With a big influx of cash from some new investors, Ion Core – makers of the Zinter Pro 3D Printer – has set new production goals that would put them in the same league as Stratasys and 3D Systems. But in a 3D printer market more crowded than ever, is a lot of money enough to get you to stand out?
Thanks to hedge fund managers Jonathan Bailey and BJ Eastwood, Ion Core has up to $10,000,000 to invest in the production of new machines and finally cut back that month long lead time that has dogged them since launching late last year. Although it used to be a ten week lead time, so they’ve already made significant improvements in that area.
But for me, more interesting than the influx of new investment capital is their specific —and targeted — statement of taking on the 3D printing industry’s big guys:
“[Ion Core] is now in a position to significantly ‘up its game’, enabling the company to produce a targeted 1000 printers per month and bring its significant competitive edge to bear in challenging MakerBot (a Stratasys subsidiary) and the Cube (by 3D Systems) 3D printers, in the race for market share in the growing 3D printing industry.”
That is a call out if I’ve ever heard one. But does the Zinter Pro have a chance against two of the largest and most established 3D printing companies in the world?
The Zinter Pro is a beautiful, sleek and well-made machine. It’s equipped with dual extruders so you can print in multiple colours or multiple materials. The fully enclosed build space has a fully heated glass print bed with an extremely respectable build volume of 200mm x 200mm x 200mm (7.87 x 7.87 x 7.87). Those specs easily put it in the same league as comparable printers from MakerBot and 3D Systems, unfortunately if you’re in America you’re going to end up paying a lot more for it. By all accounts it is a great machine, but is it $4000 great?
Ion Core made no specific mention of how it will be spending its new money, but aside from building their printers faster it is a safe bet that they will be looking into distributors in America.
Source: Ion Core
