Replies to post #3080 on Arcam AB fka AMAVF

[mauser96]

"how long to commercialization "

the rule of thumb for most complex products is about 8 years, lab to fab. For full mass production add another year or so. For aircraft for medical parts add another year or more for certification. Probably 99% of these ideas never make it to production.

If this uses a binder. maybe not too unlike Exone.. Any binder occupies a physical space. Burned off. that space is empty, leading to porous parts. Also to sinter titanium alloys require a lot of heat and must be done in a gas free (especially oxygen) atmosphere. Sintered parts are not full strength, full melting is usually required for that.

Once a metal working technique is established it may serve niche markets for a long time . Lost wax casting has been around since King Tut.

EBM is likely to remain a niche product, lasers are fine for most products. But that EBM niche could be very large , hundreds or thousands of times larger than it is now. And since EBM is a far more immature technology than laser based AM, I expect it to improve faster than laser based tech. EBM is in at the start of the second inning IMHO.