May 9, 2017
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation
TNSC and Optomec Announce Alliance to Bring Complete Solution
to Metal Additive Manufacturing Industry
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (TNSC), one of the largest suppliers of industrial,
specialty, and electronic gases in the world, today announced a strategic alliance withOptomec, a leading global supplier of production grade additive manufacturing (AM)systems for 3D Printed Metals and 3D Printed Electronics. This strategic alliance will
enable TNSC, and its subsidiary Matheson, to resell Optomec LENS 3D printers as part ofa total AM solution offering including gases, powder feed stock, and metal heat treatment
techniques, and Optomec to expand LENS product sales by utilizing TNSC group sales
network in Japan, US and Asia. As part of the alliance, TNSC has also made a capital
investment in Optomec.
In addition to industrial gases, TNSC is also a leading supplier of metal welding solutions,which can be considered the basic building block of most of today’s metal printing
technologies. TNSC will leverage its unique expertise in welding processes, metal heat
treatment and controlled gas atmospheres to help lower costs, streamline production andeliminate defects for additive manufacturing customers globally. TNSC organizes
dedicated technical team for Additive Manufacturing Technology at its gas application
R&D lab in Yamanashi, Japan, and will feature an Optomec LENS printer to be used for
applied technical support, demonstration services, and creation of innovative and efficient
Additive Manufacturing solutions. This will be the first integrated Metal Additive
Manufacturing Technology Lab in Asia and will be supported by technology alliances withvarious industry partners.
The Optomec LENS family of 3D metal printers have been used in industry for almost twodecades to cost-effectively produce, repair and rework high-performance metalcomponents in materials such as titanium, stainless steel, and nickel based superalloys.
LENS printers use the energy from a high-power laser to build up structures one layer at atime directly from powdered metals. The resulting fully functional material offers
excellent mechanical properties often equal to or better than wrought. LENS 3D Metal
printers are used throughout the entire product lifecycle for applications ranging fromMaterials Research to Repair and Rework to Low Volume Manufacturing. For more
information on LENS, click here.
1About Optomec
Optomec is a privately-held, rapidly growing supplier of Additive Manufacturing systems.
Optomec’s patented Aerosol Jet Systems for printed electronics and LENS 3D Printers formetal components are used by industry to reduce product cost and improve performance.
Together, these unique printing solutions work with the broadest spectrum of functional
materials, ranging from electronic inks to structural metals and even biological matter.
Optomec has more than 300 marquee customers around the world, targeting production
applications in the Electronics, Energy, Life Sciences and Aerospace industries.
LENS (Laser Engineered Net Shaping) is a registered trademark of Sandia National
Laboratories. Aerosol Jet and Optomec are registered trademarks of Optomec Inc.

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