Industry
Metal 3D Printing Poised to Enter the Value Chain
2026-11-05
Saba Steel & Rolling Company and the MSTID Fund announced a partnership on November 4, 2026, to advance the localization of additive manufacturing technology. Arash Hajipour, Technical Manager at Saba Steel & Rolling Company, said at an "Additive Manufacturing" roundtable hosted by IRASIN that the two parties have launched joint research and evaluation in this field. Mohammadreza Momtaz, Deputy for Investment and Corporate Governance at the MSTID Fund, also attended the meeting, which examined additive manufacturing technology and the opportunities facing Iran's steel industry from technical, economic, and investment perspectives.
Hajipour said Saba Steel & Rolling Company launched a product portfolio expansion plan about seven years ago and has expanded its manufacturing grades from 5 to more than 100. He noted that the superalloys, stainless steels, and metal powders required for 3D printing face multiple constraints, including availability, pricing, and import lead times; in some cases, procuring the powder needed for 3D printing equipment takes about six months and is costly. Traditional manufacturing methods, especially for complex parts, require multiple production and finishing steps and often generate substantial raw material waste. By contrast, 3D printing enables high-precision, fast production of complex parts fully to end-customer specifications and supports single-unit or small-batch production without the need to reach a specific output volume to spread mold design and manufacturing costs.
Hajipour said the global technology trend is shifting from producing raw materials in plate or billet form and then processing them through multiple forming and finishing steps to directly manufacturing final products through 3D printing. Against this backdrop, combining steel companies' capabilities with venture capital and technology development capabilities can lay the foundation for building a local additive manufacturing value chain. Metal powder, as the raw material for 3D printing, is a key link in the development of local additive manufacturing.
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金属3D打印即将进入价值链
Saba Steel & Rolling Company与MSTID Fund于2026年11月4日宣布合作，共同推进增材制造技术的本地化。Saba Steel & Rolling Company技术经理Arash Hajipour在IRASIN主办的“增材制造”圆桌会议上表示，双方已启动该领域的联合研究与评估。MSTID Fund投资与公司治理副手Mohammadreza Momtaz一同参会，会议从技术、经济和投资层面审视了增材制造技术及伊朗钢铁业面临的机遇。 Hajipour介绍，Saba Steel & Rolling Company约七年前启动产品组合拓展计划，已将制造牌号从5种扩展至100种以上。他指出，3D打印所需的高温合金、不锈钢和金属粉末面临获取、定价和进口交期等多重约束，部分情况下采购3D打印设备所需粉末耗时约六个月且成本高昂。传统制造方法尤其针对复杂零件需多道生产和精加工工序，常产生大量原材料浪费；而3D打印可实现高精度、快速且完全按终端客户规格制造复杂部件，并支持单件或小批量生产，无需为分摊模具设计和制造成本而达到特定产量。 Hajipour表示，全球技术发展趋势正从以板材或坯料形式生产原材料、再经多道成型加工和精加工步骤，转向通过3D打印直接制造最终产品。在此背景下，钢铁企业能力与风险投资及技术开发能力的结合，可为建立本土增材制造价值链奠定基础。金属粉末作为3D打印的原材料，是本土增材制造发展的关键环节。