Sinterit's last run
The Atomic Layers: S8E13 (00219)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
Yesterday, Sinterit unveiled a new 3D printer. Unlike other releases this week, this one truly deserves the title of "new."
SUZY is currently one of the most affordable SLS 3D printers in the world and certainly the cheapest one manufactured in Europe.
This means that it is a direct competitor to the undisputed leader of the SLS market—the American Formlabs Fuse. And it clearly aims to take a share of its market.
Sinterit is a Polish company that, alongside the now-defunct Swiss company Sintratec, paved the way for low-cost, desktop SLS 3D printing. Its flagship product was LISA, which was to SLS what the MakerBot Replicator and Ultimaker 2 were to FFF, and what the Formlabs Form 1 was to SLA.
Unfortunately for both Sinterit and Sintratec, the desktop SLS market was ultimately dominated by the latter, when in January 2021, Formlabs released the Fuse 1. Over the next two years, it practically took over the market. Last year, Formlabs boasted that 50% of all SLS 3D printers on the market were their products.
As a result, at the beginning of 2024, Sintratec called it a day, and in mid-2024, Sinterit had to secure additional funding from its main shareholder—FIT AG. Currently, FIT AG holds a 46.1% stake in Sinterit, the Polish investment fund EEC Magenta owns 41.3%, and 12.6% belongs to Paweł Szczurek—one of the company's three co-founders. Szczurek is also the only founder still holding a position in the company (as CTO), while the other two—Michał Grzymała-Moszczyński and Konrad Głowacki—are now just… founders.
Operational control over Sinterit is now in the hands of FIT's German management, with Albert Klein, an experienced manager, serving as CEO since last year.
Thus, the Sinterit SUZY is the work of this new management team. It is the smallest 3D printer in the company's lineup, which, apart from the flagship LISA, also includes the industrial-grade NILS 480. SUZY is designed for small-scale production and prototyping.
The build volume is 130 × 180 × 330 mm (5.1 × 6.7 × 13.3 inches), with a maximum diagonal print size of 398 mm (15.7 inches).
SUZY offers a 3D printing speed of up to 20 mm/h and uses a 30W IR Fiber Coupled Diode Laser with Galvo technology. The minimum layer height is 0.075 mm.
However, its key feature is its price—€17,590.
For comparison, the Formlabs Fuse 1 starts at around $18,499, which, given the current currency fluctuations caused by the “Donald Trump tariff war,” translates to just under €17,000. But… for now, this is irrelevant, as potential tariffs are still in flux, with their declared rates changing daily.
So let's focus on the technical details.
According to the specs, SUZY offers a slightly higher 3D printing speed, though a direct comparison depends on settings and materials. Both printers deliver high-quality prints thanks to their 30W lasers and minimal layer heights (0.075 mm in SUZY vs. 0.100 mm in Fuse 1+).
Fuse 1+ has a slightly larger build volume (165 × 165 × 320 mm) compared to SUZY (130 × 180 × 330 mm), which may be important for users needing larger prints in a single cycle.
Currently, Sinterit SUZY only supports PA12 Industrial, while Fuse 1+ offers a wider range of materials (e.g., Nylon 12, Nylon 11, TPU) with an Open Material Mode option, providing more flexibility—although not necessarily at an economical level.
Lastly, Formlabs offers a more automated ecosystem (e.g., Fuse Sift and Fuse Blast) for easier post-processing, whereas SUZY requires a more manual approach, increasing the workload for users.
In summary, everything will ultimately depend on user preferences and the economic situation between the US and the EU. Will SUZY win on price solely due to the policies of the American president? Or will nothing change? It’s complicated…
SUZY will be available for purchase starting in April 2025.
This seems to be Sinterit's last big push to reclaim the market it lost after 2021. If this doesn't work, it will be hard to come up with a better idea.
Atomic Layer from the Past:
03-13-2018: Zortrax released the M200 Plus.
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