We’re bringing you the business first in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to a car update and metal 3D printing news. The ExOne company has released its Q1 2018 financial results, while the South Korean government is investing in 3D printing and Fictiv announces the results of its Series B funding round. SLM Solutions has joined America Makes, and the TU/ecomotive team has started a crowdfunding campaign for its 3D printed circular car. Wohlers Associates is offering a collaborative DfAM course, and we’ve got information on the ADDvance metal powder cabinet that Linde LLC introduced at RAPID + TCT last month.
ExOne Releases Financial Results for Q1 2018
“Our growth and technology development activities are off to a solid start and are on track to meet our 2018 targets. Total revenue grew by 9%, or 13% on a non-GAAP basis after excluding $0.3 million in revenue from our exited specialty machining operation from the first quarter of 2017. The number of machines that we recognized in revenue in the quarter increased to six from five in the prior year, backlog expanded by nearly $5 million from December 2017 and machines that have been shipped to customers and are yet to be recognized in revenue totalled eight at the end of the quarter,” said Jim McCarley, CEO of ExOne. “Given this level of backlog, together with our robust pipeline, scheduled shipments and our available inventory, we expect our first half revenue to be in line with our full year guidance of growth in excess of 20%. Revenue growth at this rate is market leading performance and differentiates ExOne both in our growth potential as well as the increasing industrial acceptance of our binder jetting technology.
“Operationally, we are on plan to meet our aggressive technical improvement goals, and we are driving continuous improvement in our team composition, cost structure, and business processes. We realized year-over-year gross margin improvement this quarter and expect this to continue throughout 2018. Likewise, we are spending R&D dollars on key machine capability improvements with our lead project, the development of a large format fine powder printer, and expect to begin printing trials this quarter.”
South Korea Investing in Medical 3D Printing
The MSIP appears to be making good on this promise now, as it just announced that it will spend ₩1.35 billion (about US$1.2 million) this year to increase its 3D printing expertise in order to build up the medical instrument field. The ministry said that the budget for 2018 – half allocated from the government and the rest from the private sector – is set to help one “promising company” for a full year as it develops 3D printing technology in order to manufacture medical instruments, along with rehabilitation devices and artificial bones.
Fictiv Closes $15 Million Series B Funding Round
“Fictiv is creating a new world order in which software is democratizing access to fast, high quality manufacturing. We are thrilled to have these global investors on board, helping us reimagine manufacturing as more efficient and effective for both engineers and manufacturers,” said Fictiv CEO and Co-Founder Dave Evans.
America Makes Welcomes SLM Solutions
“We are thrilled to be able to join the America Makes community. Most of our customers and partners in the USA are already members, so we are looking forward to joining them at America Makes events and participating in America Makes projects,” said Dr. Richard Grylls, Technical Director for SLM Solutions N.A. “America Makes is the foremost venue for technology development, exchange and education in the USA, and we hope that our current activities in research and education can be leveraged to benefit the America Makes membership.”
TU/ecomotive Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for 3D Printed Circular Car
“After months of development, we are now ready to start assembling Noah. We are looking forward to early July when we can unveil Noah to the world. To showcase this car and in particular its capabilities we will drive to several major European cities and show people what Noah can do and to spread our vision of a circular economy. To be able to realize this journey we need your help!”
A pledge of €30 gets your name on the team’s website, while you can take a ride in Noah, along with one of the TU/ecomotive members, for an ultimate pledge of €500.
Wohlers Associates Offering DfAM Course with Québec Industrial Research Centre
“We are very excited about holding this training in Canada in partnership with such a great research institution. AM is changing the face of modern manufacturing, but it requires professionals that can design complex shapes and understand the full AM production process,” said Wohlers. “This is why our DfAM course was created.”
Linde LLC Introduces ADDvance Metal Powder Cabinet
“Achieving reproducible quality of advanced 3D powder-metal parts begins with the incoming quality of materials. Unfortunately, powder metals are prone to aging when exposed to ambient air, and especially humidity, which can affect chemical and physical properties and the overall quality of the powder. This is especially true for sensitive aluminum or titanium alloys needed for advanced aerospace and automotive parts and medical devices,” said Grzegorz Moroz, Program Manager, Metals, Linde LLC.
“Simply opening the door on a standard sealed storage cabinet can spike humidity levels from two or three percent to 35 percent or more.”
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