Elementum 3D, an additive manufacturing (AM) R&D company that is based in Erie, Colorado (the USA) and specialises in creating advanced metals, composites and ceramics, has acquired cold spray metal 3-D printing technology developed by SPEE3D. The WarpSPEE3D metal 3-D printer will become the latest tool for Elementum 3D to advance its current AM capability.

The machine, SPEE3D’s large-format cold spray metal 3-D printing machine, has a work volume of 1,000 x 700mm and the capacity to print 30 tonnes of metal parts per year. This acquisition enables Elementum 3D to now offer a rapid and cost-effective solution for customers who require high-quality metal parts for applications in industries such as defence, mining, oil & gas, aerospace and automotive.

Jacob Nuechterlein, Elementum 3D’s CEO, said: “Our revolutionary RAM technology and AM expertise is helping meet the 3-D printing industry’s ever-growing demand for a greater selection of printable materials. We are confident the acquisition of SPEE3D’s technology will be an excellent addition to our current capabilities.

“Developing and applying Elementum 3D materials to SPEE3D’s cold spray printers is a major step forward towards our goal to offer customers a comprehensive range of AM solutions. Moreover, SPEE3D’s metal 3-D printers are 100- to 1,000-times faster compared to traditional metal 3-D printing methods. They can produce industrial-quality metal parts in just minutes, rather than days or weeks, which means these machines offer the fastest and most economical additive manufacturing capability in the world.”

Byron Kennedy, SPEE3D’s CEO, said: “We are excited about partnering with such a pioneering company such as Elementum 3D. Its AM and material expertise will help to bring cold spray AM to the forefront and quite literally change the way parts are manufactured in several industries.”

Steven Camilleri, SPEE3D’s CTO, added: “SPEE3D’s cold spray fabrication technology provides a significantly increased scope for advanced materials development as the material is not melted during the print process.

“With our WarpSPEE3D technology, we look forward to how Elementum 3D spearheads material enhancement in cold spray processes for the future 3-D printing market.”

Rather than using heat to melt metal powders, SPEE3D developed ‘Supersonic 3D Deposition’. This is the name given to the patented process in which a ‘rocket nozzle’ accelerates air up to three-times the speed of sound, into which metal powder is injected then deposited onto a substrate manoeuvred in six axes.

In this process the sheer kinetic energy of the particles hitting each other causes the powders to bind together to form a high-density part with metallurgical properties ‘superior to casting’.