Rapid Fusion to launch 3-D printing robot demo centre

A ’state of the art’ 3-D printing robot demonstration centre will be unveiled this month in Exeter by Rapid Fusion as it aims to build on a 25% increase in sales revenues. The technology specialist has completed a £750,000 investment drive that has seen it develop two new additive manufacturing (AM) platforms and importantly build a dedicated facility to showcase its solutions.

A 5,000ft² unit on Skypark will house the firm’s Apollo cell and its latest ZEUS creation, which combines a 3-D printing robot with a unique CNC milling capability — providing customers with a turnkey solution for larger moulds. The company is also recruiting, with an LFAM robotic print engineer joining the business before Christmas and plans are afoot to expand the workforce further with roles in engineering and deployment and software.

Jake Hand, founder of Rapid Fusion, said: “2024 was a very good year for us, with revenue surpassing £1.7 million on our AM platforms and way above our expectations. There is a definite move in the market towards 3-D printing larger components with more complex geometries and we are not just seeing that from automotive and aerospace sectors, but maritime and even construction where we have signed an exciting deal with Italian business Nanoo.”

He continued: “With interest in our technology growing rapidly, we wanted to create a demonstration centre that people could visit and see the cells in action. In some instances, we can even carry out ‘prototype’ trials to prove the speed, accuracy and reliability of our solutions.”

Major player
Rapid Fusion is fast becoming a major player in global AM platforms - all designed, built and assembled in the UK with the recent bonus of ‘Made in Britain’ certification. The company launched its first bespoke cell, called Apollo, last year and this has already received significant interest for its ability to offer faster speeds than existing FDM printers (nearly 200-times quicker).

The company will shortly be officially releasing ZEUS, which will include a CNC milling tool that provides a hybrid solution for customers looking at 3-D printing and milling in one turnkey solution.

Mr Hand added: “We are always trying to push the boundaries of what is possible and that is reflected in the introduction of Apollo and ZEUS. Our brilliant engineers and designers have also been working on an algorithm for retraction when 3-D printing with a Rapid Fusion extruder.

“What does that mean? Well, it will give us the capability to 3-D print more than one object on the same tool path with no stringing between parts. This is another first for the industry and, as you would expect, initial feedback has been overwhelming.”

Rapid Fusion, which will be attending IDEX in Abu Dhabi in February and JEC in Paris, has recently signed several new reseller agreements in a bid to increase its domestic and global sales. These have included Hyperion in Australia, Accufacture in the USA, MAPTEC in Dubai and CNC World in the UK.