Roboze Partners with Polymertal to Make Super-Strong Metal-Plated 3D Printed Parts, Teases Next 3D Printer

Roboze is definitely a company that believes there is no “I” in team. There’s no “I” in Roboze, either, incidentally, and the 3D printer manufacturer seems to have made this a philosophy to live by. Roboze is one of the most active companies we’ve seen lately in terms of building partnerships, and while many of them have to do with expanding the company’s product distribution range, several alliances have seen Roboze supplying their flagship Roboze One + 400 industrial 3D printer for some novel and exciting enterprises.

Their latest partnership is a fascinating one indeed. Roboze has partnered with Polymertal, an Israel-based company that, as their name cleverly implies, combines polymers and metals to make hybrid parts through a custom metal plating process. According to Polymertal, metal-plated plastic parts have numerous advantages over solid metal parts, including weight reduction of up to 70%, cost reduction of 30%, and reduction in time to market and production lead time of up to 50%.

Through the new alliance, Polymertal will purchase the Roboze One + 400 3D printer and apply their plating process to Roboze’s techno-polymer materials, with a particular focus on PEEK, PEI and CARBON-PA, which are tough and strong enough to replace metal in many applications on their own. By adding their metal plating technology to the materials, Polymertal will be able to create super-strong parts for a fraction of the cost and time – and at a fraction of the weight – required by metal components.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roboze on developing this innovation concept,” said Ran Carmeli, CEO of Polymertal. “The market is looking for Hybrid Products and we believe that our joint work with Roboze will support this vision.”

The Polymertal hybridization technology involves a patented chemical process that improves the surface of the 3D printed plastic product before metal plating it in a method that imparts strong adhesion as well as electrical conductivity. The products are well-suited for everything from medical to aerospace applications, capable of standing up to harsh environmental conditions. Polymertal already has customers from some of the top Israeli companies in the fields of medicine, aerospace, aviation and electronics.

Roboze has become well-known for being among the first companies to release a 3D printer with the capability of printing high-performance, industrial-strength materials such as PEEK and PEI. The combination of those materials with Polymertal’s metal plating technology should expand the advanced applications that are possible with 3D printing.

“The collaboration with Polymertal increases the value of Roboze advanced materials solutions, taking them a step further towards metal replacement applications,” said Gil Lavi, Roboze’s VP Global Sales & Business Development. “For the foreseeable future, integrating 3D printing in manufacturing will be with plastic + metal technologies. Therefore, Hybrid Products will offer greater benefits compare to traditional metal manufacturing techniques.”

A couple of weeks ago, Roboze cemented their latest partnership before this one by joining the SAP Early Access Program, demonstrating a determination to stay at the very cutting edge of the 3D industry. The alliance with Polymertal says the same thing – that this is a company that never stops moving and placing themselves in the position to be among the first involved with the newest applications in 3D printing.

We’re expecting more soon from the busy company as on Monday, April 10th Roboze will be announcing their new Roboze One 3D printer, which is really stepping up its game as far as performance goes. The company is offering this glimpse into the upcoming tech as a teaser to tide us over until then:

Discuss in the Roboze Polymertal forum at 3DPB.com.