In 2021, AME-3D, UnionTech’s latest UK customer, added 2 brand new SLA 3D printers to their fleet, aiming to meet the increasing demand for additive manufacturing services in the local market. This equipment rapidly increased and diversified the company’s service capability.
About AME-3D
AME Group was founded in 1996 to offer 3D printing services to manufacturers based in Sheffield, UK. Since then, the company has expanded to offer low volume 3D printing services to manufacturers, engineers, industrial product designers and blue-chip companies across the UK. Originally the company started with wax-based additive manufacturing machines used to create tools for casting, then it gradually added other 3D printing equipment and is now offering SLA, SLS, vacuum casting and RIM casting capabilities.
In 2021, a £750,000 investment from NPIF-Mercia Equity Finance empowered AME to embark on a new period of growth, enabling it to hire new staff, acquire new equipment, and launch two new brands, the first of which is AME-3D. The new brand has performed strongly since its inception and established itself as one of the leaders in its field.
Cooperation with UnionTech
AME-3D currently has two UnionTech machines, RSPro 800 and Pilot 450, both are SLA printers, with which their SLA build volume has increased by eight times. Both machines have a solid granite recoater frame giving them unrivalled thermal stability.
RSPro 800 is among the largest SLA 3D printers in the UK and is capable of building components with 800 x 800 x 550mm dimensions and a layer thickness from 0.07-0.25mm. AME-3D finds it perfect for large size and high precision demands of different applications, such as large automotive rapid prototypes, form, fit and function prototypes, wind tunnel testing models, medical and healthcare devices, film and TV props and many more.
This SLA machine is a first in the UK and uses Somos EvoLVe 128, the durable stereolithography material that produces robust, accurate, and high-detailed parts.
With smaller dimensions, the Pilot 450 is capable of building between a layer thickness of 0.05-0.25mm and components up to 450 x 450 x 400mm in size. It is capable of fine detail builds and is well-suited to meet precise demands of different applications such as medical grade components, super high-definition scale models, accurate vacuum and RIM casting masters, form, fit and function prototypes, wind tunnel testing models and many others.
The materials running on this machine are Somos® Waterclear Ultra and Accura Xtreme Grey.
Rich Proctor, Managing Director from AME 3D, remarks “These UnionTech machines are brand new to us, and they are really exciting. The 450 is bigger than our previous machines. There is a 450 mm square bed and it builds 400 high. The 800 will build on an 800 mm square bed and 550 mm high, taking us vastly beyond where we were previously and enables us to build very large, single piece components.”
“A great example of what we can build in our UnionTech 800 is currently on the bed. It is an engineering prototype for a customer that is going to diecast the part, but they want to get this engineering prototype to make sure that the part does everything that it needs to before they go to production.”
Being the newest member of the AME-3D management team, Rich is confident about the future. “AME-3D has got an amazing team. We’ve got over a hundred years of experience under our belts, and we have lots of experience of taking customers from concepts through to final products, and we can help any company move their product from start to finish.”
