3D Metal Printing
Melotte, a pioneer in 3D metal printing
Melotte started in 2007 with 3D metal printing of dental protheses. Following this, Melotte also started printing frames for glasses and even jewelry. Today, we mainly focus on the 3D printing of industrial parts, such as flow reactors, filter components, machine parts, etc.
At Melotte we combine 3D metal printing with milling, turning, electro erosion and grinding in order to reach the required tolerances and the final look.
Melotte can assist you from project definition to design and optimization of your CAD models untill the successful implementation of 3D metal printing in your value chain.
Benefits of 3D Metal Printing
Tremendous design freedom
First of all, there is the design freedom. For example, this allows a complex trajectory pattern for coolant to be printed underneath the surface of an injection mold. As a result, everything can cool down more quickly, and the cycle time for opening and closing the mold is shorter so that more components can be produced in the same amount of time.
Integration of various components
Second, with 3D Printing, different functionalities can be integrated into a single component. For example, up to six components used to be required to manufacture fasteners through which compressed air flows. The functions of those six components can now be integrated into one component, using a more precise design so that each function is performed more effectively.
Weight reduction
The third main advantage of 3D Printing is weight reduction. With conventional production techniques, a hydraulic block is usually made from a solid block, which then has various holes drilled into it. 3D printing can reduce this to tubes that are connected by a reinforcing structure. As a result, the block is much lighter, which has considerable added value for the customer and the environment (reducing the waste mountain).
Want to learn more about the technology of 3D metal printing and all of its pros and cons, download our White Paper.
Discover more about 3D metal printing at Melotte in this video which shows the manufacturing process of a micro flow reactor. This is a device in which chemical reactions take place. The customer developed the design of the flow reactor, while Melotte was responsible for the preparation of the file for 3D printing, the 3D metal printing itself, and the high precision manufacturing afterwards. Thanks to the combination of 3D metal printing and high precision manufacturing, Melotte is able to offer its customers the highest possible levels of accuracy.