I had an interesting discussion with the friendly folks from Xact Metal about the current buyers of metal 3D printers.
Xact Metal is a Pennsylvania-based operation that has developed a highly economical LPBF metal 3D printer. It’s by no means the largest metal 3D printer, but their XM300G is one of the least expensive that is currently on the market.
The company is currently making inroads into a variety of industries, most recently automotive and the education market. They’ve had considerable success with customers performing mold making using their systems.
I asked if there was anything in common between these diverse customers, and CEO Juan Mario Gomez said it simply:
“The thing they all have in common is that they are all looking for a low-cost solution.”
Low cost is obviously important to every buyer, but there’s something deeper going on here.
For many years, the big issue with 3D printer manufacturers was the challenge of persuading industry to adopt 3D printing. Many did not understand what it was about and required awareness. Some had a rough idea about 3D printing and mistakenly attempted to print their own parts that had been designed for CNC equipment — unsuccessfully.
The 3D print industry tried to overcome these issues through extensive consultations, media campaigns, educational programs, and much more. Some of the larger 3D printer manufacturers even set up specific industry-aligned divisions to help companies make the transition to additive approaches.
Some of that is still going on, but the discussion with Gomez revealed a new twist to that scenario: many manufacturers now already know about 3D printing — but they just can’t afford it.
That’s where the low-cost solution comes in: it provides a way for these companies to make the transition to additive. Without a low-cost LPBF solution, they were stuck in their current metal process. Low cost unlocks the ability to transition.
That’s quite a switch: from a world where no one knows about the technology and requires education, to a world where they do know about it, but just can’t afford it.
But they can with low-cost options, such as those from Xact Metal.
Via Xact Metal
