Desktop Metal Shop System

The Desktop Metal Shop System is a metal additive manufacturing system with a 350 x 220 mm (13.8 x 8.7 in) build area, 1600 x 1600 DPI resolution and a layer thickness of 50 - 150 µm. Desktop Metal's page for it lists the printing figures together with powder handling and furnace data, which is a reminder that the purchase is a small process line and not a single machine.

Four build sizes share the same 350 x 220 mm area: 200 mm, 150 mm, 100 mm and 50 mm deep. The depth chosen sets how many parts nest in one job, so it should follow the batch a shop expects to run more than the tallest single part. The headline build volume row reads 350 x 220 x 220 mm (13.8 x 8.7 x 8.7 in), a little taller than the deepest of the four build sizes. Ask for the usable height of the configuration being quoted.

Printed parts are not finished parts. Furnace peak temperature is listed at 1,400°C with an external gas hookup, and sintered surface finish at Ra 4 - 8 µm depending on material. That is rougher than most machined surfaces, so sealing faces, bearing fits and threads should be planned as machining operations after sintering. Powder recovery is covered by a sieving rate of 5 kg/hr.

For room planning the table gives a floor space of 161.8 x 138.0 x 75.4 cm (63.7 x 54.3 x 29.7 in) and a separate dimensions row of 1100 x 910 x 740 mm, with a weight of 110 kg (243 lb) and a power requirement of 230 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 17.5 A, 2.97 kW. The rows do not say which piece of equipment each figure describes. Get that confirmed per unit before laying out the room and the electrical supply.