Desktop Metal, a company committed to bringing metal 3D printing to engineers and manufacturers, announced it will begin accepting international pre-orders of its metal 3D printing system, the Studio System, from companies throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, Canada and Mexico.
The announcement comes as Desktop Metal experiences growing interest and demand from manufacturers and strategic partners around the globe, including BMW Group, which will be the company’s first international early partner to receive a system.
To support its international expansion plans, Desktop Metal has forged strategic partnerships with authorized Desktop Metal international resellers to begin pre-selling its Studio System throughout Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom with availability beginning in mid 2018, and plans to expand more broadly throughout Europe and APAC. The company already has experienced strong demand with system reservations in the United States, with shipments to begin in the coming weeks. The company now has a growing global network of 66 sales partners and resellers.
Availability of the Studio System will vary by country and interested buyers should visit www.desktopmetal.com/international for more information.
In anticipation of the international expansion, Desktop Metal also announced it will be working with a select group of strategic customers as early stage evaluators of its technologies, starting with BMW Group. These strategic partners will be a source of critical user feedback on benchmark parts, materials, training and system usage.
Fostering the startup ecosystem to take the automotive world to the next level is the mission of BMW Group’s independent venture unit: “As an early investor in Desktop Metal, we saw potential in its 3D printing technology and vision for redefining manufacturing,” said Uwe Higgen managing partner of BMW i Ventures.
BMW Group’s additive manufacturing team works closely with Desktop Metal to accelerate market adoption. “Metal additive manufacturing has already impacted the automotive industry mainly in prototyping. Currently, we are further expanding the use of metal additive manufacturing in multiple applications. Starting with design to cost-effective mass production, which is the most challenging application where material and process qualification, design, performance and cost-per-part are crucial for our success. Together with Desktop Metal, we are working on challenging the status quo of metal additive manufacturing. We are looking into uncovering the potential for both the Studio System for functional prototypes and the Production System for high-speed prototyping and mass production of BMW Group automotive parts”, said Jens Ertel head of BMW Group’s Additive Manufacturing Center in Munich.
Desktop Metal, Inc.,
www.desktopmetal.com
