Headmade Materials specializes in ColdMetalFusion, a sinter-based 3D printing technology that combines laser sintering and powder metallurgy to produce high-strength metal parts with minimal investment costs. This process enables economical series production while simplifying supply chains and enhancing part stability during handling and post-processing.
Funding
$6.6M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Producing metal parts via traditional methods often involves high investment costs and complex supply chains, especially for series production. Existing metal 3D printing technologies can also be expensive, limiting accessibility for many manufacturers.
Solution
Headmade Materials offers ColdMetalFusion, a sinter-based 3D printing technology that combines laser sintering with powder metallurgy to enable economical series production of high-strength metal parts. This process utilizes widely available laser sintering systems for plastics (SLS) to build parts layer by layer using a feedstock of metal powder integrated into a plastic binder. The resulting "green parts" possess high stability, allowing for simplified handling, post-processing, and the reusability of un-processed feedstock. After printing, parts undergo debinding to remove the plastic binder, followed by sintering at high temperatures to achieve dense, solid metal components with properties comparable to those produced by conventional powder metallurgy.
Target Audience
The primary audience includes manufacturers seeking cost-effective solutions for series production of metal parts, as well as companies looking to simplify their supply chains and enhance part performance.
Features
- Combines laser sintering (SLS) with powder metallurgy for metal 3D printing.
- Utilizes a feedstock of metal powder within a plastic binder, optimized for SLS systems.
- High green part stability enables post-processing before sintering, including turning, milling, and drilling.
- Achieves metal part densities up to 99.9% with material properties comparable to traditional powder metallurgy.
- Full reusability of not processed feedstock.
- Compatible with a range of powder metallurgy materials, including stainless steel 316L, titanium alloys (Ti6Al4V), Inconel 625, and Titanium Aluminide (TiAl4822).
- Eliminates the need for support structures during the build process, allowing for free placement of parts.