Editorial selection from the November/December 2022 issue, posted online in January 2023. It reflects encounters and announcements in 2022, not a current ranking or an exhaustive list; not every company was founded that year.
Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard. In the manufacturing and technology industry, ideas are popping up every day. However, most of the founders choose to remain in stealth mode until they have an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) to introduce to the market – with good reason, given the risks that are often involved. Interestingly, in 2022, ten companies stood out from the crowd and introduced their products and services to the “glocal” (portmanteau that combines the words “global” and local”) AM industry. Here they are.
Q.big 3D GmbH
Founded in 2019, the Germany-based startup develops large scale 3D printers based on a process called VFGF (Variable Fused Granular Fabrication). I saw them for the first time at AM Forum Berlin. Their technology processes polymer (plastic) granulates into one single extruder. Variable because high-resolution printing is only used where the finest contours and good surface qualities are required. Everywhere else, the material throughput is much higher, the company says. Their flagship product is named Queen 1. I don’t know what inspired this name, but I like it. It’s easy to remember, and it implies something majestic – which is the feeling that big things should arouse. I now hope that their product is able to deliver on that feeling.
The DACH region—Germany, Austria and Switzerland—featured prominently in the encounters and communications reviewed for this 2022 selection. That does not establish a geographic restriction on Q.big 3D’s offering.
Additive Assurance
Marten Jurg and Associate Professor Andrey Molotnikov founded Additive Assurance, spun out of Monash University in 2019. Its AMiRIS system monitors laser powder bed fusion and helps detect anomalies. Monitoring supplies inspection data; it does not alone guarantee a part’s structural integrity or automatic correction of every defect.
The company reported work with aerospace and advanced manufacturing customers. In 2022 it raised A$4.1 million to support development. The currency is Australian dollars, not US dollars.
AM Extrusion GmbH
Based in Radebeul, Germany, the idea of AM Extrusion became reality in early 2021 when Felix Alber, Aljoscha Roch and Sven Halank joined forces to develop a range of metal and ceramic filaments for 3D printing.
“Material availability is a high threshold for the industrial use of the otherwise so advantageous fused deposition modelling. With our unique AM-Xcomp binder system, we are able to lower this threshold and to process almost any available metal or ceramic powder into sinterable materials for 3D printing. Our patent pending AM-X thermoplastic filaments feature unprecedented powder enrichment rates, excellent printing properties and easy applicability at nearly room temperature. Warping issues in the workpieces, high occupational safety standards, the disposal of excess toxic material, and other disadvantages of conventional AM processes are now a thing of the past”, the company says.
This supplier statement does not remove safety requirements. NIOSH notes that material extrusion can emit particles and volatile compounds. Feedstock, ventilation, handling and debinding/sintering require appropriate assessment and safety-data-sheet guidance.
With production capacities that range from 500 g to several 100 kg, their portfolio of filaments then included light or hard metal, copper, stainless steel or ceramics; it can be customized if there are special requirements for a filament to meet.
Copper-filled filament is extruded into a part that subsequently needs debinding and sintering. Binding the metal into filament does not remove the need for appropriate precautions. “For 3D printing of pure copper parts, we invented the AM-X Cu 99,97% filament that contains a polymer filled with a high-purity copper powder at high volume fraction. The uniqueness of our material is that the polymer can be fully removed after printing and the copper powder can be sintered easily in a furnace. That enables a 100 % material consumption for getting copper parts. We avoid any material waste and have a resource-saving manufacturing process. The material is used additively, exactly where it is needed”, they explain.
The quoted purity concerns copper, not a filament containing 99.97% metal. “Zero waste” is the supplier’s claim: binder removal, possible supports and process losses still need consideration.
Namma
France-based Namma develops the EVA hybrid platform, combining 3D printing, CNC machining and laser engraving. The manufacturer presents two heads and different working configurations, supported by N-Center software. Operations that can be combined depend on tooling, settings and workflow; not every process is necessarily performed simultaneously.
TriTech Titanium Parts
Binder jetting, metal injection molding and investment casting provide different routes to metal parts. Comparing these processes within one supplier can help select a route for the geometry and volume.
TriTech Titanium Parts, a newcomer on the market combines these technologies in its production environment. Launched on April 5, 2022, the company is a spin-off of its President’s former company, AmeriTi Manufacturing. The latter was sold to Kymera International, also on April 5, 2022.
TriTech offers near-final-shape titanium parts, selecting a process for the component and order. Finishing, tolerances and qualification remain application-specific; “net shape” does not guarantee the absence of every subsequent operation.
Fractal Additive
Founded in 2022 by Olivia Krueger, this US-based start-up provides two main services: Contract Design Engineering Services and Fractal Infill. My curiosity is aroused for this latter one: a solution that creates adaptive structures that are optimized for each part that goes through the slicer. The solution aims to save material while retaining the required performance. Why do I find it interesting? Because it’s hard to innovate in the material extrusion field (FDM 3D printing) and I am very keen to discover where Krueger can go with this solution…Hopefully, very far away.
That aim requires verification for the part, material and loading conditions; it does not establish equal strength for every infill structure.
Filaret
Cigarette butts contain plastic filters and residues that can pollute the environment. WHO highlighted these impacts in 2022. Recycling them therefore also requires unwanted substances to be controlled.
Ines-Issa Villido and Kristina Jacqueline Leon, founders of Estonia-based Filaret, propose collecting cigarette butts and converting them into filament. Dedicated bins were installed on Põhja-Tallinn beaches for the project presented in 2022. At the time of writing, the detailed process and validated applications had not been specified. Claimed sustainability and compostability require testing and defined conditions; recycling alone does not establish material safety.
DUPLEX
DUPLEX presents MAP™ (multi-dimensional additive production), a multidirectional extrusion approach. The company reports time savings and reduced support requirements for certain geometries. Benefits depend on component and toolpath; they do not establish that every support or finishing constraint disappears.
Sinterjet
Based in Turkey, Sinterjet has been operating for a couple of years on the market but made their premiere at Formnext in 2022. The company wants to position itself on the market of affordable metal 3D printers. Announced in 2022 at €65,000 (about US$68,000 at the time), their flagship product is the Sinterjet M60, an industrial metal 3D printer with a build volume of 160 x 60 x 60 mm that uses Binder Jetting 3D printing technology, a process where a liquid binder solution is selectively deposited on powder layers until a complete object is created.
The manufacturer’s specification lists 1,200 × 1,200 dpi and a maximum build rate of 50 cm³/h. This is not a throughput of finished metal parts. Loose powder supports the part during printing, while debinding, sintering and possible furnace supports still require consideration. Sinterjet presented its software and ease of use as benefits.
The Industry Sweden AB
Encountered at Formnext 2022, The Industry Sweden AB already had a history under the name BLB Industries. Inclusion in this selection therefore does not mean it was founded in 2022. The company presents FGF (fused granule fabrication) systems that extrude thermoplastic pellets into large parts.
The system described at the time offers a 1,500 × 1,200 × 1,200 mm build volume. Pellet feed avoids making filament, but recycled or fiber-filled materials require compatibility and qualification. Announced options for flexible materials and plant fibers do not establish universal compatibility or a demonstrated environmental benefit.
The company says its rebranding was the start of a new scalable business model that will focus on developing strong brand recognition, with new products and strategies to fight plastic pollution.
Disclaimer: A number of big corporations also decided to create their AM division in 2022, they have purposely been excluded from this article to highlight SMEs and founders who are building their company from scratch.
This article was first published in the 2022 November/December edition of 3D ADEPT Mag.
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