Published 1/4/2022

Desktop Metal, Uniformity Labs Partner to Produce Binder-Jetting Solutions

The goal of the partnership is to create integrated solutions that make it easier for businesses to adopt binder jetting to produce end-use metal parts at scale.

Workforce Development

Edited by: Chris Pasion

Managing Editor, Modern Machine Shop | Production Machining

Photo Credit: Desktop Metal

Desktop Metal, a leader in mass production of additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, and Uniformity Labs, a leading AM company in industrial 3D printing materials and processes, have partnered to qualify and deliver ultra-low porosity binder jetting powders that exhibit exceptional sintered part density and mechanical properties paired with Desktop Metal’s AM 2.0 binder jetting solutions.

The goal of the partnership is to leverage Desktop Metal’s high-speed binder jetting systems and processes with Uniformity Labs’ capabilities in metal powder processing to create integrated solutions that make it easier for businesses to adopt binder jetting to produce end-use metal parts at scale. The collaboration is said to be focused on qualifying optimized binder jetting powders exclusively for Desktop Metal solutions, including the Production System, Shop System and ExOne print platforms. Together, the companies are studying powder and binder interactions and will release print profiles with fully characterized mechanical properties for various materials, including stainless steels, nickel-based superalloys and reactive metals such as aluminum.

Uniformity Labs has installed several Desktop Metal systems at its facilities in Fremont, Calif., including a Shop System and a Production System P-1. The partnership has reportedly already resulted in the qualification of several high-performance, engineered powders for Desktop Metal’s Shop System, which are commercially available to customers exclusively through Desktop Metal as part of its Shop System solution. Uniformity Labs topologically engineered powders for Desktop Metal’s Production System and ExOne platforms will be available directly through Uniformity Labs.

Photo Credit: Uniformity Labs

Uniformity Labs and Desktop Metal also previously announced a dedicated multi-year effort to develop aluminum 6061 for binder jetting that has produced an unadulterated powder that reportedly sinters to better than wrought yield strength and ultimate tensile strength with excellent elongation. The companies plan to continue to work together to qualify the aluminum 6061 powder on Desktop Metal’s Production System platform and scale production for commercial release.

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