Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co. Ltd. said it has commercialized a metal 3D printer for laser-based metal additive manufacturing. It said it delivered the first unit in March to the Industrial Research Center of Shiga Prefecture in Japan.

A directed energy deposition (DED) method feeds metal powder material to the laser fusing point, allowing diverse metal materials to be laminated at high speed. In the DED process, laser beams emitted through dual nozzles pass through surrounding metal powder. This causes the powder to fuse at a focal point. Moving the nozzle results in progressive additive manufacturing. MHI Machine Tool and the Industrial Research Center said they will collaborate to develop innovations relating to metal additive manufacturing.

The company said that molding speed is more than 10 times faster than the powder-bed fusion method of extracting a formed object and metal powder waste can be reduced. Applications may include surface repair, double-laminating using different metal powders and manufacturing large parts. MHI Machine Tool said it is developing monitoring feedback capability to monitor and stabilize the manufacturing status, as well as a shielding function for manufacturing titanium alloys used in the aircraft and space fields.

The metal 3D printer was developed under a research project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), with participation of the Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing (TRAFAM). A prototype unit was completed in October 2017, and a model has been launched to manufacture prototypes of small parts.

In April 2019, the Industrial Research Center established an Advanced Monozukuri Prototype Development Center. The metal DED and additive manufacturing system will be installed in the new facility to support the development of new products and technologies of companies engaged in what is known as "monozukuri," the traditional Japanese concept of craftsmanship.