Polish 3D printing firm Zortrax has signed a letter of intent with AM Centre of Excellence (AM-COE) that will see the companies work to develop a ceramic 3D printer.
Zortrax, the manufacturer of the solution, will supply the printers to AM-COE, a British based company specialising in the production of advanced resins. The printer will be designed specifically for the processing of ‘demanding, advanced ceramic resins.’
Between them, the pair believe they boast the necessary hardware manufacturing, materials development, and software development expertise, while AM-COE owns professional research facilities and has specialty resin development capabilities. Zortrax’s interest in ceramic 3D printing comes after last year’s launch of the Zortrax Powerful Trio, which consists of the Zortrax Inkspire 2 resin system. The company suggests that it has made numerous technical improvements to the Powerful Trio, and collaborations with BASF Forward AM and Henkel/Loctite to expand its resin portfolio, will stand the company in good stead as it works to develop a new specialised ceramic printer.
As Zortrax leads the way on the manufacturing of the printers and the implementation. Of its Z-Suite software, as well as ongoing updates to the firmware and software, AM-COE will provide consulting services, distribute the new printer, and be responsible for testing the software before each update.
“The cooperation between Zortrax and AM-COE will allow us to develop an optimal solution for printing demanding ceramic resins,” commented Zortrax CEO Mariusz Babula. “I am convinced that Zortrax engineers’ experience and skills in the development of resin 3D printers, peripheral devices, and printing software, combined with the relevant background of AM-COE specialising in the production of ceramic resins will lead to the release of a modern printer, tailored to the needs and requirements of both businesses and individual users producing ceramic parts.”
“AM-COE is the biggest research and manufacturing centre of vat-photopolymerisation of ceramic parts and components for aerospace, electronics, chemical, automotive and other industries,” added AM-COE CEO Ehsan Sabet. “In our strive for offering a mass manufacturing solution for 3D printed ceramics, we’ve partnered up with Zortrax to develop a versatile, fast, effective and affordable ceramic 3D printer, like no other. This excellent machine is an open-source solution with free software that assists researchers to develop material and ceramic printing processes, as well as manufacturers who are after a low-maintenance and easy-to-run ceramic printer for mass manufacturing.”
