AM INDUSTRY NEWS

DESKTOP METAL ACQUIRES ENVISIONTEC

Just as Desktop Metal hinted when going public last year, the company has quickly sought to pursue opportunities in the AM market’s consolidation. In a 300 million USD deal, Desktop Metal has taken over EnvisionTEC to mark its expansion into polymer additive manufacturing, adding another suite of office-friendly solutions to its growing product portfolio. EnvisionTEC founder Al Siblani will stay on as the brand’s CEO, with Desktop Metal believing the transaction will provide a gateway into new markets.

“Together, we have more than 200 distribution partners around the world that extend our reach into applications across fast-growing markets for additive manufacturing, such as dental, medical, and jewellery, in addition to doubling down on the broader industrial market,” commented Desktop Metal founder and CEO Ric Fulop. “I’m more confident than ever we can accelerate the adoption of AM 2.0 and help customers transform how parts are made around the world.”

PROTOLABS IN 3D HUBS TAKEOVER

Consolidation is happening on the service provider side of the industry too. In a 280 million USD deal, Protolabs has acquired 3D Hubs, giving the international company access to 3D Hubs’ global network of manufacturing partners and ‘reinforcing Protolabs’ commitment to being the go-to resource in contract manufacturing.’ The companies believe their complementary tech capacity and services can enable supply chain agility and ‘unprecedented’ speed to market, with Protolabs EMEA VP and Managing Director Bjoern Klaas telling TCT Protolabs is now a global leader.

“Despite the ongoing crisis around the COVID-19 pandemic, we look to the future with a great deal of optimism. The Innovators around the world see themselves as key to solving many of the world’s most significant challenges, but it’s the ongoing revolution within manufacturing that is helping to drive innovation,” he said. “For this reason alone, the Protolabs acquisition of 3D Hubs is truly exciting. With the acquisition now complete, we’ve created the world’s most comprehensive digital manufacturing provision for design engineers around the world.”

Wang said: “Our vision is to be the innovation powerhouse to empower individuals and organisations. Therefore, we include our end users, whether it’s fashion designers, dentists, or engineers, in our 3D printer development process. The Satori x Ganit 3D printed jewellery collection is a demonstration of how we adopt a collaborative and inclusive approach to push affordable professional 3D printing to the frontier of industrial application.” FORMLABS REINTRODUCES FUSE 1

Just as we were beginning to wonder what happened to Formlabs’ officefriendly SLS efforts, CEO Max Lobovsky reassured us towards the end of 2020 that the commercial availability of Fuse 1 wasn’t far off. In January, the company formally announced that its mission to ‘do with SLS what we did with SLA’ was back on track. Fuse 1 was re-introduced to the market alongside a postprocessing station called FuseSift and a Nylon 12 powder, while it also boasts a modular build chamber to enable continuous printing. Its Surface Armor technology combats the ‘orange peel’ surface texture issue of SLS, and the machine can also print with up to 70% reused powder with a material refresh rate of 30%.

“SLS technology has long been trusted by engineers and large manufacturers for its ability to print strong, functional prototypes and enduse parts, but its high cost and complex workflow have historically confined it to large companies,” Dávid Lakatos, Chief Product Officer of Formlabs, told TCT. “The Fuse 1 and Fuse Sift improve on the unique advantages offered by SLS, while bringing it within reach for companies of all sizes and types through unprecedented affordability and ease of use.”

SATORI X GANIT GOLDSTEIN = 3D PRINTED JEWELLERY

Having only come to market with its ST1600 Masked Stereolithography system last year, Satori has wasted no time in partnering with a renowned user of 3D printing technology. Working alongside Ganit Goldstein, the pair have developed a collection of necklaces that are embedded with WiFi-controlled LED lights and are printed in one piece within 25 minutes and at a maximum cost of 3k GBP.

Speaking to TCT, Satori CEO Chengxi