M.D.C. Design and CMS Kreator Ares: 365 days of Additive Manufacturing

We are back from M.D.C. Design, a leading company in the automotive sector, which, sensing the potential of Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM) technology, installed the first CMS Kreator Ares, now more than a year ago. We met Paolo Isabello, one of the owners of M.D.C. Design, and asked him to give us a brief account of working and experimenting over this last year. 

Isabello shared details about a recent project that involved the printing and milling of various large-scale parts. The most sizable piece measured 1500x900x600mm post-printing and the utilization of the CMS Kreator ensured a flawless outcome. He stressed, “There was no need to repeat any operation,” and added, “we got excellent results straight away. I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised. I’m aware of the potential of this technology, but it’s still very new and I didn’t expect such high performance immediately.” 

"Introducing a new solution," Isabello continues, "is never easy. Often the obstacles to overcome are related to not trusting something you don't know. One of the biggest challenges was to make our customers understand how this is an extremely viable, cost-effective and structurally more suitable alternative to conventional technologies. But not everyone is open to change, and it’s often easier to resort to better-known solutions, just because they’re the ones that have been used for decades.” 

Fortunately, many of M.D.C Design’s customers had the foresight to see the potential of the CMS 3D printing solution. In fact, they have already used additive manufacturing to make several components that would normally have been produced using aluminum. Comparing the two different technologies shows that the differences are more striking when dealing with components for the automotive and aerospace sectors: part weights and material costs are much lower when using CMS Kreator. And that is what makes all the difference! 

One of M.D.C Design's latest projects, which remains top secret for now, put the full potential of the CMS Kreator and Large Format Additive Manufacturing technology to the test. Although we cannot share details about it, Paolo Isabello confessed to us that he was deeply passionate and quite excited about the project. “Sometimes it was as if I was a child again”, he explains, “I was returning home in the evening, after 12/14 hours of work, and I couldn’t wait to be back in front of the machine, to find and try out new ways of printing. The satisfaction of seeing everything done optimally and without problems is a real adrenaline rush.” 

In fact, the equipment required for this project was printed, machined, and delivered fully functional in one month and two days. If it had been made of aluminum, the process would have taken 3 months. Any other difference? The weight: had the components been made of aluminum, it would have taken two people just to handle them! Each part made with CMS Kreator weighs only 11 kg: an extraordinary result! 

M.D.C Design