Ultra-High-Precision Metal Additive Manufacturer Yunyao Shenwei Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Funding Led by Sequoia

Metal Additive Manufacturing Developer "Aixway3D" completed its multi-million-dollar angel round of financing in 2021, led by HongShan, Shenzhen High Tech Investment Zhengxuan Angel Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership), and PNP. This round of financing is intended for product development and the establishment of the founding team. The Pre-A round of financing is expected to open in mid-2022 and will be used for product development, team expansion, and market outreach.

Metal Additive Manufacturing, commonly known as 3D metal printing, has developed numerous technical routes since the 1990s. Currently, L-PBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) and similar methods are the mainstream technologies in the market. Metal additive manufacturing directly performs CNC-controlled layered melting and casting based on the finished 3D model, forming the product in a single step without the need for complex mold-making as in traditional metal casting or step-by-step component manufacturing followed by complex assembly, which results in significant material loss during the process. Theoretically, metal additive manufacturing holds an advantage over traditional metal casting in producing highly complex metal components, making it highly anticipated by the industry.

However, due to the highly complex physical process mechanisms involved in metal additive manufacturing, different metals possess varying physical properties. The outcomes of metal additive manufacturing are systematically influenced by factors such as metal material engineering, powder-laying and melting process technology routes, scanning path planning algorithms, process parameter settings, and other auxiliary equipment. As an emerging process, metal additive manufacturing has several key areas that require further optimization.

First, the precision and surface finish of metal additive manufacturing need improvement. While traditional metal processing can achieve micron-level accuracy, the manufacturing precision of metal additive processes remains limited to a range of tens to hundreds of microns. Additionally, the surface roughness stays approximately within the Ra7-20 micron range, falling short of the mirror-like smoothness achievable with traditional metal processing.

Secondly, due to the unique layer-by-layer manufacturing principle of metal additive manufacturing, the printing efficiency is not high, which makes it difficult to reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, cracks and pores are generated during the printing process due to factors such as residual stress and heat-affected zones, leading to metal fatigue problems. These issues also need to be addressed through continuous in-depth research and process improvements. With technological advancements, the mature application scenarios of metal additive manufacturing have expanded from mainly small-batch R&D trials into fields such as aerospace, medical devices, and molds.

"We hope to focus on the mass production of small, high-precision, complex functional parts by achieving high-precision metal additive manufacturing, forming a complementary relationship with traditional metal processing and partially replacing it in certain scenarios," founders Shen Liyaowei and Yin Yijun told 36Kr.

Aixway3D was founded in 2021, primarily providing full-process chain solutions for L-PBF/SLM technology, including small to large batch printing services for various metals, customized 3D metal printing equipment R&D, and high-performance new metal powder material printing process R&D services. Printable metal materials include nickel-based, titanium-based, iron-based, cobalt-based, heavy metal tungsten, precious metal gold, and more. Founder Liyaowei Shen previously served as a senior research engineer at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Germany, the invention institution of laser metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technology LPBF/SLM, where he studied under the inventor of LPBF/SLM technology for many years.

Aixway3D currently achieves ultra-high precision of 2-5 microns, which represents an order-of-magnitude improvement compared to the tens to hundreds of microns previously achieved in metal additive manufacturing. "One of the most important technical challenges of ultra-high precision printing is achieving perfect printing with ultrafine powders below 10-20 microns," the founding team told 36Kr.

Photo provided by Aixway3D

Due to the tendency of ultrafine powders to form cluster effects, causing significant challenges in the powder-laying process for metal additive manufacturing, powders below 15 micrometers have traditionally been screened out. Aixway3D’s self-developed powder-laying system employs comprehensive technical methods to reduce the attraction between powder particles, ensuring a high-quality, one-time completion of the powder-laying process. Additionally, the company's self-developed new gas delivery device provides uniform, turbulence-free inert argon gas to the forming chamber during both powder laying and melting processes, protecting the powder while precisely removing vaporized and atomized metal substances generated during melting.

The second technical challenge of ultra-high precision printing comes from the precise control of ultra-fine laser spots. Aixway3D's optical system can currently achieve spot control with a diameter of 20 microns. Due to the high printing accuracy of manufactured components, slight fluctuations in equipment output power may cause instability in the spot range and heat, leading to unexpected metallurgical mechanism effects near the spot, which prevents the planned process path from achieving the desired forming results.

Photo provided by Aixway3D

"Given a control current, say 10 milliamperes, even the laser output power of the same model of equipment from the same manufacturer will have slight fluctuations each time, which is unacceptable in ultra-high precision molding. Therefore, we conduct very strict debugging and index control on the output power of each laser device, and form a floating adjustment," the founder said.

Moreover, Aixway3D has achieved a surface finish of Ra0.8-1 microns, mainly due to efficient process planning that converts the 3D model of the metal product into the optimal manufacturing strategy, including structural design, slicing selection, parameter setting, and print path planning. An excellent path planning strategy not only ensures better geometric accuracy and smooth surfaces but also reduces residual stress, minimizes brittle cracks and porosity, thereby enhancing stability. "Our process planning also enables most structures to be printed freely without supports at angles above 10 degrees."

"The achievement of high precision and high smooth surfaces allows us to focus on this niche and leverage the advantages of metal additive manufacturing." The founding team believes, "In the manufacturing of small-sized, high-precision complex structural components, such as a 5-millimeter-diameter metal component with intricate multi-porous and multi-channel interiors, our high-precision one-step forming process in terms of cost and efficiency can compete with any traditional metal casting process of equivalent precision."

Photo provided by Aixway3D

Aixway3D also provides customers with customized equipment and process R&D services, mainly considering the relatively blank market of metal additive OEM in China. In terms of equipment R&D, it primarily relies on Aixway3D's self-developed core modules such as optical systems, preheating systems, and material engineering reserves for the development of mother machines, and conducts limited custom development based on product characteristics like thickness, porosity, length, and width. Additionally, regarding customized R&D services, Aixway3D first evaluates whether the targeted application scenarios are broad and whether they will benefit subsequent productization and standardization to balance the investment in customization.

"The early customers are still in industries like aerospace and medical, where L-PBF has already gained acceptance, allowing us to accumulate more benchmark customer cases. We have also started collaborations with industries such as semiconductors and new energy, where metal additive manufacturing has yet to make inroads. We look forward to achieving larger-scale commercial implementation in these sectors," the founding team added.