Fast Radius and Desktop Metal to accelerate adoption of metal AM for production
May 27, 2019
Fast Radius will utilise Desktop Metal’s Production System to develop production-grade applications for metal AM (Courtesy Desktop Metal)
Fast Radius, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA, has announced a collaboration with Desktop Metal, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, to help companies accelerate the development of production-grade applications for metal AM on the Desktop Metal Production System. Fast Radius will be one of the first companies to receive the Production System as part of the partnership, which will also include the development and execution of the Fast Radius Application Launch Program (ALP).
Fast Radius previously partnered with Carbon for polymer Additive Manufacturing; its partnership with Desktop Metal marks its first entry into the metal Additive Manufacturing market. The ALP is an invite-only, nine-month programme in which non-competitive companies will have access to Fast Radius’s software platform and additive application engineers to identify, evaluate, design, and ultimately launch a production-grade application for metal AM.
According to Fast Radius, approximately twenty-five companies have participated in ALP to date, with dozens of production-grade applications for polymer AM already identified and ramping up. The Fast Radius software platform, also known as the Fast Radius Operating System (FROS), is said to be capable of supporting customers across the product life-cycle and is a key enabler of the programme.
The company states that the platform helps customers to identify potential applications, conduct engineering and economic evaluations, accelerate new product development, and ultimately manufacture industrial-grade parts in Fast Radius factories at scale with the latest AM technologies.
Ric Fulop, Co-founder and CEO of Desktop Metal, stated, “We are excited to partner with Fast Radius as one of our early customers for the Production System, and look forward to working together on the Fast Radius Application Launch Program. We are confident that this partnership will further accelerate the identification and development of pioneering applications enabled by the Production System.”
Lou Rassey, Chief Executive Officer at Fast Radius, commented, “The Production System represents an entirely new manufacturing platform which will enable new part geometries, improved functional performance, and a more favourable cost structure for innovative product developers. We look forward to working with Desktop Metal and our upcoming ALP participants to identify and launch new applications uniquely-enabled by the Production System.”
