Rapid Fusion to unveil 3D printing demonstration centre
Rapid Fusion is set to unveil a 3D printing robot demonstration centre this month, as it looks to build on a 25% in revenues.
Rapid Fusion has completed a £750,000 investment driver that has seen it develop two new additive manufacturing platforms and build a dedicated facility in Exeter to showcase its solutions.
The 5,000 sq ft unit on Skypark will house the firm’s Apollo cell and its latest ZEUS creation, which combines a 3D printing robot with a unique CNC milling capability – providing customers with a turnkey solution for larger moulds.
Investment is also being funnelled into staff, as a LFAM robotic print engineer was employed before Christmas, and soon the company will recruit engineering and deployment and software leads.
“2024 was a very good year for us, with revenue surpassing £1.7m on our additive manufacturing platforms…that was way above expectation," said Jake Hand, Founder of Rapid Fusion. “There is a definite move in the market towards larger printing and more complex geometries and we’re not just seeing that from automotive and aerospace, but maritime and even construction where we’ve signed an exciting deal with Italian business Nanoo.
“With interest in our technology growing rapidly, we wanted to create a demonstration centre that people could visit and see the cells in action. We can even do a few ‘prototype’ trials to prove the speed, accuracy and reliability of our solutions.”
Rapid Fusion launched its first bespoke cell, Apollo, last year and has already received interest for its ability to offer faster speeds than existing FDM printers, according to the company.
It will also shortly be officially releasing ZEUS, which will include a CNC milling tool that provides a hybrid solution for customers looking for printing and milling in one turnkey solution.
“We are always trying to push the boundaries of what is possible and that is reflected in the introduction of Apollo and ZEUS. Our brilliant engineers and designers have also been working on an algorithm for retraction when printing with a Rapid Fusion extrude," added Hand. “What does that mean? Well, it will give us the capability to print more than one object on the same tool path with no stringing between parts. This is another first for the industry and, as you would expect, initial feedback has been overwhelming.”