ARRK Offical SLA Room with ProX800 machine at ARRK GTC Prototyping Centre
ARRK Europe's SLA room at its Gloucester Prototyping Centre.
ARRK Europe, a global manufacturing company, has added 3D Systems' ProX800 3D printing platform to its Gloucester Prototyping Centre in the UK.
The addition of the machine bolsters ARRK’s stereolithography (SLA) fleet of which there are now 19 platforms across Europe, ten of which are in the Gloucester base. This location was also the focus of earlier investment at the start of the year as a brand new, dedicated Metrology room was opened.
Designed to output highly accurate parts, the ProX800 is one of 3D Systems' most advanced SLA machines. Having already installed the printer in another of its European bases, and projecting a continued increase in the demand for the use of 3D technologies, ARRK has moved to introduce the ProX800 in Gloucester.
“It has been well documented that the demand for 3D printed components for prototype or low volume production use is expected to grow significantly in the future,” Craig Vickers, ARRK’s Head of Prototyping and 3D Printing Operations in Europe. “Our centre in Gloucester has a long and well established history in this field, providing some of the world’s leading companies with components as part of their product development programmes. As one of the early pioneers in rapid prototyping [the] additive manufacturing, this addition combined with other investments we are making globally, ensure that we are well placed to support our customers’ needs in the future.
“This new machine will allow us to build larger, more complex SLA parts more accurately and in shorter timescales. In the last 12 months or so, we have invested heavily in our prototyping operations in Gloucester, but also in our facility in France, near Annecy, where we installed three ProX800 as well.”
ARRK has prototyping centres located in four countries across Europe, in France; Spain; Poland; and the UK. Additionally, the company has Project Advisers working in the aforementioned European locations, as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, and the Nordic regions. The centre in Poland is ARRK’s most recently established base. It acts as an additional production capacity, as well as a prototyping centre, and is also strategically located to support the growth of the company in Germany and the rest of Eastern Europe.
