ExOne to Unveil New M-FLEX 3D Printer at IMTS 2012

It seems like just yesterday I was pulling into ExOne’s parking lot to take a tour of the facility. You can find some details of the conversation I had with the good folks of ExOne here. Observant readers might have noticed talk about the M-FLEX in that article and been curious about the lack of availability of the system.

The wait is over. ExOne is debuting the M-FLEX at IMTS 2012. The company’s newest offering has been designed to work primarily with metal, but is also capable of building objects in glass, ceramics and other materials used for casting. According to the company, the M-FLEX offers seven times the volume output of other additive manufacturing (AM) systems.

The new 3D printer continues to use ExOne’s “Digital Part Materialization” process (ASTM binder jetting). This process builds objects by treating a powdered material with a bonding agent from a print head. The object is then placed into a furnace for sintering, which burns out the binder and fuses the metal molecules into a solid part.

The M-FLEX has a build envelope of 15.7 x 9.8 x 9.8 in. (400 x 250 x 250 mm) with a build speed of 30 seconds/.100 mm layer. It offers a print resolution of 0.0635 mm (X/Y), 0.100 mm (Z).

“We've made tremendous strides in 3D printing in the last decade and what our machines can do today is simply remarkable. We are printing engine castings for helicopters and replacing broken pumps in oil fields in days – not months,” said Dave Burns, president of ExOne. “The M-FLEX continues our leadership in developing the 3D printing technology that has made additive manufacturing the most compelling advanced technology used in industry today.”

If you plan on attending IMTS 2012, you can visit ExOne in the North Building at booth N-6144.

Below you’ll find a video that covers the binder jetting process for metal materials.

Source: ExOne