Freemelt, a Swedish additive manufacturing company, has received an order for its Freemelt ONE machine from a leading US research laboratory. The order, valued at approximately SEK 5 million, is expected to be fulfilled in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Freemelt ONE is a research machine based on electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF), which is particularly suitable for processing refractory metals. These metals, known for their high melting points and extreme strength, are particularly difficult to process, which makes the use of additive manufacturing all the more attractive.
The customer, a renowned research institute, has extensive experience in the additive manufacturing of refractory metals and will use the Freemelt ONE for materials research and process development. The aim is to develop new applications for energy-related areas in which high material requirements exist. In addition to the machine delivery, this long-term co-operation also involves an intensive exchange of knowledge between Freemelt and the research laboratory.
The advantages of E-PBF technology lie in the ability to produce complex parts with minimal design constraints and the highest material properties. This is particularly relevant as conventional manufacturing methods are reaching their limits with refractory metals.
Freemelt CEO Daniel Gidlund comments: “I’m proud and excited about this major achievement and critical milestone for Freemelt, as this customer brings world-class experience, competence, and expertise within the E-PBF area, and their role in influencing and educating the U.S. industry in the industrialization of additive manufacturing. We see a constant and rapidly increasing demand for printing parts in various refractory metals for challenging applications. The fact that this prominent customer will use a Freemelt ONE machine in their advanced and successful research is a strong confirmation of Freemelt’s role in enabling efficient manufacturing of refractory metal parts. Freemelt’s technology will play a critical role in the future use of refractory metals in applications such as fusion energy, defense, and other critical and challenging applications.”
The installation of the Freemelt ONE in one of the leading research laboratories in the US will significantly expand the possibilities of material development for demanding applications. This underlines the increasing importance of 3D printing technologies in the field of highly specialised metal processing.
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