A3D - The Bigger Picture, page-9

This is how is see the state of play having followed A3D for over 4 years. I am not saying this is correct but its only my opinion - i am just a tech enthusiast and not in the industry. The simple answer is no because A3D's tech is not ready for a direct comparison but here is the more detailed answer.

If your navigate through past company announcements you will get an idea of where we are headed. One thing to bear in mind is that the last 12 month was a case of going back and addressing limiting factors with their tech so that they are able to achieve faster speeds. Its also a case of addressing corners that were cut to achieve the faster speeds and the lack of focus during the tech development. The previous management was all about promoting and printing X kg/tonnes per day and trying to do too many things at once whereas the new, much more experienced management, is all about focusing on the strengths/competitive advantage and very much client focused. I too have learnt a lot from following this company....both good and bad but still think it has enormous potential!

Yes, build volume is one of the important factors in comparing competitors but so is the density and print characteristics of each print and speed. The design of the actual printer and parts used is also a factor. I have learnt that promoting the speeds can be quite misleading because it depends on the size of the print as well as the powders used. For example, the aluminium test prints A3D has done for Granges, using their aluminium powders created from waste, is technically a very difficult and if they can validate successful prints then it opens up another massive opportunity!

IMHO, MCP tech is the main attraction and the industry "game-changer" i see but the success A3d team has achieved with the high power printing and addressing the fume extraction is very encouraging.