Desktop Metal acquires EnvisionTec

Desktop Metal, which has built its brand on 3D printing small metal parts in reasonable volumes on-demand, is now to acquire EnvisionTec, which has developed a number of photopolymer 3D printers. 

The deal, which should be completed in the first quarter of this year, is a combination of cash and newly issued Desktop Metal stock and is worth $300 million in total. Thereafter, EnvisionTec will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal and its founder, Al Siblani, will carry on as its CEO. He commented: “Bringing the two companies together will deliver a global footprint of customers that can cross-benefit from our combined technology platforms. I believe we have many opportunities to scale the business, disrupt traditional manufacturing, expand our customer base, and create value for our shareholders.”

EnvisionTec was founded in 2002 and was one of the pioneers in DLP technology with over 140 issued and pending patents, which Desktop Metal believes includes blocking intellectual property. 

Its products include the Envision One series for dental, medical, and industrial segments that are able to handle high temperature resins. These use patented continuous digital light manufacturing (cDLM) and domeless basement technologies, designed to quickly produce accurate end-use parts cost-effectively. 

There’s a new Xtreme 8K series that should start to ship in the first quarter of 2021. These are said to offer the largest build area among production-grade DLP printers, using patented projection array technology to achieve for fast production but without a corresponding price tag.

EnvisionTec has also developed the Bioplotter platform, which supports the production of biocompatible parts for medical applications such as bone regeneration, cartilage regeneration, soft tissue fabrication, drug release, and organ printing. 

Desktop Metal was founded in 2015 and is built on a combination of advanced manufacturing, metallurgy and robotics. It has highlighted its interest in EnvisionTec’s industrial-scale robotic additive manufacturing (RAM) product platform for producing mould cores and investment casting patterns for foundry applications using either Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) or silica sand. Desktop Metal plans to take the Single Pass Jetting technology developed for its Production System to improve on the EnvisionTec RAM platform, making it more productive and lowering the costs across builds as large as 1.8 x 0.9 x. 0.9 metres.

In addition, the acquisition more than doubles Desktop Metal’s global distribution network and increases its geographic sales capabilities to 68 countries around the world. The idea is that Desktop Metal will be able to use EnvisionTec’s vertically-focused partners to help it sell into the dental and jewelry markets, while using its own horizontally-focused channel partners to market the EnvisionTec printers, particularly in industrial, education and R&D areas.

Ric Fulop, founder and CEO of Desktop Metal, commented: “EnvisionTEC is a true pioneer and responsible for many of the leading technologies widely used today to produce end-use photopolymer parts through additive manufacturing. Together, Desktop Metal and EnvisionTEC have an opportunity to shape the future of Additive Manufacturing 2.0 and transform how parts are made around the world. I look forward to welcoming EnvisionTEC to the Desktop Metal team to deliver world-class additive manufacturing solutions that help make our customers successful.”

You can find further information on both companies from desktop metal.com and envisiontec.com.