DOD Grant Focuses on 3D Printing Process to Make Complex Hard Metal Parts
BOSTON—Desktop Metal has been awarded a three-year, multimillion dollar grant from the Department of Defense to develop a high-volume 3D printing process that makes complex parts from a new cobalt-free hard metal without the use of tooling. This new process has the potential to change the landscape of the carbide hardmetals market, which is projected to grow to $24 billion by 2024.
The main goals and requirements of the $2.45 million project include the development of a feedstock and binder system for novel cobalt-free hardmetal; using the Desktop Metal SPJ process to print a sufficient quantity of components of at least 200,000 parts in one day from a single machine; and delivering the cost analysis of scaling up its advanced SPJ binder jet manufacturing.