Arcam’s shares are up 530 per cent in the space of a year as interest in the company’s
EBM metal additive manufacturing technology grows.
Reuters
reports that the Swedish company – whose clients include GE Aviation, Boeing
and the CSIRO – has seen its share price “rocketing ahead” of other companies offering
3D printing technology.
Much of the
interest has come from aerospace and medical companies. This week, for example,
Arcam announced the sale of units to a leading Chinese implant maker and a major US aerospace industry client.
Richard
Hague from Nottingham University said that technology offered big advantages
for aerospace manufacturers, because if “you can design
different you can therefore lightweight something,” he told Reuters.
“For aerospace if you can
lightweight something then you can save fuel and make it a massive cost saver
over the life-time of the aircraft.”
Arcam’s
market value is approximately $US 790 million and it employs 70.
The CSIRO’s
Arcam additive manufacturing facility opened in 2012 and, according to its
website, was the southern hemisphere’s first.
It made
news this month when it created a titanium model dragon. It has also been used on
projects including titanium horse orthotics and giant bugs.
Image: 3ders.org