XJet Ltd., the additive manufacturing company, opened the doors of a new cutting-edge Additive Manufacturing Center today.
The Grand Opening event was witnessed by a spectrum of XJet stakeholders including local suppliers, global customers, and the company’s more than 100-strong team. With an investment of over 10 million dollars, the 8,000 square foot facility in Rehovot Science Park is home to the largest collection of metal and ceramic 3D printers worldwide, comprised entirely of XJet Carmel AM systems.
The ground-breaking AM Center will support XJet in developing new 3D printing materials and applications according to XJet CEO Hanan Gothait: “The new AM Center is a crucial part of our pursuit for wide-ranging multi-material printing. XJet Carmel AM systems are currently available with one of two printing materials, stainless steel or zirconia. Our vision is a platform that prints with a multitude of metals and ceramics on the same part. We will use the AM Centre to develop and demonstrate specialized applications, print test parts for our global customer base, and trial new metal and ceramic materials.
“We have very high goals and expectations for the AM Center, and as such have placed our best resources here, led by Dr. Ophira Melamed. Under her expert guidance I’m very excited to see what the AM Center will deliver.”
The AM Center inauguration follows less than a year on from the commercial launch of XJet’s first AM system and follows hot on the heels of the appointment of its first distributor, Carfulan, in the UK, who also attended the event and caught a glimpse of their first XJet Carmel AM system, which will be shipped to them by the end of the year.
“I’m extremely proud of the progress made by the XJet team over the last year. In addition to opening the AM Center, which will speed up operations at XJet, we also held our first open house event at YBI in North America, and started working with a turnkey manufacturing company,” states Gothait, “NPJ technology delivers a step change in metal and ceramic additive manufacturing, and with huge potential in each market we’re working hard to build an infrastructure to support the rapid growth we will drive for the business. We look forward to sharing even more progress with the wider community at formnext next month.”
Using the company’s patented NanoParticle Jetting (NPJ) technology, the XJet Carmel AM series allows manufacturers to produce ceramic or metal parts with the ease and versatility of inkjet printing. Due to its unique approach, the NPJ technology produces highly complex parts with superfine details, smooth surfaces and pinpoint accuracy. Remarkably thin layers of just a few microns can be achieved, compared to dozens of microns in powder-based ceramic and metal AM technologies. Cavities and fine details can be created with no concern that they will be harmed in the support-removal process, as a separate material is used for support structures, a material that easily disintegrates post printing.
Guests at the AM Center Grand Opening were able to take a tour of the facility and see the XJet 3D printers running live, observe how easy it is to remove support structures, talk to XJet customers and employees. Attendees also heard from XJet customers including Syqe Medical, an Israeli manufacturer known for its revolutionary metered-dose medical inhaler, and Oerlikon Group, a prominent Swiss manufacturer and leading AM service bureau. In addition, TED speaker and winner of the Israeli Prime Minister's Prize for Initiatives and Innovation, Professor Oded Shoseyov, gave a talk on The Plant Age; Materials of the Future.
