B9Creations, a 3D printer and materials manufacturer from South Dakota, has opened a $500,000 additive manufacturing materials development lab in collaboration with SDC Technologies, a California-based coating specialist.
Shon Anderson, CEO of B9Creations, said that the new facility will help the two companies bring materials to market “at an aggressive pace.” In addition, “This partnership pairs SDC Technologies’ global leadership in coating materials development with B9Creations technological capabilities to bring additive manufacturing and engineering materials to new applications worldwide.”
The lab is located at B9Creations’ Rapid City headquarter in South Dakota.
Casting resins
B9Creations was founded by Mike Joyce in 2004 as a robotics manufacturer. Its first 3D printer, the B9Creator, was introduced in 2012 through a Kickstarter campaign. Since then, B9Creations has expanded its portfolio to include SLA/DLP 3D printers such as B9 Core Series, a 3D scanner, 3D printing resins, and two post-processing systems, B9 Model Cure and B9Clean.
B9Creations SLA/DLP solutions have won a lot of support from jewelry designers and creators, who praise the precision and affordability of its 3D printers. Its customers in the jewelry industry include Acropolis Studios and Alternative Jewelry Shop among other. In 2018, at the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) awards, John Haynes, a jewelry designer at Schmitt Jewelers (Phoenix, Arizona), won in the category of Best Use of Platinum Crown. The award-winning ring was designed with the help of B9 Creator 3D printer.
Adding to the materials range
SDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese chemical company Mitsui Chemicals, which also holds a 30.74% stake in B9Creations. SDC provides various types of coating solutions, in particular UV-curable anti-fog coatings which are used in optical applications such as lenses and mirrors. With the new facility opened, B9Creations will borrow the skills and resources of SDC Technologies to expand the range of its materials and their applications.
Antonios Grigoriou, CEO of SDC Technologies, concluded, “The lab establishment at B9Creations demonstrates SDC’s intent to provide “ink” formulation know-how to combine with the software and hardware aspects of 3D print machines.”
“We know that with B9Creations, we have the right partner to develop engineering solutions to meet changing market needs across several developing 3D print markets.”
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Featured image shows 3D printed jewelry casts made with B9 Core series 3D printer. Image via B9Creations.
