BEAMIT Expands Metal 3D Printing Fleet with GE Additive’s M Line

Already a customer of GE Additive, BEAMIT Group (BEAMIT), partly owned by SANDVIK, has taken on another metal 3D printer from the manufacturing giant. The latest is a Concept Laser M Line system for producing large scale metal parts, as well as series, for aerospace and military customers.

The purchase comes six months after Avio Aero, BEAMIT, and GE Additive initiated a partnership to develop post-processing for GE9X and Catalyst engine components. This includes  MRI and tomographic inspection, hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and machining equipment to cut processing times and improve cleaning and finishing of parts.

A BEAMIT facility. Image courtesy of BEAMIT.

As a GE Additive customer, BEAMIT operates Mlab, M2 and X Line laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) systems along two Q10plus electron beam melting machines. With the latest addition, it will be able to 3D print both large batches and large parts. The company already has five NADCAP accreditation and is working on three more, as well as the necessary ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and EASA part 21 pathways. By partnering with GE Additive, it aims to industrialize the equipment, linking it to post-processing equipment.

“Today, we are seeing an increasing demand from customers for much larger, more complex parts, and in higher volumes— this is why we have invested in our first M Line system. Based on our strong and well-recognized expertise in discovering new applications for additive manufacturing, we see in the new platform M Line, combined with our full cutting edge end-to-end value chain, the key for a technological leap towards significantly increased production volumes in the near future. The BEAMIT team is ready to explore the potential of the M Line and continuously improve the industrialization process by digitally connecting the system with all the subsequent post-processing phases. We will work closely with GE Additive’s AddWorks consultants to make this development even faster,” said Andrea Scanavini, Chief Commercial Officer of BEAMIT Group.

“Being closely aligned through our own activities across GE Aviation, including Avio Aero, and many other customers in aerospace, we anticipated this next wave of industrialization. For some time our common objective with BEAMIT has been to work closely together to enable their customers to make the shift to industrialization as seamless as possible, we feel now quite proud that this becomes a reality,” said Rob Dean, GE Additive’s AddWorks senior leader in Europe.

Thanks to its backing by Sandvik, BEAMIT is quickly becoming a powerhouse in industrial production. Once it further qualifies LPBF for serial production for aerospace customers, it will likely be able to expand even more. This likely means more acquisitions and the realization of its “one-stop shop” strategy. Meanwhile, competitors like Nikon’s Morf3D may be making similar moves.