APES expands additive manufactured electronics offerings with KRONOS Mechatronics

Advanced Printed Electronic Solutions (APES) strategically partners with Nürnberg, Germany-based KRONOS Mechatronics. Through this new collaboration, APES will offer recently re-introduced additively manufactured electronics (AME) systems from KRONOS—Helios and Hyperion—as part of its product portfolio, positioning APES to serve customers across the full spectrum of digital manufacturing, from R&D prototyping to large-scale production manufacturing.

APES will also support the next generation of 3D AME CAD/CAM software platform Aion 5X developed by KRONOS, which promotes multiple machine architectures, including Helios and Hyperion systems. APES plans to integrate Aion 5X as a software option for the recently announced Matrix6D production system. This will provide a unified and seamless CAD/CAM solution for multiple AME platforms offered by KRONOS and APES, an industry first that can support AME product design, simulation, and tool path generation across R&D rapid prototyping and production-bound applications. The Aion 5X CAD/CAM software is a key strategy. It reinforces APES’s mission to offer advanced R&D development tools and systems and flexible, software-defined factory solutions that support mass customization, high-mix production, and rapid iteration.

“As we grow our portfolio to include the KRONOS Helios and Hyperion, along with the APES Matrix6D platforms, our goal is to offer customers a complete set of solutions that support them from early R&D prototyping through pilots to large-scale production,” said Rich Neill, CEO of APES. “KRONOS’ Helios and Hyperion systems are powerful solutions for additive manufactured electronics R&D prototyping, and they complement Matrix6D’s strengths in scaling and orchestration. We’re excited to work with KRONOS to give our customers a unified platform strategy encompassing the full AME product development and manufacturing lifecycle.”

Plugging into Helios and Hyperion

Helios and Hyperion have been updated and relaunched under KRONOS Mechatronics, following the acquisition of Neotech AMT’s assets in 2024. These advanced systems now deliver industry-leading, robust 5-axis motion control and support a wide array of print and post-processing technologies, including piezo and ink jetting, aerosol-based deposition, dispensing, fused filament fabrication (FFF) and wire encapsulating additive manufacturing, as well as plasma cleaning, UV curing, and CNC milling. Additionally, they offer seamless integration with surface mount device (SMD) pick-and-place systems and feature a laser-based tool calibration unit alongside a substrate camera equipped with advanced vision operations.

“With Helios, Hyperion, and our Aion 5X software platform, we’re reshaping the future of functional electronics – from design to control to production. This isn’t just machinery – it’s the operating system for smarter, faster, next-gen additively manufactured electronics,” said Jörg Dickerboom, CEO of KRONOS Mechatronics

With modular configurations and extensive materials compatibility – ranging from nanoparticle inks to high-viscosity pastes – the systems support complex, multi-material functional printing for 3D electronics, mechatronics, and additively manufactured electronic systems.

Helios is optimized for compact prototyping environments, while Hyperion features a larger motion envelope and extended capabilities. Both are well-suited for additive prototyping, application development, and low-volume manufacturing of printed electronics.

Software Continuity with Aion 5X

“Aion 5X is the leading OS, Helios and Hyperion are the engines – together, they power the future of additive electronics,” added Jörg Dickerboom.

KRONOS’s Aion 5X software will be key in both companies’ roadmaps. The platform supports 5-axis simultaneous and 3+2 indexed printing, enables tool-path simulation with collision detection, and generates G-code via a machine-specific ISO standard post-processor. It also includes integrated CAM checks and look-ahead functions for smoother prints.

This software stack will be used in Matrix6D workflows, providing design continuity across R&D and production-scale platforms.

“Software is the connective tissue between these tools,” said Neill. “By aligning with KRONOS on CAD/CAM software technologies, we’re helping customers carry their designs from the lab bench to the factory floor without reinventing the process at every step.”

The APES and KRONOS vision for AME

The partnership underscores APES’s commitment to enabling adaptive, modular, additive manufacturing environments. The company’s Matrix6D platform—debuting at RAPID + TCT—reimagines production as a software-defined grid of configurable tool stations and mobile build platforms. By integrating KRONOS’ systems and software, APES can now support the full product lifecycle, from first prototypes to the production of tens of thousands of units per year.

“Our goal is to give customers a complete digital factory strategy,” said Neill. “From R&D and pilot fabrication within Helios or Hyperion to running orchestrated, complex multi-process job workflows on Matrix6D. We’re building a coherent, scalable pathway for AME innovation and adoption while enabling a cost-efficient large-scale AM production strategy.”