“We're still a very small company. But it's absolutely flying,” said MCor co-founder and CEO Conor MacCormack. “We did more business in November and December than the entire year previous to that. It's not a seasonal thing, we just scaled quickly."
MCOR’s printers use Selective Deposition Lamination (SDL) technology to print full color models by fixing numerous layers of paper, one atop another. With the ability to print millions of colors, MCOR has found a following among architects and engineers looking for highly detailed, full color illustrations of their designs.
Just as well-established MCOR is looking to expand, printing giant Epson is looking to break into the 3D printing market. According to Epson’s president, Minoru Usui, the Japanese firm is in the process of developing industrial, multi-material 3D printers.
Although new to the 3D printing game Epson has little interest in producing AM systems for consumer, plastic-based prototyping. Instead, the company is interesting in developing printers capable of creating end use parts for commercial and industrial applications.
With challenges like developing highly reliable print materials, and a system that can manufacture an item both quickly and with high resolution, Epson certainly has their work cut out for them. However, given that the company wants to tailor their printers for use in heavy industries like automotive manufacturing, the hard work could be quite profitable.
Usui believes that within 5 years his company will have ironed the kinks out of their current systems and that Epson printers will be available to industrial manufacturers.
Image Courtesy of MCOR