Farsoon announced a monstrously huge deal with Falcontech to provide the AM service with no fewer than 50 advanced metal 3D printers.
Farsoon Background
Farsoon is one of the largest manufacturers of 3D printers in China, and now operates worldwide with offices in China, Taiwan, Pakistan, Korea, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Poland, France and Russia.
From their founding in 2009, they now offer a broad suite of 3D printers for both polymer and metal needs. Currently they offer five different models for polymer production, and four metal 3D printing solutions, all configured for industrial use.
Their smallest device is the FS121M, a metal 3D printer using the PBF process with a relatively small build volume of 120 x 120 x 120 mm. Their largest metal device is the huge FS421M, which sports a 425 x 425 x 425 mm build volume with dual 500W lasers.
Falcontech Background
Meanwhile, Falcontech is a “provider of complete solutions on metal AM technology in China”, which includes not only a 3D printing division, but also their own metal powder production line.
Apparently their primary client sector is aerospace, which isn’t surprising given the recent interest in AM by that industry. Falcontech provides not only 3D printed parts to clients, but also post-processing, machining, performance testing, equipment sales, consulting and services.
Falcontech Farsoon Deal
The deal between the two parties is quite significant. They say:
“Aerospace Manufacturing service provider Falcontech has announced plans for their Super AM Factory initiative with targeted 50 Farsoon Metal systems. Falcontech is enhancing manufacturing capacity for series production by adopting more Farsoon machines to current facility, reaching a total of 20 Farsoon metal systems by end of 2020.”
The arrangement is not as surprising as it may seem, since Falcontech is a major investor in Farsoon, placing cash with the company last year. As part of that investment, the two agreed to jointly develop a ”customized large-format metal AM system for aerospace”. That, combined with Falcontech’s “Super AM Factory” concept, has resulted in Falcontech installing a number of Farsoon metal 3D printer units, including FS421M, FS301M, FS271M models.
At top the image shows one of the results of this deal: a customized large-format metal 3D printer with build volume of 620 x 620 x 1100 mm, far larger than any current product from Farsoon.
Farsoon and Falcontech Futures
The significance of this deal manifests in a couple of ways.
First, it provides Farsoon with a clean revenue stream for two years, and a notable one at that. We don’t know the pricing of the Farsoon equipment, but it would be safe to say they are at least US$250K each on average, suggesting a total financial commitment of well over US$10M. It’s possible my estimate is way off and the deal is much larger. That has to be one of the more significant deals of the year, at least so far.
Secondly, Falcontech will soon be equipped with a powerful AM factory that will be able to produce arbitrary metal parts on demand, specifically for aerospace. If they’ve lined up the right deals with aerospace industry participants, this could result in a lot more metal 3D printing. However, the virus outbreak may put a bit of a dent into those plans, at least temporarily.
Thirdly, this arrangement with a China-based manufacturing service will allow other worldwide Farsoon branches to provide demonstrable evidence of successful aerospace industry use of Farsoon equipment. This could lead to additional sales of Farsoon equipment that might even exceed the Falcontech deal itself.
Finally, the development of the large-format SLM metal 3D printer for Falcontech could lead to a similar large-format device offered to the public as part of Farsoon’s regular product line. If so, it would certainly be one of the largest volume metal 3D printers one could acquire.
It’s no wonder Falcontech is calling it the “Super AM Factory”.
Via Farsoon and Falcontech
