Leasing of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion 3D Metal Printer

Descriptions

The School of Engineering wanted to lease a Laser Powder Bed Fusion 3D Metal Printer for a fixed term of 3 years with the option to have extended for up to an additional 2 years. The metal printer would have supported world-leading research utilising new materials and printing methods and extended the capability of the 2D and 3D printing currently undertaken within the school. Applications for metal printing can be found in aerospace, defence, automotive, healthcare, and many other industries and will lead to revolutionary new medical, electronic, mechanical, optical, acoustic, heat transfer, and sensing devices being designed and manufactured. This is due to the many advantages, including design flexibility, product customisation, and minimisation of material waste, that printing offers over subtractive manufacturing. The use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) means that geometrics are no longer constrained to the limited base stock that components are traditionally machined from.