Legor Group SPA, headquartered in Vicenza, Italy, is a manufacturer of premium metal alloys, plating solutions and precious metal powders catering to the jewellery, luxury goods and fashion sectors. With the launch of its new 3D Metal Jet Printing Service, the company is promoting a new way of creating jewellery and fashion accessories by exploiting the full potential of metal Additive Manufacturing.
The 3D Metal Jet Printing Service is part of the Legor’s 3D Metal Hub, a division launched two years ago whose goal is to experiment and produce jewellery, fashion, and industrial components using metal Binder Jetting (BJT) Additive Manufacturing technology.
Partnering with HP Metal Jet
Through collaboration with HP, Legor is reported to be the first Italian company to introduce its Metal Jet technology for full-scale production. This provides an exclusive Additive Manufacturing service for developing new solutions in a variety of sectors, from the jewellery and fashion industry – Legor’s core business – to potential applications in the automotive, aerospace, and electronics industries.
Legor believes that its 3D Metal Jet Printing Service could benefit the entire manufacturing sector. Applications include rapid prototyping, the production of complex geometrical parts, the reduction of material waste and related costs, and the ability to manufacture parts with different functions in a single object, thereby reducing assembly needs. It also offers cost savings for complex parts or low volumes and promotes greater sustainability.
Powder production
In anticipation of further widespread adoption of Additive Manufacturing in the jewellery and fashion sector, Legor has developed its own range of metal powders under the Powmet brand. The range of certified metal powders is reported to be produced using an exclusive atomising process that enables perfectly spherical, extra-fine and homogeneous particles to be obtained, featuring uniform chemical composition and low levels of impurities.
Currently, Legor can produce parts in steel (316L, Panacea nickel-free, 17-4 PH), bronze, silver (925) and platinum (950). The company’s next step will be Additive Manufacturing with 18-carat gold.
Encouraging AM adoption
In addition to the production opportunities in terms of agility and sustainability, the intent of the 3D Metal Jet Printing Service is to encourage more players in the manufacturing sector to rethink the entire production process, revolutionizing it in every single phase, both in the realization of objects and in the concept, design, and aesthetic enhancement possibilities.
Thanks to Additive Manufacturing, designers, first and foremost, can create objects that are currently not even possible to produce with other technologies, thus expanding the boundaries of creativity. In this sense, Legor has promoted its ‘Beyond Extraordinary’ concept – an invitation to think beyond the ordinary, outside the box, to shape the future through innovative methodology within an increasingly dynamic and evolving market. The company is spreading this message through and workshops aimed at the manufacturing sector.
Through the 3D Metal Jet Printing Service and showcasing the potential of AM, Legor explains that it is positioning itself as a catalyst for innovation in the jewellery and fashion accessory sector. It sees its role as being able to facilitate the integration of cutting-edge technology with the artistic and creative vision of designers, bringing exceptional and personalized metal products to the market.