The ability to deliver engineered solutions for real world moulds and tooling is helping an Exeter-based technology specialist record another year of growth.
Rapid Fusion, which is based in a £750,000 state-of-the-art demo facility on Sky Park, has seen demand for its large format additive manufacturing solutions increase again, with domestic and international sales secured for its Apollo, Zeus and Medusa products.
This string of orders has taken revenues past the £2m mark for the first time in its three-year history and lays the foundation for the company to accelerate the roll-out of its latest solution – Cerberus.
Debuted at Formnext in November last year, the latest innovation brings purpose-built containerised manufacturing to the fore, with every millimetre designed for rapid deployment, rugged operation, and uncompromising performance.
It is intended for use in isolated areas, from arctic oil platforms and desert forward bases to disaster zones and remote construction sites.
Jake Hand, Founder of Rapid Fusion, commented: “There has been a lot of disruptors entering the 3D printing world and promising to print lots of one-off, unrealistic products that don’t really make commercial sense.
“We’ve instead looked at how we build our solutions so they are 100% focused on creating usable manufacturing parts that will go into automotive, aerospace and, increasingly, into military and life-saving applications.”
He added: “That’s what has really paid off for us and helped us to grow in what has been a very challenging time. Our core robotic systems – all designed, developed and built in the UK – have enjoyed strong sales, and now Cerberus promises to be the gamechanger.
“With our expansion plans beginning to materialise this year, we are in an immediate position to create five new engineering, design and software roles, with a further four jobs required by the end of 2026.”
Rapid Fusion, which now offers 3D printing services from its Exeter facility, is looking to maximise the interest it received at Formnext, where a global audience enjoyed the debut of Cerberus.
Designed to be container-native, the deployable hybrid manufacturing system provides access to a build volume of 1200mm3 with a pellet throughput of up to 17kg per hour and 3kW of continuous spindle power – ideal for both 3D printing and CNC machining.
It thrives on supply chain independence, where resupply could be in months and not days. With this in mind, the system offers bulk material compatibility so any local polymers can be used, benefits from dual independent heads to ensure zero downtime and operates up to 500°C for advanced composite production.
Getting started couldn’t be easier. A single power 5-pin commando socket is all that is required, with Cerberus coming with its own self-levelling system to compensate for uneven terrain and automated start-up sequence for system verification and calibration.
Martin Jewell, Chief Technical Officer at Rapid Fusion, picked up the story: “We thought it was going to be popular, but the response at Formnext and what has followed has been phenomenal.
“They fact we can deploy such a high-quality hybrid manufacturing system in just 25 minutes is unheard of and we’re currently in negotiations with several organisations keen to be among the first purchasers of this technology.
“Parts can be made on our system for rescue drones, safety critical parts for oil and gas, vital medical equipment in disaster zones and replacement bits for vehicles operating in some of the most demanding terrains in the world.”
He concluded: “There has even been talk of creating dedicated manufacturing cells that will accelerate the scale-up and delivery of Cerberus.”
Rapid Fusion has announced initial plans to take on additional space, with the possibility of extending its manufacturing space over the next twelve months.
