Changing the way metal is manufactured

The first metal 3D printing system for mass production. The Production system delivers the speed, quality, and cost-per-part needed to compete with traditional manufacturing processes.

However, metal 3D printing has failed to meet today’s manufacturing needs due to high costs, slow processes and hazardous materials.

Early this year, INTERNATIONAL METALWORKING NEWS FOR ASIA Senior Editor Kathryn Gerardino-Elagio attended a press conference hosted by Desktop Metal, announcing a strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes, held during the SolidWorks World 2018 in Los Angeles.

Desktop Metal offers a new way for the manufacturing industry to be smarter, faster and more cost effective with metal 3D printing. Whether it’s rapid prototyping or output at scale, a solution for printing metal parts that is competitive to the traditional manufacturing processes is certain to change the face of design and production.

During the press conference, executives from Desktop Metal and Dassault Systèmes’ SolidWorks brand discussed the latest innovation in metal 3D printing and shared insights on how Desktop Metal and industry partners are working together to take the complexity out of developing products for additive manufacturing. According to the companies, the collaboration focuses on education initiatives and the development of advanced tools for generative design, including a preview of Live Parts™.

Ric Fulop, CEO and Co-Founder at Desktop Metal 

Live Parts

Live Parts is an experimental technology, which explores a new solution to simplify generative design for 3D printing. At SolidWorks World 2018, Desktop Metal previewed an advanced software tool, available exclusively to SolidWorks users, which offers a new approach to designing for additive manufacturing.

Ric Fulop, CEO and Co-Founder at Desktop Metal expressed its commitment to making metal 3D printing both accessible and successful for designers, engineers and manufacturing teams.

He added, “In addition to hardware, we believe design for additive manufacturing software tools and techniques are critical to the successful fabrication of strong, lightweight parts that perform. We are excited to partner with Dassault Systèmes on the preview of our latest innovation, Live Parts, and to offer our software tool as a means for educational exploration to the largest community of engineers leading advancements in additive manufacturing.”

Ric further explained Live Parts is the latest development from within Desktop Metal’s research and innovation group, DM Labs. It is an experimental generative design tool that applies morphogenetic principles and advanced simulation to shape strong, lightweight parts in minutes. Powered by a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-accelerated multi-physics engine, Live Parts auto-generates designs in real time.

“This enables users to quickly realise the full potential of additive manufacturing, including material and cost efficiency, and design flexibility. The tool produces functional parts with complex, efficient geometries that are ideally suited for 3D printing. For users, Live Parts requires no prior knowledge of design for additive manufacturing techniques or guidelines,” he said.

Building awareness and integration of technologies

As part of the strategic partnership, Desktop Metal and Dassault Systèmes will be collaborating on the implementation of future features that enable users to have a full additive workflow from design through 3D printing. The companies also are exploring a variety of educational initiatives, such as metal 3D printing certification and curriculum, and joint content programs.

“Advances in 3D technology from 3D printing to materials science are driving tremendous growth for key industries, particularly as applications shift towards production,” said Gian Paolo Bassi, CEO, SolidWorks, Dassault Systèmes.

Gian added that partnering with an industry pioneer like Desktop Metal will help their customers to take the guesswork and complexity out of developing products specifically for additive manufacturing - empowering engineers and designers to accelerate complex and critical design applications.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Dassault Systèmes to offer SolidWorks users access to the Live Parts technology preview, and we look forward to future collaboration on educational and additional software tools specifically suited for designing for additive manufacturing,” said Fulop.

Since its inception in October 2015, Desktop Metal has raised US$97 million and attracted major investors, including GV (formerly Google Ventures), BMW Group, GE, Lowe’s, NEA, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lux Capital, Saudi Aramco, and 3D printing leader Stratasys. With over 138 patents filed and a growing team of more than 100 employees, Desktop Metal continues to gain momentum as it brings its products to market.

Members of the founding team, in addition to Fulop,  include some of the most forward-thinking innovators in the industry: Jonah Myerberg, Chief Technology Officer and a leader in materials engineering; Ely Sachs, MIT professor and early pioneer of 3D printing, inventor of binder jet printing; Yet-Ming Chiang, MIT professor and one of the world’s top materials scientists; Christopher Schuh, Chairman of the MIT Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering and one of the world’s leading metallurgists; A. John Hart, MIT professor and expert in manufacturing and machine design; and Rick Chin, VP of Software, who was one of the early team members of SolidWorks and previously founder of Xpress 3D (acquired by Stratasys).