The nominations for the 2021 3D Printing Industry Awards are now open. Who do you think should make the shortlists for this year’s show? Have your say now.
Powder bed fusion (PBF) system manufacturer Farsoon Technologies has now installed over 500 of its 3D printers at customer sites globally.
Additionally, the company has stated that its total manufactured system figure, including development systems and in-house demo systems, is now more than 700. Of the customer site installations, over 150 can be attributed to 3D printing service bureaus, while its ratio of metal to polymer 3D printer sales sits at a dead even 50:50.
Jack Cheng, Deputy General Manager of Farsoon, states, “Although our metal 3D printer product line only commercialized in 2015, with the rapid rise of the civil aerospace industry as well as its manufacturing ecosystem, we now see the metal and polymer systems contribute equally 50% – 50% in number amongst our 500+ installations.”
A global supplier of metal and polymer 3D printers
Founded in 2009 and based in China, Farsoon has built quite a name for itself in the laser sintering space. The company claims it’s the leading supplier of industrial PBF technology in its home country, with an ever-growing international customer base.
In 2017, Farsoon established Farsoon Technologies-Americas in Austin, Texas, and launched a new line of 3D printers under the Continuous Additive Manufacturing Solution (CAMS) name. This included the firm’s largest polymer system to date, the HT1001P, which features a build volume of 225 liters. Shortly after, in 2018, Farsoon Europe GmbH was established in Stuttgart, Germany, expanding the company’s operations across Europe.
The following year saw the launch of the company’s next-generation high-speed ‘Flight’ polymer 3D printing technology, which now offers several systems with varying build sizes and material capabilities. With over 150 Farsoon systems in service bureaus around the world, including 11 at WeNext and 18 at Falcontech, the firm is once again looking to reach its next milestone.
“We are also excited to share that in the first half of 2021, Farsoon has been rapidly growing its teams from 300 to more than 400 talented employees globally,” adds Hope Hou, General Manager of Farsoon. “We have significantly expanded in technology & development, technical support, and manufacturing quarters in order to offer high-quality products and services.”
Serving automotive and aerospace
Interestingly, the rest of Farsoon’s system installations (350+) can be attributed to customers in the automotive and aerospace sectors. The firm has reported increased demand for large functional parts made of specialized industrial materials recently, many of which have required tight manufacturing tolerances and high-performance mechanical properties in harsh operating conditions.
Don Xu, Director of Farsoon’s Global Business Group, said, “In order to address customers’ pain points around size, productivity and quality, Farsoon has been introducing the multi-laser, large-format FS421M, FS621M, and FS721M metal systems the market. To date, Farsoon has achieved more than 80 large-format metal system (build platform > 400mm) installations in the aerospace and automotive industries.”
Earlier this year, at the TCT Asia 2021 trade show, Farsoon launched a powerful new eight-laser 3D printer called the FS721M. The metal system is available in two configurations: the ‘FS721M-8’ iteration featuring eight 1000W lasers, and the similarly large-format dual 500W ‘FS721M’ version. Between them, the two machines are designed to allow users to cost-efficiently scale their metal additive manufacturing operations, and provide them with new opportunities in the automotive, tooling and industrial sectors.
More recently, the firm strengthened its partnership with French materials producer FABULOUS for the development of 3D printable materials for food contact and drinking water applications. The two companies are seeking to help end-users with new materials specific to industrial applications, namely BLUECARE for the food contact industry, and ACTIVE mainly suited to the water sector.
Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter for the latest news in additive manufacturing. You can also stay connected by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and tuning into the 3D Printing Industry YouTube Channel.
Looking for a career in additive manufacturing? Visit 3D Printing Jobs for a selection of roles in the industry.
Featured image shows a total of 11 of Farsoon’s 403P and Flight 403P systems installed at service bureau WeNext. Photo via WeNext.
