At Formnext 2021, startup Axtra3D attracted attention for the launch of its Lumia 3D platform, which relies on the company’s patented hybrid photosynthesis (HPS) technology. Now, just in time for Formnext 2022, Axtra3D is announcing that the company will officially be taking preorders for the Lumia X1 and Revox X1, which together comprise the first two releases in the company’s X1 series of printers.
Uniquely, HPS combines digital light processing (DLP) and stereolithography (SLA) into a single platform, meaning that Atrax3D’s hardware incorporates both a projector and a laser. The Lumia X1 deploys HPS technology, whereas the Revox X1 solely uses DLP; however, Axtra3D says that it plans on offering Revox customers the option to eventually upgrade their machines to the Lumia model. This is noteworthy in itself, as it suggests the possibility that Axtra3D’s technology could ultimately be retrofitted onto other DLP platforms.
The unique aspects shared by both models in the X1 series are TruLayer technology and Intelli-Cartridge. Together, these two components comprise Axtra3D’s signature print engine, which the company claims is designed to manage polymer dispensing and layering as consistently and cleanly as possible.
In a press release about the launch of its X1 series line of 3D printers, the founder and CEO of Axtra3D, Gianni Zitelli, commented, “Our first market-ready portfolio is one to be reckoned with as we take vat polymerization to the next level. …It’s time to transcend limits. The technologies this team has developed are nothing short of awesome in the real sense of the word; I’m truly awed by what we’ve created and we’re only getting started!”
Attendees of next week’s Formnext in Frankfurt, Germany (November 15-18) can preorder, or just go see, both the Lumia and the Revox, at booth D59 in hall 11.1.
Axtra3D, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, with its manufacturing and R&D operations in Italy, also recently announced that it had received $6.25 million in Series A financing. The company will use those funds towards the commercial launch of the X1 series.
Not many companies seem to be receiving Series A financing right now, so it’s certainly impressive that Axtra3D is able to drum up investor excitement in such a dismal financial climate. Additionally, if the company is able to make customers happy with its first batch of shipments, it will prove to potential investors for later rounds of financing that it can produce results while operating lean under rough economic conditions.
The real variable here could be the question of how the AM market, which seems permanently plagued with hype-exhaustion, responds to a company that’s not afraid to be aggressively enthusiastic about its product. Many customers could be wary of grandiose claims, but others might also find it refreshing, in a phase of the technology’s history when even its advocates seem to want to downplay its potential. I just posted yesterday about how I think investors need to be willing to take bigger risks if they want the sector to succeed, so there’s nothing wrong with a little unabashed optimism.
Images courtesy of Axtra3D