INSPIRE. IGNITE. INNOVATE.

St. Paul, MN (December 1, 2020) — Matsuura USA will exhibit the Matsuura LUMEX Avance-25 metal laser sintering hybrid milling machine at North America’s largest additive manufacturing event, RAPID + TCT, April 26-29, 2021 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL

“Matsuura is excited to showcase our ‘one-machine, one-process’ manufacturing solution,” at RAPID + TCT, where industry-accelerating products are presented,” said Tom Houle, Director, LUMEX, NA.

Houle, is a featured speaker at the event. He will present: Employing Metal Additive to Supercharge your Injection Mold Tooling April 28, 2021 at 11:35 am.

Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc.’s Tom Houle is an experienced Manufacturing Professional with a demonstrated history of success in the tooling and plastics industry. He is skilled in new product development, Program Management, Sales and Business development, new Technology adoption and Manufacturing systems and experienced with in-mold sensing and monitoring to measure mold and part performance. Houle has nearly 30 years of continuing experience in the injection mold and molding industry developing turn-key projects for customers all around the globe.

In his role as Director, LUMEX NA for Matsuura USA, Houle leverages his experience in operational excellence and continues to develop a cutting-edge, innovative U.S. presence for Matsuura’s Hybrid AM Manufacturing solution. He inspires a culture of continuous improvement by defining goals, developing strategies, implementing systems and measuring performance results for the LUMEX product.

Houle has more than 30 years of experience in the mold industry, new product development, engineering solutions, along with his interpersonal skills, business acumen and a passion for manufacturing solutions shows in his passion for the Matsuura LUMEX technology.

Houle earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Matsuura will exhibit the Matsuura LUMEX Avance-25 metal laser sintering hybrid milling machine, a powder bed metal AM platform with subtractive machining capability in Booth 2831 at the event. The machine combines selective laser sintering (SLS) along with high speed milling (HSM) commonly called Hybrid AM.

The Avance-25 relies on one-machine, one-process manufacturing of complex molds and parts by fusing metal laser sintering technology with high speed milling technology. The Hybrid technology creates a “finished” part with machined surface finish and accuracy, without inducing the additional variation caused by multiple machine set-ups and part handling.  

The Avance-25 achieves the highest accuracy in part fabrication since metal powders are melted and sintered via laser, while surfaces are precisely milled at high speeds.

3D cooling channels can be incorporated into molds in the single setup, thereby increasing cooling efficiency and enabling high-cycle injection molding with high quality and precision, reducing costs, and improving efficiency.

The Matsuura LUMEX Avance-25 enables differentiated original parts production with internal structures, in a method that has never been possible nor imagined. It is capable of quick-turn production of custom parts, including prototypes and small production run parts.

The Matsuura LUMEX Avance-25 can process parts and molds up to 256 mm x 256 mm x 185 mm with an option allowing processing of 256 mm × 256 mm × 300 mm. The Matsuura LUMEX Avance-25 serves predominantly the high value, high accuracy mold and die market. Dies and molds with very complex geometries can be fabricated in one piece with high accuracy, shortening lead time and reducing manufacturing costs to a half or even a third of conventional methods.

Appointments may also be made at Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc.’s LUMEX Additive Manufacturing Facility in St. Paul, MN. Located in the company’s 38,000-square-foot headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, the facility houses LUMEX Avance-25 and LUMEX Avance-60 machines available for demonstration.

Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc., located in St. Paul, MN is the U.S. subsidiary of Matsuura Machinery Corporation in Japan. Since 1935, Matsuura has been the forerunner in designing innovative technology and manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries around the globe. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. delivers unmatched excellence in 5-axis, vertical, horizontal, linear motor, multi-tasking CNC machine tools and machines with a powder bed metal AM platform with machining capability. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. provides the service, applications and technical field support that have always been the Matsuura standard for business. For more information on Matsuura products, contact: [email protected].