Turkish 3D printing startup Co Print 3D has raised $650,000 USD through a campaign on the Turkish crowdfunding platform Fonbulucu. Having attracted 2,742 investors, the campaign quickly exceeded the initial target of $550,000. The funds, which were raised in a record breaking time of just 7 minutes, bring the company’s total investment to $1.2 million (23 million₺) to date.
Co Print has also received significant financial backing from Haluk Bayraktar, the CEO of unmanned combat aerial vehicle developer BAYKAR Technology, and will launch its newest offering, the Co Print series II, at Rapid+TCT this May. Set to include their new flagship Chroma Pad, Phoenix hotend, and CX-I extruder, the Co Print series II will be located at booth 1517 during the Chicago-based event.
Looking to the future, Co Print plans to use its revenue model to expand its additive manufacturing portfolio, and achieve further growth within the global additive market. Moreover, building on the success of this latest crowdfunding endeavor, the company is looking to launch its newest campaign on Kickstarter in the near future.
Co Print’s growing 3D printing portfolio
The Co Print II series is set to add to the company’s small, but growing, 3D printing portfolio.
Founded in 2019, Co Print 3D launched its first offering, the Co Print Multicolor Printing Module, through Kickstarter in November 2021, and started production in January the following year.
The product, which raised $206,466 in pledges on the US-based crowdfunding site, is an accessory said to enable multi-material printing on all Bowden 3D printers. Replacing the printer’s existing extruder mechanism, the Co print includes 7 separate filament inserts to enable multi-color printing on machines which traditionally only allow for monochromatic prints.
Available for purchase through the Co Print online store for $546.12, the multi-filament add-on has already received praise within the tech community. For instance, the Co Print Multi-Filament Module won the 2022 Tom’s Hardware Innovation Award, whilst also earning a Kickstarter Products We Love badge.
The company also offers their own PLA filaments, with its PLA PRO and PLA PREMIUM options also available for purchase through the Co Print store.
Crowdfunding in additive manufacturing
Crowdfunding, especially through online sites such as Kickstarter, is a popular and effective means of raising funds within the additive industry, particularly among 3D printing start-ups.
For instance, in 2021, UK-based 3D printing start-up Frame Theory 3D used Kickstarter to build funds for its ‘SongBird’ 3D printed self-assembly turntable kit. The project ultimately raised £30,588, more than tripling the original goal of £10,000, thanks to the support of 207 backers. Reaching their initial funding goal in a matter of hours, the campaign received notable backing from MyMiniFactory, Bath Spa University and A H Dodd & Co.
At the time, Frame Theory Co-Founder Charlie Ransford called the SongBird an “educational, 3D printable turntable kit designed to be printed on almost any home 3D printer,” with the build process offering a “hands-on learning experience for the user.”
Elsewhere in 2021, imaging device manufacturer Revopoint 3D Technologies successfully raised £2.271 million through Kickstarter to support the launch of its POP 2 3D scanner, smashing their initial funding goal of just £7,975. Capable of acquiring high-precision 3D point cloud data and achieving a peak single-frame accuracy of 0.1mm, the POP 2 was marketed as a ‘professional quality product at a consumer-grade price.’
This crowdfunding campaign was certainly a significant success, subsequently allowing Revopoint to scale production, with the POP 2 now available for purchase via the Revopoint online store.
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Featured image shows the Co Print Series II offering. Image via Co Print 3D.
