9T Labs raises $4.3 million to advance carbon fiber 3D printing

Zurich-based startup, 9T Labs has successfully closed a $4.3 million funding round to finish the development of their industrial 3D printing solution. We told you before about the company’s activities in the 3D printing sector and their solution for composite materials. In fact, 9T Labs has created an add-on system for ordinary 3D printers to enable continuous fiber 3D printing. The industry is gaining confidence in continuous fiber 3D printing, particularly for industrial applications where this technology can add strength to parts without adding weight. Therefore, this investment will also allow the startup to scale-up the first mass manufacturing industrial use cases.

More precisely, 9T Labs works with carbon fiber composites, the most popular fiber in the 3D printing industry. Their technology is called Additive Fusion Technology (AFT) and as mentioned, it can be added to other systems seamlessly. The company was founded by Chester Houwink, Giovanni Cavolina and Martin Eichenhofer in 2018, and its mission is to make carbon fiber composite materials as accessible as ordinary metal materials.

Martin Eichenhofer, Chester Houwink, Giovanni Cavolina | Credits: 9T Labs

Many manufacturers are comparing carbon fiber 3D printed parts to metal 3D printed parts, the main difference being cost. When we spoke to the 9T Labs team at the end of last year, they told us: “Just imagine a material which is as lightweight as plastic but as strong, or even stronger, than metal. However, the traditional and established manufacturing routes are still limiting a widespread adoption of this performance material, mainly because of extremely long and expensive development times as well as a lack in automation.”