AMFREE: a new start-up in additive manufacturing

Becoming one of Europe’s leaders in 3D printing for the manufacture of large metal parts is the ambition of the start-up AM FREE, founded in July 2023.

It is the fifth spin-off created by IREPA LASER. It is based on the WLAAM metal 3D printing technology developed by IREPA LASER over more than 3 years. With start-up capital of €440k from a group of private investors, together with IREPA LASER, AMFREE aims to shake up the small world of DED additive manufacturing with a very compelling promise: to provide equipment solutions that can be used safely by as many people as possible. This is why the notion of service as close as possible to the user plays a predominant role in the spin-off’s business model.

Beyond the equipment: strengths and a promise of results

To develop the use of this more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technique, AMFREE intends to provide its partner customers with a complete package, comprising not only the additive manufacturing machine – two multi-process robots, each equipped with both a laser and an associated device – but also a software suite allowing easy implementation by non-specialists. “The aim is to be able to produce these large parts locally, to make them easier to transport. Building them up by adding material also makes them easier to repair”, says Nicolas, CEO of AMFREE. For AMFREE, this involves a great deal of pre-production work, carried out in close collaboration with future customers. For this qualification work, the young company relies on a cooperative technical platform created with IREPA LASER within its Additive Manufacturing Plant.

6 machines by 2026

AMFREE should sell its first solution during 2024. 3D scanning options to check part quality upstream, together with a new kind of associated process monitoring, will quickly complement its “standard” offering. The aim: to offer increasingly autonomous and intelligent solutions.

The service market for metal additive manufacturing is expected to be worth close to €8bn in 2026. By then, the sector will have around a hundred large-format 3D printers in Europe alone. AMFREE hopes to supply 6% of this market. To stay in the race, the ambitious start-up, currently incubated at Semia, is preparing its first funding round.