New BAAM Still in alpha mode, the newest, largest version of the Big Area Additive Manufacturing printer has already attracted orders from companies in the automotive, aerospace and plastics industries. Produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Cincinnati Inc. machine features a build space of 8 by 20 by 6 feet. It has been used to 3-D print a car, modular home and other objects using a wide variety of thermoplastics.
What's new? The larger build space. The machine is based on an earlier BAAM printer, which has a smaller build space of about 6 by 12 by 3 feet.
Benefits Ability to build big items, including molds and tooling, quickly. Cincinnati Inc. says the machine prints polymer components up to 10 times larger than currently producible on other machines, at speeds 200 to 500 times faster than existing additive manufacturing machines. While the machine is still in testing, Cincinnati Inc. considers R&D departments its most likely customers and users, rather than production-scale facilities.
Cincinnati Inc., Harrison, Ohio, 513-367-7100, www.e-ci.com
