ZEISS Invests in New Digital Platform for On-demand Additive Manufacturing Services
Additive manufacturing is increasingly becoming a part of the industrial production chain in many different industries like medical technology, aerospace, energy or automotive. ZEISS supports this trend with quality assurance solutions across the complete additive manufacturing process and has already established collaborations with leading suppliers for manufacturing solutions to further improve additive manufacturing processes. Now ZEISS is expanding its activities in this area with its investment in the start-up MakerVerse.
MakerVerse is a joint venture initiative between industry-leaders Siemens Energy, ZEISS and financial/venture capital investors, including 9.5 ventures. The new company combines cutting-edge industry expertise with profound knowledge in digital venture-building. The new venture is creating a one-stop fulfillment platform that connects industrial clients with a global network of certified additive manufacturing suppliers for projects like design prototypes and producing on-demand spare parts. MakerVerse covers the full technological service spectrum, starting with core 3D printing/additive manufacturing technologies in the initial launch phase and expanding into further relevant on-demand technologies such as CNC and injection molding in the near future. The platform offers features including instant quoting, automated manufacturability checks, streamlined supplier and quality management, and industrial-level quality assurance. MakerVerse will be based in Berlin, with its initial focus on the European market. The public launch of the platform is planned for early-mid 2022.
ZEISS is a technology and innovation leader in the Industrial Quality & Research area. While putting increasing strategic focus on collaborations and eco-systems, ZEISS follows the strategy to bring metrology, quality assurance and research know-how and customer offerings closer to and into production and manufacturing.
MakerVerse independently announced its plans to launch a ‘state-of-the-art’, scalable platform – ‘a digital one-stop shop solution for on-demand manufacturing’. The venture will be an industry leading technology disrupter led by Markus Seibold, CEO and Co-Founder of MakerVerse. The multi-sided platform brings together makers that require complex, high-quality parts, delivered fast, at the best possible price with producers, who have the capacity and capability to address these needs. In this playing field, the MakerVerse team is building a one-stop shop fulfillment platform that connects industrial makers with a distributed network of manufacturing service partners for early stage product development needs like technology and design prototypes or production of on-demand spare parts. The platform offers innovative, tech-enabled features including instant quoting, automated manufacturability checks, and AI-based quality and supplier management.
Joint Venture Initiative Between Industry Leaders
MakerVerse is a joint venture initiative between industry-leaders Siemens Energy and ZEISS as well as financial/venture capital investors including 9.5 ventures. The new company combines cutting-edge industry expertise with profound knowledge in digital venture-building. The deep understanding of manufacturing technologies, venture building, operations, and supply chain brought together by the founder team in designing the MakerVerse platform will be a key differentiator from existing market solutions. “We are very excited to announce MakerVerse to the public today”, says Markus Seibold, CEO and CoFounder of MakerVerse. “We will create the most-connected universe of makers and producers to accelerate innovation and enable industrial makers and producers to shape our future by letting them focus on what they are best”. As the former Vice President of Additive Manufacturing at Siemens Energy and Materials Solutions, Markus brings 10+ years of experience in scaling 3D printing products and services from early-stage R&D to commercial business.
Rapid and Streamlined Process
For industrial makers, working with MakerVerse is a fast and reliable process. In a first step, users upload their designs as CAD files to the secure platform environment, along with key input data related to materials, post processing and QA, to then receive ‘real-time’ quotes and lead-times. In a 2nd step, MakerVerse will work with its global network of certified manufacturing partners to produce and deliver highest-quality parts at the agreed quality-standards and lead-times. Along the way, MakerVerse offers dedicated support whenever needed and provides regular status updates on the progress of orders. MakerVerse will expand its offering to additional AI-based features to support makers with part identification, design and technology selection over the next months to come.
Addressing Core Pain Points
MakerVerse is a direct response to current trends in the global on-demand manufacturing market. Improvements in machine, material and postprocessing technologies as well as the increased importance of sustainable and resilient supply chains have accelerated the viability and demand for additive manufacturing over the past 10 years. The global market for additive manufacturing is expected to rise from EUR 9.6 billion in 2018 to EUR 21.5 billion in 2023 – with a compound annual growth rate of 17.5 percent. In ever shorter time frames, multiple new and improved AM technologies are brought to the markets, and it is increasingly difficult for users to keep track of the benefits and limitations as well as evaluating the respective potentials of all available technologies. MakerVerse offers a very efficient one-stop shop access to all kinds of on-demand technologies so that makers do not need to waste time and effort on nontechnical processes and producers can get more effective access to a much broader customer base looking for their capabilities.
For more information: www.maker-verse.com
