3D Systems acquires 3D printer builder Titan and medical specialist Kumovis

Titan Robotics, which 3D Systems is acquiring, builds 3D printers that can be equipped with pellet or filament extruder heads, or pellet and filament heads.

3D printer builder and medical-parts manufacturer 3D Systems announced plans in late February to acquire Titan Robotics Ltd., a Colorado Springs, Colo., producer of extrusion-style printers, and Kumovis, a Munich-based company that uses a proprietary extrusion process to 3D-print polymer medical devices.

Titan Robotics manufactures 3D printers with build volumes up to 50 by 50 by 72 in. that can print parts at speeds up to 30,000 mm/min. The company offers machines with printheads that extrude polymer filaments or pellets; it also builds hybrid machines fitted with filament and pellet heads. (Click here to read our article about Titan.)

At the core of the Kumovis process is the company’s R1 printer, which was developed specifically to precision-print medical-grade, high-performance polymers like PEEK, PEKK, PPSU, and PLA.

The 3D printer features a global, laminar air-flow system that heats the build chamber homogenously up to 250 degrees C. The air flow reportedly improves the mechanical properties of the product being printed. The printer’s integrated filter system turns the build chamber into a clean room that prevents contamination of the part being printed, according to Kumovis.

3D Systems president and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Graves said, “The addition of the Kumovis team—their expertise and technology—will be highly synergistic to our medical business model. … Moreover, 3D Systems’ expanding point-of-care initiatives will be greatly enhanced through the inclusion of Kumovis’ unique ‘integrated clean room’ printing technology, allowing hospitals and other end users to tailor products on demand.”