BCN3D has launched its Metal Pack, containing Ultrafuse Metal FDM filament from Forward AM, for its line of Epsilon 3D printers.
The development allows users to upgrade their hardware to produce ‘green’ parts that once sintered can be used in their metal form for functional prototyping, and tooling.
BCN3D say that the parts produced by this process have “practically identical behaviour to those produced by MIM or CNC” and offer an office-friendly solution with far more design freedom.
The Metal Pack includes both Ultrafuse 316L and 17-4 PH, and a new exclusive hotend for metal, as well as specific accessories, to ensure a smooth printing experience.
After the printing process, debinding and sintering processes can be done externally through the current Forward AM authorised network of service suppliers.
BCN3D CTO Eric Pallarés, said: “The whole AM industry is chasing metal 3D printing. But the truth is that, nowadays, affordable available solutions, if any, are very scarce.
“With the release of the Metal Pack at BCN3D, we are excited to leverage BASF’s decades of experience in MIM technology applied to metal extrusion and post-processing. In combination with our existing 3D printing ecosystem, it becomes an end-to-end and accessible solution for functional prototyping. Our customers will be able to take the best advantage of 3D printing by obtaining industry-grade metal parts, within days.”
Firat Hizal, head of metal systems business group at BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, added: “The Ultrafuse Metal Filaments portfolio has been developed based on BASF´s decades of know-how coming from the Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) industry. Filaments are designed for ultimate ease of handling and can be used on any open-source Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printer. We are very happy that both Ultrafuse 316L and 17-4 PH are validated by BCN3D and BCN3D decided to enable its user base by introducing this bundle.”
The Ultrafuse metals range is currently available on any ‘open’ materials FDM 3D printer, with Ultimaker, MakerBot and BCN3D among the brands to take steps to qualify the materials and release support for their users.
