Zortrax and AM-COE partner to develop Additive Manufacturing machine for ceramic resins
August 14, 2023
Zortrax, headquartered in Olsztyn, Poland, and the AM Centre of Excellence (AM-COE), based in Derby, UK, have signed a letter of intent with the aim of developing an Additive Manufacturing machine designed specifically for processing demanding advanced ceramic resins. Under the agreement, the new ActiveCera M machine will be built by Zortrax and then marketed by AM-COE, who will also offer consulting services for ceramic resin manufacturing.
Mariusz Babula, CEO at Zortrax, shared, “The cooperation between Zortrax and AM-COE will allow us to develop an optimal solution for printing demanding ceramic resins. 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.”
Zortrax’s R&D team has extensive experience working with resin Additive Manufacturing. In the past year, they premiered a new and comprehensive resin manufacturing system called the Zortrax Powerful Trio. This system includes the Zortrax Inkspire 2 and two automatic resin post-processing devices, the Zortrax Cleaning Station and Zortrax Curing Station. The Powerful Trio reportedly boasts numerous technical improvements and collaborations with world leaders in the chemical industry, BASF Forward AM and Henkel/Loctite, to double validate Zortrax machines and expand the resin portfolio.
AM-COE has high-end research laboratories for resin production, and focuses mainly on designing light-cured materials, where AM is mainly used for prototyping and mass production of casting patterns and ceramic cores.
Ehsan Sabet, CEO at AM-COE, added, “AM-COE is the biggest research and manufacturing centre on vat photopolymerisation of ceramic parts and components for aerospace, electronics, chemical, automotive, and other industries. 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. ActiveCera M 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.”
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