How did Zortrax eclipse its competitors at AM Europe in Amsterdam?

One week passed from the Additive Manufacturing Europe 2016 in Amsterdam, but we are still describing the next novelties showcased at the trade. Manufacturers of large and verrry large 3D printers. Now it’s time for a star of the event – Poland-based Zortrax, which unexpectedly stole the show and outclassed its bigger and more respected rivals.

I have already described it in the official recap from the trade – the Zortrax’s stand was simply the best, because of its not complicated and open arrangement – you could have freely admired the devices – from the outside as well as from the inside of the stand. A gallery of 3D prints with an amazing SuperHero in the lead was just great, additionally beautiful hostesses and a barista serving coffee stronger than Columbian cocaine.

On the one hand, it is hard to say, that this stand was spectacular (you can see a lot of similar ones at CeBIT in Hannover), on the other hand, the company did it right and it was enough to feel jealousy of the rest of exhibitors…

An important point of the first day of the event was a premiere of a new 3D printer – Zortrax M300. The device is a successor of M200, which is respected in the industry.  It has an increased working area – of 10 cm in each axis. As far as we know, the company has changed also the construction of the working bed, to adjust it to 3D print bigger objects.

M300 prints from all of the filaments offered by the company, except of Z-ABS. It is logical, because of the fact, that 3D printing from this material a model of a huge surface can be problematic, due to of its shrinkage. Zortrax recommends additionally using of side covers without which receiving of bigger models will be almost impossible.

A spool for a filament printed with Zortrax M300

By the way, I asked representatives of the company to reveal one of the biggest enigmas of Zortrax – why M200, M300 and Inventure don’t print from PLA? They answered that the CEO and founder of the company – Rafał Tomasiak wanted to disassociate from hobbyists and amateurs and create machines for business/professional users.  PLA is associated with RepRap and consumer use, while ABS and another materials in its offer (Ultrat, HIPS, PET-G etc.) which are a domain of industry. That’s the reason why Zortrax doesn’t need PLA in its ecosystem (I guess…). It doesn’t treat it seriously.

Please judge, if it is reasonable and rational. I just heard it form Zortrax’s team at AM Europe…

Inventure was showcased close to M300. It was the first time when I had an opportunity to see a station for post-processing with which the 3D printer is equipped. I looks very professionally. At least from the ouside. I couldn’t have seen the inside, because “a guard” of the device – Robert Klaczyński (know from Zortrax’s commercials), was busy for “a while” and couldn’t have come to me. I don’t think that he did it intentionally or just didn’t want to reveal secrets of the post-processing station – I was just “close, but not close enough”…

We wrote several times about Inventure. The biggest problem with it it’s lack of information about its release on the market! An official declaration of the company sounds that it will be available to purchase… this year. The device itself is not a problem, but a support material is a complicated matter. The company has been trying to manage with it from 6 months (or rather 13…), however we can’t see any effects. Zortrax is aware of it, how does it influence on its image, but it assumes, that it is better to start distributing later, than release faulty machines for its customers. It doesn’t want to repeat a mistake of MakerBot from 2014.

O.K. but it doesn’t change the fact, that for the time being Zortrax Inventure is a catastrophe. I will try to write something about it, when I will analyse the story of the 3D printer from the really beginning, so from December 2015, when Zortrax started to sell it.

Bartek Cymer – Dyrektor Marketingu Zortrax podczas prezentacji

On the stand you could have seen their flagship product – Zortrax M200, but two new models stole the show. I would like to say also about an upgrade of software, which lets to 3D print models in vase mode (so vases, bottles, etc. of all kind), without generating a seam. The 3D printer prints objects of this type constantly, without stopping and moving the nozzle to another place (like it is done in case of f.e. Cura). It’s a small thing, but it’s very nice.

To sum up, Zortrax showed trenchantly its presence in the European area. The only one problem is the fact, what was noticed by almost everybody, that you can purchase only one of the three devices presented in Amsterdam… And it has been available on the market since 2013.