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Xerox 3d liquid metal printer


Explained: What’s going on at Xerox Elem Additive?

In 2019, Xerox made a big statement with its acquisition of Vader Systems, a New York-based start-up bringing to market a Liquid Metal additive manufacturing technology.

Liquid Metal was a development made by Scott and Zachary Vader, a father-son team, which uses wire feedstock to produce parts at ‘quick speed and low cost.’ Xerox saw it as a technology that could provide solutions to product development and supply chain, while also acknowledging it could harness its expertise in jetting, system design and product design to deliver robust 3D printing equipment to market.

Over three and a half years, Xerox commercialised the technology, hired the likes of Tali Rosman to lead the Elem Additive business unit, and installed the resulting ElemX printer in defence organisations, research labs and service bureaus.

Deployments of the ElemX were being announced at regular intervals, Xerox was still promoting the technology on socials as little as four weeks ago, and then news started to leak that there had been a significant shift in the business operations of Xerox Elem Additive.

Xerox has since confirmed that Elem Additive is being scaled back. But why?

What’s going on at Xerox Elem Additive?

Well, less than a few weeks ago.

When Elem Additive General Manager Tali Rosman appeared on the TCT Additive Insight Innovators on Innovators podcast in August, all seemed well with the company. The discussion centred around how 3D printing technologies, like Elem Additive’s Liquid Metal process, could have an impact in industries such as defence. Rosman and her co-participant Mike Pecota touched on the work Xerox had been doing with the US Navy, while Xerox had also announced several additional users in other sectors.

Then, in early October, a flurry of posts on LinkedIn seemed to point to a significant change at the company. Activity on LinkedIn from several Xerox Elem Additive employees suggested the company had made the decision to lay-off a significant number of staff, including the ‘majority of R&D.’ A Xerox spokesperson has since confirmed that, “On September 30 [2022], Xerox scaled back its Elem Additive 3D business and is now solely focused on supporting current installations. ”

It comes just six months after Xerox stated in its annual financial report for the year 2021 that ‘we expect 3D to grow revenues rapidly in future years.’ As a publicly listed corporation, Xerox updates its shareholders regularly, with revenue and cash flow on a downward trend. As per its Q2 2022 financial results, revenue is down 2.6% year-over-year, while its operating cash flow is down 299m USD year-over-year to 85m USD, and its free cash flow is down 296m USD year-over-year to 98m USD. Since 2011, the company’s annual revenue has decreased by around 15 billion USD.

Xerox is not alone in making reductions to its workforce in the 3D printing space in recent months. Redundancies have been made at Nexa3D in recent weeks, Desktop Metal announced 12% of staff were to be laid off in June, and it has also been reported manufacturing service Fast Radius is to cut its workforce by up to 20%. 

Among those to be let go by Xerox Elem Additive are Rosman, as well as Senior Product Managers, Mechanical Engineers, Senior Metallurgists, Quality Technicians and Supply Chain Analysts.

So, what does that mean for the Elem Additive division at Xerox?

As Xerox’s spokesperson says, the focus is now on supporting current installations. These include ElemX machines deployed at the US Naval Postgraduate School, RIT, Siemens, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Vertex Manufacturing. As per Rosman’s first appearance on the TCT Additive Insight podcast in February 2021, the wider Xerox Corporation is also an occasional user of Liquid Metal technology.

We are now in the process of looking and assessing all of these different businesses across the pipeline. Some of these will get through, and some of them will get rapidly shut down.

The departing R&D staff are also believed to have worked towards the development of IP around Liquid Metal technology, while Xerox had told shareholders in February that an ElemX2.0 was targeted for 'completion' in Q4 2022. This product was said to have the capacity to process Aluminium 6061, which would ‘increase the aperture of the industry verticals we’re going to get into at scale, which is the whole automotive and aeronautical industry. ’

With the subsequent ‘scaling back’ of Elem Additive, and with Xerox not having a presence at IMTS or Formnext, it is now not known whether the company still intends to introduce this capability to existing users of Liquid Metal.

When did Xerox enter the AM space and why?

Xerox has had its toe in the additive manufacturing water for many years, contributing its printhead technology and capacity for materials and software development. In 2019, however, the company decided to submerge itself fully by acquiring the Vader Systems technology and pulling together various other assets and developments to form a ‘significant business.’

Speaking to TCT in June 2019, Kevin Lewis, Xerox’s Head of Business Strategy for 3D at the time, stressed that the ‘differentiation of the technology’ and that ‘Xerox’s expertise could be put towards helping that technology progress further,’ were among the key reasons for acquiring Vader Systems and its Liquid Metal technology. As noted by Vader Systems co-founder Scott Vader in the same interview, it was also important that the technology ‘supported true manufacturing.’ This element came up in Xerox’s 2019 Investors Day, when the acquisition was announced, as did the fact that Vader had already received ‘strong customer feedback from major manufacturers.’

At the time, Xerox also stated the Liquid Metal technology would provide a new way for the company to deliver more value to customers.

And why has Xerox decided to scale back its additive activity?

A Xerox spokesperson said: “As outlined at our Investor Day event earlier this year, the innovation studio model we have established enables us to quickly determine which businesses we continue moving forward with and which we scale down. This was a difficult, but necessary, decision.”

Xerox presentations at its Investor Day in February threw up many interesting titbits. Naresh K. Shanker, the Senior VP, CTO & Head of Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) at Xerox, spoke with much enthusiasm for additive manufacturing, suggesting the technology could enable distributed and localised manufacturing, as well as production on-demand. He also spoke in detail on the deployment of a Liquid Metal machine on a US Navy aircraft carrier, as well as software developments pertaining to its digital manufacturing endeavours and the aforementioned Aluminium 6061 capability.

“This is really an exciting business,” he said. “We’ve got it off the ground and we’ve got a tremendous amount of launches coming up in the second half of this year. Our goal right now is to double and triple the number of machines this year that we are going to be launching.”

But he also mentioned the ‘venture studio’ established within PARC. This concept, “helps us very quickly accelerate even more businesses across the pipeline. And what we use is a customer-led innovation process. The focus is to test and validate problem, solution, fit and product market fit early in the life cycle, so we can put the capital structures early on.”

He went on: “And this also helps us determine very rapidly what businesses we will move along the pipeline and just as quickly, what businesses we will shut down […] We've talked about Elem and Eloque that we launched, including Novity, and we are now in the process of looking and assessing all of these different businesses across the pipeline. Some of these will get through, and some of them will get rapidly shut down. And what's important is to make sure that we are very efficient around the use of capital in terms of how we progress these entities.”

Somewhere between its 2022 Investor Day and September 30, Xerox has made the decision to significantly scale back the 'exciting business' that was Elem Additive. At this stage, there is no indication that Xerox will make the technology available to new users through other avenues, but Shanker did say back in February: “The second key business benefit that we’ve derived from [the venture studio concept] is that we now have vehicles to actually take these businesses to market in the form of spin-outs, joint ventures and even licensing opportunities with regards to the technology.”

What have former Xerox Elem Additive employees had to say?

Those that have sought to update their employment status on LinkedIn have, in the main, expressed their disappointment at the decision and/or their pride at having successfully commercialised the Liquid Metal technology.

Bender Kutub, a Senior Product Manager at Xerox Elem Additive, noted, “it has been an amazing journey with the Elem Additive team, we accomplished a lot in [a] short period of time thanks to a great group of highly skilled and motivated individuals.”

Kevin Scofield, Director of Product Management at Xerox Elem Additive, said: “Xerox has made the unfortunate decision to cease all new development and sales of the Elem Additive product suite. While disappointing, it does not lessen the pride I have in bringing two new software apps (Navigator, Builder) from concept to launch in less that (sic) 18 months.”

Michael Lloyd, 3D Printing Quality Technician at Xerox Elem Additive, offered: “I was with many talented people [at Xerox] and I highly recommend, (sic) that any company pick them up.”

A Xerox spokesperson told TCT: “We are working to minimise the impact to the affected individuals and will provide transition assistance for those impacted.”

Want to discuss? Join the conversation on the Additive Manufacturing Global Community Discord.   

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Xerox Liquid Metal 3D Printer Installed at ORNL - 3DPrint.com

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is always researching new 3D printing technology. The latest is the Xerox ElemX metal 3D printer, which has just been installed at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF).

Xerox (NYSE: XRX) surprised many when it acquired metal 3D printing startup Vader Systems in 2019. It then spent until 2021 making the technology ready for market. At that point, it unveiled the ElemX system with the U.S. Navy as its first customer. This was followed by a purchase by Vertex Manufacturing, led by GE Aerospace metal 3D printing pioneer Greg Morris.

The machine is meant to be straight forward and easy to use. Processing low-cost aluminum wire, the ElemX can very rapidly 3D print a metal part onto a substrate. Once complete, the substrate is dropped into a bucket of water and the 3D printed item pops off the bed. Seeing the parts firsthand, you might note that they don’t present the finest surface finish. However, when you realize that they were made without any post-processing in a matter of hours, you realize the potential. Because it doesn’t rely on hazardous powders, it is marketed as being safer to use and doesn’t require the use of personal protection equipment in its operation. All of this is meant to make it ideal for spares, repairs, and low-volume production parts.

As you’ve read on 3DPrint.com, ORNL is involved in nearly countless additive manufacturing projects, which range from developing new 3D printers and optimizing existing ones to exploring new materials and applications. With ElemX, we can imagine that ORNL will be able to experiment with potential uses, materials and more.

“Developing metal AM technologies that are simpler to install and integrate into existing manufacturing operations will be key to increasing adoption throughout the industry,” said Xerox Elem Additive General Manager and Vice President Tali Rosman. “Oak Ridge National Laboratory has a long history of advancing innovative manufacturing technologies. This installation will enable us to further refine our liquid metal AM technology and achieve our goal of creating more resilient supply chains for our customers.”

“ORNL has a long history of working with industry on alloy deployment and the improvement of material performance in AM,” said Ryan Dehoff, section head for secure and digital manufacturing at ORNL. “This process is promising for high-volume applications such as automotive; leveraging our experience with alloy development will help us expand the available number of alloys and applications.”

When I spoke to Tali Rosman at Additive Manufacturing Strategies 2022, she explained that Xerox has the largest patent portfolio dedicated to AM on the market—even bigger than Stratasys or 3D Systems. As she left Stratasys, she had a wide-open field to choose from in continuing her 3D printing career, but opted for Xerox as it embarked on its liquid metal 3D printing process.

Screenshot courtesy of Xerox website.

Given that it has customers in U.S. government, we can be sure that Xerox has the right connections as well. As 2D printing and imaging companies shift away from those legacy technologies, Xerox could potentially be poised to be a leading player in the space. However, it’s still early days for the tech pioneer. It will first have to prove its ElemX machine and qualify more metals. After that, perhaps we will see some of those patents actually put to work.

Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.

Tagged with: aluminum • elemx • liquid metal 3d printing • metal 3d printing • Oak Ridge National Laboratory • ornl • Xerox

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Xerox Elem Additive Solutions Announces Collaboration with Siemens and Rochester Institute of Technology

Xerox Elem Additive Solutions announced a new collaboration initiative with Siemens to expand both companies' capabilities in additive metal manufacturing (AM). This collaboration highlights both companies' strong commitment to advancing the future of additive manufacturing through innovation and partnership, while Xerox Elem Additive Solutions simultaneously held a meeting at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) headquarters at AMPrint in Henrietta, New York. Xerox also announced the acquisition and installation of an Elem 3D printer. nine0003

While RIT will focus on next-generation metal 3D printing technologies, it will use the printer in collaboration with manufacturers for research and product development. At the same time, RIT is one of the companies in the field of additive manufacturing (AM), a longtime partner of Xerox, which introduced the first liquid metal AM. The faculty at the AMPrint Center have years of experience in metal additive manufacturing, with a focus on aerospace applications. The installation is the result of a successful collaboration between industry and the university, and both parties will continue to work together to scale ElemX to new commercial and industry applications. nine0003

As part of this process, Siemens purchased an ElemX metal 3D printer to complement its additive equipment fleet at the Charlotte Advanced Technology Collaboration Center (CATCH). ElemX is a revolutionary metal 3D printer that is easier and safer to use and provides supply chain flexibility for transportation, aerospace, defense and industrial applications.

The printer can be used efficiently without requiring any special hardware changes to operate. Unlike most metal 3D printing technologies, ElemX requires minimal post-processing and therefore enables faster production of parts. Siemens is interested in exploring technical developments in Xerox automation, software, materials and processes, as well as current and future ElemX systems. nine0003

The CATCH plant focused on the industrialization of additive manufacturing, working with machine manufacturers, material suppliers and end users. ElemX used Xerox AM liquid metal, which uses economical aluminum wire and combines built-in digital twin technology with Siemens' advanced SINUMERIK 840D SL control platform to streamline the printing process. Xerox® Elem™ Tali Rosman, Vice President and General Manager, Additive Solutions, "Siemens and Xerox share a similar vision of improving manufacturing through creative and collaborative partnerships that together move us in the right direction." This is another important milestone for our ElemX technology and we look forward to working with an innovative and visionary organization like Siemens. Together, Siemens and Xerox Elem Additive Solutions will enable our customers to confidently produce parts on demand and make the most of new opportunities to increase supply chain agility.” said. nine0003

This collaboration provides Xerox and Siemens with an early access opportunity to share advances in digitization solutions and automation software designed to impact the distributed manufacturing model. Siemens has become a new member of the Xerox Manufacturing Partner Network (MPN) and continues to be a leading and trusted partner in the additive manufacturing industry. ”

Rosman “For RIT, he has already been a great partner in helping us develop our additive liquid metal analysis technology. We believe that the installation of ElemX at the AM Print Center will be essential to the further development of our solution.” “Partnerships with leading research centers such as RIT and collaboration with manufacturers will also be key to broader industry adoption of our technology.” said. nine0003

Siemens Industry, Inc. Tim Bell, Head of Additive Manufacturing "We are excited to join forces with Xerox and help industrialize additive manufacturing through digitalization." “By working with Xerox, we bring Siemens' years of proven experience and technology in automation to additive manufacturing, which helps customers use critical manufacturing tools in their future manufacturing strategy,” he said. nine0003

Professor of Industry and Systems Engineering and Denis Cormier, Director of the AMPrint Center at RIT specializes in additive manufacturing technologies. Cormier aims to be a pioneer in the development of innovative 3D printing technologies that will impact the additive industry. Cormier, “Liquid metal AM is technology ready to produce spare aluminum parts on demand to minimize inventory costs.” AM technology. "We believe ElemX has the most potential for industry growth and scalability." said. nine0003

RIT installation at the AM Printing Center, two other advanced research centers dedicated to expanding the use of metal AM in manufacturing. Naval Postgraduate School and Oak Ridge National Laboratory It is based on previous ElemX installations.

ElemX is a safer and simpler metal 3D printing technology that brings supply chain sustainability to the transportation, aerospace, defense and industrial industries. So far, the ability to consistently and reliably print aluminum on a 3D printer has challenged the market. Unlike other metal 3D printing technologies, ElemX does not create hazardous metal dust and does not require PPE or other important safety precautions. Designed to streamline the supply chain process, ElemX is ideal for spare parts, repairs and low volume production. nine0003

XJet to Introduce NanoParticle Jetting at RAPID 2016

News

Israeli company XJet, famous for its Inkjet liquid metal 3D printing technology, will take part in the RAPID 2016: 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing exhibition, which will be held in Orlando, Florida, USA, May 16-19.

Every year, the RAPID conference brings together all companies related to the field of 3D printing, scanning and additive manufacturing. It is here that XJet is going to demonstrate its NanoParticle Jetting technology to the public for the first time. nine0003

“NanoParticle Jetting technology is the fruit of many years of work by our developers and scientists, including many PhDs,” says Hanan Gotheit, CEO and founder of XJet. – This is an important discovery in the field of additive manufacturing, which has received more than 50 patents. We have managed to overcome many challenges that were previously beyond the power of humanity, and we are extremely proud of the results of our work.”

As the name implies, this technology is based on the use of metal nanoparticles loaded into special cartridges. These cartridges are then inserted into the XJet system and the nanoparticles are passed through the spray nozzles, i.e. 3D printing material does not need to be touched by hands, which means there is no threat of contamination with toxic substances. Liquid metal passes through the nozzles at a rate of 221 drops per second. The finished metal product is lightly sintered and the supporting structures are removed. It is important that this whole process requires almost no operator intervention. nine0003

The company describes the new technology as follows:

  • Details: Particle size and ultra-thin material layers allow fine detail to be transferred and thin-walled products to be produced.
  • Scattering: XJet system printheads deposit ultra-thin layers of liquid droplets of metal nanoparticles. The ink is enclosed in sealed cartridges, which guarantees a high level of safety and ease of handling.
  • Design freedom: support materials can be easily removed to create highly intricate designs. nine0072

The company guarantees the high quality and speed of its system. With XJet NanoParticle Jetting technology, you can create neat metal products with the smallest details and a perfectly even surface.

“We are excited to show our technology at RAPID,” says Dror Danay, one of the XJet representatives. “The RAPID conference is a great starting point for bringing NanoParticle Jetting to the global market, which is just missing this technology for manufacturing metal parts with complex shapes and fine details.” nine0065

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