Germany- based Malping, located in Neuhausen auf den Fildern, is moving into more high performance materials for Material Extrusion. The service operates FGF and FDM high-temperature material printers, and offers parts, along with consulting, to industry. Now working with materials such as PPS-GF20, PEKK, PEEK, and ULTEM 9085, the firm wants to work with more electronics and medical firms. In addition to just printing parts, the firm also wants to help customers find the right materials for their applications.
Malping Founder Bastian Gaedike said,
“Our customers do not buy a material, they buy a function. Sometimes the right answer is PEEK, sometimes a well chosen polyamide is enough. Anyone who always sells the most expensive material is not consulting, just selling.”
The company uses desktop machines and more industrial equipment in both granulate and filament. It uses granulate for cheaper jobs that require less detail, and says that it has machines which can deposit 500 grams per hour, while reducing costs by over 40%. Malping also says that it has an ExAM 510 from NEW AIM3D. The company likes the machine because of its large 510 x 510 x 410 mm build volume, and because it can use a wide array of pellets. This machine can also use MIM pellets, which is a huge advantage in material availability. The company says that for parts from 1000 cubic centimetres, this process makes sense, whereas for smaller parts and runs, smaller desktop machines are easier. They also run a 22 Idex Vision Miner filament machine.
Malping gives examples of making PEEK power electronics parts, as well as PPS-GF20 circuit bard frames. It also works with a CNC machining firm to complement its surfaces. The firm thinks that it can differentiate itself by mastering PEEK a notoriously difficult material to print well, and economically. The company also hopes to grow specifically in granulate, while adding ESD safe and other specialty materials.
With a plethora of people starting desktop 3D printing services at the moment, some are bound to move more towards industry. Material Extrusion makes the barriers to entry very low for a service business. With a wide variety of materials, a lot of niches can be explored. Many print farms now are PETG- and PLA-based, offering the same Bambu printers or similar machines. These firms have little in the way of finishing or value added services. And generally they have little to differentiate themselves with. Some are already making their own filament, and a lot of this 3D print farm thing is sure to grow like gangbusters before becoming a bloodbath. Costs can be cut so deeply when you efficiently make your own filament. The investment is one to two people, and from around $100,000 to $300,000 up front. Once you’ve reached around 500 systems and have around 10 to 20 people to run them, you will have had a lot of success. But, then you have a stark choice: grow much larger, offer services, specialize, or make your own filament.
The right choice is to do two of the above. So for Malping, the choice has been to go for high temp. But part failure rates here are expensive and numerous. I’d be more comfortable doing this with a Minifactory printer by my side. And I also don’t think that just PEEK is enough. The firm will really have to expand their value added services to ensure growth. If we look at firms such as Gramm, they combine desktop and industrial 3D printing with world class design and high quality production. This to me is a more surefooted way forward. Gramm can go from an idea to prototype to series, and this is what many firms actually need.
But, it’s nice to see how desktop 3D print farms are evolving. It will also be interesting to see how these firms will adapt to prevalence of firms just like them. Specialization, special materials, filament lines — I think we’re about to see it all evolve frenetically over the next few years.