Dutch company K3D has taken a firm step in its growth by acquiring two MetalFab systems from Additive Industries. With this purchase, the company now has six units distributed across two production centers, reaching a total of nine additive manufacturing cores. Founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of Royal Kaak, K3D began by printing parts for the food industry and today serves sectors such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and defense, using materials like 316L stainless steel, AlSi10Mg aluminum, and Ti6Al4V titanium.
Nine operational cores for series production with metals 🏭
The integration of the new MetalFab allows K3D to scale its production capacity without relying on a single machine. Each system offers a build volume of 420 x 420 x 400 mm, ideal for medium-sized parts in titanium or aluminum. The company can now run multiple jobs in parallel, reducing lead times for defense and automotive clients. Additive Industries' technology stands out for its rapid material change system and automated calibration, minimizing downtime between production batches.
From making cookie molds to printing rocket parts 🚀
K3D started by manufacturing parts for cookie-making machines and today prints components for satellites. The leap is so significant that one suspects its engineers breakfast on titanium instead of coffee. With nine printing cores, the company could produce parts for a small rocket while baking metal cookies. The only thing missing is a line of Inconel-printed toaster spare parts, in case someone wants a toast that can withstand a missile impact.