3D Printing Unicorn Desktop Metal to Go Public After Reverse Merger Deal

After becoming one of the fastest-growing 3D printing startups, Desktop Metal announced plans to go public following a reverse merger deal with blank check company Trine Acquisitions. The Boston-based metal 3D printing systems manufacturer revealed that the combined companies will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “DM” and are expected to have an estimated post-transaction equity value of up to $2.5 billion.

2020 has seen a surge of company’s opting to go public through special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger deals. During the first half of the year, there have been 79 SPAC IPOs that have raised gross proceeds of $32 billion, according to SPACInsider, a sharp increase from last year’s 59 SPAC IPO’s and gross proceeds of $13.6 billion. In fact, Desktop Metal follows in the steps of space tourism startup Virgin Galactic and electric car maker Nikola Corp, drawn to SPAC listings to go public without the risk and complexity of a traditional IPO.

Since coming out of stealth mode in 2017, Desktop Metal has managed to raise over $438 million in funding, becoming one of the fastest companies in US history to achieve unicorn status. Claiming to reinvent the way design and manufacturing teams 3D print metal and continuous carbon fiber parts, the company aims to create the world’s fastest metal 3D printers. Its broad product portfolio already includes an office-friendly metal 3D printing system for low volume production, as well as new mid-volume manufacturing and continuous fiber composite printers, both of which are expected to ship in the fourth quarter of 2020.

With a valuation of $1.5 billion, Desktop Metal is the first major Massachusetts-based 3D printing company to go public. Locally, Desktop Metal competitors include fellow 3D printing technology unicorn Formlabs in Somerville and continuous carbon fiber manufacturing company Markforged in Watertown.

“We are at a major inflection point in the adoption of additive manufacturing, and Desktop Metal is leading the way in this transformation,” said Ric Fulop, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Desktop Metal. “Our solutions are designed for both massive throughput and ease of use, enabling organizations of all sizes to make parts faster, more cost effectively, and with higher levels of complexity and sustainability than ever before. We are energized to make our debut as a publicly traded company and begin our partnership with Trine, which will provide the resources to accelerate our go-to-market efforts and enhance our relentless efforts in R&D.”

Desktop Metal’s Shop System, an additive manufacturing solution targeted at the machine shop market and designed for mid-volume production of customer-ready metal parts. (Image courtesy of Business Wire)

According to Desktop Metal, the deal will generate up to $575 million in gross proceeds, comprised of Trine’s $300 million of cash held in trust, and $275 million from fully committed common stock PIPE (private investment in public equity) at $10.00 per share. The move is expected to provide, what the company considers, an opportunity to build the “first $10 billion additive 2.0 company,” part of an emerging wave of next-generation additive manufacturing (AM) technologies expected to unlock throughput, repeatability and competitive part costs. With solutions featuring key innovations across printers, materials, and software, Desktop Metal anticipates this new trend to pull AM into direct competition with conventional processes used to manufacture $12 trillion in goods every year.

When consulted, 3DPrint.com’s own Executive Editor and Vice President of Consulting at SmarTech Analysis, Joris Peels, considered the deal to be an aggressive valuation when outlined against the current capabilities, technologies, growth and installed base of the firm. Peels explained that at present, he does not think that the transaction is commensurate with revenues or the perceived quality of its offering.

The expert further suggested that “the firm has consistently overstated capabilities. It has also had significant issues with deploying its technology in the field. Competition from firms such as Markforged, HP, and GE will expand the binder jet market considerably, but also offer alternatives to Desktop Metal. New startups such as One Click Metal, Laser Melting Innovations, Aconity3D and ValCUN can also provide alternative solutions. The low-cost metal market is set for rapid growth. These are the types of systems that we could expect in many a machine shop and factory in the years to come. The opportunity is for over 750,000 deployments worldwide, dwarfing the current market. The battle for dominance in this exciting space will yet see more market entrants arrive and we are in the initial stages of a very exciting time.”

Desktop Metal’s Production System is designed to be the fastest way to 3D print metal parts at scale. (Image courtesy of Business Wire)

During a conference call on August 26, 2020 – just after news of Desktop Metal’s SPAC transaction were revealed – legendary technology investor and operator Leo Hindery, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Trine Acquisitions, said that Desktop Metal will be the “only pure-play opportunity available to public market investors in the additive manufacturing 2.0 space.”

Emphasizing his belief that the company is in the process of revolutionizing the industry, and developing a technology that will be a significant step in replacing mass manufacturing base, which has become antiquated, Hindery said this deal will become pivotal to transforming the products and industries that will drive the economy into the 21st century, including electric vehicles, 5G communications, digital supply chains, and space flight.

Both company CEOs suggested that the AM industry is slated to realize explosive growth over the next decade, reaching over ten times the 2019 market size, estimated to surge from $12 billion to $146 billion by 2030 as it shifts from prototyping to mass production.

Desktop Metal printers are used in the automotive industry. (Image courtesy of Desktop Metal)

To better understand the future of the AM metal industry, 3DPrint.com turned to Scott Dunham, SmarTech’s Vice President of Research, who reported on the market conditions today, stating that nothing changes in business without significant pain first.

“The metal additive manufacturing market in 2020 is feeling a combination of ongoing growing pains with difficulties in the sales environment now intensified due to economic effects from COVID-19. General manufacturing companies facing similar challenges, however, and now are faced with the choice of continuing on with the status quo in light of the pandemic exposing weaknesses in their supply chains, or making serious changes to address those weaknesses in the future. Both choices are fraught with risks,” Dunham suggests. “Metal additive manufacturing market stakeholders are hopeful this scenario may catalyze the industry back to strong growth as companies arrive at a decision to invest in new technologies and further develop their capabilities in concert with AM leaders to arrive better prepared for future challenges.”

Despite the current impasse, Dunham insists that the additive industry will ultimately benefit from a renewed push for cost savings, supply chain independence and agility, and a desire for faster manufacturing. Suggesting that not all will make it through the next two years in metal AM, but those which do will likely build the future of manufacturing that experts have anticipated for some time.

Desktop Metal’s innovative 3D printing metal systems used from prototyping through mass production. (Image courtesy of Desktop Metal)

In a quest to speed up technology development Desktop Metal is moving fast. The proposed business combination is expected to be completed by November 2020 and has already been approved by the boards of directors of the two companies. Once finalized, Desktop Metal will have post-deal cash on hand that will enable accelerated growth and product development efforts, especially as a large portion of the $575 million in gross proceeds from the deal will be dedicated to continuous product innovation and to pursue targeted acquisition opportunities.

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3DTrust Releases Intelligent Powder Management Solution for Quality Control

3DTrust is a five-year-old startup that began in Munich. In the beginning, the team was one of a crop of startups that wanted to secure the digital supply chain. Through encryption and software, companies could assure themselves that they were printing the right parts, according to the firm. Through product development and contact with the market, the startup has since evolved.

Now, 3DTrust has ten staff, offices in Toulouse and Munich, and a new focus on repeatability. The company saw that the real challenges in 3D printing were in “printing any part anywhere and making sure that quality is right every time” according to cofounder Antoine Jeol. Jeol has a venture capital (VC) background at 3M and learned an immense amount from 3DTrust being a part of Airbus’s startup accelerator. This knowledge led 3DTrust to pivot away from security and toward a more manufacturing-focused offering.

The 3DTrust team cofounders: (L-R) Andrei Mituca, Alexandre Guérin and Antoine Jeol.

When the team partially located to Toulouse for the accelerator program, they were confronted with the challenges that Airbus and its suppliers have. Of course, security is important in commercial aviation, but, other factors, such as traceability, are also of extreme concern. Aviation firms always need to know where parts come from, when they are made, by whom, in what orientation, with which batch of material, on which machine, etc. The team also saw just how many production steps 3D printing for manufacturing required.

Another 3DTrust cofounder I spoke to is Alexandre Guérin, who came from Siemens where he worked at that company’s VC arm. Guérin said that, at many manufacturing companies, the 3DTrust team saw challenges in the “scheduling of production, especially since scheduling and tracking was a manual step, often done with post-its or in Excel.”

The team had to first understand what it took to conduct day-to-day manufacturing with 3D printing. By working with manufacturers, they gained a more in-depth understanding that let them develop their software to work on and with the shop floor. They had to get their software to work with the most popular brands of industrial AM equipment to read and collate data from each of them.

“It could be much more efficient if this tracking was done in software and future job planning was done algorithmically…with reduced human error…resulting in more parts being delivered on time,” Guérin said. “[We had to connect] with EOS, Renishaw, SLM Systems, Stratasys, AddUp and 3D Systems machines… to monitor every machine. If a machine stops, the error notification will get tracked in the software, which can analyze historical trends, detect mistakes, monitor gas levels, get real-time temperatures, receive notifications for specific events, get utilization data and performance data as well.”

With 3DTrust, a user can subscribe to a single machine or multiple machines to only receive the data relevant to them.

Making accessible all of that manufacturing data, scheduling, optimizing, and ensuring traceability is really what the company does now. Jeol believes that every AM machine should be connected and that, while there is a lot of data, in order to achieve true Industry 4.0 process control, that data has to be extracted from all of the connected systems and well managed. Once this happens, 3DTrust can perform traceability, productivity optimization, and analyze entire fleets of additive systems producing parts on time, as well as the post-production steps, to decide what should be done.

In response to client needs, they developed two entirely different architectures. In one, all of their software can be deployed locally, through ethernet cables and customer servers. In the other, Hybrid system, all of the file data is stored locally, but information—such as sensor values—is shared in the company’s cloud. The former version would be especially useful for defense and aviation companies, a group that has traditionally been wi-fi adverse. 3DTrust offers these tools in the form of software-as-a-service, with the company charging $650 per month per machine, although university and large installation pricing are also available. The setup consists of one to three days, typically with 3DTrust often conducting an on-site training for staff of two days.

Users can view individual machine data, aggregate data or dive into individual build plates. They can upload STL or CAD files and queue jobs; files can also be downloaded and re-uploaded from Magics and Netfabb so it is possible to continue to use a preferred file-checking solution in tandem with the software. The output is a specific job file for a user’s particular machine. One could store files in the cloud and schedule or assign files or build platforms to machines or series of post-processing steps. Adjustments in print quality, results, machine utilization, status updates, and part traceability all happen in the software. Users can see delivery dates, materials, and add notes to files and jobs. It can be used in a service environment, in manufacturing or as an internal shared service for large firms.

Through drilling down into each process, machine, and job users can get very granular data, but they can also see performance across time series or analyze all of the alerts and events that delayed builds. One can interface with onboard cameras in printers to check errors and look at individual layers as they are being built, as well.

Jeol said that initially, “We focused on a few key customers in medical, automotive and aerospace to make those customers happy. Making [the software] in conjunction with the guys on the shop floor every day helped us bring value to customers.”

Guérin believes that their customers are using data to get parts made right the first time in AM.

Guérin said, “Optimizing planning saves costs, makes the machines and processes more efficient, faster and cheaper, letting customers industrialize their technology for true serial production.”

In addition to its flagship product, the 3DTrust team has just released a powder management solution. I was very excited about this since, for metals, powder management is key to getting good outcomes in prints, especially for manufacturing. Powder management is essential, but very tedious and time-consuming, especially in highly regulated environments. With the company’s new tool, users can track powder, do inventory management, and use a system that makes tracking easier and more robust as a process.

Meant mainly for large manufacturing companies, but also for universities, the software has some convenient tricks such as a QR print-and-read functionality that lets users stick their own labels on everything. I know from acquaintances that the profusion or lack of labels is often an annoyance. Now, handheld or phone-based scanners can read a production line or lab’s own QR barcodes to quickly tell them about a box, jar or pellet. The system lets users see quantities, dates, materials, storage conditions and availability.

Jeol mentioned that It also enables you to run a “genealogy, a family tree, to see, based on a part, where it came from, with which powder, where it was stored, where it was made, and in which boxes.” It can also be used to track samples or batch tests, with users then able to go back to identify parts or powders that failed tests. Users can also rely on scheduling tools to monitor how often a powder is recycled and combine it with job scheduling, so that a planned job is not able to use a powder recycled more than four times, for example. I’m very bullish on 3DTrust’s powder management tool and would recommend looking at it if you work in a production metal printing environment. It seems to be an intuitive, time-saving piece of technology.

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3D Printing News Briefs: May 12, 2020 Nanofabrica, Voxeljet, Elementum, AMPOWER

We’re all business today in 3D Printing News Briefs – Nanofabrica has raised $4 million in funding, and voxeljet is expanding its presence in India. Elementum 3D has achieved an important industry certification. Finally, AMPOWER has released its 2020 report.

Nanofabrica Raises $4 Million in Funding

Tel Aviv startup Nanofabrica, which makes 3D printers for fabricating complex electronic and optical parts for semiconductors and medical devices, has raised $4 million in funding, and the round was led by Microsoft’s venture arm M12, which invests in enterprise software companies in Series A through C funding with a focus on infrastructure, applied AI, business applications, and security, and NextLeap Ventures, an investor group made of former Intel Corp employees. The startup says it will use the funding – it’s raised a total of $7 million so far – to expand its sales and continue its R&D work.

M12 partner Matthew Goldstein said, “Nanoscale, precision manufacturing is a growing need for R&D organizations, as well as production-scale manufacturing companies,” and that the technology allows for the “digital mass manufacturing of precision parts.”

voxeljet Grows Presence in India with Sale of VX4000

The VX4000 is voxeljet’s largest 3D printer and has a building volume of 8 cubic meters

Industrial 3D printing solutions provider voxeljet AG has expanded its Asian presence with the announcement that Indian steel casting experts Peekay Steel Castings Pvt Ltd is investing in its 4000 x 2000 x 1000 mm VX4000 3D printer – the company’s largest industrial system. Peekay Steel, which makes high-quality steel castings, will use the printer to expand into new business areas and better cater to its current clients’ increasing demands. The flexibility, size, and speed of the VX4000 will allow the company to continue supporting the foundry industry in its native India, but also give them the opportunity to build a new Knowledge Center centered around the large 3D printer that will provide open access to a training facility. The VX4000 will be set up at a new Bangalore location in the Airport City.

“We want to offer our customers an end-to-end solution and position ourselves as a supplier of high-quality, ready-to-install components in record times. With the VX4000, we are able to increase the flexibility of our production in order to be able to react quickly, even to complex projects,” said K.E. Shanavaz, Jt., Managing Director, Peekay Steel Castings (P) Ltd. “3D printing gives us a unique competitive advantage, especially when it comes to expanding our business areas. Since the beginning, we have emphasized the importance of co engineering with our customers, most of these are Fortune 500 companies, to optimize and customize the product design, to lend better functionality and a clear competitive advantage. A specialized Design Center aligned to the VX4000 will help add value for our customers.”

Elementum 3D Achieves Quality Management Certification

Colorado metal 3D printing materials company Elementum 3D announced that it has received the important ISO 9001:2015 certification. This is recognized as the worldwide standard for quality management practices and systems, and was issued to the company through the Denver-based ISO 9001 management certification firm Platinum Registration, Inc. The scope of its certification includes manufacturing prototype and production parts to customer specifications, designing and manufacturing advanced composites, metals, and superalloys, and developing new manufacturing processes.

“This is an important milestone for Elementum 3D. It’s a rigorous process to become ISO 9001 certified. Our staff worked very hard with Platinum Registration’s auditors to demonstrate we meet the requirements of the standard. Not only does that make us feel confident we’re the most efficient that we can be, it assures our customers that we have a completely transparent and robust management system; and that means we have reliable, repeatable, continuously improving business processes so that our customers receive the best value for their money,” said Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein, Elementum 3D President and Founder.

AMPOWER Releases 2020 Metal AM Report

Metal additive manufacturing consultancy AMPOWER has released its new 2020 report, containing analysis based on over 250 data sets of metal AM supplier and user surveys. If you purchased the previous AMPOWER Report, you can get the latest edition for free through the online portal, or you could subscribe to the report to start getting it; either way, the publication is chock-full of helpful information. For instance, a separate section analyzes the possible impact scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic on the metal AM industry in both 2020 and 2021, and new contributions from the worlds of standards and startups are included from ASTM and AM Ventures, respectively. The report includes in-depth market data, and has also added new databases with over 700 entries, so readers can browse through a list of material, service, and systems suppliers; the new interactive cost calculator has been updated with the most recent productivity values.

“We hope the AMPOWER Report 2020 continues to support our customers in making the right decisions in these challenging times,” AMPOWER’s Matthias Schmidt-Lehr, Dr. Maximilian Munsch, and Dr. Eric Wycisk wrote in an email.

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. 

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Inventia Life Science Empowers Researchers to Rapidly Scale 3D Cell Culture

No disease has ever been as overwhelming as cancer, not only does it kill close to 10 million people every year, but even though we still fail to understand how to avoid it, one thing is for sure, researchers are beginning to look at this disease from a different perspective. We have seen lots of research on bioprinting human cells to mimic tumors for testing cancer drugs and now more than ever, new companies are surfacing to create bioprinters for a demand that will surely grow in the future. That is the case with Sydney based start-up Inventia Life Science. Built around digital bioprinting technology for fast, scalable, and reproducible printing of 3D cell constructs, company founders Julio Ribeiro, Aidan O’Mahoney, Cameron Ferris, and Philippe Perzi, expected their creation to remove the need for time-consuming manual labor of medical lab workers.

In 2013, the company’s research led to the development of a proprietary platform encompassing bioprinting technology, an expanding library of printable bioink materials, and custom protocols for specific applications. Their 3D bioprinting platform called Rastrum has been used to rapidly print human cells to help with cancer drug testing and recently, the Coronavirus pandemic motivated the company to produce 3D lung microtissues for researching therapies.

Highly recognizable and easily distinguished from its competitors due to its stand-out pink color, the device was designed with cell biologists in mind, instead of tissue engineers. In the last years, the developers emphasized how this as a great advantage of the printer for researchers who seek better 3D cell models. In that sense, Rastrum creators claim that the machine delivers a platform where hydrogels, printable structures, and printing parameters are pre-validated, enabling a simple and efficient workflow for the creation of 3D cell models. And best of all, no prior bioprinting knowledge is required.

Last year, the hot pink machine won one of Australia’s major design awards, the prestigious Good Design Award of the Year. Designed by two leading medical and science academics from Sydney’s Australian Centre for Nanomedicine (ACN), at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Justin Gooding and Maria Kavallaris, as the result of a strong collaboration between the university, the Children’s Cancer Institute, and Inventia Life Science, Rastrum is being used extensively throughout Australia as well as other countries.

Rastrum bioprinting platform (Credit: Inventia Life Science)

The printer uses ink-jet technology to print human cells at a rapid rate, quickly cultivating realistic tumors for testing cancer drugs. The technology focuses on printing high volumes of human cancer cell spheroids so that cancer researchers can try to find better ways to eradicate the disease. At the University of Technology Sydney, researchers are printing ovarian cancer cells, while the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics (VCFG) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in the Australian city of Victoria, was the first lab to install the Rastrum system and apply the technology to their ongoing cancer research.

The innovative technology allows scientists to print 3D cell models at unprecedented speed, replacing a time-consuming and manual process, expanding the capacity for research and drug development in cell models. According to scientists at VCFG, the machine is able to produce 1,000 3D cell models in less than six hours, a task that would regularly take more than 50 hours using current manual techniques.

One of the first users of the device, Kaylene Simpson, associate professor and head of the VCFG at Peter Mac said that “this is a novel and exciting platform for cancer research,” with “the ability to create realistic three-dimensional cell models through an automated and scalable process [that] will vastly accelerate our research progress and advance therapeutic target discovery.” She also revealed that “we have a very clear vision of the clinical applications of the technology.”

However, Inventia is also moving beyond its focus on cancer cells and is now claiming that the versatility of the Rastrum platform can also rapidly print 3D lung microtissue for COVID-19 therapy development. This is not the first biotechnology company that has chosen to focus its efforts to aid researchers in accelerating procedures and seeking cures for the newly discovered infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

In fact, Inventia revealed in April that their Rastrum 3D bioprinting platform could become a powerful tool for the
production of 3D lung microtissues and that the team of company researchers could move their expertise and capacity to develop these cell models, which can be tailored for therapy development. Furthermore, the Australian-based team proposed to even adjust the 3D cell models for the specific requirements of individual research laboratories and are already working with sites in Australia to explore the potential to accelerate in vitro research into COVID-19 therapies using advanced 3D lung microtissues.

Considering that to date there are currently no effective vaccines, antiviral treatments, or therapeutic agents against COVID-19, Inventia claimed that there is a very high need for multi-cellular in vitro microtissues to understand and assess treatments against this new virus to fend off the global pandemic. Previous lung alveolar research, they say, has shown that in vitro models that recapitulate the original tissue arrangement can be valuable tools both for lung toxicity studies and important therapeutic drug development.

Just like with scalable cancer models, Inventia claims that their cell model platform is capable of reliably producing several hundred 3D alveolar cell models per day, composed of the essential cell types and their native extracellular environment, to enable and accelerate the discovery and validation of novel treatments.

Rastrum regents ((Credit: Inventia Life Science)

Based on proprietary digital bioprinting technology, Rastrum includes hardware, software, and printable biomaterials that together enable a robust drop-on-demand bioprinting approach, as opposed to the common extrusion-based bioprinter.

The Rastrum platform is basically being used by biomedical researchers to print advanced 3D cell culture models. However, the company has indicated that it is also working with world-leading scientists and clinicians on longer-term regenerative medicine programs.

The fast-growing, venture capital-backed startup also sought to transform the medical research sector by providing Rastrum hydrogels, which are the only validated hydrogels that the machine will work with. Inventia chose to provide their own library of natural and synthetic printable hydrogel bioinks, as well as their own custom software-embedded printing protocols, to help users focus on the biology.

A prominent feature of the Australian bioprinting community is how fast it’s growing. From research institutions to universities, companies, and government-funded projects, the field is amassing a lot of followers, mainly students determined to find the next boom in life science occupations. The field is opening up opportunities for young innovators to create new machines and push the boundaries of the technology. And startups, like Inventia Life Science, are doing just that, upgrading their machines to create versatile and robust instruments that are easy to handle and cost-effective for researchers and labs. As one of the leading firms to supply Australian cancer research labs, we certainly expect to hear more about them in the future.

Rastrum inside view (Credit: Inventia Life Science)

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Introducing LightForce Orthodontics and Its Customized 3D Printed Bracket System

The LightForce Orthodontics team. L-R: Kelsey Peterson-Fafara, Dr. Alfred Griffin, Craig Sidorchuk, and Dr. Lou Shuman.

A dental resident walked into a bar full of Harvard graduate students. No, it’s not the beginning of a bad joke, but actually the genesis of venture-backed startup LightForce Orthodontics, which officially launched at this year’s American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Session. The team is making what it calls the world’s first customized 3D printed bracket system for the digital orthodontics field.

The startup’s founder and CEO, Dr. Alfred Griffin, comes from a long line of dentists, and had just completed a combined dental and PhD program at the Medical University of South Carolina before moving to Boston in 2015 to attend the Harvard School of Dental Medicine for his residency. He wasn’t used to the whiteout conditions of a hard New England winter, and spent a lot of time holed up in his apartment, dreaming up the innovative bracket system.

Dr. Larry Andrews and A-Company first introduced fully programmed brackets in 1970, and not a lot has changed since then.

“Standard orthodontic prescriptions are essentially a compromise from the outset,” explained Dr. Griffin in the special edition AAO issue of this year’s Orthodontic Practice US. “They are an “all patients equal” proposition. But no two patients have exactly the same tooth morphology or exactly the same bite. So why would we think they should all have the same ‘ideal’ finish?

“The concessions with pre-programmed brackets have been imposed by several constraining factors. Two of the primary constraints are inflexible bracket manufacturing technologies and the imprecision of analog treatment planning.”

It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and takes anywhere from six to twelve months, using injection molding, to create molds for one standard prescription, which is about 20 brackets of different programming and shapes – not a realistic environment for patient-specific customization. So Dr. Griffin turned to 3D printing, which already has many applications in the dental and orthodontics fields, such as creating aligners, molds, implants, dentures, and even braces.

Most braces are “off the rack,” and even though skilled orthodontists can make this work, Dr. Griffin knew that 3D printing, which is a good fit for custom applications, could be used to make patient-specific braces. So he created a patented system for 3D printed orthodontic treatment brackets, using material nearly identical to injection modeled ceramic brackets but that’s been formulated specifically for 3D printing.

“Delivering a patient-specific prescription for each case, the LightForce system is unlike anything you’ve ever used,” claims the website. “Each bracket is custom created and 3D-printed, bringing a new level of flexibility and clinical possibilities. This enhances treatment efficiency and minimizes time-consuming adjustments in all phases of treatment.”

That same snowy winter, Dr. Griffin attended a local happy hour with Harvard graduate students, and after buying a few rounds, explained his idea to the group. Engineer Kelsey Peterson-Fafara immediately recognized the potential, and would soon be employee #1. Not long after LightForce, originally titled Signature Orthodontics, was accepted into the Harvard Innovation Lab accelerator, Dr. Griffin met orthodontist Dr. Lou Shuman, who had been an important member of the executive team for another dental company using 3D printing: Invisalign. He soon asked Dr. Shuman to be the company’s co-founder, and help reach out to the venture capital community.

LightForce Orthodontics was one of 128 applicants chosen to join the MassChallenge Accelerator program in 2016, and became entrepreneurs-in-residence at the MassChallenge facility, later receiving $50,000 in equity-free financing as one of the 15 winners. The next step was locking down venture capital, but Dr. Griffin didn’t want to work with just anyone – he was looking to change how orthodontics works at a fundamental level, not just for a cash grab. The company’s first major funding came from AM Ventures (AMV), which is dedicated to investing in 3D printing.

“We wanted a strategic investor — not just someone with money,” Dr. Shuman said. “We wanted expertise in our fundamental technology. AMV was an ideal partner for LightForce.”

Speaking of expertise, AMV introduced Dr. Griffin and Dr. Shuman to EOS founder and industry pioneer Hans Langer, who believes that LightForce has achieved the two most important components in the future of 3D printing: creating high value customization, and having a market that’s large enough to support it.


LightForce continued to grow, staying on as Alumni in Residence at MassChallenge through 2017, hiring expert dental software developers, finalizing the bracket design, and receiving FDA clearance for the system. The startup closed its Series A funding round last summer, enjoyed a successful debut at the 2019 AAO Annual Session, and has multiple patients in treatment who wanted to be the first to sport customized, 3D printed braces.

The brackets can be perfectly contoured to any tooth morphology. The initial system was made to compete with metal brackets, and LightForce is now working on higher-aesthetic options and looking at different materials, as well as perfecting its service and supply chain logistics. It’s a simple three-step digital workflow: scan, create the 3D model, and print. The online interface is intuitive, with cloud-based treatment planning software that allows users to make adjustments directly on the model, before the custom 3D printed appliance is shipped in just 7-10 business days after approval.

In order to keep up with a changing industry, LightForce’s treatment planning system will keep evolving as necessary. Aligners are becoming more capable, but many orthodontists still use braces for their patients, which is why LightForce is looking at the larger marketplace.

Dr. Griffin explained, “We don’t want to bring the idea to market and say `here’s how to use it.` We want to bring this to the orthodontist and ask them, ‘What can you do with it?’”

As direct-to-consumer companies gain popularity, Dr. Griffin wants the startup to acknowledge the expertise of the orthodontic community, and help the field, not just take it over.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.

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Twikit Showcases Mass Customized Braces and Automotive Parts at Rapid 2019

Belgian mass customization software company Twikit showcased a number of mass customization cases and applications at RAPID + TCT 2019. The Twikit team was able to show BMW Group’s Mini customized products, customized motorcycle parts and unique braces.

Twikit is really the only firm that has specialized individualization software that can readily mass customize unique parts for 3D printing. Whereas you could go to other firms to build custom digital supply chains to tie into your 3D printing workflow or you could cobble together half a dozen software tools to do the same in an improvised way Twikit’s is a dedicated tool. It was built from the ground up to enable the rapid parametrization of new geometries that could then made with 3D printing. Mass customization is usually a wonderful subject for conferences but most corporates shy away from actually implementing the technology. Too complex, ruffling the feathers of the supply chain and manufacturing guys and a perception that it would be hard to implement scare companies off. Whereas I’m usually very skeptical of startups I’m very optimistic about Twikit’s prospects and their tooling. The company has spent a long time pioneering deep in the darkest woods and the world has finally caught up with it.

The BMW mass customization case is, of course, the one that caught all the headlines. Thanks to Twikit Mini owners can now use an online tool to mass customize decorative items on their cars. The software connects with BMW’s internal workflow and existing management software to give a traceable manufacturable solution to the German luxury auto giant.

Twikit also worked together with OEM Formlabs to create customized motorcycle handles for startup Tarform. The handlebar is a central element in your control, contact with and experience with the motorcycle. I’ve personally long believed that handles for tennis rackets, golf clubs, steering wheels and all manner of things are a huge applications so I love this implementation.

“In the Twikit software platform, the customer can make his desired adjustments until he’s satisfied with the final design. This customization experience can be experienced on both smartphone and desktop. The desired and final product is saved as a 3D file and will be exported within the cloud to an stl. file which will be sent afterward to Formlabs’ 3D printer. To become the final product, Formlabs makes use of flexible resin, which allows bendable/compressible parts to be printed. Now the actual production process can be set in motion.”

I love the idea that through 3D printing you could achieve better ergonomics, or perhaps have a more comfortable ride or better control over the bike. The user’s increased satisfaction with the bike because they designed part of it will also help. You can see a video here of the process.

The application with the most far-reaching implications, however, was one where Twikit’s software was used to make customized braces. Through Twikit 3D scan data could be turned into a unique orthotic or prosthetic. Here the software was used to obtain a precise comfortable fit to the human body. In applications such as postoperative braces, braces and across the spectrum in orthotics and prosthetics, the need for something like this is huge.  Twikit has created a key bit of technology that can really accelerate the adoption of mass customization and 3D printing. With the right partners this could be pushed out to millions of parts worldwide.

3D Printing News Briefs: January 26, 2019

We’re starting with business first in this edition of 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to design software and 3D printing materials. Mimaki USA is getting ready for the grand opening of its LA Technology Center next month, and a Sartomer executive has been elected to the RadTech board of directors. A startup will soon be offering a new cryptotoken for additive manufacturing, and the 3D Printing Association will cease operations. A simplified Blender user interface will make 3D printing easier, and Protolabs is introducing some new materials for its DMLS 3D printing.

Mimaki USA Opening Los Angeles Technology Center

Not long after Japanese company Mimaki Engineering launched its first full-color inkjet printer in 1996, it established Mimaki USA, an operating entity that manufactures digital printing and cutting products around the world. Mimaki USA began preparing to enter the 3D printing market in 2015, and installed its first 3DUJ-553 3D printer in the Americas last winter. Now, it’s preparing for the grand opening of its Los Angeles Technology Center next month.

The event will take place on Friday, February 22nd from 10 am to 4 pm at the new technology center, located at 150 West Walnut Street, Suite 100, in Gardena, California. Attendees will have the chance to meet the company’s industry experts, along with Mimaki Engineering Chairman Akira Ikeda, Mimaki USA President Naoya Kawagoshi, and the regional sales managers from all seven technology centers. Live demonstrations of the company’s printers and cutters will commence after lunch, and attendees will also enjoy tours of the center and a traditional Japanese Kagami Biraki ceremony.

Sartomer’s Jeffrey Klang Elected to RadTech Board

Sartomer, an Arkema Inc. business unit and developer of UV/EB curing technology products, has announced that Jeffrey Klang, its global R&D Directer – 3D Printing for Sartomer, has been elected to the board of directors for RadTech, a nonprofit trade association that promotes the use and development of UV and EB processing technologies. Sartomer is part of Arkema’s commercial platform dedicated to additive manufacturing, and Klang, an inventor with over 20 US patents who was previously the manager for Sartomer’s Coatings Platform R&D, has played an important role in helping the company develop and commercialize many of its oligomers and monomers.

“Jeff’s strong leadership of Sartomer’s innovation and R&D initiatives supports the evolving needs of UV and EB processors in diverse industries, such as 3D printing, coatings, graphic arts, adhesives, sealants, elastomers and electronics. His deep understanding of UV/EB technologies, markets and regulatory requirements will make him an asset to RadTech’s board of directors,” said Kenny Messer, the President of Sartomer Americas.

erecoin Startup to Offer New Cryptocurrency for Additive Manufacturing

A startup called erecoin, which is a product of CAE lab GmbH, is on a mission to change the world of 3D printing by combining the benefits of blockchain with future demands of the ever expanding AM community. After a year of preparation, erecoin has completed the registration of its ICO (Initial Coin Offering), and people can begin purchasing its new cryptotoken on the Ethereum public trading infrastructure starting February 18, 2019.

“We are glad and proud that we, as a young startup, managed to master the necessary steps for a functioning utility token,” said erecoin Co-Founder Konstantin Steinmüller. “At the same time we are curious to see how the community supports our crowdfunding.”

Steinmüller told fellow co-founder Jürgen Kleinfelder about a concrete 3D prototype optimization project that CAE-lab was working on, which is how the idea to combine blockchain and 3D printing came about. The startup’s goal is to get rid of many of the uncertainties in the AM process chain, and blockchain can be used to conclude smart contracts to solve legal and technical questions in the industry. Because data exchange is integrated into the blockchain, a secure and efficient relationship of trust is created between the parties in the chain. Time will only tell if erecoin can achieve its goal and help accelerate additive manufacturing or if it is just hopeful hype or an inefficient way to do something no one needs.

3D Printing Association Closes

The 3D Printing Association (3DPA) is the member-funded, global trade association for the 3D printing industry in Europe. In 2015, the 3DPA moved its base of operations to The Hague in order to develop an independent professional B2B platform for European AM industries. As the 3D printing landscape continues to grow and mature, the association has decided to permanently terminate its operations beginning February 1st, 2019. But this isn’t necessarily bad news – in fact, 3DPA is glad that CECIMO, the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries and related Manufacturing Technologies, has been able to set itself up as a leading 3D printing advocate in Europe.

“3DPA’s goal, derived from an online survey and a business summit at the beginning of 2015, was to provide an independent B2B platform for standardisation, education and industry advocacy. Although there are still important steps to be taken to reaching full maturity, meanwhile the landscape has become less fragmented and volatile, and additive manufacturing has been embraced as strategic pillar by well-established umbrella organisations in sectors like manufacturing, automotive, aerospace and medical appliances,” said 3DPA’s Managing Director Jules Lejeune.

“CECIMO for example, is the long standing European Association of the Machine Tool Industries and related Manufacturing Technologies. It represents some 350 leading AM companies that play a significant role in a wide variety of critical sections of the AM value chain – from the supply of all different types of raw materials for additive manufacturing and the development of software, to machine manufacturing and post-processing. In recent years, it has successfully claimed a leading role in bringing relevant topics to the regulatory agenda in Brussels.”

Simplified Blender User Interface

While the free 3D design and modeling software application Blender is very handy, it’s only helpful if you’re able to learn how to use it, and by some accounts, that is not an easy feat. But, now there’s a new version of Blender that includes a simplified user interface (UI) that’s so easy, even kids as young as 10 years old can figure out how to work it. FluidDesigner has used a new Blender 2.79 feature called Application Templates, which makes it possible to add a library of parametric smart objects and reduce the menu structure and interface.

“Application Templates allows for the simplification of the UI but with the whole power of Blender in the background. You can access nearly all of Blender commands from the Spacebar or by switching panels. Another way to look at it is that it is an Application Template is an almighty Add-On,” Paul Summers from FluidDesigner said in an email.

“All objects are either Nurbs or Bezier (2D) Curves for ease of editing. Nurbs objects in particular can be joined together to create personalised jewellery or artwork quickly and simply.

“There is no need to go to the trouble of joining objects using Boolean modifiers, instead you simply overlap Nurbs objects and then run the *.obj file through Netfabb Basic to repair any issues created with Blender objects. With its much simplified interface, created by Andrew Peel, FluidDesigner for 3D Printing with its parametric smart objects (Nurbs curves) is suitable for even the novice user. The current version runs under Blender 2.79 and can be accessed from the File menu.”

Protolabs Adds New DMLS Materials

Protolabs, a digital manufacturing source for custom prototypes and low-volume production parts, has announced that it is enhancing its direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) offering with two new materials. Nickel-based Inconel 718 is a heat- and corrosion-resistant alloy with high creep, fatigue, rupture, and tensile strength, is able to create a thick, stable, passivating oxide layer at high temperatures, which protects it from attack – making it an ideal material for aerospace and other heavy industries for manufacturing gas turbine parts, jet engines, and rocket engine components.

Maraging Steel 1.2709 is a pre-alloyed, ultra-high strength steel in the form of fine powder. It’s easy to heat treat with a simple thermal age-hardening process, and offers high hardness and high-temperature resistance, which makes it perfect for high performance industrial and engineering parts and tooling applications. These two new Protolabs materials additions help reinforce the company’s enduring reputation as one that can offer an impressive range of metals.

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

Purdue Researchers Form Startup for the 3D Printing of Energetic Materials

Allison Murray and Jeffrey Rhoads in 2017

Energetic materials are a class of material that contains high amounts of stored chemical energy that can be released, and they are used in everything from airbags to explosives. Last year, a team of researchers from Purdue University used 3D printed energetic materials to create a mini shock wave, and have since continued their work with these unique materials.

The researchers can safely 3D print energetic materials, featuring fine geometric features, for less money, at greater speeds. Now, Jeffrey Rhoads, a professor in the university’s School of Mechanical Engineering, has teamed up with several other colleagues, including former Purdue research assistant professor Emre Gunduz, to start a faculty-owned startup focused on making the energetic materials, like propellants, solid rocket fuels, and pyrotechnics, along with the 3D printers that can produce them.

Jeffrey Rhoads

Rhoads is now the COO of Next Offset Solutions, with Gunduz, now a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, as its CTO. The startup makes its energetic materials with a process – patented with help from the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization – that allows the 3D printer to produce viscous materials, which have a clay-like consistency and can be difficult to extrude. The method makes it possible for the team to precisely, and safely, deposit the energetic materials.

Rhoads said, “It’s like the Play-Doh press of the 21st century.

“We have shown that we can print these energetic materials without voids, which is key. Voids are bad in energetic materials because they typically lead to inconsistent, sometimes catastrophic, burns.”

According to Rhoads, the startup’s 3D printer doesn’t use any solvents to lower the viscosity, which makes the process faster, more environmentally friendly, and less expensive. Additionally, the 3D printer is also much safer due to a remote control feature.

“You don’t have to have a person there interfacing with the system,” Rhoads explained. “That’s a big advantage from the safety standpoint.”

Monique McClain, a doctoral candidate in Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, demonstrates how it’s possible to 3D print extremely viscous materials.

The 3D printer functions a lot like more conventional 3D printers, with the exception of how it extrudes the highly viscous materials. High-amplitude ultrasonic vibrations are applied to the 3D printer’s nozzle, which lowers the friction on the nozzle walls and allows for more precise flow control of the material.

While Next Offset Solutions is mainly focused on producing energetic materials, it’s not adverse to further applications, other Purdue researchers have already used the startup’s novel method to 3D print things like personalized drugs and biomedical implants. For instance, because its 3D printing material has already been qualified by the departments of Defense and Energy, the startup hopes to provide its technology and products to the departments and their contractors.

The startup is also focusing on additional advanced evaluation, research, development, and testing in the 3D printing and energetic materials space. But its original research definitely aligns with the university’s Giant Leaps celebration as part of its 150th anniversary, which celebrates Purdue’s “global advancements in health.”

Purdue researchers have published several papers focusing on 3D printing energetic and viscous materials in the Additive Manufacturing journal, including:

Take a look at the video below to see the viscous material 3D printing process for yourself:

What do you think? Discuss this work and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. 

[Source/Images: Purdue University]

3D Printing News Briefs: November 23, 2018

We’re starting with a little business news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs – Intech confirmed its first order for Additive Industries’ MetalFAB1 3D printer, and Roboze CEO Alessio Lorusso has won a prestigious Ernst & Young award. Moving on, researchers are working on 3D printable thermoelectric materials that can convert heat from the surrounding environment and convert it into electricity, while an architecture studio has developed a unique concept for a 3D printed, transportable toilet that converts something very different into electricity. Finally, if you’re looking for a unique gift this holiday season, check out Bloomingdale’s, which is working with Twindom and KODAK to offer 3D printed holiday portraits.

Intech Confirms MetalFAB1 Order with Additive Industries

On the last day of formnext 2018, Bangalore-based Intech, a leader in metal 3D printing in India, confirmed its first order of the MetalFAB1 system from Dutch 3D printer manufacturer Additive Industries. This order marks Additive Industries’ expansion into Asia, and will also help Intech accelerate its business. Application and process development and customer support will be handled from the new regional Additive Industries center in Singapore.

Accelerating adoption of additive manufacturing is the primary objective at Intech. Moving from prototyping to series production with focus on cost per part with repeatable quality is the way forward. This is a stepping stone for Intech in achieving its goal to meet the demands of customer requirements of printing large parts with excellent quality,” explained Sridhar Balaram, the CEO of Intech. “Intech has been working with various customers in different industry verticals by identifying parts for mass production as a proof of concept. With Additive Industries’ MetalFAB1 we can now scale for volume. The system is unique in the industry and we are excited to add this to our fleet of equipment.”

Roboze CEO Alessio Lorusso Wins Award from Ernst & Young

Alessio Lorusso

Alessio Lorusso, the CEO and founder of Italian 3D printing company Roboze, was recently awarded the prestigious 2018 Startup Award by Ernst & Young (EY) at its Entrepreneur Of the Year 2018 awards. Established for the first time during the 2015 awards, the Startup Award is awarded for contributing to a major growth of the Italian, and worldwide, economy, and is dedicated to an individual’s ability to create value with a spirit of innovation and a strategic vision. The award aims to make young, bright minds, who create a company from an innovative idea, more visible.

“In 2015, when we presented our first solution to the global market, I could not even imagine to achieve our goals in such a short time. We faced the logics of the machines design for additive manufacturing with clear, real and innovative competitive advantages. The market chooses us because our technology is definitely the best one, as specifically designed and produced to meet the real needs of the manufacturing companies,” said Lorusso. “This award is the result of the entire Roboze team’s hard work and constant commitment; so I want to dedicate this to each member of it. It was hard but we always believed it and this award does confirm that we are following the right way to conquer and revolutionize the whole global market.”

Thermoelectric Materials Converting Heat into Electricity

Flexible thermoelectric device embedded in a glove for generating electricity by body heat. [mage: Dr. Song Yun Cho, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology]

According to a review of new research in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials journal, a team of scientists are working to design thermoelectric materials that can harvest heat from the environment, then convert it into electricity in order to power appliances and devices. Products made with these materials, such as wearable devices, could be more cost-effective, as they won’t need to recharge, change, or dispose of batteries. The team, which published a paper called “Thermoelectric materials and applications for energy harvesting power generation,” is investigating three different types of conducting materials, including inorganic and organic.

The abstract reads, “Thermoelectrics, in particular solid-state conversion of heat to electricity, is expected to be a key energy harvesting technology to power ubiquitous sensors and wearable devices in the future. A comprehensive review is given on the principles and advances in the development of thermoelectric materials suitable for energy harvesting power generation, ranging from organic and hybrid organic–inorganic to inorganic materials. Examples of design and applications are also presented.”

Most organic thermoelectric devices involve polymers, and semiconducting ones are more lightweight and inexpensive, can hold heat better than conventional inorganic semiconductors, and are flexible enough to be 3D printed. Inorganic thermoelectric devices can convert heat into electricity, but aren’t that flexible. The researchers say that while thermoelectric devices could actually replace traditional batteries in many applications someday, a lot more work is required first. Time will only tell with this one.

Spark’s 3D Printed Toilet 

Speaking of electricity, architecture studio Spark has developed an innovative concept for a transportable toilet, made with 3D printed elements, that can actually convert human waste into electricity. Fittingly, the studio launched its Big Arse Toilet on Monday to coincide with World Toilet Day. The module was designed for use in remote villages in India, where the UN is working hard to tackle the sanitation and hygiene issues stemming from open defecation. The toilet elements would be 3D printed from bamboo fibers mixed with biopolymer resin, and the completed module would be anchored to a 3D printed reinterpretation of a traditional biogas dome buried underground, which uses waste to generate and store gas.

Spark told Dezeen, “The Big Arse toilet reinterprets the use and organisation of traditional bio-gas domes to create electricity and gas for those communities that have no access to power networks and utility infrastructure that we take for granted.

“Bio-gas is a product of the breakdown of organic matter, in the case of the Big Arse Toilet the biogas is a product of human waste, food waste and agricultural waste. The biogas can be used directly for activities such as cooking or can be used to drive a micro CHP turbine that converts the gas into electricity.”

Bloomingdale’s Offering Personalized Holiday 3D Printed Portraits

3D body scanning leader Twindom, a brand licensee of Kodak, is offering a unique gift promotion this holiday season to shoppers at the Bloomingdale’s stores in San Francisco and New York City: personalized, 3D printed holiday portraits, made with the KODAK Full Body 3D Scanner until the end of December, just in time for Christmas. Shoppers who want to have a 3D printed portrait made can either make an appointment or just walk in to the store.

Once there, simply enter your information, walk into the KODAK Full Body 3D Scanner, and pose for the scan, which only takes 1⁄4 of a second to complete. Then, review the 3D capture, choose your size – 3 to 14 inches – and place your order, which will be 3D printed in full color and ship in about 1-2 weeks. Pricing starts at around $69 for the 3D printed portraits, and local support at each store location is provided by Twindom’s local partners: PocketMe, PeoplePrints 3D, and Memories in 3D.

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. 

Belgian Startup Introduces Flexible, Transportable, Large-Scale Colossus 3D Printer at formnext

This year’s formnext wrapped up last week in Frankfurt, and many companies were there to showcase their latest products, including Colossus, a multinational 3D printing startup based in Belgium. At the trade fair, the startup introduced its aptly named Colossus 3D printer, which it calls the largest and first fully integrated transportable 3D printer in the world. The Colossus was built with flexibility in mind – it’s easy to add on features and upgrade it, and the transportable 3D printer works as a fixed unit as well.

Yannick Aerts, CTO of Colossus, said, “We wanted to build a printing system that really adjusts to our customer needs, so making it as transportable and upgradeable as possible was a main priority.”

Everything on the Colossus, from extruder output and screw types to heated bed, software add-ons, and print volume, is configurable, which makes the system a good fit for a wide variety of industry applications.

The Colossus, with a 4 m³ build volume, is able to support impressively fast print speeds of up to 15 kg an hour, and was designed with what the startup says is “a special accent on materials for furniture, construction applications and large size 3D objects.”

Thanks to the startup’s partnership with the Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC), ten material compound profiles have been pre-tested on the Colossus, and it’s the first 3D printer of its scale to print with rPET and rPP profiles. Additionally, it can also print with recycled plastic materials.

“Young designers often lack partners to realize their ideas due to the high entry barriers in this market,” said Philippe Mérillet, the Co-Founder of Colossus. “Clients also requested a way to make furniture and other large-scale objects from plastic waste, so we searched the market and a large-scale printer and everything we found was either too slow, too expensive, or could not work with high-temperature materials like rPET or CarbonP which are difficult to extrude. So we decided to develop a printer that would do just that a made for materials.”


After research showed that these kinds of massive, cost-effective 3D printers just aren’t readily available, Colossus had a vision to make a cost-effective, fast 3D printing platform that could also provide a second life to plastic waste. The 2.67 x 1 x 1.5 m Colossus 3D printer features a 3200 x 1300 mm liquid heated bed for easy print removal, along with a granulate-fed extruder print head and a dehumidification unit for achieving better print quality.

“Half of the quality of a print is the state of the material which is why we have a fully integrated drying unit to prep your material so you can get the most out of your print,” Colossus wrote in a release. “Capable of temperatures of up to 400C gives you the flexibility to print almost any plastic material.”

The Colossus 3D printer comes with logging software, in addition to remote connectivity and internet debugging with data points and cameras, so problems can be solved and upgrades can be completed remotely in real-time. The startup provides training, along with contracts for service and maintenance, so customers should feel at ease that the Colossus can run 24/7.

Additional tech specs for the Colossus 3D printer include:

  • Safety glass window
  • Heater
  • Optional air conditioner
  • 1-10 nozzle sizes

The Colossus is adaptable to specific customer requirements and has a fully customizable exterior. There are different lighting and flooring options, and the size of the extruder, window, and dryer can all be changed. You can even order the 3D printer with an extra cooling nozzle. As with most large scale, high throughput 3D printers (3D Printed Canal House, Dirk van der Kooij, etc.) the nozzle has been designed and made by Servan Bakker of Xtrution.

Now that the Colossus 3D printer, which is available for pre-order, has been formally introduced at formnext, the startup plans to improve upon the design and has already completed a prototype. The team is currently researching more options for the system, such as improve retraction, a multi-head system, and a higher print output of up to 25 kg per hour.

What do you think of this new 3D printer? Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. 

[Images provided by Colossus]