Cold Metal Fusion: CADmore Metal disrupts 3D Printing with Faster, Cheaper Titanium Production
Table of Contents
A new process called cold metal fusion (CMF) is poised to reshape the North American market for 3D-printed metal components, offering significant advantages in speed, cost, and material strength. CADmore Metal, the exclusive North American distributor for the technology, claims CMF overcomes longstanding challenges in 3D printing with challenging-to-process metals like titanium.
Addressing the Titanium Challenge in 3D Printing
For years, titanium has been a highly sought-after material in industries like aerospace and healthcare due to it’s extraordinary strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. However, its inherent reactivity makes it notoriously difficult to work with using traditional 3D printing methods.
How Cold Metal Fusion Works
Cold metal fusion (CMF) combines the design versatility of additive manufacturing with established powder metallurgy techniques. The process utilizes a proprietary blend of metal powder and polymer binding agents, layered sequentially to create high-strength metal components.
initially, the process mirrors conventional 3D printing: a digital design directs an industrial 3D printer to deposit a mixture of metal powder and a plastic binder. A laser lightly fuses each layer, forming a cohesive structure, and excess powder is collected for reuse.
However, CMF diverges from traditional methods in its subsequent stages. The initial parts generated are robust enough for machining operations like grinding, drilling, and milling. These parts are than immersed in a solvent to dissolve the plastic binder, followed by a furnace treatment to burn off any remaining binder, fuse the metal particles, and create a dense, finished component. Polishing and heat treatment can then be applied as needed.
Speed, Scalability, and Cost Reduction
According to CADmore Metal CEO John Carrington, CMF offers a transformative improvement in efficiency. “Our cold metal fusion technology offers a process that is at least three times faster and more scalable than any other kind of 3D printing,” Carrington said.”Per-part prices are generally 50 to 60 percent less than alternative metal 3D printing technology. We expect those prices to go down even more as we scale.”
This cost reduction is already attracting attention from major players.One large defence contractor recently transitioned from traditional 3D printing to CMF, anticipating millions in savings and a significant reduction in prototyping and production timelines.
CADmore Metal and Headmade Materials: A Collaborative Approach
The core material underpinning CMF was developed by Headmade Materials, a German company holding a patent on the specialized 3D printing feedstock. This feedstock is designed to be compatible with existing 3D printing infrastructure. CADmore Metal serves as the exclusive North American distributor, offering not only the metal powders but also extensive systems integration services.
This includes providing the necessary printing and sintering hardware, specialized powders, process expertise, training, and ongoing technical support. “We provide guidance on design optimization and integration with existing workflows to help customers maximize the technology’s benefits,” Carrington explained. “If a turbine company comes to us to produce their parts using CMF, we can either build the parts for them as a service or set them up to carry out their own production internally while we supply the powder and support.”
A Growing Market and Expanding Infrastructure
The timing of CMF’s arrival is especially opportune, coinciding with the rapid growth of the global 3D printing market. Analyst firm IDTechEx projects the market to reach nearly US $13 billion by 2035, up from its current value of almost US $5 billion.
To meet anticipated demand,CADmore Metal recently opened North America’s first CMF application center in Columbia,South Carolina – a nearly 280-square-metre (3,000-square-foot) facility.Plans are already underway to expand, with a larger facility slated to open in 2026 to accommodate increased material processing and equipment capacity.
The emergence of cold metal fusion signals a potential paradigm shift in metal additive manufacturing, promising to unlock new possibilities for innovation and efficiency across a range of critical industries.
