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ExOne and the story of Binder Jetting
Playing the long game: The story of Binder Jetting, and ExOne's view on a rapidly evolving technology landscape Being ahead of one's time can be both a blessing and a challenge. The story of The ExOne Company, the pioneer of metal Binder Jetting, well illustrates this. Now, as interest in the technology surges, the company finds itself competing with a host of well-funded and ambitious rivals. In this article, ExOne's Sarah Webster takes a look back at the company's journey – one that, despite being marred by tragedy, defined a path that now puts it in a strong position to compete in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
An unprecedented number of production Binder Jetting (BJT) machines are slated to come to market in 2021, signalling a critical turning point in a manufacturing technology long seen as niche but now, increasingly, viewed as necessary. Those keeping score will know that new systems are now on the way from big brands such as HP and GE, as well as unicorn start-up Desktop Metal, with more announcements expected. At the same time, the Binder Jetting pioneer and market leader, ExOne, is launching two new production systems – the X1 160Pro™ and InnoventPro™ – rounding out a full family of options for manufacturers in Metal Injection Moulding and beyond. The renewed life around this technology, now approaching its 30th year, is fuelled by a few pulses that seem to grow stronger every day. The first is a growing belief within the industry that Binder Jetting is the method of metal Additive Manufacturing most likely to, finally, take Additive Manufacturing to high-volume production. The second is that Additive Manu-
Vol. 15 No. 1 © 2021 Inovar Communications Ltd
facturing in production volumes is essential to delivering an impactful number of sustainable products. In other words, you can additively manufacture lightweight, consolidated metal parts in low volumes at high prices today, but, if you want to deliver truly meaningful benefits to the world at large, you have to do it
in serious volumes and at low prices. Binder Jetting is shaping up to be the best way to get there. Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing has been very effective over the past decade in proving out the discrete benefits of metal Additive Manufacturing, but it is clear to
Fig. 1 ExOne's new X1 160Pro™ (second from left) is part of the company's modern family of metal binder jet machines that also includes the InnoventPro (left) and X1 25Pro (right) along with an X1D1 automated guided vehicle to move powder boxes between processes (far right)
March 2021 Powder Injection Moulding International
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