fcubic has developed a process to produce steel parts using ink-jet technology. The process is developed with the goal to transfer layered manufacturing from prototyping to a high volume production process. Today we can make 1000-2000 parts per day (10mm in size). With full automatisation we are capable of producing 10 000 parts per day or more. The parts are made from a fine stainless steel powder (316L) and are sintered to full density. Other steels and metals such as Titanium are possible to manufacture. The resolution of the parts are approximately 35 microns and the surface finish approximately 4 microns (Ra).
Complex shapes can easily be created with the large geometric freedom that layered manufacturing has. This enables new designs where more efficient solutions can be developed. In some cases several parts can be combined into one part saving both space and assembly time.
