The British company Rapid Fusion is working with Applied Automation to drive forward the industrialization of its hybrid large-format 3D printer Medusa. The aim of the partnership is to make the printer, which has so far been operated as a prototype, available for commercial use in production environments by early 2026. Both companies are pooling their expertise in development, assembly and quality control with a focus on series production.
Medusa is based on a portal structure and combines several production technologies in one system: a pellet extrusion module, a classic filament print head and a CNC processing tool. This configuration enables the processing of large-volume plastic components, which are typically required in the aerospace, automotive and construction industries. The print area covers 1.2 cubic meters and the maximum travel speed is 1,200 millimeters per second, according to the manufacturer.
“We are fantastic at innovating and developing new technology that is changing the way companies adopt additive manufacturing,” explained Martin Jewell, Chief Technical Officer of Rapid Fusion. “However, we are not set-up to manufacture the solutions we create in low to medium volumes, which is where our relationship with Applied Automation really comes into its own. Our initial robot systems – Apollo and Zeus – have been developed in partnership so it made perfect sense to give Paul and his team the opportunity to build Medusa.
The aim is to take some of the early production costs out of the equation by streamlining design for manufacture and then developing an assembly line that will take just six weeks – from start to finish – to build each model. This gives us a great opportunity to be first to market and live on shopfloors by March 2026.”
In terms of technology, Medusa is complemented by Siemens motion control components and AI-supported control systems. Rapid Fusion sees the collaboration with Applied Automation as an opportunity to standardize the manufacturing process while reducing production costs through optimized design-for-manufacturing. A dedicated production line is being built in Plymouth with a target lead time of six weeks per system.
Paul Rowe, Director of Applied Automation, picked up the story: “Our job is all about taking fantastic technology and working out how we can serialise it at a cost and speed that works for Rapid Fusion and, importantly, the marketplace. The facility in Plymouth is packed full of equipment and over 200 control system experts, toolmakers and manufacturing professionals that all work together to help bring the outsourcing process to life for customers.”
He went on to add: “For Martin and his team, we will take on most of the build, final assembly and testing. The aim is to have two pre-production machines ready in the next few months to help fine-tune the process, followed by the first commercial systems to be ready in the first quarter of 2026. Compliance is really important for Medusa and, by tapping into our service, it immediately gives the machine approvals with CE marking and UL508a, the latter is so important for the North American market.”
Rapid Fusion is planning a sales volume of at least five million pounds in the first year and expects further growth through new international distribution agreements. Manufacturing in the UK is to be expanded in the long term and remain regionally based.
Jake Hand, Managing Director of Rapid Fusion, concluded: “This is the first time an industrial printer of this speed and size has been made in the UK, so we’re delighted to keep serial production on these shores and even better in the South West. Applied Automation is a world class manufacturing partner and will play a pivotal role in helping us hit £5m sales from Medusa in the first year. This is just the start, as we’ve also just agreed reseller agreements in new parts of the globe – this could accelerate revenues very quickly.”
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