Pioneering Ceramic and Metal 3D Printing: An Interview with Nanoe’s Co-founder on Zetamix Technology

Nanoe, a distinguished French company, has been at the forefront of raw material development for the technical ceramics industry since its inception in 2008. With a deep understanding of advanced materials, the company strategically ventured into the additive manufacturing market in 2018. This expansion marked the launch of its inaugural line of ceramic filaments, specifically engineered for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) machines. These innovative filaments empower designers and engineers to produce exceptionally durable components that exhibit remarkable resistance to high temperatures, opening up new possibilities for advanced applications. Building on this success, Nanoe swiftly broadened its offerings to encompass the metal additive manufacturing sector. Today, Nanoe stands as a comprehensive provider, offering a diverse portfolio of five distinct filaments – spanning both ceramic and metallic compositions – alongside a complete, turnkey solution designed to facilitate desktop ceramic and metal 3D printing. We recently had the privilege of speaking with Guillaume de Calan, the esteemed co-founder of Nanoe, to delve deeper into the company’s ambitious vision, ongoing projects, and its profound impact on the evolving landscape of advanced manufacturing.

Introducing Nanoe: A Legacy in Advanced Materials and a Vision for Additive Manufacturing

“Hello, I’m Guillaume de Calan, an engineer by training,” begins Nanoe’s co-founder. “My academic journey led me to Centrale Paris, where I had the fortunate opportunity to meet my future business partner. Together, we co-founded Nanoe in 2008 as a spin-off, driven by a shared passion for material innovation. Our core business has historically revolved around the manufacturing of high-quality raw materials for the highly specialized technical ceramics industry. We produce advanced ceramic powders that serve as critical components for industrial customers across various sectors. These high-end materials are essential for manufacturing a wide array of parts through traditional processes such as pressing or injection molding, meeting stringent performance requirements. While Nanoe has long been recognized as a specialist in ceramic powders, we identified a compelling and strategically significant growth opportunity within the realm of 3D printing. This emerging technology presented an exciting avenue to leverage our material expertise and broaden our market reach, ultimately leading us to embrace additive manufacturing.”

The Genesis of Zetamix: Nanoe’s Strategic Entry into Additive Manufacturing

“Our overarching objective at Nanoe is to provide ready-to-use products that are not only affordable and accessible but also seamlessly compatible with our customers’ existing machinery,” Guillaume explains, outlining the fundamental principle behind their innovation. “Additive manufacturing, particularly FDM technology, perfectly aligned with this core philosophy. This conviction led us to launch our pioneering Zetamix range in 2018, initially focusing on filaments specifically formulated for ceramic 3D printing. The fundamental idea behind this initiative was to make our meticulously developed ceramic powders available and usable for extrusion-based manufacturing processes. Given our extensive expertise in injection molding – a process that shares significant underlying principles and skill sets with extrusion – we were confident in our ability to successfully develop high-performance filaments. This synergistic application of our existing knowledge base allowed for a natural and effective transition into the additive manufacturing space, enabling us to translate our material science prowess into innovative 3D printing solutions.”

“The choice of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) as our primary technology platform was a deliberate and strategic one,” Guillaume elaborates. “FDM stands out for its inherent ease of use, its relative affordability compared to other additive manufacturing processes, and perhaps most importantly, its widespread availability across various industries and research institutions. This accessibility allows us to democratize the use of advanced ceramics, making them attainable for a significantly broader spectrum of professionals who might otherwise be limited by the high costs or complexity of alternative ceramic manufacturing methods. We quickly observed a transformative shift in customer interest; there was an undeniable enthusiasm for our offerings, confirming that we were indeed introducing something genuinely novel and highly sought-after in the market. This overwhelmingly positive reception served as a powerful catalyst, prompting us to rapidly evolve and expand our initial product portfolio. What began with solely ceramic filaments soon grew to include high-performance metallic filaments. Moreover, we recognized the immense value in offering a comprehensive machine solution to complement our advanced materials. We realized that by providing integrated 3D printers, we could significantly simplify the adoption process for our customers, thereby becoming an integral part of their journey towards seamless deployment and efficient use of additive manufacturing. While Nanoe proudly remains a specialist manufacturer of cutting-edge raw materials, our evolution allows us to deliver a complete, end-to-end system for both ceramic and metal additive manufacturing, ensuring a streamlined and highly effective user experience from start to finish.”

The Rigorous Manufacturing Process Behind Nanoe’s Advanced Filaments

“The manufacturing process for our metallic and ceramic 3D printing filaments at Nanoe is meticulously orchestrated and divided into two primary, highly specialized steps,” Guillaume details, offering insight into their proprietary production. “The initial stage begins with the selection of the core material: a high-quality powder. If the application calls for ceramic, we internally produce these powders to our exacting specifications. For metallic applications, we carefully procure premium metal powders from trusted suppliers. This chosen powder is then precisely mixed with a proprietary blend of thermoplastic binders, adhering to extremely specific and patented formulations. Nanoe has successfully filed three patents in this crucial area, highlighting our innovative approach. The fundamental objective here is to achieve the highest possible powder loading within the filament while simultaneously ensuring that the resulting compound retains a plastic-like behavior. This critical balance allows the filament to be safely wound onto spools and, most importantly, reliably extruded and printed by FDM machines without compromising the material integrity or printability.”

“Once this specialized mixture is prepared, the second phase involves the extrusion process to form the filament itself,” he continues. “The extrusion of such a densely loaded filament, rich in ceramic or metal powder, demands a particular and advanced level of know-how and technical expertise. We have invested significantly in developing and refining these capabilities. Today, we are proud to state that the entire manufacturing process, from powder preparation to final filament extrusion, is conducted in-house at our state-of-the-art facilities in France. This comprehensive internal control ensures the highest standards of quality, consistency, and material performance for every Zetamix filament we produce.”

“Beyond filament production, the actual manufacturing of a finished part using our materials involves a distinct three-step post-processing sequence: printing, chemical treatment (debinding), and thermal treatment (sintering),” Guillaume clarifies regarding the full workflow. “A significant advantage of our Zetamix filaments is their broad compatibility with the majority of FDM machines currently available on the market. This wide compatibility is a key strategic benefit for us, as it enables us to reach a much larger pool of professionals across diverse industries. While our filaments work with many printers, we have also proactively certified a select number of 3D printers to ensure optimal results and provide verified solutions to our customers. Notably, we maintain a strong partnership with Raise3D, a leader in desktop 3D printing, and we have also rigorously tested and validated French-developed solutions, such as those offered by Volumic. These partnerships and validations underscore our commitment to delivering reliable and high-performance additive manufacturing ecosystems.”

“We firmly believe that the true value of our technology lies in its ability to empower customers with complete control over their production line,” Guillaume emphasizes. “Modern industrial professionals increasingly seek to manage their entire manufacturing process from conception to final product. To facilitate this, we extend our offerings to include high-quality sintering furnaces, which are crucial for the final densification of 3D printed ceramic and metal parts. Our customer base is incredibly diverse. We frequently encounter seasoned professionals from the traditional ceramics industry who possess deep expertise in sintering processes but are relatively new to the intricacies of 3D printing. Conversely, we also engage with additive manufacturing experts who are proficient in 3D printing but may be apprehensive about the sintering phase, which, while critical, isn’t as complex as it might initially appear. Nanoe is uniquely positioned to bridge this knowledge gap and provide comprehensive support to both profiles. Our integrated approach ensures that whether a customer is experienced in materials science or additive manufacturing, they receive the necessary tools, materials, and guidance to achieve successful, high-performance part production, thereby simplifying the entire workflow and democratizing access to advanced material fabrication.”

Transforming Industries: Who Benefits from Nanoe’s Filaments?

“Our customer base for ceramic and metal 3D printing is remarkably broad and diverse,” Guillaume states, highlighting the wide applicability of Nanoe’s solutions. “We collaborate extensively with numerous research laboratories, which utilize our materials for cutting-edge experiments, material characterization, and the development of new applications. Beyond academia and research, we serve industrial clients across a vast spectrum of fields, including intricate sectors like jewelry and watchmaking, demanding industries such as aeronautics, and many others where high-performance materials are paramount. Interestingly, a significant portion—approximately 80%—of our customers leverage our technology for similar, critical applications: the production of parts for internal use. For instance, laboratories frequently employ our filaments to print custom sample holders, essential for their experimental setups. Manufacturers, on the other hand, often create specialized tooling parts – components designed to facilitate processes like welding, heat treatment, assembly, or inspection. These internal tools are typically unique, bespoke, and often require rapid iteration, making additive manufacturing an ideal solution.”

“The core added value and compelling advantage of our advanced materials ultimately stem from their superior mechanical and thermal properties,” Guillaume explains. “Professionals are consistently drawn to our Zetamix filaments when their applications demand parts that will be subjected to significant mechanical stress, extreme wear, or prolonged exposure to high temperatures. In such challenging environments, conventional plastics or even some metals simply do not suffice. Furthermore, additive manufacturing, powered by Nanoe’s materials, effectively addresses several pervasive day-to-day challenges faced by our customers. These include critically shortening lead times for specialized parts, mitigating issues arising from the unavailability of certain components through traditional supply chains, and achieving substantial cost reductions by enabling on-demand, localized production of complex geometries that would be prohibitively expensive or impossible to manufacture otherwise. This combination of material performance and operational efficiency makes Nanoe’s filaments a truly transformative solution for modern industries.”

Nanoe’s Forward Vision: Innovation and Global Expansion

“Currently, Nanoe proudly offers a comprehensive portfolio of five commercially available Zetamix filaments, a range that effectively addresses the majority of tooling and functional part needs across various industries,” Guillaume outlines regarding their immediate strategic focus. “Our primary goal for the near future is to further consolidate this strong foundation, ensuring robust support and continued refinement of our existing product line before embarking on the launch of additional new products. However, innovation remains a core tenet of Nanoe, and we are incredibly excited about an upcoming development: a new generation of our filaments is slated for release soon, which promises to revolutionize the process by entirely removing the debinding step. This significant advancement will drastically simplify the workflow for users, making the entire ceramic and metal 3D printing process even more accessible, faster, and less complex, thereby broadening its appeal and utility.”

“In parallel with material advancements, there are also concrete plans to introduce a second, larger sintering furnace,” he adds. “This new furnace will be designed to cater specifically to customers who require the capacity to manufacture small to medium series of parts, expanding our turnkey solution to support higher volume production needs more efficiently. Beyond product development, a key strategic imperative for Nanoe is to significantly expand our distribution channels. Our ambition is to effectively penetrate and conquer a larger share of the global market. To achieve this, we are actively seeking to establish strong partnerships with strategic distributors across major geographical areas, with a particular focus on North America, Asia, and Europe. This global expansion will ensure that our innovative desktop ceramic and metal 3D printing solutions are accessible to professionals worldwide, fostering greater adoption and driving industrial innovation on an international scale.”

A Final Message: Join Nanoe in Shaping the Future of Additive Manufacturing

“As you can see, at Nanoe, our unwavering commitment is to develop and deliver a desktop ceramic and metal 3D printing solution that is both incredibly affordable and highly accessible to professionals across all industries,” Guillaume concludes, encapsulating the company’s core mission. “We envision a future where advanced material additive manufacturing is not confined to large industrial players but is democratized, empowering small to medium enterprises, research labs, and individual innovators alike. To make this ambitious project a widespread reality and to accelerate our global reach, we are actively seeking dedicated commercial partners who share our vision and passion for innovation. We warmly invite interested parties to not hesitate and contact us! Let’s collaborate to bring the transformative power of ceramic and metal 3D printing to every professional’s desktop.”

Have you had experience with Nanoe’s Zetamix filaments or their solutions? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in a comment below or join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages! Don’t miss out on the latest advancements and insights in the world of 3D printing – sign up for our free weekly Newsletter here to receive the freshest news directly in your inbox!