Formnext Day Three: Rock & Zoll

The biggest news on day three was, of course, the reactions to the band at the exhibitor’s party. The soirée was well attended, with the crowd rocking on until early morning across Bankfurt. While some loved the music, others were more skeptical. This did little to sway the overall mood, however, which can be described as one of cautious triumph.

We’ve had a successful show, generating a significant number of leads and receiving serious inquiries. Several people echoed the same sentiment: visitors know exactly what they want and are clear about their goals. AM experts are seeking precise solutions for specific issues, production teams are looking for software to optimize builds, others are inquiring about sieving stations, and many are after machines tailored to particular applications and materials. It was an excellent event for finding qualified leads and building brand recognition.

The atmosphere was positive, too. While global uncertainties weighed on people’s minds, there was optimism about both immediate opportunities and long-term prospects. The general consensus seems to be that we need to stay focused and prepare for the work ahead.

Zoll House Rock

I’m kidding—the biggest news on day three of Formnext was the VoxelDance Raid. The Chinese firm VoxelDance aims to become a superapp for 3D printing, offering tools for build preparation, design, simulation, toolpathing, implicit modeling, support generation, and more.

Chinese companies already compete across nearly every segment of the 3D printing market. However, the country is expected to dominate powder bed fusion for metals in terms of materials, services, and machines. In material extrusion systems, materials, and vat polymerization systems, China is similarly positioned to lead.

Broadly, expectations are that Chinese firms will excel at the low end of the market, while U.S. and European firms succeed in specific, regulated, and high-end niches. For defense, aerospace, new space, medical, and critical engineering applications, Western companies are likely to stick with domestic or allied vendors. Meanwhile, Chinese firms are expected to rely exclusively on domestic products, further consolidating their position.

This reflects the familiar strategic fallacy: incumbents avoid a “race to the bottom,” ultimately ceding market share. For many, this outcome feels inevitable.

Where China is notably weak is in AM software. There is currently a frantic effort by large Chinese machine OEMs, services, and end customers to acquire or develop AM software, including CAD tools, to establish independence from Western vendors. Some firms are even resorting to questionable methods to achieve this goal.

This scramble is largely driven by fears of tariffs and boycotts, which are increasingly dividing the world into Chinese and non-Chinese spheres of influence. In the event of an escalation, cloud-based services would likely become inaccessible, cutting off Chinese vendors from essential tools like FEA, CFD, build prep, and CAD software. This potential disruption, a belated realization for many, underscores a critical vulnerability.

Simply put, it’s hard to build rockets—or anything else—without the software to design them.

Zoll Long and Thanks for the Memories

VoxelDance should be in an ideal position to rise to prominence. The company could become the default Chinese CAD, CAM, and build prep app for 3D printing, potentially achieving a near monopoly on AM software in China. However, this makes the company’s alleged behavior not only questionable but also counterproductive.

VoxelDance is accused of copying design, UI, and code elements from several vendors, with reports suggesting that visualization features were also duplicated. More seriously, the company is alleged to have used an illegally obtained geometry kernel, modified it, and marketed it as its own proprietary software. These allegations have been raised by multiple software vendors.

Efforts to confirm these claims with the German Customs Service (Bundeszollverwaltung) or the Zollkriminalamt have been inconclusive. It is important to emphasize that, while several sources corroborate these allegations, they remain unproven and have not been tested in a court of law.

We have reached out to VoxelDance for comment and will update the article if they respond. Additionally, we have contacted the customs service for their input.

What we do know, based on accounts from many people present at or near the VoxelDance stand, is that a raid took place. Officers from the German Zoll reportedly visited the stand, engaged in several discussions with VoxelDance employees, and one individual was allegedly escorted away. Documents were presented, and evidence was collected during the incident.

The presence of images and videos circulating online provides ample confirmation of the raid or investigation. However, the specifics—such as who filed the complaints, the exact allegations, and what transpired—remain unclear at this time.

It is worth noting that Voxeldance has been raided before. Over the years, the company has faced several complaints from different firms, suggesting a potential pattern of alleged copying and intellectual property infringement.

For whom the Bell Zolls

If you want me to entrust your service with my super-secret car designs, you must demonstrate a robust commitment to protecting intellectual property (IP). Entrusting your machine and software with sensitive designs requires trust, and if your firm relies on stolen software, that trust is impossible to establish.

Using stolen software sends a clear message: if you cannot respect the IP of others, how can I trust you to safeguard mine? Firms that engage in unethical practices cannot credibly position themselves as reliable partners for innovation.

If Chinese companies continue to disregard the importance of protecting IP and fail to address these issues, they will struggle to build the trust necessary for global success. Without this foundation, efforts to market advanced equipment, like 12-laser machines, will fall flat. Buyers will only invest in such technology when they have confidence in the integrity and trustworthiness of the companies behind it. Until then, bringing these machines to international shows is likely a wasted effort.

3D printing is a technology that optimizes energy flow or lack of flow through and around objects at the correct moment. If that equation balances out well, the successful part will outperform any other part anywhere or there. If there, now or anywhere, is crucial, 3D printing will beat any other technology.

The implications are staggering, transformative, and immensely valuable. If intellectual property encapsulates the paramount flow design for a particular application, its worth could reach billions. The optimal texture for osseointegration could be worth billions; the ideal battery design holds similar value.

In this industry, we do not merely sell or manufacture triangles, code, functionality, handshakes, layers, relationships, software, machines, or parts—we sell trust. We manufacture trust. Our greatest adversary is not CNC, cost, or even inertia; it is uncertainty.

Anyone who helps reduce uncertainty contributes to the progress of the entire 3D printing ecosystem. Conversely, anyone who increases uncertainty harms us all. If we collectively aspire to manufacture aircraft parts, medical implants, or even human hearts, we must prioritize trust, consistency, and continual improvement. Only then can we unlock the full potential of this transformative technology.