology milestone along ExOne’s product development roadmap for our direct printing equipment. It is expected to complement traditional manufacturing processes within the Metal Injection Molding and Powder Metal industries.”
Utilising its new machine advancements, ExOne is adding stainless steel 316L to its material portfolio, representing its second single metal alloy for industrial 3D printing applications. 316L is a 300 Series stainless steel used in a variety of industrial markets ranging from automotive to chemical processing equipment to surgical instruments. The company is currently accepting product pre-orders from customers for job shop printing, with full commercialization expected in the first quarter of 2017. Further, as ExOne applies these fine powder advancements throughout its machine portfolio, it will be positioned to address additional commercial, energy and automotive applications.
McCarley concluded, “This Innovent advancement demonstates how our expanded machine capability allows us to increase our materials portfolio. As we further develop our equipment and materials portfolio, we will continue to broaden the industries which 3D print products using binder jetting.”
