Farsoon opened an Americas division, in what could be a wave of new 3D printing vendors.
You may or may not have heard of Farsoon, a China-based company manufacturing an extensive line of industrial 3D printers. The company currently offers a selection of both plastic and metal 3D printing gear suitable for prototypes and beyond.
This is a typical scenario, as seen from the West: a seemingly large and competent vendor with oodles of products appears suddenly, apparently from no where. Where did they come from?
Asia. US-based readers familiar with the American 3D printing scene could likely rattle off a list of familiar 3D print vendors if asked, but they would typically be unaware of the multiple large 3D print vendors currently operating in Asia. Some of them are quite large, and offer interesting equipment.
I’ve bumped into Farsson a couple of times, but only at trade shows well beyond the confines of the Americas, so I have some familiarity with the company. Farsoon is based in Changsa, Hunan province, deep in the heart of China. They’ve been operating since 2009 and have an extensive product line:
- 403P Series large SLS polymer 3D printers
- 252P Series medium-sized SLS polymer 3D printers
- eForm value-style SLS polymer 3D printer
- FS271M medium-sized powder bed laser 3D metal printer
- FS121M small-sized powder bed laser 3D metal printer
And it’s not just a set of capable 3D printers; Farsoon is developing what they call a “continuous” 3D printing system, that also includes a recently announced much larger machine.
The company also produces an extensive selection of metal and thermoplastic powders for these machines.
That’s a product line few 3D printer vendors might offer, as most specialize in one material or the other. Farsoon has both polymer and metal solutions.
And you may have never heard of them.
That’s going to change as Farsoon opened an “Americas” division, based in Texas. This division will market specifically to the USA (but not Canada, nor Mexico for some reason), whereas their HQ will market to the rest of the world, including China, Korea, Russia, Germany and France.
American 3D printer companies should take note of this move, as it will clearly provide some competition for equipment sales. And there’s another thing: Farsoon may not be the only company making moves of this type. There are a number of competent Asian 3D printer manufacturers that may suddenly appear, making the market far more competitive.
That’s huge news for buyers, as there will be more choice and pressure on pricing to drop.
But it could be negative news for existing US-based manufacturers of industrial 3D printing gear, who might see lost deals in the future.
Nevertheless, I think it could also be a good thing in the long run, as the competition will cause US-based manufacturers to make their pricing and equipment more effective as time goes on. That, or they may have some troubles.
Via Farsoon
