The
ExOne Company (Nasdaq: XONE) (“ExOne”), a global provider of
three-dimensional (“3D”) printing machines, 3D printed and other
products, materials and services to industrial customers, announced a
collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the largest
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) open science laboratory, to make further
advancements in 3D binder jetting additive manufacturing.
The current collaboration project is initially targeted on the
development of cutting-edge technology for new binder systems, focusing
on optimizing chemistry and process parameters for ExOne’s sand and
metal systems. This includes leveraging ORNL’s instrumentation and
advanced data analysis methodologies. The collaboration will leverage
DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL and its unique
efficiencies in instrumentation capabilities. Additionally, the effort
will optimize binder development for H13 Tool Steel. ORNL’s initiative
targeting the production of 500 tools and dies by 2022 for the molding,
stamping and forging industries, is expected to establish binder jetting
as the leading low-cost method for the fabrication of advanced tooling.
“We look forward to continuing binder jetting research with ExOne,” said
Amy Elliott, ORNL lead researcher on binder jetting. “Over the past
several years, we’ve worked with ExOne on four binder jetting systems
and we’ve made exceptional progress in enhancing this additive
manufacturing technique. Industry collaborations such as this help the
U.S. remain competitive in manufacturing.”
“By collaborating with a world-class lab like Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, we accelerate ExOne’s binder jetting technology
capabilities. We believe these collaborative efforts will effectively
and efficiently result in the establishment of new materials, binders
and process developments, retaining our significant edge over
competitors and other technologies in the industrial manufacturing
space,” said Rick Lucas, ExOne’s Chief Technology Officer.
Over the past four years, ORNL and ExOne have developed a mutual
relationship benefiting from knowledge sharing and collaboration, built
on the progress of ExOne’s binder jetting technology and the expertise
and resources at ORNL. This foundation gives the parties confidence in
the achievability of the goals of the current collaboration project.
Economic advantages of binder jetting
Binder jetting maintains higher productivity and lower operating costs
than other additive manufacturing technologies. ExOne has been the
industry leader in non-polymer 3D printing using binder jetting
technology. ExOne’s binder jetting development focus includes
best-in-class collaborations with various industries, universities, and
labs. ExOne’s machines are arguably the most industrialized machines in
the market today, as its S-Max® machines lead the market in
additive manufacturing technology successfully supporting the foundry
industry for a number of years. Most recently, ExOne has announced a new
high-resolution production machine capable of printing metal, ceramic,
and other advanced material parts directly. This production machine, the
X1 25PRO™, will utilize proven technology demonstrated on ExOne’s
Innovent+™ and will be shipping to customers later this year. The X1
25PRO™ can print standard industry powders utilized in MIM (metal
injection molding) and other PM (powdered metal) processes. ExOne will
be deploying what it believes will be the most advanced jetting,
dispensing, and recoating technologies on the market today. It is
ExOne’s goal to provide customers with machines that can print the
broadest number of material classes at the highest quality and speed.
Visit ExOne’s website to learn more: https://www.exone.com.
About ExOne®
ExOne is a global provider of 3D printing machines and 3D printed and
other products, materials and services to industrial customers. ExOne’s
business primarily consists of manufacturing and selling 3D printing
machines and printing products to specification for its customers using
its installed base of 3D printing machines. ExOne’s machines serve
direct and indirect applications. Direct printing produces a component;
indirect printing makes a tool to produce a component. ExOne offers
pre-production collaboration and print products for customers through
its network of ExOne Adoption Centers (“EACs”). ExOne also supplies the
associated materials, including consumables and replacement parts, and
other services, including training and technical support that is
necessary for purchasers of its 3D printing machines to print products.
The Company believes that its ability to print in a variety of
industrial materials, as well as its industry-leading volumetric output
(as measured by build box size and printing speed) uniquely position
ExOne to serve the needs of industrial customers.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL is supported by the DOE
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced
Manufacturing Office (AMO). AMO supports early-stage applied research
and development of new materials, information and processes that improve
American manufacturing’s energy efficiency, as well as platform
technologies for manufacturing clean energy products.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of
Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical
sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to
address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more
information, please visit https://science.energy.gov.
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