FKM Sintertechnik, one of Germany's largest service providers for 3D printed parts, invests in voxeljet‘s large-format VX1000 HSS polymer printer

Friedberg near Munich, Germany, November 6th, 2023 – voxeljet AG (NASDAQ: VJET), a leading global provider of industrial 3D printing solutions, announced today that FKM Sintertechnik GmbH has joined its VX1000 High Speed Sintering (HSS) beta program. FKM Sintertechnik, a pioneer and leading 3D printing service provider for powder bed laser sintering and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), will expand its production capacity with the powerful 3D printer, reducing per-part costs while providing an unprecedented build volume. FKM Sintertechnik’s customers include well-known industrial companies in the automotive, aerospace and mechanical engineering industries.

Digitized, networked, and resource-saving, the VX1000 HSS platform has been developed for the production chains of tomorrow. FKM joins a cohort of industry-leading innovative companies ushering in the next generation of large-format, high-productivity polymer 3D printing. With FKM’s participation, voxeljet has reached the threshold of its VX1000 HSS beta program. With a build envelope of 1000 x 540 x 180 mm (for polyamide 12/nylon material), the system has a significantly larger build volume than comparable LPBF systems. Thanks to the industrial printing technology, constant layer times and printing rates of up to 7,300 cm³/h can be achieved independent of the packing density and results in high reproducibility. This makes it possible to print large-format components in one piece or to reduce the cost per part in additive series production, for larger quantities of smaller parts.

FKM Sintertechnik is a leader in additive manufacturing, with more than 40 industrial production systems for selective laser sintering (SLS) and selective laser melting (SLM) in Germany. In addition to prototyping, FKM Sintertechnik produces small, medium, and large series with quantities of several thousand parts per year.

“Our broad customer portfolio requires maximum flexibility in production,” explains Jürgen Blöcher, Managing Director of FKM Sintertechnik GmbH, “we have been closely monitoring the development of HSS technology, and thanks to the VX1000 HSS, we will soon own a system that meets our requirements for flexibility and cost-effectiveness in equal measure.” Blöcher added, “The VX1000 HSS’s higher productivity, combined with a lower powder refresh rate compared to SLS systems, will position FKM to deliver decisive economic advantages while allowing us to print a wide variety of parts in one job with maximum flexibility.”

“We are pleased to have FKM as a partner. As an early adopter of additive manufacturing, FKM’s expertise in polymer printing will be enhanced with the use of the VX1000 HSS,” said Rudolf Franz, COO of voxeljet AG. “Our large-format printer will provide users like FKM with significant cost advantages over other powder bed-based processes available on the market today. Our open-source approach also contributes to this.”

The VX1000 HSS is scheduled to be installed at FKM Sintertechnik’s headquarters in Biedenkopf, Germany, in the second quarter of 2024. A VX200 HSS has already been installed on site to allow FKM’s specialists to be trained on HSS technology.