Direct Metal Technology for Additive Manufacturing and Rapid Prototyping

Solidica is proposing a filament based rapid prototyping machine for the production of net shape metal and functional gradient components. Net shape fully dense metallic parts have been the holy grail of rapid prototyping since its inception. Solidica, Inc. has patented an innovative ultrasonic approach for rapid prototyping of net shape metallic parts using a ribbon feedstock. By combining the use of ultrasonics for layer-by-layer material build up of metallic ribbons with a simple machining head Solidica achieves net shape fully dense metallic components in a fraction of the time and at a lower cost than traditional machining or casting. Extending this proprietary technology to use filament based feedstock rather than ribbon, will enable a complexity of geometry that is currently only achievable for fully dense metal components through investment casting. This innovation has enormous cost saving advantages for production of both complex metallic and bimetallic functional gradient test hardware. There is currently no technology that is readily capable of forming functionally gradient structures for complex geometric shapes.