Specialists at the Technopark Prototyping Center in St. Petersburg have unveiled a Sokol-1 3D printer capable of using metal as a printing material. The information comes from Petersburg Diary, with the center director, Sergei Varlamov, providing the core details.
Varlamov explained that Sokol-1 was designed to produce intricate components for a recently demonstrated exoskeleton showcased to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Norilsk. The device enables a person to lift loads up to 65 kilograms with noticeably less effort, reflecting a potential leap in assistive technologies for heavy lifting tasks.
The principal challenge lies in forming metal parts. It is not feasible to craft such components from stainless steel through traditional methods other than additive manufacturing. Casting offers no viable solution, and conventional milling falls short as well. These constraints pushed researchers to rely on 3D printing as the only practical route for these geometries and tolerances.
Varlamov noted that the printer operates on a laser-based printing principle similar to established systems. The feedstock is a fine metal powder, and the laser fuses material layer by layer, building the desired shape from the base upward. The work occurs inside a chamber filled with argon, an inert gas that prevents oxidation during heating and helps preserve material properties throughout the build.
The development and construction of Sokol-1 by the St. Petersburg Prototyping Center spanned roughly a year, a period marked by careful design iterations, material science testing, and system integration. Remarkably, once the design matured, fabricating the exoskeleton parts took only two days, highlighting a dramatic acceleration in part production for high-precision, custom components.
Varlamov described the printer’s speed as exceptionally rapid, underscoring the potential to streamline production timelines for complex metal parts used in advanced assistive devices. The center emphasizes that while technical readiness exists, large-scale industrial deployment warrants careful planning, including process control, supply chain considerations, and quality assurance measures to ensure consistency across higher-volume runs.
Looking ahead, the Technopark team is prepared to support companies working on exoskeleton manufacturing, offering expertise and access to the Sokol-1 platform. However, leaders stress that this approach should be paired with prudent production strategies and validation steps before mass adoption.