Titomic held an event at its factory in Mount Waverly, Victoria, on 16 May to mark the official launch of the world’s largest metals 3D printer.
Boasting a capacity of 9m x 3m x by 1.5m, Titomic’s industrial-scale 3D printer overcomes size and speed constraints present in all other 3D printers for manufacturing in metals. With a process co-developed with CSIRO, Titomic’s machine features patented additive manufacturing technology that has the potential to transform the future of Australian and international advanced manufacturing.
From airplane wings to submarines, Titomic’s technology is capable of making large complex parts in minutes and fusing dissimilar materials and enables metal products to be manufactured without melting.
“We’re obviously proud to officially launch Titomic’s first large-scale metal 3D printer,” said Titomic’s Chairman Philip Vafiadis. “We hope industry leaders understand that this is more than an advancement of 3D printing but rather it is the beginning of the race to displace traditional large scale industrial manufacturing processes constrained by economics.”
Jeff Lang, Titomic’s CEO and CTO, added “As a company we look forward to fully realising the potential of advanced manufacturing, both locally and globally. The capabilities of Australian ingenuity coupled with our unique technology is limited only by the imagination.”
On 14 May, just days before the machine’s launch, Titomic announced it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fincantieri Australia to explore potential uses for the printer in the marine sector. Titomic’s existing customers include mining engineering company Callidus as well as a renowned North American bicycle brand. Titomic recently announced an exclusive 12-month collaboration with Callaway Golf, the world’s largest golf club manufacturer, and will see its advanced manufacturing skills used to develop novel products for the brand.
To celebrate the world’s largest metal 3D printer and to couple Titomic’s capabilities with the imaginations of the future generations, Titomic also launched a competition for Australian schoolkids, called Cre8 the Future. Cre8 the Future invites kids to draw the future of transport and the winner with the most creative design will have his or her drawing printed in large scale by Titomic and turned into play equipment for their school.
“We’re proud to be an Australian company to have successfully co-developed a new way of manufacturing with CSIRO, which will better utilise the abundant titanium mineral sands in Australia, and will challenge the traditions of how products are designed and made in aviation, space, defence, marine, infrastructure, transportation, consumer goods and other key industries around the world,” said Lang.