Last time we talked about Aurora Labs, the metal AM manufacturer had signed a Framework agreement with DNV GL. In the meantime, the Australian specialist has gone through various stages in its activities.
First, at the beginning of February, Aurora secured $1.82 million from a private placement of 13,000,000 shares. The price per share costed then $0.14. The investor behind this placement is Tjeerd Barthen, a Dutch entrepreneur who founded a successful healthcare business. Following the acquisition of his company by management and private equity, the healthcare specialist now supports companies with disruptive technologies in scaling up.
The new shareholder has been paying attention to the AM sector for a while and has “quickly identified […] Aurora Labs as a technological leader with the potential to revolutionise manufacturing.”
In the meantime, the Australia-based company welcomed Terry Stinson to its Management Board while Mathew Whyte steps down as Non-Executive Director.
Stinson brings a 25-year experience in leading companies listed on the ASX. As the former CEO and Managing Director of Orbital Corporation Limited, he secured a breakthrough deal to supply Orbital’s technology to the UAV division of Boeing, in addition to leading the Perth-based R&D and manufacturing group through a process of transformation and diversification achieving sustained share price growth.
His presence at A3D will help the company to improve its commercialization strategy, as stated by Chairman Paul Kristensen said: “At Aurora, we are currently very focussed on what we need to do as an organisation to successfully commercialise our 3D metal printing technology, particularly in large scale commercial applications. We’ve identified that the Company needs to have in place the necessary skillsets and experience to support this significant step change in our growth as a Company.”
Milestone towards process validation
At the technical level, the manufacturer of the RMP1 Beta Printer tested samples of coupons printed in Stainless Steel 316L. These tests were carried out at a Perth based NATA* accredited test laboratory, on the company’s patented Multi-Layer Concurrent Printing (“MCP™”) technology.
This is not the first time a test production for its MCP™ technology. A former test production had already demonstrated that its technology can print speeds of 113kg/day. This time, this external validation is not only giving more credit to the company’s technology, it also enables the manufacturer to improve the machine parameter properties dataset.
This means that experts from the accredited test laboratory performed analyzed a series of features including mechanical, microscopic, x-ray characteristics. Others tested features depend on the specific requirement for the specification, of specific set samples using a combination of machine settings and inputs, such as powder, to achieve a predictable and repeatable result.
“The results of the tests show that the samples exceeded ASTM Standard A479/276 and f1384-16 in Ultimate Tensile Strength and Yield Strength and clearly demonstrates that the process meets or exceeds the relevant engineering standards that can be used for designing parts. When fully developed, this dataset will allow engineers and designers to use values based on the ASTM** specification in their designs and ultimately print in an Aurora RMP-1 printer, subject to normal printing considerations”, explains the company.
The results of these tests confirm that MCP™ printed parts can appropriately be used in a production workflow rather than traditional cast and wrought metals. This is not the first test which is performed to prove the capabilities of the metal 3D Printer Aurora RMP-1 and it will certainly not be the last one.
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