When composite 3D printing company Anisoprint opened a new office in Shanghai, nobody knew it would mark the beginning of the end for the brand—and the start of a new chapter for another company.
Founded in Russia ten years ago, Anisoprint established its headquarters in Luxembourg in 2021 and launched an on-campus ecosystem in Germany in 2022. With the company moving its HQ to China the same year, Fedor Antonov took the role of CTO to focus on Anisoprint’s technology roadmap, while Ryan Liu stepped in as CEO.
Over the past decade, we have witnessed the brand’s highs, lows, and—if I may—its hopes: navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and its relentless pursuit of industrial applications powered by composite 3D printing.
The change became evident when I received an email from Tuan Tranpham, appointed President of the Americas and Asia Pacific for Anisoprint, in October 2024. Tranpham revealed the birth of FibreSeek, “an innovative brand built upon Anisoprint’s pioneering continuous carbon fiber 3D printing technology.”
“As a team of rocket scientists and space engineers, the Composite Fiber Co-extrusion (CFC) technology we invented has almost perfectly solved the low-strength problem of 3D printing,” Tranpham wrote.
The brand’s FibreSeeker 3 3D printer will launch soon via a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of democratizing continuous carbon fiber FFF.
Little did we know, the creation of FibreSeek represented, for Anisoprint founder and CTO Fedor Antonov, the realization that Anisoprint itself was shifting toward the consumer segment.
From a technology perspective, applications enabled by Anisoprint’s composite 3D printing remain a confirmation that CFC technology has its place in industrial segments.
From a market perspective, the data is telling: “Now, the data is clear (see CONTEXT report) – Consumer machines: 2M+ units, +20% year-on-year; Industrial machines: -20% year-on-year. Chinese manufacturers suddenly rose, overtaking Western ones in almost every niche,” Antonov wrote on LinkedIn when announcing his resignation.
“Sometimes the hardest decision is letting go,” Antonov added. “Since we started developing CFC technology 10 years ago at Anisoprint, I’ve always seen it as an industrial technology. After many years of development, continuous improvement, interaction with customers, and countless failures, that vision only solidified.
When we moved to China, this wasn’t obvious yet—but we anticipated it. After the move, Ryan Liu [President of FibreSeek] saw the opportunity for CFC in the consumer segment. He recognized the growing consumer 3D printing trend. I agree—but it wasn’t my passion.”
More analysis will be shared in our end-of-year review edition of 3D ADEPT Mag. In the meantime, FibreSeek is one to watch: the team’s product development efforts will now focus on the FibreSeeker 3, a consumer continuous fiber 3D printer that “does not require further research or technology improvement.”
Fedor, if you read these lines: best wishes on your next chapter. It has been inspiring to witness your passion through Anisoprint.
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