Humans have been casting metal parts in essentially the same way for thousands of years. This means pouring molten metal into molds, often made of compacted sand and clay.
There's a reason this ancient method is used today. Sand casting is inexpensive and suitable for both ferrous, ferrous-based metals, and non-ferrous metals. However, there are also some unnecessary disadvantages. This technique requires more metal than is needed for the finished part, and although the scrap is usually recycled, energy is wasted by melting the excess metal over and over again. 3D printing has emerged as an expensive alternative generally reserved for prototypes and low-volume parts.
One of the startups, Magnus Metal, is working on a metal casting technology that it claims is as fast and energy efficient as 3D printing at a cost that is competitive with sand casting.
“Over time, as machines become more reliable and more utilised, I think even less simple parts will be able to be competitive,” said Magnus Metal co-founder and CEO. Boaz Vinogradov told TechCrunch.
For simple parts, sand casting remains advantageous, but for complex parts like gearboxes, Vinogradov is confident his company can compete on cost.
To manufacture these parts, Magnus Metal borrows elements from sand casting and 3D printing to perform so-called digital casting. Before the casting process begins, the company's software slices the design into multiple layers. The company then utilizes the negative of that shape to create ceramic foams ranging from 4 to 20 mm thick. This will hold the metal in place until it cools.
In a casting machine, metal is melted and dripped onto a ceramic base. Once the layers are complete, add more metal. Each subsequent layer dissolves the previous one, ensuring that the layers bond together while also allowing impurities to float to the top, Vinogradov said. The melting and mixing of the layers gives the parts a lower defect rate and is 10 to 20 percent stronger than traditional cast parts, the company says.
Magnus Metal plans to sell customers not only its machines, but also the proprietary ceramics used to make the bases. Vinogradov added that the goal is to generate recurring revenue of $500,000 to $1 million per machine.
“If you just sell machinery, it's going to be cyclical,” he says. “We manufacture the ceramics ourselves, because to create the layers we need ceramics that can withstand several impacts from molten metal.”
Although Magnus Metal's layer-by-layer technology is similar to 3D printing, Vinogradov said his company's approach is faster and helps reduce costs. Each ceramic base can also be reused, but the number of parts is limited. And unlike his 3D printing, which typically requires specific raw materials, Magnus Metal said its system can use materials specified by the customer.
According to Magnus Metal, this method does not require expensive tools to create the base, unlike sand casting molds. This means customers can manufacture parts more cost-effectively with lower production volumes compared to traditional casting, the startup says.
Manufacturing industrial machinery like this doesn't come cheap, which is why Magnus Metal has raised $74 million in Series B funding, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The round was led by Entrée Capital and Target Global, with participation from Awz Ventures, Caterpillar Ventures, Cresson Management, Deep Insight Ventures, Discount Capital, Essentia Venture Capital, Lip Ventures, Lumir Ventures, Next Gear Fund, and Tal Ventures.
“this [round] Industrialization will begin this year, and beta testing will begin next year,” Vinogradov said. “The goal is to use this funding to produce extremely robust industrial machinery that has been fully tested by our customers.”