Providing fast print speed and a 24-hour cycle time, the QLS 3D printers produce polymer and metal components using the ColdMetalFusion process. (Photo: Business Wire)
Nexa3D can bring expertise and experience in ‘ultrafast serial production’ to the ColdMetalFusion ecosystem, the company said.
VENTURA, Calif.—The polymer 3D printer manufacturer Nexa3D is moving into the sintering-based metal additive manufacturing space, the company said in a release.
Nexa3D said it is expanding its selective laser sintering (SLS) capabilities by entering the metal additive field through a strategic collaboration with Headmade Materials. The move, which follows Nexa3D’s acquisition of XYZ’s SLS technology earlier this year, reportedly enables Nexa3D’s customers to “break the productivity barriers in metal part production by making Headmade Materials’ unique feedstock technology compatible with its fast-cycle QLS lineup of SLS 3D printers,” according to the release.
By using its feedstock technology for ColdMetalFusion, a sinter-based 3D printing process that combines the advantages of polymer laser sintering with established powder metallurgy processes, Nexa3D customers can produce production metal components with the QLS 230, QLS 236, and QLS 820 high-throughput SLS printers, the company said.
Nexa3D earned a reputation as a pioneer in high-speed polymer 3D printing. By joining forces with Headmade Materials, Nexa3D said it can bring its expertise and experience in “ultrafast serial production” to the ColdMetalFusion ecosystem, which is said to thrive on “performance, repeatability, and precision.”
“We are impressed by the speed and throughput capabilities of Nexa3D technology and couldn’t be more excited to partner with them to expand access [to] and adoption of ColdMetalFusion technology,” said Christian Fischer, co-CEO of Headmade Materials, in a statement.
Together with Headmade, Nexa3D plans to leverage the ecosystem around ColdMetalFusion and provide its customers access to decades of experience in sintering and traditional industrial manufacturing. The companies will offer services, equipment, materials, software, and know-how to customers in the metal manufacturing industry.
The QLS series printers are reported to offer a flexible industrial SLS platform for polymer and metal parts production. Providing a 24-hour cycle speed using a single 30-Watt CO2 laser, the QLS 230 can produce metal parts with reliable metal injection molding-like properties, according to Nexa3D.
MIMplus Technologies, GmbH has been using the QLS 230 in combination with ColdMetalFusion technology to successfully print industrial cutting tools. It has reportedly achieved “exponential production savings” over traditional manufacturing methods.
“We are thrilled to partner with Headmade for ColdMetalFusion because we believe it provides our customers with best-in-class production economics for manufacturing metal components,” said John Calhoun, head of SLS business development at Nexa3D, in the release.
Nexa3D makes what it describes as “ultrafast polymer 3D printers” that reportedly deliver up to 20 times higher productivity gains. The company’s partnerships with world-class material suppliers and its open materials platform are said to “unlock the full potential of additively manufactured polymers for volume production.”