M. Holland Secures Partnerships to Expand 3D Printing Materials Selection

Resin supplier M.Holland announced new partnerships and materials to its growing portfolio. The Illinois-based company has partnered with three new additive manufacturing (AM) materials suppliers to expand its 3D printing product offering by 50%. The new deals with Infinite Material Solutions, Kimya by Armor, and taulman3D will help deepen material access and offer more opportunities for M.Holland’s clients to integrate specialized 3D printing materials into their industrial manufacturing flows. The new partnerships are now part of M.Holland’s broad portfolio of suppliers, including materials from renowned companies like BASF, Braskem, EOS, Henkel Loctite, and 3DXTECH. As part of the announcement, M.Holland also revealed new AM materials developed for machining and engineering applications.

Haleyanne Freedman, the Global 3D printing Engineering Market Manager at M.Holland, said the 3D printing market has been expanding rapidly with machines advancing and becoming more industrial. 3D printing materials have also expanded in the last few years, so the company decided to build an AM lab in their Northbrook office to access dozens of different 3D printing platforms to help customers understand the design considerations of products and materials to reduce the adoption time of the technology.

“During this time of rapid growth for both the industry and M. Holland’s 3D Printing team, adding strategic suppliers is a crucial part of providing our clients a wide assortment of materials to suit their applications,” suggested Freedman. “Offering a comprehensive line card of materials is necessary for our clients to have high-quality materials that enable true adoption of 3D printing technologies into their operations.”

Haleyanne Freedman of M. Holland. Image courtesy of M.Holland

Holland signed a distribution agreement with Infinite Material Solutions, a materials innovation group seeking to build processes that redefine the manufacturing industry. The group now has access to the AquaSys 120, a water-soluble filament designed to support parts printed with high-temperature plastics, like polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA), which previously required same-material support. The company said the product is ideal for applications requiring complex designs and low levels of post-processing, even with extremely high print temperatures, providing universal support with excellent adhesion. Priced at $180 per kg and available in both 2.85 and 1.75 mm diameters, AquaSys120 is designed to work with a wide range of engineering-grade 3D printing materials, enabling 3D printing of complex parts with ease, without compromising with other support structures.

Infinite Material Solutions’ AquaSys 120. Image courtesy of Infinite Material Solutions.

Now a North American distributor for Kimya – a relatively new brand from French multinational Armor dedicated to developing custom materials for AM – M.Holland has entered into an agreement that includes different types of ABS 3D filaments. The firm will begin commercializing Kimya’s EC (electrically conductive) ABS, the composite ABS Kevlar filament, and Kimya’s PEBA-S 3D thermoplastic elastomer filament. Backed by Armor’s resources and R&D, the small, versatile startup has a strong focus on customized materials for very specific applications. It claims its ABS products offer the ability to conduct electricity through plastic, which can be useful in various electrical applications.

The third partner is taulman3D, a filament producer that consistently rolls out new high-strength 3D printing materials, including industry-grade high-strength nylon specifically developed for 3D printers. M.Holland is now one of more than 20 taulman3D product resellers and has full access to the entire product offering. These products include nylons, support materials, copolymers, plasticized copolyamide thermoplastic elastomer (PCTPE), PETT, medical-grade materials, and more. The partnership with taulman3D allows M. Holland’s clients broad access to materials suited for various applications.

M.Holland’s new e-commerce platform. Image courtesy of M.Holland.

Holland also announced its new line of materials for 3D printing applications. This portfolio comprises specialty prime compounds like PA6/6 CNC, a highly transparent nylon ideal for industrial quality control groups to evaluate printed parts without destroying them, or the MHC PA/TPE Flex, a chemical co-polymer of highly flexible nylon and TPE that allows users to print a highly flexible part with added durability and the smooth, lustrous texture of nylon. The new products join other materials produced by the company, including the high transition light-pipe polymer MHC M-Clear, which is incredibly rare in 3D printing and is ideal for creating optically clear prototypes and fulfilling other industrial applications.

The company’s 3D Printing business unit has experienced a surge of growth over the last year. The latest announcement comes just two months after M.Holland officially launched a new 3D printing e-commerce website with comprehensive options for the AM industry. Additionally, the group recently relocated to a 63,000-square-foot facility containing 10 fabrication labs and increased the size of its team by over 50% to support the growing demand for its services. The addition of these materials and partnerships will help expand the 3D printing business unit by increasing the offering base.