Materialise has put itself in pole position to acquire Link3D with the company expected to exercise its option to take over the New York-based software firm before the end of 2021.
The potential acquisition would see Materialise expand its customer base across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, while providing existing customers with additional MES tools that will enable them to gain a better understanding of their additive manufacturing workflows. Link3D’s MES offering has been developed to support users of additive manufacturing in scaling their operations across supply chains and IT environments. The finances of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
By integrating Link3D’s offering into the Materialise portfolio, the Belgian firm would ‘accelerate its platform strategy to offer companies cloud-based access to its unified software platform.’ Materialise has recently been developing a roadmap to evolve its software suite to a software as a service (SaaS) model, giving users cloud-based access to its entire software offering. The company believes this will provide users with seamless and efficient access to its integrated 3D printing software portfolio, allowing them to benefit sooner from software innovations and support them in scaling their 3D printing operations. Aligning with this roadmap, Materialise has recently announced several cloud-based software solutions, including the Magics Storefront e-commerce and CRM solution, as well as the Process Tuner platform designed to support the mass manufacture of 3D printed parts.
While operating independently from Materialise, Link 3D has worked to ensure that its 3D printing software solutions – which include a Quality Management System, Data Analytics capabilities and an Order Entry and Costing tool, in addition to the MES platform – are all accessible via the cloud. The company has seen uptake of these software tools in a range of key markets, including the aerospace, automotive, consumer product, medical and energy sectors. These customers are now also set to benefit from seamless access to Materialise Magics for AM part preparation, automation, production optimisation, 3D printer connectivity and automated workflows.
Materialise will make a final decision on the acquisition later this, with the Link3D management team remaining in place. As they come together, both companies have outlined their excitement.
“By joining forces with Link3D, we expect to be even better positioned to provide our customers with a solution to plan, manage and optimise their AM operations,” commented Materialise CEO Fried Vancraen. “This agreement exploits the synergy between the two companies and will help us to remove some of the complexity associated with scaling 3D printing as part of a connected, industrial manufacturing process.”
“At Link3D, it has always been our mission to help companies unlock the full potential of AM into their existing supply chains,” Link3D CEO Shane Fox added.
“By teaming up with Materialise, a global pioneer of the 3D printing industry, we expect to be able to offer our combined user base access to a robust and comprehensive manufacturing suite of solutions, enabling them to take additive manufacturing to the next level,” Link3D CTO Vishal Singh offered.
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