INSPIRATION
Additive manufacturing provides an efficient and quick method for converting a concept into the final product. The rise of computer-aided designing has taken away the limitations in product design and additive manufacturing breaks the barriers of traditional manufacturing techniques to materialize unconventional designs. The intricate details of these designs incur a large production cost with standard manufacturing techniques. But the current methods of additive manufacturing do not support mass production. To tackle these issues, innovations in additive manufacturing reduce the cost of transition from traditional manufacturing processes. The implementation of this manufacturing trend also provides
the opportunity for mass customization, distributed manufacturing, and on-demand production.
Xact Metal (2017, Pennsylvania, USA) is a US-based startup providing 3D metal printing solutions. The startup utilizes laser-based metal powder-bed fusion technology by selectively fusing thin layers of metal powder to create parts directly from a 3D-CAD model. The high-speed digital galvanometer system in the printers brings faster printing speeds to metal additive manufacturing. Xact Metal’s XM series of printers
solve the prototyping, tooling, and low volume casting challenges of small-to-medium businesses. The solution 3D prints components in a variety of metals and also includes software that facilitates simple machine setup, control, and monitoring.
Nematx (2020, Zurich, Switzerland) is a Swiss startup that specializes in 3D printing of high-performance polymer. The startup’s Nematic 3D printing technology creates high-performance end-use parts which are superior to the current benchmarks in 3D printing. The technology uses liquid crystal polymer (LCP) as reinforcements in the polymer matrix which provides high inertness and fire resistance and is easier to recycle than carbon fiber. In addition, LCP undercuts carbon fiber manufacturing with a low raw material cost. This makes it suitable for manufacturing high-end parts for the aerospace,medical, and electronics industries. The startup integrates the technology into a retrofit 3D printer head simplifying its adoption into existing machinery.
