Large Format Metal Printer Builds 8X Faster Than Standard Speed

Australian manufacturer Aurora Labs has been a prominent name in 3D metal printing for quite some time. While they ordinarily operate in machines like the S-Titanium Pro or with powders, they have been branching out into other areas as of late. The company has just announced a successful test for its first large format printer, showing rapid printing abilities.

Aurora have shown that their Large Format Technology can achieve speeds of about 8 times higher than standard rates. This Alpha 3D large format metal printer can work with sizes of 200x200x200mm (LxWxH). The intention right now is to get it much faster and bigger, as the company has been adamant in making it a 100 times quicker than existing systems.

As of right now, the Alpha 3D printer has a print envelope of 200x200x200mm and a speed of 662g/h. Since the current results are very promising, the company is looking to boost these stats to 1000 kg per day at a size of 1.5m x 1.5m x 2.5m. The company has, after all, developed the technology to overcome the bottlenecks stifling increases in printing speed.

Large Format Technology

“Possibly more than any other step in [our] history, this one is the most important, as it proves out at a fundamental level the potential for this technology to revolutionize the metal manufacturing market,” said David Budge, Managing Director of Aurora Labs.

A staple of Aurora labs’ technology is the ability to switch modes of printing when necessary. The LFT will also use direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser melting (SLM) and directed energy deposition (DED), much like the S-Titanium series. This feature will provide the machine with unparalleled versaility, especially for its size. Aside from the speed, the technology is also supposed to be able to bring complex qualities to the table.

Aurora labs plans to commercialise the technology by 2019. A pre-production model will be available to one of Aurora’s industry partners before the end of this year. Aurora Labs still has a way to go, however, their current prototype is beyond promising. We’ll keep our ears tuned to what comes next.