Desktop Metal Acquires Aerosint

Desktop Metal has acquired Aerosint, a pioneer in multimaterial deposition systems for powder-based additive manufacturing (AM) solutions. Founded in 2016 and based in Belgium, Aerosint offers a powder deposition system based on a digital process that selectively deposits two or more powders to form a single, thin powder layer containing multiple materials.

This selective powder deposition technology enables full three-dimensional control of material placement during printing and can be integrated into any powder bed AM process, such as laser powder bed fusion, binder jetting, high-speed sintering or selective laser sintering. This multimaterial approach to powder deposition is designed to support high-speed printing of a broad range of polymers, metals and ceramics.

As a high-throughput, multimaterial powder recoating system, selective powder deposition unlocks a range of new use cases for AM, the company says. It reduces powder waste, material cost and postprocessing time associated with single-material, commercially available powder bed AM processes. This multimaterial powder deposition also has the potential to realize additional benefits at scale, including localized optimization of mechanical properties (such as wear resistance or vibration dampening) and improved chemical and physical properties (such as thermal and electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance or aesthetics).

Examples of applications for multimaterial printing include: molds with conformal cooling channels optimized for heat dissipation; wear-resistant cutting tools with a hard exterior and ductile interior; conductive metal paths within polymer parts for flexible electronics; bi-material luxury goods with superior aesthetics; and RF components with different dielectric and conductive properties.

“Multimaterial printing is the next frontier in AM,” says Ric Fulop, Desktop Metal founder and CEO. “Today, people print parts, but in the future people will look to print full products which may be composed of multiple materials.”

Aerosint will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal and continue to be led by its founders Edouard Moens de Hase and Matthias Hick, who will serve as managing director and innovation director of the Aerosint business, respectively.