Read what was important in 3D printing in 2018
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Read here what moved the 3D printing world in 2018
Once again a year is drawing to a close. Reason enough for us to look back at developments and innovations that were current in the world of 3D printing in 2018.
SLM Solutions with profit slump
The Lübeck-based 3D printer manufacturer SLM Solutions made negative headlines in 2018. After weak sales figures in the first 6 months, the supplier of SLM-based metal 3D printers had to correct its profit expectations significantly downwards in August of this year.
Innovations from Formnext 2018
As is the case every year, Formnext 2018 (which took place from November 13th to 16th in Frankfurt am Main) reflected the current developments in the world of 3D printing in the burning glass.
The focus this year was on the latest developments in metal 3D printing.
Stratasys presented its new, self-developed metal printing process at Formnext, the Layered Powder Metallurgy Technology, LPM for short. The aim of this process is to further improve the profitability of the production of small series in metal 3D printing. Specifically, the LPM process combines traditional powder metallurgy with the advantages of PolyJet 3D printing technology. First, contours are printed with a thermal printing material that is protected by copyright. Thereafter, powder is dispensed, the layers of powder are spread, and finally compacted to achieve both high density and controllable shrinkage.
3D Systems, another US provider of 3D printing systems, also presented new ones at Formnext 2 metal printer before, namely the DMP Flex 350 and the DMP Factory 350. Both printers are primarily intended to ensure the repeatable production of robust metal parts in 24/7 operation.
The Taiwanese 3D printer manufacturer XYZPrinting presented 4 new 3D printers at Formnext, including one Full color 3D printer with a particularly large installation space.
2 new ones Large format 3D printer presented the German company BigRep (from Berlin) at Formnext, namely the BigRep PRO and the BigRep EDGE. Both printers are based on the MXT® technology specially developed by BigRep. According to the company, this is an extrusion technology in the style of FDM printing, which, however, has been expanded to include a special dosing function. At the same time, speed, precision and quality have been significantly improved compared to the conventional FDM process.
The US company Nexa 3D also impressed with a particularly fast 3D printing technology.
Read more about current trends from the world of 3D printing in our blog.
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