Though there are a handful of desktop 3D printer manufacturers in Poland, including 3D Proto covered on 3DPI this weekend, the one that has so far made the most headlines is Zortrax, which, after a successful Kickstarter campaign has been growing like wildfire and even landed a 5,000 unit order from Dell for their M200 3D printer. Another Polish company, 3NOVATICA, however, may prove capable of overshadowing their competitors with two huge distribution agreements, including a new deal with Poland’s largest electronics distributor.
3NOVATICA has been in the business of making 3D printers since 2011, when it had the name U-Design, and claims to be the first manufacturer in the country. With a large investment from Inventronics, a major Polish maker of electronics for household appliances in Europe, the company rebranded itself in 2014 and began inking deals with big distributors. Last month, 3NOVATICA signed a contract with Komputronik, the country’s second largest electronics distributor, and, most recently, the firm made an agreement with AB Group, the country’s first largest. AB Group works with more than 15,000 partners, distributing more than 70,000 products from 700 brands around the world, and, according to 3NOVATICA, the group has the largest distribution network in the Central and Eastern European region.
3NOVATICA will bringing three different 3D printers into the European market through these deals: GATE, FLEXA, and PROFABB. GATE is a RepRap 3D printer with an aluminum frame and steel parts, its own Unique One electronics board, and a print volume of 200 x 220 x 210 mm available in kit form for 2999 PLN (about €697) and assembled for 1000 PLN more.
FLEXA is their most recent to hit the market, as an upgrade to their previous offering. It has a print volume of 19 x 19 x 23 cm, a webcam, a heated bed and a heated filament feeder. The machine also features a temperature sensor within the build area, which causes the workspace to change colors from red, when the temperature is high, to blue, when it has cooled down. The BASIC FLEXA can be purchased with a single extruder at 6763.77 PLN gross (€1600), while the FLEXA BOX, which comes with the heated filament container, has a price tag of 8239.77 PLN (€1900). The FLEXA DUO adds a second extruder to the BOX, putting the price at 9223.77 PLN (€2200).
Finally, the PROFABB is 3NOVATICA’s professional 3D printer, which be available in December, but is already available for preorder. With a build volume of 220 x 200 x 230 mm, the PROFABB has all of the same features as the FLEXA, but is upgraded with a fully enclosed build chamber and two extruders, as a well as a extruder cooling system and an automatic nozzle cleaning feature.