Methods 3D opens seven U.S. additive manufacturing labs

Methods 3D Inc., a newly formed subsidiary of Methods Machine Tools Inc., Sudbury, Mass., has completed additive manufacturing laboratories in each of Methods Machine Tools’ seven technology centers: Sudbury; Detroit; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Phoenix; San Francisco; and Los Angeles.

The labs are outfitted with 18 printers including direct metal printing, select laser sintering, stereolithography, and multijet models running 14 different materials. Staffed by salespeople, application engineers, and service technicians, each site also has postprocessing equipment such as EDM, CNC machining, automation, and inspection to help manufacturing professionals explore ways to design and produce their components using 3-D technology integrated with conventional methods.

The firm has added personnel to support its new infrastructure, appointing James Hanson as COO. He served as Methods Machine Tools’ director of corporate development from 2007 to 2015.