Before Desktop Metal, inexpensive metal 3D printing was nonexistent. By reducing cost-per-part by up to 20%, the Desktop Metal Studio System is the leading solution to metal prototyping and end use parts.
What is the software behind the studio system?
The Studio System is an end to end-to-end system with a software controlled workflow. It uses a technology called Bound Metal Deposition (BDM), similar to the safest, most widely accepted printing process known as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). It also uses office safe materials and requires no powder handling.
The system also incorporates a sintering furnace. It’s the first office-friendly sintering device with no venting or special facility requirements. On top of that, it has a built-in expert metallurgy through its fully automated sintering profiles.
These two systems work together to communicate what’s being printed on the Studio System and the kind of sintering profiles the furnace will need to effectively make the part.
How is it different from other metal offerings?
The Desktop Metal solution is designed around Metal Injection Molding technology (MIM). Because of MIM, there’s an extensive powder supply chain which offers more materials at a lower cost, which leads to an overall lower cost-per-part.
The Studio System is priced at $120k, which is significantly less than any other metal solution on the market. This includes the printer, rinse station, and sintering furnace; everything you need to get started printing metal parts.
Desktop Metal also offers a new approach to post-processing parts. Unlike other systems that require secondary machining and tooling to actually remove and clean the parts, the Studio System prints with both a bound metal material, as well as a ceramic material which works as a support or scaffolding. Once the parts are removed from the furnace, it’s then easy to remove this ceramic material, unbinding the part and achieving the geometry we desire.
What does this mean for manufacturing, specifically Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM)?
Reducing the cost associated with metal additive parts now opens new applications and uses for metal additive technology. In the past, high cost parts produced by other metal technologies were justified for the limited use in high performance applications in industries such as aerospace. Now these parts can be manufactured at a lower cost with the Desktop Metal technology, leading to innovation that we can all share and benefit from.