Small businesses focused on industrial metal manufacturing—like those making mechanical parts including precision gears and hydraulic components; creating molds, especially metal injection molding; and producing components for the small-scale marine industry, such as corrosion-resistant hull fasteners—look forward to adopting 3D printing of high metal printing to broaden the scope of their product innovation and satisfy the demand for metal additive manufacturing (AM). Still, the cost of industrial metal AM has been on the higher side. Nanjing Enigma Automation Co., Ltd. was established in 2011 with the goal of bridging the gap with affordable, quality 3D printing for metal AM. The company has 14 years of technical experience with directed energy deposition (DED)—a primary technology for industrial metal AM. Enigma Automation designs proprietary solutions, focusing on small businesses’ performance and budget needs.
Enigma provides affordable industrial grade metal AM services based on advanced integrated DED technology focusing on two primary metal AM processes: CML Hybrid Coaxial Multi-Laser DED and CMT Advanced Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). Both processes use integrated machine vision and IoT, which improve the precision and stability of the printing process, and reduce waste of metal materials. This waste minimization is crucial in keeping operational costs and, subsequently, the services affordable.
As an example, CML Multi-Laser DED technology is capable of fast, precise printing of high-performance metal parts with high material saving. It can work with titanium alloy, stainless steel 316L, Inconel 718, and other high performance metals.
Typically, subtractive manufacturing can waste over 50% of the raw metal materials, unlike DED. DED uses just the right amount metal powder or metal wire, minimizing waste to under 5% for small-batch production. For larger metal parts like marine parts and other industrial components, the CMT Advanced WAAM Process works by efficiently depositing metal wire and saving on over engineering.
Enigma also reduces costs by self developed software integration over streamlined workflows. For example, Lungo PNT (2016) for dedicated DED CAM software and path planning and Lungo RP for rapid robotic DED scripting. For small businesses, as they don’t need to purchase software licenses, the integration of self developed software provides significant savings.
Enigma's metal AM product lines cater to small businesses to adopt industrial grade 3D metal printing for a significantly lower cost.
ArcMan S1: A first generation educational WAAM system designed for beginners and small-batch metal production. It works with standard industrial metals like low-carbon steel and aluminum alloy 6061, making it perfect for small businesses to experiment with metal additive manufacturing for low cost metal AM prototyping for mechanical parts and small mold inserts.
ArcMan P Series (P 1200/P1800): Higher productivity DED smart manufacturing cells released in 2023.
These systems are perfect for small businesses looking to expand their production without the expense of multiple machines. They cater to medium and large metal parts like marine engine components and large mold cores. For example, the P1800 prints stainless steel parts up to 1800 millimeters, which is great for small manufacturers of marine components, and does so at a fraction of the price of large scale AM systems.
The ArcMan Kit is a modular upgrade to existing metalworking equipment like CNC mills which gives the ability to convert traditional machines into DED metal AM systems. For small businesses, this means the ability to deploy some of their existing assets and thus save over 30% on equipment costs.
As a result of strategic partnerships, Enigma has access to affordable DED services which enables the focuses on high quality metal materials and advanced DED technologies for Enigma to transform over the costs.
Strategic Partners also enhance Enigma’s efficiency through reduced R&D costs. For example, partnerships with metal material suppliers such as Fronius for high-purity metal wires like ER316L stainless steel wire, and DING XIN for specialty metal powders such as Inconel 625. Enigma is also able to access premium metal materials at bulk prices.
Small enterprises can now make high-value metal items like marine parts that resist corrosion and heat and mold inserts without spending extra on materials.
Enigma's AM services for metal meet and solve small metal manufacturing challenges for small businesses metal manufacturing:
Prototyping and Design Adjustments: Small manufacturers of mechanical parts and Enigma's DED services can quickly print small metal prototypes like stainless steel gears for different test runs and adjust their designs for less cost. This method decrease the time taken for product launching by 40% as compared to the conventional casting method.
On-Demand Spare Parts: Businesses that manufacture marine parts and mold can now order on-demand custom metal spare parts like marine engine fasteners, and titanium alloy mold pins, adjusting their inventories for cost effective storage reducing storage costs by 50%.
Metal Material R&D Support: Small businesses that are working on new metal product development such as mechanical parts made of high-strength aluminum alloy can use Enigma's economical DED material testing services to even out their metal R&D. Enigma prints test sample then tests different metal compositions like varying the aluminum alloy silicon content, which lowers R&D costs by 35%.
Over his 14 years of DED working expertise served to 200 different clients DED, Enigma balance quality and affordability by offering over 400 patents.
With its “0-1-N” full-life-cycle support—beginning with consulting for metal AM (0), to prototype planning (1), and ending with mass manufacturing (N)—the company guarantees that small businesses get personalized support.
Enigma makes it possible for small businesses to afford industrial metal AM and compete against big manufacturers. For instance, small mold makers can use DED technology to create intricately designed metal molds for 60% of the cost of conventional machining. Likewise, small marine component manufacturers can produce industry-standard corrosion-resistant stainless steel marine parts using printed parts and achieve it with no major capital outlay. Enigma delivers dependable and economically priced industrial metal manufacturing to small businesses, reinforcing its reputation as a reasonable cost partner.
Hot News2025-06-30
2025-07-04
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