3D Platform To Offer New 3D Printing Platforms, Processes, Partners

“Our continuing mission is to go beyond big.” — 3DP President, Jonathan Schroeder

Over the years, 3D Platform has proven their commitment to large-scale manufacturing in the 3D printing realm, whether through incredibly unique 3D printing hardware that has been made for users engaged in industrial processes or in other large scale 3D printers meant for serious applications. Now, they are expanding further with new platforms, processes, and partners.

Company research over the years has found that worldwide industry seeks the following:

• Greater selection of options in print build
• User friendly operator interfaces
• Industrial process monitoring
• Wider use of materials

In new platforms, you will see some changes to the 3D Platform WorkCenter 500. This industrial machine will now offer users a much more substantial print area, measuring 1,400 mm wide by 2,800 mm long by 700 mm high. Along with that comes the next-generation WorkCell 3D printer featuring 3D Platform’s mechatronics. This large 3D printer allows for substantial builds, but also at higher temperatures, with the protection of an enclosure.

Starting at under $200k USD, this extra large scale 3D printer to provide affordability – without sacrificing quality or throughput. It uses a Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) system and offers an extra large build volume of 1.4 m x 2.8 m x 700 mm.

“3D Platform is engaging in public and private partnerships with the goal of attaining a more holistic product offering while also leveraging Subject Matter Experts to drive valuable know-how,” states the Roscoe, Illinois-headquartered company in their latest press release.

New partners include the following:

• Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
• Dynamic Tools
• Novatec

The ORNL partnership has resulted in a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), leaving them to focus on industrial materials; medium sized molds and objects; and specialty-filled filaments with long fibers as they collaborate with 3D Platform.

“This collaboration will open up new opportunities in long fiber composites that could help drive new structural applications that are typically elusive for the polymers,” said Dr. Lonnie Love, Corporate Fellow, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In working with Dynamic Tools, 3D Platform will be Master Distributor of their machines in North America. Their industrial 3D printers offer a compromise between the size of a professional machine and that of a desktop printer—at less than the current 1 m x 1 m area of 3DP machines.

The Novatec partnership means that with 3D Platform they will offer a comprehensive materials strategy for their customers, offering everything from the standard filament to raw pellets for 3D printing.

As they continue to encourage an open market approach in the 3D printing industry, the 3D Platform team has also made further strides in End of Arm Tooling (EOAT) options like extruders and dispensers, and other materials. In collaboration with 3DP EMEA and Delta 3D Print, they are making dispensers that can extrude materials like silicone; with Dyze Design, they have created a new pellet-fed extruder that will work with a 1 m x 1 m platform.

3D Platform is currently issuing an open call for start-ups, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Other companies seeking to find out more about this technology are invited to engage with 3DP in person at booth #2047 at the RAPID+TCT show in Detroit, MI, May 21 – 23, 2019.

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

For customized, full-scale printing capabilities that accelerate time from ideation to application at an affordable price, the WorkSeries 400 (Workbench Xtreme) is the only large scale 3D printer that has been engineered from the ground-up. Most importantly, the unique, parametric design can be easily adjusted to match the needs of our customers.