Discovery 3D Printers and the Benefits of Large Format Additive Manufacturing

Today, the additive manufacturing solutions available on the market are used as an additional tool in the many companies’ activities. More and more users see 3D technology as a production process that complements the techniques of their factories and workshops, and that is why the industry has had to adapt to emerging needs. There are some specific sectors that require large models and parts that are often difficult to achieve with traditional methods. In this sense, large-format 3D printing plays a fundamental role in the creation of structures at lower cost and with much shorter manufacturing times. One of the companies dedicated to the development of this type of solution is Discovery 3D Printers, which, with its large-scale machines, has already managed to meet the needs of various organizations in sectors such as rail and aeronautics, among others. We spoke with their team to learn more about their AM machines.

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your connection to additive manufacturing?

I am Francisco Bárcenas, Director of R + D + I (Research, Development, and Innovation) at CNC Bárcenas / Discovery 3D Printers. My main responsibilities include the design and development of our large format additive manufacturing solutions, as well as research and testing with new materials in close collaboration with our suppliers. For example with SABIC, which is a world leader in the development of specific materials for large format additive manufacturing (LFAM). I also advise our clients on additive manufacturing oriented 3D modeling and lead innovation projects and 3D printing technology consulting carried out by our company.

Francisco Barcenas

3DN: What is Discovery 3D Printers and how was the company founded?

Discovery 3D Printers is the additive manufacturing division of CNC Bárcenas, a company based in Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real, Spain) that we founded in 2009, and which also specializes in manufacturing industrial CNC machinery. Discovery 3D Printers was created after an intense period of internal R + D + I that culminated in the successful procurement of our first client in the industrial sector, the BSH Group at its Montañana plant, in Zaragoza. For whom we continue to be suppliers in various technological fields. In 2020, we started our collaboration with Gaggenau, a very innovative company of the BSH Group based in Lipsheim (France), manufacturing a completely tailor-made CNC machine for their R&D laboratory on their behalf. One of our differential values is precisely that, the capacity we have to provide customized solutions, even combining different technologies (FDM, FGF and post-processing by milling) in a single piece of equipment.