3dbgprint, Petar Angelov: Our dedication and the added value we offer make us a preferred long-term partner

Petar Angelov, 3D expert at 3dbgprint, for South-East European Industrial Market Magazine

The applications of 3D printing in industry and beyond seem to know no boundaries. Could you give our readers a brief overview of the most recent developments in the field?

Whereas 3D printing used to be all about prototyping in the past, now the main production is for functional parts and short-run manufacturing of up to 1500 pieces per year. Naturally, prototyping as an application has not disappeared, but it has declined as a service in demand.

Printers today are getting faster, industrial 3D printing systems are more sought-after because in these times of tight supply, the market is demanding more and more 3D printed parts that are hard to find or difficult to make using conventional technology. Companies that manufacture short-run products are increasingly turning to 3D printing to get their designs into production and bring them to market. Among the main sectors that we work with are the fashion, automotive, light and heavy industries.

5 years ago, moving from desktop to industrial printers was one of the main tendencies in 3D printing. How have the major trends in the sector changed since then?

To some extent, this trend has persisted, but not entirely. The change here is noticeable at the application level of 3D printing. Desktop 3D printers today remain in households and education. And hopefully more households and educational institutions will have 3D printers in the coming years. This will prepare people for the new challenges of the future as 3D printing is set to become an integral part of our daily lives.

Industrial 3D printers nowadays are mainly used in the manufacturing sector. This is due to the fact that more and more manufacturing companies are familiar with and interested in the 3D printing technology to innovate their work process. A growing number of electric car manufacturers offer their car parts in electronic STL format. This way anyone can 3D print them at home or by using an external provider of this service. So electric car manufacturers are among our main customers as well.

How does 3dbgprint reflect the latest innovations in additive technologies, equipment and materials? What are the current highlights in your portfolio of products, services and partners?

We are constantly trying to keep up with the changes in the world of 3D printing. We are determined to keep developing our workshop, mainly by upgrading it with industrial printers. Currently we have over 30 FDM printers, SLS systems, professional 3D scanners. We are continuously introducing new materials and working with new manufacturers that are established on the market with their high-quality and well proven products.

We put emphasis on the speed of the printers in order to be able to print a higher volume of parts in a shorter time and, of course, to satisfy our customers. We are also improving our production base with more and more 3D printers with different printing technologies. It is noticeable that a number of companies with medium-volume production contact us and we are among the main suppliers of components that are parts of the final products they offer.

For each type of technology in our portfolio (SLS, FDM, LCD, etc.) we partner with one globally recognized manufacturer, so different brands do not have to compete in the local market, while at the same time, we are able to offer high-end quality and innovative equipment.

We are currently negotiating a partnership with a supplier of specialized machinery for the recycling of waste filament, its subsequent processing and the creation of new filament. We believe that the future lies in new recycling and post-processing technologies.

Which of the company’s current projects would you describe as a challenge and what creative approaches did you take to successfully implement it?

We have many interesting projects, each of them is different, and each one is a challenge for us. One of the interesting things about our work is that we encounter projects in different areas and, as specialists with more than 10 years of experience, we very often offer additional solutions to our clients as we gain insight into the problem and suggest practical changes and improvements. Our dedication and the added value we offer make us a preferred long-term partner of such customers.

One of our recent projects was in the entertainment industry, namely in fashion design. We were challenged to 3D print a bust of one of the most popular, world-famous performers. We can’t disclose much about many of our projects as we have confidentiality agreements. Every project for us is an extraordinary task that our team commits to and solves all creative challenges with great desire and love.

www.3dbgprint.com