3D Systems integrated into Nokia's Factory in a Box additive manufacturing effort
3D Systems forged workflow integration pacts with Nokia, rms Company, and GF Precicast in a move that aims to scale additive manufacturing in telecom and technology, medical devices, aerospace, and gas turbines.
The announcement, made at the Additive Manufacturing User Group (AMUG), follows additive manufacturing announcements from HP and Stratasys. The three 3D printer vendors are steadily expanding additive manufacturing use cases while trying to bring down costs.
More from AMUG: Stratasys launches F120 3D printer for $11,999; V650 Flex | HP's Metal Jet Production Service available as it hits Jet Fusion 3D printing milestone | IT pro's guide to 3D printing technologies (free PDF)
Vyomesh Joshi, CEO of 3D Systems, said the company has been targeting key verticals and partnering with industry players.
Among the 3D Systems partnerships:
- Nokia said it will add 3D Systems Figure 4 Standalone system to its mobile manufacturing approach. Nokia's mobile manufacturing system is essentially a factory in a box.
- rms Company, is a supplier to medical device manufacturers, will expand use of 3D Systems DMP platform to metal additive manufacturing.
- GF Precicast, which provides gear to aerospace and industrial gas turbines, will also integrate 3D Systems metal additive manufacturing platform.
Of the partnerships, Nokia's effort with 3D Systems is the most proof of concept. Nokia is unveiling a factor in a box to demonstrate to manufacturers how they can integrate additive manufacturing with augmented reality, virtual reality, IoT, and robotics. Nokia's play in additive manufacturing is connecting workflows with private 4G/5G networks.
Nokia's Factory in a Box integrates 3D Systems.
rms Company has been using 3D Systems wares and has expanded its usage to increase capacity. GF Precicast is using 3D Systems to work with so-called super alloys.