Xerox Exits the Metal 3D Printing Business

Consolidation continues to reshape the 3D printing landscape, and Xerox Holding has become the latest player with its move to sell the Elem Additive Solutions Liquid Metal AM business to ADDiTEC, another provider of metal AM solutions.

The acquisition, initiated months after reported downsizing at the  Xerox division, comes four years after Xerox’s 2019 purchase of metal 3D printing startup Vader Systems. That acquisition, the basis for the Elem Additive Solutions division, served up the ElemX as its marquee product, a liquid metal AM technology that uses standard aluminum wire feedstock as opposed to the hazardous metal powders and specialized protective procedures required by other metal AM solutions. That approach ensures the ElemX requires minimal post-processing, which allows for faster time-to-part.

ADDiTEC, known for its Directed Energy Deposition (DMP) solution portfolio, said the addition of Elem Additive Solutions and specifically, the ElemX printer, enables it to expand into the market for Liquid Metal Printing (LMP), providing new opportunities for growth. “We see incredible value in LMP technology, and Elem Additive’s success supplements our growth efforts as we continue to develop new offerings and bring to market our turnkey metal AM systems,” said Brian Matthews, founder and CEO of ADDiTEC, in a press release announcing the acquisition.

After its last round of layoffs, Xerox spent the last year focusing on supporting current installations of the ElemX and backing off all new development and sales. The company was out in front on a number of milestones, including being the first to commercialize LMP technology for the industrial markets and landing a number of consequential contracts—for example, with the U.S. Navy, which deployed the first metal 3D printer to sea, on the USS Essex ship.

Other notable contracts included an installment at the Oak Ridge National Lab and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the latter in its AMPrint Center. Xerox also struck a deal with Vertex, which is using the ElemX printer to deliver contract manufacturing services, and with Siemens, which added the ElemX to its fleet of 3D printers inside its Charlotte Advanced Technology Collaboration Hub (CATCH).  CATCH focuses on the industrialization of AM through its work with machine builders, materials suppliers, and customers.

ADDiTEC officials said the firm will continue to support these and all Xerox customers as it integrates the Elem Additive team into the company.

For more on the ElemX’s LMP technology, watch this video.