3D Systems and SWANY Collaborate to Accelerate Adoption of Large-format Pellet Extrusion 3D Printing

3D Systems and SWANY announced a collaboration intended to promote the adoption of large-format pellet extrusion 3D printing in Japan. Through this collaboration, SWANY is opening a new demo center that will include a 3D Systems EXT 1070 Titan Pellet printer (formerly Titan Atlas 2.5 HS) — the first of its kind in Japan.

With this printer, 3D Systems and SWANY will showcase its capabilities to enable efficient additive and subtractive production of large-format parts. From this location, SWANY will also provide 3D printing services including design support to the Asia-Pacific region to facilitate prototyping and production for a variety of applications. Combining the companies’ application and technology expertise, 3D Systems and SWANY will also jointly develop new printing parameters to enable the use of additional mass production and recycled pellet materials to more sustainably address a broader range of applications with UCWS; Upcycling Workspace™ which recently released a framework to enable sustainable manufacturing in collaboration with the local social welfare council and companies.

SWANY chose to collaborate with 3D Systems for this venture based on the additive manufacturing solutions provider’s reputation as a technology pioneer. 3D Systems’ EXT Titan Pellet printers lead the pellet-based polymer extrusion 3D printing technology market. The global install base includes companies in a breadth of industries including automotive, aerospace, foundries, consumer products, and general manufacturing. By using pelletized feedstock, 3D Systems’ EXT Titan Pellet printers offer up to a 10x reduction in material cost and a wider range of functional materials than traditional filament-based 3D printers. The cost savings and high print speeds facilitated by these printers make them well-suited to large-scale part production.

Additionally, EXT Titan Pellet printers offer unique tool head options. Apart from the ability to mount dual-pellet extruders, and even filament extruders, 3D Systems’ customers who employ its EXT Titan Pellet printers can also opt to include a CNC milling spindle tool head. This 3-axis spindle enables high-precision surface finishing during and after printing for applications where surface finish and dimensional accuracy are paramount. The EXT Titan 1070 pellet printer SWANY purchased for its demo center includes both additive and subtractive tool heads — one pellet extruder and one milling spindle. The combination of these capabilities in one printer will enable SWANY to efficiently produce large-scale parts (e.g., large-scale patterns, molds, production batch runs, functional prototypes) for its customers with manufacturing-level accuracy, surface quality, and repeatability.

“In the production of large plastic parts for our customers, we continually found ourselves challenged to produce molds with dramatic speed and in a cost-efficient way,” said Yoshihiro Hashizume, president and CEO, SWANY. “As a result, we often couldn’t meet these requests and turned away business. We believe that 3D Systems’ EXT 1070 Titan Pellet printer is the only tool that can overcome this challenge. Through our collaboration with 3D Systems at our new Demo Center, we are confident that the EXT Titan Pellet printers will facilitate a major change in Japan’s domestic manufacturing environment for mass production.”

Dennis Jung, VP, APAC sales, 3D Systems, added, “We’ve seen a dramatic rise in interest for our EXT Titan Pellet printers from many industries and geographies. There is an increased desire amongst manufacturers to adopt more sustainable business practices, and additive manufacturing can play a strong role in these efforts. Our extrusion technology enables manufacturers to quickly produce tooling, patterns, and end-use parts from low-cost thermoplastic pellet feedstocks. SWANY’s engineers have extensive knowledge and experience in additive manufacturing and manufacturing know-how, pellet feedstocks, and milling as demonstrated by their “Digital Mold®” 3D printed injection molding application. The combination of Digital Mold with the EXT Titan Pellet capabilities showcases why our first machine in Japan will be installed at SWANY. I’m pleased that SWANY is adopting this technology and look forward to seeing the unique applications our collaboration with them will uncover.”

The opening of the new Demo Center which will be located at 7361 Tomigata, Ina City, Nagano Prefecture is planned for October 2023.