Xaar's Nottingham 3D Centre is the first step to achieving company's 2020 vision

"I’m confident that our technical expertise is sufficiently valuable, and rare, to ensure that we will maintain a strong position."

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March 29th 2017 will be remembered for something other than Xaar’s grand opening of a 3D printing facility in the city of Nottingham. Even in the foyer of the new centre as dozens gathered to tour Xaar’s 3D printing laboratory, it was impossible to ignore. As Xaar’s CEO, Doug Edwards and Director of 3D Printing, Professor Neil Hopkinson lifted a veil, 3D printed by Voxeljet, to uncover a commemorative plaque, Prime Minister Theresa May was triggering Article 50 to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

It was the topic of much discussion as partners, press and other industry personnel assembled pre- and post-tour. What would it mean for Xaar? And what would it mean for the rest of the 3D technology industry? Just over 1% of Xaar’s revenue comes from the UK, while European custom is responsible for around 45%. As the UK and EU enter two years of tense negotiations, the future is uncertain. Just as well then, that Xaar has the technological expertise, and now the facilities, to need not worry.

Why Notts?

Having attracted Professor Hopkinson to the company a year ago, Xaar has the inventor of High Speed Sintering (HSS) heading up its 3D Printing Division. Having held expertise in the supplying of inkjet printheads, Xaar’s recent move into the mainstream 3D space parallels some ambitious plans through to the next decade. A host of objectives will need to be achieved to reach these targets. This week, as the 3D Centre based on Nottingham Science Park opened its doors, one objective was.

Born and bred in Nottingham, it was more than just the romance, and convenience, that has seen Professor Hopkinson launch Xaar’s 3D Centre in his hometown. With his associations to three Universities connected by one of the UK’s main motorways, Neil has launched a facility in a strong catchment area. One of the 3D centre’s current employees first worked with Neil at the University of Sheffield. Then a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate, the employee was supervised by Neil during his final year project on High Speed Sintering. With this new centre in prime location, Neil almost guarantees there will be a similar route from local universities to employment with Xaar in the future.

“[Opening the new facility] has been extremely gratifying,” Neil told TCT. “It’s been a lot of hard work from the original idea [of developing HSS] to now get ourselves a really well-equipped facility with the right people to drive this technology to market.

“What we wanted to do was position ourselves to get the best graduates to understand the technology and there’s an M1 corridor of academic teaching and research, Sheffield, Nottingham and Loughborough Universities, who, between them, produce a few hundred graduates each year who have studied in 3D printing and we want to put ourselves where they are.”

In addition to drawing in some of the UK’s best young talent in the 3D technology space, Xaar is also leveraging the skills and applications of already-established industry players. The company recently announced a partnership with Materialise, which will see Xaar use Magics and Build Processor software to not only design parts as the development of HSS continues, but also offer new customers a more comprehensive solution by supplying Xaar’s printheads with Materialise’s programs in one package.

High Speed Sintering

Xaar sees the 3D Centre becoming a focal point for bringing together partnerships of stakeholders across the whole supply chain. This includes material suppliers, machine vendors, and end users. The facility is being launched to encourage other industry players to come and benefit from Xaar’s specialist expertise in High Speed Sintering and to deliver a solution to the market that has the potential to make a big impact.

High Speed Sintering technology is an additive manufacturing process utilising inkjet printheads and infrared heating technology to build parts layer by layer. HSS prints the whole layer of the part in one simultaneous pass using the entire print bed. The shape of each layer of the part is printed onto a bed of polymer powder using heat-absorbing ink, before an infrared lamp passes over and melts the powder. This process is repeated until the part is built upwards. It’s also possible to vary the amount of ink used in different areas of the part, allowing for certain areas to be stronger than others. Once cooled, post processing can begin, which involves chipping away at the powder to reveal the end use part.

During the tour, Xaar had Little Blue, the first HSS machine, now six-years-old, operating to produce a customised part designed to hold a notepad and pen together. The tour also featured, though not in any great detail to avoid spoiling the surprise, Little Blue’s successor, which had arrived at the facility at the start of the week. Xaar’s facility also boasts associated peripheral equipment for pre-processing, post-processing and quality control/inspection. On show was a demonstration of how HSS has the ability to produce parts with mechanical properties equal to or greater than Laser Sintering, particularly with elastomers in which HSS can produce parts with very high ductility. Measured by elongation at break, the superior ductility of HSS parts means they can be used in more demanding applications, for example in running shoes which absorb a lot of pressure when in use.

Developed in 2003, Loughborough University filed base patents for HSS technology two years later, with Neil as the lead inventor. Licensing the technology out to a number of companies, including VoxelJet, who printed the fabric part for the unveiling of the Xaar 3D Centre’s plaque on a High Speed Sintering machine with a Xaar printhead, the aim has always been to take the technology to market. More recently, it was this that lured Neil from Sheffield University to Xaar.

In 2013, a three-year scheme to develop supply chain and full scale production of novel additive manufacturing, Factum Project, was launched. One of the technologies at the centre of this project was HSS. Xaar was a partner of the project for the duration. Its role was to optimise performance of third party fluids with its printheads. By 2016, it was evident to Neil that High Speed Sintering was ready commercially but needed that extra push to get there.

“Universities quite rightly prioritise teaching and research,” Neil said. “It struck me to really maximise the commercial impact of this technology, it would make more sense to work for an organisation where commercialisation is the number one priority. So therefore, moving into industry was just the natural thing to do.”

A 2020 Vision

Converging with Neil’s arrival, was the inception of Xaar’s 2020 Strategy. The 3D Centre, which will serve Original Equipment Manufacturers, material suppliers and end users, resembles a significant part of that strategy. Meanwhile, Xaar will be designing, but not selling, 3D printers from its Copenhagen base. It all focuses on an inorganic growth approach, which involves Xaar’s acceleration of HSS, an increase to its printhead sales, and also the acquiring of subsidiary companies, such as EPS in Vermont, which will significantly increase the company’s revenue.

“Xaar currently turns over £100m a year selling printheads into markets like ceramic tiles. That’s an example that flipped over from screen printing to digital printing a few years ago,” said Neil. “That flip over is what I expect to see in many applications in 3D printing, going from injection moulding or CNC machining, to High Speed Sintering. The plan is to double our revenue by 2020, and to increase it to £500m by 2025.”

Xaar and Neil joining forces in early 2016 was the perfect match – one that is mutually beneficial. Xaar’s ambition to double its revenue by 2020 and then more than double it again by 2025, will need Neil’s nous and supervision as HSS is commercialised. To maximise HSS to its full capacity, Neil needs a similarly aspiring company to drive his invention forward. With an innovative technology, several state-of-the-art facilities and a strong framework of determined personnel in place, Xaar has a strategy to establish itself among the leaders of additive manufacturing. Said personnel are confident that with this structure in place, not even a political development the size of Brexit will stop them.

“In terms of Europe, it’s hard to say at the moment. I don’t know enough about how this is going to play out,” Neil concludes. “But I’m pretty upbeat that we’re still going to be able to supply our products and services very effectively, largely because we have a lot of technical strength behind what we do. It’s very difficult to manufacture printheads. It’s very difficult to become an expert in terms of protons of High Speed Sintering. I’m confident that our technical expertise is sufficiently valuable, and rare, to ensure that we will maintain a strong position.”

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