Manufacturer takes next step up in industrial 3D printing technology

A Sheffield design and additive manufacturing business has invested £100,000 to keep it at the cutting edge of industrial 3D printing.

Addition Design, based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre in Sheffield, has acquired a Stratasys F370®CR FDM® Composite Printer.

Tom Fripp, director at Addition Design said: “The investment will improve the quality of change parts and format parts that we are able to produce.

“It will open up new opportunities for us to be able to deliver higher performance parts with reduced lead times. Customers will also benefit from the unique combination of Addition Design’s additive design capabilities with very high performing materials.”

Addition Design is one of the first businesses in the country to take advantage of this technology.

Fripp added: “During 2022 we saw strong demand from pharmaceutical clients and subcontract packers for our fast turnaround change parts.

“The existing 3D print systems at Addition are very good for volume and precision work but the change parts and format parts tend to be large, robust components on low volume.

“The new printer is better suited to this application. However, it also takes things a step further by allowing us to print carbon fibre reinforced components, hugely increasing the performance of the parts that we can produce at Addition.

“It also extends our offering into new markets including forming tools and high performance automotive.

“By using this robust technology, we will be able to overcome some of the challenges in the industry at the moment by meeting the demand for fast turnaround change parts, reducing costly downtime for organisations.”

Chris Andrews, regional AM specialist, SYS Systems, said: “The last 18 to 24 months have put immense pressure on the manufacturing sector, and the F370 CR represents a fantastic new addition to the Stratasys range to help alleviate some of these challenges.

“We see more and more companies everyday substituting machined metal for strong and rigid 3D printed carbon fibres.”