MX3D Doubles Revenue as Demand for Large-Scale WAAM Systems Grows

By on January 17th, 2025 in news, printer

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Enormous metal 3D printer by MX3D [Source: Fabbaloo]

MX3D is gaining momentum in the marketplace.

I spoke with MX3D representatives recently, and learned they seem to be on a growth spurt. This is no doubt because they appear to have found their niche in the industry.

Their technology is WAAM, Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing, in which a metal wire is instantly melted by an electrical arc, and deposited in 3D space via a robotic arm. The company started many years ago with just the toolhead, but now they produce full-on industrial “systems in a box”.

Their flagship machine these days is the MX Metal AM System, which includes an 8-axis industrial robot in an enclosed chamber. This system can produce very large metal parts, as you can guess from the size of the device.

In fact, the system is capable of producing 5000kg parts, and if that wasn’t enough, MX3D has customers talking about producing 10000kg parts.

We were told they’ve doubled their revenue in the past year, showing very significant growth. I asked where the demand was coming from, and was told that it’s mainly from the energy industry, specifically nuclear, oil and gas applications.

The attraction to MX3D’s products seems to be that the lead time for part production is vastly shorter than by using traditional methods. This is particularly evident when any special materials are required for the parts.

It can take twelve months — a full year — to build large metal parts. Meanwhile, the same parts can be produced with MX3D’s equipment in as little as two weeks. That’s a very substantial improvement, and explains why there is such a huge demand.

There’s another reason: CNC technology isn’t really appropriate for very large parts. In the CNC scenario, a large block will be cut down to reveal the part. There’s a huge amount of waste, and that waste is truly massive for large parts. The blocks are just too expensive. MX3D’s approach avoids this entirely, as the parts are produced additively.

Enormous metal 3D printed valve produced by MX3D [Source: Fabbaloo]

WAAM on its own produces somewhat coarse surface quality, but MX3D has solved that issue with a variety of post processing techniques, including CNC milling.

Because that issue no longer exists, MX3D believes customers have confidence in their solution, saying “quality is not an issue anymore”.

Instead the sales are all about the business case: can the part be produced at lower cost and/or be produced faster? In some cases, both are true.

In a 3D print world where there are many companies in dire financial situations, MX3D is one that doesn’t seem to be having issues. Finding the applications suited to the technology is the path to success.

Via MX3D

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!