Formnext 2022: 3D printing goes big while software shines

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The question I typically get asked after the first day of a trade show is “what’s the best thing you’ve seen?” After three days taking in the latest 3D printing developments at Formnext 2022, I’m still not sure how to answer.

Compared to previous years, the big additive manufacturing (AM) machine launches were fewer, and that’s no bad thing. The traditional mass of launches and information condensed into 30-minute pre-arranged segments, with no time considered for running from the end of one hall up two sets of escalators and to another (it’s not Formnext unless you’re complaining about aching feet or showing off your step count), sometimes made it hard to digest it all properly. One day I’ll actually remember to plan for that highly coveted half day of free wandering time to meander the show floor. Alas, this was not that day.

Of course, we did see new hardware from the likes of HP, EOS, BMF, Axtra3D, Massivit3D, and in post-processing, AMT and DyeMansion. The majority of these machines marks an evolution rather than a step change in development, with some vendors packaging up previously teased technologies into commercial products, and others extending current capabilities to address new materials. This feels positive. It shows companies are being intentional, perhaps cautious, about what they’re putting out into the market – how many times have we seen a machine announced at a big event only to never hear about it again? – making incremental developments based on demand that’s truly there, and in the case of companies like HP, introducing machines that are already beta tested with digital manufacturing partners and ready to be shipped in the next few months.

Large-format printing was noticeably big. On one end, there were low-cost polymer systems from Modix who had some huge prints on display, exemplifying the types of marketing and creative applications the Tel Aviv-based vendor is targeting with its fourth generation IDEX-powered machines, and Photocentric, which just seems to go bigger and bigger at every event, this time with the introduction of its Titan printer based on its LCD screen, Liquid Crystal technology. On the metals side, wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) from the likes of UK-founded TCT Award-winning WAAM3D and Netherlands-based MX3D - the team behind that famous 3D printed bridge across one of Amsterdam's oldest canals - was well accounted for on the show floor, demonstrating flexibility of material choice and size. Similarly, Pro-beam, which made its Formnext debut last year, exhibited a mix of electron beam melting (EBM) and WEBAM, a hybrid of wire-based and EBM, aka Wire Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing, promising speedy production of semi-finished products for large metal components.

ProBeam was one of those rare, unplanned encounters in between meetings, and the big theme continued as I stomped to my next stop and came across Ai Build, a London-based AM software company that specialises in automated toolpath generation for robotic and gantry AM systems. One part on the booth, a large helical coil for oil and gas, was manufactured with a Meltio DED head in stainless steel in just 14 hours, without the need for supports, thanks in part to the software's intelligent toolpath creation.

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Exhibit at the UK's definitive and most influential 3D printing and additive manufacturing event, TCT 3Sixty.

And just as I thought I'd gathered my conclusions on the week's hardware announcements, SLM Solutions swooped in with a surprise announcement about a new big metal AM system. No, not the huge NXG XII 600E which launched on the front cover of TCT Europe and could be seen plastered over hanging banners in the entrance to the Messe, but an even bigger system that's said to be capable of 3D printing parts up to 3.0 x 1.2 x 1.2 metres large. It's still in the early stages so we have no images or part samples to hand just yet, but SLM Solutions CEO Sam O'Leary did share that the technology has been in the works for a few years and symbolises the innovation happening at the Nikon-acquired selective laser melting company (This was also the first time the company had held a press conference regarding the acquisition, which our Sam produced a handy live thread and explainer on). This visit did however lead to another spot that I perhaps wouldn't have otherwise noticed, a handful of part-copper, part-tool steel, demonstrator parts showing the multi-material capabilities of a custom twin-laser SLM 280 system, the SLM 280 2MA.

I wouldn’t like to commit a theme to this week either, though if there’s one that I think companies would like attendees to take away, it’s ‘ecosystem’. Whether that’s partners, end-users, or the relationship between hardware, materials and software, the word was banded about a lot in conversations and press releases, emphasising the need for deeper integration between all parts of the AM journey, and leveraging each other's expertise to do so. HP doubled down on the theme at its press conference as it launched its HP Jet Fusion 5420W system and marked the European debut of its Metal Jet S100 system with partners Prototal and GKN, emphasising the importance of partnerships and an ecosystem which HP believes to be ‘somewhat unique in the industry’. It's not really a new theme, rather a continuation of, thankfully, something we've seen increased attention on in the seven Formnext events I've attended. This year, it seemed software was the key enabler, and while it may not make for the best selfies in post-show social posts, it's integral to the making of those parts that do. Dyndrite announced multiple partnerships with laser powder bed fusion vendors for its new end-user focused software tool promising the ability to better 'control the laser' per staff t shirts on the Dyndrite booth, while Oqton announced a partnership with DigiFabster in a bid to help manufacturers automate their entire production workflow.

Also notable on the Oqton booth was seeing how the company is leveraging the capabilities of 3DXpert to bring increased efficiency and reliability to the AM software workflow. Elsewhere in software, Materialise, which has long considered itself a 'backbone of the AM industry', announced seven new technology partners for its CO-AM platform to support design and pre-printing automation, traceability, printing, and post- processing.

This year, team TCT went in armed with a handful of questions for companies based on key trends and challenges we’re seeing in the market today. Supply chain, of course, remains a big one, though after three years of heightened conversations around additive’s supply chain opportunity due to the pandemic, it certainly feels like there is more pragmatism from companies who are being practical about what that actually looks like, away from face shields, and into applications like spare parts on-demand. I spoke to one company which claimed to have sold a lot of machines, mainly to hospitals, for the sole purpose of printing nasal swabs early on in the pandemic. I'm keen to learn more about how, or if, such machines are now being utilised for applications elsewhere.

Formnext is huge. There is no way one person can get around it and it's very easy to miss things. The downside of being press at this event is that we can be guilty of paying attention to the stuff we receive press releases and meeting invites on, and in the process, miss out on seeing that little application, buried somewhere on a booth that perhaps hasn't garnered the same fanfare but is in no way less significant. While I'm still struggling to answer that question at the top of this blog, it's always helpful to ask it. It's how you find the things you might otherwise miss; like the Origin production cell on the Stratasys stand, which several people recommended, or the compact metal binder jet printer from Sinterjet, which quietly made its debut. 

This is just a snapshot of my time at the event, and that's before even touching on materials announcements from the likes of Carbon, Equispheres, Lithoz and Nexa3D, or digging into takeaways from Jack Wolfskin, GE Healthcare and many more AM end-users from the TCT Conference @ Formnext. We'll have plenty from both and beyond in the coming weeks but for now, I recommend listening to a very tired trio of 3D printing journalists on this week's episode of Additive Insight for more Formnext highlights, including first-time attendee insights, or scrolling through our Formnext coverage - no steps or escalators required.