First UK prototypes from world's largest commercial sand 3D printer.
The world’s largest commercial 3D printer has recently produced its first round of prototypes for UK customers.
3Dealise utilised ExOne’s S-Max sand printer, currently the largest and fastest of its kind available on the market, capable of producing prints up to the size of a phone box, to produce the prints that will ship later this month.
Sand printing allows ‘freedom of design’ with higher accuracy and repeatability to create ‘near net shape’ castings. 3Dealise used the process to produce moulds for large metal castings, eliminating the need for casting patterns in producing metal prototypes and small production runs.
3Dealise CEO Roland Stapper explained the significance of the technology: “First, the success of UK manufacturing depends on the ability to quickly innovate and turn ideas into prototypes and then products. By enabling clients to go directly from a computer design to a high quality and high precision prototype, we can speed up the prototype cycle, which can give UK manufacturers a real edge.
ExOne S-Max sand 3D printer
Second, there is a major trend away from mass production and towards customised products designed to meet specific needs. 3D printing is particularly well suited to produce customised products because every print can be different. Local UK production is crucial to this concept, because shipping time must be minimised. ”
The London based company exhibited a range of client projects at the TCT Show in Birmingham last month with orders for British clients from the show currently being fulfilled and will be delivered in the next few weeks. 3Dealise offers a full package of scanning, engineering and printing services.
3Dealise will be at EuroMold later this month at Frankfurt exhibition centre on 25-28th November.
