3D Printers

World's Largest Laser Metal 3D Printer Finds 1st Customer

Shortly after presenting the new X Line 2000 R 3D printer, the largest laser melting-based 3D printer in the world, Concept Laser is now announcing the first sale of its new system to the Netherlands. The Blok Group (Blok Groep) a giant in Engineering, Prototyping, Production, Assembly, Industrial services, Project & Supply Chain Management and 3D-printing solutions, purchased two new laser melting systems from Concept Laser, with a new M2 system to use along with the X line 2000R system, for the medium-sized system segment.

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“Speed and volume are important requirements for high-quality, economical production,” said Erik Blok, CEO of the Blok Group. “The benefits offered by the X line 2000R can also be seen clearly when compared with competing systems: It offers almost three to four times the build volume. Overall, the 2nd build module gives us high availability, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for additive manufacturing.”

The design of the X line 2000R system is also suitable for processing reactive materials, while the new M2 cusing system, which completes the range at Blok Group in the medium-sized machine segment, has been redesigned compared to the previous model. The laser and the filter are now fully integrated into the system. The surface area of the filter has been increased fivefold and it is fitted as standard with a water-submersible filter in order to guarantee safety when changing the filter.

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Installation of the new capacity will start in August 2015 with the M2 cusing, followed by the X line 2000R in Q1 of 2016. The smaller system will be employed  to build medium-sized 3D geometries, positioning Blok as a comprehensive service provider for laser melting metals in the Netherlands. The investment in 3D printing is a testimony to a strategic, long-term partnership between the Blok Group, Landré and Concept Laser. In the partnership, the Blok Group serves as the technical manufacturing service provider, Landré as the local sales partner, and Concept Laser as the system provider.

“We are delighted to have found an important strategic partner in the Netherlands in the Blok Group,” commented Oliver Edelmann, Head of Sales & Marketing at Concept Laser. “A partnership of this kind,” he explained, “offers the processing company an opportunity to combine materials expertise and new design approaches for 3D geometries with optimal system parameters. This allows us to blend application requirements perfectly with system and process engineering options.”

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In fact, as Mr. Blok pointed out, this agreement allows his company to operate in two directions: redesigning existing products, which until now have been built conventionally via machining, and manufacturing new products, which are developed specifically for the opportunities that additive manufacturing offers as early as the design phase.

While the X Line 2000 R machine will enable Blok Group to produce metal components in a single print job that are larger than any other laser melted parts in the industry, there are still just as many new possibilities to be explored for smaller size parts with more complex geometries, as well, like the recent Mapal case study showed. And, yet, it seems that there are many more potential customers out there that will soon benefit from implementing additive metal manufacturing.