3D printer manufacturer and 3D printing service provider ExOne is known for its binder jetting technology, including metal binder jetting. The company offers more than 10 different 3D printer models, and recently it announced the latest addition to its inventory: the X1 25PRO. The new 3D printer offers the fine powder capabilities – what ExOne calls “fine metal injection molding (MIM) powder capability” of the Innovent+ 3D printer, incorporating them into a larger build envelope. The metal binder jetting machine has production volume capability and is designed to cater to the needs of metal injection molding, powder metallurgy and manufacturing customers looking for a larger solution for producing reliable parts in a production environment.
The X1 25PRO can 3D print parts from a wide variety of metals, including 316L, 304L, and 17-4PH stainless steels; Inconel 718 and 625; M2 and H11 tool steels; cobalt chrome; copper; tungsten carbide-cobalt and more.
“We are pleased to bring the new X1 25PRO™ to market to satisfy the needs of industry for high quality, functional, production-volume parts,” said Rick Lucas, ExOne’s Chief Technology Officer. “ExOne has a pioneering legacy of being on the cutting edge of introducing materials and processes using binder jetting. We currently have machines installed in customer facilities in more than twenty countries around the globe and we are proud to bring innovations like the X1 25PRO™ to realization. Our X1 25PRO™ is the first of two machines that we are introducing by the end of the first half of 2019, utilizing our state-of-the-art patent pending MIM powder processing machine technologies. We believe these new production machines will be the most flexible and highest performing binder jetting machines in the market.”
These are bold claims, and position the X1 25PRO as a direct competitor to machines produced by companies such as Xjet, HP and Desktop Metal. As binder jetting becomes more common, and printer manufacturers strive to outdo each other, where will customers’ loyalties stick?
ExOne, naturally, hopes that those loyalties will flow to it. The company points out that the X1 25PRO is an excellent opportunity for existing customers of the INNOVENT+ platform to scale up to a midsize production system using the same powder metallurgy standard powders they’re already used to. With the X1 25PRO, ExOne is targeting the metal injection molding, powder metallurgy and mechanical engineering market applications.
Orders for the X1 25PRO are now being accepted, and deliveries are expected to begin in late 2019. ExOne introduced the new machine to the public at formnext, which took place in mid-November, but if you didn’t attend that particular show you’ll have another chance to see the X1 25PRO at RAPID + TCT, which is taking place in Detroit from May 21st to 23rd, 2019.
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