Company attributes
Other attributes
Desktop Metal is a manufacturing company that is producing metal 3D printing systems. The company provides office-friendly metal printing systems, which are suited for low volumes of 3D printing, as well as another large-scale industrial system.
Desktop Metal has several products that each target different audiences. The Studio System+ is an adaptation for the original Studio System and has new print capabilities as well as scaleable design. It consists of a printer, a debinder, a furnace, and automated software that makes it easy to use in a low-volume office setting.
The Studio Fleet system uses the same technology as the Studio System but is capable of delivering five times the throughput of the aforementioned system. This system uses five printers, two debinders, and a furnace. It can be used by manufacturers in situations such as low volume production of custom parts and pilot runs prior to mass production.
The Production System is intended to be used for large-scale manufacturers. It uses bi-directional printing so that the printer is spreading metal powder, binder, and anti-sintering agents in both directions, thus manufacturing products as a faster speed than traditional 3D printing. The Production System has been used complex metal parts such as a spauger bit.
Desktop Metal uses various materials for its 3D printing. For example, 17-4 stainless steel and 316L stainless steel are available to be used to make metal objects and parts using the Desktop Metal systems. Other metals are in development to be used, such as copper and alloy 625.
Depending on which system a client is using, the software can be automated or a simulation can be designed in order to prepare for the printing process. Next, the metal object is shaped by bound metal rods in a process called Bound Metal Deposition. The object is then soaked in proprietary debind fluid, which dissolves primary binder in order to create an open-pore channel so that the object can be prepared for sintering. Finally, the object is heated to a temperature near melting and the remaining binder is removed. The final step of the process allows for the object to densify.
The company provides software for use in their 3D metal printing systems. Fabricate, Live Parts, and Fab Flow are separate software systems intended for use in the company's 3D metal printing design and fabrication.
Fabricate is intended to be used with the Studio System and is user-friendly, allowing for the automation of the 3D printing process. Live Parts allows for users to create simulations of the objects they want to print so that they can optimize the design of their 3D object. Fab Flow is meant for high-volume fabrication shops and combines communications and workflow management into the software.
Chris Schuh, Ely Sachs, A. John Hart, Jonah Myerberg, Ric Fulop, Rick Chin, and Yet-Ming Chiang co-founded the company on October 31st, 2015. Lux Capital Management was one of the first investors in the company in 2015.
