Farsoon joins ColdMetalFusion Alliance

Powder bed fusion 3D printer manufacturer Farsoon is joining the ColdMetalFusion Alliance to provide industrial-grade SLS machines for high throughput manufacturing operations. The company plans to use its long experience on building up a large portfolio of open industrial 3D printers to set new standards for the reliable production of green parts in sinter-based AM.

For those who are not fully familiar with it, the ColdMetalFusion Alliance is an initiative promoted by Headmade Materials, a startup that emerged as part of the AM Ventures VC fund (owned by direct Farsoon competitor and current PBF industry leader EOS). The company first introduced an industrialized process for 3D printing metal parts using polymer SLS technology and powders that combine a metallic component inside a polymer exterior that acts as a binder during the laser sintering process. By rapidly producing green parts without supports, ColdMetalFusion could be a potential competitor to metal binder jetting in higher throughput additive production of metal parts. Headmade Materials is also part of the ColdMetal Fusion Alliance.

Farsoon Technologies moved to join the ColdMetalFusion Alliance together with other major industry players. The company looks to deliver again on its mission to industrialize additive manufacturing with open industrial 3D printers. With this move, Farsoon also expands its metal-solutions portfolio into sinter-based AM, enabling new applications in 3D metal printing to complement its direct metal additive manufacturing solutions.

Farsoon has brought together some of the most experienced industry specialists in electronics, laser & optics to ensure that the limits of what is possible can be pushed across wavelengths and scanning strategies.

With its track record in delivering mission-critical customer solutions, as well as its broad know-how in additive manufacturing, Farsoon plans to make 3D printing of green parts more robust and scalable for manufacturers.

As a globally leading laser sintering company, Farsoon joined ColdMetalFusion together with other industry leaders with decades of experience in the fields of sintering, 3D printing and classical industrial manufacturing. Together, the Alliance members provide services, equipment, material, software and know-how to customers in the metal manufacturing industry.

“With selective laser sintering, we use not only one of the most widely used technologies in polymer 3D printing today, but also open an entirely new sub-market within the metal-AM landscape. Farsoon uniquely combines both laser and mechanical engineering expertise with customer-centric solutions instead of off-the-shelf systems. This new application of laser sintering will help to make additive manufacturing series production possible in an economic manner via a lower CAPEX, as companies can use their existing machinery. And from system requirements to part design, Farsoon understands what it takes to achieve the stability and process robustness required. We are industrialists by heritage and as such share many values such as trust, reliability and innovation with the other ColdMetalFusion members. This shared culture is one of the reasons why we have decided to join the ColdMetalFusion Alliance.” says Dr. Dirk Simon, Managing Director of Farsoon Europe.

ColdMetalFusion’s vision is to industrialize additive manufacturing through common standards in between sintering and additive manufacturing. ColdMetalFusion members share not only standards but also a common culture and way of thinking. As “industrialists” with a long history, the members have an exigence of robustness and 24/7 operation of a factory. The joining of Farsoon is a tipping point to accelerate that vision for ColdMetalFusion. Together with other members, Farsoon will encourage this thinking into joint solutions.

On the Formnext exhibition in November in Frankfurt, Germany, ColdMetalFusion members will demonstrate the Alliance’s mission of industrialization. Farsoon will inform customers about its plans for equipment tailored for ColdMetalFusion.