Formlabs has announced its acquisition of 3D printing startup Micronics, a Wisconsin-based firm with just two employees. Co-founders Henry Chan and Luke Boppart will join Formlabs to integrate Micronics’ budget SLS approach. Founded in 2021 by the two University of Wisconsin graduates, Micronics aims to democratize industrial printing technology.
As for Formlabs, they were originally an MIT spinout focused on lowering the barrier for SLA printing, which uses light to harden liquid resin into high-resolution prints. SLS, invented around the same time, uses lasers to sinter powder, producing strong and fast prints for industrial use. Formlabs’ SLA systems are popular in the dental industry, while SLS is used for orthotics and prosthetics.
Formlabs introduced its own SLS 3D printer, the Fuse 1, in 2017, making SLS more accessible, though still expensive.
“With the Fuse 1, we made a 5x leap in starting price for SLS systems,” Formlabs founder and CEO Max Lobovsky told TechCrunch.
“Micronics is trying to do another 5x beyond that.”
Micronics has been highly effective with limited resources, raising about $400,000 and developing in-house machining tools. They currently have a Kickstarter campaign exceeding $1.3 million against a $100,000 goal. The acquisition news comes shortly after Lobovsky and Chan met at the Open Sauce maker event in June, where they found their visions aligned.
Source: techcrunch.com