The laser-sintering portion of the additive manufacturing, 3D printer industry is showing signs of strong growth, especially in the aerospace, automotive, medical and some consumer product markets. Several European laser-sintering companies have recently established offices in the U.S., giving engineers additional choices to those already offered by 3D Systems and EOS.

Such growth means that service providers like Cideas, a leading Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) and 3D Printing company, must add machines to its lineup. Cideas recently announced its acquisition of 3D Systems sPRO™ 60 HD HS, a high-definition, high-speed laser sintering system.

“The sPRO™ 60 HD HS allows us to manufacture high-definition, durable plastic parts from a broad range of available thermoplastics,” said Cideas President Mike Littrell. “What makes this a significant machine is the digital scanning feature, a fairly new technology that is currently unavailable to the sPRO™ 140 and sPRO™ 230. “The part quality is very impressive; it enables us to create complex assemblies, as well as, production quantities with ease.”

Cideas is an independently owned service provider of the Fused Deposition Modeling™ technology. This Chicago- based company also has two large frame Fortus Fused Deposition Modeling™ systems and one Selective Laser Sintering® system.

Leslie Langnau
llangnau@wtwhmedia.com