Posted on

3D Printing Service Bureau Voodoo Manufacturing Closes Permanently

“Please continue dreaming, imagining, designing, and making new things.” – The Voodoo Manufacturing Company

Millions of lives have been affected as the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world. Unfortunately, catastrophic health scares usually breed financial devastation too. As unemployment has wreaked havoc on millions of household budgets in just the US alone, businesses of every size are suffering as well.

The latest casualty within the 3D printing space is Voodoo Manufacturing. This may come as a huge surprise as they were considered to be a shining star in their niche, rising quickly to become one of the world’s largest high-volume 3D printing farms.

Here is an excerpt from their recent announcement upon closing:

“Dear Voodoo Manufacturing community,

It’s with a heavy heart that we announce that Voodoo Manufacturing has permanently closed its doors.

COVID-19 was challenging for everyone, but we tried to continue going. We repurposed our factory to make PPE in order to help fight the pandemic and through donations and individual purchases, we were able to distribute more than 15,000 protective face shields across the U.S. Unfortunately, without a clear end to the current health crisis, Voodoo Manufacturing couldn’t make it to the other side….”

Now, we come full circle in reporting on the Brooklyn, NY-based startup, from their opening in June of 2015 to their recent sign-off just a little over five years later. In that short amount of time, there was considerable news to share as the small but dynamic company—founded by a group of engineers who previously worked at MakerBot—ascended. From beginning to end, their intent was notable in terms of continually working to bring affordability and accessibility to potential users via a refreshing business model based on fast 3D printing services with low overhead—and low prices.

The past five years marked collaborations with other companies, both big and small. Right out of the gate, business was thriving. Numerous projects were highlighted; for example, they collaborated with Autodesk and e-NABLE Community Foundation, acting as the largest donor for 3D printed prosthetics sent to kids in developing countries. Industry leaders like Autodesk, Microsoft, and Mattel also served as customers. Upon receiving $1.4 million in seed funding from investment company KPCB Edge, they were able to expand further in terms of their facility, 3D printers on hand, and doubling their team from nine to eighteen.

Voodoo Manufacturing’s 3D printer farm

Voodoo continued to grow rapidly, releasing Project Skywalker, a fully functional, robot-operated 3D printer cluster in 2017. The next year, their team launched Fulfilled by Voodoo (FBV), a 3D printing fulfillment service mean to encourage entrepreneurs to open online businesses. Overall, success continued for the service bureau while the industry continued to become more competitive.

Fast forward to 2020, however, and all bets were off (pretty much for everyone) as the COVID-19 pandemic halted lives—and businesses. The Voodoo team explains that they kicked into action 3D printing personal protective equipment (PPE), and distributing 15,000 face shields around the US. They re-designed their 3D printing service bureau factory and continued on due to donations and purchases, but quickly became apparent that they would not “make it to the other side.”

Small businesses within the US have been especially vulnerable during these strange and challenging financial times, but as they falter in the droves, the economy is affected substantially; in fact, as a whole, the US business sector and economy are reliant on small businesses as they are cumulatively the largest employer of workers.

For thousands of commercial endeavors, however, no matter how hard they work to keep up with new regulations after COVID or scramble into new directions to please existing or new customers, such enormous financial damage has occurred that closings have been and will continue to be inevitable.

[Source / Images: Voodoo Manufacturing]

The post 3D Printing Service Bureau Voodoo Manufacturing Closes Permanently appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Posted on

Protolabs Expands European Presence with Larger German 3D Printing Operations

Digital manufacturing bureau Protolabs is investing USD$12.87m (£10.5m) into a new German production facility. The funds will expand the company’s 3D printing capacity in Germany by 50 percent, complementing its existing additive manufacturing (AM), CNC machining, sheet metal and injection molding capabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down large swaths production and shipping globally, in turn highlighting the ability of on-demand manufacturing to provide parts locally. Perhaps spurred by this turn of events, the U.S.-based service bureau is opening a new 5,000 square-meter production facility in Putzbrunn, Germany. Construction begins on the site as general public restrictions and distancing measures are eased in the city, with the initial shell scheduled for completion by the end of December and machinery to be installed beginning in May 2021.

Groundbreaking ceremony for Protolabs’ new German 3D printing facility: (l-r) Michael Meier (Protolabs), Edwin Klostermeier (Mayor of Putzbrunn) and Daniel Cohn (Protolabs). Image courtesy of Protolabs.

This equipment will include up to 25 more 3D printers, along with a 5-axis mill for finishing 3D-printed parts, as well as systems for finishing, coloring and painting. By increasing the 3D printing capacity of its German location by 50 percent, the company will be able to augment its European 3D printing services. According to Protolabs, the company can currently produce over 50 3D printed parts in one to seven days, over 200 CNC parts in one to three days, and over 10,000 injection molded parts in one to fifteen days.

Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing at Protolabs. (Image courtesy of Protolabs.)

The project comes on the heels of a USD$6.13m (£5m) extension being finalized at Protolabs’ European Headquarters in Telford in the U.K. The Telford location represented the Minnesota company’s entry into the European continent when it was established in 2005. This was followed, in 2009, by the opening of a location in Japan. In addition to these and several offices in the U.S., Protolabs now has positions in Sweden, Italy and France.

This latest site in Putzbrunn, outside of Munich, will house all of its current departments from its existing Feldkirchen office. The production facility will support the company’s U.K. activity and will include the ability to produce medical devices certified under ISO 13485.

The metal AM service bureau segment is expected to reach $9.4 billion in revenues by 2025, according to the recent “The Market for Metal Additive Manufacturing Services: 2020-2029” report from SmarTech Analysis. The company’s recent “Polymer Additive Manufacturing Markets and Applications 2020-2029” report has additive polymer parts from service bureaus reaching $7.8 billion by the same year.

SmarTech believes metal 3D printing service bureaus in particular can solve the short-term disruptions associated with the pandemic and then aid in production re-shoring to prevent future disruptions. To reflect the changes in the metal AM service bureau segment from the pandemic, the company will be providing updated forecasting in June 2020.

A metal powder bed fusion room at Protolabs. Image courtesy of Protolabs.

Protolabs can definitely see the direction that the market is headed. In 2016, the company began integrating multiple metal powder bed fusion systems from Concept Laser (now GE Additive) into a new 77,000 sq. ft. facility. By 2018, it was one of the first partners in the GE Manufacturing Partner Network and more recently installed over 25 GE Additive Concept Laser Mlab and M2 machines in one of its production facilities. As for polymers, Protolabs has also been an early adopter of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology, which is becoming continuously important for AM service bureaus.

The company is not alone in the segment, however, even when matched against other digital manufacturing providers and service networks that also do not focus solely on AM. While it may still be larger than startups like 3D Hubs and Xometry, it contends with Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and 3D Systems on Demand, who also provide a multitude of manufacturing options. This also doesn’t include the pureplay service bureaus or those owned by much bigger conglomerates. Sculpteo, for instance, is now owned by BASF, the largest chemical company in the world and Siemens owns selective laser melting experts Material Solutions.

Protolabs, then, is in an increasingly competitive industry and, with the benefits of distributed production becoming more and more evident, we can safely say that that industry is only going to increase in its competitiveness.

 

 

The post Protolabs Expands European Presence with Larger German 3D Printing Operations appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Posted on

Beam IT Commits to Buy 15 Metal 3D Printers from SLM Solutions

After Sandvik acquired a substantial stake in June 2019, Beam IT has made a massive purchase of metal 3D printers from SLM Solutions. Italy’s largest 3D printing service bureau has signed a letter of intent to buy 15 selective laser melting (SLM) machines over the next three years.

The exact systems Beam IT intends to buy fall across SLM’s entire product range, including the SLM280, SLM500 and SLM800. In particular, the company is investing in the multi-laser and closed-loop powder handling technology featured on the machines. This, the Beam IT team believes, results in higher productivity and a more reliable, safe and efficient method for 3D printing parts. The purchase is a part of Beam IT’s expansion of its manufacturing plant, which is more than twice as large as the previous space.

A 3D-printed titanium part printed by Beam IT. Image courtesy of Beam IT.

Mauro Antolotti, Chairman and Founder of Beam IT, said of the agreement, “Through the replacement of single laser products with SLM Solutions` multi-laser technology we are able to increase our productivity and provide competitive pricing to our customers. By partnering with SLM Solutions, we can meet our customer’s requirements to build high quality parts at increased productivity and expand our facilities.”

The 15 machines will augment Beam IT’s existing array of 20 metal powder bed fusion machines already installed. The company’s AS 9100 certifications for aerospace, and NADCAP approval, make it a substantial firm in the service bureau sector.

An SLM Solutions 3D printer in Beam IT’s facility. Image courtesy of Beam IT.

The purchase also signals Sandvik’s increased strength in the AM space, which already consists of metal powders manufacturing and engineering services. As a leading engineering multinational, the company has implemented 3D printing to improve both its own products and those of its customers. This includes the CoroMill 390 milling cutter, steel sliding cases for LKAB Wassara, Varel’s nozzles for hard-rock drilling, and a coolant clamp for Seco Tools.

All of this is a part of Sandvik’s larger strategy of maintaining growth and the top position in the world of the $17 billion metal cutting tools market, of which it represents roughly one fifth. In turn, Sandvik, Beam IT and SLM Solutions stand to become increasingly important players in the 3D printing industry. This will obviously be beneficial to SLM Solutions, in particular. Not just because of the revenue generated from the sale of each machine, but also due to the revamp in its image after failing to secure an acquisition by GE in 2016.

Based on the types of projects and deals that the company has been involved in over the past several years, it seems as though SLM Solutions has recovered from the snafu. In addition to the significant partnership with Beam IT, SLM has been working with Honeywell for metal 3D printing qualification, selling machines to Rolls Royce, and involved in the 3D printing of parts for Bugatti, among other things.

The post Beam IT Commits to Buy 15 Metal 3D Printers from SLM Solutions appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.