Thanks to a suitable design and reduced manufacturing costs, metal 3D printing would make significant savings. Screenshot. © DR
A cheap metal 3D printer is the promise of Matterfab, a young American start-up that is announcing its commercialisation at the beginning of 2015.
MatterFab announced on July 16th the release of a cheap metal 3D printer with multiple applications, from injection moulding to the production of precision parts. The company assures the printer offers “the same qualities as industrial 3D printers worth a million dollars”. Release expected at the beginning of 2015. This printer could considerably increase the productivity of companies with no extra cost, particularly for custom-made medical implants or for the aeronautic industry that could make significant energy savings with some parts printed in metal in 3D. Their website for instance mentions the production of airplane safety belt buckles that would reduce their weight thanks to an optimized design and thus save 275$ of fuel per annum for each buckle, that is a potential of 30 million dollars per annum for commercial aviation.
Find the MatterFab metal 3D printer demonstration video and the interview of Matt Burris on TechCrunch.