Last year around March 2021, Mantle officially turned stealth mode off with a $13M investment secured from various VC firms. What raised the interest of investors is an intriguing hybrid metal 3D printing process based on metal pastes.
Designed for toolmaking, the P-200 metal 3D printing system would reduce the time to create tooling components by eliminating or reducing many of the operations traditionally required to make precise, durable steel tool components.
Following the success of several pilot projects at beta customers including Westminster Tool, a precision moldbuilder in Plainfield, Connecticut, or Wepco Plastics, the US-based startup is now ready to make the machine available to a wider audience.
“The precision and quality we get off the printer allow us to bypass many of our internal manufacturing processes, which gives us an advantage in providing a better, faster product for our customers”, Ray Coombs, president and founder of Westminster Tool comments.
Mantle’s technology can come with a furnace especially designed to fit the manufacturing process with the 3D printer.
Mantle’s system and patented TrueShape technology therefore include:
- The P-200 printer, a hybrid system built on a CNC platform that integrates printing and machining to produce parts with the accuracy and surface finish required for tooling. The P-200 printer has a build volume of 200mm x 200mm x 150mm.
- The F-200 furnace, which sinters parts from the printer and produces tooling components that are durable and accurate. One furnace can sinter multiple parts and can support multiple printers.
- Two tool steel materials, H13 and P2X (a steel comparable to P20), that are durable, stable, and perform like traditional tool steels with secondary operations like machining, polishing, coating, and laser welding.
- Easy-to-use software that automates the printing process, including the generation of all toolpaths and machine instructions.
Delivery of the first production systems is planned for the first half of 2023.
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