Stratasys Ltd. and Desktop Metal today announced an extension of their strategic partnership - designed to accelerate accessibility and adoption of metal additive manufacturing. Built on a rich history of collaboration, the new agreement includes distribution efforts and explores further go-to-market activities in the future.
The strategic partnership aims to leverage nearly 30 years of Stratasys leadership in polymer 3D printing - alongside Desktop Metal's pioneering metal 3D printing technologies - to broaden the accessibility and adoption of metal 3D printing to a wide range of engineering teams. As a result of this partnership, customers will be able to work with leading Stratasys resellers who will begin representing Desktop Metal solutions, including the recently announced Studio System and the Production System, alongside Stratasys' broad family of advanced FDM and PolyJet solutions.
Expected to ship September 2017, Desktop Metal's Studio System is the first office-friendly metal 3D printing solution. At up to ten times less expensive than today's metal 3D printers, it's the only metal 3D printing system that is cost-effective for engineering teams. For the first time, it's possible to produce highly complex metal parts and assemblies with metal 3D printing without leaving the office.
Following the successful release of the Stratasys FDM-based F123 Series, the companies believe customers will benefit from the complementary nature of both technologies - now with the enhanced ability to expedite product development cycles by producing both plastic and metal prototypes in an office-friendly environment.
"Stratasys has always been focused on providing customers with cutting-edge 3D printing innovation with our PolyJet and FDM solutions. Today our offerings are used by customers worldwide - across automotive, aerospace, healthcare, education and consumer products - to achieve rapid prototyping, tooling and manufacturing processes," said Ilan Levin, CEO, Stratasys. "As one of the early investors in Desktop Metal, we realize customers are seeking additional ways to incorporate metal into their essential design and manufacturing processes. Today's announcement takes this commitment one step further - empowering global manufacturers and engineers to expedite product development cycles by producing both plastic and metal parts in office-friendly and production-based environments."
"Working with well-respected strategic partners like Stratasys adds critical capabilities for broadening access to our metal 3D printing systems," said Ric Fulop, CEO and Co-Founder of Desktop Metal. "The addition of Stratasys' network of resellers allows us to deliver more effectively to our market and also enables Stratasys' customers to gain access to Desktop Metal's systems while retaining the service and support they have come to expect."
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