A partnership between Italian companies 3D4MEC Srl and WeAreAM Srl aims to facilitate the use of metal additive manufacturing for producing spare parts and new products in industrial sectors. Through the collaboration, 3D4MEC will supply WeAreAM with two metal AM systems, specifically its 3D4STEEL L-PBF system for carbon and non-carbon steels and the 3D4BRASS system for brass and copper-based alloys.
Based in Sasso Marconi, 3D4MEC specializes in developing 3D printing solutions for specific alloys. With 3D4MEC’s two metal AM systems installed, WeAreAM—the Center of Competence in Additive Technologies and Powder Metallurgy for Industry—will be able to offer enhanced AM services to industrial customers as well as encourage AM adoption and the development of new applications and materials, such as lead-free alloys.
“We are enthusiastic about our collaboration with WeAreAM, which aims to demonstrate how 3D printing technologies can be used to create functional objects of industrial interest,” says Ivano Corsini, founder and president of 3D4MEC. “Serial parts produced using 3D4STEEL and 3D4BRASS machines are made rapidly, meet all critical safety requirements for industry and allow users to design new products. The WeAreAM site in Provaglio d’Iseo (Brescia) is of strategic importance, being located in a key area of the Lombardy manufacturing territory and a point of reference at both a national and European level.”
At its Lombardy facility, WeAreAM provides integrated services that cover the entire 3D printing process chain, from product design and re-engineering, to printing metal parts, to quality control and post-processing. The competence center works with companies in industrial sectors, like plumbing and heating, to make the production of obsolete components, spare parts and wholly new products more efficient in terms of delivery times and costs. The two new L-PBF systems from 3D4MEC will expand its capabilities further, opening up more material possibilities.
Paolo Folgarait, co-founder, president and CEO of WeAreAM, commented on the partnership: “The choice of 3D4MEC technologies comes at the end of an in-depth examination of the competitive and performance advantages offered by the 3D4STEEL and 3D4BRASS models and fits perfectly into the Competence Center’s strategy to offer integrated metal AM solutions to local, national and and European industries. The company is already equipped with post-processing options to finish printed parts, from non-destructive testing, to surface heat treatments, to the complete qualification of metallurgical, mechanical, structural and functional properties.”
The 3D4STEEL and 3D4BRASS printers will be delivered to WeAreAM in the second half of January 2024. To demonstrate its services and new metal 3D printing capabilities, WeAreAM will be hosting an open house in January at its headquarters, where both new printers will be presented. The open house invites groups of up to 20 people to participate in guided tours from 9am to 6 pm on January 30 and 31, 2024. Registration for the event opens in early January and more information can be found here.
