Last week we reported that the Taiwanese XYZPrinting – until recently the leading manufacturer of desktop 3D printers from the da Vinci series – quite unexpectedly (and quietly …) is closing down. In the article, we mentioned that the company also sold the industrial class machine division – SLS, to Nexa3D. TCT Magazine conducted an interview with representatives of Nexa3D about the transaction and its reasonableness from the point of view of the American manufacturer – here’s what the backstage of this venture looked like…
Historically, Nexa3D is a company specializing in the production and development of super-fast photopolymer 3D printers, however, from 2021, with the acquisition of the NXT Factory startup, it began to develop parallel 3D printing technology from powdered plastics. In September 2022, the company unveiled the Quantum Laser Sintering (QLS) 820 3D printer, featuring four 100W CO2 lasers and offering 3D printing speeds of up to 8,000cc per hour in a 350 x 350 x 400mm build area. Since then, Nexa3D has become widely associated with these two manufacturing methods, becoming one of the leading suppliers of industrial 3D printers used in series production.
In March this year Nexa3D unexpectedly announced the acquisition of the XYZPrinting 3D printer department, which started a wave of understatements and speculations about the future of the Taiwanese company, which we wrote about in Friday’s article. Nevertheless – apart from the further fate of XYZPrinting, Nexa3D began to actively promote its new technological solutions already at the RAPID + TCT fair held in Chicago, USA. The editors of the TCT Magazine portal talked to Nexa3D representatives at the fair about the background to the takeover of the Taiwanese manufacturer’s 3D printer portfolio and further plans for their development.
In general, SLS 3D printers produced by XYZprinting have some differences and similarities to the original Nexa3D products. As explained by John Colby Calhoun, director of business development at Nexa3D and previously a director at XYZ, “One 3D printers have a small build plate with a single laser, and the other is a large production system with four lasers. But in both cases, we are dealing with the same open platform philosophy and understanding that the CO2 laser is the best solution for powder 3D printing.”
The base price of the XYZ systems was around $70,000, so Nexa3D identified a gap in its own portfolio that it could fill. “The QLS 820 provides very high throughput and is a huge investment from a CapEx perspective,” said Nexa3D Marketing Director Nina Swienton. “Not many companies can reach this level, but the XYZ SLS offer is much more affordable.” Therefore, when Nexa3D learned that XYZprinting was shutting down most of its 3D printing business, it decided to purchase the SLS 3D printer development division, acquiring the MfgPro 236 and MfgPro 230, which were renamed QLS 236 and QLS 230 respectively .
The QLS 230 has a 24-hour duty cycle using a 30-watt CO2 laser, while the QLS 236 uses a 60-watt CO2 laser and prints parts on a 21-hour cycle. Both 3D printers support a wide range of high-temperature thermoplastic materials and are ideal for processing recycled powders from HP and EOS.
In a recent article, we reported on the case of JawsTec, which saves hundreds of dollars a day by using second-hand powder materials at work, which cannot be restarted on HP 3D printers because the machine’s optical sensors signal that the powder is “out of color.” Nexa3D also worked with Jawstec to recycle used EOS powder – through trial and error, it was found that EOS powder could only be reused with a 30% mix of fresh powder. To allow customers to recycle used powder into new 3D prints, XYZPrinting has introduced a “multi-energy 3D printing” feature that allows the operator to adjust the energy density of several parts within the same design.
Technological issues are not the only benefits that Nexa3D has gained thanks to the acquisition of the SLS department from XYZPrinting. With the acquisition of the technology division, the company has brought many distinguished customers using these solutions, including Oakley, Converse, Merck, BMW and Volkswagen. In addition, Nexa3D acquired a group of specialists from XYZprinting to strengthen its own SLS team. John Colby Calhoun was joined by Devon Elia, a Customer Success Leader and Application Engineer from Europe, to stay close to his resellers in that continent.
“This is a huge win for the company as we add SLS expertise within Nexa3D,” said Nina Swienton. “With John and Devon, we’re strengthening what we can do from a talent and capability standpoint.”
The exclusive distributor of Nexa3D in Poland is 3D Phoenix. Ask what can change in your business: info@3dphoenix.pl.
Source: www.tctmagazine.com