Sharebot
metalONE Sharebot
Sharebot's metalONE machine.
Sharebot has officially launched its first metal 3D printing system at the Mecspe in Parma, Italy.
Lifting the cover – and the media embargo set earlier this month – to introduce the ‘metalONE’, Sharebot expressed its excitement at entering a ‘new frontier’. The Italian vendor has only previously worked in polymer 3D printing since it was founded in 2013. These machines are powered by extrusion, photopolymerisation, and laser sintering processes, with more than 3,500 installed around the world.
The metalONE is the result of a project that has evolved from Sharebot’s SnowWhite selective laser sintering machine for thermoplastic powders which the company launched three years ago. It represents a significant development for Sharebot, who see metal additive manufacturing as a key market.
“We think that metal [3D printing] is a new, important frontier. It will be the future and we want to take part in this new revolution,” a company statement given to TCT said.
Sharebot’s first move into the metal market is a small machine with a build envelope of 65 x 65 x 100 mm and open parameter and process settings. For this reason, the company believes the system is suitable for universities and research laboratories. A group of three filters for the inert gas circuit guarantee the air is completely free of metal particles, while users can set up prints on a 14” touch screen, and then thanks to an integrated webcam and LAN connection, monitor the process remotely.
The search for and selection of beta-testers of the new machine has already commenced. Chosen organisations will collaborate with Sharebot to further develop the system and material profiles, a partnership which will see beta-testers given a special discount and priority assistance for the next two years.
Sharebot, operating just outside of Milan, has worked to bring 3D printing systems to market to help introduce the technologies into small and medium businesses. It has gradually evolved its product offering from desktop machines to more professional systems, and after years of research has arrived at its first metal 3D printer, debuted at Mecspe, a manufacturing trade show in the neighbouring city of Parma.
