Desktop Metal Buys Aerosint, Acquiring its Multi-Material Capabilities for Desktop’s 3D-Printing Solutions
A supplier of 3D-printing solutions, Desktop Metal Inc. (Burlington, MA) has announced it has bought Aerosint SA (Herstal, Belgium), a pioneer in multi-material deposition systems for powder-based additive manufacturing (AM) solutions.
Posted: August 23, 2021
Founded in 2016, Aerosint offers a powder deposition system based on a proprietary digital process that selectively deposits two or more powders to form a single, thin powder layer containing multiple materials. Aerosint’s patented technology enables full 3D control of material placement during printing and can be integrated into any powder bed additive manufacturing (AM) process, such as laser powder bed fusion, binder jetting, high-speed sintering, or selective laser sintering.
This new, multi-material approach to powder deposition is designed to support high-speed printing of a broad range of polymers, metals, and ceramics. According to Desktop Metal, selective powder deposition is a high-throughput, multi-material powder recoating system that unlocks a range of new use cases for 3D printing.
Multi-material powder deposition can reduce powder waste, material cost, and post-processing time associated with single-material, commercially available powder bed AM processes.
Also, the technology has the potential to realize additional benefits at scale. Those benefits include localized optimization of mechanical properties, such as wear resistance or vibration dampening, and improved chemical and physical properties, such as thermal and electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, or aesthetics.
Examples of applications for multi-material printing include:
- Molds with conformal cooling channels optimized for heat dissipation;
- Wear-resistant cutting tools with a hard exterior and ductile interior;
- Conductive metal paths within polymer parts for flexible electronics;
- Bi-material luxury goods with superior aesthetics; and
- RF components with different dielectric and conductive properties.
According to Desktop, the technology can be used in additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy, and beyond, including in the printing of multi-functional parts.
“This transaction advances our strategy to own differentiated print technologies that enable an expanding set of AM 2.0 applications at scale,” said Ric Fulop, founder and CEO of Desktop Metal. “Multi-material printing is the next frontier in AM. Today, people print parts. But, in the future, people will look to print full products, which may be composed of multiple materials. Industrializing Aerosint’s core technology and related powder processing systems will provide many benefits to the broad adoption of AM solutions.
“We look forward to partnering with our new colleagues at Aerosint to mature this unique technology and integrate it into upcoming Desktop Metal products over the next several years. We are also excited for Aerosint to independently continue its growth trajectory by offering selective powder deposition solutions and services to third-party manufacturers and customers of powder-based AM systems.”
“At Aerosint, we believe the future of AM is going to be multi-material,” said Edouard Moens de Hase, co-founder and managing director of Aerosint. “We are thrilled to partner with Desktop Metal to accelerate the execution of this vision, now with access to its scale, distribution network, and industry-leading AM 2.0 technology portfolio.
“We look forward to beginning a close collaboration with Desktop Metal while strengthening our ongoing efforts with our existing partners to transform the AM industry and capture new market opportunities.”
Aerosint will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal and continue to be led by its founders, Moens de Hase and Matthias Hick. Moens de Hase will serve as managing director and Hick as innovation director of Aerosint. The company’s multi-material products and services will continue to be widely available to the AM industry with integration into Desktop Metal platforms targeted within the next two years.
