One year after The ExOne Company, a global provider of three-dimensional printing machines and printed products to industrial customers, announced the availability of the Exerial, its largest 3D printing system, the general conclusion is very positive and promises good prospects for the future. The Exerial system demonstrates a considerable evolution in ExOne's machine portfolio, as the new printer allows customers to engage with the sand printing technology for industrial series production beyond the rapid prototyping and small batch production for which the company's other systems are currently being used.
ExOne's industrial customers were pressing for latter stage technology to address their production needs with a 3D printing system that supports higher volumes and automation for the industrial production environment. With the Exerial, ExOne addressed the industrial-level solution, further separating binder-jetting as a more cost effective technology than other 3D printing solutions. While ExOne’s machine R&D focus in 2014 was concentrated more intently on this type of customer base, ExOne continues to address the growing needs of our rapid prototyping and low volume production customers with further improvements in the existing machine portfolio platforms: the S-Max, S-Print and M-Flex and through the development of additional binder sets and printing materials. The Exerial is unique compared to ExOne's other indirect printing systems in that it contains multiple industrial stations that allow for continuous production and simultaneous processing.
The Exerial is distinctly equipped with two job boxes, each 1.5 times larger than the single job box in ExOne's next largest model, the S-Max. Notably, the Exerial system offers a total build platform of 3,168 liters and is expected to be capable of printing output rates nearly four times faster than the S-Max. The Exerial utilizes a new recoater system, multiple print heads and automation controls. Since the market launch last summer the demand is high. "The first beta machine was delivered in the first quarter this year, followed by three additional machines for the same customer. More Exerials are expected to be shipped at the end of 2016 and early 2017" said Rainer Hoechsmann, Chief Development Officer for The ExOne Company. Employing ExOne's binder jetting technology, the Exerial utilizes its multiple print heads to selectively dispense micro-droplets of specially-engineered binder into very thin layers of powdered material inside each of the two job boxes. Within the world of additive manufacturing, ExOne is distinctive in that it offers solutions that are focu ed on industrial users and applications, and the Exerial is the latest machine to serve that market, going beyond capabilities previously offered.
For more information regarding 3D printing applications, visit ExOne's website at <link http: www.exone.com>www.exone.com
