Startup Accelerator, Singapore: Dental 3D Printing, Services, and More

This is the eighth article detailing the 3D printing startup scene in Singapore.

Teehee Dental Works

Teehee Dental Works is a dental lab and dentist with a difference. Along with strict sterilization protocols, they have a well-designed space, TVs, robots and 3D printers. What’s not to like? The company offers 3D printed clear aligners and other digital dentistry products.

I don’t think that the two-dentist firm has aspirations to conquer the world, but, by combining a lab with lots of digital dentistry equipment and an experience, they are a new kind of dentist. Something very much like Teehee could come to your city. And by taking in house aligner, crown and other dental product production, the company is potentially much more profitable than competitors. At the same time, it combines the businesses of being a lab with that of being a dentist, something that has been mostly disparate up until now, which I think is a wonderful and very profitable play.

Creatz3D

Creatz3D is an enterprising reseller of 3D printers. The company offers consulting, design services, and is continually partnering with customers to offer solutions and jointly bask in the resulting media attention. I like the firm’s enterprising approach. They’ve approached 3DPrint.com with several good stories of client work, such as the medical mannequin for COVID swab training that they made for AuMed.  Creatz also has a ceramics and medical 3D printing service bureau.

Rather than just stay in Singapore, they’ve expanded to Vietnam and have their eyes on the region. There are plenty of resellers worldwide, but Creatz really has gumption and drive to expand its business and that of its partners. By setting itself up as a service for ceramics and medical parts, it is also assuring itself of a potentially much more enduring and profitable stream of revenue than just being a reseller.

United Additive Manufacturing

United Additive Manufacturing is an industrial service bureau based in Singapore. The company has polymer and metal EOS machines, HP MJF, Stratasys FDM, and SLA. It delivers parts to industrial customers in the region. The company is active in aerospace, shipping, semiconductor, manufacturing and more.

The company is driven by its shareholders, which are resellers and services themselves as well as regional investors. This may hamper the company by rendering decision-making cumbersome. Service bureaus are also a very difficult way to make money, requiring huge up-front and ongoing investment and a lot of labor in a competitive market. Meanwhile, Xometry, Shapeways, and others can play in your backyard. Having said that, local relationships and manufacturing partnerships can help the company scale and stay ahead of the curve and it may well turn out to be an enduring regional giant.

Chemtron

Chemtron is an established business that resells Big Rep, XYZprinting and Markforged in the region. Additionally, they have 3D printing, post-finishing services, 3D scanning, 3D modeling services, have a partially 3D printed robot arm and offer 3D printing rentals. The try-before-you-buy program is an interesting idea and the company’s regional exposure gives it heft. By moving into value-added services, Chemtron is also exposing itself to more revenue opportunities while making it easier for companies to sample its wares.

ECS

ECS is a CAD reseller that also offers 3D scanners, Geomagic, Creo, 3D Systems machines, Ultimaker and much more. ECS is typical of the CAD expert companies that have gained 3D printing exposure. By selling to their installed base, they can leverage existing relationships, local knowledge, and networks into new product sales.

Additive3DAsia

Additive3DAsia is a service that has made over 100,000 parts since 2014 and are ISO 9100 certified. They offer vacuum casting, MJF, other powder bed fusion processes, PolyJet, SLA and material extrusion, as well as vapor smoothing. The company has a wide range of materials, such as ULTEM, Somos Watershed, TPU for powder bed fusion, and MJF PA 12 GF. This should let it meet a lot of different customer needs.

What Singaporean 3D printing startups have we missed? Let us know through: Joris (at) 3dprint.com