Pittsburgh 3D Printing Company Acquires YBI’s Freshmade 3D

NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. — On Wednesday, ExOne Co. announced its acquisition of Freshmade 3D, a five-year startup portfolio company of the Youngstown Business Incubator.

The acquisition will strengthen ExOne’s position as a provider of large-format 3D-printed tooling for industrial applications, according to a press release. Since 2014, ExOne has specialized in 3D printing systems that use binder jetting technology, according to the company’s website.

Freshmade incorporates a patented method of creating durable AMClad tooling out of sand forms, which are 3D printed using ExOne systems, according to the release. The process eliminates weeks or months of time spent waiting for conventional tooling and typically offers a 30% to 50% cost savings.

The process can be used for a number of tooling applications in industries such as aerospace, art, architecture, automotive, construction and energy.

“We are delighted to add Freshmade 3D’s patented process for creating durable 3D printed tooling to our portfolio,” said John Hartner, ExOne CEO. “We plan to scale up this process for a global aerospace customer, who intends to use this tooling for composite layup of parts. This is an ideal solution for companies looking to shorten supply chains and produce tooling and final products locally.”

Freshmade 3D was founded in 2016 by Rich Wetzel, Christopher Tomko and Brett Conner. Along with being a YBI portfolio company, Freshmade has received development support from America Makes, according to the release. Wetzel will joing ExOne’s applications team.

“We launched AMClad with the idea of using sand 3D printing technology to deliver hard tooling faster and with more design freedom, to enable U.S. manufacturers to produce more locally and faster,” Wetzel said. “ExOne is the best company to accelerate this technology as we scale up for customers who’ve decided to leverage our solution to meet production goals faster. Companies are just beginning to discover how robust and affordable this technology is over conventional tooling.”

“We’re so proud to be a part of Freshmade 3D’s success,” said Barb Ewing, YBI CEO. “Two of the three founders started their entrepreneurial career as part of our team. They are proof that Northeast Ohio is fast becoming the epicenter for additive manufacturing in North America.”

Pictured: In this file photo from July 2018, Freshmade 3D officers Brett Conner, chief technical officer, Rich Wetzel, CEO, and Christopher Tomko, president and chief operations officer, post with functional bowling balls printed using its proprietary AMClad technology.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.