Stratasys Announces Formation of Vulcan Labs, Inc.to Advance Innovation of Powder-Bed Fusion technology

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2018-07-16 19:51:00

New Company Set to Advance Innovation of Powder-Bed Fusion (PBF) Additive Manufacturing

Stratasys spin-off tasked with improving quality, repeatability, and efficiency of PBF-based systems - bringing power of PBF into real-world production

MINNEAPOLIS & REHOVOT, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 3, 2018-- Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS), a global leader in applied additive technology solutions, today announced a new spin-off designed to advance innovation of Powder-Bed Fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing - Vulcan Labs, Inc.Vulcan’s solutions are engineered to meet the complex demands of end-use production applications – aimed at significantly overcoming typical deficiencies of productivity, quality, and certification. The company’s primary focus is advancing the quality, repeatability and efficiency of PBF technology – initially focusing on metals.

Originating from the 2014 acquisition of the production-oriented service bureau Harvest Technologies, Vulcan Labs is actively collaborating with application partners to advance technology accessibility and meet the stringent requirements of production-ready applications. Built as a standalone entity to harness the qualities of fast-moving entrepreneurial entities, Vulcan Labs will aim for advancing the rapid introduction of enhanced PBF-based solutions.

With decades of deep experience across real-world production applications of both polymers and metals, the company’s management team includes industry pioneer David K. Leigh. An original Founder and CEO of Harvest Technologies, Mr. Leigh is considered a market leader with deep additive manufacturing expertise specifically aligned with end-use parts applications in the most demanding industries, including: Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, Oil & Gas and more.

Designed towards advancing PBF platforms to achieve end-use production applications and now targeting metals, Vulcan Labs’ quality-focused solutions are currently being developed to include:

• Optimized build environments and unique multi-laser scan strategies
• Closed loop melt pool quality control
• Detailed Data Logging and Integration to the factory floor
• Automated powder handling and in-situ powder quality characterization
• Automated calibration and build set-up capabilities

“We’re extremely excited to continue our long-standing collaboration with Stratasys that began back in 2014. Together, we’ll continue to explore unique solutions that strengthen the production ecosystem across additive manufacturing,” said David K. Leigh, CEO of Vulcan Labs, Inc. “Our team will bring a unique perspective to solving many of the issues from an end-user perspective. We’re looking forward to delivering new solutions for customers to take control of their applications, while having the tools in place to manage their own quality.”

“Vulcan’s best-in-class team has both the experience and technical know-how necessary to bring PBF into real-world production – a vision perfectly aligned and complementary to our other activities in this space, including Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and our investment in LPW,” said StratasysCEO, Ilan Levin. “To provide Vulcan with the best path to achieve its vision, we decided to form a new and independent entity, with Stratasys as an equity stakeholder. We are delighted to continue supporting this team and look forward to collaborating with them and their partners to achieve this vision.”

In the coming months, Vulcan will engage with partners and customers to evaluate and further develop Vulcan’s solutions. Parties interested in joint development opportunities are encouraged to contact Vulcan Labs.

Vulcan Labs, Inc. is the result of a spin-off of Stratasys’ incubation activities and is located in Belton, TX. Vulcan aims to develop production-focused solutions based on Powder Bed Fusion technology that assist in increased build efficiency, quality verification, and factory floor integration. For more information, please visit www.vulcan-labs.com.

Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) is a global leader in applied additive technology solutions for industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Healthcare, Consumer Products and Education. For nearly 30 years, a deep and ongoing focus on customers’ business requirements has fueled purposeful innovations—1,200 granted and pending additive technology patents to date—that create new value across product lifecycle processes, from design prototypes to manufacturing tools and final production parts. The Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of solutions and expertise—advanced materials; software with voxel level control; precise, repeatable and reliable FDM and PolyJet 3D printers; application-based expert services; on-demand parts and industry-defining partnerships—works to ensure seamless integration into each customer’s evolving workflow. Fulfilling the real-world potential of additive, Stratasys delivers breakthrough industry-specific applications that accelerate business processes, optimize value chains and drive business performance improvements for thousands of future-ready leaders. Corporate headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel. Online at: www.stratasys.com, http://blog.stratasys.com and LinkedIn.

Stratasys is a registered trademark and the Stratasys signet is a trademark of Stratasys Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180403005559/en/

Source: Stratasys Ltd.

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