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The Formnext trade fair ended last Friday in Frankfurt. During the 4 days, 650 exhibitors presented their solutions related to additive manufacturing and thousands of visitors went through the two halls in search of the latest innovations of the market. This year, Formnext has really established itself as the major event to attend with many innovations unveiled. Be it machines, materials, software or accessories, the objective being to accelerate the development of 3D technologies. 3Dnatives went on site to discover them and meet the most innovative actors at the moment: here are the 10 novelties that should not be missed at Formnext 2018.
The German manufacturer EOS, known for its metal solutions, has officially introduced its 3D polymer printing technology called LaserProFusion. Offered as an alternative to injection molding, this process uses up to one million laser diodes at once with the key to speeds never reached yet on the market. The goal of EOS is to offer a much higher level of productivity and get closer to mass production. Little information is still available and the machine was not visible on the show. The first units are announced for 2021!
The US giant announced its strategic arrival on the metal additive manufacturing market last May: it took advantage of the event in Frankfurt to say more about its technology Layered Powder Metallurgy (LPM), developed internally for several years. The process involves depositing a layer of combined metal powder with a thermal ink jet that acts as a binder. Aluminum should be one of the first materials available.
Unveiled last September, the HP Metal Jet technology showed the ambitions of the manufacturer HP on metal, a decisively key material for players in the field. At Formnext, visitors were able to admire the machine for the first time as well as metal parts on the manufacturer’s stand. An imposing printer with a very refined design that should be available from 2020 for only a few privileged users at first.