In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, Airtech has acquired KIMYA’s high-performance AM filament portfolio and is integrating the materials into its own. Moving on, Multistation announced a strategic partnership with Flashforge, and Farsoon rolled out some updates to its FS350M printer. Finally, an old neighborhood in Portland, Oregon is turning into an innovation hub for 3D printed shoes and apparel.
Airtech Announces Acquisition of KIMYA’s Filament Portfolio
In the fall of 2024, French company KIMYA, a subsidiary of the ARMOR GROUP, announced that it was closing due to economic difficulties. Now, Airtech Advanced Materials Group has acquired KIMYA’s assets, and will integrate the high-performance filament portfolio into its own range of additive manufacturing filaments and pellets. These assets include all of KIMYA’s development and production capabilities, technical filaments, validation equipment, and intellectual property, which will enable Airtech to expand its own large-format AM (LFAM) and thermoplastics capabilities. Airtech’s integration of KIMYA’s high-quality filaments and related assets support its goal to offer customers a more expansive portfolio of AM materials, backed by strong technical support and reliable availability around the world. KIMYA’s materials will now be offered alongside Airtech’s established Dahltram pellet and filament resins, and production will begin soon at Airtech’s European headquarters in Luxembourg.
“Airtech is excited to bring Kimya filaments to the global market and build on the great foundation of quality and technical support they had established. We found Kimya’s portfolio to be highly aligned with our technical and customer-focused approach at Airtech to develop, sell, and support our family of high-performance resins. These materials are very complementary to our existing offerings, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we work to scale Kimya filaments to global markets and launch new and exciting formulations,” said Gregory Haye, Director of Additive Manufacturing at Airtech Advanced Materials Group.
Multistation Announces Flashforge Partnership & Distribution of WaxJet 530
Image: Courtesy of Multistation via LinkedIn
French AM solutions distributor Multistation SAS announced a strategic partnership with 3D printer manufacturer Flashforge, which means it’s now an exclusive distributor of the WaxJet 510 and new WaxJet 530 printers, designed for industrial and jewelry applications based on lost-wax casting. The announcement coincided with the Flashforge MJP Distributor Conference in Istanbul on April 15th, and with the Istanbul Jewelry Show (IJS) April 16-19, where the two companies presented both of the wax 3D printers to attendees. The exclusive distributor conference actually marked the official launch of the new WaxJet 530, and jewelry professionals attending IJS had a chance to see the printers that are, as Multistation said, “redefining the standards of wax model creation.”
The WaxJet 530 (WJ530) was designed to improve digital jewelry manufacturing by combining speed and precision with a lower cost. With three synchronized, ultra-high-resolution print heads and advanced automation to enable continuous production of highly detailed models, the Flashforge WJ530 offers faster and more precise wax 3D printing. For a high level of remote operation, the printer features smart monitoring via an integrated HD camera and WiFi. It offers layer thickness of 15 μm and a resolution of 2900×2900×1700 DPI, and its triple-head system helps to optimize material usage, ensure productivity up to 10 times higher than previous versions of the printer—Multistation says it can achieve a Z-axis speed of over 5.5 mm per hour—and maintain consistent print quality. Finally, the new WaxJet 530 is said to be more economical, as it helps reduce polishing costs by up to 33%, thanks to its high accuracy.
Farsoon Advances FS350M Metal AM Platform with Dual Upgrades
4x1000w FS350M. Image by Farsoon
In 2023, Farsoon launched its 4x500W FS350M-series metal 3D printer, a benchmark industrial machine with a compact footprint and versatile 433 × 358 × 400 mm build volume. The printer’s material versatility, productivity, and low operating cost made it a good match for precision applications in automotive tooling, aerospace components, footwear production molds, and more. But, as the adoption of batch production grows, end-users want even more efficient and versatile metal AM solutions, offering consistent quality, more efficient printing, cost control, and more. To meet these needs and help drive scalable metal AM, Farsoon recently unveiled dual targeted upgrades to its FS350M. These new configurations show how committed the company is to advancing both production scalability and AM innovation.
First, the 4x1000W FS350M delivers increased laser power and enhanced processing capabilities for specialty alloys. With much improved production efficiency, this configuration can be compatible with powerful Farsoon Beam Shaping Technology, and deliver up to 200% build efficiency in comparison to the 4x500W laser configuration. It’s a good choice for research institutions and manufacturers developing next-generation applications in demanding sectors. The 6x500W FS350M has an optimized production workflow and advanced multi-laser system to enable high throughput, making it great for serial production of small-to-medium metal components. This configuration was developed in collaboration with leading industry partners, and could transform mass manufacturing in automotive components, consumer electronics, and medical devices. Each one has a compact 6 m² footprint, can achieve stable powder spreading at 400 mm/s, supports several modules that can reduce manufacturing costs (like the Manufacturing Execution System, or MES), and comes equipped with an integrated permanent filtration system. The FS350M 4×1000W configuration is open for global pilot programs, and the 6×500W version is available for early adopters in the AMEA region.
Portland Neighborhood Transitions into 3D Printing Hub for Shoes & Fashion
The always unique city of Portland, Oregon is working to transition its oldest neighborhood—the aptly named Old Town—into an innovation campus for 3D printed footwear and apparel. The “Made in Old Town” team has now secured the cornerstone building of the plan, and the 110,000-square-foot vacant space of the Mason Ehrman complex will be transformed into a hub of design labs and vendors, all using 3D printing to create functional shoes and garments on-demand. Bringing this type of manufacturing back to the U.S. is especially timely, as the cost to import goods from China, Indonesia, and Vietnam is going up. Made in Old Town has contracted with several vendors already, including 3D printed shoe company HILOS. The CEO of HILOS, Elias Stahl, says that “the goal is for companies to reinvest in zero waste production,” and move overseas supply chains back to Oregon for local shoe-making.
“This is Old Town neighborhood’s biggest economic driver that we’ve seen in many years, maybe ever, and the economic impact entails hundreds of new jobs that will be located here in this neighborhood,” said Director of Design and Partnerships Matthew Claudel.
“This is one of the fastest development projects in Portland history. With the acquisition of the building, that means we can go into permitting very quickly. We can go into construction, and we’re on track to open this building this year.”
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