Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is OU Additive?
We are a Metal Additive Manufacturing company developing our own technology to tackle challenges like high entry costs, unsafe material, and long production times with low volume. OU Additive was founded in 2018, originally as an Asteroid Mining company, but has changed course in 2021. The team is lead by William and Simon Henman, two young Canadian entrepreneurial brothers.
What does OU Additive stand for?
OU Additive is the mixture of two things: the short version of the word OrbitingUp, the old name of OU Additive. The second part of the name comes from Additive Manufacturing since OU Additive is developing an Additive manufacturing technology.
What is Additive Manufacturing or 3D Printing?
Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D Printing is a process where products are built layer by layer, usually starting from the bottom. This type of manufacturing is different from traditional manufacturing, also called subtractive manufacturing. Subtractive manufacturing is turning solid blocks, bars, or rods into a smaller product through the removal of material.
What is Metal Additive Manufacturing?
Metal Additive Manufacturing (Metal AM) is the process of building metal products layer by layer. Other types of AM exist, ranging from polymers, ceramics, and even Carbon Fibers. Traditionally, Metal AM machines used powders and a high-energy source like a laser to melt and fuse the powders together, layer by layer.
What types of Metal AM Machines exist?
Since the invention of the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) or Selective Laser Melting (SLM) method by EOS, multiple new methods have helped grow this new industry faster. Technologies like Electron Beam Melting (EBM), Metal Binder Jetting, Powder Direct Energy Deposition (Powder DED), Digital Light Polymerization (DLP), and more have been developed to compete against the SLM method. However, they still need to compete with the impressive 24% share of global revenue by the SLM method. OU Additive is developing its own technique, called Fused Liquid Metal Deposition (FLMD).
How much does Metal Additive Manufacturing cost?
Metal Additive Manufacturing has a large range of costs, depending on the need. For production level machines, you could be looking at anywhere between $500,000 to over $1,000,000. For desktop machines you could have in your garage, they lie closer to $100,000. Some do exist that are lower than $50,000, but they don’t provide the quality nor speed an average person would expect with that price tag. The machine isn’t the only costs, if you’re interested in learning more about the costs of Metal Additive Manufacturing, download our Whitepaper, here:
What is FLMD printing?
Fused Liquid Metal Deposition (FLMD) is the technology being developed at OU Additive. By using Liquid Metals and Wires, OU Additive is developing a fast and affordable entry-level production machine to help businesses manufacture affordable products faster than ever before with Additive Manufacturing.
What’s the difference between Powders and Wires?
Metal Powders and Metal Wires are too very different set of materials. Metal Powders are generated using very specific techniques that usually only generate a usable yield of about 30-40% of the total yield generated from the manufacturing. This low yield creates an extremely high price for most metal powders, costing anywhere between $100-300 per kilogram. For wires, the process is a lot simpler and has a yield of almost 100%, if not 100%. This higher yield and simpler method mean most metal wires are sold for cheap, at anywhere under $50 per kilogram.
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