Sep 21, 2017 | By Tess
Titomic, an Australian additive manufacturing company known for its “Kinetic Fusion” metal 3D printing technology, has seen a more than promising debut on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). According to sources, Titomic raised A$6.5 million (~$5.2 million) in its IPO and saw its shares close at 45 cents per share—more than double the initial offer price of 20 cents.
Jeff Lang, CEO of Titomic
The Melbourne-based company has made headlines recently for its potentially game-changing metal 3D printing process. Developed in close collaboration with (and patented by) CSIRO, Titomic’s AM process boasts being up to 30 times faster than existing metal 3D printing technologies.
In fact, the company even claims to have made 3D printed a titanium bicycle frame in just 25 minutes. “If we were to grow a bicycle in a standard printer, it grows in three sections and would take 60 hours to build. Ours takes 25 minutes and is printed in one piece,” said Simon Mariott, Titomic’s operating officer.
Titomic’s Kinetic Fusion technology uses a “cold spray” method, known for its use by the U.S. military to repair Blackhawk helicopters. Rather than melting a powder bed of metal to build up a part, the technique sprays the metal powder at a high velocity (1.5 to 3 times the speed of sound). This rate causes the metal particles to “impact and bond” to the scaffold material on the printer.
In other words, the company uses a process typically used for metal coatings to actually create three-dimensional parts out of a titanium alloy. “The technology opens up a whole new field of material science that the industry has never played with before,” commented Mariott.
More than just being fast, Titomic’s novel process is also notable for its scale. According to the company, the system has an overall build space of 9 x 3 x 1.5 meters, which makes a bit of sense if you consider that they’re printing whole bicycles on it. Mariott adds that the 3D printer can build parts up to 6 meters in length.
Titomic is currently in the process of building an R&D and production line facility in Melbourne—a project which will be greatly helped along by the $6.5 million raised through its IPO. Once complete, the facility will reportedly house “one of the largest 3D metal printers in the world.”
Once the center opens, Titomic says its first projects will be focused on the cycling industry, but it also plans to branch out into other sectors, including the medical device market, aerospace, and even defense.
Titomic chairman Philip Vafiadis said of the successful IPO: “Our technology holds outstanding potential for commercialization across various applications and we thank our new and existing shareholders for their support as we aim to bring the technology to a wider market.”
Posted in 3D Printer Company
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