Polymer 3D-printing company Nexa3D has completed the acquisition of Addifab, the developer of Freeform Injection Molding, a proprietary and patented digital tooling process that couples the design freedom of 3D printing with the mechanical performance of injection molding using a full range of engineering materials.

Addifab's xMold resin is compatible with the entire range of off-the-shelf thermoplastic materials, including reinforced high-performance feedstocks. Metals, ceramics, and silicones are also covered, enabling users of Nexa3D printers to tap into applications that otherwise would require a substantially larger capital investment. A tool printed with the xMOLD resin is soluble — it does not require complex slides and gates — giving customers the flexibility to test and iterate more frequently. Moreover, the user doesn't have to be an experienced toolmaker to quickly design an injection molding tool using Addifab software or Solidworks.

During the past couple of years, PMT has made considerable investments in its business and, as of September, forecast a double-digit increase in sales in 2021. Last year, it took delivery of 10 new injection molding machines — an outlay of close to $1 million — to support key customers in the telecommunications, medical device, and electrical sectors. In 2020, it expanded its footprint in El Paso by 39,000 square feet for a total of almost 100,000 square feet. The previous year it made a million-dollar investment in new vertical and horizontal presses.

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One high-profile adopter of the technology is Wilson Sporting Goods. Its R&D team was able to produce and test multiple designs simultaneously of its youth baseball bats using final manufacturing materials. This would not have been possible using any other 3D-printed tool, according to Nexa3D.

In addition to the aforementioned companies, Tide Rock’s plastics manufacturing and electro-mechanical contract manufacturing portfolio includes Interconnect Solutions Co. and Plastics Design and Manufacturing.

The acquisition follows a successful year of joint go-to-market collaboration between the two companies in both North America and EMEA, said Nexa3D in the announcement. The joint sales and marketing efforts reportedly resulted in converting dozens of customers from traditional to digital tooling thanks to the time and cost savings. The end-to-end solution formalized by the acquisition combines the speed of Nexa3D’s ultrafast 3D printers with Addifab’s high-impact, high-temperature soluble resins to print complex tools compatible with any injection molding feedstock.

Combining complementary technologies developed by the two companies unlocks the full potential of digital tooling by blending the design freedom of 3D printing with the reliability of injection molding. The acquisition positions Nexa3D for accelerated growth in the fast-growing additive manufacturing space, said the company. It adds foundational intellectual property and capabilities to Nexa3D’s product line and accelerates its resin formulation and industrial production initiatives. “We believe that the market-validated strategic fit between our businesses and products, combined with the expanded capabilities in product development, next-gen resin formulation, channel coverage, manufacturing, and marketing, will result in significant revenue and accretive growth,” said Avi Reichental, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Nexa3D.

Certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and IATF 16949, PMT manufactures precision-engineered, injection-molded plastic components and provides single-source molding from initial customer design to high-volume production. The company has nearly 50 years of experience serving an array of markets, including electrical, telecommunications, medical device, and automotive. Charles A. Sholtis, former owner and CEO of PMT, will stay on as an advisor to the company, said the announcement.

“Soon after teaming up with Nexa3D, it became increasingly apparent that our combined solution unlocks tremendous opportunities for customers looking to create complex injection molding tools quickly and affordably. A year into our enormously successful commercial collaboration and dozens of customer implementations with the likes of PepsiCo and Wilson Sporting Goods, I’m thrilled that we are officially joining forces,” said Lasse G. Staal, co-founder and business development leader at Addifab.

Tide Rock Holdings has added another asset to its plastics manufacturing portfolio with the acquisition of Plastic Molding Technology (PMT). A full-service precision injection molding company located in El Paso, TX, PMT joins Pikes Peak Plastics and Altratek, which the San Diego–based holding company purchased in November 2021, in a new plastics injection molding group that serves the industrial, energy, electronics, medical, telecommunications, and automotive industries.

As part of its growing commitment to EMEA, and in service of its growing reseller partner network, Ventura, CA–based Nexa3D plans to immediately leverage Addifab’s Copenhagen facility as its Customer Experience Center, comprising a product showroom, service and support hub for Europe-based customers, and warehouse and logistics center.

“The acquisition of PMT allows us to expand our footprint within the injection molding sector,” said group CEO Michael Engler. “We now can serve customers from multiple strategic locations, each with a highly skilled workforce and 95 total molding machines ranging from 20 to 500 tons. PMT diversifies our customer base, and also provides the platform for continued growth.”

Copenhagen-based Addifab developed, patented, and successfully brought to market a proprietary end-to-end digital tooling solution that includes a CAD-to-tool software generator, dissolvable tooling resins, and a 3D printing and production injection molding process. By combining the freedom of 3D printing with the industrial strength of injection molding, Addifab said its technology unlocks tremendous potential for contract manufacturers, regional molders, medical device companies, service providers, and low-volume manufacturers that want to offer same-day and next-day part production.

Tide Rock said in the news release announcing the acquisition of PMT that it will continue to actively invest across sub-component manufacturing industries, in addition to other manufacturing, distribution, business services companies.

“PMT built a solid foundation as a solutions provider over nearly five decades,” said Sholtis. “I look forward to having the ability to expand our capabilities and capacity as a made-in-USA manufacturer. We have a longstanding reputation as a leading technical injection molder, from our beginnings as a family-founded business in New England to our relocation in 2003 to the US/Mexico border region. We decided to partner with Tide Rock to be able to achieve the next level of growth,” said Sholtis.

Nexa3D’s ultra-fast printers combine with Addifab’s soluble resins to print complex tools compatible with any injection molding feedstock.

The acquisition joins Pikes Peak Plastics and Altratek in a new plastics injection molding company serving the industrial, energy, electronics, medical, telecommunications, and automotive industries.