Mitsubishi Corp Technos and Sumitomo Electric collaborate in contract manufacturing

August 17, 2023

Mitsubishi Corporation Technos (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Masataka Shimazu) and Sumitomo Electric Industries began a partnership in July for contract manufacturing of mass production parts using metal 3D printers. Mitsubishi Corporation Technos uses the third-generation “H3” (=photo) machine from General Electric (GE) of the U.S., with which it has a distribution agreement for sales in Japan. The H3 uses the binder jet (BJ) method, in which metal powder is solidified with a binder and sintered, and features a faster modeling speed than the laser powder bed method commonly used in general metal 3D printers. It is said to be able to improve productivity by 50 to 100 times and significantly reduce manufacturing costs.

With the ability to produce large parts up to 250 mm in diameter, Mitsubishi Corporation Technos also intends to leverage the production expertise of Sumitomo Electric Industries, the world’s leading manufacturer of sintered parts, for contract manufacturing of parts for automobiles and industrial machinery.

The company plans to carry out prototyping and development without the use of molds, mainly for high-value-added parts with designed shapes that are difficult to produce using conventional methods, and to accept orders for mass-produced parts in the future. They also plan to establish a joint venture company next year or later.