Meltio, the Spanish unique tools producer (OEM) of directed vitality deposition (DED) metallic additive manufacturing (AM) platforms, introduced the launch of the corporate’s newest product providing, the Meltio Robotic Cell. Combining the Meltio Engine DED head with an ABB robotic arm (as the usual mannequin), the Robotic Cell is designed to be used in managed industrial environments, i.e., it isn’t meant for ahead deployment.

The Meltio Robotic Cell is a plug and play system, which ought to give the platform a leg-up in interesting to new clients. Meltio lately introduced that the corporate has began promoting its merchandise in India, with its first official gross sales companion being IRTI Robotics, headquartered in Pune.

In my submit about that announcement, I identified the importance of Pune to Indian manufacturing, and particularly, the auto sector in India. The present prevalence of robotic arms for auto manufacturing purposes might make for a better transition for employees studying about AM for the primary time, by comparability with different AM applied sciences.

Though, as I discussed above, the Meltio Robotic Cell is just not meant for ahead deployment, Meltio has completely put in a model of its expertise on a US Navy vessel, the USS Bataan. The system built-in into the USS Bataan makes use of a Meltio hybrid system that’s built-in right into a CNC, relatively than the Meltio Robotic Cell, which depends on an ABB robotic arm. 

Moreover, the corporate that developed the core expertise for the Meltio Engine, the Florida-based OEM ADDiTEC, got here out with a robotic cell for ahead deployment within the spring of 2023, round 6 months after releasing a robotic cell for industrial environments. Thus, it’s logical to count on that Meltio might also be engaged on a platform for ahead deployment.

This additionally raises the query of why ADDiTEC and Meltio function as separate firms (Meltio began as a three way partnership between ADDiTEC and Spanish firm Sicnova). There could also be no reply to this apart from that it merely displays how the AM sector has unfolded during the last a number of years. That’s, there are extra progress alternatives accessible for metallic AM firms within the US than there have been in 2019, when Meltio launched: whereas, as lately as 5 years in the past, it might not have appeared viable to ADDiTEC to function as a robotic arm 3D printing OEM within the US, now it apparently does.

There are additionally potential various explanations, nonetheless, as an illustration, that it was a deliberate long-term divide and conquer technique, which means the businesses may have left the door open to merge sooner or later sooner or later. Which will appear unnecessarily convoluted, however the underlying expertise is outwardly of excessive precedence to the US navy, which might make the convolution doubtlessly needed. The expertise driving the primary metallic 3D printer to be completely put in on a US Navy vessel is presumably considered by the US authorities as important to nationwide safety, and it hasn’t been straightforward to maintain American manufacturing IP within the US! American deep tech startups go bankrupt on a regular basis and lose worthwhile IP to China. Once more, I’m not saying that is what occurred, but when one was involved that metallic DED heads designed for attachment to robotic arms is perhaps tough to maintain contained in the US home financial system due to lack of demand, guaranteeing that the expertise was additionally growing concurrently in a NATO member like Spain would in that case seem to be an inexpensive risk-reduction plan.