Can a-metal Democratize Access to Laser Fusion Technology?

a-metal is a startup that develops innovative entry-level solutions for metal 3D printing, with the aim of making additive manufacturing of metal parts accessible to as many people as possible. The company’s goal is to establish metal 3D printing technology in SMEs and make current machines significantly cheaper, smaller, and simpler, so that in the future, anyone can purchase a 3D printer and start production. After a successful launch, the pilot machine entered the practical testing phase, with eight 3D printers used in a pilot program. Now that this machine has been developed further, beginning this November, a-metal will deliver a limited batch of 10 pre-production systems to select users. We met with the a-metal team to learn more about the vision behind the metal 3D printing solution, the challenges, and the startup’s plans for the future.

3DN: Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us how a-metal came about?

a-metal is a spin-off from ETH Zurich and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. After many years of experience in the plastic 3D printing industry and research in the field of metal additive manufacturing, we have been involved in the development of numerous technologies and have seen how advanced plastic 3D printing already is today. Unfortunately, metal 3D printing is still lagging behind and is only available to a very limited extent and reserved for large companies. This is what we want to change with our startup and our solution. After several years of research and development of a new coating concept at ETH Zurich and inspire, it became clear that this concept would significantly reduce the size of the machine and the dangerous contact with powder, while even increasing the robustness of the process. Thanks to initial innovation support funding from Innosuisse and Swiss foundations, we were able to build a great team and found our startup on a solid technological basis.

Photo credits: a-metal

3DN: What are the current barriers to entry into metal 3D printing?

In addition to the high purchase price of current equipment, the complexity and sometimes dangerous nature of operating the machines, as well as their enormous size, often constitute barriers to market entry. Based on discussions we have had with our target groups, the current solutions are not suitable for them. Either because they do not have the space, the budget, or the infrastructure and in-house expertise they need to operate the available metal 3D printers.