Meltio Takes Robotic Arm Metal 3D Printing to Italy via Advanced Robotics

Wire-laser metal deposition OEM Meltio, based in Spain, has been busily expanding its footprint over the last couple of years. Now, the company is taking its disruptive metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology to Italy with its latest official sales partner: Advanced Robotics. This is Meltio’s first Italian sales partner for its Meltio Engine and ABB Robot Cell, and it will play an important part in helping support and distribute the company’s metal 3D printing solutions throughout the AM market in Italy.

“As a Meltio team, we are happy that our already long efforts to find a good partner in Italy have finally succeeded. Advanced Robotics represents a business that fits well with our philosophy. The experienced partner is focuses on engineering and industrial solutions,” said Massimo Petrusa, Meltio’s country manager in Italy. “Italy has been one of the world’s major players in industrial metalworking for many years – so it’s a good place for Meltio to grow.”

Growth has been top of mind for Meltio, partnering with a dozen top software firms to form the Meltio Engine Software Partners ecosystem and adding sales partners everywhere from India, Taiwan, and Brazil to Singapore, Poland, the DACH region, and more. By partnering with Advanced Robotics, it will be on track to boost its growth in Italy as well.

Meltio’s AM solution uses welding wire, which is the most clean, safe, and affordable metal feedstock. The company, which is a joint venture between Additec and Sicnova, is focused on making metal 3D printing easy and reliable for its users, with tools like its Meltio Horizon software and Laser Calibration system. Through its new partnership with Advanced Robotics, the Meltio Engine Robot integration for industrial robotic arms will be further developed for both 3D printing and repairing metal parts, specifically for the U.S., Italian, and EMEA markets.

“We are excited about our emerging partnership with Meltio, as this is a landmark moment for the Italian industry,” stated Luca Verzeletti, Technical Engineer at Advanced Robotics. “Whether our customer is looking for a conventional 3D metal printer or a printing system integrated with a CNC machine or a robotic arm 3D printing system for industry that seamlessly combines addition and subtraction processes, utilizing the best aspects of both technologies; or prefers integration with a robotic arm for greater freedom in creating large, complex parts and innovative exterior coatings – with Meltio we will fit any of these scenarios. This technology opens up entirely new possibilities in the production of metal parts.”

Advanced Robotics employs a team of specialized technicians and engineers to design, develop, and install robotic plants for multiple industries and applications, including foundry, welding, cutting and deburring, palletizing, quality control, and more. The company often works in newer sectors, like AI, to ensure quality control for components, and integrating Meltio technology will help with this focus.

As an official sales partner, Advanced Robotics will work to build up a solid ecosystem for Meltio’s metal AM technology throughout Italy. To do so, it will focus on partnering with tooling machine companies, robotic integrators, industry, academia, and technology centers to drive new business opportunities for industrial robotic metal AM. DED printing, like Meltio offers, has a lot of potential for military use, and especially applications such as repair and gradient parts. As Joris Peels wrote in his article on metal 3D printing predictions for 2024, “we can expect to witness further industrialization of DED beyond its current use in turbine blisks in the year 2024.”