Fortify has announced two new 3D printers and a software addition, expanding the company’s 3D printing portfolio.
The Boston-based company appeared on the scene in early 2019 with a mission to fortify composites-based 3D printing. They’ve been working toward that vision and picking up both momentum and investment along the way. Emerging with a $2.5M strategic funding, the company was quick to raise a $10M Series A and just last month announced a $20M Series B.
The best way to earn investors’ trust — and dollars — is to deliver. And that’s also what Fortify has been doing. In the autumn, they began the first shipments of the FLUX ONE 3D printer. The “ONE” in the name was a tipoff as well that this was the first 3D printer for the portfolio; today we receive confirmation that this is no “FLUX ONLY” as the FLUX Series expands.
“The novel technologies built into the FLUX ONE printer can be leveraged for a variety of use cases,” said Josh Martin, CEO and Co-Founder of Fortify. “While there is room for growth in the tools and fixtures market, an area that Fortify is currently providing value in with our reinforced materials, there is an order of magnitude greater market potential for end use part applications. By providing versions of our FLUX printers tailored for specific use cases, we are giving users the power to go after these markets.”
The company will be using its recent equity round to scale up manufacturing as the FLUX 3D printers target end-use part production. Fortify explains:
“All Fortify 3D printers employ the company’s patented processing technology, CKM (Continuous Kinetic Mixing), allowing for the printing of heavily filled photopolymers while maintaining homogeneity. Fortify’s other proprietary technology, Fluxprint magnetic alignment, is now available in two configurations.”
Those technologies are very interesting, indeed. CKM impacts the materials, ensuring they will hold up to end-use conditions. Fluxprint brings magnets into the game to ensure appropriate alignment.
With the expansion, Fortify explains that its FLUX Series full lineup includes:
- FLUX CORE (New) –– Fortify’s baseline 3D printer includes CKM and is ideal for processing viscous particle filled resins where magnetic alignment is not required. Applications include RF devices and electronic applications.
- FLUX ONE (Released in 2020) –– The FLUX ONE adds Fluxprint Z (Z-axis magnetic field) to the baseline CORE 3D printer. The system overcomes the persistent challenge of Z-axis anisotropy in 3D printing. Applications include robust mold tooling, jigs, and fixtures.
- FLUX 3D (New) –– The FLUX 3D leverages Fluxprint 3D (3-axis magnetic field) to the baseline CORE 3D printer, providing users with unprecedented levels of control to align fiber in any axis throughout parts as they are printed. Applications include heat sinks, heat exchangers, and high-performance industrial connectors.
Along with the two new 3D printers comes Flux Developer. This is a software platform compatible with any FLUX 3D printer and “gives users the ability to push the limits of material properties by opening access to all processing parameters. With this expanded processing window, users can control variables such as exposure time and intensity, material flow, resin temperature and viscosity, and even the build plate mechanics, as they develop and onboard new materials.”
“With growing excitement around our capability to process filled photopolymers, we are seeing demand from customers who want to explore materials beyond our current offerings,” said Ben Arnold, VP of Business Development at Fortify. “ Flux Developer is the toolkit they need to test and optimize new materials for their targeted applications.”
Fortify is digging into its technology more with a new video series. Their Tech Talks are all short (3-17 minutes long) bite-sized dives into specific areas. Here’s Martin’s introduction of the series, with a discussion of general market conditions:
Disclosure: I am moderating a panel for Fortify, and in that capacity have a client relationship with the company.
Via Fortify
