Aalen-based large format 3D printer manufacturer Q.Big 3D has successfully closed a €2 million series A funding round led by HZG Group.
Global engineering firm Manz AG, a long-time investor in Q.Big 3D, has also backed the funding round. The company has also received personal investment from Manz-founder Dieter Manz.
This funding coincides with the launch of Q.Big 3D’s Queen 1 “XXXL” large-format 3D printer. Having been in a beta-testing phase since autumn 2022, Q.Big 3D is now intensifying its sales activities for their new product, which will be ready for shipment by the end of this year.
“With this customer feedback and HZG Group as an investor at our side, we are very confident about the market launch. Following the R&D phase, we are now set for growth,” commented Katja Herrmann, Co-Founder of Q.Big 3D
HZG Group Founder and Managing Director Kerstin Herzog added that “In the field of additively manufactured large components, Q.Big 3D’s technology covers a very broad spectrum from prototypes, design and functional samples to spare parts, operating equipment and end products.”
“We are thrilled by the potential range of applications because this is exactly where the classic advantages of 3D printing are effectively merged with a short and tool-less process chain to manufacture large components. We are excited about the next steps we will take together with the team and its Queen 1.”
Q.Big 3D large-format 3D printing
Founded at Aalen University in 2019, Q.BIG 3D has grown to establish itself as a specialist in large format 3D printing.
Q.Big 3D’s key technology offering is the Variable Fused Granular Fabrication (VFGF) process, which allows the amount of extruded plastic to be precisely controlled according to the part’s geometry.
With VFGF, Q.Big 3D’s 3D printer nozzles can switch between fast, high-volume production, and 3D printing fine and detailed surfaces and structures. VFGF uses process algorithms adapted specifically to the VFGF process to ensure that the optimal amount of material is extruded at the right time and in the right place.
Thus, time-consuming high-resolution 3D printing is only carried out on the surface, with inner volumes quickly 3D printed with thick layers. Q.Big 3D claims that VFGF enables efficient material use and cost-effective 3D printing, producing parts up to 40 times faster than alternative methods. Moreover, VFGF is said to facilitate the 3D printing of complex components with support structures and overhangs.
“Compared to alternative processes such as milling, laminating or casting, we enable a significantly shorter lead-time for the production of components at a lower price,” commented Herrmann. “For example, one customer confirms a lead-time reduction of 70 percent and a cost reduction of at least 30 percent.”
The company’s latest offering, the Queen 1 large-format 3D printer, incorporates VFGF. With a build size of 1700x1050x1050mm, the Queen 1 uses plastic pellets and is said to offer an economical solution for a range of applications.
During the Queen 1’s beta testing phase, customers 3D printed large-scale components such as rear light mounts, sophisticated pipe flanges in the field of energy technology, and side doors for helicopter cockpits. Current Q.Big 3D customers include the likes of Voith, Kärcher and John Deere.
Q.Big 3D claims that the Queen 1 offers potential for future use in rail and commercial vehicle production, shipbuilding, aerospace, mechanical engineering, architecture, construction, and exhibition stand construction and building technology businesses.
Large-format 3D printing
The Queen 1 is the latest large-format 3D printer to be launched in the global 3D printing industry. Earlier this year, during RAPID + TCT 2023, South Dakota-based resin 3D printer manufacturer B9Creations unveiled the Core 6 Series MPro, its largest-format 3D printer to date.
Incorporating a build volume of 192x108x304mm, this new large-format 3D printer also boasts an effective resolution finer than 40µm. As such, the Core 6 Series MPro is targeted towards customers who require large design space, while maintaining ultra-high resolution and accuracy.
Elsewhere, leading US 3D printer manufacturer 3D Systems recently announced a collaboration with Japanese product design company SWANY to promote the adoption of large-format pellet extrusion 3D printing in Japan. This partnership will see SWANY open a new demo center featuring a 3D Systems EXT 1070 Titan Pellet 3D printer, the first of its kind in Japan. This 3D printer, which possesses a build volume of 42”x42”x48”, will showcase the capabilities of pellet-extrusion 3D printing for the production of large-format parts.
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Featured image shows Q.Big 3D’s Queen 1 3D printer. Photo via Q.Big 3D.
