New technology leads to development of innovative 3D metal printer

A new three-dimensional (3D) metal printer has been developed using metal additive manufacturing technology that has been found to have very specific advantages over conventional manufacturing processes.

Aditiv Solutions developed its HYRAX 3D metal printer within 18 months, shortly after the company’s launch in September 2019. It moved on to beta-testing with continuous improvements being made to the machine and is currently integrating with local partners, aiming to reach a commercial-ready state towards the end of the year.

The South African tech startup explains that additive manufacturing allows for the manufacturing of complex parts, directly from computer-aided design models, making it possible to design parts that are lighter, have more features, and often allow designers to reduce the number of parts in mechanical systems.

“Parts are produced by melting layers of metal powder using a high-power laser, yielding excellent material properties. This technology is used in many industries, including the medical, dental, aerospace, mining, automotive and general engineering industries,” the company explains.  

However, the prohibitive cost of additive manufacturing systems, and the subsequent high cost of produced parts, is currently limiting the use of the technology mainly to so-called high-value, low-volume industries, such as the aerospace and medical industries, it notes.

Aditiv says it identified the need to reduce the cost of additive manufacturing to make the technology viable for a wider range of industries. By implementing innovative solutions, the company asserts that its HYRAX system is “focused on ensuring efficiency while reducing total cost of ownership, ensuring the system can address the manufacturing requirements of a wider range of industries – especially those that cannot afford the technologies currently employed by high-end industries, such as the aerospace and medical industries”.

So-called ‘powder bed fusion’ technology uses a high-power laser to melt layers of metal powders on top of one another to ‘print’ parts. Parts can be produced in a range of metals including stainless steel, aluminium, tool steel, titanium, cobalt/chrome and nickel alloys. In contrast to polymer fused deposition modelling, or FDM, 3D metal printing is said to allow for the manufacture of end-use components with excellent mechanical properties.

Aditiv Solutions will be launching its flagship HYRAX 3D metal printer at the upcoming Electra Mining Africa exhibition in September, where it will also conduct a live demonstration of the printing of metal parts. It says that it is currently the only company in South Africa to produce this type of machine and is one of only a few dozen such companies globally.

The company’s machines are typically suited to industry and its target market is mostly industrial manufacturers, 3D printing service bureaus, 3D printing labs and research organisations.