A startup developer of 3D printing technology recently unveiled a new system that the company said could enable the printing of far larger metal parts than currently possible.
Christian LaRosa, the founder and CEO of Phoenix-based Rosotics, detailed the company’s new printer head — known as Mantis — in an interview with New Atlas.
Unlike conventional metal 3D printers, which typically deposit layers of molten metal in order to create the desired shape, Rosotics’ "rapid induction printing” (RIP) uses induction to heat metal wire as it passes through a nozzle. The technology resolves many of the cost and safety issues associated with current metal printing, which relies on lasers or combustible materials.
The system also removes current limits on size: printed metal parts generally need to be baked after the printing process, which restricts their scale to whatever the size of that oven might be. RIP, LaRosa said, doesn’t require post-printing heat treatment.
The result, the company said, would be easy, quick, and cost-effective printing of even the largest metal components, such as those needed for aircraft parts or rockets. Rosotics’ prototype can build parts as large as 26 feet by 20 feet using three printer heads that can churn out 33 pounds of metal per hour — all running on a typical warehouse outlet.
LaRosa told New Atlas that the company exists as a solution to heavy industry traditionally not being able to use 3D printing to manufacture “really large parts made in small numbers.”
The company said it has primarily worked with steel and aluminum to date, but officials expect the technology to apply to many other metals, as well.
