Aurora Labs is making good progress on launching their RMP-1 metal 3D printer.
The Australian company has invented a revolutionary new 3D printing process that can dramatically speed up the print duration, enabling the use of 3D printing in many more industrial scenarios. The only catch is, they havenât released it yet.
We spoke with company representatives to find out more about the status of the machine.
The RMP-1 Rapid Manufacturing Printer is to be the first in a line of devices from Aurora Labs, and weâre told the device is still formally in the beta testing phase, but is âcloseâ to being finalized.
Theyâve made good progress on refining the machineâs output and speed. We are told they were able to achieve more than 99% density on recent metal test prints, and were able to 3D print a 180mm tall titanium part in only six hours.
Doing some arithmetic, thatâs near 20 minutes per 10mm of part. For a metal 3D printer, thatâs pretty fast. The best part is that this is their initial device configuration, and weâre pretty certain theyâll be able to increase speeds by adding more lasers and tweaking parameters.
Today the 40-person company is in the pre-order phase for the RMP-1, but seems to be successful. They have apparently lined up â6-12 monthsâ of prototype work for the mining industry, which should keep them busy and financed.
Aurora Labs Partners With GrÀnges AB
This week they announced a deal with Sweden-based GrÀnges AB, a large manufacturer of rolled aluminum products, typically for heat exchangers used in the automotive industry. The deal with GrÀnges has them acquiring a new RMP-1 metal 3D printer, on which they will perform joint experiments with aluminum metal with Aurora Labs. I suspect they will be exploring different ideas to identify profitable use cases for industry, and in particular clients of GrÀnges.
The other interesting aspect of this arrangement is that GrĂ€nges will be supplying Aurora Labs with aluminum powder for use in their RMP-1 systems. This should solidify Aurora Labsâ supply lines for at least this particular metal. The memorandum of understanding between the two companies is to last five years.
Aurora Labs Financing
Aurora Labs says the arrangement could be worth up to US$7.75M if fully consummated. Thatâs good money for a startup company.
But I have a suspicion Aurora Labs will be getting a lot more money from other clients once their machine is finally released. They seem to have lined up a number of partners in several key industries that could be ready to take on the equipment when ready.
Via Aurora Labs
Aurora Labs announced an important milestone in the development of their rapid metal 3D printing process.