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Lumex Avance 25 Matsuura Machinery
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Matsuura Machinery's Lumex Avance 25
A video demonstration of how Matsuura Machinery's Metal Laser Sintering Hybrid Milling Machine the Lumex Avance 25 works.
Mitsubishi Corporation is bringing metal 3D printing technology to the North American marketplace for the first time this month.
The organisation - which is the largest trading company in Japan - has revealed it will be selling a high-performance metal 3D printer developed by Japanese developer Matsuura Machinery, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
Matsuura Machinery is known for its LUMEX Avance-25 metal laser sintering hybrid milling machine. The 3D printer Mitsubishi will be selling in the US is estimated to cost 90 million yen ($845,946, £510,344) and can make dies with dimensions as large as 25x25x18cm.
Mitsubishi is hoping to cultivate a demand from manufacturers in the mobile phone, medical and aerospace industries and has a target to deliver the 3D printing technology to more than 10 businesses in the highly competitive North America region in the first 12 months.
Matsuura's 3D printing offering has an advantage over rival manufacturers as it offers very high levels of precision.
In order to market the 3D printer, it has been reported Mitsubishi will tap a group sales unit in the US that currently markets laser additive manufacturing technology and electric discharging machines for die manufacturing.
Despite being a world-leading technology market and having the third-most powerful economy on the planet, Japan has been slow to join the international 3D printing arena, lagging behind the US, Europe and China. But demand for metal additive manufacturing technology is growing and it seems likely more Japanese organisations will be making a foray into the growing sector.
The global market for 3D printing technology is set to increase fivefold for the 2012-2021 period to $10.8 billion, the Nikkei Asian Review stated.
