BigRep Partners with Heidelberg for Serial Production of the BigRep Studio 3D Printer

BigRep is known for, as its name suggests, big 3D printers. The company realized last year, however, that there is such a thing as too big, and that not all customers were looking for something quite as large as the massive BigRep ONE. So it developed the BigRep Studio, which offers all the capabilities of a BigRep 3D printer without the giant size of the BigRep ONE. Introduced at formnext last year, the BigRep Studio has a size of 1022 x 1660 x 1500 mm and a build volume of 500 x 1000 x 500 mm, a more reasonable package for customers who don’t want something too gigantic.

BigRep has been testing the BigRep Studio extensively in beta, and this month began construction on the 3D printer. To build the BigRep Studio, the company has partnered with a fellow German company, Heidelberg Digital Platforms, a division of Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG. Heidelberg has been a partner to the print industry for over a century, and has expanded its business to include 3D printing, as so many print-related companies have done.

BigRep sees the partnership as a step towards becoming a global leader in additive manufacturing systems, as Heidelberg shares its expertise in industrialization, product validation and flexible production.

“The strategic partnership with Heidelberg gives us the opportunity to focus on efficiently developing our portfolio,” said Dr. Stephan Beyer, CFO of BigRep.

Heidelberg will be assembling the BigRep Studio at its Wiesloch-Walldorf location. The partnership will include logistics for customer delivery across the world, including order management “as a service.” Efficiency is expected to increase, and time-to-market for the Studio should be reduced, allowing BigRep to focus on marketing and customer support for its newest 3D printer.

The BigRep Studio. [Image: Sarah Goehrke]

“With this cooperation, we’re contributing to the development of industrial 3D printing, as well as the digitalisation of traditional production processes,” said Josef Schell, Head of Digital Platforms at Heidelberg.

Because of its smaller size, the BigRep Studio is well-suited for smaller workspaces, like studios (hence the name) and offices. Its size isn’t the only thing about it that holds appeal, though. It features a newly developed extruder that can print with a range of high-temperature and flexible filaments. Although the BigRep Studio is smaller than the BigRep One, it’s still one of the largest 3D printers on the market. Even as large-scale 3D printing becomes more prevalent, with multiple companies producing printers with massive build volumes, BigRep is still well-known for being a pioneer in big 3D printers.

In addition to printers, BigRep is also turning its attention toward providing complete solutions for industrial customers through integrated additive manufacturing systems. The Berlin-based company’s momentum is growing, and by collaborating with Heidelberg on the production of the BigRep Studio, it gives itself more room to continue to develop and move forward.

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