Henkel medical grade silicone part produced on the Origin platform.
Henkel Corp. has joined the open material network of 3D printing company Origin (San Francisco).
Dusseldorf-based Henkel is developing materials for Origin’s open 3D printing production platform, which integrates modular hardware, extensible software, and new materials, according to Origin.
Until now, additive manufacturing has been dominated by closed and inflexible systems with material only available from the printer manufacturer, Origin said in a statement. The materials are confined to existing chemistries and heavily constrained by the print process. Origin said its platform is creating an open ecosystem with new chemistries that will allow choice and product customization so companies can scale and meet demand in their market with the material of their choice.
Henkel and Origin will focus on additive mass production for the medical, automotive, and other industrial sectors. The companies have already validated several materials with market-leading biocompatibility appropriate for medical devices, according to Origin.
Origin said its programmable photopolymerization technology (P3) enables many of Henkel’s chemistries with industry-leading properties, as well as simple post-processing and handling. Notably, Henkel’s parent silicone resins have tested to Henkel’s protocols based upon ISO-10993 biocompatibility standards. The potential applications range from medical devices and surgery tools to pre-surgical models, hearing aids, face masks, and other devices.
“We’re excited about Origin’s open approach and the potential for its platform to accelerate the introduction of new materials that surpass anything available on the market today,” said Henkel head of 3D printing Philipp Loosen in the statement.
“We are eager to give customers even more material options in a diverse range of portfolio materials that can take advantage of our (P3) process such as silicones, epoxies, and polyurethanes,” added Chris Prucha, founder and CEO of Origin. “We believe our open network approach with Henkel and other strategic partners will fundamentally reshape manufacturing and global supply chains and we look forward to unveiling world-class and industry-defining projects in development with Henkel in the coming months.”
Origin’s other partners include BASF. In November 2018, Origin secured $10 million in Series-A funding led by Jason Krikorian of DCM. The company previously raised $2.3 million from Floodgate, Stanford University, Joe Montana, and other investors. With this round, Jason Krikorian joins Mike Maples, Jr. of Floodgate on Origin’s Board of Directors.
