ExOne Initiatives Target Industrial 3D Printing

The ExOne Company announces the premiere of its newest industrial 3D sand printer, the S-MAX Pro. 

The latest generation of industrial 3D printing technology can handle prototyping and industrial series production. S-MAX Pro can achieve printing speeds of up to 135 l/h (18 s/layer) and can 3D print two full 1,800x1,000x700 (mm) job boxes, each with a volume of 1,260 L, in just 24 hours. 

It features an efficient printhead and the fully automated recoater. The molding material can be replaced quickly. This enables production of complex parts with various casting materials and a 3D sand printing solution. 

The design of the box-in-box system meets the market requirements for 24/7 operation in chains of interconnected facilities, enabling a fully automated, scalable production line.

The control system was enhanced. The system features cloud connectivity and Industry 4.0 integration capabilities. The inline process and machine monitoring system enables the flexible and location-independent monitoring of digital processes. This ensures that any printing errors can be detected early and corrective action can be taken automatically.

Industrial-Focused Partnership

In related news, the ExOne Company has announced a partnership with Siemens to benefit industrial customers in the foundry, aerospace, automotive, energy and other markets.

Siemens’ Digital Enterprise Portfolio of software and automation technology including MindSphere are fully implemented on the all-new S-Max Pro sand printer. The S-Max Pro is being launched at the 2019 GIFA International Foundry Trade Fair. 

“With this expanded partnership, ExOne will deliver even more value to our foundry and manufacturing customers who rely on our industrial 3D printers,” said ExOne CEO John Hartner. “We are proud to be the first industrial 3D printer to fully integrate the latest of Siemens control, sensing and motion technologies and this new MindSphere technology, which will give our customers a new level of control and plant integration.”

“We are proud to further strengthen our partnership with ExOne and advance the industrialization of additive manufacturing,” says Dr. Karsten Heuser, vice president of Additive Manufacturing at Siemens Digital Industries.  Siemens brings new digital technologies and its profound industrial domain knowhow to help ExOne generate further value.”

The Digital Enterprise portfolio from Siemens comprises integrated hardware, software and services supporting ExOne to leverage the benefits of Industry 4.0. At the center of this approach is the “Digital Twin” using a shared data model alongside the entire value chain: from the machine concept over machine simulation, engineering and commissioning to operations and services. 

The ExOne APP “3D Live” runs on MindSphere – the open cloud-based IoT operating system from Siemens – to analyze machine data and other information in real time. ExOne machines enable the operator to identify anomalies for improving maintenance and repair activities so that unplanned downtime can be avoided.

Marketing Efforts

In even more related news, ExOne has launched a new marketing initiative.

The initiative includes renewal of its commitment to industrial customers in binder jetting technology. In addition to the recently announced appointment of a new chief customer officer, Charlie Grace, ExOne is focused on lowering the cost of machine ownership and developing specialized applications and features that will simplify the 3D printing process. 

ExOne is also introducing a new tagline – Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate. Additionally, ExOne’s new website makes it easier to find the company’s portfolio of sand and metal 3D printers, as well as its list of qualified industrial materials. 

“ExOne has been developing, delivering and optimizing sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting for more than 20 years,” says ExOne CEO John Hartner. “Our experience helps us deliver more reliable and advanced sand and metal 3D printers, which help solve our customers' toughest problems.” 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

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