APES targets electronics AM with new Matrix6D platform

Advanced Printed Electronic Solutions (APES) is launching Matrix6D, a highly flexible, modular, adaptive, additive manufacturing (AM) platform designed to solve one of the 3D printing industry’s most persistent challenges: scalable production beyond prototyping.

Matrix6D introduces a dynamic, reconfigurable, “swarm-based” approach to 3D printing—one that moves away from fixed build platforms and instead deploys mobile, magnetically levitated build units the company calls “mobile build platforms”, each orchestrated by software across configurable tool stations. This innovation enables unprecedented parallelization, workflow flexibility, tool options, and throughput in additive production.

“Every customer we’ve worked with asks the same question: how do we scale 3D printing beyond prototyping? 6D is our answer,” said Rich Neill, CEO of APES. “It’s a clean-sheet reimagining of the additive factory—adaptive, software-defined, and built for mass customization and true production volume.”

An adaptive additive manufacturing architecture

At the heart of Matrix6D is a grid-based, XY-configurable tool-cell architecture that allows an arbitrary number of tool stations arranged in a matrix topology. Each of these stations feature different motion gantry options that can be configured depending on the build volume and precision required. Every cell is a mini manufacturing unit equipped with any combination of material deposition—including aerosol jet, inkjet, direct write, dispensing, or extrusion—and non-additive processes. These include curing/post-processing, pick-and-place robots, or other tools, such as vision systems for calibration and inspection. Mobile build platforms autonomously move from station to station via magnetic levitation, enabling complex, multi-step manufacturing processes without the spatial and functional constraints of traditional 3D printers.

This platform supports mass customization, concurrent production of different parts, and dynamic task allocation via orchestration software. Each tool station utilizes machine vision or laser optics for self-calibration, ensuring micron-level precision even at scale. Matrix6D’s architecture supports multiple accuracy classes—from standard industrial-grade builds to high-resolution requirements for semiconductor packaging and advanced nano-fabrication capabilities.

Scalability, configurability, and speed

The highly modular design of Matrix6D allows it to scale seamlessly from small benchtop units to full production lines of unprecedented AM production throughput. It can accommodate varying toolhead sizes, tool station densities, and build volumes—all defined parametrically. Multiple manufacturing recipes can run in parallel, making it ideal for applications in semiconductor and electronic device packaging, additively fabricated circuit boards, and metamaterial optics.

Matrix6D will debut in person at RAPID + TCT 2025, where APES will showcase a working 1×2 demonstrator unit featuring a live extruder, robotic handoff, and dynamic mobile build platforms. Attendees will also get a first look at a high-fidelity simulation of a larger 5×7 matrix and see the platform’s unique software-defined workflow in action.

While initially developed to meet the demands of additive electronics, Matrix6D has far broader implications. Its architecture is compatible with a variety of polymer-based processes, industrial automation applications, and is being adapted to integrate emerging technologies—including volumetric AM, which is being announced separately as part of a unique partnership.

Matrix6D represents not just a new machine but a redefinition of how 3D printing can be deployed at scale to revolutionize additive-manufactured electronics.