These results reflect continued strong market interest for industrial strength additive manufacturing solutions, especially systems capable of addressing high-volume production requirements, the company said. Optomec customers are currently using LENS and Aerosol Jet systems for production applications within the consumer electronics, life sciences, and aerospace/defence industries.
First-half orders increased more than 100% over the prior year same period, and already equal orders received for the full year 2012. New system orders for LENS 3D printers for metal represented 45% of total bookings and the remaining 55% were for aerosol jet systems used for printed electronics applications.
“The first 6 months were a tremendous start to our year, with strong global demand for both Aerosol Jet and LENS systems,” said Dave Ramahi, Optomec president and CEO. “The Optomec product line-up remains highly differentiated in the additive manufacturing space, with our ability to print fully functional metal and electronic components at low cost and with very high output rates. We expect to continue on this growth trajectory as industry’s adoption of such solutions is only accelerating.
Optomec said it is particularly encouraged by recent progress with the introduction of a production solution for 3D Printed Antenna used in smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. According to Ramahi, the first high-throughput system, capable of printing up to two million parts per year, has been commissioned at a contract manufacturer in China. Ramahi said Optomec is also engaged with many other leading suppliers. "Demand for this solution is being driven by a significantly lower cost profile, coupled with environmental and health benefits derived from eliminating plating in the production process," he stated.
