Today we made a press release to Swedish press about being selected for the corporate development program Swedish Scaleups, where established companies with large growth potential will benefit from custom made support for maximum growth. VBN is an alumnus from the incubator UIC (Uppsala Innovation Centre), one of the top five incubators in the world according to UBI Global. As a part of Swedish Scaleups, UIC will now be able to support VBN with specialist knowledge within areas such as law, economy, marketing, leadership and technology, while keeping the balance between growth, recruitments and cashflow. Below is the full press release in Swedish.

PRESSMEDDELANDE 9 JUNI, 2020

VBN Components ökar takten med Swedish Scaleups

Uppsala-företaget VBN Components är en pionjär inom 3D-printing i metall som utvecklar nya legeringar med extrem nötnings- och värmetålighet. Nu har VBN antagits till programmet Swedish Scaleups, som hjälper innovativa bolag i östra Mellansverige att växa ännu snabbare.

VBN Components tillverkar extremt nötningståliga och värmetåliga metallkomponenter och verktyg för industriellt bruk. Produkterna tillverkas enligt kundritning och färdigställs genom en patenterad 3D-printingsprocess. Kunderna ser materialbesparingar på upp till 87 %, samtidigt som många produkter kan ges förbättrade egenskaper med integrerade kylkanaler, ökad livslängd och lägre vikt. De färdiga metallegeringarna med varumärket Vibenite®, har exceptionell nötnings- och värmetålighet. Genom åren har det visats att komponenter som tillverkas i Vibenite® har påtagligt längre livslängd än de som görs av traditionellt framställda metaller. VBN är ensamma om att erbjuda 3D-printat stål med högt karbidinnehåll, och 3D-printar även industrikomponenter i hårdmetall, som enda företag i världen.

Företagsinkubatorn UIC (Uppsala Innovation Centre) ingår i Swedish Scaleups, som stöttar innovativa bolag i östra Mellansverige att växa ännu snabbare. Scaleup riktar sig till mogna bolag som är redo att skala upp på allvar och satsa mot en kraftig tillväxt. Programmet är helt branschoberoende och skräddarsys efter företagens behov med fokus på kapitalanskaffning och internationalisering. Tillsammans erbjuder tio företagsinkubatorer och science parks en unik tillgång till skräddarsydd support för att snabbare skala upp företagets verksamhet.

” Vi är otroligt glada att VBN Components ser värdet av att delta i Swedish Scaleups. Det är ett spännande bolag med en hållbar och innovativ affärsidé samt goda förutsättningar till snabb tillväxt. Vi ser fram emot att följa deras framgångsresa”, säger Michael Camitz, projektledare Swedish Scaleups/UIC.

Genom programmet kan VBN Components få tillgång till anpassad specialistkunskap inom områden som juridik, ekonomi, marknadsföring, ledarskap och teknik. Målet är att gå från kunder som är Early Adopters till en massmarknad, samtidigt som man behåller balansen mellan tillväxt, rekryteringar och cashflow.

”Att ha blivit antagna till Swedish Scaleups ligger helt i linje med vår tillväxtplan. Ett företags tillväxt kan beskrivas som en samling geometriska figurer som behöver placeras i marknadens tidigare, olikformade hål. Swedish Scaleups hjälper till med precisionen och hur vi kan ta genvägar”, säger Ulrik Beste, Teknisk chef på VBN Components.

*** UNFORTUNATELY METAV HAS BEEN POSTPONED BY THE ORGANISER DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS ***

Press release 25 February 2020

Swedish VBN Components is a pioneer in the metal 3D printing industry. For more than a decade the company has developed new materials with extreme wear and heat resistance. From 10-13 March you can have a closer look at their innovations like cemented carbide, the world’s hardest steel and multi material printing in the Additive Manufacturing Circle at METAV Düsseldorf, Germany.

Metal 3D printing has many advantages. It is far more environmentally friendly than traditional industry, and it makes product development almost as fast as you can come up with a new design. More complex shapes are possible, followed by new functions for industrial components. 3D printing with a high level of carbides was long considered “impossible”, but VBN Components has made it its niche, and thereby redefining the notion of wear resistance for industrial components.

Vibenite® materials are offered with a hardness between 58–72 HRC. Very fine and well-dispersed carbides make them both tougher and multiple times more wear resistant than traditional alloys. Components and tools are printed according to customer designs and may contain up to 65 vol% of carbides, depending on which Vibenite® material the customer has chosen. For multiple properties in the same component, one Vibenite® material can be printed upon another, or upon a traditional material, which is called Vibenite® Combo.

Since December 2018 VBN offers the cemented carbide Vibenite® 480, that combines the toughness of powder metallurgical high-speed steels (PM-HSS) with the heat resistance of cemented carbides. The carbides (65 vol%) are fine and well-dispersed, giving a structure with higher toughness than traditional cemented carbides. Long-term hot hardness has been measured to 750° C for this corrosion resistant material with a hardness of ~66 HRC.

“Many organisations with great resources are aiming at developing 3D printed cemented carbide that can actually be used for industrial components, but VBN Components is the only one that has actually succeeded”, says Dr.Ulrik Beste, Chief Technical Officer.

Today there are five materials in the Vibenite® portfolio. They are all based on metal powder produced through large scale, industrial gas atomisation, minimising both costs and environmental impact. In 2017 the material Vibenite® 290 attracted great attention. It has a carbide content of 25 vol% and its hardness of ~72 HRC gave it the name “the world’s hardest steel”. The alloy’s unique properties make it suitable for any type of application where wear resistance and hot hardness are important, for instance cutting tools.

Vibenite® 350, a corrosion resistant material with a hardness of ~60 HRC is ideally suited to plastic processing tools as well as pump impellers or valves, where there is a requirement for both complex shapes and high performance. The toughest material of the portfolio, Vibenite® 150, is ideal for tool holders, cold work applications or plastic materials processing tools. Like all Vibenite® materials, it can be used to increase wear resistance in your current applications.

For cutting applications like gear hobs, broaches or shaper cutters, Vibenite® 280 is a suitable choice. It has proven to raise production capacity for industrial tools, for instance in gear box production, where production cost was reduced by 30–40% by changing to Vibenite® gear hobs. Extreme erosive resistance has also been noted in other type of customer applications.

Press release 5 November 2019

The market for additively manufactured (AM) components with new metals increase each year. VBN Components in Sweden develops the most wear-resistant metals on the market. These will now be machined and analysed in project MacAM.

To optimise post processing of VBN Components AM-materials, project Machining of AM components – MacAM is about to take off. Financed by Sweden’s innovation agency Vinnova, the project will be executed with partners Swerim, Sandvik Coromant and 3M. VBN’s metal materials increase lifespan and performance of components and may reduce production cost significantly. Now machining techniques are expected to improve by 40%, which will encourage more companies to take the leap towards additive manufacturing.

– New extremely hard and wear-resistant materials can be produced with AM technology and enable more efficient solutions. It has, however, been difficult for industrial players to adopt the new technology, due to lack of experience and understanding of the machining process of the new, super hard materials, says David Franklin, researcher at metals research instituteSwerim. 

The AM process minimises material use and allows new, advanced structures with for instance cooling channels and reduced component weight. However, the surfaces of a 3D printed component need to be machined in order to achieve the required tolerances and smoothness. Samples of VBN’s carbide rich materials with raw surfaces will be analysed and machined in a well-controlled environment. From these results a guideline with recommendations will be created, which has long been requested by the metal industry.

– Today there is a knowledge gap considering grinding and post processing of AM components. We are looking forward to this project which will give new recommendations for tools and knowledge about post processing, which is most important for industrial adoption of AM, says Ulrik Beste, CTO of VBN Components.

PRESS RELEASE 17 SEPTEMBER 2019

The winners of German MM Maschinenmarkt‘s innovation award have been announced at the EMO in Hannover, one of the world’s largest engineering fairs. Swedish VBN Components brought home the award in the category of additive manufacturing.

At the EMO in Hannover, more than 2,100 exhibitors from 47 countries are currently meeting to showcase their innovations and products to the fair’s 130,000 visitors. The official fair magazine is produced by German MM Maschinenmarkt, which also awards its innovation prize at the fair. The nominees compete in the categories machine tools, additive manufacturing, precision tools, software, production and process automation, measurement technology and quality assurance.

The award ceremony was held on September 16^th and VBN Components was announced winner of the category of additive manufacturing, with its 3D printed cemented carbide Vibenite® 480. Only products that are ready for sale could participate. Innovations should also have been launched within the last 12 months.

“What a start to the fair! It feels wonderful to get this international recognition for our innovation. Germany is a very interesting market, where we now get a huge exposure through MM Maschinenmarkt”, says Martin Nilsson, CEO of VBN Components.

PRESS RELEASE 2 SEPTEMBER, 2019

VBN Components exhibits 3D printed cemented carbide at EMO Hannover

For Swedish VBN Components, exhibiting at the EMO fair in Hannover will be the great launch for the patented alloy Vibenite® 480. As the only company in the world, VBN 3D prints fully functional components in cemented carbide with EBM technology.

In December 2018, VBN Components declared that it could 3D print cemented carbide containing 65% carbides, which is unparalleled in additive manufacturing and considered “impossible” by some. Since then, the company has received much attention and has more than doubled the number of unique visitors at its website. The next step is to showcase Vibenite® 480 at the EMO fair in Hannover, Germany on 16-21 September, in the Additive Manufacturing Circle, Hall 9. VBN will give two “Expert talks”, on 18 September at 11am and on 20 September at 2pm. The innovation has been highlighted on the EMO website as one of the most important new technologies of the fair.

Vibenite® 480 is based on metal powder produced through large scale, industrial gas atomisation, minimising both costs and environmental impact. The material combines the toughness of powder metallurgical high-speed steels (PM-HSS) with the heat resistance of cemented carbides and has therefore been named hybrid carbide. The carbides are fine and well-dispersed, giving a structure with higher toughness than traditional cemented carbides. Long-term hot hardness has been measured to 750° C for this corrosion resistant material with a hardness of ~66 HRC.

 “EMO Hannover is the perfect event to showcase our technology. We will meet with experts in the metalworking field from different parts of the world to discuss how our 3D printed cemented carbide can improve performance in components and overall production,” states Ulrik Beste, CTO and one of the founders of VBN.

The innovation enables rapid product development of components like gear hobs and rock drills; in a couple of months you can create a product with higher wear resistance, new geometries or reduced weight. Since the production method is not limited by machining, pressing or sintering, your imagination is the limit. The efficiency of 3D printing also makes it far more environmentally friendly than traditional methods.

In the Vibenite®-portfolio there are five materials: three high-speed steels, one martensitic stainless steel and one cemented carbide, with a hardness between 58–72 HRC. Like the other materials, the cemented carbide is patented, the manufacturing process included. It is niched both towards applications where steel is normally used, but where production efficiency can increase by switching to cemented carbide, as well as towards cemented carbide applications with complex geometry.

Practically this means that metal cutting tools which today are manufactured from steel bars, could be replaced with the hybrid carbide, making it possible to run the tools much faster, thanks to higher heat resistance. In addition to complex shapes, it is also possible to produce much larger components in one piece, with Vibenite® 480, than with traditional cemented carbide technique. This increases the number of possible applications and makes it easy to manufacture prototypes; you can print 1, 10 or 1000 components from one or more drawings. The corrosion resistance opens up for components like woodworking tools, paper knives, or usage in the food industry.

Watch the video about Vibenite® 480!

PRESS RELEASE 28 JANUARY 2019  

VBN Components wins lengthy patent battle against Uddeholms

Swedish company VBN Components has won a lengthy patent battle against Uddeholms AB. The dispute began in 2013 when Uddeholms contested VBN’s first patent regarding high purity in high carbon content materials and was settled in December 2018 at the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich. The Boards of Appeal ruled in favour of VBN Components and dismissed Uddeholms’ request to revoke the patent.

-We are, of course, very pleased to have confirmed at the highest instance that our material technology is ground-breaking and with full IP protection, says Ulrik Beste, CTO of VBN Components AB.

To protect its IP rights, VBN Components has collaborated with IP law firm Brann AB.

-We have built an incredibly strong team together with Brann AB and we want to thank them for their contribution. Our successful collaboration and Brann’s ability to understand the technology has been crucial to win the case. This feels reassuring for future patents and patent applications, continues Ulrik.

PRESS RELEASE 3 DECEMBER 2018

A hard metal (cemented carbide) produced in a shape of the customer’s choice, without sintering or cutting. Minimal material waste. A patented alloy that is heat resistant up to 750°C. After years of research, VBN Components is the first company to succeed with this innovation.

VBN Components, the company that gave us ”The World’s Hardest Steel” in 2017 is now launching yet another milestone within materials development. After years of research the patented hard metal Vibenite® 480 is now ready. The alloy is corrosion resistant and also extremely heat and wear resistant. The fact that it is produced by additive manufacturing / 3D-printing is absolutely ground-breaking. It enables complex shapes for industrial tools and components and reduces environmental impact to an absolute minimum.

“It is a particular kind of joy for me, as a material developer, to introduce such ground-breaking news within the area of hard metals. We turn the page in the book of Swedish material history”, says Ulrik Beste, PhD Materials Science and Tribology, CTO of VBN Components.

Increased productivity and reduced environmental impact

Vibenite® 480 is based on metal powder produced through large scale industrial gas atomisation. This minimises both cost and environmental impact. The new material combines the toughness of powder metallurgy high speed steels (PM-HSS) with the heat resistance of cemented carbides, which is why this new group of materials is named hybrid carbides. Within 3D-printing it has long been a wish to produce alloys with high carbide content. VBN Components now proves, more than ever, that they master this technique. Their Vibenite® 480 has a carbide content of ~65%, making it tougher than regular hard metals and therefore suitable for more complex details.

Drilling, milling and turning are no longer needed. Mixing of powder, drying and pressing becomes redundant. Vibenite® 480 is niched both towards applications where steel is normally used, but where production efficiency could increase when changing to hard metal, and also towards hard metal applications with complex geometry.

Practically this means that metal cutting tools which today are manufactured through machining of steel bars, could be replaced by the hybrid carbide and run with higher speed, thanks to higher heat resistance. As mentioned, complex shapes is one of the benefits when 3D-printing Vibenite® 480, but you can also produce much larger objects in one single piece, than with traditional hard metal technique. This increases the number of possible usage areas and makes it easy to make prototypes; you can print 1, 10 or 1000 items from one or several prints.

“We have learned an enormous amount on how to 3D-print alloys with high carbide content and we see that there’s so much more to do within this area. We have opened a new window of opportunity where a number of new materials can be invented”, says Martin Nilsson, CEO of VBN Components.

VBN Components’ technology enables significantly shorter lead times and increased performance, as well as environmental benefits through large material savings and fewer transports. The material is well adapted for products with extreme demands of wear and heat resistance, such as tools for thermoforming, diecasting, cutting and woodworking. Rock drilling is another evident application where VBN Components has already started a collaboration with Swedish company Epiroc.

VBN Components will invite ”early adopters”, those who wish to be the first to enjoy the benefits of this technology, to a web conference. If you have an interest to participate, or want to know more about the material, please email: info@vbncomponents.com

Click here to watch the video about the new material.

The new type of hard metal Vibenite® 480 can be seen as a diamond in the rough. The final product takes shape through the design of the customer, enabled through additive manufacturing.

Drill bits in Vibenite® 480; collaboration with Epiroc.