Desktop Metal Unleashes Revolutionary DM Studio and DM Production Systems, Redefining Metal 3D Printing

The landscape of manufacturing is on the cusp of a profound transformation, thanks to the groundbreaking innovations from Desktop Metal. This Massachusetts-based startup, backed by a staggering $97 million in funding from industry giants like BMW and Google, has officially launched two new game-changing products: the DM Studio System and the DM Production System. These innovative solutions are set to redefine traditional metal manufacturing methods by significantly enhancing speed, quality, and safety, all while dramatically reducing costs. This announcement marks a pivotal moment for additive manufacturing, promising to make high-performance metal 3D printing more accessible and efficient than ever before.

For years, metal additive manufacturing has been confined to specialized facilities, often burdened by high operational costs, complex safety requirements, and slow processing times. Desktop Metal’s new offerings directly address these challenges, aiming to democratize metal 3D printing and bring it directly into engineers’ offices and production floors worldwide. The company envisions a future where rapid prototyping and mass production of intricate metal parts are not just possible, but commonplace and economically viable for businesses of all sizes, across various industries.

Introducing the DM Studio System: Office-Friendly Metal 3D Printing for Accelerated Innovation

Heralded as the “first office-friendly metal 3D printing system,” the DM Studio System is designed to seamlessly integrate into any engineering office, design studio, or workshop. This revolutionary system breaks down existing barriers by offering a solution that is reportedly ten times more affordable than comparable metal 3D printing technologies currently on the market. Such a significant reduction in entry cost is expected to accelerate product development cycles, fostering an environment where innovation can thrive at an unprecedented pace. The DM Studio System empowers engineers and designers to rapidly iterate and prototype complex metal components with unparalleled ease, making the entire product development process smarter, faster, and remarkably more cost-effective.

At the heart of the DM Studio System lies a proprietary process known as Bound Metal Deposition (BMD). This innovative technology is conceptually similar to Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a widely adopted plastic 3D printing method, but meticulously adapted for metal. BMD allows the machine to precisely deposit metal rods, layer by layer, to build accurate and reproducible parts. Unlike traditional laser-based metal 3D printing, which often involves hazardous metal powders and requires specialized safety infrastructure, the DM Studio System utilizes metal rods encased in a polymer binder. This approach makes the process inherently safer, cleaner, and suitable for non-industrial environments, eliminating the need for extensive safety equipment and dedicated facilities, thus truly earning its “office-friendly” moniker.

Further enhancing its appeal, the DM Studio System features a sophisticated, cloud-based software platform. This intuitive software streamlines the entire workflow, providing seamless mobility and integration between CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software and the actual part printing process. Designers can effortlessly transfer their designs, monitor print progress, and manage print queues from virtually anywhere, fostering greater collaboration and efficiency within design teams. The intelligent software also handles complex slicing and path planning, optimizing print quality and material usage, ensuring robust and precise final products.

Post-processing, often a notorious bottleneck in metal additive manufacturing, is also dramatically simplified with the DM Studio System. Thanks to its Proprietary Separable Supports, users can easily remove support structures by hand, significantly reducing labor and eliminating the need for complex and expensive machining operations typically associated with metal part finishing. This feature alone drastically cuts down on post-production time and costs, enhancing overall efficiency. Moreover, the system boasts increased versatility in prototyping, as its robust design and material capabilities are engineered to support hundreds of different metal alloys. This broad material compatibility allows engineers to experiment with a wide range of properties and applications, from stainless steel and tool steel to various nickel alloys and copper, opening up new avenues for product innovation and material exploration across diverse industries.

The DM Production System: High-Speed Metal Manufacturing at Industrial Scale

Beyond individual prototyping and design verification, Desktop Metal is also poised to revolutionize mass production with the launch of its DM Production System. This is their fastest 3D printing system yet, meticulously engineered for the high-volume manufacturing of high-resolution metal parts. The DM Production System represents a paradigm shift in industrial additive manufacturing, offering speeds and efficiencies previously unattainable in the metal 3D printing space, making it a formidable competitor to traditional manufacturing methods.

Central to the DM Production System’s extraordinary capabilities is its new proprietary Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology. Desktop Metal claims that this system is an astounding 100 times faster than the typical laser-based additive manufacturing systems available on the market today. SPJ works by rapidly depositing binder material across a bed of metal powder in a single, high-speed pass, much like a 2D inkjet printer, but operating in three dimensions. This method dramatically accelerates the printing process, making it competitive with, and in many cases superior to, traditional manufacturing techniques for certain applications, especially those requiring complex geometries and customized parts. The unparalleled speed and precision of SPJ enable manufacturers to achieve unprecedented throughput, translating into higher production volumes and significantly reduced lead times for complex metal components, thus offering a true industrial-scale solution.

The DM Production System is not merely a printer; it’s a complete, integrated platform designed for robust industrial-scale operations. This comprehensive solution includes the high-speed printer itself, along with a state-of-the-art debinder and a microwave-enhanced sintering furnace. This holistic approach ensures a streamlined workflow from raw material to finished metal part, minimizing manual intervention and maximizing efficiency. The debinder efficiently removes the binding agent from the “green” parts (freshly printed components), preparing them for the crucial sintering process. The microwave-enhanced sintering furnace then fuses the metal particles into a dense, solid object, achieving superior mechanical properties that meet stringent industry standards. This entire process can now be performed with unprecedented speed and efficiency, producing complex geometric 3D printed parts right from your manufacturing facility or even a large-scale shop floor, transforming the economics of metal part fabrication.

Transforming the Future of Metal Manufacturing with Integrated Solutions

Desktop Metal’s dual launch is more than just new products; it’s a strategic move to fundamentally alter how industries approach metal manufacturing. By offering both an “office-friendly” prototyping system and a “mass production” solution, they are addressing the entire lifecycle of product development and manufacturing. The DM Studio System empowers engineers to rapidly innovate and refine designs without the traditional overheads, accelerating time-to-market for new products and fostering agile development. Simultaneously, the DM Production System offers a scalable pathway to mass produce these innovations, bypassing the limitations and significant costs often associated with traditional tooling, machining, and fabrication methods for complex parts.

This integrated approach fosters a decentralized manufacturing model, where companies can bring more production in-house, reduce reliance on complex global supply chains, and respond more agilely to dynamic market demands. The potential economic impact is immense, enabling businesses to reduce inventory holding costs, customize products more effectively, and achieve greater material efficiency through optimized designs. Desktop Metal is effectively pushing metal additive manufacturing from a niche, specialized technology to a mainstream industrial process, capable of supporting a vast array of applications across critical sectors such as aerospace, automotive, medical devices, consumer electronics, and general industrial manufacturing.

Availability and Competitive Pricing for Revolutionary Systems

The accessibility and affordability of these systems are core tenets of Desktop Metal’s vision to democratize metal 3D printing. The DM Studio System will be available for reservation starting in May, with initial shipments anticipated to begin in August of this year. For the DM Studio System, customers can expect a starting price of approximately $49,000, which includes the printer itself. This aggressive pricing strategy positions the Studio System as a highly attractive and disruptive option for businesses and educational institutions looking to adopt in-house metal 3D printing for rapid prototyping, functional testing, and custom tooling without a prohibitive initial investment.

Similarly, the DM Production System will also be available for reservation in May, with shipping expected to commence in 2018. While the entry point for the Production System is naturally higher due to its industrial scale, advanced features, and comprehensive solution, Desktop Metal has set a compelling price of only $120,000 for the complete set, which includes the high-speed printer, the debinder unit, and the microwave-enhanced sintering furnace. This makes high-volume, high-resolution metal additive manufacturing remarkably more affordable and scalable than previously imaginable, challenging established norms and opening new possibilities in the manufacturing industry.

For more detailed information on Desktop Metal’s transformative announcement, prospective customers and interested parties are encouraged to review their official press release, available here.

What are your thoughts on Desktop Metal’s latest innovations and their potential to redefine metal manufacturing and product development? How do you foresee these systems impacting various industries and the global supply chain? We invite you to share your insights and predictions in the comments section below or join the vibrant discussion on our official Facebook and Twitter pages!