2018 3D Printing Industry Awards winners announced

The 2018 3D Printing Industry Awards brought together the leaders of the additive manufacturing world, academic pioneers and many of the major figures in the 3D printing industry.

Now in its second year, the awards are unique in many ways – including the public voting system used to select the winners. Over 150 guests representing more than 60 companies and institutions gathered at Nuffield Hall next to Regents Park in central London to find out who had won at our gala dinner event.

We were delighted to be joined by guests from the Manufacturing Technology Association, Innovate UK, the U.S. Embassy in London, and many more.

Voting increased by one third on the prior year’s awards, making this one of the largest surveys of the 3D printing industry – we’ll be publishing this data shortly. Read on to find out who won.

Outstanding contribution to 3D printing

Fried Vancraen – Founder & CEO Materialise

“From the very start almost 30 years ago, we understood that software is crucial for the development of 3D printing applications. And this remains true today. I call it the ongoing struggle. Looking forward, I believe that software will be the key to unlock new and meaningful applications. We already see it with the trend towards increased automation. At the same time we’re laying the groundwork for the future of software in 3D Printing based on Artificial Intelligence.”

Innovation of the year

Winner – High Laydown Technology for Material Jetting, Xaar

Neil Hopkinson, Director of 3D Printing, Xaar, “As 3D Printing develops to take its place as a mainstream manufacturing process it is clear that certain challenges need to be overcome and we are very proud that Xaar’s High Laydown Technology addresses two of the main challenges – namely the speed of part manufacture and the properties of parts produced. To win the award for Innovation of the year is especially pleasing as this normally goes to a specific 3D Printing process, whereas in this case it goes to an enabling platform from which multiple, highly differentiated, processes can be created; the fact that this subtlety was appreciated by the 3D Printing Industry readership speaks volumes for the insight and credibility of this community.”

Innovation of the year – shortlisted nominees

High Laydown Technology for Material Jetting, Xaar
Large-scale, optically transparent glass at architectural scale, MIT Mediated Matter Group
HP Full Color Jet Fusion 500/300 Series
Next Gen AM – EOS, Daimler, Premium Aerotec
BlackBelt 3D BV
Materialise E-stage for metal
Mimaki 3DUJ-553
XStrand fiberglass 3D printer filaments, Owens Corning
Pricing & bureau matching algorithm, Xometry
Markforged Metal X

Aerospace or Automotive application

Winner – Volkswagen Autoeuropa, Ultimaker

Siert Wijnia, CTO and Co-founder at Ultimaker, “I am very proud that Ultimaker and Volkswagen Europa have won the ‘Automotive Application of the Year’ in the 2018 3D Printing Industry Awards. The tools, jigs and fixtures created by the team of Volkswagen Autoeuropa with our 3D printers, managed to save the production plant approximately €325,000 in 2017. By making 3D printing accessible, reliable and hassle-free we aim to accelerate the world’s transition to local digital manufacturing. By 3D printing their own smart manufacturing aids on multiple 3D printers in their facilities, this is exactly what Volkswagen Autoeuropa did.”

Aerospace or Automotive application – shortlisted nominees

Titanium propellant tanks, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sciaky EBAM
MINI Yours, BMW
Emirates 3D Printed Interior Cabin Parts, 3D Systems
Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution, Stratasys
Volkswagen Autoeuropa, Ultimaker
Mercedes-Benz, digital spare parts
Boeing 787 Dreamliner titanium components, Norsk Titanium
Bugatti Chiron Brake Caliper
Airbus A350 XWB pylon with bracket, Arconic
SAIC Yanfeng, 3D Printed Gauge Control Units, INTAMSYS

Academic/research team of the year

Winner – Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) at Nottingham University

Richard Hague, Professor of Innovative Manufacturing, Director, Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM), “We are absolutely delighted to be awarded the award for Research Group of the year award for 2018. This award is testament to the hard work that has been put in by the whole team of over 100 people over the past several years – the CfAM is also in a fantastic place to build on its position over the next several years having recently moved into a brand new, state of the art facility and been awarded several large EPSRC grants to continue our work on pushing the boundaries of Additive Manufacturing.”

The award was presented by Mahvash Siddiqui, Science, Tech and Health officer of the U.S. Embassy in London.

Academic/research team of the year – shortlisted nominees

Oerlikon’s Additive Manufacturing Technology & Innovation Center in Munich
Hod Lipson, Creative Machines Lab at Columbia University
Pearce Research Group at Michigan Tech University
3D Printing Medical Research Center (3DP MRC) at China Medical University (CMU) in Taiwan
Shah Tissue Engineering and Additive Manufacturing Lab at Northwestern University
Engineering, Design and Computing (EDAC) group at ETH Zurich
The TwoCure team at Fraunhofer ILT & Rapid Shape GmbH
Centre for Additive Manufacturing (CfAM) at Nottingham University
SIMTech/A*STAR Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
WAAM Lab at Cranfield University

3D Scanning Application of the year

Winner – Yuniku eyewear, HOYA & Materialise

Fried Vancraen, Materialise founder and CEO, “We are honored to have been recognized with these awards which to us, are a confirmation of our continuing efforts to be the driving force behind the transformational power of Additive Manufacturing. From the very start almost 30 years ago, we understood that software is crucial for the development of 3D printing applications. And this remains true today. Looking forward, I believe that software will be key to unlocking new and meaningful applications, such as today with Yuniku. At the same time we’re laying the groundwork for the future of software in 3D Printing based on Artificial Intelligence.”

3D Scanning Application of the year – shortlisted nominees

Our Lady of Cao, FARO Design ScanArm
Yuniku eyewear, HOYA & Materialise
Deutsche Bahn Digitalisation of Spareparts
Dutch Royal Navy, and Belgian Navy, Artec
Yushou sword, Zhangfei 3D Printing Art Studio & Shining 3D EinScan-Pro
Civilisations AR App, BBC Research and Development team
3D Visualisation Lab at Natural History Museum (blue whale), Faro & Creaform
SMK Open Project, Scan the World structured light scans
Balenciaga Demna Gvasalia FW18 Collection
Facial Reconstruction of unidentified deceased Migrants, Joe Mullins/New York Academy of Art

Creative use of 3D printing

Winner – Black Panther Brisk Promotion, PepsiCo & Protolabs

Daniel Cohn, General Manager, Protolabs Germany, 3D Printing, “We are very honoured to receive such an award, following the extremely interesting project we have worked on. The remarkable designs that we help to manufacture, are a credit to where industry is going, and we are very happy to be a part of that. The awards were a great celebration of 3D printing as a whole.”

Creative use of 3D printing – shortlisted nominees

Bottletop flagship store, AI Build, KRAUSE Architects, Reflow & KUKA
Scenography for Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, WASP
Royal College of Art/Beijing Opera Project, Mingjing Lin, Tsai-Chun Huang & SinterIt
Y-3 Futurecraft 4D, Yohji Yamamoto, adidas & Carbon
Black Panther Brisk Promotion, PepsiCo & Protolabs
Stranger Things Demogorgon, Formlabs & Aaron Sims Creative
ESSO Upcycling Challenge, DDB Worldwide
Massivit 3D – Signage
Valve gamer-created merchandise, Shapeways
NASA 3D Printed Habitat Challenge

Community advocate of the year

Winner – Nora Toure, Women in 3D Printing

“Thank you all for the votes and the recognition. I am personally honored to receive this award. I am sharing it with our entire community of women who are advancing our industry, wherever they are, whatever industry they are coming from. Women in 3D Printing is the community it is today thanks to them and their hard work. This award goes to all the women working in Additive Manufacturing,” Nora Toure, Founder Women in 3D Printing.

Kadine James, 3D Tech Lead, Hobs 3D, collected the award on Nora Toure’s behalf, “Nora is a true inspiration to me and to many women from all over the world. The Women In 3D Printing network celebrates inspirational and talented women doing exceptional work in additive manufacturing. Nora is a true pioneer and a light force to our industry and in particular to the next generation of future female founders and tech leaders.”

Community advocate of the year – shortlisted nominees

Ralph Resnick, America Makes
Thomas Sanladerer, Tom’s 3D
Naomi Wu, Sexy Cyborg
Angus Deveson, Maker’s Muse
Lauralyn McDaniel, SME MMI
Joel Telling, 3D Printing Nerd
Devin Montes, Make Anything
Joe, 3D Maker Noob
Philip Cotton, Learn By Layers
Nora Toure, Women in 3D Printing

Material company of the year

Winner – BASF

Material company of the year – shortlisted nominees

Rigid Ink
Filamentive
Hexcel/Oxford Performance Materials
ColorFabb
PyroGenesis Canada Inc.
BASF
Polymaker
Heraeus metal powders
LPW Technology
DSM Somos

OEM of the year (enterprise)

Winner – GE Additive

Jason Oliver, President & CEO, GE Additive, “On behalf of everyone at GE Additive, we’re delighted to win the 3Dprintingindustry.com award for OEM of the year (metal). Since day 1, our mission at GE Additive has been to accelerate the adoption rate of additive across the world. It’s great to see the industry grow and everyone grow with it. Special thanks to the 1200 GE Additive employees who make this all possible.”

OEM of the year (enterprise) – shortlisted nominees

Voxeljet
XYZ Printing
Trumpf
EOS
Sisma
GE Additive
EnvisionTEC
Shining 3D
Farsoon Technologies
Renishaw

Investor or Professional Services of the year

Winner – AM Ventures Holding GmbH

Arno Held, Chief Venture Officer, AM Ventures Holding GmbH, “The entire team of AM Ventures is feeling honored and proud to be awarded Investor of the Year 2018 by the readers of 3D Printing Industry. This award means particularly much to us, as it gives credit to our philosophy of sustainable investments and trust in people by the community of one of the globally leading media in our industry.”

Investor or Professional Services of the year – shortlisted nominees

Deloitte
STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator
AM Ventures
Siemens
Balderton Capital
Lux Capital
Paul Hastings LLP
Baillie Gifford
Kima Ventures
PWC

3D Software of the year

Winner – Autodesk Netfabb

Dean Franks, Autodesk Head of Global Sales – Additive Manufacturing, “We’re delighted and honoured to be awarded 3D Software of the Year by readers of 3D Printing Industry and our customers. Autodesk developed Netfabb to make it easier for our customers to streamline their end to end additive workflow, from Generative Design of a 3D model through Simulation and Optimisation to a final part. We’re grateful for this acknowledgement and appreciate that our customers are finding such value from our total additive manufacturing solutions.”

3D Software of the year – shortlisted nominees

Vectary
Simplify 3D
3D Systems 3DXpert
Cura
ANSYS Additive Print
Autodesk Netfabb
SolidWorks
OnShape
nTopology Element
Sony 3D Creator

Medical, dental or healthcare application

Winner – Figure 4 and NextDent, 3D Systems

“We are delighted that 3D Systems’ NextDent 5100 has been selected as the 2018 3D Printing Industry Award winner for Healthcare Application of the Year,” said Rik Jacobs, vice president, general manager of dental solutions, 3D Systems. “Powered by our Figure 4™ 3D printing technology, the NextDent 5100 solution enables dental laboratories and clinics to produce dental devices at speeds up to 4x faster than other solutions, while reducing material waste and capital equipment expenditure as well as reliance upon milling centers. This recognition from the industry supports what the dental community is telling us – that the NextDent 5100 solution is redefining digital dentistry and enhancing patient care.”

Medical, dental or healthcare application – shortlisted nominees

K2M CASCADIA AN 3D Interbody System
Figure 4 and NextDent, 3D Systems
EnvisionTEC E-IDB for indirect bonding trays, for placement of orthodontic brackets
Luxexcel VisionPlatform for ophthalmic lenses
E-Nable Low-Cost 3D Printed Prosthetics
Anatomics Sternum Ribcage Composite Implant
3D printed heart models at Phoenix Children’s Hospital
3D printed ribs at Morriston Hospital Wales, Renishaw
Johnson & Johnson’s Tissue Regeneration System Bone Grafts
Ambionics, Stratasys & Autodesk

Enterprise 3D printer of the year (polymers)

Winner – Markforged Mark 2

“We love this award (we display it in our lobby). The only thing better than winning it once is winning it again!”, Greg Mark, CEO, Markforged.

Enterprise 3D printer of the year (polymers) – shortlisted nominees

3D Systems ProX 800
EOS P500
3DGence INDUSTRY F340
INTAMSYS FUNMAT HT
Stratasys F123D Series
Prodways ProMaker LD-10
Asiga Max UV
HP Jet Fusion 3D 4210 Printing Solution
Markforged Mark 2
Nano Dimension DragonFly 2020 Pro 3D Printer

OEM of the year (personal)

Winner – E3D Online

OEM of the year (personal) – shortlisted nominees

MatterHackers
E3D Online
Duet3D
BCN3D
Formlabs
Ultimaker
Cubicon
MakerBot
M3D
Airwolf 3D

Enterprise 3D printer of the year (Metal)

Winner – Desktop Metal Studio System

“We are honored to be the recipient of the Enterprise Metal 3D Printer of the Year award,” said Ric Fulop, co-founder and CEO.  “It’s truly rewarding to receive such expert and industry validation for our Studio System, the world’s first office-friendly metal 3D printing technology.  Our team is proud to have the support of the additive manufacturing industry as we work to change the way products will be designed and manufactured.”

The Enterprise 3D printer of the year (Metal) award was presented by Bjoern Klaas, Vice president and Managing director for Protolabs Europe.

Enterprise 3D printer of the year (Metal) – shortlisted nominees

EOS M290
SLM Solutions SLM 500
3D Systems ProX DMP 320
Desktop Metal Studio System
Concept Laser M2 Cusing
Exone M-flex
ORLAS CREATOR
XJet Carmel 1400
Markforged Metal X
Xact Metal XM200

Start up of the year

Winner – Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) Ltd.

Joseph Crabtree, CEO, Additive Manufacturing Technologies Ltd., “AMT are delighted to have been selected as Startup of the year in the 2018 3D Printing Industry Awards in recognition of our innovative automated post processing technology solutions. We would like to thank all the people that have voted for us from across the industry and we look forward to sharing our exciting future growth and new product release plans with you shortly.”

Start up of the year – shortlisted nominees

AstroPrint
3YOURMIND
Pollen AM
Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) Ltd
XtreeE
Glaze Prosthetics
AON3D
DyeMansion
Frustum Inc.
Wiivv

Personal 3D printer of the year (other)

Winner – Formlabs Form 2

Michael Sorkin, managing director of Formlabs Europe, “Formlabs is thrilled readers and users continue to choose the Form 2 as their preferred desktop 3D printer. We couldn’t have become the number one selling SLA printer without our fantastic community of users, partners and supporters. Thank you!”

Personal 3D printer of the year (other) – shortlisted nominees

Peopoly Moai
Sinterit Lisa
B9 Creations Core Series
Formlabs Form 2
Cubicon Lux Full HD (210DS)
Wanhao D7
Photocentric Liquid Crystal Precision
T3D Mobile 3D printer
Sintratec Kit
Miicraft+

Personal 3D printer of the year (FFF)

Winner – Original Prusa i3 MK3

The award was presented by Dr. Adrian Bowyer, founder of the RepRap project.

 

Original Prusa i3 MK3
Robo 3D R2
Creality CR-10
Snapmaker
BCN3D Sigmax
Lulzbot TAZ-6
Zortrax M200
Delta WASP TURBO 2
Raise N2
Flashforge Finder

3D Printing Region of the year

Winner – London, UK

3D Printing Region of the year – shortlisted nominees

Kraków, Poland
San Diego, CA
Barcelona, Spain
Boston, MA
London, UK
Munich, Germany
Shenzhen, China
Singapore
Seoul, South Korea
The Netherlands

Best 3D printing company to work for

Winner – EOS

“We’re delighted to have been chosen as the best 3D printing company to work for in 2018 by 3D Printing Industry’s readers,” said Juliane Finke, Senior Vice President Human Resources, EOS. “It is a testament to the importance EOS puts on attracting and retaining the best talent. EOS can only stay at the forefront of 3D printing if our employees are passionate about what they do, and empowered to constantly innovate and think the impossible.”

Best 3D printing company to work for – shortlisted nominees

Prusa Research
Materialise
HP
EOS
Markforged
XJet
Align Technology
3D Systems
Glaze Prosthetics
DyeMansion

The 2019 3D Printing Industry Awards will take place on June 6th 2019. Contact us for early-bird ticket prices.

We will begin accepting nominations for the 2019 Awards in December. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter to be the first with all the details. You can also follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

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Featured image shows Fried Vancraen, Materialise founder and CEO at the 2018 3D Printing Industry Awards. Photo by Michael Petch.