FSL3D Launches Prototyping Services Department & Scalable Digital Manufacturing

As the additive manufacturing industry experiences explosive growth, FSL3D says they’re poised to take a key position in the sector with their SuperVAT and UVLED Phoenix 3D Printers.

FSL3D was founded in 2010 in a Las Vegas garage by Full Spectrum Laser. They also operate a 3D printing subsidiary, FSL3D, which designs, manufactures and sells a full range of consumer and industrial grade laser products such as the Pegasus Touch and 5th Generation Hobby Laser.

These new technologies are expected to increase the adoption of AM within traditional manufacturing industries. In fact, a recent Wohlers Report says the worldwide 3D printing industry is expected to grow from $3.07 billion from 2013 to $12.8 billion by 2018. That same report also says AM activities will grow to and exceed $21 billion in total by 2020.

“The keys to the growth of both consumer and industrial 3D Printing are increasing capability and decreasing cost,” says said Henry Liu, PhD, Founder and CEO of FSL3D. “We see a huge opportunity with our technology to provide systems with industrial-level output – but at a price tag affordable to small and medium businesses.”

FSL3D manufactures digital fabrication tools, and they’ve just announced a new service targeted at offering prototyping and low-volume production.

This Prototyping Services Department at FSL3D encompasses technologies from 3D printing to laser cutting via the popular Pegasus Touch Laser 3D Printer and an upcoming line of Phoenix 3D Printers. The PSD will also offer a broad range of subtractive, laser material processing solutions.

Liu says this department is the first installation of FSL3D’s new Scalable Digital Manufacturing solution.

FSL3D says the offer is a way for a smaller business to access the power of multi-tech and multi-material manufacturing on the same level of budget that a company might commit to a single AM machine. They say the new department will also work to educate customers on how SDM can work for their operations, train them on how to implement the technology in their organization and take advantage of the scalability they can offer .

John Calhoun, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at FSL3D explains the concept this way.

“Scalable Digital Manufacturing is our vision for the future of manufacturing. By installing an array of 3D Printers and combining them with lasers, a company is able to get incredible throughput in multiple materials. All for less than the cost of a single printer from Stratasys or 3D Systems,” Calhoun says. “We’re getting a lot of interest in the SDM concept. The typical installation has the same – or better – quality, and can achieve 23 times the throughput of a single machine for the same cost.”

FSL3D has developed in-house software – RetinaEngrave 3D Ethernet+USB – and it’s completely and actively developed in the USA. The company says this allows their in-house engineers and programmers to avoid problems which might arise from using 3rd party suppliers. A large number of their parts are manufactured via their in-house, Fanuc-based Sharp CNC machine, and they’re operated by a staff with Engineering Masters and PhD degrees. The current FSL staff includes some 30 technicians, four of them with PhDs.

FSL3D says their Prototyping Services Department currently offers eight material choices for use with the Pegasus Touch and Phoenix Touch 3D printers lines, among them FSL3D’s new Low Shrink Red Oxide Resin and W9000 Industrial ABS-like Resin.

The PSD is also capable of laser cutting materials which include various grades of steel, plastics, and woods.

Have you ever used any of the FSL3D printers or do you plan to take advantage of the company’s new Scalable Digital Manufacturing process? Let us know in the FSL3D forum thread on 3DPB.com.