Arburg Acquires 3D Printing Provider German RepRap

Arburg has signed an agreement to acquire industrial 3D printing manufacturer German RepRap. Founded near Munich in 2010, German RepRap will continue to operate as a separate company at its location in Feldkirchen, Germany.

Arburg considers additive manufacturing to be an important complementary production method for plastics processing which holds significant promise for the future. At K 2013, Arburg introduced its Freeformer additive manufacturing system. 

German RepRap develops and produces 3D systems based on FFF technology (fused filament fabrication). In 2016, the company added the Liquid Additive Manufacturing technology (LAM) to its portfolio, which allows for materials such as Liquid Silicon Rubber (LSR) to be processed. The new x500pro processes engineering plastics such as polycarbonate (PC).

Talks between German RepRap and Arburg included discussions about how the two companies might complement each other as well as possible synergies. Arburg said it became clear that the range of products and services each of them offers to the market was complementary. 

For instance, Arburg’s Freeformer works with droplet discharge and standard granulate for individual applications and the German RepRap x500pro works with filament discharge for standard applications. Additional developments will include the processing of liquid plastics (e.g. LSR).

According to the new owners, the company will continue to operate as a separate start-up company at its location in Feldkirchen. The change of ownership will not mean any operational changes for German RepRap’s 23 employees. Founder and Managing Director Florian Bautz will continue to run the business in the same way. German RepRap will continue to manage its sales, application engineering, production and administration activities independently. After the takeover, Arburg will work in close collaboration with German RepRap, drawing on its wide-ranging resources to offer support when asked to do so.