Stainless Steel Expands the Metal 3D Printing Repertoire at Materialise

The announcement follows the opening of Materialise’s new metal 3D printing factory in Bremen, Germany, in April 2016. In addition to the established benefits of additive manufacturing for unrestricted design, metal additive manufacturing, in particular, allows for the production of lightweight and complex designs that make efficient use of high-value materials. By expanding its material portfolio, Materialise aims to better serve its industrial customers in the sectors of manufacturing, automotive, and aeronautics.

With the introduction of stainless steel, Materialise brings the strength and flexibility of metal additive manufacturing to applications in machine-building and tool-making. Stainless Steel is also widely used for food-safe applications and medical instruments, and is well-suited to the production of durable prototypes, spare parts, ductwork, and production tools.

316L is a low-carbon alloy of stainless steel, with corrosion-resistant properties and excellent strength. This material is an ideal choice for applications that can take advantage of its durability, high ductility and good thermal properties.

With a global capacity of more than 130 3D printers and wide variety of available technologies, Materialise has grown into one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive providers of additive manufacturing services. Since its establishment in 1990, the company has been closely involved and actively contributing to the evolution of 3D printing from an emerging prototyping technology to a disruptive manufacturing method.

Over the years, Materialise has built extensive expertise in metal printing, most notably by developing cutting-edge metal AM software and releasing Build Processors with leading metal OEMs. At its headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, the company houses a production line dedicated to medical-grade titanium implants. In 2015, Materialise announced the opening of a metal printing facility in Bremen, Germany, serving industrial customers in industries such as aerospace, manufacturing, automotive and more.

About Materialise

Materialise incorporates more than 25 years of 3D printing experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing services, which together form the backbone of 3D printing technologies. Materialise’s open and flexible solutions enable players in a wide variety of industries, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, art and design, and consumer goods, to build innovative 3D printing applications that aim to make the world a better and healthier place. Headquartered in Belgium, with branches worldwide, Materialise combines the largest group of software developers in the industry with one of the largest 3D printing facilities in the world. For additional information, please visit: www.materialise.com.

About Materialise’s Manufacturing Division

Materialise Manufacturing empowers 3D printing customers, both rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing, to keep tight production deadlines and meet the quality standards of even the most demanding industries. The division’s designers and engineers work closely with customers to co-create new products and applications that make meaningful use of 3D printing. Two web platforms, Materialise OnSite for industrial orders and i.materialise for small businesses and consumers, offer easy access to one of the largest and most complete 3D printing facilities in the world. In addition, a certified manufacturing environment caters to customers who operate in highly regulated markets. For more information, please visit: www.materialise.com/manufacturing.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements relating to, among other things, our planned commercialization efforts and regulatory approvals of our technologies as well as the success thereof and our research and development projects. These forward-looking statements are based upon the expectations of management under current assumptions at the time of this press release. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are in some cases beyond our control that may cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release and do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this presentation as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless we have obligations under the federal securities laws to update and disclose material developments related to previously disclosed information.