CTC
CTC Riverbase 500
CTC's SLA Riverbase 500 3D printer
Chinese printer manufacturers, Zhuhai CTC revealed their strategy aimed at selling 500 SLA industrial 3D printers per year at a smart equipment fair held in the Anhui province.
At the fair, Zhuhai CTC’s new generation smart-stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer, Riverbase 500, caught the eye of many of the attendees, despite its high selling price of 500,00 yuan (over £58,000), and is said to enable Zhuhai CTC to set themselves big sales targets by changing the hand mould industry.
In line with the 3D printer market’s shift to industrial applications from strictly educational ones, China’s domestic 3D printer makers, including Zhuhai CTC, have followed suit and redirected their research and development focus and market expansion efforts to industrial 3D printers. Meanwhile, the likes of 3D System and Stratasys have retreated from the desktop printing market and returned to the industrial 3D printer segment.
China achieved breakthroughs in 3D printer technology once it started moving from open-source FDM consumer-level software and hardware to high-tech proprietary software.
“We have successfully increased our production capacity for industrial 3D printers following relocation of part of the production activities to the Wuhu facility,” said He Siyi, a Zhuhai CTC executive. “Monthly output is expected to reach 40 units starting from next month and we expect to be able to clear our backlog of orders in two months.
“Hand mould factories across the pearl River Delta, for the most part, are using SLA 3D printers to replace traditional CNC machining and are reducing material processing. This has brought about a revolution in terms of 3D printers in the vertical segments. We did not expect to see such a rapid growth in demand.”
With the annual sales target of 500 units set, Zhuhai CTC has set its sight on the domestic hand and footwear mould making segments. Zhuhai CTC’s core product, the Riverbase 500, comes with a maximum printing size of 50cm x 40cm x 40cm, features high compatibility and uses a photosensitive resin as the consumable material, making it an ideal choice for hand and footwear mould making.
Due to the high stability and high-quality printing, the Riverbase 500 printer proved to be a pioneer that opened up the industrial 3D printer market. Zhuhai CTC is a leading 3D printer manufacturer in China, with its desktop products holding a 10% share in the global market. The company believe their announcement of a 500 unit annual sales target reflects their commitment to the market.
