Sinterit Raises $1.85M for Entry-level Powder Bed Fusion 3D Printing

July 18, 2024 by Joris Peels 3D Printing Business Europe Stocks

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In some wonderful news, Polish entry-level powder bed fusion OEM Sinterit raised $1.85 million. Existing shareholders, including its main investor FIT Additive Manufacturing Group, have contributed the money, which will be used for more marketing and developing new models for Sinterit’s lineup.

¨Lately, confidence in the future of 3D printer manufacturers has waned. We don’t share this sentiment and are grateful for the continued support of our shareholders. The market for additive manufacturing technology is consolidating. Affordable integrated selective laser sintering systems will have a place in this market and so will Sinterit,” said Sinterit CEO Albert Klein.

¨FIT uses the Lisa X machine for our Additive Manufacturing Service. Its reliable performance and open system allow us testing of materials and build parameters. I believe this machine is therefore unique in the market for small SLS systems. Technology oriented users like us really have no other choice,” said Carl Fruth, CEO of FIT.

This is excellent news, especially since Sintratec recently went bankrupt. The two firms built out the entry-level desktop powder bed fusion space together. From rickety desktop machines, they developed entry-level systems that worked well. Then Formlabs entered the space. Formlabs has excellent distribution, engineering, and software. Even with those capabilities, it took them a few years to get sintering right. Now, however, Formlabs is growing the segment.

Aside from a few light moves by others and 3D Systems, the segment is not very active. We’ve not seen any significant Chinese competition in this space either. Entry-level powder bed fusion has always seemed promising, but it has been hard to get people to buy the systems. They are still finicky and produce a lot of dust. Additionally, leasing EOS P110s and HP MJF systems can be quite accessible for many firms. So, it’s a product wanting to find a niche that isn’t there yet. The real market still needs to be found, and real growth is something we hope to see in the future.

Formlabs is a tough competitor, but if it’s just you, them, and 3D Systems, you have to appreciate the segment’s potential. Compared to the wild west of material extrusion or the hyper-competitive professional vat polymerization space, it’s a relatively relaxed environment. It’s somewhat absurd that there are several players in the entry-level metal segment, like One Click Metal, Farsoon, and Eplus, but fewer in the polymer segment. In principle, the market is enormous, and every factory making hardware could use one. However, many prefer the more straightforward, cheaper per-part, large-part material extrusion world. With more materials and lower parts costs, material extrusion is just easier to manage.

Sintering is ideal if you need a thousand of something a day, but these machines typically produce around a hundred of something a day, and that market space is smaller than people think. However, Sinterit is moving up in the world. Their Nils system, with an open parameter, a 200 x 200 x 330 mm build volume, and compatibility with PA 11, PA 12, and other popular materials, is easy to operate and features automatic build ejection, allowing for longer run times.

If the company could develop a solid new version of that system and continue its operations, it could potentially bypass the desktop space and come up with a credible entry-level system that could outsell the likes of the P110. Now, that would be something, wouldn’t it?