The Next Revolutionary Metal 3D Printing Seminar 2018

The first ever Desktop Metal Seminar was held on 23 March at the Legacy Centre Auditorium to not only introduce the next revolutionary metal 3D Printing brand Desktop Metal but also present insights on the barriers of Additive Manufacturing (AM) implementation and the evolving 3D printing industry in Singapore.

Mr. Thaddie Natalaray, who is a principle engineer at Advance Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC), started off by talking about the overall AM scene.

ARTC is a development platform for the application of advanced repair and restoration technologies to the manufacturing and remanufacturing industries, and houses advanced industrial-scale equipment and world-class facilities to not only accelerate research and development processes but also improve productivity, capability, and/or cost in advanced manufacturing.

It comes as no surprise that 3D printers are amongst them. Equipped with all the currently available 3D printing technologies, Mr. Thaddie has the significant additive manufacturing technology exposure and experiences to address participating companies on the barriers of AM integration like investments, post-processing considerations, facility requirements, and more from the perspective of a user using metal 3D printers.

In addition, he also talked about barriers that are commonly voiced out about laser-based metal 3d systems which were their use of dangerous lasers and hazardous powders. Thus, posing a safety concern for users who had to be specially trained to operate them.

The seminar was also graced by the presence of Mr. Kan Chun Kit, the regional director of Asia Pacific Desktop Metal, who flew down specially from overseas to give an in-depth presentation on how and why Desktop Metal will revolutionize the metal 3D printing market with their Bound Metal Deposition (BMD) technology.

Bound Metal Deposition uses extrusion technology which produces parts layer by layer to produce accurate and repeatable physical parts right in an office-friendly environment at high speed and low cost. Designed to work as an end-to-end solution, post-processing is also simplified as supports can be separated easily from parts by hand.

Bound Metal Deposition technology which is found in the Studio System is the first product to be released by Desktop Metal. It is 10x more affordable than common laser-based systems, doesn’t require specialized operators to generate support structures or tool paths, and can be directly accessed from the cloud regardless of location.

With Desktop Metal’s systems adopting the same MIM (Metal Injection Molding) materials that leverage upon bulk sintering, production of near-net-shape parts with the resolution and accuracy needed for functional prototyping are enabled.

Following which, there was a comprehensive demonstration of an advanced software tool called Live Parts that had been developed together with Dassault Systèmes, which simplifies the generative designing of the 3D printed part for users.

One unique feature of Live Parts is their incorporation of Finite element analysis (FEA) which is able to predict how the part reacts to real-world forces and whether it will break, wear out, or work the way it was designed for.

Designs are auto-generated in real-time when using Live Parts, and users are not required to require any prior knowledge of design for AM techniques or guidelines. Even so, guidelines and tips when designing for Bound Metal Deposition were highlighted for those who wanted more control.

Last but not least, Mr. Sean Looi, the general manager of Creatz3D, touched on the latest evolving technological and material developments of the AM industry. With years of experience in the 3D printing industry, Mr. Sean offered his perspective on how the 3D printing industry has advanced over the years.

Creatz3D would like to thank everyone who had attended the seminar. Please visit our website for more information about the different types of 3D Printing solutions and technologies that we offer. Alternatively, you can drop us any inquiries via our email at info@creatz3d.com or a call at (65) 6631 8555.