It’s time for some rebranding, again.
Remember Trumpf? They were a large-sized laser company that long offered metal 3D printing equipment using their TruPrint technology.
For reasons Trumpf decided late last year to exit the 3D print business altogether, and their technology passed into the hands of Lenbach Equity Opportunities III GmbH & Co. KG / LEO III Fund. Since then, the company has proceeded more or less unchanged, aside from the company name change.
Now there is another re-brand. Atlix is renaming the former TruPrint technology as “xBUILD”. They explain:
“At the heart of the new portfolio is xBUILD, replacing the previous TruPrint name. The new naming connects ATLIX’s products to its broader xWORLD ecosystem, with the ‘x’ representing the combination of expertise, technology, and application. ‘BUILD’ reflects the core purpose of the machines: enabling high-quality, scalable production with reduced cost per part across a wide range of industries.”
I can’t help but notice that the new name also eliminates the “Tru” part, which no doubt associates with the former company, Trumpf.
The choice of changing the “Print” part to “BUILD” is also interesting. I suspect it reflects the growing divide between desktop and industrial 3D printing.
The desktop segment is all about “printing”, whereas the industrial segment is about production of parts, “building”.
This naming change reinforces the industrial – desktop divide, and squarely positions Atlix in that market. It’s a very good choice.
The branding change also means the Atlix has renamed their products. Now they have the following listed equipment models:
- xBUILD 1000 – “A compact metal 3D printing system delivering premium part quality and high precision.”
- xBUILD 2000 – “Designed to deliver outstanding print quality without compromise, combining efficiency and reliability for consistently excellent results.”
I predict more of this type of rebranding will occur, largely due to the revolution happening in the desktop 3D print world.
There, we have several companies eating up the market quite rapidly. Not only have they consumed most of the “desktop” market, but they have also taken huge chunks of the former “professional” 3D printer market. Those were machines in the US$5-50K range. Today, the functionality those machines provided can now be obtained at far lower price points in the desktop market. There’s far less need for a professional 3D printer unless there are some very unique features provided.
The industrial market, however, is still very far away from the desktop market and has come through relatively unscathed. While things may change in the distant future, for now, it is probably a good thing for industrial equipment manufacturers to increase the visible differentiation between them and the desktop world.
Via Atlix
