Nexa3D Shows Autonomous Automation for Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is ready for production, but realizing this promise involves more than just the 3D printing. It also involves the right system of 3D printers, and in some cases automation. Nexa3D demonstrates this in its booth in the West Building’s Additive Manufacturing Pavilion, showing multiple 3D printing methods for polymer part production, in one case in combination with autonomous automation. Its systems on display include:

• The QLS 820 laser sintering production 3D printer, which features an autonomous removable build unit for rapid, seamless, unattended changeover from build to build.
• The XiP desktop-size photopolymer 3D printer, operating in a “print farm” arrangement showing how many small 3D printers can be a right-size solution for scale production.
• The NXE industrial-grade photopolymer printer, operating in a contract manufacturing mode illustrating AM as a solution for making polymer parts by the thousands.

The QLS machine in particular is a system for volume production, according to the company — an SLS machine that was designed from the beginning for high throughput production. The combination of four lasers and tight job packing density within the build volume allow for three to four times the throughput typical of SLS.