dp polar
Specialty chemicals firm ALTANA has announced the sale of its controlling stake in inkjet 3D printer manufacturer dp polar to 3D Systems.
The purchase price has not been disclosed, but it follows 3D Systems’ acquisitions of Oqton, Titan Robotics, Kumovis, Allevi and Additive Works in the last couple of years. 3D Systems expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.
ALTANA invested in dp polar in 2017 and has since worked with the start-up to develop the AMpolar i1 and i2 3D printing systems which feature continuously rotating print platforms. This approach speeds component production and minimises wear and vibration associated with traditional print head motion. It means the rotating platform can be mated with a variety of printing technologies and can accommodate pick-and-place robotic systems that can embed electronics or other features into the body of the component as it is printed.
dp polar's print platforms have been designed to cater for both prototyping and series production, boast printing areas of between 1 square metres and 2 square metres, and can print layer thicknesses between 4-25 µm. The company announced in 2020 that it uses Xaar 1003 printheads to jet materials onto its platform to produce parts such as electronic power-plugs in the automotive space.
With the acquisition of dp polar, 3D Systems will leverage its polymer materials portfolio, as well as Oqton’s software technology to bring high-speed, mass production additive manufacturing to a breadth of industries. These industries will include aerospace, automotive, foundries, consumer goods and healthcare.
“This acquisition is the next step in executing on our investment strategy to provide our customers with an industry-leading additive manufacturing solutions portfolio to address their critical applications challenges,” commented Dr. Jeffrey Graves, President and CEO of 3D Systems.
Continuing, Graves said: “The ability to print a broad range of materials, alongside the printer’s modular design that enables multiple processes in one high-speed platform not only increases productivity by orders of magnitude but also reduces the total cost of ownership.”
“As the founder of dp polar GmbH, I am very excited about the unique opportunity to work with a leading provider of highly professional 3D printing systems,” said Hans Mathea, CEO, CTO and founder of dp polar GmbH. “The synergy that results from the combination of our two companies is particularly valuable: the mass production solutions meet a range of industrially mature AM materials. With additive manufacturing, the industry is now getting the chance for real mass production for the first time.”
“We were happy to support dp polar both as an investor and as a development partner over the last five years and thank dp polar and its teams for the successful cooperation. The close teamwork between mechanical engineering, machine development, and material development made it possible to create new opportunities for serial production in additive manufacturing and develop individual solutions for our customers and their specific requirements”, added Dr. Petra Severit, Chief Technology Officer of ALTANA AG. “Now it’s time for dp polar to move ahead to a new growth stage with an industry partner such as 3D Systems specialised in 3D printing hardware, while our customers will continue to benefit from our great solution expertise in the development of innovative resilient high-performance materials as well as our experience in the formulation of high-performance inkjet inks.”
Though it has sold its stake in dp polar, ALTANA will continue to further advance its Cubic Ink 3D printing product families for material jetting.
