Tim Pumphrey
DM Shop System
Desktop Metal has announced its metal binder jetting Shop System is now being manufactured in volume and shipped around the world.
The company has revealed more than half a dozen early adopters, including CETIM who was announced in May and Wall Colmonoy who was announced earlier this month, across Europe and North America. Installations are also said to be under way in the Asia Pacific region.
Desktop Metal unveiled the Shop System 12 months ago and has designed it to enable machine and job shops to harness metal binder jet technology to produce end-use parts for the automotive, oil and gas, and electronics industries, among others. The Shop System is said to provide excellent surface finish and resolution, operate at speeds up to 800 cc/hour to produce batches in the tens and hundreds within hours, and deliver fine feature detail. It also boasts build volumes of 350 x 220 x 50 mm for the 4L machine and 350 x 220 x 200 mm for the 16L machine. In recent weeks, these capabilities have been supplemented by the launch of the Live Sinter software and an optimised Materialise Build Processor.
“Many of the benefits that have long been touted for 3D printing – mass customisation, complex geometries, lightweighting, assembly consolidation, tool-free manufacturing, digital inventories, and more – all come bundled as part of AM 2.0,” commented Desktop Metal CEO Ric Fulop. “Taken together, this suite of benefits represents a new approach to the way metal parts are being designed, prototyped and now, with the Shop System, manufactured. With the Shop System, engineers and plant operators can now eliminate many of the constraints previously imposed by traditional manufacturing methods, like CNC machining, and achieve affordable, reliable and flexible batch production of complex parts.”
Tim Pumphrey
Desktop Metal jewellery part
Complex jewellery ornament, designed by luxury goods manufacturer E.A.C. of France and 3D printed on the Shop System in steel, before being gold-plated.
Joining CETIM and Wall Colmonoy in installing the Shop System are consumer product brand Jade Creaction LDA; French metallurgical training centre AFPMA de I’Ain of France; luxury product supplier E.A.C; industrial metals company Cosmind; machining company Alpha Precision Group; engineering services firm Impac Systems Engineering; and the VTT Technical Research Center in Finland.
“By enabling mass production of amazingly intricate geometries, metal binder jetting is about to transform the luxury goods space,” said Patrick Chouvet, Manager E.A.C. “As a pioneer in the use of additive manufacturing in luxury goods for some of the world’s most valuable and iconic brands, E.A.C. has been exploring metal Binder Jetting technology over the past four years. After a comprehensive review and benchmarking of the competitive landscape, we chose the Shop System for its unparalleled print quality, throughput, and affordability.”
“APG is extremely excited about the recent purchase of the Shop System as we know that this technology is going to change the way that engineers think, not just from a manufacturing perspective but from a limitless design perspective,” added Phillip McDonald, Advanced Manufacturing Engineer at APG. “This technology enables our customers to iterate designs extremely quickly and prototype products with no tooling costs, all with incredibly short lead times. The future is here.”
Desktop Metal is offering the Shop System 4L at prices starting at $166,500 and the 16L at prices starting at $241,500.
Want to discuss? Join the conversation on the Additive Manufacturing Global Community Discord.
Get your FREE print subscription to TCT Magazine.
