In a totally surprising move, 3D printing giant 3D Systems acquired Ohio-based Village Plastics. VP, best known by their sales outlet Filaco, manufacturers generic plastic filament for personal 3D printers.
The company is known for their high-quality, non-toxic filament and their penchant for experimenting with non-standard materials such as HIPS.
But we’re wondering why 3D Systems would acquire a company that (as of now) doesn’t make any filament for any 3D Systems printers? In fact, virtually all the filament produced by VP is used by 3D Systems’ competitors. Lily Gerstenslager of VP says:
We are thrilled to join 3D Systems, combining our know-how and expertise with 3DS’ innovation, scale, and industry leadership, we believe we can accelerate advanced materials developments and fast-track the delivery of new filaments for the benefit of our customers worldwide.
Our speculation is that 3D Systems wanted to gain a high-quality, reliable source of filament for their own filament-based machines from Cubify. We’re therefore expecting to see a small explosion in filament color choice on the Cubify online store soon.
But will VP continue to sell filament for non-3D Systems machines? They say:
Yes we are.
Via 3D Systems
