Incus GmbH’s journey started two years ago at Formnext 2019 when the Austrian manufacturer decided to introduce to the International Scene its lithography-based solutions for additive manufacturing (AM).

With Lithoz as a founding company, the machine manufacturer has extended its expertise to the production of metal 3D printers that are capable of incredibly smooth surfaces. While we may have thought the Incus team has remained in stealth mode in 2020, they haven’t. They even managed to ship the first series of their Hammer Lab35 machine.

What’s this machine?

We are talking about a lithography-based metal manufacturing (LMM) process turns 3D files into prototypes and small-scale production of components in MIM (metal injection moulding) quality. The expert ensures that this quality includes superior feature resolution, surface aesthetics and mechanical properties for part sizes <200 g.

Moreover, we are talking about an industrial 3D printer that does not require the standard high temperatures usually seen to melt metal powder in other metal 3D printers. This process which looks like a combination of metal powder and binder is embedded in a device that offers a print speed of up to 100 cm3/h and a lateral resolution of 35 µm.

Who can use it?

The Institute for Precious and Technology Metals at Pforzheim University and its spin-off company, Metshape are currently using this newly created process. This means that the process and system are continuously reviewed and tested, and new materials and applications are being developed, not to mention that feedback received from these users, helps Incus improve the machine and adapt the feedstocks to the needs of the manufacturing industry.

In addition to research & development departments, it can be easily integrated into existing MIM production lines as an option for small-scale production and prototyping.

“Despite this challenging year, we had great collaborations with customers and have proven that LMM has the potential to increase performance and to reduce costs for small and mid-scale production, as well as for manufacturing parts featuring complex geometries. Our team is extremely proud to have added 3D printing of metals with lithography to the manufacturing landscape. We highly appreciate the trust and patience of our first customers that have been helping to develop our product and our company. We still have a journey ahead to scale up to mass-production, but we are eager to continue this path in 2021”, CEO Dr. Gerald Mitteramskogler comments.

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