February 17, 2025
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February 17, 2025
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ExOne Metal Designlab – World’s Fastest, Office-Safe Metal 3D Printer launched in Partnership with Rapidia

Key Takeaways
ExOne Metal Designlab
Above: ExOne binder jetting system/Image Source: ExOne

The ExOne Company, the global leader in industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, announced the launch of the ExOne Metal Designlab printer and X1F advanced furnace through an exclusive partnership with Rapidia, a Vancouver, Canada-based Technology Company founded by Dan Gelbart.

Under terms of this strategic partnership, ExOne has a right of first refusal for majority ownership of Rapidia, and Gelbart will now become a technology advisor to ExOne.

Gelbart is an electrical engineer who co-founded companies such as Creo, Inc., a laser technology company sold in 2005 to Kodak for $1 billion, and Kardium, a medical device company. He has been issued 135 U.S. patents for inventions ranging from package tracking technology to atrial fibrillation treatment. His popular YouTube series on prototyping is used for instruction by several universities.

ExOne Metal Designlab

ExOne Metal Designlab
Above: ExOne Metal Designlab™ and X1F advanced furnace/Image Source: ExOne

Rapidia’s two-step 3D printing technology, developed over several years and first revealed in 2019, was the first to allow water-bound metal and ceramic parts to go directly from a printer into a furnace without a debinding step. The efficiency is made possible by HydroFuse, an innovative water-based paste containing metal or ceramic powders, which does not require debinding before final sintering. Two materials are currently offered: 17-4PH and 316L stainless steels, with other metals and ceramics to follow soon.

The ExOne and Rapidia teams are collaborating on system and process enhancements to offer this true Print Today, Parts Tomorrow™ to the marketplace, with more innovations expected. The new X1F advanced furnace, with about 10 liters of usable volume, will also be offered across ExOne’s binder jet lineup, where it is an ideal complement to the Innovent+ or InnoventPro 3L or 5L printers.

John Hartner, ExOne’s CEO expressed his excitement saying, “We are delighted to partner with the visionary Dan Gelbart and the Rapidia technology team to offer the new ExOne Metal Designlab and X1F furnace. This technology is a true time-saving innovation that complements ExOne’s portfolio. Now, researchers, educators, and industrial designers will be able to bypass days of waiting and produce high-quality parts without the limitations faced by parts that require traditional debinding.”

According to Rapidia Founder Dan Gelbart, “We set out to develop a simple, environmentally friendly system that creates the toughest, most intricate parts overnight. Today, we’re excited to leverage ExOne’s global marketing and sales team to help customers around the world enjoy the benefits of our revolutionary technology. I also expect a lot of innovation to come from combining the deep technical knowledge of both companies. Now, users can 3D print complex parts today without any thickness limitations for solid parts and produce high-strength parts overnight.”

A True Print Today, Parts Tomorrow™ Innovation

Water-based Metal 3D Printing Technology
Above: Environment-friendlyAbove: Environment-friendly 3D printing process/Image Credit: Rapidia 3D printing process/Image Credit: Rapidia

Most other bound metal 3D printing technologies require either three steps (print, debind and sinter) or 3D printing followed by a very slow thermal debinding in the sintering furnace. Either method usually takes 3-5 days to produce a final part and comes with limitations on part thickness, so that the part can properly burn off the polymer binders. Often, these systems limit parts to 5-10 mm (0.2”-0.4”) thickness, which also limits the final strength and applications for the final part.

By contrast, the HydroFuse paste developed by Rapidia replaces 98% of the binder with water, which evaporates while printing, enabling true Print Today, Parts Tomorrow™ technology. This technology also removes the limitation on maximum part thickness. The new ExOne Metal Designlab can print 100% solid metal of any thickness, delivering maximum strength parts suitable for a wide variety of demanding pre-production and end-use applications.

Orders are being accepted starting today, with the system printer and furnace available for delivery in the second quarter.


About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Tech News page for more updates on 3D Printing Technology News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn.

Manufactur3D Team
Manufactur3D Team reports on the latest news, insights and analysis from the Indian and the Global 3D Printing Industry. They share updates from Industry leading companies to Startups and covers their latest developments.
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