The 10 Most Innovative 3D Printing Solution Providers 2019 by Insights Success Media

VOL-03 March-2019

ISSUE-09

Editor’s Pick The Impressive Impact of Organic Networking

Revenue Tips SaaS Can Create Business Developments with Different Revenue Streams

ELKEM SILICONES

World’s Leading Fully Integrated Silicone Manufacturer

Frederic Jacquin Senior Vice President

E A Great Technology Never sells itself, It sells Dreams

D Printing!

One of the most intriguing pieces of technology since 1980s! Yes! It’s not a new technology; back in 1981 Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute published his account of a functional rapid-prototyping system using photopolymers. Since then the technology slowly entered in its adolescent years (1999-2010). Entering the millennium was definitely a thrilling part, especially for people like me, who were born in the 1990s and before. However, I don’t know about you guys, at that point of time I was completely clueless of this technology. Yes! I know many people can start trolling me for my ignorance, but the fact is, 3D printing started mainstreaming recently and more and more people became aware of it only after 2010. So, enough of the off topic discussion, let’s come back to the topic. 3D printing in the medical field can be easily used in order to produce customized prosthetics limbs. Currently, those who are in need for prosthetic limbs often have to wait for weeks, even months in order to get prosthetics through traditional routes. However, 3D printing speeds up the whole process, and costs much lesser than the traditionally manufactured prosthetics while keeping the same functionality. Due to the lower price point, 3D printed prosthetic is apt for children, who outgrow their limbs quickly. The best part is, a patient can also design his/her prosthetic limb as per the need and fittings.

“

Need anything? Just print it.

Kaustav Roy

Printing patient speciﬁc organ replicas that can be used to practice before performing complicated surgeries is another application of 3D printing. Eventually this technique is helpful in order to speed up surgeries and minimize trauma for patients. Slowly this practice is becoming popular and this has been performed successfully in various critical operations including full face transplant or spinal procedures. However, such innovations in the 3D printing industry wouldn’t be possible without its main players. Therefore in order to acknowledge some of the greatest contributors of excellence in 3D printing space, Insights Success has shortlisted “The 10 Most Innovative 3D Printing Solution Providers, 2019” Our Cover Story features Elkem Silicones which is a trusted partner delivering products and services with a personal touch for a more sustainable future. Also while ﬂipping the pages don’t forget to go through the articles written by our in house editors and CXO standpoints of notable industry personalities to have a brief taste of the sector. Happy Reading!

Contents 20

Allevi, Inc. Empowering others Design and Engineer 3D Tissues

Arkema A Designer of Materials and Innovative Solutions

IMADE3D Empowering Education with JellyBOX 3D Printer Kit

28 Kudo3D

Strengthening Businesses with High Resolution 3D Printers

MirrorMe3D

Trideus

XJet

Connecting Clients with Innovative Telecom Solutions

Enabling 3D Printing Professionals to Accomplish Their Goals

Providing Groundbreaking Metal and Ceramic Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Solutions

ELKEM SILICONES World’s Leading Fully Integrated Silicone Manufacturer

Cover Story

Tech Insider How Smart are Blockchain Smart Contracts?

16 Smart in Vision Be Smart – or Vanish Why Utilities need to actively develop smart Micro-Grids

Articles 22

42 Editor’s Pick

Revenue Tips

The Impressive Impact of Organic Networking

SaaS Can Create Business Developments with Different Revenue Streams

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Anish Miller

Executive Editor

Assistant Editors

Kaustav Roy

Jenny Fernandes Ishan Mittal

Visualizer

Art & Design Director

Associate Designer

David King

Amol Kamble

Kushagra Gupta

Co-designer Savita Pandav

Senior Sales Manager

Business Development Manager

Passi D.

Peter Collins

Marketing Manager

Sales Executives

John Matthew

David, Kevin, Mark, Shashikant

Technical Head

Business Development Executives

Jacob Smile

Steve, Joe, Alan, Vijay

Technical Specialist Aditya

Digital Marketing Manager Marry D'Souza

SME-SMO Executive Prashant Chevale

Research Analyst Patrick James

Database Management Stella Andrew

Circulation Manager Robert Brown

Technology Consultant David Stokes

sales@insightssuccess.com March, 2019 Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

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The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

ELKEM SILICONES World’s Leading Fully Integrated Silicone Manufacturer

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Elkem Silicones has more than 3,100 employees dedicated to providing silicone solutions with a personal touch that deliver your potential.

COVER STORY Frederic Jacquin Senior Vice President

“

We consider Innovation to be a part of our DNA and a key to our Company's pro itable growth.

oday, 3D printing (3DP) technology is acknowledged as the potential to revolutionize the way products are designed, manufactured and supplied. It has become an effective alternative in numerous ﬁelds related to engineering, agriculture, medicine etc. Especially in the ﬁeld of medicine, 3D printing can be applied to a great range of applications starting from developing tools to testing organs and supporting skeletal and neuromuscular disabilities.

chemistry solutions for AM/3DP requirements and speciﬁc applications. Elkem Silicones, a division of Elkem, is one of the world’s leading fully integrated silicone suppliers, operating 9 multi-functional manufacturing sites and 11 R&D centers around the globe.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the term used to mention the technologies that build 3D objects by adding layer-upon layer of material. AM is a part of the digital factory of the future. It is a disruptive innovation tackling all industry sectors and reshaping the entire value chain as there are evolving applications of AM technology to meet diverse needs. Silicones are the new class of materials used in 3DP and AM offering it new capabilities.

Headquartered in Lyon, France, Elkem Silicones offers customized services and a full range of silicone technologies for diverse and unique markets including aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer goods, energy, healthcare, paper, personal care and textiles. Over the years the organization has evolved from an innovative startup based near Rhone River to one of the world’s foremost fully integrated silicone manufacturers. It encompasses all processes from silicon metal treatment to the manufacturing of downstream applications, R&D laboratories, production sites and sales ofﬁces located in Europe, North America and Asia.

Being a 70 years old specialist in silicones design and manufacturing, Elkem Silicones provides tailored

Experience and Expertise Elkem Silicones has been an active contributor in the

silicone industry for about 70 years. It believes that making of quality silicone products begins by carefully listening to its customers and understanding their requirements. It then manufactures the right products, supplying its customers with customized formulations and unique silicone technology solutions. The organization also provides them with technical and regulatory support so they can comply with the highest national and international standards. Its dedicated team of experts is focused on customers’ needs, providing unique silicones solutions including products and services. A Comprehensive Range Elkem Silicones serves very diverse and unique markets, which ranges from energy to cosmetics, via electronics, aerospace, automotive manufacturing, construction, healthcare, advanced molding & printing, paper and textile coating, personal care and more. Its comprehensive range of silicone products includes release coatings, engineering elastomers, specialty fluids, emulsions and resins. Elkem Silicones’ customers know they can count on the organization to provide them with specific silicone products and state-of the-art applications that meet their needs and comply with their most demanding specifications. Tailor-made Solutions Elkem Silicones’ dedicated technical service and formulation chemists have expertise in many markets and applications. They are ready to help customers select the right products and solutions. It works to comprehend various needs of customers to determine the best solution for them. It continually invests in people, materials, hardware and software which allow the organization to develop further tailor-made solutions for its customers with a personal touch. Stepping Ahead with Dynamic Network Since 1944, Elkem Silicones has continuously sought to develop new technologies, new processes and new solutions to address its customers’ needs. In a flexible environment, it questions the status quo, generates new ideas and it moves one step beyond, in close cooperation with its customers. It enjoys moving faster through its dynamic network. Its open innovation culture is geared to respond effectively and rapidly to the needs of very diverse markets, today and in the future. It constantly sources innovation opportunities inside/outside the company to develop and commercialize new silicone technologies. It cooperates with a broad range of partners and experts throughout the world. This approach allows Elkem Silicones to quickly identify new technologies or work on new developments in existing technologies.

Evolving with Innovations Elkem has been developing an Open Innovation approach since some years. This has led to very active collaborations in Competency Clusters on a national and international level with renowned Universities, RDOs as well as industry partners. In the search for excellence these collaborations enabled the creation of partnerships and integration with several leading companies of the AM/3DP industry various ambitious projects for silicones in AM/3DP. This open mind set is also reflected in the fact that Elkem is testing different business models as a response to the fast evolving dynamics of economic environment allowing it to take advantage in the most appropriate way of existing as well as future business opportunities. The creation of an interdisciplinary team of international experts has allowed Elkem to pursue the AM/3DP project on a worldwide level taking into account the specific needs of the different parts of the world based on the shared foundations of expertise. Attractive Market Global megatrends like sustainability, energy demand and growth, rapid urbanization, increased standard of living, ageing and growing population, and digitalization create specific needs. All these trends open a huge market for Elkem Silicones. Main end-markets: · Paper & Film Release · Transportation · Silicone Rubber · Chemical Formulators · Personal Care · Textile · Energy (solar, oil field, gas) · Construction · Healthcare · Advanced molding and printing · Food and beverage Embracing the Open System Approach Beyond the traditional in-house R&D approach known in the chemical industry, Elkem Silicones has embraced the open system approach to drive innovation faster for over a decade. The organization is focused on understanding the interdependence of materials, process, machine and the final part. Customers look forward to a specific feature provided by silicones as an industry standard. Elkem Silicones offers specific intrinsic characteristics and properties as biocompatibility, temperature resistance, and UV stability by other chemistries giving unique advantage to the final product.

Utilizing the Potential of AM The requirements in different industries such as Healthcare, Aerospace, Automotive etc. need specific solutions. Elkem Silicones has the required experience to understand these specifics and develop the required solutions. It is ready to build the new competencies in the company and start from scratch. The organization believes in remaining focused and progress in structured manner in front of the vast potential for AM in complex and ambiguous environment. Different AM/3DP technologies request different types of silicone technologies and Elkem Silicones has the competency and has shown that it is able to meet these requirements. It understands the need to go fast in this type of emerging market and technologies and having an agile organization with a start-up spirit within a big multinational enterprise. While explaining about the company’s future aspirations, Frederic Jacquin, the Senior Vice President of Elkem Silicones mentions “3D printing will undoubtedly reshape the full Value Chain in many core industries.” “Silicones will be due to its outstanding properties one of the prime solution for our customers in the future. This is our role to make it happen, exploring technology options and fine tuning business models with our customers and partners.” adds Frederic. Refining Performance Parameters Elkem Silicones aims to continuously innovate in the areas like e-mobility, robotics, implants, 3D printing both in Europe, China and North America. It believes that AM has to provide added value versus today’s existing solutions. New features through material combinations achieve new performances or new designs. The use of silicones will allow the use of final material with its characteristics

reflecting the properties of the final parts thus increasing the likelihood to perform like the final part. Value Creation through Growth and Specialization Elkem Silicones’ outlook for specialty silicones looks promising. And its growth continues through its specialization with company sharing of expertise & captive use of available upstream capacity. The company has also made an attractive position in growing markets by creating a strong demand that is driven by electrification of transportation, better care, more wealth and digitalization. In parallel it has capitalized on industry fundamentals which have remained positive.

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We combine talents and expertise to build partnerships and develop creative value-added solutions.

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Valuable Lessons Learnt · Change in culture of a traditional material supplier needed · Need for interdisciplinary teams in front of the various challenges · Open innovation approach with external partners allowing to go fast and multiply experience · Historical knowledge in silicone chemistry and formulation as a sound base for the development · Industry sector know-how accumulated since a long time allows the translation of the expertise from materials and applications to the new requirements and opportunities to AM/3DP · Sharing the progress and success of the project as motivating factor for the innovation culture of the company.

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About the Author Khai Lin Chua, Co-founder and CFO, Fundnel. Khai Lin is the co-founder and CFO of Fundnel, a private investment platform that offers unlisted securities in growth and pre-IPO stage companies across industries to a qualied network of investors. She co-founded Fundnel to make a difference to small and mediumsized enterprises that experience insufcient access to growth and expansion funding. At Fundnel, she is primarily responsible for the company’s nancial and operational strategies, whilst providing foundation to a strong team of visionaries with her execution-driven work ethos. More than just a gatekeeper, she fulls the role of ‘leader-by-example’ with aplomb. Khai Lin has signicant expertise in banking and private investments, having had more than ve years of experience working at JP Morgan, Citibank and CIMB-GK Securities. She graduated with top honours from University College London (UCL) with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics degree. Out of the ofce, she is a passionate supporter of animal rights, clocking in hundreds of hours to marine mammal conservation and research projects.

Khai Lin Chua Co-founder Fundnel

|March 2019|

Tech Insider

How Smart are

Blockchain

Smart Contracts? T

he dizzying rise in the valuation of bitcoin has created significant buzz in the finance sector. While much focus has centred around the viability of bitcoin in financial systems, the technology that undergirds the cryptocurrency is steadily gaining mainstream acceptance.

Finance professionals were quick to recognise the potential of blockchain technology in making up the various shortfalls of the status quo. Today, we’ve witnessed the emergence of countless fintech start-ups providing services that leverage on blockchain, while banks are quickly working to integrate the technology into various aspects of its operations. Current financial systems around the world handle throughputs amounting to trillions of dollars on a daily basis, serving billions of consumers worldwide. Despite its importance, our global financial system is surprisingly antiquated. Many processes rely on legacy systems characterised by high volumes of paperwork and human involvement. This leads to additional costs, time delays, and increased risk in the form of human error and fraud. A PWC study found a boggling 45% of financial intermediaries to have been a victim of economic crime during the survey period. A key example would be the convoluted IPO process, where the involvement of many third parties raises costs in terms of both money and time. This presents barriers to entry for much needed growth capital as the resource cost is not something every SME can afford. Spearheading the Blockchain Revolution Blockchain technology provides a way to structure data and information securely with a digital ledger. Unlike conventional records, blockchain ledgers are not stored with any central authority, but across a network of computers viewable by the public, ensuring transparency and making it impossible for a single person to amend information. Amongst the most promising and novel uses of blockchain is smart contracts, a use case that stands out as one of the most innovative solutions built on blockchain technology which I foresee to feature strongly in the industry in the years ahead.

|March 2019|

Setting a New Standard for Financial Agreements In a nutshell, smart contracts are programmed contracts that automatically execute a set of pre-defined actions when a set of pre-determined conditions are fulfilled. Being self-validated, self-monitored, and self-enforced, automation enabled by smart contracts has several immediate benefits, some of which are as follows: 1)Risk Management With smart contracting, the execution of an agreement is taken out of the hands of a single party, relying instead on digital verification within a blockchain before an action is triggered. Any funds involved could be locked in escrow, and only released if pre-determined conditions are met. This helps to facilitate trust between the involved parties by removing any concerns about enforceability. 2)Shorter settlement cycles, at lower costs In traditional contracts, many financial intermediaries can be involved in the settlement process once a contract is concluded. Necessary liaison between the numerous intermediaries serves to lengthen the settlement cycle, and adds on to the total cost. The decentralised nature of a smart contract reduces the number of intermediaries from the equation, vastly reducing monetary costs and time involved. 3)Fraud Prevention Fraud is a common problem in the financial sector. Smart contracts can reduce the potential for fraud by virtue of having all financial movement and transactions digitally recorded on an immutable blockchain, bringing transparency to the table. Digital records also facilitate easier auditing and detection of suspicious behaviours that could indicate fraud. A tangible example of how contracts could benefit from the use of smart contracting would be that of companies raising funds on the secondary market. In this instance, the use of smart contracts lowers the risk involved for both parties by shortening the settlement cycle. This reduces the chances of any party experiencing financial distress, leaving them unable to uphold their contractual obligations. Another upside is that the business and investor both get their funds and shares in a shorter period of time, all at a lower cost. The Future of Smart Contracts in Finance However, it is important to note that smart contracts are by no means a magic bullet. The digital nature of these contracts mean that any oversight in the text of may have detrimental outcomes, as the terms cannot be freely interpreted unlike in traditional contracts, but only according to literal meaning. A cautionary example would be the Decentralised Autonomous Organization (DAO) case which saw a hacker making off with US$50m by exploiting a loophole in the terms of the smart contract. While the technology has admittedly yet to reach levels involving contracts of high complexity, its various benefits have the potential to revolutionise the way business is conducted. Smart contracts could definitely be used in instances where the scope or complexity is limited enough, such as sale of securities or insurance where conditions can be clearly defined. The large-scale adoption of smart contracts across the financial sector would likely require a need for regulatory oversight, which can jeopardise one of blockchain’s major selling points – autonomy from governments. It remains to be seen whether a compromise can be reached.

|March 2019|

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

Allevi, Inc. Empowering others Design and Engineer 3D Tissues

ost of us have come across the thought that, what if one could get a new kidney instead of waiting for a donor in case of a kidney failure? The idea of printing human organs that can replace the worn out or damaged organs has been a dream for scientists around the world. To date the dream to print a fully functional organ is still beyond the clouds, but the work is already underway to print tissues of various organs. Allevi, Inc., a Philadelphia, PA based company, is building tools to design and engineer with life. Allevi’s 3D bioprinters and bioinks are used by leading researchers all around the world to ﬁnd solutions to humanity’s most difﬁcult problems - to cure disease, to test novel drugs, to eliminate the organ waiting list, to build with life. Allevi’s mission is to make it easy to design and engineer 3D tissues.

Hence, the organization created its desktop 3D bioprinter to be the most versatile, powerful and easy-to-use bioprintering platform on the market. Since Allevi’s humble beginnings, it has grown to serve hundreds of labs in all corners of the world and has become the leader in the biofabrication revolution. The Creator As the Co-founder and CEO of Allevi, Ricky Solorzano guides the vision, strategy and day to day operation of the organization. He has been obsessed with tissue engineering for more than 10 years, and created the ﬁrst 3D bioprinter out of his dorm room. Ricky completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Bioengineering from University of Pennsylvania and worked as Research Assistant in University of Pennsylvania Health System and in Penn Engineering’s Tissue Microfabrication Laboratory. Later in 2014, Ricky Co-founded Allevi, to help scientist create more accurate hearts, lungs, and even brains in the lab.

Printers that can Print Cells When it comes to offering ground breaking products, Allevi offers four different products with different footprints and features; Ÿ Allevi 1: This printer uses the Clima-All-In-One extruder, autocalibration, UV and blue light LED photocuring and 5micron precision on X,Y,Z. Ÿ Allevi 2: This printer uses two extruders, that go either from room temperature to 70 degrees C and 160 degrees C, and 5 micron precision on X,Y,Z.. Ÿ Allevi 3: As the name suggests, this printer uses three Clima-AllIn-One extruders, Autocalibration and 1 micron precision on X,Y,Z. Ÿ Allevi 6: As you might have guessed, this printer comes with six Clima-All-In-One extruders, autocalibration, and, additionally, it has 1 micron precision on X,Y,Z, heated and cooled build plate, print monitor camera and extruder view camera. – the most powerful printer in its class.

|March 2019|

“ We believe democratizing access to the power of bioprinting and biofabrication will revolutionize pharmaceutical research and personalized medicine.

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Ricky Solorzano Co-founder & CEO

When the Specialty is to Print Cells As per the organization, the biggest challenge is definitely the symphony of things that need to work together to make the overall solution work. 3D printing is basically a mixture of robotics, software, and material science. For Allevi, it still uses robotics and software but its added layer of complexity is printing cells. Printing with life is truly where Allevi derives its specialty. The next step for the organization is to provide kits that are more tissue specific for drug testing. To achieve this we will need to work with biologist around the world. Medicine Driving in a Personalized Direction Allevi finds it interesting how the globe is moving to fulfill the demand of more personalized regional products, as well as the demand for sustainable products. The company believes, in this era of mass production, the new generations are much more concerned about the factors like where products are bought, who makes them, and how do they benefit not only themselves but the whole local community. According to Allevi, soon 3D

|March 2019|

printing will play a much greater role in providing these much more regionalized, sustainable products for new market demands. Nowadays, medicine is also driving in much more personalized direction. Informed patients comprehend that tailored medications will drive more efﬁcient and effective results for their treatments. This is particularly true when it comes to either more chronic or cancerous diseases. Therefore, 3D bioprinting will enable physicians to print out patient’s disease tissue to study drugs to understand the personalized prognosis for speciﬁc patients in a quick fashion. Likewise, physicians will also be able to print personalized therapeutics and medical devices in the future. Allevi believes the future of medicine is personalized, and it is excited to be foundational in catalyzing this revolution.

The

Impressive

Impact of

Organic

Networking T

he main reason for the invention of website, Internet and technology devices that provides the platform for software to run and connect with each other is mainly to make networking of services, products and people possible. Technology leaders such as Cisco, Arista and Apple are dedicating their resources to provide various business enterprises and the masses the ability to communicate their values through technology mediums called as Networking. The works and provisions of these organizations are very outstanding, and are believed to last for ages. This is because the growth of technology is not going out of style so soon, but rather it is believed to continue into the future. Technology networking strategies is good, but to make it more effective there is the incessant need to incorporate organic strategies. You may be asking what I mean by Organic Networking or Strategies. The organization that will survive in the market in the near future, considering the increasing rate of competition are the ones who take the necessary steps, to develop more human connection for their business, more than they do for machines such as provided by AI. The Factors to Consider for an Effective Organic Networking: Even as our age is encouraging more of technology strategies, if we must survive the future of it all, then we must connect more people, than we do for machines. As an

|March 2019|

Editor’s Pick

innovative networking solution provider, it is going to pay more, when you include human intelligence and physicality in your networking strategies over machines. Imagine a day that the machines are going to have a serious breakdown, and the owner organization do not have the capable persons to ﬁgure out the cause of the breakdown and possibly provide a feasible solution? What will be the fate of the organization? This means that, there will be a great loss of value and possibly a strike off the industry. I know you would never want that to happen. So, plan from now, to never pay for the loss in the future. Balance Your People to machine Deployment. Social Medias are for networking, Newspapers and various Medias are also for networking, but there are people behind the arc of this innovation. The more you incorporate AI and machine learning strategies, always remember the need for Control Engineers and those are human beings. The most successful organizations identify the major importance of |March 2019|

people networking and how best to utilize human intelligence in their business quest. For example; if you write an article and share it on a website, who do you expect to read your article; human beings or machines? It is obvious that the organic networking aspect of computing will never go out of style; else, there will be a day in the future that digital connection and values will be measured on the number of bots that read your articles and/or that paid for your services. So, remember to balance the rate of your people to machine deployment, by acknowledging the need of human networking over technology networking. The Need for Organic Sense in Networking and the Future: Technology is the miracle of our age, Artiﬁcial Intelligence is a major molding factor of this development, IoT is the liberator from machine isolation by providing the platform to interconnect millions of them over the virtual platforms, but humans make these things possible.

Networking is an innovative concept with high proﬁle technology terms. If one does not implore deep interest and concentration while exploring this realm, there may be a serious distortion of original motive of indulgence, and this can lead to serious breakdown of enterprise infrastructure. Sometimes, it maybe direct and other times, it will be indirect, but in all, it will always have an impact. The future of technology is very bright, and that is mainly dependent on how available we make the resources to help manage what we have today in the near future. For this to be possible, the networking solution providers must incorporate more of organic sense in their solutions and industry advancements. Technology will advance, more machines will be connected, devices will be programmed to run independently, but in all these things, the humans in the network will still rule the universe. The more organic you make your networking strategies, the lesser the fear of a disastrous future for your organization.

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

A Designer of Materials and Innovative Solutions

D Printing is a technology that helps to create 3D parts of varying complexity without using molds. Thanks to the technology, nowadays creating 3D parts has become cheaper and less time consuming. 3D printing is revolutionizing the way of production or manufacturing. With 3D printing, advanced materials and resins are used to produce objects using 3D printers, and Arkema is one of the leading suppliers of polymer solutions to the industry for every printing process, under its commercial platform named ‘3D Printing Solutions by Arkema’. With more than 20,000 employees and a turnover of €8.8B ($10B), the organization is present in 50 countries around the world. Clarivate Analytics has listed Arkema as one of the top 100 innovative companies in the world for 7 years in a row. Since 1988, Arkema has been providing its ground-breaking solutions to its customers whose markets range from automotive to aeronautics and from consumer goods to electronic industries. For the

expansion of application fields for 3D Printing, Arkema has developed a full network of partners along the value chain. Innovative Solutions Authorities believe at Arkema that the end users are technology and material agnostic – driven instead by performance and efficiency. This is why they offer a unique portfolio of polymer solutions to the industry for each and every major printing process, under a unique umbrella: ‘3D Printing Solutions by Arkema’. They offer three flagship material technologies, as well as a host of complementary chemistries. Engineered resins and custom liquid resin systems have been marketed

under the N3xtDimension® brand, which are being used for superior performance photocuring technologies. The Sartomer group of Arkema delivers a comprehensive range of products for optimum aesthetics including clarity, detailing and transparency. It also provides exceptional freedom of properties design as per market demand, such as dental and hearing aids. Newly developed N3xtDimension® engineered resins have achieved a specific targeted performance such as impact, flexibility, castability, and water solubility that enables advanced solutions for electronics, athletic shoes, and various other industrial uses. High performance polyamide 11 polymers: Rilsan® polyamide 11 resins are derived from 100% renewable and sustainable castor oil. These resins often demonstrate better mechanical and impact properties than polyamide 12 polymers which are typically used for prototyping. Polyamide 11 is now available for powder bed fusion technologies. It also enables 3D printed applications in demanding markets such as consumer goods and automotive. Ultra-High Performance PEKK polymers: Kepstan® PEKK (polyether ketone ketone) is one of the highest performing resins in the world which is available for powder bed fusion and filament technologies. This polymer family shows exceptionally good processability, and outstanding

|March 2019|

“ A culture of innovation, closeness to customers and a willingness to continually adapt to a changing world are part of Arkema’s DNA.

properties, when compared to other high performance polymers including PEEK. It pushes the limits for 3D printed parts in terms of strength, continuous use temperature (up to 260°C), dielectric properties, and durability. An Experienced Leader With strong experience in R&D, business development, and business management across various polymers and materials in the chemical industry, Guillaume de Crevoisier was recently appointed as the Global Business Director of Arkema. He has completed his PhD from Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris with Chemistry and an Executive MBA from HEC, Paris in Business Education. Under the leadership of Guillaume, the technologies being used in several Arkema businesses have been brought together under the “3D Printing Solutions by Arkema” commercial platform. He introduced a market message ‘Unlocking the next revolution’, and a simple complementary product and service offering across all major 3D printing processes. Instead of a product push approach, Guillaume has built Arkema’s message as an ‘a la carte’ market pull.

|March 2019|

“

Guillaume de Crevoisier Global Business Director

Maintaining the Market Culture Arkema takes speed and reactivity as the main challenges. Already with a spirit of innovation in its DNA, Arkema still has been obliged to learn to move more quickly with the demands of 3D Printing. For Arkema, the best way to keep up the speed parallel to the industry growth is to preserve close relations with customers and to embrace a culture of co-collaboration. The organization is playing a crucial role in bringing innovative chemistry and materials to 3D printing industry as it is transforming from prototyping to industrial manufacturing rapidly. Future Insights Arkema has a proven legacy in many of the world’s most demanding applications including deep-sea oil production, lightweight vehicle production, and world record setting sports shoes. It has a legitimate credibility with its end users and a proven track record of problem solving. With 3D Printing, Arkema plans to marry this legacy with the exciting future of new materials innovation and speed of collaborative development. The company strongly believe in the future of 3D Printing as a manufacturing technology and will continue to invest in our development excellence centers, and in new production capacity. Arkema is “Unlocking the Next Revolution” by marrying our proven legacy in many of the world’s most demanding applications, with the exciting future of new application needs, materials and collaborative development in 3D Printing.

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

IMADE3D Empowering Education with JellyBOX 3D Printer Kit

adi Goc is the Founder & Chief Visionary at IMADE3D. In this interview, he shares his company’s journey and insights about its specialized 3D printing solutions and services. He explains how they are developing unique 3D printing crash courses speciﬁcally designed for his printer that’s easy to build while maintaining a high print quality. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Ladi and Insights Success: What are the cutting-edge products/solutions offered by IMADE3D? We developed our JellyBOX premium 3D printer kit from scratch for education. Its unique construction allows anyone to build their own 3D Printer, from age 7 to 107. We designed JellyBOX as a ‘learning experience’ that can be repeated over and over. Our simpliﬁed construction method uses cable ties to hold it all together and this allows anyone to easily ‘un-build’ their JellyBOX and builds it again, for example with

another group of students. The cable ties also reduce vibrations that affect print quality. Last but not least, we sport a fully transparent design with colorful accents that make the printer feel more accessible and less intimidating to beginners and kids. We also provide build-your-own-3Dprinter training workshops for students, teachers and general public in schools, libraries, and Maker Spaces. In addition to our signature face-to-face workshops, we are continually updating our build instructions and freely publish them online so that anyone can build a JellyBOX at home. We have produced hundreds of photos and hours of videos JellyBOX users can access at any time, and we have a responsive User Forum. In 2018, we launched JellyBOX 2 - a thorough redesign of the original printer informed by hundreds of builds all over the world. JellyBOX 2 is faster to build, and easier to use and maintain, making it even more studentfriendly. Our latest upgrades even allow for wireless printing.

Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learnt that have shaped the journey of the company. When we started, we didn’t know if our whimsical design with radical focus on DIY and the learning experience would find audience. Companies and consumers these days are more and more used to black-box machines that can only be serviced by professionals and used as described in the User Guide. Yet, ever since we exhibited JellyBOX for the first time, it’s been a literary magnet for kids and adults alike. People love to see how the JellyBOX works - in no small part thanks to the fully transparent construction which keeps all wires and moving components visible while safely covered. We have also been fortunate to find critical acclaim since the early days. We originally launched JellyBOX in 2016 and earned Make Magazine’s “Best 3D Printer for Schools 2017” award. The successor JellyBOX 2 launched in 2018, and won the same award for 2019. What are the challenges faced while providing 3D Printing Solutions and how is IMADE3D serving to tackle them? One of the most important focuses for us is ‘teaching the teachers.’ There are a lot of companies researching

|March 2019|

“ If you can’t build it, you don’t understand it.

“ materials and 3D printing processes. Many 3D Printer manufacturers can train you to setup and run their machines. Since IMADE3D has a 3D printer that can be built in just a few hours, we can get you to a hands-on understanding of how a 3D printer works and how to get the best quality prints. We want everyone to be able to learn how a 3D printer works. Our Professional Development workshops for teachers most often run two days. Attendees build their JellyBOX printers during the ﬁrst day, and the second day they learn how to use it and where, and how to get 3D models. We call that our ‘3D Printing Driving License’ as this knowledge and understanding also applies to other 3D printers - not just ours. What according to you could be the potential future of 3D Printing Solution industry and how does IMADE3D envision sustaining its competency? 3D printers are just tools; and one needs to understand tools, to know when and how to best use them. The biggest challenge to both our industry and individuals is education the lack of 3D printing knowledge. There is no 3D printer or 3D printing technology that can ﬁt all needs. That’s why, having a comfortable understanding of the underlying principles is essential. IMADE3D is in a sweet spot because we don’t really compete with other 3D printer manufacturers. We don’t sell a 3D printer, but rather an authentic STEM/STEM learning device that happens to be a great 3D printer as well. We are in the business of offering amazing learning experiences.

Ladi Goc Founder & Chief Visionary

my first 3D printer kit, I absolutely LOVE the uniquely innovative construction and simple build process of the JellyBox kit.” - Tom Meeks, 3D printing blogger and YouthQuest Foundation director “I have had the luxury of using many 3D printers ranging in price from $1000 to $250,000. I have not seen print quality like it produces from $5000 printers and some even higher. The printer is well designed, engineered, and is mostly put together with zip ties. Yes zip ties!” - Mike Oakley, Technical Account Manager, Autodesk Inc. About the Leader DIY 3D printer is a perfect fit for Ladi Goc, who is an experienced software and hardware engineer as well as a gifted trainer. He is also a serial entrepreneur, having found and successfully exited 4 companies in his life. Realizing the importance of 3D printing as the technological movement of our time, he retired from his last successful software company to work full-time on bringing 3D printing education to life. Ladi realized that while 3D printers were complicated and cumbersome to construct, they are in fact very simple machines and came up with the idea for a streamlined, implicitly educational, single-day workshop. Alas, after a few trials it was clear that the entire 3D printer on the market were too cumbersome and complicated. The only way to fulfill the vision of the perfect class was to purposedesign a brand new 3D printer – JellyBOX.

Testimonials from IMADE3D Clients “Whereas I HATED the frustrating “build experience” of |March 2019|

Be Smart – or Vanish Why Utilities need to actively develop smart Micro-Grids

he energy market is changing rapidly. This is true not only for the USA and Europe but on a global level. Possibly the most important change is the one towards more decentralized systems. This is challenging the utility industry. Utilities historically have developed by integrating small microgrids which grew around mills and other small-scale generators (today we would say prosumers). This is why utilities developed along the entire value chain: They integrated these micro distribution grids in a more stable larger (Transport) grid and replaced decentralized generation by more cost-efficient central power plants. This highly efficient centralized system was allowing industrial development as we know it. At its time it was possibly the only way to serve large, strongly energy depending production like steel, paper or the upcoming chemical industry. The centralized energy system did not result from an oligopolistic market, but the industry structure derived from an efficient technical design. There are several reasons why this formerly beneficiary system is challenged today. Not all apply in all markets but some of them do, so decentralization of energy markets is a global trend. Specifically, in most

industrial markets the new energy regime is driven by politics favoring small scale, decentral renewable generation. Subsidies on renewables devalue existing large thermic power plants. Even large-scale hydropower plants do not easily pass strict environmental and social feasibility analysis. But independent of any political setting there is another more fundamental reason for the growing competitiveness of a decentralized energy design. While the ﬁrst phase of industrial development is known for its industrial clusters (often grown close to energy sources like coal or water) which shaped many geographic areas for more than a century, later phases are much more dynamic and do less depend on geographic proximity. Within a dynamic industry setting where businesses are set up and closed or moved somewhere else on a regular basis a static centralized infrastructure loses competitiveness. In many emerging markets this dynamism as well expands towards those areas which are today not connected to the central grid but offer inexpensive land or new agricultural products which can be sold abroad at high prices. Finally, the political will and the industrial demand for decentralized systems today encounter renewable generation even at small size at competitive costs

compared to large size thermic power plant. For the most prominent renewable technology photovoltaic in the North (with less radiation) this competitiveness is given only as grid parity, meaning central generation plus transport is as expensive as photovoltaic on site. In the Southern hemisphere photovoltaic is already a competitive source empowering decentralized energy infrastructure. While decentralized generation has caught up with centralized generation plants, distribution systems with a large portion of decentralized renewable generation capacity are often inefﬁcient. There are basically four reasons for this inefﬁciency: (1) Missing price mechanism supporting grid operations, (2) high costs to operate such a system stable, (3) large amount of excess energy (exported or not being used at all) and (4) sub-utilized interface between microgrid and its feeder system. These are basically the same reasons that in the last century supported the centralization of the grid system. What is needed is an intelligent or smart decentralized distribution system. An intelligent distribution system with mainly decentralized generation requires more than smart meters and it is different from today popular so |March 2019|

Smart in Vision

Dr. Karl Kolmsee CEO Smart Hydro Power

About the Author Dr. Karl Kolmsee the CEO of Smart Hydro Power, studied agricultural and philosophy at the universities of Hamburg and Goettingen, Germany. After his PhD he has spent most of his professional career in the energy business – ﬁrst as consultant at A.T. Kearney later as manager at E.ON, Europe’s largest private utility, and member of the board at Schmack biogas, one of the pioneers of the biogas market in Europe. In 2009 Karl Kolmsee has been nominated professor for energy management at Applied University of Kufstein, Austria. His main areas of academic work are international energy markets and renewable energy. In 2010 he founded Smart Hydro Power to focus on design and commercialization of kinetic pico hydro power systems with main focus on rural electriﬁcation for emerging markets like India, Latin America and Eastern Africa. Today Smart Hydro Power offers complete solutions for off grid solutions and micro grids.

|March 2019|

called smart home or home storage solutions. These offer photovoltaic, battery and basic load management for the individual household. Some providers of home storage solutions integrate customers in a community model to allow exchange of autogenerated electricity. But these communities are barely more than contract partners within a fixed price net metering model. Individual home solutions – even within sales-and-purchase communities – do not solve any inefficiency issues decentralization faces. These systems are either completely self-sufficient – in this case they are expensive – or they rely on central grid services like a parasite of its host. Sustainable decentralization requires an intelligent control and steering mechanism between the households which build a microgrid. While there are possibly different steering mechanisms, establishing a local market with the price as variable that guides demand and supply according to the aggregated demand function and the aggregated cost functions seems promising. Technically this does require a dynamic forecasting and load management (at least for major loads which are used in a price-sensitive manner). At first glance a market model would solve the four major issues shown above. It would set a price for photovoltaic and battery storage which would control demand and thereby reduce necessary installed reserve storage and generation capacity. This mechanism would

as well be consistent with the functioning of the feeder grid and could therefore supply itself services to this grid which would be valued with the same “currency”. Technically this steering mechanism might be completely decentralized based on individual processors in each household like the blockchain technology (once necessary processing capacity comes down to acceptable limits) or it might work between a central unit and individual processors. In either way it steers the local market place towards an efficient optimum given generation, demand and battery storage capacity at a defined point in time. Micro grids do open (within a given legal framework) a possibility for traditional utilities to re-define their role using some of their traditional strengths. But new entrants can equally well enter this space and perform wherever the incumbent does not adapt. This gives room to numerous co-operations between new entrants or between new companies and the incumbent offering their services or developing new business models along the value chain. Incumbent utilities may be smart – or vanish.

|March 2019|

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

Kudo3D Strengthening Businesses with High Resolution 3D Printers

n an interview with Insights Success, Tedd Syao, Founder of Kudo3D, shares his experience and provides resourceful insights about Kudo3D and its products along with its future aspirations of revolutionizing the 3D printing industry. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Tedd and Insights Success: Give a brief overview of the company, its uniqueness and its vision. We initiated a project in 2013 to develop an ultra-high resolution 3D printer based on our personal interest and the potential in the future. This printer is Titan 1. The resolution of Titan 1 can reach 37um. The product was released on Kickstarter in 2014 and was the most successful campaign for DLP printer.

In 2016, Kudo3D started developing its second generation technology. After a year, Bean is released on Kickstarter and it is even more successful than the ﬁrst product. Bean again became the most successful LCD printer on Kickstarter. Overall, we raised about one million and 680,000 dollars through crowd-funding. We focused on high resolution and high precision 3D printing technologies. Kudo3D is one of the few companies that are capable of developing materials to optimize the performance of resolution and precision. Our goal is to use ultra-high resolution 3D printers to replace semiconductor or traditional CNC process. This will enable a boom in the micro technologies, especially in the biomedical area. What are the cutting-edge products/solutions offered by Kudo3D?

We have two products with ultra-high resolution and precision. The printer ‘Micro’ has a resolution of 16um which is the highest for DLP stereolithograpy in the industry. This printer is mainly used for the micro applications, such as microﬂuidics and microneedles. The other printer ‘DENT’ has a resolution of 50um and the precision is better than 0.5%. This printer is the best solution for digital dental applications. Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learnt that have shaped the journey of the company. For a hardware startup company like us, we greatly thank crowd-funding platforms to let us not only get funding but also obtain a lot of exposure. We have two very successful campaigns on Kickstarter. With a nice product and a well-planned campaign, a small company can acquire enough resources to jump start a business quickly. The lessons we learned is that fulﬁllment is not easy and it could slow down the development for the next product. This is the negative part of using crowdfunding platforms.

|March 2019|

“ Pursue Excellency and then go where no one has gone before.

“

What are the challenges faced while providing 3D Printing Solutions and how is Kudo3D serving to tackle them? The main challenge is that the adaption of 3D printing is slow. The software and materials take time to get matured. There is a lot of knowledge required to perfect the printing result. To tackle this problem, advancing printing technologies and providing educations are both very important. We are planning to integrate the hardware, software, material and education more tightly to accelerate the adaption process. What according to you could be the potential future of 3D Printing Solution industry and how does Kudo3D envision sustaining its competency? It depends on the time frame. In the next couple of years, the potential should be on the medical. In the long run, we believe the consumer market will start kicking in. To maintain our competitive advantage, we will further differentiate our products to meet the requirement for all types of applications which includes dental, biomedical, engineering and jewelry. A Satisﬁed Clientele REM3D: I purchased three Titan printers three years ago to replace the $100,000 DLP printer I have been working with for 10 years. Performance of Titan printer is just as good as that of those expensive DLP printers. I have been printing almost every day and produced more than 4000 customized rings per year. My customers are also very happy about the casting results. The printers are super reliable and require |March 2019|

Tedd Syao Founder

little maintenance and calibration after they are set up. I am very happy with my Kudo3D printers and I have purchased one more Bean lately. SolidCam Estudio: We spent a long time investigating different printing options in the market; FDM, SLA and DLP. Finally, we chose the DLP technology for its great quality and high resolution. After that, TITAN print by Kudo3D was the best option for its great adaptability, being Open Source, and low maintenance. The Open Source option was no longer an essential, because the software that comes with the TITAN includes all the necessary settings to adapt to all models, different resins, and is highly conﬁgurable. This has been fundamental in our jobs, because every print is a new challenge. The tools provided by the TITAN allow you to print all kinds of very high resolution models. About the Leader Tedd Syao has an experience of 20 years in electrical engineering. Among those years, he worked on a technology called photolithography to create high resolution photonic semiconductor chips. This experience was transferred to stereolithograpy developed in Kudo3D. In addition, he is also specialized in investment. He worked for Citigroup for 5 years. He found and invests in Kudo3D because he believes 3D printing will be the part of daily life in the future. Kudo3D has been the leading company in ultra-high resolution 3D printing.

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

MirrorMe3D Bringing Transformation in HealthCare Industry

D printing is becoming the game changer in the arena of the healthcare industry. It has enhanced the capabilities and efﬁciency of many healthcare sectors by delivering the exceptional experience of treatment to the patient. Cosmetic care is one such industry which is adopting 3D printing in order to extend the ﬂexibility in surgery and cosmetic treatment. Founded in 2015 MirrorMe3D is a leading company which is taking forward the cosmetic industry by using the virtual surgical simulation and 3D printing. In an interview with Insights Success, the CEO of MirrorMe3D Jordan Mills shares key insights over her organization’s journey and its specialized solutions and services. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Jordan Mills and Insights Success: Give a brief overview of the company, its uniqueness and its vision. MirrorMe3D is a health technology company that is laser focused on the patient. We’re empowering patients and surgeons by unleashing 3D data so

that it can be accessed whenever, and wherever, it is needed. What are the cutting-edge products/solutions offered by MirrorMe3D? We approach surgeons and patients holistically which means we want to find as many ways as possible to make the delivery of care more inclusive. From planning to performance, we have products that help both patients and surgeons throughout the entire surgical process. This includes a digital platform that can be securely accessed by surgeons and patients for more fluid communication and cooperation as well as 3D printed models and guides that give surgeons the most accurate references during procedures. Give a detailed description of the featured personnel’s influence over the company and the industry. As CEO of MirrorMe3D, I drive product vision. We have really great relationships with influential surgeons in our community who are willing to give feedback and beta test with us so that anything we take to market has been designed intentionally to improve the surgical experience. We don’t want to be just any gadget or just another tool. With 3D printing, everything can be personalized. So we take the extra time of learning just what the surgeon needs and how they approach their process. For surgeons who use our 3D printed guides or order our 3D reports, we have a checklist that helps us get to

know their surgical style. Things as simple as knowing if they are right handed or left handed can make a difference in how we design. Because we’re so committed to delivering the best care possible and unifying the patient-surgeon team, we speak often on using technology to increase patient-speciﬁc care. There’s a lot more that goes into this than meets the eye. Data integrity is huge in 3D planning right now. With the proliferation of scanners on handheld devices, more and more people are taking interest in 3D planning but not many people have the same experience we do. We test every scanner or 3D camera that comes to market in an effort to keep our community aware of what’s worth investing in and what’s more hype than substance. We’re incredibly excited for scanning to be democratized but we want to make sure that patient data being relied on for surgical planning is exceptional (and not merely good enough which, unfortunately, we hear a lot!) We’re here to help the entire industry take a huge leap forward and are happy to collaborate with like-minded individuals. Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learnt that have shaped the journey of the company. Something early on that surprised us was just how much patients truly want to be involved. Many medical |March 2019|

“ We are a healthtech company committed to innovating patientspeciﬁc care.

professionals will ﬂippantly say “patients should be included but patients can’t read CT scans” or “patients don’t really understand surgery.” However, patients want to be involved and giving patients greater context about what’s going to occur during surgery can make a huge difference in the patient experience. What MirrorMe3D aims to do is unite everyone around the 3D data, making it easier to give context to patients about anticipated postoperative changes. So, early on we were surgeon-focused but we quickly moved to include patients as it’s actually their medical journey that we’re supporting and we want to see to it that they have more say in it. What are the challenges faced while providing 3D Printing Solutions and how is MirrorMe3D serving to tackle them? There are three main challenges: data integrity, accuracy of the 3D printed model, and, of course, turnaround time. When it comes to 3D printing, your source data really determines the quality of the 3D printed model. As I mentioned earlier, we test as many scanners as possible to make sure we can educate our community of what is able to reliably produce accurate scans versus what is really more of a marketing tool and shouldn’t be relied on as something that can produce a 1:1 anatomically correct scan. Following source data, producing an accurate model or guide isn’t as straightforward as one might expect. I say this very often and it’s worth repeating: 3D printers are not microwaves. You cannot just press print and get a perfect result. Understanding all of the variables in 3D printing (things such as print orientation or how to apply supports for accuracy) is not as prevalent as you might expect. 3D printing isn’t new technology but its application within personalized medicine is and therefore ﬁnding an expert is important whether you’re a doctor or a patient. |March 2019|

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Jordan Mills CEO

What according to you could be the potential future of 3D Printing Solution industry and how does MirrorMe3D envision sustaining its competency? 3D printing has huge potential in delivering advanced care options to patients globally. This includes patientspecific medical devices, patient-specific care plans and more. I’m especially bullish on 3D printing being able to lower the cost of care once economies of scale are reached across all of healthcare. There are many fantastic examples from the dental community of how this can work and I think we’ll see the reach extended across many specialties over the next 10 years. The key is how we can do this safely and most effectively for the healthcare system as well as making it really easy for doctors and surgeons to harness the power of 3D. Testimonials from MirrorMe3D’s Clients From a plastic surgeon using one of our patient’s specific marking templates: “Why guess? Make it exact! Using patient specific templates means less estimating or eyeballing throughout the procedures.” From another plastic surgeon using our models and guides “It’s absolutely archaic in 2018 that we rely on 2D photos instead of 3D models. With MirrorMe3D, I have more accurate references and less guesswork throughout planning and treatment.” From a prosthodontist: “You guys have taken 20 years of best practices and, in 6 months, reduced this to a science. Your considerations include far more than what meets the human eye and elevate the entire process for everyone.”

SAAS Can Create

Business Developments

with Different

Revenue Streams

aaS or ‘Software as a Service’ is being used rigorously in current business ventures as it provides more accuracy and vision to any business project. Interestingly, with this solution, the importance of installing the hardware devices to run the data and different applications has lost its importance. It is a very selective section of cloud computing, through which the future business data collection process can be simpler than ever. SaaS is a very profitable genre in the field of futuristic business ventures, and thus a question may arise about the SaaS business, and that is what could be the revenue stream for such business enterprise, or in general words, the earning process for the SaaS business! Unfortunately some people believe that there are no such good ways of earning revenue for Saas business and if there are some sources, those are very minor in their conducts. Interestingly, the reality and the current situation are otherwise, and there are a number of ways in which the SaaS business can earn its revenue. ‘Payment’ to get the software is not the only mode of earning, and the enterpriser of this business can earn great revenue with multiple options, without stressing out on particular section of the business venture. Here are some of the solutions: Set-up Cost and Upsell A Set-up cost is one of the common ways to earn the revenue and it gives clarity to the providers about the authenticity of the users and determines the commitment too, thus it is a great way to explore the minds of the customers and the possible future relationship with the users. On the other hand the set up earning can actually lead to the upsell market for the SaaS providers. It is one of the easiest ways to enhance the revenue through the existing customers, and it is a great business opportunity, as this way of earning lessens the dependency of the brand on the pressure of adding up new customers. To maintain the continuity with the existing customers certain facilities like offering additional storage, speed, data, bandwidth or the frequency are enlisted as ‘services’. Though, this process of earning is largely dependent on the benefit of the product or the service, along with the need or requirement of the client. Affiliate Marketing It is another great way to boost the earning for the SaaS business as, through this process, it becomes a two-way system to get business, where the users advertise or sell the product. As the process is

|March 2019|

Revenue Tips

earning money, and it is the best way of earning through the free version users, but not very apt for the paid customers. As the paid customers already pay a certain amount, adding advertisements can create a negative impact on them. So even if the ads are there, they must be in a way that looks less annoying for the users.

dependent on the users, it is not dependent on any other external way from the business providers’ side. The SaaS providers are only responsible to pay the commission after getting the revenue. So it is deﬁnitely a win-win situation for the SaaS providers. Customer Service and Information Charges Saas providers are on the verge of adding a new structure for great revenue, which are customer service and information charges. As with this system, the business providers offer to sale some of the researched information to the clients. It is not very difﬁcult for the clients to value them by paying the money as they are getting a great help, and interestingly it can work for the clients to cling to the services which can create the path for more business. Basically, a great customer service is the key to earn good money and with the satisfaction of the customers; the process can be on the loop for a great revenue system. Advertisement Advertisements are the most common sector of

|March 2019|

API Model This is rather a complicated but effective method of earning lucrative revenue. If the SaaS can coordinate or work with other software applications, the importance of it can rise to a whole new level. This work model can do magic for some of the users and it can have a great value or earning in the future. But this great system comes with certain risks, and the reason is, the amount of money invested to create and run it. But if the developers can be assured of its service and the demand of the customers, it can turn out to be a great moneymaking option. Reselling When some of the SaaS is so apt that the potential customers want to avail it for their business purpose, the tie-up with the providers or the reselling of the product can be beneﬁcial form the point of view of the revenue. This process is known as the White Label Licensing. At the end of this discussion, the conclusion is, a better service can open up new trails for Revenue Streams for SaaS Business. SaaS is not a new concept, but the vast implication is deﬁnitely new. So there are a number of scopes yet to be explored by the developers of this new business. Thus, the future and the success of SaaS business is dependent on exploring various ways for SaaS revenue, and with more innovative ideas for the revenue, the market of SaaS business will be more strengthened to touch the zenith.

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

Trideus Enabling 3D Printing Professionals to Accomplish Their Goals

ounded in 2014, Trideus offers the right additive manufacturing solution for every problem come across the 3D printing professionals. It allows businesses to have a unique experience with its 3D printers, 3D Scanners, Filaments, and many other 3D Printing solutions. As the Founder and CEO of Trideus, Jesse BUTENEERS shares his insights and experience along with the product details and role of the company in revolutionizing the 3D Printing industry.

offering our customers a complete solution. That is next to hardware and materials also consultancy, training and support, both technical as well as keeping the 3D printers running 24/7.

Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Jesse and Insights Success:

The vision of Trideus is to be the AM/3D printing expert in the BeNeLux based on four pillars: Ÿ a wide range of 3D printers, which in combination with the appropriate materials, deliver solutions in many industries and suppliers of services (architects, hospitals, designers, and so on) Ÿ a platform with knowledge, information and experiences free to be consulted by everybody Ÿ offering excellent services: advice/consulting, installation, training and after-sales service Ÿ offering an excellent print service Certainly, in the Benelux and probably

Give a brief overview of the company, its uniqueness and its vision. I founded Trideus ﬁve years ago and started selling 3D printers to B2C customers. Shortly after that, we changed our target market to B2B customers. At Trideus, we now focus mainly on professional users of 3D printers’ customers who are looking for the added value Trideus offers. We believe that our added value is

Besides this, we offer our 3D printing service, which is a great way to start with, because without investing one euro you can explore the beneﬁts of 3D printing for your company. Everything we offer and do is based on the needs and possible applications in the different industries.

in Europe, the wide range of printers and solutions offered by Trideus is unique. What are the cutting-edge products/solutions offered by Trideus? At this moment, Trideus is delivering a wide range of professional and industrial 3D printers from HP, Desktop Metal, BigRep, Ultimaker, Formlabs, Raise3D, 3DGence, 3D Systems. With this portfolio, we offer 3D printing solutions for prototyping, low volume production, medical and dental applications up to 3D metal printing for SME’s. Besides these printers, we offer our customers accessories, spare parts, materials and technical support. But I think the most important value we offer our (potential) customers is that, we always start asking “What do you want to accomplish with 3D printing?” Based on the answer and further inquiries, Trideus provides a solution: either a 3D printer or 3D print service or even the address of another supplier. Give a detailed description of your inﬂuence on the company and the industry. My personal belief in the future of 3D printing has been the drive for the past years. Growing from 2 employees to 23 today looks easy, but it requires a constant focus on our vision. By |March 2019|

“ Knowing the challenges of our customers, helps Trideus to offer them the right solutions.

enlarging our team of AM experts, we enhanced our knowledge of AM/3D printing technology. Since the start of Trideus, I met a lot of suppliers, mostly from well-known brands. Every time when I had to decide about a partnership, it was important to be sure that this supplier is providing the best solutions in an industry. These values of quality, delivering the best services and transparent communication are the guidelines in the daily activities for all of the Trideus team. Describe the experiences, achievements or lessons learned that have shaped the journey of the company. “Never base a decision on assumptions!” is the quote and guideline within Trideus. Make sure you are well informed, examine all possibilities and test extensively before taking a decision. This goes for adding a new 3D printer to the wide range of 3D printers or providing a solution towards a (potential) customer. What are the challenges faced while providing 3D Printing solutions and how is Trideus serving to tackle them? Let me start with explaining why I’m convinced that in the next few years many industries will start implementing 3D printing. Manufacturing companies can i.e. speed up and lower cost of tool-making with easy to use ﬁlament 3D printers. At Trideus we have customers like Philips doing this. In the dental and medical industry, 3D printing offers great beneﬁts for patients and doctors, like prepare complex surgeries or print customized devices. When you talk about engineering companies, the 3D printing solutions of Trideus shortens lead-time of product development and gives engineers a tool to check their designs the next day. As implementing of AM/3D printing |March 2019|

“ Jesse BUTENEERS Founder & CEO

will happen in many industries, getting acquainted with the specific needs and possibilities in certain industries is of utmost importance for Trideus. Another challenge is to examine and evaluate continuously new 3D printing solutions. The technology evolves fast. Trideus will stay in contact with existing and new suppliers in order to be very well informed to be able to deliver the best solution(s) to the existing and new customers. Our third challenge is further professionalizing the organization in all departments in order to guarantee the best customer experience. What according to you could be the potential future of 3D printing industry and how does Trideus is sustaining its competency? Without any doubt, AM/3D printing will be disruptive in many industries, and in many companies and organizations. 3D printing fits exactly in the digitalization with Industry 4.0. It’s a fully digital technology to produce customized products as well as smaller and bigger series on demand, because we don’t need tooling. The bits and bytes are our tools that make this technology scalable and thus flexible. To sustain our competency, we keep investing in people and knowledge, so that we can understand the needs and challenges of our customers, and can offer the best 3D printing solution for them.

The

Most Innovative Solution Providers 2019

XJet Providing Groundbreaking Metal and Ceramic Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Solutions

D printing production is still at its infancy. However, if observed closely, one can easily ﬁnd many references that indicate this historical shift is already well underway. Upon inspection nowadays even a layman can also understand, 3D production of functional end-use parts is already one of the fastest growing areas in the manufacturing sector. Meet a 2005 born Israel based Rehovot, XJet. The company is renowned provider of groundbreaking metal and ceramic additive manufacturing technologies and solutions. XJet has developed and introduced the revolutionary NanoParticle Jetting™ technology that enables the production of metal and ceramic AM parts featuring unprecedented levels of detailing, ﬁnish and accuracy, while delivering physical, geometric and operational advantages.

With a decade of research behind it, XJet’s NPJ technology enables the production of metal or ceramic parts with the same ease and versatility of inkjet printing without compromising throughput or quality. XJet’s worldclass team of skilled industry veterans and dynamic R&D specialists holds over 80 registered and pending patents. Leveraging its proprietary technology and proven expertise, XJet is redefining the metal and ceramic AM industries. Industry Redefining Systems XJet flagship AM system based on the NPJ technology is; XJET Carmel 1400: The XJet Carmel 1400 is the industry’s ultimate AM system for applications requiring high productivity and superior quality. The Carmel 1400 features a 1,400 cm2 (217 in2) build tray – one of the industry’s largest – enabling the simultaneous production of multiple parts. Highly suitable for a wide range of AM applications in diverse industries, the state-of-the-art Carmel 1400 system can be configured for the manufacturing of either metal or ceramic parts. The XJet Carmel 1400 leverages XJet’s revolutionary NanoParticle

Jetting™ (NPJ) technology. This patented inkjet technology enables the production of metal and ceramic AM parts of the highest quality – featuring unprecedented levels of detailing, finish and accuracy – without compromising throughput or build time. Excellence Personified Hanan Gothait, Founder and CEO of XJet, is one of the most recognized and highly respected experts in the field of inkjet and 3D printing in Israel and worldwide. As an innovator and entrepreneur, he was one of the founders of Objet Geometries, the manufacturer of 3D printers and Idanit, a manufacturer of wide format 2D printers which were ahead of their time in terms of speed and technology. For nearly 30 years, Hanan has been at the forefront of developing inkjet technologies. First, he developed inkjet capabilities for very high speed printing, then he developed the ability to use inkjet for 3D printing of polymers – layer over layer – and now at XJet, the development went through another step-change in the development of printing with very complex materials, such as metals and industrial ceramics.

|March 2019|

“ Our trailblazing NPJ technology is the talk of the AM industry.

“ Hanan founded XJet in 2005, committing to a decade of research developing a revolutionary new 3D printing technology. Holding over 80 registered and pending patents, and through Hanan’s guidance, XJet is set to make big changes in its ﬁeld. Amazing Support Material Increasing Productivity The biggest experience of XJet was the design of the breakthrough ink for the support material. After years of developing outstanding ink for metal and for ceramic, it was clear that no solution is complete if the support shall need to be removed by hand. The little dirty secret of the AM industry and especially of Metal AM is that one can speed up the production of the part but if there is still a need for a manual work in ﬁnishing, this takes away the ability to compete with the existing technologies. The success after many years was to create a support material that once printed creates support structure that will be strong enough to hold the metal build structure but at the same time shall be easy to remove. The overall cost of part and the overall productivity has changed big time thanks to the change of concept, using a different material for support structures rather than using the same material of the part build as the support material. Handling Hazardous Materials with Utmost Care According to XJet, the key to NPJ starts with its own unique liquid dispersion methodology. Liquid suspensions containing solid nanoparticles of selected build material are |March 2019|

Hanan Gothait Founder & CEO

jetted onto the build tray to additively manufacture detailed parts. These liquid suspensions serve as the base materials for its AM process, unlike most existing metal and ceramic AM technologies that utilize hazardous and hard-to-handle powders. XJet’s liquid suspensions are delivered and installed in hassle-free sealed cartridges. The other fundamental unique element in the technology is the jetting of another material for creation of support structures. A material that is later easily dissolves, as previously explained. Client Feedback “After reviewing parts produced using XJet technology we were extremely impressed with levels of precision and detail on the parts. Near-net-shape was another crucial factor as the more time we can take off post-processing the better the process we have, giving our teams conﬁdence to go for more complex and sophisticated parts designed for AM.” -Mauro Antolotti, Beam-IT President “We believe XJet brings tremendous capabilities to the membership. By delivering near-net-shape of parts, post processing and ﬁnal machining is reduced. It’s going to allow us to enhance some of the functionality that we can drive into the parts through advanced design technologies. Another challenge that the industry is facing is the lack of material choices. In terms of material options, the opportunities surrounding ceramics could be transformative in the industry.” -Rob Gorham, Executive Director America Makes