Faster, more accurate 3D printing Rapid Fusion unveils UK's first large format hybrid 3D printer

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The first UK-built large format hybrid 3D printer is due to be unveiled later in February. Rapid Fusion, which has enjoyed significant success with its Apollo and Zeus additive manufacturing cells, will showcase ‘Medusa’ at a special open day on February 26th at its Skypark R&D centre in Exeter.

Additive manufacturing company Rapid Fusion has tapped into a 1.2 million pound grant from Innovate UK to develop, test, design and build an industrial 3D printer, which is three times faster than conventional machines, twice as accurate and promises to reduce training and maintenance costs by 30 percent.

Backed by project partners Rolls-Royce, AI Build and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), the gantry-style machine combines pallet extruder, filament and CNC machining tool to provide a single-source solution for large moulds and tooling that is typically used by aerospace, automotive, marine and construction companies.

The latest AI technology has been integrated into the design, with Medusa boasting a 1.2 m³ volume build and able to move at 1,200 mm per second speeds.

Bosses at the Exeter-based business have already received significant interest from tier1s and several primes for the 500,000 pound machine and are predicting a potential 5 million pound revenue return in the first year after launch.

“After eighteen months in the making, this will be a real landmark moment for additive manufacturing in the UK,” explained Martin Jewell, Chief Technical Officer at Rapid Fusion. “A factory-ready industrial 3D printer that is built in the UK and is faster than any international rival is a tremendous achievement and has only been made possible by our engineering expertise and the strong collaboration with Rolls-Royce, AI Build and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.”

He continued: “The funding from Innovate UK made the extensive R&D possible, and we now have a machine that, thanks to features like a built-in tool changer, can produce large moulds faster, more efficiently and more accurately than anything currently out there. This could be the catalyst for many domestic companies to bring production back - it could have that big an impact on manufacturing performance and cost points.”

More than 150 delegates are expected to attend the official launch of Medusa at Rapid Fusion’s facility in Exeter, with keynote speeches expected from industry leaders and project partners.

The AM platform, which includes predictive maintenance, thermal modelling and the latest computer vision system, will be put through a live demonstration including the creation of a large mould that can be used to produce components for the aerospace sector.

Jake Hand, Managing Director of Rapid Fusion, picked up the story: “The UK has traditionally been behind other major economies when it comes to large format additive manufacturing. What we have done through the development and launch of Medusa is to democratise high-value, environmentally responsible manufacturing to both large and small businesses.”

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