Revolutionizing Tooling with Metal 3D Printing: Mantle’s Latest Milestone
In a groundbreaking move, Mantle, a Bay Area startup specializing in metal 3D printing for tooling, has announced the expansion of its market reach. The company has delivered its first production units, a P-200 printer and F-200 furnace, to customer Westec Plastics. This achievement comes after Mantle’s successful completion of several beta deployments.
The P-200 system, which combines bound metal extrusion with CNC milling, is capable of creating highly accurate and near fully dense tool steel components. This innovative technology minimizes shrinkage and delivers a superior surface finish, eliminating the need for extensive post-processing. With such remarkable capabilities, Mantle aims to tap into the $45 billion injection molding tools market.
The commercial versions of the P-200 and F-200 have been equipped with additional hardware and process enhancements to boost their performance. Westec, having previously used the beta machine, was able to reduce tooling costs by 50% and cut operation hours from 40 to just 10 hours for H13 tool steel inserts. As the first customer to receive a production unit, Westec Plastics is poised to benefit from Mantle’s cutting-edge equipment, enabling them to complete prototype and production steel tooling inserts in significantly less time compared to traditional mold builds.
Tammy Barras, President of Westec Plastics, shared her excitement about having the Mantle equipment in-house, stating, “This will benefit our customers by providing production-quality steel tooling with aluminum tooling lead times.”
Mantle is set to make a joint presentation at the upcoming Molding and Moldmaking Conferences in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 29-30. Titled “Metal 3D Printing that Makes Dollars and Sense,” the presentation will feature insights from Mantle, Westminster Tool, and Nicolet Plastics, the latter of which is also in the process of deploying a Mantle metal 3D printing system.
Despite not being covered in the SmarTech Analysis report, “Market Opportunities for Additive Manufacturing in the General Industry and Tooling Sector 2020-2029,” Mantle is expected to play a significant role in the tooling market, which has the potential to be valued at $5.48 billion by 2029.
This latest achievement by Mantle is a milestone in the realm of tooling, revolutionizing the way metal components are created. By combining the capabilities of metal 3D printing with CNC milling, Mantle has opened up new possibilities for the industry. As the company continues to innovate and expand its market reach, it is sure to make waves in the world of manufacturing. Stay tuned for more updates on the advancements in the 3D printing industry, and don’t miss out on the latest news and offers from third-party vendors.
