EnvisionTEC, a company based in Germany specialized in the development and manufacture of 3D printers, has just announced that, after weeks of meetings, they have finally decided impose a lawsuit against the well-known North American company FormLabs accusing them of illicitly using technology developed by themselves and protected by the pertinent patents.
To understand this much better, tell you that both companies are quite advanced in the manufacture of tray type 3D printers, a series of printers capable of manufacturing objects by curing a photosensitive liquid resin that solidifies when exposed to certain light radiation. To achieve this step, use is made of a laser or a projection of a mask capable of solidifying layer by layer until offering the desired object.
EnvisionTEC denounces FormLabs for illegal use of patents.
Entering a little into the history of each company, highlight that EnvisionTEC was founded in 2002 offering a wide catalog of 3D printers that use DLP projection systems mostly for the manufacture of designs, with models oriented to different uses such as dentistry, industrial, medicine, jewelry ... Currently the company has its headquarters in the United.
By FormlabsWe are talking about a company that was born in 2013 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign through which they managed to create a 3D printer similar to the SLAs that existed at the time, although at a considerably lower price. The company managed to consolidate itself in the market with the release of its second version, the Form 2.
Regarding the demand, not many data have emerged. As is usual, there is a statement from EnvisionTEC where we can find some statements from the CEO of the company:
EnvisionTEC has been inventing, developing, manufacturing, and selling 3D printers, materials, and other related products and services for nearly 15 years. Today, we have numerous patents around the world covering a wide variety of our machines, systems and others. All this intellectual property has been obtained thanks to the research and development over many years of our team of innovative professionals and is an essential value for our business, serving markets such as medical or industrial all over the world. We are willing to fiercely protect our intellectual property in accordance with the laws of the countries in which we operate.