Materialise Exercises Option to Buy Link3D

Materialise has agreed to exercise its option to acquire Link3D Inc., an additive workflow and digital manufacturing software company that supports customers in major manufacturing industries to scale and integrate their AM operations across complex supply chains and IT environments. The transaction, which is subject to conditions that are typical for this type of transaction, is expected to close by the end of the year. Materialise will acquire 100% of the Link3D equity interests for US$33.5 million.

Building on the success of its existing additive manufacturing (AM) software suite, Materialise has outlined a cloud-based platform strategy. The Materialise software platform will offer companies cloud-based access to a growing set of digital tools, enabling users to personalize and manage 3D printing processes and streamline their workflows. The acquisition of Link3D will strengthen and accelerate the creation of the Materialise software platform, particularly for companies that are scaling up their additive manufacturing operations to volume production, the companies report.

“Materialise continues to lead the way in advancing the AM industry and this acquisition strengthens our position in the high-growth manufacturing market,” says Fried Vancraen, CEO of Materialise. “As companies accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing into increasingly digital production environments, they require a strong and unified AM software platform. Today’s announcement creates a merger of forces that serves as the foundation for such a scalable and sustainable platform.” 

By integrating Link3D’s additive MES (Manufacturing Execution System) solution with the Materialise Magics software suite into a unified, cloud-based software platform, manufacturers will be able to run and continuously improve the most efficient, repeatable, automated and controlled processes to mass-produce identical or customized products. This process extends beyond the actual 3D printing operations and creates a closer alignment between 3D printing and conventional manufacturing, signaling the removal of the wall between both production environments. 

“In recent years, we have carefully developed our platform strategy,” says Stefaan Motte, VP and general manager of Materialise Software. “By joining forces with Link3D we can accelerate the realization of this strategy, which will allow our customers to define and run the most optimal, efficient and sustainable production process. Not only for the production of one-offs, but in particular for scaling production in complex and distributed ecosystems.”

“It has always been our mission to help companies scale additive manufacturing and help them achieve their ROI goals,” says Vishal Singh, CTO and co-founder of Link3D. “This is a landmark day for the AM industry. The combination of two innovation leaders committed to relentless pursuit of the promise of digital manufacturing.”

Customers will not only benefit from access to Materialise’s Magics 3D print suite for AM part preparation, automation and production optimization, and broad 3D printer connectivity and automated workflows.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

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