In the world of 3D printing, advanced manufacturing and speeding said building parameters are an utmost necessity as better formulations of printers and software unfold. But one such variation on the contemporary 3D printing concept is a rather shocking and forwarding new tool in the space of advanced manufacturing techniques: a swarm of 3D printing robots via a company called AMBOTS.
Autonomous manufacturing is what the budding startup calls its sophisticated device, which seems to power through all sorts of varied creations without so much as a small hiccup. The company has been around since 2015, led by the guise of Dr. Wenchao Zhou, whose codenamed AM3 Lab is where the magic of its swarm 3D printing array occurs.
AMBOTS, which literally stands for Autonomous Mobile roBOTS and Advanced Manufacturing roBOTS, builds all kinds of varied concepts with its 3D printing prowess. The company itself even explains on its own About page:
"This technology aims to automate manufacturing with a swarm of smart and autonomous mobile robots, from everyday products to houses and infrastructures, just like how a swarm of bees or wasps would work together to build their nests, the swarm of smart mobile robots can work together to print and assemble products based on digital models on demand."
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AMBOTS shows off this very "swarm" in its most recently released video in its advanced glory. Utilizing a newly developed 3D printing swarm, called the SCARA arm, AMBOTS was able to print out a test model of a flexible snake design. As of yet, the entire 3D printing process itself still remains a proof of concept, with the potential of being utilized later in the future on more advanced and sophisticated construction projects.
Late last year, AMBOTS received a remarkable $1 million federal grant under the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Award. The goal of this award is to ensure small businesses and startups can eventually reach their potential and better profitability pathways and gain some much-needed outward press. In that same article, AMBOTS chief mechanical engineer, Zach Hyden, relayed incredible enthusiasm for the future of the device:
"With SBIR Phase II funding we aim to advance development of the AMBOTS platform and swarm printing technology to a commercial product release by the end of 2023."
As of yet, there is no word on if or when said the commercial product could be witnessed or tested, but the company seems to be pushing bounds in areas of more specific manufacturing procedures. AMBOTS likewise has remained a private company, with all but a mere two investors backing the startup's full potential. Via its newly devised cooperative printing tech and more robust software integrations, AMBOTS inc. is assuredly on to something grand in the world of advanced manufacturing.
