FELIXprinters had working examples of its range of industrially-oriented additive manufacturing (AM) platforms, and reinforced its position as perhaps the key supplier of industry’s most affordable, accurate, repeatable, easy-to-use, and upgradeable AM platforms.

Front and centre on the booth at Formnext were the company’s Pro L and Pro XL larger build envelope machines which were independently reviewed in 2019 as being the only commercially available AM platforms that can rival the industry-standard Ultimaker machines. The machines were both working at the show, and visitors were shown an impressive array of complex industrial builds for which the FELIX technology platforms are ideally suited.

The Pro L and Pro XL machines are respected throughout industry due to their strength, robustness, and quality of build, and today can be seen to out-perform alternatives in all important areas and for an array of exacting industrial applications. FELIXprinters’ AM platforms are synonymous with exceptional quality, and all shipped platforms are subject to a stringent 24-hour quality test before delivery to its customers.

A real show-stopper at Formnext, however, was the newly introduced FELIX BIO platform that was for the first time available for pre-order for shipping at the beginning of 2020.

Co-owner Wilgo Feliksdal says, “The FELIX BIO printer is based on the same chassis as the whole FELIXprinters product line, and is characterized by key features that are specifically designed for medical, scientific, and research applications, including syringe cooling, print bed cooling and heating, a dual head system, easy syringe positioning (ergonomic access to the machine supports researchers in their work), and automatic bed levelling.”

At the heart of the FELIX BIO is the source control system which enables the user to use standard slicing software and make changes themselves if needed. Syringes are not restricted to expensive brand-specific or in-house produced products that essentially drive up operating costs. The machine instead has been designed to use a standard 5ml syringe, and standardized petri dishes and culture plates, so there are no limitations on auxiliary parts and materials.

The FELIX BIO has some unique characteristics which include retraction capability, impossible on alternative air pressure systems. This is vital for optimized dosage of materials and accurate material flow. The FELIX BIO is also designed so that the print heads are easily sterilizable, and they are also modular units that can be changed easily. In addition, the FELIX BIO has a unique probing system which results in a perfect first layer the foundation of precise and accurate printing results.

Guillaume Feliksdal, co-owner sums up by saying, “Being present at events such as Formnext is vital for us. Not only does it provide us with an obvious opportunity to demonstrate our machines and prove their accuracy and robustness in industrial applications, but it also means we can discuss specific applications with our customers. This is central to everything that we do at FELIX. We do not sell AM boxes, we sell AM solutions, and central to everything that we do is to supply solutions that are ideally suited to customer requirements. As such, we are unique in the lower cost high accuracy area of 3D printing in offering truly customized solutions. This plays to the disquiet that everyone understands that many vendors are purely motivated by hitting sales targets rather than providing optimized customer solutions.”

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FELIXprinters (Booth A66, Hall 12.1) has ironed out a niche for itself as the provider of industry’s most affordable, accurate, repeatable, easy-to-use, and upgradeble AM platforms, and comes to this year’s Formnext with a lot to show and a lot to discuss with attendees.

Building on its recent success at the TCT Exhibition in October, the FELIX booth continues the theme of “Going Dutch”, which will be obvious to visitors as they will see a moving windmill, mini-clogs, and iconic coloured tulips all created in FELIXprinter’s machines. The company is extremely proud of its Dutch heritage, and underpinning every platform that it sells is the fact that it is hand-made in Holland, and exemplifies the characteristic quality of Dutch engineering in general.

Guillaume Feliksdal, co-founder of FELIX says, “While we are having a bit of fun with the ‘Going Dutch’ theme, visitors to our booth will see that our machines are serious industrially focussed AM solutions, and there will be a number of parts on display that show how well adapted our technologies are to complex industrial applications. Everything about FELIX rotates around quality, and we have strict quality controls in house that ensure that once a printer is delivered it works perfectly from the get go. For example, each machine passes a stringent 24 hour quality test at our HQ before it is boxed and released, and we pride ourselves on the fact that all our platforms out perfiom any similarly priced alternatives in terms of robustness, accuracy and repeatability, all of this down to our absolute focus on quality”.

FELIXprinters has an impressive array of AM platforms, and front and centre at Formnext will be the Pro L and Pro XL larger build envelope machines that have been making quite a stir in recent months, and which have been independently reviewed as being the only commercially available AM platforms that can rival the industry-standard Ultimaker machines.

Co-founder Wilgo Feliksdal continues, “We will have a Pro XL working on the booth, so visitors will be able to see the superior nature of the machine, and the impressively sized 144 litre build space. The Pro L and XL machines are extremely versatile, appropriate for numerous industrial end-use applications, and they are synonymous with strength, robustness, and quality of build. We feel that once manufacturers see this machine in action they will be re-assured that against any alternative, the Pro L and XL measure up extremely well, and out-perform any alternatives in all important areas.”

Also on the booth, FELIXprinters will be showcasing the soon to be released FELIX BIO printer. For the first time at Formnext it will be available for pre-order, with a 1-2 month lead time for delivery, and will be available from stock from the beginning of 2020.

The FELIX BIO printer has been developed on the chassis of the established FELIXprinters product line, meaning that at its heart is the tried and tested technology that has already been serving manufacturers for years. The printer is characterized by key features that are specifically designed for medical, scientific, and research applications, including syringe cooling, print bed cooling and heating, a dual head system, easy syringe positioning (ergonomic access to the machine supports researchers in their work), and automatic bed levelling. The BIO printer has already been used at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) to print optical waveguides to trigger optogenetically modified dopaminergic neural stem cells.

Guillaume Feliksdal says, “The printer has a flexible, adaptable ecosystem that will meet the wide range of researchers’ needs. One major advantage is the source control system which enables the user to use standard slicing software and make changes themselves if needed. Syringes are not restricted to expensive brand-specific or in-house produced products that essentially drive up operating costs. The machine instead has been designed to use a standard 5ml syringe, and standardized petri dishes and culture plates, so there are no limitations on auxillary parts and materials.”

The FELIX BIO has retraction capability, which is not possible with alternative air pressure systems, even when it is required to control liquid flow. The FELIX BIO can retract with a highly precise motor, which also allows for better dosage of materials and more accurate material flow.

Wilgo Feliksdal continues, “We have followed strict sterilization protocols when designing the FELIX BIO, and users will benefit from the fact that print heads are easy to sterilize, which eliminates the likelihood of contamination. Print heads are also modular units that can be easily changed, and separate heads are available as accessories for quick change over to different materials. The FELIX BIO also has a unique probing system, which results in a perfect first layer, which in turn leads to accurate printing results. The bed levelling system is not dependent on which nozzle is used because the probing is done with the nozzle being used actually against the print surface.

The FELIX BIO is appropriate for all types of bio-printing research, and is equipped with strong motors that can extrude a range of different viscosity of materials. It will be showcased alongside the company’s Tec 4, Pro 3 Touch, and Pro L and XL machines at Formnext.

Why not visit the FELIXprinters booth, and discuss with our expert team the ways in which the company works with its customers to ensure best-fit solutions for specific industrial applications.

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‘Going Dutch’ will be the theme at stand E50, where FELIXprinters will exhibit alongside customer and partner S-CAN 3D. Attendees will be able to see for themselves FELIXprinters’ Pro series of 3D printers, including the recently introduced Pro L & XL larger build volume solutions, all of which are easily upgradable, meaning that they will continue to meet evolving demands and requirements without the need for additional large scale capital investment.

In addition, FELIX will be unveiling its customizable 3D printing solution for biomedical applications, an area in which the company has invested considerable resources to launch a viable option for an array of bio-printing applications.

The theme of the FELIX booth at TCT will be “Going Dutch”, reflecting the company’s heritage in the Netherlands and its culture of quality and innovation. Visitors to the booth can take home 3D printed mini-clogs or a coloured 3D printed tulip, can help themselves to a typical Dutch “stroopwafel”, and will see the impressive 3D printed FELIX windmill.

FELIXprinters is respected throughout industry for providing top-end, robust, reliable, easy-to-use, and competitively priced additive manufacturing (AM) solutions for industrial applications, and sets itself apart from other technology providers by the extent of the relationship that it encourages with its customers. FELIX believes that for customers to get the best from their use of 3D printing, they need to work as a strategic partner and advisor, ensuring that the use of the technology is optimised for each individual application.

FELIX recently introduced the Pro 3 platform which has been developed to integrate seamlessly into industrial workflows, whether that is in an office, a workshop, lab or factory environment. The priority with the Pro 3 is to deliver a 3D printer that produces optimized print results — every time!

Guillaume Feliksdal, Founder and Director at FELIXprinters says, “Our team at FELIXprinters all have technical engineering backgrounds, so we know that “quality in” equals “quality out”! We have sourced extremely high-quality components to ensure that the Pro series of printers are both robust and reliable – and these are the cornerstone of the FELIX Pro 3 and we are looking forward to discussing the possibilities with visitors at TCT in the UK.”

The Pro L and Pro XL have been designed specifically to be easily portable — at installation or within a manufacturing setting. Both can be easily transported through a normal office door opening (900 mm).

These 3D printers come with a range of automated and intelligent features that remove many of the tedious and time-consuming hurdles often associated with additive manufacturing and speeding up the overall process. A stand-out example of this is the design of the dual nozzle. When the dual extruders are printing together they are at different print levels, avoiding any collisions and minimizing print failure. Moreover, if one nozzle is idle, it is automatically rotated out of the way so that there is no interference with the printed part, again avoiding damage to the print (and print failure).

An exciting “first” at the TCT show will be details of the FELIX 3D printing solution for biomedical applications. The FELIX BIO 3D printer is designed to simplify the printing process by guiding the user through every step. It also gives users numerous options and a great deal of control, with the ability to print with a wide range of biomaterials that mimic the native environment of each specific type of cell. Users can optimize the process for heart tissue, skin, cartilage, bone, etc., thanks to special features such as exchangeable print heads that offer multiple options for heating and cooling according to the needs of the material. The dual extrusion FELIX bioprinter is capable of producing heterogeneous tissues.

FELIXprinters is adept at developing tailor-made advanced 3D printing solutions bespoke to specific applications, the company encouraging the formation of strategic partnerships with clients and other technology suppliers to further advance innovations in 3D printing. Attendees at TCT 2019 are invited to discuss any tailor-made solutions that they feel would benefit their projects with our team of expert 3D printing innovators.

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FELIXprinters is established as one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of highly accurate, reliable, easy-to-use, and price sensitive industrial AM machines. As many industrial sectors have shifted their manufacturing workflow to incorporate AM, FELIXprinters has positioned itself and its portfolio to serve the changing needs of industry. This is achieved through careful attention to detail, listening to what customers say is important to them, and developing products and features to meet their needs. The company’s Pro 3 & Tec 4 series of AM platforms — and the newly introduced Pro L and XL models (with larger build envelopes) — have cemented FELIXprinters’ position in the industrial use of AM, and has opened up an array of options for manufacturers previously unavailable.

Customer & Partner

A customer of FELIXprinters is S-CAN 3D Ltd, based in Attleborough, United Kingdom offering a 3D scanning, CMM inspection, and precision manufacturing bureau service for international customers. The company specialises in 3D scanning for reverse engineering, but also has its own product range which include RetroSport (billet aluminium performance parts for classic Minis) and S-FIX (accessories for precision measuring equipment).

S-CAN 3D was founded in 2012, and over the last number of years has invested in a large arsenal of equipment to be able to take a customer’s component, reverse engineer it, and then re-manufacture it. The company uses FELIXprinters AM platforms for prototyping, creating casting moulds and masters, and manufacturing jigs.

James Senior, MD at S-CAN 3D says, “We have found FELIXprinters AM platforms to be very easy to use. You can be up and running within a few minutes of getting them out of the box. We run all of our printers through Simplify3D software so you load the profile, pick a material and you are ready to go. In-house we now have the first machine we bought from FELIX back in 2015 (the Pro 1), and a Tec 4.1, a Pro 3 and the new Pro XL. Our first Pro printer has paid for itself 10 times over.”

FELIXprinters has a range of machines that are aimed at industrial prototyping and production applications, key among these being the Pro 3 and Tec 4 machines and the more recently introduced Pro L and XL platforms.

The Pro 3 & Tec 4 machines are supplied with automated and intelligent features to maximize productivity and efficiency. The importance placed on intelligent 3D printing is really at the heart of these machines, with functionality that removes many of the time-consuming hurdles that characterize many 3D printers. To this end, Pro 3 & Tec 4 machines are characterised by automated motorized calibration; an innovative quick-swap print-head solution; extremely fast rotation of print-heads in the dual head configuration (less than 10 seconds); and a dedicated flexplate, supplied as standard to easily and quickly remove printed parts.  Moreover, the Pro AM systems also offer extremely quick heat-up and cool-down of the print heads, meaning that the dual head print times are reduced by a factor of 2.

Scaling Up

The more recently introduced Pro L and Pro XL machines cater for FELIX customers that want bigger build envelopes but without compromising on quality. Delivering on this was not just a case of scaling up the architecture of the Pro 3D printers. With the Pro L and XL, FELIX has used all of its experience in precision engineering to develop what it believes is an offering to the market that demonstrates te company’s commitment to robust and reliable 3D printers. These bigger machines can fit seamlessly into any workshop, lab or factory environment because they can fit through a standard doorway, to make the logistics of installation quick and simple too. The Pro L and XL have build envelopes up to 144 liters.

Senior discusses S-CAN 3D’s use of the FELIX 3D printers. “The Pro printers have been our workhorses for the last few years. The original Pro 1 has over 400 days of continuous build time logged on it. 
We were interested in the Pro XL from when it was announced, and we certainly haven’t been disappointed with it since it has been installed. It’s averaged over 20 hours per day run time since we have got it, making everything from show display pieces to casting patterns. We’ve done week long and maximum build area builds so I can only really talk positively about our experience with it so far.”

Senior continues, “Internally, S-CAN 3D use FELIX 3D printers for prototyping designs. We might do five or more different concept designs of a particular part or component, as it’s much easier to visualise a part when it’s in your hand. 
We are putting a lot of work through the newly purchased XL printer and it’s opening up things which we wouldn’t have been able to do before (at least to the same quality and size), so things are very encouraging.
We have found FELIX machines to be very repeatable which is our most fundamental requirement for any application, and we also haven’t noticed any accuracy degradation over time.”

It is specifically because of the gap between supply of lower cost, reliable and accurate 3D printers and the demand from companies such as S-CAN for affordable industrial platforms that FELIXprinters has developed it Pro series and L & XL machines. Throughout its history, FELIXprinters has achieved a strong reputation for developing and delivering robust, reliable and accurate machines, servicing a growing client base with solutions that are far in excess of their requirements in terms of accuracy but at a price that is comparable with inferior alternatives.

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FELIXprinters is a family-run business with Wilgo (father) and Guillaume (son) Feliksdal working side by side as co-founders and directors of the company. Guests were welcomed to the facility in Ijsselstein by the team ahead of an introductory address from Wilgo. Subsequently, Guillaume went on to offer an historical overview of the company, and explain FELIXprinters’ mission and vision, including its current activities and future goals.

The origins of the company date back to 2007, Guillaume explained, when as a young graduate, he undertook a project that he believed would benefit from 3D printing — the development of a humanoid robot. Attempting to use any 3D printer that was accessible to him, however, proved frustrating in terms of the quality of output and the reliability of the system. He went on to solve some of these issues for himself and FELIXprinters was born in 2010, when he established the company with Wilgo and the team has continued to grow.

The core FELIX team operates out of the Netherlands facility and is dedicated to R&D, technology development, production, assembly and after sales activities. The company also develops key, specific partnerships for sales, marketing and other activities. FELIXprinters works with a global network of more than 40 resellers. Guillaume highlighted the mission of FELIXprinters specifically to operate as “a technology supplier, strategic partner and guide for unlocking the potential of 3D printing applications — large or small.” He also specified the core values of the company: innovation and attention to detail, quality in production and output, and the reliability of this output in terms of operation and repeatability. Values that run through the entire operation and drive the delivery of the mission The dignified passion from the father and son team was unmistakable and really hit home.

On the day, FELIXprinters also announced that it has added another valuable service for supporting European customers with the introduction of an installation service. This includes the delivery of the 3D printer(s) to any destination in The Netherlands or Belgium (with plans to roll it out across mainland Europe); installation of the hardware and software, performing test prints and training to ensure the printer is fully functional at optimum quality.

Even as Guillaume (with occasional interjections from his dad) explained FELIXprinters’ transition over the last 12 months to focus on more industrial applications — evident through the current 3D printer models in production (Tec 4 / Pro 3 / Pro L and Pro XL) — he was categorical in his insistence that the USPs of the company remain unchanged, specifically that modularity, through the ongoing ability to upgrade any FELIX 3D printers remains in the company’s DNA. Here he cited customers that are still using FELIX 1.5 3D printers (introduced 6-7 years ago) successfully, with upgrades, and the company still provides the same level of service and spare parts.

Another capability of FELIXprinters that Guillaume highlighted during his presentation is the development of customised 3D printing platforms and complete solutions. Although the current projects that the team are working on with key partners are still sensitive in nature, Guillaume was able to comment, in generic terms, on the sectors where they are developing custom platforms, namely for biotech, academic research and food applications. The latter in particular has reached critical mass and has been extended to include 10 more fully automated platforms in the coming months. Moreover, the success of this project is informing FELIXprinters’ activities in other sectors and the IP that has been developed can be rolled out into other areas.

The audience was then introduced to the new large 3D printing platforms that FELIXprinters has developed and now officially launched — the L and the XL. These two new platforms open up new opportunities for larger industrial parts in a range of industries. Parts off the two large platforms were scattered around the office and factory, a visual representation of their capabilities. During the tour of the factory, more of the large machines were seen in operation, unmanned and untroubled. Others were obviously in production across the factory floor, alongside the production lines for the more familiar, desktop sized Pro 3 and Tec 4. Wilgo hosted the tour with his passion and knowledge shining through as he provided detailed insight into the FELIXprinters operations.

Guillaume announced that an upgraded Tec platform – the 4.5 — would be available by the end of this year, indicating that while the company is now industrially focused, its heritage continues to inform its evolution.

This successful event continues to receive exceptional and positive feedback from attendees; and members of the press that were unable to attend are welcome to get in touch to arrange one on one interviews with either Guillaume or Wilgo.

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