Desktop 3D printing has garnered all the media attention over last 3-4 years. Desktop 3D printing is considered the future while industrial 3D printing is projected as obsolete technology. But in reality, it is industrial segment which is growing faster. Many new applications are coming up at the industrial level and many new 3D printers are launched on regular basis with new capabilities. Within industrial 3D printing, metal 3D printing is growing the fastest. There is a high demand for metal 3D printer and metal 3D printing applications. Metal 3D printers are expected to garner a market share of 27% of the entire 3D printing industry. The technology is primarily being used in medical and industrial applications and companies are rapidly adding this technology to their manufacturing and prototyping workflow.
Despite the immense demand for metal 3D printing and despite the presence of huge manufacturing industry in China, there isn’t one single manufacturer of metal 3D printers in China. All metal 3D printers in China are imported from western countries who hold the patents for this technology. To address this gap, Zhuhai CTC Electronic Co is launching a series of Walnut family of metal 3D printers to their kitty. The launch and success of their desktop based FDM 3D printers has put them on world map and now they ventured into metal 3D printing technology. With both these technologies in their kitty, they are clearly China’s largest 3D printer manufacturers.
“We are the first and, to date, quite possibly the sole manufacturer in China to have built the dot-scan 3D operating system on our own, and, at variance with other domestic makers, we do not rely on technologies developed by foreign outsourcing firms. SLA and SLM are based on the same software algorithm, enabling rapid research and development,” explained CTC PR Manager Yoyo Hee.
“As one of the top 3D printing technology suppliers in China, CTC provides customers worldwide with comprehensive solutions encompassing resin, metal, fused deposition modeling (FDM), SLM, desktop and industry-grade. The launch of the CTC Walnut series marks a key step towards realizing our vision,” Hee continued.
We hope the launch of Zhuhai CTC Metal 3D printer will act as precedent for the launch of many more new technologies from China market for China and the world.