Pellet Additive Manufacturing with 3D Printers by Pollen AM – Interview with Didier Fonta

The French company Pollen AM designs and develops additive manufacturing solutions, that allow for the use of non-proprietary materials in pellet form. Their open pam (Pellet Additive Manufacturing) 3D printers offer manufacturers, design offices, laboratories and various industries a production tool adaptable to the needs of their projects and materials. In an interview with 3Druck.com Didier Fonta, General Manager of Pollen AM, shares his insight into the additive manufacturing industry.

Pollen AM printers are primarily used to enhance R&D potential but also to produce prototypes, pre-series, and increasingly cost-effective small series in thermoplastic, metal alloys or technical ceramics. The pellet system allows industrials to use the material they need or that they are already using with traditional processes like injection moulding. pam 3D printers work with any proprietary material, in-house formulation or certified material that doesn’t need to be specially designed for the use in 3D printers. It can be used for applications in every industrial sector including automotive, healthcare, dental and medical devices, retail, cosmetic, packaging, metal industry or electronics.

Interview with General Manager Didier Fonta

In an interview with 3Druck.com, General Manager Didier Fonta shares his insight into the additive manufacturing industry and explains why their pellet 3D printers could be a game changer.

In your opinion, what significance does additive manufacturing have for your target sectors?

Additive manufacturing has become much more widely available by now, which has led to the emergence of new needs for manufacturers, particularly in terms of printable materials. The current challenge is to demonstrate the relevance of additive manufacturing in production contexts, in favor to the open system.

The market is more mature than ever. Companies do not ask anymore what 3D printing is, they want to know the prices, the ROI, and the technical possibilities. The democratization work is done, after long years of explanation. Some activities are more mature than others, but globally, everyone understands the advantages of 3D printing.

Additive manufacturing has continuously developed in recent years. Which innovations or technological breakthroughs do you consider to be particularly important for the industry sector?

We think our pellet additive manufacturing is a market breakthrough. It addresses a strong concern from industrials regarding material choice, availability, and price. Roughly, we took the best of injection molding (materials availability, technical characteristics, wide range of pellets) and the best of 3D printing (compacity, flexibility and speed), to develop pam o2. 

The next important steps will be the monitoring of the printing cycle coupled in real time adjustment of printing parameter and quality control to guarantee the conformity of parts outputs.

First Corona and the now high inflation pose major challenges for the entire industry. In your opinion, how do the multiple crises affect the additive manufacturing industry?

COVID-19 and inflation lead to the same path: withdrawal of invest, of development, of markets…  

Additive manufacturing is strengthened with the inflation on proprietary materials, and broadly the constant prices fluctuations. This is a major preoccupation for the industrials, driving to uncertainties and lack of visibility.

It is an opportunity for the AM industry to target new sectors, new industries, new professionals. But only AM specialists will be carried by this wave. 

What impact do you think additive manufacturing will have on various industries and possibly society as a whole in the coming years?

While additive manufacturing holds great promise, there are also challenges to address, such as material limitations, quality control, and intellectual property concerns. As technology advances and these challenges are addressed, the impact of 3D printing on industries and society is likely to grow even more pronounced.

There are two different paths. For industries, and in fine for society, it will allow a better answer of the needs of the market thanks to customization and personalization, supply chain optimization, prototyping and rapid Iteration, complex geometries, and lightweight structures. It will definitively fasten innovation and benefit to important outcomes for society in essential areas such as medical, education, mobility (aerospace and automotive), art & design.

Then for society, for people, it will represent a flexible approach of their needs. Not that AM will replace manufactured products at home, but it will open the way for DIY culture, home reconditioning and repairs. 

In the end, AM will be necessary for the sustainability goals of the society by minimizing material waste. Traditional subtractive manufacturing methods often generate significant waste, while 3D printing can create products layer by layer, using only the necessary material.