Desktop Metal’s P-1 3D Printer Bridges Development, Production

Desktop Metal’s P-1 3D printer is designed to serve as a bridge from benchtop process development to full-scale mass production of end-use metal parts. The P-1 utilizes the same Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology and core additive manufacturing (AM) benefits for companies and research institutions at the size and scale of serial production.

“Adding the P-1 to our production system portfolio serves as a key enabler for companies as they look to develop processes and materials on a smaller scale before ramping up to mass production volumes,” says Ric Fulop, CEO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. “Similarly, many businesses and research institutions are also interested in leveraging the economics and quality of SPJ technology for mid-volume serial production, making the P-1 an ideal fit and a great stepping-stone to broad adoption of Desktop Metal’s technology and flagship P-50 printer.”

A shared SPJ technology architecture enables direct process transfers between the P-1 and P-50, an industrial printer designed to achieve speeds up to 100 times faster than those of legacy PBF AM technologies. The P-50 enables production quantities of up to millions of parts per year at costs competitive with conventional mass production techniques, the company says.

The P-1 utilizes the same SPJ technology and print carriage design as on the P-50, but with enhanced process flexibility. Also, similar to the P-50, the P-1 features a state-of-the-art print bar with native 1,200 DPI, advanced printhead technology that supports a wide variety of binders, and an inert processing environment to support both nonreactive and reactive materials, a key benefit for businesses and research institutions looking to experiment with a variety of materials.

As a result, materials research and new application development conducted on the P-1 can be transferred directly onto the P- 50 to scale to mass production, without the need to take the P-50 offline for R&D activities, thereby enabling efficient process development and new product introductions.