polySpectra, the Berkeley-based supplier of Cyclic Olefin Resin (COR) materials used for additive manufacturing (AM), has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its newest product, COR Zero. polySpectra spent over ten years developing the photopolymer, designing it specifically to be as viable for desktop DLP/LCD printers as it is for industrial-grade machines.
That rationale is embodied in polySpectra’s motto for COR Zero, with the company claiming that it aims to turn “makers into manufacturers”. This clearly makes Kickstarter a fitting platform for polySpectra to drum up interest in the new material, especially as the 3D printing industry has a long, fairly successful experience with relying on crowdfunding.
Meanwhile, polySpectra’s release of a resin optimized for desktop printers highlights the rapidly increasing sophistication of lower-level machines in the AM industry. That issue recently popped up in the Biden administration’s issuance of an executive order to explore ways that the US federal government can better regulate the market for 3D printed guns.
In a press release, the company’s founder and CEO, Raymond Weitekamp, said, “It took us more than a decade to develop a COR formulation that was safe enough and inexpensive enough for individuals to use in their own workshop. We’re partnering with Kickstarter specifically because the kind of person who would be most empowered by COR Zero is the kind of person who would launch a Kickstarter for their innovative physical product idea.
“The chemistry behind COR Zero has been development for many years, with direct input and validation from Fortune 500 customers, leading aerospace firms, and the US Department of Energy. We are tremendously excited to bring this powerful technology to the general public, which we hope will accelerate innovation in hardware and durable goods.”
This is a fascinating launch particularly insofar as polySpectra has worked with the likes of Boston OEM Fortify on a Department of Energy-funded project to develop 3D printed tooling for the automotive supply chain. In other words, polySpectra’s claims that it can help makers become manufacturers isn’t just marketing hype.
At the same time, users who are exclusively in industrial spaces may be just as interested as hobbyists in the new material. The growing significance of desktop 3D printers to the drones supply chain, for instance, may spur demand for COR Zero, as the DoD moves to the next phase of its drone accelerator program, the Replicator initiative.
Finally, it is worth noting here how much more successful crowdfunding has been for the 3D printing industry than the public markets. With the AM industry seemingly headed for a new era in its long-term growth cycle, it will be vital to observe how all the various investment paths stack up against one another.
Images courtesy of polySpectra
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