ARRK’s UK Prototyping Centre adds large frame SLS machine to fleet

Published by

Nicky Godding

Gloucester-based Product development specialist ARRK has added a new large frame SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) machine to its fleet at its Prototyping centre in Gloucester. The new sPro 140 machine, from 3D Systems, has a build envelope of 550 x 550 x 460mm, and will offer customers the ability to have larger parts built in one piece in Glass filled Nylon material.

This next generation machine also comes installed with the latest software, digital scanning and increased part definition. With improved nesting to maximise build efficiency, this new machine will also benefit those customers who require higher volumes in shorter lead times.

Head of Prototyping for ARRK in Europe, Craig Vickers said: “We are delighted to have added this large frame SLS machine to our in-house capability. It provides us and ultimately our customers, with a wider range of solutions in terms of how best to manufacture their parts in-line with their requirements and expectations”. Interest and demand for production volume SLS components continues to rise across all industry sectors, from automotive components and assemblies, through to mass customisation pieces for clients in the consumer products market.

Craig adds: “We are making a number of strategic investments in our Prototyping centres across Europe. Adding the large frame SLS machine to our Gloucester site was a straightforward decision, given our experience and expertise with SLS and the wide material range we offer. The increased capacity will also support customer orders placed through arrkonline.comour new 3D printing microsite, which we launched in September. This allows customers to get a quote and to order SLA and SLS parts online. In addition to the investments we are making in the UK, we have also recently moved our Prototyping Centre in France, ARRK LCO, to a new, much larger nearby facility tailored to accommodate our 3D Printing, prototyping, block modelling and rapid tooling operations”. Craig concludes by commenting, “We’re continuing to invest and align our European prototyping centres and our services to support our customers’ needs and to remain a key partner for all their product development needs”.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.