02-20-2020: the owners of Arburg acquired German RepRap
It ater became the foundation for the innovatiQ brand
On February 20, 2020, German RepRap, a German manufacturer of large-format FFF 3D printers, was acquired by the Hehl – Keinath family company (Eugen Hehl, Juliane Hehl, Michael Hehl, and Renate Keinath), which owns Arburg GmbH, a major player in the injection molding machine industry. Since 2013, Arburg had been developing its proprietary APF (Arburg Plastic Freeforming) 3D printing technology and aimed to expand its portfolio by incorporating a more conventional extrusion-based filament technology. By mid-2021, German RepRap was rebranded as innovatiQ.
German RepRap was one of the first and most well-known manufacturers of FFF 3D printers in the German market. Initially, the company focused on low-budget desktop 3D printers, but in the second half of the 2010s, it shifted towards producing large-format machines designed for industrial applications. It was considered a significant competitor to the local company BigRep.
The new owners initially announced that they would not introduce any drastic changes to the company. The workforce, which at the time consisted of 23 employees, was to remain unchanged, and the then-managing director, Florian Bautz, continued to lead the company. The acquisition did not mean German RepRap was absorbed into Arburg’s structure but rather that it would remain an independent entity while benefiting from Arburg’s resources. However, next year the company was rebranded.
The first fully in-house developed 3D printer under the innovatiQ brand was the LiQ 320, a system designed for processing liquid silicone (LSR – Liquid Silicone Rubber). It is one of the few solutions on the market that enables the additive manufacturing of silicone components.
Instead of using conventional filaments or powders, the LiQ 320 utilizes liquid silicone. The printers use thermal crosslinking layer-for-layer. The parts are ready to use straight off the build plate without post processing required.
In addition to LSR technology, innovatiQ’s product lineup includes traditional FFF systems: TiQ 2, TiQ 8, and TiQ 5.
Source www.centrumdruku3d.pl
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