3D Printing News Briefs, November 7, 2020: Nanofabrica, Forward AM & Photocentric, Selfie3D & Stratasys

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re talking about business, materials, and a 3D printer investment. Nanofabrica has made a strategic hire, and Forward AM is launching a new material line. Finally, Selfi3D has invested in the Stratasys J55 in order to produce more detailed 3D printed selfies.

Nanofabrica Announces New EVP Global Sales

L-R: Nanofabrica’s John Donner, CEO, & Avi Cohen, EVP Sales, standing next to Nanofabrica’s Tera 250

Tel Aviv-based micro 3D printing leader Nanofabrica has announced that 3D printing luminary Avi Cohen, an experienced influencer in the AM industry and a former Stratasys executive, is joining the team as its new Executive Vice President of Sales. This is a big deal for the relatively new startup, which has been working to expand the commercial uptake of its innovative technology in the form of its Tera 250 3D printer, which makes it possible to fabricate parts with micron levels of accuracy. Cohen has been associated with the AM industry since 1999, spending 16 years at Stratasys (formerly Objet) before moving on to become the Vice President for Healthcare & Education at XJet Ltd. As EVP Sales, Cohen will be leading the startup’s sales team, working to find new applications and industries where the Tera 250 could add value.

“It has been my honour to work at the heart of the 3D printing sector for so long. At Nanofabrica I will be leading the global sales effort, utilizing my profound knowledge of the entire business environment, and my understanding of the wants and needs of customers. As an industry veteran of over 20 years standing, I have spearheaded product innovation and have driven customer adoption of 3D printing, and I feel that at Nanofabrica my experience and skills are perfectly synergistic with what is perhaps one of the most innovative and forward-thinking players in the space,” Cohen said. “Nanofabrica’s corporate message, ‘We Dream Big so Our Customers Can Print Small’ immediately resonated with me. The team I am joining is characterised by a drive and passion to solve difficult challenges, a desire to listen to and learn from customers, and an absolute focus on enabling the digital mass manufacture of precise and complex parts.”

Forward AM Launches Material Product Line for 3D Printing

Ultracur3D® EPD1006 Powered by Photocentric is the first in a new portfolio of 3D printing resins developed in partnership with Forward AM (Source: Photocentric Ltd).

As part of its strategic partnership with photopolymer resin provider Photocentric, the BASF 3D Printing Solutions brand Forward AM is launching a new plastic material product line with the company. The first two resins in the Ultracur3D EPD (Engineering Plastic Daylight) – Powered by Photocentric line, Ultracur3D® EPD 1006 and Ultracur3D® EPD 2006, can be used to print functional parts with high flexibility and stiffness for a variety of applications, including engineering, prototyping, and serial production automotive components. These new materials were developed to be used seamlessly with Photocentric’s LCD Daylight technology, and four additional resins will be launched throughout the first quarter of 2021.

“We believe the excellent combination of Forward AM’s expertise in 3D printing materials, our unique material portfolio, and Photocentric’s advanced printer technology will open the door to cost-competitive component printing and thus make the mass-manufacture of functional end-use parts an industrial reality,” said François Minec, Managing Director for BASF 3D Printing Solutions.

Selfi3D Invests in Stratasys J55 3D Printer

3D printed model produced using power-based SLS 3D printing (L) and same model produced on the J55 (R).

Selfi3D, a Spanish photo -sculpture producer and service bureau, makes full-color, lifelike 3D printed models of its customers from their original 2D photos, and has just purchased the new J55 3D printer from Stratasys partner Pixel Sistemas in order to expand the realism of its 3D printed figurines.  The company has previously used several full-color 3D printing techniques through service bureaus, such as powder-based SLS color 3D printing, but the material stability and realism of the models just weren’t up to snuff. The office-friendly J55 is a full color, multi-material 3D printer with a first-of-its-kind rotational printing technique, and can print up to five materials simultaneously in nearly 500,000 colors, with PANTONE Validation, transparency, and realistic textures. All of these features make it a good choice for Selfi3D’s new business offering, BeHero, which allows the company to use a proprietary software in order to create a 3D head from one photo, which enables customers to give the 3D printed models as a surprise gift.

“To be able to 3D print a model of someone’s head – the most identifying feature of a person – without them knowing was a giant step forward for our business in getting back the surprise factor. At that stage, we then needed to find a way to 3D print the body, so we came up with a new idea. What if instead of your body, we put the body of your favourite fictional character? Or profession?  Or hobby? Or partner? Despite being a completely new offering in our line of work, it also enables us to re-use each body that we design. We were taken aback by the interest and have since shifted our core product from Selfi3D to BeHero,” explained Selfi3D Director Jorge Martín García.

“We firmly believe that having this technology at our disposal, with the increased quality of our models, will enable us to further develop our BeHero product and reach new customers all over the world – both public and corporate.”