SLM Solutions

Im hoping some of you are watching SLM Solutions and care to weigh in on it. What do you make of the collapse of SLM Solutions stock price?

I bought into the stock at around 29EUR after the deal with GE was dropped. Today its trading at below 7EUR... Im still holding, and I consider adding now to lower my average price, but I have no clue whats going on. I see that sales and revenue is disappointing and below expectations, but does this mean that they have no future, or simply that they are going through a rough time?

Is it a matter of making bad moves e.g. focusing on speed, build size, surface finish, range of materials, etc. - and getting outmaneuvered by competitors who make better moves?

Or is it a matter of betting on a doomed technology?

It seems that SLM solutions are betting on print speed, working on a new printer with 12 lasers. Is that the right direction for them, given their customers?
Example: I guess print speed is unimportant for e.g. dental, while its likely absolutely critical to e.g. automotive due to component size and quantity?

It also seems that they are betting hard on the asian market - is that wise?

Let me know what you think.

re: €29 MILLION REVENUE, contract update

SLM SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES LARGEST SINGLE CONTRACT IN THE HISTORY OF COMPANY

Some excerpts from the article below-

“The total sum depends on individual requirements of the customer for each individual machine. The customer has the possibility to call up different versions of SLM 280 machines from the framework contract (for example single-laser or multi-laser machines). Depending on the configuration there are price differences between the individual machines.”

To put the deal in context in the first half-year 2017 SLM Solutions sold 26 SLM 280 machines, 65% of the total number of machines sold in H1/2017. For the previous financial year of 2016 SLM Solutions sold 65 SLM 280 machines 55% of the total number of machines sold in 2016.

SLM SOLUTIONS REPORTS €29 MILLION REVENUE, FOCUSED ON LEADING METAL ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGY

SLM SOLUTIONS REPORTS €29 MILLION REVENUE, FOCUSED ON LEADING METAL ADDITIVE TECHNOLOGY - AUGUST 10TH 2017

Metal additive manufacturing company, SLM Solutions has reported revenue of €29 million for the first half of 2017. This is a 13.5% decrease on the comparative figure of €33.5 million for 2016.

That's gotta hurt. The share price dropped 17% in two days. As of this moment the share price is down 13% from three months ago.



SLM Solutions Group AG, H1 2017 report

Safrans Post on same with a bit more information on materials and processes

Safran announces technology partnership with Prodways Group, a European leader in 3D printing for industry



Paris, le 26 avril 2017

Safran and Prodways Group announced today that they are teaming up to develop additive manufacturing (3D printing) materials and processes. As part of this collaboration, Safran Corporate Ventures is taking a stake in Prodways, one of the European leaders in 3D printing for industrial and trade applications. Prodways Group offers multi-material solutions, in particular based on its MOVINGLight® technology.

A framework technology partnership agreement

The partnership agreement signed by Safran and Prodways Group concerns the development of printable materials and assembly processes for these materials with inorganic compounds, such as ceramics and metals, which can be applied to Safran's products and processes. In addition to this general contract, the companies could also sign specific contracts in areas such as casting, metallic parts made by indirect manufacturing, and high-temperature polymer powders for composites. The five-year contract is non-exclusive, and is renewable by a jointly agreed amendment.

"This agreement reflects Safran's proactive policy on additive manufacturing," noted Stéphane Cueille, Safran Executive Vice President, R&T and Innovation. "Safran is already at the cutting edge of this field, and uses 3D printing technology to make parts and subassemblies for its engines, as well as aircraft and defense equipment. Through this agreement, the two companies will be able to pool their skills to effectively transform the technology building blocks offered by Prodways into additive manufacturing processes for Safran products."

A stake in Prodways Group

Along with this agreement, Safran Corporate Ventures, in conjunction with Fimalac and BNPP, has subscribed convertible bonds prior to the stock market listing of Prodways Group on Euronext Paris, announced today. These three investors, as well as Bpifrance and Financière Arbevel, have also pledged to subscribe to Prodways' capital increase.

Prodways Group recorded sales of 25.2 million euros in 2016, with 58% of the total generated on international markets. The company works for a number of different sectors, including aerospace and healthcare, and provides an integrated package of products and services that is unrivaled in Europe (3D printing machines, composite, hybrid and powder materials, the manufacture of plastic and metal parts).

Along with this agreement, Hélène de Cointet, co-head of Safran Corporate Ventures, will join the Prodways Group Board of Directors.

Safran is a leading international high-technology group with three core businesses: Aerospace, Defence and Security (ongoing divestiture of Security business). Operating worldwide, the Group has 66,500 employees (Security included) and generated sales of 15.8 billion euros in 2016 (excluding Security). Working independently or in partnership, Safran holds world or European leadership positions in its core markets. The Group invests heavily in Research & Development to meet the requirements of changing markets, including expenditures of 1.7 billion euros in 2016 (excluding Security expenditures). Safran is listed on Euronext Paris and is part of the CAC40 index, as well as the Euro Stoxx 50 European index.

For more information : www.safran-group.com / Follow @Safran on Twitter

Prodways, Safran partner to create inorganic 3D printing materials; Prodways IPO subscription starts tomorrow

Apr 26, 2017 | By Tess

French aircraft engineering company Safran has announced a new partnership with Prodways, the 3D printing solutions subsidiary of Gorgé Group. Together, the companies will seek to develop new and innovative 3D printing materials and processes. As part of the collaboration, Safran will also acquire a stake in Prodways.

The partnership agreement signed by both companies is a non-exclusive five-year contract which allows for new, more specific contracts to supplement the main agreement. These additional contracts can cover adjacent manufacturing areas, such as casting, indirect metal part manufacturing, and composite high-temperature polymer powders. The five-year partnership can also be renewed through a joint amendment if necessary.

According to the recently signed agreement, Safran Group and Prodways will work together to develop new 3D printing materials with inorganic compounds (such as ceramics and metals) as well as assembly processes for the new materials. Safran is reportedly hoping to integrate the specially developed additive manufacturing materials into its own products.

"This agreement reflects Safran's proactive policy on additive manufacturing," commented Stéphane Cueille, Executive Vice President, R&T and Innovation at Safran. "Safran is already at the cutting edge of this field, and uses 3D printing technology to make parts and subassemblies for its engines, as well as aircraft and defense equipment. Through this agreement, the two companies will be able to pool their skills to effectively transform the technology building blocks offered by Prodways into additive manufacturing processes for Safran products."

?

As mentioned, Safran has also acquired a stake in its new 3D printing partner, and the deal will see the co-head of Safran Corporate Ventures, Hélène de Cointet, join the Prodways Group Board of Directors. Looking at the stakes more specifically, Safran Corporate Ventures (in conjunction with Fimalac and BNPP) subscribed to convertible bonds prior to Prodways Group being listed on Euronext Paris, the French securities market.

The IPO listing, which will be official on May 12 2017, was announced earlier today by Prodways Group. According to the company, the indicative range for its share value is estimated at between EUR 3.8 and EUR 4.8 per share. The subscription period for Prodways’ IPO will launch tomorrow (April 27) and will run until May 10 inclusive.

Groupe Gorgé, Prodways’ parent company, also announced it is hoping to raise up to EUR 52.3 million through the IPO listing. Groupe Gorgé and its subsidiary ECA will benefit from priority orders.

In 2016, Prodways Group recorded sales of EUR 25.2 million, with 58% of the sales generated on through international markets. A leader in 3D printing solutions, Prodways has worked in various different sectors, including aerospace and healthcare, and has partnered with a number of companies around the globe including Nexteam, A. Schulman, Farsoon, and more.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20170426-prodways-safran-partner-to-create-inorganic-3d-printing-materials;-prodways-ipo-subscription-starts-tomorrow.html

Some recent information on SLM. After the GE buyout attempt and the removal, with immediate effect, of Markus Rechlin, the news has been rather spare, even in trade magazines.

SLM and Sciaky printed parts

SLM printed spacecraft valve

SLGRF or SLM Solutions. Any word on their activity lately?

PRODWAYS GROUP is the sole European company present at every stage of the 3D printing value chain (machines, materials, parts and services).

http://www.4-traders.com/GROUPE-GORGE-5158/news/Groupe-Gorge-Gorge-plans-to-launch-an-initial-public-offering-IPO-on-its-3D-printing-division-P-23994761/

Groupe Gorge : Gorgé plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on its 3D printing division, Prodways Group

Paris, March 7th 2017, 07h00
Smart Safety Systems Protection of High-Risk Installations 3D Printing About Groupe Gorgé

Groupe Gorgé is an independent group that specializes in high-tech industries. Today, the Group is active in the fields of security and protection in extreme environments, as well as in the 3D printing sector. It employs around 1,700 people, is located in eight countries and directly exports around 40% of its activity. In its more than twenty-five year history, Groupe Gorgé has always developed and driven the latest technological and industrial innovations.
Smart Safety Systems: Developing complete, innovative technological solutions for complex missions in hostile and confined environments. Protection of High-Risk Installations:

Protecting people and ensuring the active and passive protection of installations for energy markets and industrial and tertiary sectors in France. Ensuring the maintenance of these protection systems.
3D Printing:

Enabling major industry players to find new routes to successful innovation and production processes by providing systems, 3D printers and new premium material.

In 2016, the Group reported revenue of €281.2 million. It is backed by 1,700 employees and operations in over ten countries.

More information available on www.groupe-gorge.com

Groupe Gorgé is listed on Euronext Paris and on the US OTC market in the form of ADR.

Euronext Paris: Compartment B.

ISIN code: FR0000062671

Ticker code: GOE

US OTC market:

CUSIP NUMBER: 399451 103 ISIN NUMBER: US3994511034

Ticker Code: GGRGY / GGRGF
GROUPE GORGE plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on its 3D printing division, PRODWAYS GROUP

The IPO will raise funds to step up the expansion of the 3D printing division and take it to the second phase of growth.

GROUPE GORGE plans to launch the PRODWAYS GROUP initial public offering in 2017 on Euronext Paris, subject to market conditions. Since GROUPE GORGE intends to remain the largest long-term shareholder, the IPO would take the form of a capital increase and is expected to raise funding for PRODWAYS GROUP to accelerate its ambitious strategy of market share gains.

PRODWAYS GROUP saw its revenue climb from €0.1 million in 2013 to more than

€25 million in 2016, while its headcount rose from 1 to 248 in the same period. This vigorous growth was achieved by a strategy combining organic growth, sustained by substantial capital expenditure, and targeted acquisitions in the B2B 3D printing segment.

PRODWAYS GROUP is the sole European company present at every stage of the 3D printing value chain (machines, materials, parts and services). It has two divisions: SYSTEMS (machines and materials, €13.1 million in 2016 revenue, with 90% in the international market), and PRODUCTS (parts on request and industry applications, €12.1 million in revenue in 2016).

Backed by its significant export market (international business accounts for 58% of total revenue) and its breakthrough MOVINGLight® technology, PRODWAYS GROUP enjoys global visibility in the industrial 3D printing industry and is well positioned with top-tier clients.
Contact

Groupe Gorgé - Raphaël GORGÉ - CEO & Chairman - Tel.: +33 1 44 77 94 77 - E-mail: contact@groupe-gorge.com Finance News - Natacha MORANDI - Analysts/Investors Relations - Tel.: +33 1 53 67 36 94 - E-mail: nmorandi@actus.fr

Finance News - Jean-Michel MARMILLON - Press Relations - Tel.: +33 1 53 67 36 73 - E-mail: jmmarmillon@actus.fr

Image 7 - Lauranne Guirlinger - Press relations - Tel: +33 1 53 70 74 18 - E-mail: lguirlinger@image7.fr

The industrial 3D printing market is expected to grow 31% per year in the period 2015-2021 (CAGR1, source: Wohlers Report). Excluding major acquisitions, PRODWAYS GROUP targets until 2019 a growth at least 4 percentage points higher than the market. It aims to achieve break-even (EBITDA²) in Q4 2017, with an EBITDA² margin in the double digits by 2019.

1 CAGR: compound annual growth rate.

2 EBITDA is not a standardized accounting aggregate with a single and generally accepted definition. It may not be considered a substitute for operating income, net income, net cash provided by operating activities, or a measure of liquidity. Companies with similar or different businesses may calculate EBITDA differently. The company uses EBITDA to mean operating income before depreciation, impairment and other non-current items recognized in operating income.

Move for Renishaw subsidiary

Move for Renishaw subsidiary - 23 February 2017

The introduction:

Renishaw Ibérica, 3D printing specialist Renishaw's subsidiary for the Spanish and Portuguese markets, has relocated to a new facility near Barcelona.


Renishaw Ibérica’s new facility near Barcelona.

Groupe Gorge-Prodways

Target revenue achieved: EUR 281.2 M, strong growth in 3D printing

https://www.euronext.com/en/cpr/target-revenue-achieved-eur-2812-m-strong-growth-3d-printing

3 D related parts "snipped"

Lastly, the 3D printing division performed well in the last quarter, with growth of 54.3% at €7.5 million, to end the year with growth of 41.6% (€25.2 million compared to €17.8 million in 2015). The Systems business (printers and materials) generated €13.1 million in revenue, up by 22.2% and the Products activity (parts sales) €12.1 million, up by 68.9% (in 2015, the Initial subsidiary was consolidated only over 9 months).

The 3D printing division yet again produced very strong growth in 2016. Prodways Group is exclusively positioned in the professional industrial 3D printing sector, used for rapid manufacturing beyond prototyping and which is the most promising market in terms of volumes and repeat orders.

The range from the 3D Printing division has broadened to address and better serve specific markets. The division continues to develop applications in the medical sector, particularly in the manufacture of 3D printed parts for this sector and more specifically for dental and chiropody applications.

In 2016, Prodways Group announced the launch of its new powder sintering machine, the ProMaker P1000. This machine is the first professional powder sintering machine sold for under €100,000. The Group hopes to fairly significantly develop sales of this new machine in 2017, for which marketing will be launched during the first half-year.

New propriety technologies for metal 3D printing machines are also being developed.

ExOne to restructure North American production centres for faster adoption of its technology

ExOne to restructure North American production centres for faster adoption of its technology - 30 January 2017

The introduction:

Global 3D printing manufacturer, ExOne has announced a refocus on how it demonstrates and provides its industrial sand core and mould binder jet 3D printing services in North America.

To facilitate faster adoption of its technology, ExOne will restructure its production service centres located in Troy, Michigan and Houston, Texas, into ExOne Adoption Centers (EACs). Expanding these existing centres, ExOne will provide a greater variety of its latest binder and material sets, including cold hardening phenolic and sodium silicate production, as well as an expanded range of its machine platforms and machine options.

Stock broke through 38 today from 34 yesterday.
Something is driving this stock hard.

CYBE has been on a tear....was under $10 in 4/2016 and now trades almost $34

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170117005596/en/

CyberOptics® Corporation (NASDAQ: CYBE), a leading global developer and manufacturer of high precision 3D sensing technology solutions, will unveil an advanced Ultra-High Resolution Multi-Reflection Suppression (MRS) sensor for the CyberOptics SQ3000™ 3D AOI system in Booth #2809 at the 2017 IPC APEX EXPO, Feb. 14-16, 2017, at the San Diego Convention Center, California.

“The Ultra-High Resolution MRS sensor enables an even greater degree of accuracy that will provide our customers superior inspection performance and reliability to address the finer 0201 metric and micro-electronics applications”
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CyberOptics has advanced the proprietary Multi-Reflection Suppression (MRS) sensor to an even finer resolution. The Ultra-High Resolution MRS sensor will be an option available for the award-winning SQ3000™ 3D Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) system. This sensor enhances the SQ3000 3D AOI platform, delivering superior inspection performance, ideally suited for the 0201 metric process and micro-electronic applications where an even greater degree of accuracy and inspection reliability is critical.

“The Ultra-High Resolution MRS sensor enables an even greater degree of accuracy that will provide our customers superior inspection performance and reliability to address the finer 0201 metric and micro-electronics applications,” said Dr. Subodh Kulkarni, President and CEO of CyberOptics. “This advancement will enable CyberOptics to further penetrate these market applications that have the most stringent requirements.”

The SQ3000™ 3D AOI system, deemed Best-in-Class, maximizes ROI and line utilization with multi-view 3D sensors that capture and transmit data simultaneously and in parallel, accelerating 3D inspection speed versus alternate technology. The proprietary MRS sensor technology with the highly sophisticated 3D fusing algorithms offers microscopic image quality at production speeds.

CyberOptics’ CyberGage360 3D Scanning and Inspection system, SE600 SPI system and QX250i AOI system will also be demonstrated at APEX.

For more information, visit www.cyberoptics.com.

About CyberOptics

CyberOptics Corporation (www.cyberoptics.com) is a leading global developer and manufacturer of high precision sensing technology solutions. CyberOptics’ sensors are used in general purpose metrology and 3D scanning, surface mount technology (SMT) and semiconductor markets to significantly improve yields and productivity. By leveraging its leading edge technologies, the company has strategically established itself as a global leader in high precision 3D sensors, allowing CyberOptics to further increase its penetration of key vertical segments. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, CyberOptics conducts worldwide operations through its facilities in North America, Asia and Europe.

Statements regarding the Company’s anticipated performance are forward-looking and therefore involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: market conditions in the global SMT and semiconductor capital equipment industries; increasing price competition and price pressure on our product sales, particularly our SMT systems; the level of orders from our OEM customers; the availability of parts required to meet customer orders; unanticipated product development challenges; the effect of world events on our sales, the majority of which are from foreign customers; rapid changes in technology in the electronics markets; product introductions and pricing by our competitors; the success of our 3D technology initiatives, including CyberGage360, and other factors set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


Contacts

CyberOptics Corporation
Carla Furanna, 952-820-5837
www.cyberoptics.com

AddUp created following the creation of Fives Michelin Additive Solutions

AddUp was created on April 1, 2016, following the creation of Fives Michelin Additive Solutions on September 4, 2015 by two industrial groups, Fives and Michelin. This joint venture aims to bring customers its unique experience and expertise in developing and marketing machines and industrial production lines using metal additive manufacturing technology, generally known as metal 3D printing, worldwide.

Fives and Michelin each hold a 50% stake in Fives Michelin Additive Solutions.

Fives contributes its skills, experience, and ability to innovate in mechanical engineering, automation and industrial process control to create fully digital machines and systems that meet the technological requirements of additive manufacturing, as well as the reliability and reproducibility requirements of fully managed industrial production.



The FormUp™ range of machines for direct metal multi-laser melting, offer reliability and productivity.

SLM Solutions Announces New Facilities in Luebeck

SLM Solutions Announces New Facilities in Luebeck - 1/12/2017

The SLM Solutions Group AG is building a new production site, logistics center and headquarters in Luebeck, Germany. The new head office will be located at Estlandring in Luebeck-Genin on factory premises of 70,000 square meters, and with direct connection to the motorway. This site will also provide a customized production environment for additive manufacturing machines.

Materialize ... One of Materialize's key offerings is 3D software. As I understand it the software has the potential to play a significant role in the industrialization of 3D printing. Obviously, this could be a huge space.

That said I am trying to better understand the relationship of 3rd party 3D software (e.g., MTLS) and software provided by the 3D printers themselves.

Things like

1) What is the value add of MTLS software vs. that of the software provided by the hardware company (e.g., Arcam)?

2) Is there evidence to suggest that the hardware players view companies like MTLS as a threat (threat to sources of profits) or do they view MTLS as an important partner that can push forward adoption of their hardware?

Prodways, a Groupe Gorgé subsidiary, partners
with Cerhum to strengthen its ceramic offer and
develop the 3D printing of the future

http://www.groupe-gorge.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/11/PR_GG_Prodways_announces_a_partnership_with_Cerhum_ENG.pdf

Concurrently with the FormNext trade show in Frankfurt,
Prodways - a Groupe Gorgé subsidiary - announces its partnership with Cerhum, the expert in ceramic applications, to broaden its offer of high-performance materials for its MOVINGLight® technology. By targeting ceramic materials and printing processes, this partnership endeavors to offer comprehensive solutions for ceramic additive manufacturing with the aim to develop new biomedical applications.
Based on its exclusive MOVINGLight® technology, Prodways offers 3D printers able to process photoresists in addition to technical ceramic, providing as yet unequaled levels of precision, high-quality detail and finishing in the area of ceramic printing. Convinced that industrial innovation depends on the development of comprehensive solutions for each application, Prodways has partnered with Cerhum to optimize the synergy between technology and ceramic materials, and to draw on its expertise in the promising fields of orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery, and bone reconstruction.

Cerhum: a cutting-edge business in ceramic 3D printing

The fruit of 15 years' experience within SIRRIS, Cerhum is a spinout that was created to offer high-performance ceramic solutions for additive manufacturing.
Drawing on an experienced team renowned for its developments in ceramic materials, Cerhum offers its expertise across all additive manufacturing services, ranging from parts design to production directly at the client's premises, in addition to the development of ceramic materials.
This partnership aims in particular to market new, high-performance ceramic materials formulated specifically for the biomedical industry and developed by Cerhum. It will also make it possible to refine application processes for the other ceramic materials offered by Prodways as part of its MOVINGLight® technology, bringing exclusive benefits and great development potential for innovative industrial and biomedical applications.
In the words of Grégory Nolens, founder and CEO of Cerhum: "Over and above the combination of Prodways' indisputable expertise in its exclusive MOVINGLight® technology, and Cerhum's expertise in high-performance ceramic materials, this partnership expresses our shared determination to support our customers at every stage of their additive manufacturing requirements by offering unique expertise and comprehensive services and solutions tailored to their need for innovation."
This partnership confirms Prodways' strong desire to open up its technologies to leading industrial partners to develop the materials that will lead to the 3D printing of the future.

André-Luc Allanic, Director of the R&D department
of Prodways, voted 2016 Engineer of the Year

http://www.groupe-gorge.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/12/PR_GG_AL_Allanic_RD_Director_of_Prodways_voted_Engineer_of_the_year_ENG.pdf

During the 2016 Engineers of the Future Awards Ceremony, held at the Pavillon Champs-Elysées in Paris on Tuesday, December 6, André-Luc Allanic, co-founder and Director of the R&D department of Prodways (a Groupe Gorgé subsidiary), was awarded the Engineer of the Year prize by the editorial staff of Usine Nouvelle magazine.
This award marks a significant year with many developments at Prodways, with the sale of its 70th ProMaker 3D printer, and the first sale of its
selective laser sintering ProMaker P1000.

Recognizing an innovator's achievements:

This award acknowledges André-Luc Allanic's contribution to the technological advances of additive manufacturing. André-Luc Allanic is one of the global experts and pioneers in 3D printing. He has worked on various innovative technologies over the last 25 years (in particular stereolithography and metal and polymer powder sintering). In the early 90s, he developed some of the first European 3D printers for the CNRS. Joining the corporate world in 1993 at "Laser 3D", André-Luc Allanic designed stereolithography machines that were already the fastest on the market at that time.

In 1997, André-Luc Allanic created his own company,"Optoform", and developed revolutionary 3D printing systems. In 2001, the company was purchased by the global leader in 3D printing, "3DSystems" (US), which already saw Mr. Allanic's innovations as foreshadowing "the future of the industry".
In 2007, André-Luc Allanic created his own company in France, in order to
implement his new technology: the patented MOVINGLight® technology, which
offers unparalleled resolution combined with very high productivity. His meeting with Raphaël Gorgé in 2013 marked the entry of Groupe Gorgé in 3D printing.

The completion of new stages in its development:

This award also marks the end of a significant year with many developments for Prodways, positioned as a key player in additive manufacturing.
Prodways takes this opportunity to announce the sale, in December, of its 70th
3D printer for an application of manufacturing of injection mold in 3D printing
(spanning all technologies). This end of year is also marked by the first success of its most recent innovation, the ProMaker P1000, its professional selective laser sintering printer at less than €100,000. Its first sale was completed directly at the FormNext trade show held end-November alongside allthe major global players in additive manufacturing.
By 2017, this machine could be the best selling machine of the range.

Prodways-Nexteam Partnership Aims to Forge Ahead in 3D Metal Printing for Aerospace Clientele
https://3dprint.com/116421/prodways-nexteam-partners/

From May 2016
https://3dprint.com/132011/prodways-fast-continuous-dlp/

Concept Laser reports an increase in sales of 88% for the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year

Press release: Concept Laser reports an increase in sales of 88% for the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year - 08/17/2016

Lichtenfels (Germany), 08/17/2016: Concept Laser is yet again able to post record figures for the 1st half of 2016. As the management of the company emphasizes, the transition to industrial series production has really taken hold in a number of sectors. The aerospace industry in particular as well as medical technology but other sectors too are increasingly committed to 3D metal printing. This again presents Concept Laser with a high level of dynamism which is being attended to with numerous structural and organizational measures. Sales continue to perform very well. In the 1st half of 2016, the increase in sales compared to the same period in the previous year (1st half of 2015) was an impressive 88%.


As Concept Laser is private, a full report is not available. There's no mention of a net earnings or a net loss.

SLM Solutions Q2/2016. Machine sales up, operating at loss.

H1 Report 2016

SLM Solutions received new orders for 56 machines during the first half of 2016 (previous year: 40 machines), reflecting 40.0 % growth compared with he first half of 2015, and with 38 of these machines being ordered by new customers. The 56 machines also include used machines, some of which were previously utilised as demo systems.


Couldn't find any mention of exactly how many of the 56 machine orders were for used or demo machines.

____________________________________________________________________




-297 TEUR = -$331,198 US









-2,278 TEUR = -$2,540,300 for the first half of 2016


-$2,540,300 / 56 machines sold = -$45,362.50 on every machine (including used and demo machines).

http://3dprintingindustry.com/news/groupe-gorge-announce-51-increase-3d-printing-sales-90118/

Groupe Gorgé announce 51% increase in 3D printing sales

Groupe Gorgé today published financial results for the second quarter of 2016. The stock market viewed the news in a positive light and the announcement drove the companies share price higher with an increase of almost 5%. The unaudited financial statements show that 3D printing revenue is the fastest growing division at the company.

Shaping Up to be Global Competitor

The French company was founded in 1990 and now employs over 1,600 people in operations that span more than 10 countries. Groupe Gorgé derives the majority of revenue from automated smart safety systems and the provision of robotics for use in hazardous environments. They also perform industrial maintenance and install systems for use in nuclear safety, mainly to protect those working with nuclear materials.

Groupe Gorgé’s 3D printing division is focused on, “Enabling major industry players to find new routes to successful innovation and production processes by providing systems, 3D printers and new premium material.” Groupe Gorgé entered the 3D printing market in 2013 with the acquisition of Prodways.

Prodways make 3D printers using their MOVINGlight technology; this uses a mobile Digital Light Projector (DLP) that projects the image and cures as the head moves. This means the printer can create detailed parts at much larger build volumes. The technology is used on their Promaker L Series of industrial 3D printers, while the V Series 3D printers print in ceramics and metals.

When Prodways first demonstrated their printers at Euromold back in 2013, 3DPI suggested the company were one, “to keep an eye on”. The Prodways’ Entrepreneurs program was launched in June 2014 to develop the market and in the same year the company released 9 different printers and 14 materials at Euromold.

3D Printing Revenue Fastest Growing

Today’s announcement illustrates that their 3D printing strategy is paying off. Groupe Gorgé’s revenue from 3D printing was €12.1m ($13.3m) for the 6 months ending 30 June, 2016. The company booked 3D printing related sales driving a 51.3% increase in the period. 3D printing revenue currently contributes less than 10% to the total €141.7m ($155.6m) reported total. However, of the 4 revenue streams growth in the 3D printing category has outpaced other divisions. The Protection in Nuclear Environments division reported the second highest percentage growth rate as 26%, almost half that of 3D printing.

Groupe Gorgé have reported sustained growth over the past 13 quarters and say the revenue from 3D printing is “satisfactory”. According to the company, they anticipate further growth in this area during the second half of the year. 2016 is a, “major phase in the development” of this line of business and work is in progress to consolidate the acquisitions made in 2015 and to build upon partnerships with industry. These partnerships include a deal with the 3rd largest manufacturer of selective laser sintering 3D printers, Farsoon.

prodways farsoon metal 3D printing logo

Strategic Acquisitions

One of the acquisitions referenced is the purchase of a dental laboratory in France. Initial customers for Prodways were in the dental industry and further vertical integration into supply chain here will allow Groupe Gorgé to capture additional value. This is a strategy seen at other 3D printer manufacturers such as Arcam who own a medical implant contract manufacturer. In Arcam’s case the approach has been successful and allowed customers to dip their feet in the water by testing the viability and economic impact of sourcing 3D printed components before taking the plunge with an investment in a 3D printer of their own. Prodways also acquired a Norge, a startup involved in SLS for plastic powder. Again, this is a common strategy to deepen the value chain and was evident in Arcam’s acquisition of AP&C, a manufacturer of specialist metal powders.

Prodways recently announced their first sales in the important 3D printing market of Korea. The company sold a ProMaker L7000 and a ProMaker L5000, “to one of the most trusted public research and R&D institutes in Korea”. The company has also signed a partnership agreement with Japanese company Altech Co who specialize in the import and sale of machines. Hidehiko Suyama, Managing Director of Altech, said, “This market has experienced massive growth in just a few years, and the product range has expanded through this growth. We are convinced that Prodways has all the necessary resources to meet the professional and industrial demand via products and a sales strategy in perfect keeping with our current equipment offer. We believe in our partnership with Prodways in the long term.”

Expanding International Markets

The Japanese market for industrial grade 3D printers is set to heat up with local company Ricoh announcing a possible addition to their existing line of 3D printers during the Tokyo Big Site last month. Ricoh showcased a, “prototype and not ready for launching in the market” at the show but as of yet, “commercialization and its timing are to be determined” according to Yukari Ezoe at the company. By revenue Ricoh is a much larger company than Group Gorgé, the most recent full year financial results reported $909m compared to $290m for the French company. Ricoh entered the 3D printing market in 2014 with technology developed in association with Aspect Inc. However, 3D printing sales at Ricoh have been sluggish, whereas Groupe Gorgé’s acquisition of Prodways in 2013 gave the French company a head start of one year and access to a range of 3D printers already under development.

With revenue spread across 4 divisions the company has not seen the dip in share price experienced by 3D printing companies with a singular focus. Anticipation is for the 3D printing business to continue to grow and when the company publish their next full year financial report they are confident that, “The annual revenue target will likely be exceeded,” according to today’s release.

SLM Solutions Group / Volkswagen / Audi
http://motorzeitung.de/news.php?newsid=352562
http://stage.slm-solutions.com/index.php?news-recent_de
SLM Solutions group is doing business with Audi, Volkswagen, GE. etc.

Materialise: suite of software and solutions
Materialise NV (NASDAQ:MTLS) announced today that they will be showcasing a full suite of software and solutions for 3D printing within hospitals at AAOS, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeon’s Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida: March 1-5, booth 3781. Introduced for the first time at the AAOS Annual Meeting, this Suite brings together medical software and services into a neutral platform that facilitates the further integration of 3D planning and printing into hospitals. Also launched as part of the Suite will be a new software solution that enables surgeons to 3D print accurate medical models in hospitals.
http://investors.materialise.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=253045&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2142618

SLM Solutions: partnership with CADS (Austria) in designing software
http://www.it-times.de/news/3d-druckerspezialist-slm-solutions-knupft-partnerschaft-mit-softwareentwickler-in-osterreich-115793/

From Belgium: 3D-Bioprinted ‘Waffle’ to Fix Broken Bones

From Belgium: 3D-Bioprinted ‘Waffle’ to Fix Broken Bones

From Belgium: 3D-Bioprinted ‘Waffle’ to Fix Broken Bones
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 2, 2016

Bone Therapeutics (Belgium) is a cell therapy biotech working on bone fracture repair which has now extended its collaboration with Kasios (France), to develop next generation bone disease therapy with 3D-Bioprinting technology.

The current standard-of-care in the Bones field involves major surgeries and (consequently) long recovery time. Bone Therapeutics is therefore developing a range of regenerative products containing osteoblasts (bone-forming cells), which can be injected with minimal invasiveness.

Preob, Bone Therapeutics’ autologous bone cell product, is currently in pivotal Phase IIb/III clinical studies for two indications: osteonecrosis (for which it has FDA Orphan Drug Designation), non-union fractures, and phase II trials for severe osteoporosis.

Allob on the other hand is an allogeneic “off-the-shelf” cell product made from adult bone marrow donors. It is in phase I/IIa trials for the treatment of delayed-union fractures and lumbar fusion for degenerative disease of the spine.



The Bone Therapeutics website in English.

Bone Therapeutics Establishes US Subsidiary
Bone Therapeutics USA Inc. to be headquartered in the heart of the Boston biotechnology cluster, laying the foundations for its US clinical trial programmes



Regenerative therapies for bone diseases - Bone Therapeutics - english version

Prodways announces the signing of a strategic
partnership agreement for its Aerospace division
with Nexteam Group

http://www.groupe-gorge.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/01/PR_GG_Prodways_announces_the_signing_of_a_strategic_partnership_with_Nexteam_Group_ENG.pdf

SLM Solutions to begin metal powder production
http://www.ipmd.net/news/003761.html

SLM Solutions: joint venture with powder producer TLS Technik GmbH
LÜBECK (IT-Times) - Der deutsche 3D-Druckerhersteller SLM Solutions Group AG hat bekanntgegeben, mit der PKM Future Holding GmbH zusammenarbeiten zu wollen.
http://www.4investors.de/php_fe/index.php?sektion=stock&ID=99921

Online Course: How To Use A 3D Printer

How To Use A 3D Printer - Learn about using the hardware and software technology behind 3D printing.

Release Date: 1st February 2016

Course Description:

The free online course How To Use A 3D Printer introduces you to the hardware and software technology behind 3D printing. The course begins by introducing you to the hardware used in 3D printing. You will learn about the different plastic filaments that are used and you will pick up tips on how to feed the plastic filament into the 3D printer for optimal performance. You will learn about the different components of a 3D printer such as the extruder nozzle and contact sensor and their functions. You will then learn how to set up and calibrate a 3D printer so that the object is printed correctly on the printer base plate. You will learn about different 3D print software that can be used to design 3D objects and the importance of using 3D model repair to eliminate errors in the design that can cause defects in the printed object. This course will be of great interest to professionals in the areas of engineering, design and manufacturing who would like to learn more about 3D printing and its applications. It will also be of interest to all learners who would like to learn more about 3D printing and the future applications of this exciting technology.

CERTIFICATION

To qualify for your official ALISON Diploma, Certificate or PDF you must study and complete all modules and score 80% or more in each of the course assessments. A link to purchase your Diploma certificate will then appear under the My Certificates heading of your My Account page.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Having completed this module the learner will be able to:

- Describe how to set up and use the Printrbot Simple 3D printer;
- Describe the features of 3D Builder software and how it can be used for 3D printing;
- Explain the importance of 3D model repair;
- Describe the types of 3D objects that can be printed.

SLM: Tire Technology Expo 2016: Selective Laser Melting (SLM®) für neue Reifenformsegmente
http://stage.slm-solutions.com/index.php?news-recent_de

Mit der Quad Laser-Technologie (4x 400 W) und der patentierten bi-direktionalen Beschichtung erreichen diese Anlagen eine Steigerung der Aufbaurate um bis zu 90 % gegenüber der Twin-Konfiguration (2x 400 W).

Means: 90% faster than the older system!

Q4/2015 Stryker Earnings Conference Call and AM Implants

Here's the link to the conference call recording.
A name and an email address must be entered to get access to the recording. (Any name and anything that looks like a valid email address will work.)

The Seeking Alpha website has the transcript - Stryker (SYK) Kevin Lobo on Q4 2015 Results - Earnings Call Transcript - Jan. 26, 2016

There are 3 references to titanium and 24 to 3D printing.
An excerpt:

David Roman (from Goldman Sachs)

Okay. That's very helpful. And then on the capital spending side, the $400 million to $450 million at the end of the high end of the range that would be almost a doubling from where you were I think in 2014.

Could you maybe just help us go into a little bit detail on where those CapEx dollars are going? How much of that are 2016 isolated in nature and what the implications of this additional CapEx are to the rest of the business down the road?

Kevin Lobo (Stryker Chairman and Chief Executive Officer)

Sure. I'd say that there is beyond just supporting the operations in the higher growth level that we've got in the company, there is a couple of areas of specific investment.

One is on in the ERP transformational area, which is strengthening our global ERPs on a world-wide basis and reducing the numbers that we have. So we're on a more consistent common system there.

The second one is actually we're building a brand new state-of-the-art 3D printing manufacturing facility this year as well too. So we're spending some dollars I think in some key potential growth areas for us and we might want to take advantage of that this year is a little bit of a blip in comparison to what that normal CapEx would be.


Stryker has used laser technology in the past. There's no mention of what technologies will be used in the new state-of-the-art 3D printing manufacturing facility.

What If 3D Printing Was 100x Faster? (carbon3d)

http://carbon3d.com/

Harnessing Light + Oxygen

UV light triggers photopolymerization and oxygen inhibits it. By carefully balancing the interaction of light and oxygen, CLIP continuously grows objects from a pool of resin.

CLIP moves beyond the limitations of 3D printing to offer unprecedented speed, quality, and choice.
Game-Changing Speed

While speed is dependent on various factors, traditional 3D printing takes hours or even days to finish. CLIP is 25 to 100 times faster.

Below is a head-to-head comparison* of producing a 51mm diameter complex object like the one on the left. It can’t be fabricated by traditional manufacturing techniques.





What If 3D Printing Was 100x Faster? | Joseph DeSimone | TED Talks | Published on Mar 19, 2015

Moog Announces Investment in Additive Manufacturing Business

Moog Announces Investment in Additive Manufacturing Business

Posted on: December 4, 2015

East Aurora, NY – Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) announced today that it has acquired a 70% ownership of Linear Mold and Engineering with an option to acquire the remaining 30%. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The privately held company, based in Livonia, Michigan, has 120 employees and specializes in metal additive manufacturing (AM). Linear provides engineering, manufacturing and production consulting services to customers across a wide range of industries including aerospace, defense, energy and industrial.

Sales for the 12 months ended September 2015 were approximately $21 million.

The acquisition is expected to be neutral to Moog’s 2016 earnings per share.

“We are excited to welcome Linear to Moog,” said Sean Gartland, Vice President of Strategic Growth Initiatives at Moog. “We see significant potential for metal additive solutions in our core markets–aerospace, defense and industrial applications–in addition to the markets and customers that Linear is already serving.”

The financial results will be reported as part of the Aircraft Controls segment.

About Moog

Moog Inc. is a worldwide designer, manufacturer, and integrator of precision control components and systems. Moog’s high-performance systems control military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, missiles, automated industrial machinery, wind turbines, marine and medical equipment. Additional information can be found at www.moog.com.

About Linear Mold and Engineering
Linear was founded by John Tenbusch in 2003 as a service-focused business and began developing specialized molds and tooling for plastic forming applications. As one of the early adopters of metal additive manufacturing (AM) in North America, the company was able to exploit the advantages it offered for enhanced product feature sets, rapid design cycles and high customization. Over the last five years, Linear has leveraged their AM design and process expertise to build an outwardly focused AM services business. Additional information can be found at www.linearmold.com.



Linear Expands Mold Making & 3D Metal Printing

[I]Posted on: June 30, 2015

Linear Mold & Engineering, a manufacturer of precision injection molds, molded parts and 3D metal printing of production parts for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in the automotive, aerospace and medical markets, announces the addition of new machinery to meet the company’s rapid growth.

A new gun drill for deep-hole drilling for water lines, ejector pin holes and custom manifolds will give Linear the ability to bring that work back in-house. “It’s good to be in moldmaking right now. The mold world is very busy these days and we outsource a lot of gun drill work,” commented John Tenbusch, President of Linear.

Mike Misener, Director of Tooling and Manufacturing, concurred. “We produce between 450-500 molds a year in all sizes and varieties,” he said. “There are not a lot of companies that own gun drills which means those resources are limited,” said Misener. “We lose a lot of time trying to get a job scheduled into a shop, and the costs tend to be higher.”

The gun drill will reduce drilling time by 80% and is capable of drilling 80” a minute in aluminum, according to Misener. With steels it will do 50”-60” a minute. While a typical job on the radial drill might take 10-12 hours to drill one block, the new state-of-the-art gun drill can do it in 1.5 hours. We can drill a depth of 50” and hold tolerances within a thousandth in both location and diameter.”

The Precihole Single Spindle gun drill has an auxiliary milling head that will handle up to a 6” facemill, and has a 24’ x 32’ footprint. The table can hold blocks that are 8’ long x 5’ wide, Misener explained.

While the mold manufacturing department is extremely busy, the company’s 3D metal printing production department is experiencing a big influx of work as well. To help open up production time, Linear is adding two M290 3D metal printing machines from EOS that are expected to arrive any day, and two dual laser SLM machines from SLM Solutions have just been delivered. Linear currently operates 14 3D metal printing machines, most of which are dedicated to production parts.

“Our sales will be increasing next year by quite a bit,” commented Tenbusch. “Our production business in the 3D metal process will exceed our moldmaking business sometime next month and this is only the beginning. We have a number of customers that are serious about using 3D metal printed parts for production.”

In addition to building production parts using 3D metal printing, Linear’s conformal cooling business, which also uses the 3D metal printing technology, is also experiencing an uptick in demand. “Some of the SLM machines will be dedicated to conformal cooling technology,” Tenbusch stated, noting that as conformal cooling gains greater acceptance among OEMs, particularly those in the automotive industry, demand increases.

“The conformal cooling work is starting to pick up as customers take a serious look at this technology,” Tenbusch said. “First they have to have acceptance of what it can do and for that they run their own tests and trials on the technology. However, a number of them have moved past the trial stage now and are looking for applications that are a perfect fit.”

To accommodate the machinery additions, Linear is currently undergoing a 17,000-square-foot expansion. The company currently operates out of four buildings, including their North American headquarters which contains the 3D metal printing and CNC machining divisions, a molding facility, manufacturing facility and a warehouse.

Algorithm helps turn smartphones into 3-D scanners

Algorithm helps turn smartphones into 3-D scanners


The introduction to the article from Brown University:


December 23, 2015

An algorithm developed by Brown University researchers helps turn smartphones and off-the-shelf digital cameras into structured light 3-D scanners. The advance could help make high-quality 3-D scanning cheaper and more readily available.

Short Interest in 3D Printing Stocks Slips Again

Short Interest in 3D Printing Stocks Slips Again - January 13, 2016

Short interest during the two-week period ending December 31 declined in three of four 3D printing stocks we follow. Share prices rose on two of the stocks during the two weeks, although one posted a new 52-week low on Tuesday.

As a group, short interest in these stocks is waning. Since July the trend has definitely tracked lower, and days to cover have trended into the double digits. It appears that there simply is not enough action in the 3D printing stocks to interest short sellers. That could change in a heartbeat though.

Short interest in 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) rose by 1.5% to 33.73 million shares. Some 31.9% of the company’s float was short. Days to cover fell from 13 to nine. In the two-week short interest period to year’s end, the share price fell about 3.3%. The stock’s 52-week range is $7.54 to $33.17, and shares closed at $7.78 on Tuesday, up nearly 3% on the day after posting the new low.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) saw short interest fall by 2.8% in the last two weeks of December to about 11.29 million shares, or about 23.3% of the company’s float. Days to cover slipped from 13 to 12. The share price retreated about 0.2% in the two-week period, and the stock closed at $20.57 on Tuesday, down about 2% on the day after posting a new low of $20.03. The 52-week high is $82.79.

Short interest in ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) slipped 2.3% to 2.24 million shares. About 24.7% of the company’s shares were short. ExOne’s share price rose 9% in the two-week period. The stock’s 52-week range is $5.81 to $17.79, and shares closed at $8.05 on Tuesday, up more than 7% for the day. Days to cover fell from 11 to six. The share price spike on Tuesday followed an announcement by the company’s CEO that he will invest $13 million in a direct share offering at a price of $9.13 per share.

Short interest in Voxeljet A.G. (NYSE: VJET) decreased by 11.1% to 1.08 million American depositary shares, with days to cover dropping from 12 to nine. The stock price rose by 3.7% in the most recent short interest period. The stock closed at $4.25 on Tuesday, down about 1.2% for the day, in a 52-week range of $4.11 to $10.75.

By Paul Ausick

VOXELJET ANNOUNCES JOINT VENTURE IN CHINA--AND--EXPANDS TO INDIA

VOXELJET AG ANNOUNCES JOINT VENTURE IN CHINA

Tuesday, December 1, 2015 8:30 am EST
FRIEDBERG, Germany

FRIEDBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--voxeljet AG (NYSE: VJET) (the “Company”, or “voxeljet”), a leading provider of high-speed, large-format 3D printers and on-demand parts services to industrial and commercial customers, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to form an equity joint venture with Suzhou Meimai Fast Manufacturing Technology Co., Ltd. (“Meimai”) to pursue opportunities in the industrial 3D printing market in China. Among the indirect shareholders of Meimai are MK Technology GmbH (“MK Technology“) and Metang Novatech Shanghai Co., Ltd. (“Metang“). Metang is a long standing distribution partner of voxeljet in China. Meimai operates a VX 800 3D printer which was purchased by MK Technology and delivered to Metang in 2011. The voxeljet printer will not form part of the contemplated joint venture.

The joint venture shall be called voxeljet China Ltd., subject to the approval by the local authorities. voxeljet China Ltd. will be controlled by voxeljet, who is holding a supermajority interest in the joint venture. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

voxeljet China Ltd. will be headquartered in the city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, and is expected to begin providing on-demand part services from a temporary facility in the second quarter of 2016. The joint venture parties are in the early planning stages for a larger facility, which is expected to be similar in size to voxeljet’s existing service facilities in Germany and the United States.

Dr. Ingo Ederer, Chief Executive Officer of voxeljet, commented, “We are excited to announce our joint venture partnership with Meimai in China as part of our ongoing growth strategy. Our long standing relationship with the principals of Meimai makes them the ideal local partner for us to establish a direct operating presence in the market. Their experience with our printers coupled with their existing customer base and relationships with end users of industrial 3D printing applications in China is a great benefit. This is a great opportunity for us and we look forward to growing together in the market.”


VOXELJET EXPANDS TO INDIA

Thursday, December 17, 2015 8:22 am EST
FRIEDBERG, Germany

"After the UK, the US and China, the subsidiary in India represents the next big step in voxeljet's global growth strategy."
FRIEDBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The German manufacturer of industrial 3D printing systems established voxeljet India Pvt. Ltd. in December 2015. The new voxeljet subsidiary is located in Pune, a large automotive and manufacturing center near Mumbai. India’s foundry industry still features a fairly traditional structure. The global popularity and acceptance of the 3D printing technology has led to growing interest in 3D printers and on-demand parts services on the part of the Indian industry.

voxeljet, one of the world's leading providers of industrial 3D solutions, wants to build up a strong market position in India already at this early stage. Ms. Nidhi Shah, the new Managing Director of voxeljet India, has more than ten years of experience in 3D printing methods and additive manufacturing technology. She plays an important role in establishing the voxeljet brand in India and promoting the development of an operational presence in the market. For this reason, voxeljet will attend IFEX (29 - 31 January 2016) in Coimbatore, one of India’s most important foundry trade shows.

Similar to the already established voxeljet subsidiaries, the company also plans to establish a service center for the on-demand manufacture of 3D-printed molds within the next 18 months. The first phase will focus on the development of the sales and service structure. voxeljet COO Rudolf Franz notes as follows with regard to the global business developments: “After the UK, the US and China, the subsidiary in India represents the next big step in voxeljet's global growth strategy.”


VOXELJET OF AMERICA INC. COMMENCES OPERATION

In January 2015, voxeljet commenced operations and began printing parts for customers at its North American Services facility located in Canton, Michigan (near Detroit). The approximately 50,000 square foot facility will initially operate four large-format printers to support both the sand casting and investment casting markets. The Company expects to install additional sand and plastic printers, including the VX4000 during the course of the year. Voxeljet anticipates its Canton, Michigan facility having similar printing capacity to its Friedberg, Germany service center by the end of 2016.

We hosted our first customer seminar on January 20th which included presentations from David Tait, Managing Director of Voxeljet of America Inc., Ingo Ederer CEO of voxeljet AG, and Tom Mueller, Director of Casting Applications, North America.

“Our inaugural customer seminar was very successful”, said David Tait, Managing Director of Voxeljet of America Inc. “We were able to share various historical applications with customers of the aerospace, automotive and heavy equipment sectors. Many of these 3D printing technology users were excited about the facility’s capabilities as well as the very robust machine engineering quality. We look forward to our growing presence in the market.”

Voxeljet - A big niche in 3D printing

3D Printer Carves Out Niche for Big Parts - January 08, 2016



Tom Lansford posted on January 08, 2016

At first glance, 3D printing is a broad, horizontal technology. But each industry will have its unique needs for 3D printing. A 3D printing manufacturer can turn a specialized technique into a large niche market.

The technologies used in 3D printing are varied. Stereolithography and curing of resins, digital light processing (DLP) and photopolymers, fused deposit modeling with thermoplastics, inkjet techniques using binder agents (binder jetting) or photopolymers (material jetting) and direct metal laser sintering are all types of additive manufacturing processes, but the techniques and the materials vary significantly, which make certain processes more appropriate for one application than another.

Germany’s voxeljet manufactures 3D printers that produce casting molds for industrial applications. voxeljet uses the binder-jetting method and prints using sand and plastics. Its printers can generate either plastic parts or sand parts in very large sizes, or many parts of a more modest size—the key point being the industrial target for casting production molds.

At Frankfurt's Formnext 2015 trade show, voxeljet presented its range of printers, including the VX1000. With a price of $1 million, it is not surprising that the company also provides a 3D printing service using the technology. In fact, the parts-on-demand business is running ahead of the 3D printing system revenue for 2015, according to a company press release. And while Formnext in Frankfurt would be a local event for its German customers, voxeljet has gone international, now with service centers in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The VX1000 is not the largest printer in the voxeljet stable. That distinction goes to the VX4000, which is, according to the company, “the world's biggest industrial 3D printer including the cohesive build space of 4,000 x 2,000 x 1,000 mm (158 x 79 x 39 in). The machine is very fast, easy to operate and permits the economical production of very large individual molds, many small-series components or a combination of the two.”

The VX4000 comes in at a price just over $1.5 million. It has a very large build envelope and most importantly, the printers create mold casts efficiently for industries such as the automotive industry, where competing technologies and solutions are expensive. The service arm of voxeljet for parts on demand is a critical path to monetize their technology with customers who do not need to, cannot afford to or simply choose not to invest in their own in-house printing capacity.

The result? voxeljet has established itself in a niche market within the extremely large and horizontal 3D printing industry.


VOXELJET presents New VX1000 3D printer

Inside Audi's wonderfully improbable Moon project (SLM Solutions)

Inside Audi's wonderfully improbable project to put a rover on the Moon - January 11, 2016

An excerpt from the article:

Audi has helped perfect the 3D printing process to create nearly the entire rover out of aluminum and titanium. It uses special channels to route wiring inside hollow structural components, something that couldn't be done with a CNC process. "It's not possible from the axis of freedom," says Robert Böhme, CEO of PT Scientists. "The parts are like 1 millimeter thick."

3D printing isn't just going to contribute to the building of the rover. The team wants to create a 3D printer that can use lunar soil already chock full of aluminum, titanium, and magnesium to eventually create parts for other devices on the Moon. The theory is that it's a lot easier to build something new on the Moon than it is to ship it there.


Audi’s amazing robotic moon rover at the Detroit Auto Show
Published on Jan 10, 2016
With Audi’s help, a team of scientists is going after the moon with an all-new rover design — and it could launch next year.

Autodesk's Biomedical 3D Printing Software Solution, Autodesk Within, at formnext

Published on Nov 20, 2015

EOS M080 PRECIOUS Cooksongold DMLS Additive Manufacturing FORMNEXT2015

EOS M080 PRECIOUS Cooksongold | DMLS | Additive Manufacturing at FORMNEXT 2015
Published on Jan 10, 2016
Electro Optical Systems (EOS) - Cooksongold M080 PRECIOUS
Direct Metal Laser Sintering system in operation at FORMNEXT in Frankfurt 2015.

NASA Closer to Building 3-D Printed Rocket Engine

Piece by Piece: NASA Team Moves Closer to Building a 3-D Printed Rocket Engine - Dec. 17, 2015

An excerpt form the middle of the text:

“These NASA tests drive down the costs and risks associated with using additive manufacturing, which is a relatively new process for making aerospace quality parts,” said Robertson. “Vendors who had never worked with NASA learned how to make parts robust enough for rocket engines. What we’ve learned through this project can now be shared with American companies and our partners.”

To make each part, a design is entered into a 3-D printer's computer. The printer then builds each part by layering metal powder and fusing it together with a laser – a process known as selective laser melting. The 3-D printed turbopump, one of the more complex parts of the engine, had 45 percent fewer parts than similar pumps made with traditional welding and assembly techniques. The injector had over 200 fewer parts than traditionally manufactured injectors, and it incorporated features that have never been used before because they are only possible with additive manufacturing. Complex parts like valves that normally would take more than a year to manufacture were built by in a few months. This made it possible to get the parts built and assembled on the test stand much sooner than if they had been procured and made with traditional methods. Marshall engineers designed the fuel pump and its components and leveraged the expertise of five suppliers to build the parts using 3-D printing processes.

“This new manufacturing process really opened the design space and allowed for part geometries that would be impossible with traditional machining or casting methods,” said David Eddleman, one Marshall’s propulsion designers. “For the valve designs on this engine, we used more efficient structures in the piece parts that resulted in optimized performance.”

EOS partnership with Formula One Williams Advanced Engineering

EOS signs a partnership with Formula One Williams Advanced Engineering - 16 December 2015



Major additive manufacturing company EOS E-Manufacturing Solutions signed a partnership with Formula One company Williams Grand Prix Engineering and Williams Advanced Engineering. Williams, whose team has won 16 FIA Formula One World Championships, has been using 3D printing in their manufacturing processes already, but the new three-year technical partnership will allow them direct access to the newest additive manufacturing technology provided by EOS.

“The partnership will allow EOS and Williams to jointly expose selected customers to the world of Formula One with the aim of illustrating the use of AM in this technically advanced industry,” said Stuart Jackson, UK Regional Manager at EOS. “Through its Williams Advanced Engineering business, Williams provides technical innovation that transfers Formula One technology solutions focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency to mainstream industries such as automotive, motorsport, transport, energy and other sectors. As such, the partnership is a perfect fit for us as we truly believe that all parties involved will highly benefit from this interchange of ideas.”

Williams has already been using materials from EOS in their production process. Carbonmide, a carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide material known for its strength and rigidity, is being utilized by Williams along with carbon composite laminates for production parts requiring improved strength. Alumide, an aluminum-filled polyamide powder, has been used for a wide variety of stable parts for functional testing. They also already own two EOS polymer systems.

As part of the newly signed agreement, EOS will continue to provide Williams with additive manufacturing supplies and systems, and will also support the Formula One company in the development of its own additive manufacturing project. To start things off, Williams has installed a new EOSINT P 760 modular plastic additive manufacturing system, which promises to increase the company’s productivity and capacity for large print jobs with its build volume of 700 x 380 x 580 mm.

(OPTOMEC) Laser Engineered Net Shaping with Thermal Monitoring

Bloomberg Business Company Overview of Optomec, Inc.

OPTOMEC LENS 750

Laser Engineered Net Shaping with Thermal Monitoring
Published on Dec 20, 2015
More information @ http://www.am.msstate.edu

This video demonstrates the Direct Laser Deposition (via the LENS process) of a thin wall. An OPTOMEC LENS 750 is utilized with two thermal cameras installed. One is an infrared camera custom-installed in the build chamber that is used for monitoring and recording the heat affected zone and bulk temperature field along portions of a part during manufacture. A dual-wavelength pyrometer is installed atop the LENS machine to monitor the melt pool temperature distribution during manufacture. This equipment is housed at the Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at Mississippi State University's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS).

Incredible World of 3D Printing (Channel Trailer 2016)

Incredible World of 3D Printing (Channel Trailer 2016)
Published on Jan 3, 2016
3D Printing is as unique, diverse and popular as never before. Additive manufacturing is now used by a huge number of industries ranging from desktop consumer products to automotive and even aerospace field. This is only a tiny glimpse into the incredible beauty of this technology and it's best applications yet.

ExOne reports Q4 printer shipments, reiterates 2015 sales guidance

ExOne reports Q4 printer shipments, reiterates 2015 sales guidance - Jan 6 2016, 10:28 ET

ExOne Reports 2015 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Shipments - Wed January 6, 2016 6:55 AM

A Quick Video Introduction To Materialize
The number in parenthesis is the playing time for the video.

A Webcast Presentation of the Q3 2015 Materialise NV Earnings Conference Call - Friday, November 13, 2015 10:00 a.m. ET
There is a quick registration that requires a name and valid email address. There is no confirmation email required to access conference (any email address will work).
Q3 2015 Financial Results Presentation PDF
A Webcast Presentation of the Q4 2014 Materialise NV Earnings Conference Call - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 8:30 a.m. ET
Q4 2014 Financial Results Presentation PDF


Highlights of 2015 | Materialise - Published on Dec 18, 2015 (1:37)
This is 2015 as we saw it at Materialise: a year of amazing innovation and inspiration, rounding off our 25th anniversary.

SLM Solutions is off the radar in USA (and almost off the radar in it's own home market)

The NASDAQ link for the US SLM solutions security.

Google Finance SLM SOLUTIONS GROU NPV(OTCMKTS:SLGRF)

Google Finance SLM Solutions Group AG(ETR:AM3D)

While is capitalization and number of shares are roughly similar to Arcam's, the average number of shares traded in it's home market is pretty light. For the last year, SLM's average daily volume has been 29,000 shares vs. 120,357 shares for Arcam. That's less than a quarter of Arcam's average volume in Sweden.

Global 3D Printer Market Up +35% in 2015 on the Back of B2B Purchases of Personal/Desktop Printers

Global 3D Printer Market Up +35% in 2015 on the Back of B2B Purchases of Personal/Desktop Printers - 01/04/16 09:00 AM EST

Mauser96 posted on the Arcam board about the 3D Systems Cube printer. I agree with his assessment that the general public would not rush to buy such complex expensive device.

The very real market for these machines is with engineers, students, and hobbyists. These machines are essential to give a very useful, hands on, introduction to additive manufacturing. There are and will be people that use the low priced plastic machines in innovative ways but they are far from being in every household. The machines themselves are only part of the manufacturing equation. The software is critical in the design and setup for each build. It's harder than it looks if you're doing more than downloading a file from thingiverse and pumping it right into the printer.

"While not quite yet resonating with general consumers, Desktop 3D Printers remain an important gateway technology for the evolution of the 3D Printing industry" noted Chris Connery, VP for Global Analysis at CONTEXT. "Today's young engineers, students, and hobbyists need to become exposed to the concepts necessary to allow them to properly design products for an additive manufacturing environment and low cost, entry level Personal 3D Printers allow for this learning to take place more rapidly."


There are also a couple of figures that present data on Global Industrial/Professional machine sales.