泰坦机器人,一个总部位于美国的制造商of large-scale 3D printershas teamed up with Nigerian Foundries, one of the largest foundries in Africa, to install a machine to assist their industrial metalworking. The foundry will now use this this machine to quickly produce components such as sand-casters, valves, pumps, machine housing and impellers for the country’s booming oil industry.
Clay Guillory, founder and CEO of Titan foundries travelled to the Nigerian Foundries in Lagos last year to personally oversee the installation of the Atlas printer. He was contacted by the foundries’ owner Vassily Barberopoulos, who wished to bring additive manufacturing into the business for tooling, prototyping and part production.
泰坦在各自领域
泰坦巨人n Robotics was founded in 2014 in Colorado Springs. It has since created large, multi-gantry printers such as the Cronus powered by埃舍尔项目，，，，which began as a project at Autodesk’s Pier 9 workshop, and also creates custom printers made-to-order. As well as building printers for smallerlocal industries，，，，they work internationally.
到目前为止，撒哈拉以南非洲的3D印刷已经由南非主导，，，，with entrepreneurs fromTogo，，，，乌干达和卢旺达applying the technology housing and medicine. Guillory, noting the potential of large scale printing in Nigeria said that “people are ready to compete on a global scale here…this place has a lot offer and it’s an up and coming country.”
尼日利亚铸造厂成立于1969年作为一个小——n foundry, is now a large metalworks with two operational plants. The company was conscious of the need to boost the local economy in accordance with the Nigerian Local Content Act. They also wished to produce components to international standards, and to reduce production time. Titan Robotics’ 3D technology was consequently introduced.
Barberopoulos指出：“利用这种高端技术使我们进入了全球的国际标准班，这意味着我们可以与全球任何其他铸造厂竞争质量，标准和产出”。
改善过程
After the introduction of 3D printing, production time has halved. The quality of castings has significantly improved as the foundry used to carve patterns and tools out of wood by hand.
Barberopoulos解释说，雕刻方法需要一个多月，从设计到创建木制图案，然后施放。现在可以在48小时内制造一个图案零件（而不是数周），并且通常在一周内生产一个月半的产品。
For more on 3D Printing across the continents, sign up to out daily通讯，像我们一样Facebook并跟随我们Twitter。
Our featured image shows the Atlas 3D printer at Nigerian Foundries. Photo via Titan Robotics.
