Stratasys taking over Xaar 3D to accelerate Additive Manufacturing capabilities
Stratasys Ltd., a leader in polymer 3D printing solutions, announced today it has acquired all remaining shares of Xaar 3D Ltd. from Xaar plc, accelerating the company’s growth in production-scale 3D printing. Stratasys previously owned a 45% stake in Xaar 3D.
In April 2021, Stratasys introduced the Stratasys H350™ 3D printer, the first system powered by Xaar 3D’s powder-based SAF™ technology. Representing the culmination of more than 10 years of research and development, SAF-based 3D printers are designed to deliver cost-competitive parts at production-level throughput. Since the announcement, the H350 has been successfully installed at Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and various beta customer sites in Europe and the U.S., with general availability expected before the end of this year.
“We are committed to being the leading provider of production-scale polymer 3D printing for our customers as additive manufacturing continues to transform industries around the world,” said Stratasys CEO Dr. Yoav Zeif. “The H350 printer and SAF technology are central to that mission, giving us a powerful platform for meeting the needs of customers in industries such as commercial goods, automotive, consumer goods, and consumer electronics. Customers tell us this technology’s consistent performance at higher volumes helps them grow their businesses and provides them a significant competitive advantage. We are excited to welcome the outstanding team of innovators from Xaar 3D to the Stratasys family.”
H Series™ Production Platform printers such as the H350 are designed to deliver part quality, consistency, and reliability that ensures customer satisfaction and high production yield. Using SAF technology, the printers execute key 3D printing steps in the same direction across the print bed to provide a uniform thermal experience – and therefore part consistency – for all printed parts regardless of their placement in the build. This represents a significant improvement over traditional powder-bed fusion processes.
H Series printers are also designed for production control. Leveraging multiple on-board sensors, build data is logged for process traceability and remains fully under customer control. Materials can be controlled, tracked, and traced, and print settings can be fine-tuned for each customer’s needs.
The Xaar 3D team will join Stratasys to continue leading the development of the H Series platform and SAF technology.
“We formed Xaar 3D on the premise that we could help existing powder bed technology make a major leap forward, and that’s what’s happening thanks to SAF technology,” said Ronen Cohen, General Manager of Xaar 3D Ltd. “We have been able to significantly improve thermal management for more consistent and reliable parts while giving customers the production control they need. As part of Stratasys, we will continue to rapidly advance H Series 3D printer development while leveraging Stratasys’ global go-to-market infrastructure and blue-chip customer relationships to enable more customers to benefit from SAF-powered additive manufacturing.”
