Desktop Metal

Definition

Desktop Metal is an American company that manufactures additive manufacturing systems for printing metal parts, aiming to bring metal 3D printing closer to the speed and cost profile of traditional manufacturing methods like metal injection molding. Its systems typically use a binder jetting or bound-metal deposition approach that produces a green part later sintered in a furnace, targeting manufacturers who need metal components without the capital cost of laser-based metal printing systems.

Overview

Desktop Metal set out to address a long-standing limitation of metal 3D printing: the dominant laser-based processes used by industrial players are capable but slow and expensive per part, limiting metal additive manufacturing mostly to prototypes and specialty low-volume parts. The company built systems around alternative metal-printing approaches intended to be faster and cheaper per part at moderate volumes, aiming at production use rather than only prototyping. Mechanically, its systems generally follow a multi-step process rather than fusing metal directly with a laser during printing. In binder jetting, a print head deposits liquid binder onto layers of metal powder to build a green part held together by the binder rather than fused metal. In bound-metal deposition, metal powder bound in a wax-like matrix is extruded similar to fused filament fabrication. Either way, the printed green part is then sintered in a furnace, where the binder or binding matrix burns off and the metal particles fuse together, shrinking the part to its final dense form. Within the metal additive manufacturing landscape, Desktop Metal is generally distinguished from laser-based metal printer makers by its emphasis on production throughput and cost per part rather than the very fine feature resolution achievable with direct laser melting. It also differs from purely plastic-focused competitors such as 3D Systems and Stratasys, whose broader additive manufacturing portfolios include metal alongside far more mature plastic and resin printing lines. In practice, manufacturers use Desktop Metal systems for producing end-use metal parts such as brackets, tooling inserts, and structural components at volumes where traditional metal injection molding tooling costs would be hard to justify, as well as for engineering prototypes that need to be tested in the actual metal alloy rather than a plastic stand-in. Limitations include the multi-step sintering process introducing part shrinkage that must be accounted for in design, and the range of available alloys generally being narrower than what is achievable with traditional metal fabrication or with mature laser-based metal printing systems. Very high-precision or high-strength aerospace-grade components may still require laser-based or traditional metal manufacturing processes instead. Furnace capacity and scheduling also become a practical bottleneck at scale, since parts must be batched through sintering after printing, meaning throughput depends on both the printer and the furnace rather than the printer alone as with single-step processes. Buyers evaluating Desktop Metal systems typically compare projected cost per part at their expected volume against both laser-based metal printers and traditional metal injection molding to determine which process actually minimizes total cost for their specific part geometry and quantity.

Key Features

• binder jetting and bound-metal deposition metal 3D printing processes
• furnace sintering step converting green parts into dense metal components
• focus on production throughput and cost per part over fine feature resolution
• software for print preparation accounting for sintering shrinkage
• systems positioned as faster and cheaper than laser-based metal printing at volume
• metal alloy options aimed at structural and end-use part production

Use Cases

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Frequently Asked Questions

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