Smart Materials 3D is one of the top ten companies worldwide and market leaders in Spain for 3D printing consumables. They work with 52 nations and currently have four brands: Innovatefil ® (high-performance filaments for FDM technology), Smartfil® (3D printing standard filaments) plus Smartfil® ECO a new line of sustainable filaments that they have developed and contain significant amounts of organic waste, such as olive bone, oyster shell, or pine wood. The company has also Smartfil® Resins part of the range of resins, 5 types to complement the requirements of clients with specific applications of resins for 3D printing.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Smart Materials 3D: The company specializes in the production of filament and pellets for 3D printing.
We are dedicated to innovation and have the most advanced machinery and quality standards in the industry.
Smart Materials 3D reaffirms its commitment to becoming a more sustainable company by developing a new line of environmentally friendly products through social commitment, intelligent waste management, and the implementation of circular economy principles.
That’s why we are:
- Developing new recyclable materials and using recycled primary material.
- Alternatively, we conserve energy resources.
- We take advantage of nearby resources by recycling and reusing waste.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
Smart Materials 3D: Our most recent product launches have focused on the Smartfil® ECO a new line, made with compounding process which features 100% customed materials and made eco-sustainable products based on the circular economy.
We also had launch technical filaments from the Innovatefil® line, such as PP GF, which is made of our Smartfil® PP (Polypropylene) with an optimized fiberglass load that provides rigidity and increases the material’s maximum tensile strength.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
Smart Materials 3D: As we said in the question number 2, we have four brands:
Innovatefil ® (high-performance filaments for FDM technology), it is the industrial materials range that contains the filaments and pellets with the best technical properties on the market, such as PEEK, PEI, PA CF, and so on.
Smartfil® (3D printing standard filaments), a range of professional and domestic filaments that includes the most well-known to the public and maker communities with filaments such as PLA, ABS, PP, and so on.
Smartfil® ECO a new line of sustainable filaments that we have developed and contain significant amounts of organic waste, such as olive bone, oyster shell, or pine wood,etc.
Smartfil® Resins part of our range of resins, 5 types to complement the requirements of our clients with specific applications of resins for 3D printing.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
Smart Materials 3D: As a company we have been operating since 2014, and we are in a stage of growth, we are very well positioned as a leading brand in 3D printing consumables in Spain and expanding to other European countries.
As we have a great diversity of products, we have different products at different stages in the market, 3D printing being a relatively new market, we have very well positioned standard products such as our Smartfil® line, which we could say are in a stage of maturation, besides in the INNOVATEFIL® line of products, which is a line in constant innovation, we have products in a state of development and introduction, as well as our Smartfil® ECO-sustainable line, in which we are also always developing new products with the compounding system, therefore we could say that we are in the 4 stages of the product life cycle, depending on the materials and new applications that the market requires.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
Smart Materials 3D: Currently, there is a clear market trend toward sustainable materials based primarily on PLA + residual products; this trend is driven by increased consumer awareness of the importance of environmental stewardship and the circular economy as eco-sustainable solutions.
Furthermore, as printers improve in effectiveness, efficiency, and size and are increasingly used in industrial applications, the market for materials in pellet format is a current trend mostly in cases where large objects must be printed, also the “Compounding” is a process that is used in manufacturing because it allows you to create new customized materials with specific properties and behaviors that our clients require depending on their sector and industrial application, which can range from aerospace, medical, automotive, prototyping, architecture, and interior design.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
Smart Materials 3D: We now have innovative products made of a biodegradable material (PLA) with a load of both organic and inorganic waste such as olive pits, oyster shells, cork, and so on.
In contrast, we produce high-performance materials for the most advanced industrial sectors, such as aeronautics and aerospace.
Among our most recent innovations are materials with carbon fiber reinforcements, fireproof components, and fiberglass, as well as a new support material INNOVATEFIL PP® SUPPORT that is unique in the market and used for printing complex objects in polypropylene, there are supports on the market that are not suitable for propylene, we developed this PP support, a material with a breakaway system that you can remove from the piece without wasting time and waiting for diluents and is less polluting.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the rest of 2022?
Smart Materials 3D: Our final goal for the year was to participate as a one of the few Spanish companies in the largest and most important 3D printing fair, the FORMNEXT, which takes place in Frankfurt, Germany, where we exhibited our latest developments and share with manufacturers of cutting-edge technology in the entire additive manufacturing market, and this trade show serves as a repository of knowledge and market trends, as the starting point for our 2023 goals.
