Zortrax is a Polish manufacturer of 3D printers and filaments for
SMB market and
rapid prototyping
Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data.
Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D printin ...
for industries, including
robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
and
automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
,
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
,
industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
, industrial automation. Zortrax machines work with dedicated
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
,
firmware
In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...
and filaments.
History
Zortrax was founded by Rafal Tomasiak and Marcin Olchanowski. An idea for company came from online store supporting
DIY licensed 3D printers. They run the shop and worked on the new machine simultaneously. The idea was to create a complete
3D printing
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...
environment, which would allow to distance themselves from the DIY industry.
Work on M200 started in 2011 and completed in 2013. To support production, they launched
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign and gathered almost $180 000. Zortrax shipped 3D printers to all backers and invested money in further development. Bonds issued in January and March 2014 brought 7.2M
PLN. On December 3, 2015 Zortrax opened its showroom in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland – the Zortrax Store. The main idea for the showroom is to broaden the knowledge of 3D printing among both professional and students. It’s one of the first mono-brand stationary stores in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
In 2016, the company launched Zortrax M300. Later, Zortrax M300 Plus was launched, with a build volume of 300x300x300 mm, it has a heavy-duty steel frame surrounding the printing area, which is entirely enclosed with plastic sides, steel back and a hinged slightly translucent black door.
In 2018, Zortrax launched Inkspire, a desktop resin 3D printer. It is an upgrade to traditional
stereolithography printers.
In 2020, Zortrax collaborated with the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...
to develop a technology that enables the production of 3D printing composite parts using two blends of
PEEK
Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is a colourless organic thermoplastic polymer in the polyaryletherketone (PAEK) family, used in engineering applications. The polymer was first developed in November 1978, later being introduced to the market by Vic ...
filament.
Technology
Zortrax manufactures Layer Plastic Deposition (LPD) technology. The technology is using three-dimensional data to create three-dimensional model in layer after layer process.
Layer Plastic Deposition is a technology in which printer is melting thermoplastic material (filament) in the extruder and apply it precisely on heated platform layer after layer. Zortrax M200 dedicated printing materials are:
Z-ABS, Z-ULTRAT, Z-GLASS,
Z-HIPS, Z-PCABS, Z-PETG, Z-ESD, Z-ASA Pro, Z-PLA Pro, Z-SEMIFLEX (for Zortrax M200 Plus), Zortrax M300: Z-HIPS, Z-PETG, Z-GLASS, Z-ESD, Z-ASA Pro, Z-PLA Pro and for Zortrax Inventure: Z-SEMIFLEX, Z-ULTRAT Plus, Z-PLA, Z-PETG, Z-SUPPORT, Z-SUPPORT Plus.
Zortrax Z-SUITE software is created specifically for Zortrax machines. Z-SUITE allows to open a .
stl STL may refer to:
Communications
* Standard telegraph level
*Studio/transmitter link
International law
*Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a ...
, .
obj or .
dxf
AutoCAD DXF (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) is a CAD data file format developed by Autodesk for enabling data interoperability between AutoCAD and other programs.
DXF was introduced in December 1982 as part of AutoCAD ...
file and set printing preferences. It is the only 3D printing software in which users are able to convert
2D files into
3D models and cut models directly in Z-SUITE software. It is dedicated for both Windows and Mac users. Zortrax developed an application for storing and downloading 3D models - the Zortrax Library. It is available in both Z-SUITE and online.
Prizes and awards
* 2014 50 Creative in Business for Brief Magazine
* 2014 The Jan Wejchert Prize of the Polish Business Roundtable in Vision and Innovation Category
* 2014 Design Alive Award for Best Strategists
* 2014 25 Polish Best Industrial Designs
* 2014 Best 3D Printer in the Plug’n’Play Category, 3D Hubs
* 2015 Top Design Award in Science-Medicine-Industry Category
* 2015 3rd Most Wanted 3D Printer in 3D Hubs Community
* 2015 Zortrax M200 - the Best Plug&Play 3D Printer in 2015&2016, the World's Best Desktop 3D Printer by 3D Hubs Community
* 2015 Zortrax M200 - 2nd Best Overall FDM 3D Printer, 3D Printing Shootout by Make Magazine
* 2017 ''Teraz Polska'' Polish Promotional Logo awarded by the Polish Promotional Logo Foundation
See also
*
List of 3D printer manufacturers
References
External links
Zortrax Official Site
{{Authority control
3D printer companies
Manufacturing companies of Poland
Companies established in 2013
Polish brands
Computing output devices
3D printers
Fused filament fabrication