Aerosint/ Desktop Metal
Desktop Metal has added multi-material 3D printing technology to its growing product offering via the acquisition of Belgian firm Aerosint.
Aerosint will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal, with founders Edouard Moens de Hase and Matthias Hick to serve as Managing Director and Innovation Director of the Aerosint business respectively. The company’s multi-material products and services will continue to be available to customers, while Desktop Metal has outlined its intention to integrate the technology behind such products into upcoming DM platforms within the next two years.
Founded in 2016, Aerosint has come to market with a powder deposition system powered by a proprietary process that selectively deposits two or more powders to form a single, thin powder layer containing multiple materials. Its patented technology enables full three-dimensional control of material placement during printing and has the potential to be integrated into powder bed additive processes like Binder Jetting, High Speed Sintering and Selective Laser Sintering.
Designed to support high-speed printing of polymers, metals and ceramics, Aerosint’s technology is said to have the capacity to reduce the powder waste, material cost and post-processing time of single material powder deposition technologies. It can be used to produce moulds with conformal cooling channels optimised for heat dissipation; wear-resistant cutting tools with hard exteriors and ductile interiors; bi-material luxury goods; and RF components with different dielectric and conductive properties.
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The capabilities and potential applications of the technology has led Desktop Metal to takeover Aerosint for an undisclosed amount. It represents another addition to Desktop Metal’s growing 3D printing portfolio, which also includes EnvisionTEC, Adaptive3D, Forust and Desktop Health.
“This transaction advances our strategy to own differentiated print technologies that enable an expanding set of AM 2.0 applications at scale,” commented Ric Fulop, founder and CEO of Desktop Metal. “Multi-material printing is the next frontier in AM. Today people print parts, but in the future, people will look to print full products, which may be composed of multiple materials. Industrialising Aerosint’s core technology and related powder processing systems will provide many benefits to the broad adoption of AM solutions. We look forward to partnering with our new colleagues at Aerosint to mature this unique technology and integrate it into upcoming Desktop Metal products over the next several years. We are also excited for Aerosint to independently continue its growth trajectory by offering selective powder deposition solutions and services to third-party manufacturers and customers of powder-based AM systems.”
“At Aerosint, we believe the future of AM is going to be multi-material,” added Moens de Hase. “We are thrilled to partner with Desktop Metal to accelerate the execution of this vision, now with access to its scale, distribution network and industry-leading AM 2.0 technology portfolio. We look forward to beginning a close collaboration with Desktop Metal while strengthening our ongoing efforts with our existing partners to transform the AM industry and capture new market opportunities.”
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