Vertex adds a Xerox ElemX to its roster of metal 3D printers

After the ElemX melts aluminum wire, electromagnetic pulses around the outside of the melt pool “squeeze” the pulses back and forth, and individual drops of molten metal exit the nozzle at the rate of hundreds of drops per second. Xerox

Elem Additive Solutions ElemX metal printer. Vertex, a PrinterPrezz company headquartered in Cincinnati, will use the 3D printer to build aluminum parts for customers.

According to Xerox, the 3D printer builds parts from cost-effective aluminum wire, minimizes postprocessing, features the company’s liquid metal technology, and can be operated without modification to the user’s facility.

In addition to the new Xerox machine, Vertex operates metal printers from GE Additive and Velo3D, along with a Fortus FDM for additively manufacturing thermoplastics and assorted CNC metal-cutting machines.

PrinterPrezz, which acquired Vertex in November 2021, is a medical technology company focused on combining 3D printing and nanotechnologies to address the needs of the spine-device market. Vertex serves companies in the medical, aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and consumer markets.

(The ElemX was introduced in late 2020 and represents Xerox’s entry into the 3D printing field. To learn more about the first machine the company put in service, click here.)