As the whole world is starting to realize, the Hormuz supply chain fallout is only just beginning to filter into the global economy, and the rising cost of plastics should be a centerpiece of that story for some time. Under these conditions, large-format polymer additive manufacturing (AM) should get a boost, and pellet-extrusion systems, which are optimal for use with recycled materials, might benefit most of all.
BigRep, then, the German-US original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of large-format polymer 3D printers, has perfectly timed two major announcements for RAPID + TCT 2026 in Boston: first, the company is releasing the BigRep ONE.5X, which the company is calling “a fully automated evolution” of the BigRep ONE.5 that it originally launched at Formnext 2024. Secondly, the OEM is providing further details on a previously announced partnership with Massive Dimension, the Vermont-based manufacturer of pellet head extruders.
Through the partnership, the two companies will integrate the new Massive Dimension MDX extruder with the BigRep ONE platform, with the two companies aiming to make the combined solution available by the end of 2026.
The connecting threads between the launch of the ONE.5X and the MDX integration with the ONE platform are ease-of-use and flexibility: the two offerings are designed to simplify the setup and maintenance experiences and to support a broad range of materials. BigRep leaned into that messaging with its presentation of the ONE.5 at Formnext 2025 — where the company also first announced the Massive Dimension partnership —and is making it even more prominent in its sales pitch for the ONE.5X.
ONE.5 pellet system at a creative workshop.
Attendees of RAPID + TCT 2026 can learn more about the ONE.5X and the Massive Dimension MDX at Booth #2355.
In a press release about BigRep’s launch of the ONE.5X and the integration of Massive Dimension’s MDX extruder with the BigRep ONE platform, Jeff Olson, President of BigRep America, said, “The ONE.5X represents everything we’ve learned from over a decade of industrial large-format 3D printing, as well as global customer feedback. All of that is distilled into a machine that delivers consistent results, regardless of an end-user’s experience level.”
Meanwhile, Tyler McNaney, Massive Dimension’s founder and CTO, noted, “The MDX is not just an iteration. It’s a reset. We removed complexity and reduced weight to create a more capable and more adaptable extrusion system, built for where the market is going.”
The best thing OEMs in the AM industry can do right now to help themselves is focus on making their machines as easy to use as possible. You don’t necessarily have to do this through the design of the machine itself; you can also focus on less direct solutions, such as creating standardized workforce development programs that could also serve as a source of revenue.
ONE.5 at work.
But for companies where it’s a realistic option, tailoring the machine itself to maximize user-friendliness is only going to become an even stronger selling point in the years ahead, as the manufacturing sector becomes increasingly reliant on workers with no prior manufacturing experience. Aside from that, demand for automated systems is also likely to increase, as even inexperienced workers will be difficult to come by.
Those aren’t exclusively technological considerations, of course, but also carry cost-of-ownership implications. Less experienced workers command lower salaries, and higher levels of automation limit the number of necessary hires altogether. This way of thinking isn’t meant to eliminate human thought from the process: in a country like the US, at this point, it’s likely the only approach that will ensure that the next generation of manufacturing is sufficiently staffed.
Both of these moves also bode well for BigRep’s targeting of the tooling market for the defense sector, which the company signaled as a key priority last summer in its announcement of a sales partnership with Phillips Federal. Large-format tooling is a perfect use-case for pellet extrusion, and BigRep has very effectively synergized its market reach through both the Phillips Federal and the Massive Dimension partnerships.
Images courtesy of BigRep