10-13-2015: Canon announced its entry into the 3D printing market with its own 3D printer
Canon was already selling 3D Systems machines for few months
On October 13, 2015, during Canon's Paris Expo event in France, which showcased innovative solutions in new technologies, Canon—a giant in the photo, printing, graphic imaging, and measurement equipment markets—unveiled for the first time the concept of its 3D printer based on photopolymer resin printing. The device was supposed to use Canon's proprietary technology, which (as is often the case in such announcements) was claimed to offer faster 3D printing processes and produce stronger, more durable parts than ever before.
Of course, none of these bold promises materialized. After a two-year flirtation with additive manufacturing, Canon quietly withdrew from the sector at the end of 2017.
Canon entered the AM industry in February 2015 by signing a distribution agreement with 3D Systems for selected European countries. Through this deal, it mainly offered 3D printers using photopolymer technologies (selected SLA and MJP systems) and gypsum powder printing (CJP). Reportedly, the company did quite well in the UK and achieved relatively good results in the highly demanding Polish market.
However, in October 2015, Canon decided to take things further, announcing that it would launch its own 3D printer based on photopolymer technology. Given the company's extensive experience in traditional printing, one could have expected a machine with similar capabilities to those of todays Mimaki or Stratasys' color 3D printers.
The 3D printer was supposed to be integrated with an innovative 3D scanning and data storage system, as well as virtual reality (VR) technology. It was to be called the Versatile Collaboration System (VCS), combining a camera, projector, and proximity sensor. This would allow users to scan and display 2D and 3D objects, which they could edit in real time using gestures. It was intended to be an alternative version of HP's Sprout (which ultimately also turned out to be a flop).
As mentioned above, none of this came to fruition. Aside from some visualizations, Canon never presented anything further. Unlike HP (which is now one of the leaders in the AM market) or Ricoh (which developed its own SLS 3D printer and is now a leading service provider), Canon chose not to release its own machine to the market and effectively move away from it in the fall of 2017.
Since I closely worked with Canon Poland in 2016-2017, I know that the decision to exit the AM market came from Japan and was a big surprise to the European branches (sales results of 3D Systems products were reportedly satisfactory). Regarding the 3D printer itself, there were rumors that it was supposed to be an advanced version of the popular 2.5D Arizona machine. But that’s just a rumor…
Source: www.develop3d.com