Sciaky Inc. will supply the world’s largest production metal 3D printer to a new aerospace components initiative, the Chicago additive manufacturing company announced last week.
The company’s Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing system will be used by Future Additive Manufacturing in Aerospace, or FAMAero, to produce 3D-printed parts for the aerospace industry as well as the defense, energy, marine and other sectors.
Sciaky officials said the technology combines a real-time adaptive control system with industry-leading deposition rates to produce components from 8 inches to 19 feet in size.
The system ordered by FAMAero, which includes a nominal part envelope measuring 146 inches by 62 inches by 62 inches, will be able to print parts 12 feet or longer.
"Based on recent market dynamics, we believe FAMAero is on the cusp of a burgeoning trend in the metal 3D printing marketplace, which will undoubtedly grow globally over time,” Sciaky President and CEO Scott Phillips said in a statement.
FAMAero, a privately owned “factory as a service” facility located in Fenton, Mich., suggested the EBAM system would allow companies using FAMAero to create products quickly without massive capital investments.
Don Doyle, the bureau’s president, called the model “a new avenue to significantly slash time and cost on the production of critical parts.”
