Materials, metal printing, automated systems and software: these ten companies caught our editorial team’s attention in 2024. The selection brings together young businesses and established companies expanding their additive manufacturing offerings; they did not all emerge from stealth that year.
Reading context: this selection was prepared for the 2024 retrospective and published online in January 2025. Launches, funding, roles and schedules refer to that period. Manufacturer performance claims are not the results of an independent comparative test.
1. Xenia
Founded in Italy in 1995, Xenia presented its 3DP MATERIALS range at Formnext 2023. These thermoplastic compounds combine resins, reinforcement and additives for pellet-fed extrusion, including large-scale production. Compatibility and processing conditions need to be validated for the printer and application.
The company’s 3DF Materials division launched four new 3D printing filaments at Formnext 2024, designed to meet diverse requirements in industries needing lightweight, structural, and sustainable, materials. Those materials include XECARB® SL 3DF – 15% carbon fiber reinforced PA11, XELIGHT® 3DF – Ultralight PEBA, XECARB® 45 3DF – 10% carbon fiber reinforced PVDF as well as XEGREEN® 23 3DF – 20% carbon fiber reinforced PETG.
I met the team at Formnext 2024 and discovered some of their materials. The team seems experienced and their products seem to be of good quality. I just hope they will have a better journey than their fellow companies in the market that discontinued their activities in 2024.
2. Fluent Metal
The Fluent Metal team brings together professionals with backgrounds including Desktop Metal, VulcanForms and the MIT Media Lab. That experience helps explain the interest in the company; it is not, by itself, validation of its technology’s performance.
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fluent Metal announced its emergence from stealth in 2024. The additional funding reported was $3.2 million, led by E15 with Pillar VC and angel investors, bringing the announced total to $5.5 million. The company’s press index lists these announcements. These are historical reported amounts, not an updated funding total.
Fluent Metal’s process converts metal wire into deposited drops on demand, without powder or a laser. The company promotes simpler operation and reduced waste and energy use. This dossier does not provide an independent comparative assessment that quantifies those benefits.
Liquid metal printing includes the Xerox technology acquired by ADDiTEC and work by ValCUN. Mantle uses a different approach: its process combines metal paste, machining and sintering. It should not be grouped with molten-metal droplet deposition.
The good news in Fluent Metal’s case is that the people behind the company will give some credibility to this technology and I hope its capabilities could make the technology gain the spotlight it truly deserves.
3. Ecogensus
Ecogensus develops materials from mixed household waste, including organics, plastics, paper and cardboard. The company presents conversion into powders and composites as a way to recover value from these resources.
The company targets applications including 3D printing and injection moulding. Process compatibility, material properties and environmental impact need to be assessed for each formulation; recycled origin alone does not demonstrate an overall environmental advantage.
Ecogensus’ US patent 11,692,082 concerns compositions containing solid waste materials. A patent describes an invention and its claims; it does not, on its own, establish industrial or environmental performance for every application.
4. Verne Additive Manufacturing Labs
Verne Additive Manufacturing Labs develops high-temperature polymer powder laser sintering, including PEKK processing. Filament extrusion and laser sintering are distinct routes for processing high-performance polymers. Chamber temperature, powder handling and laser parameters all contribute to controlling the SLS process.
Named Verne STROM, the 3D printer is accompanied by a sieving, mixing, and a powder transfer system called SM-1. The manufacturer’s stated features include a build chamber that can go up to 380°C, 40W CO2 Laser, Theta-lens focusing (with fiber laser configuration available as an option), a build size of 220 x 250 x 400 mm (8.7 x 9.8 x 15.7 in), a build rate that goes up to 2 L/h – 35 mm/h – 1.4 in/h or even AI-enhanced scanning strategies and laser power management.
When the 2024 retrospective was prepared, commercialisation was still presented as forthcoming. The STROM technical page provides the manufacturer’s specifications; the historical schedule in this dossier does not confirm current availability.
5. Zylo 3D
In 2024, Zylo 3D attracted our attention for its dental-printing automation project and the arrival of Shane Fox, cofounder of Link3D, which was acquired by Materialise. Its founding year, presented only tentatively in the original version, is not treated here as established fact.
I have always been a huge fan of Fox’ work and what he did at Link3D, so I was curious to see where he will land next after selling his company. And the answer is Zylo3D – a company that bears the same name as its flagship product – a 3D printer that he describes as a “game-changer” in the dental industry.
The system was presented as combining printing, washing, drying and post-curing. Automation is intended to reduce manual handling; it does not remove the need for job preparation, part inspection and maintenance.
The company’s promise is quite strong: “You can print, wash, dry, and cure all in a single synced machine that requires minimal space and no prior printing experience while eliminating complexities associated with resin handling,” the company’s website explains. Fox is bringing some credibility to a product that is quite fascinating. I can’t wait to discover more about it through user feedback.
6. Fugo Precision 3D
Fugo Precision 3D is a California-based manufacturer that promises AM users they can achieve precision with sub-30-micron accuracy. The new 3D printer named Fugo Model A would integrate multiple post-production processes into a single machine, significantly reducing costs and increasing efficiency for manufacturers. With this all-in-one system, users can print, wash, dry and post-cure parts, streamlining the entire production process.
In its July 2024 announcement, Fugo claimed sub-30-micron accuracy and throughput up to ten times that of traditional SLA printers. These are manufacturer claims; the comparison conditions are not detailed here. Planned shipments in Q1 2025 were an announced target, not deliveries verified in this dossier.
7. Sprybuild
In 2024, Sprybuild presented a resin photopolymerisation concept combining a moving metal belt and a rigid optical interface. The belt replaces the build platform, not the optical interface.
According to Sprybuild, the belt moves at an angle to the DLP projection, with magnetic stabilisation and automatic part release. These features are intended to support continuous production and reduce downtime between builds.
Interface control and resin supply are central to this approach. This dossier does not contain sufficient evidence to equate its mechanism with Carbon’s CLIP technology or to describe an equivalent “dead zone”.
In addition to speed that is enhanced, the 3D printer would enable cost reduction through automation and the use of widely available UV resins. Not to mention that automated slicing, nesting, and the post-processing unit would make it easy to address complexity of the printing process.
The manufacturer’s proposed applications include dental models, insoles, eyewear, hearing aids, prosthetic components and casting patterns. Suitability depends on the material, part requirements and process qualification.
8. SUGINO
Included in our Formnext 2024 coverage, SUGINO presented CASF, Cavitation Abrasive Surface Finishing. This post-processing method combines a high-pressure water jet, abrasive suspension and cavitation to treat part surfaces.
Akiteru Tsuiji, Managing Director of the German subsidiary told 3D ADEPT Media that abnormal layers such as poor melting and cavities that occur from the surface layer to a depth of 200 µm can be removed together with surface smoothing treatment and compressive stress. He described improved fatigue performance as an intended benefit; the result depends on the component, material and treatment parameters.
9. VRC Metal Systems (aka VRC)
VRC Metal Systems, founded in 2013, is a supplier of cold spray systems. The technique deposits metal in the solid state for coating, repair or manufacturing. Inclusion in this retrospective does not mean VRC was founded or emerged from stealth in 2024.
Named Dragonfly Cold Spray System, the machine can be used across industries such as maritime repairs, aeronautical maintenance, repair and overhaul, and the energy sector. The Dragonfly™ modules include the electrical assembly, the gas train, the powder feeder, and the heating unit.
A handheld VRC pendant controller starts and monitors operations. The manufacturer describes parameter recording and export, with storage for up to 100 cold spray recipes. Parameters still need validation for the material and application.
10. nPower Technologies
nPower Technologies is on a mission to address the scheduling challenges on the AM shopfloor through its nPower Scheduler™ solution. The company is the brainchild of ProfitKey, a provider of software and services that helps SMEs in their manufacturing operations.
nPower Scheduler™ provides a graphical interface for visualising and organising shop-floor jobs. ERP integration needs to be checked against the system, available data and project configuration.
This retrospective first appeared in the November/December 2024 edition of 3D ADEPT Mag. Featured image: Austin Distel via Unsplash.
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