ALTANA and 3D printer manufacturer dp polar are presenting a world-first "made in Germany" at formnext, the leading international trade fair for additive manufacturing, in Frankfurt am Main.

AMpolar i2 is the world's first 3D printing system with a continuously rotating print platform.

In contrast to previous processes, it is not the print head that moves, but the area on which printing takes place.

This produces high-precision components up to 20 times faster in larger quantities and with a build volume of approximately 700 liters.

Also, a wide variety of customer-specific materials can be processed in a single pass using the Multi-Material Jetting process.

The technology also makes it possible to equip parts produced in this way with electronic components without interruption if required (pick and place process).

“Our 3D production machine AMpolar i2 currently has the largest build area and the largest installation space in the field of material jetting,” said Dr. Florian Löbermann, managing director of dp polar GmbH. "Combined with ALTANA's know-how in material development, we are bringing a 3D printing solution to market that will give customers from a wide variety of sectors, including the automotive, aerospace, and medical technology industries, completely new possibilities for manufacturing their products.

ALTANA acquired a stake in dp polar in 2017.

"The extremely close cooperation between mechanical engineering, machine development, and material development makes it possible to develop individual solutions for our customers and their specific requirements,” said Dr. Petra Severit, chief technology officer of ALTANA AG. “In material development, we are focusing on our core competencies and at the same time expanding the application spectrum of our solutions in the highly innovative field of 3D printing.”