3D Metal Industrie: industrial scale additive manufacturing

After three years of experimentation with the Platinium 3D platform, seven Ardennes-based foundries are now launching production, through the company 3D Metal Industrie, to operate 3D printing of sand moulds.

Recently installed on the Val-de-Vence business park in Charleville-Mézières, the SAS 3D Métal Industrie was born out of the association of the foundries Ardennaise, Béroudiaux (subsidiary of the Bouhyer group), Vignon, Nicolas, Rollinger, Rocroyenne d'Aluminimum and RM Technologies, with support from the Federation of metallurgy. With an engineering department specialising in the design and development of solutions, the company has invested 1.2 million Euros in the acquisition of a 3D sand machine. Using ExOne technology, it can produce moulds of up to 1800 x 1000 x 700 mm.

With this company, SME partners are looking to open up new "prospects for diversification in high value-added markets while allowing them to be more competitive, efficient and responsive, and to achieve transportation savings", as emphasised by Renaud Mignolet, appointed president by the members of the board of directors. The advantage of sand technology is that it allows a significant gain in competitiveness upstream of manufacturing (accelerating the development of moulds) while maintaining the know-how acquired by foundries in the manufacture and finishing of parts.

Additive manufacturing has revolutionised the foundry thanks to the new possibilities offered by this technology (complexity of parts, alloys, etc...). The pooling of a high-tech production facility at the heart of a foundry network is undoubtedly a first in France, possibly in Europe.

French Ardennes stakeholders are at the forefront of the art, and in this respect we should mention the cross-border project "Peps" (from "Procédés 3D Et PolymèreS"), launched on 16 May 2019, whose objective is to develop the use of additive manufacturing for the industry world, led by the Charleville-Mézières regional centre for innovation and transfer of technology (Critt-MDTS).

Leading French centre in foundry production, French Ardennes are focusing on additive manufacturing to take ownership of it and to become part of the industry of the future, thanks to the Platinium 3D technology platform and the support of all public stakeholders.

By Ardennes Développement, the Ardennes economic development agency - ardennes-developpement.com