Rapid Fusion Introduces UK’s First Large Format Hybrid 3D Printer for Polymers

Rapid Fusion is set to unveil what it describes as the first UK-built large format hybrid 3D printer, Medusa, at an open day event on February 26 at its Skypark R&D center in Exeter. The industrial-scale system integrates additive and subtractive manufacturing processes, aiming to enhance efficiency in producing large molds and tooling for sectors including aerospace, automotive, marine, and construction.

Developed with the support of a £1.2 million grant from Innovate UK, Medusa incorporates a gantry-style configuration combining a pellet extruder, filament-based printing, and CNC machining. According to Rapid Fusion, the machine is designed to operate at speeds of 1,200 mm per second, offering a build volume of 1.2 cubic meters. The company states that it delivers three times the speed of conventional systems, with claimed improvements in accuracy and reductions in training and maintenance costs.

The project has been backed by industry partners including Rolls-Royce, Aibuild, and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS). Medusa also integrates AI-driven capabilities, such as predictive maintenance and thermal modeling, which could contribute to process optimization and repeatability.

The unveiling event is expected to attract more than 150 attendees, including industry professionals and representatives from partner organizations. A live demonstration will showcase the machine’s capabilities, including the production of a large mold suitable for aerospace applications.

Despite the long-running efforts into large-format polymer 3D printing, the segment has been slow to take off, perhaps due to the niche applications for the technology. These tend to be large-format tools, which Rapid Fusion is targeting. However, these use cases are proving to be the key to driving the recent growth in the segment, with companies like Caracol and 3D Systems finding a lot of traction in the need to 3D print molds for carbon fiber layup and other specialty tools.

3D Systems’ Titan line may be the closest competitor to Rapid Fusion’s technology, with printers offering similar capabilities in terms of pellet and filament extrusion, as well as CNC trimming. An important trend to note, however, is that while they may compete, there is a need for regions globally to have local machine makers—and more than one—for every need. Therefore, it’s critical that the U.K. have at least one version of every AM technology that the U.S. has in order to promote supply chain resilience and redundancy.