XJet Ltd., an Israeli metal 3D printing company, announced the completion of an additional round of funding of $25 million. Interestingly enough, software company Autodesk were involved. 

Metal additive manufacturing has received a ton of attention in the last months and shown tremendous growth, too. This latest funding round was led by the Catalyst CEL Fund, a private Israeli-Chinese private equity fund and Autodesk, Inc. through its Spark Investment Fund, as well as other existing shareholders.

Based in Rehovot, Israel, Xjet’s technology called NanoParticle Jetting uses nanoparticles in liquid suspension to build 3D metal parts. The technology enables a more accurate production of highly complex parts than that of other current technologies, says Xjet.

What Autodesk’s Involvement Means

So – that‘s pretty much industry news. What makes it interesting for consumers is the fact Autodesk invested in the company. Eitan Tsarfati, head of Digital Manufacturing and general manager, Autodesk Israel, said:

“Our support of XJet through the Spark Investment Fund stems from our belief that this technology has the potential to change the future of the additive manufacturing industry. Autodesk Israel’s Development Center is focused on driving breakthroughs in the future of making things, and we are proud to work with companies such as XJet that likewise are pushing the limits of manufacturing technologies to accelerate a new industrial revolution.”

Here’s some background you should know: Printing liquid metal is not ready for consumers desktops yet. The Xfer machine is huge and needs a temperature of 572 degrees Fahrenheit / 300 degrees Celsius to operate. That – and the price – are definitely make this machine strictly industry business.

What makes it interesting is the potential use in Autodesks Spark System.

Autodesk offers an interesting, open-source ecosystem of software, hardware and 3D printing files to their users. Their Ember 3D printer is aimed at small businesses, but it prints with the DLP technology. So a metal 3D printing service could get the Spark platform on the next – metal – level. Imagine designing an 3D object, having it checked by the software for printability in metal and and order a sample right out of your CAD software… that‘s convenient. For small businesses, this could become a big step towards professionalism.

What Will XJet Use the Funding for?

The current round of funding will be used to complete the development of and to launch Xjet products into main international markets.

As well as this technology, Autodesk have recently invested in Carbon3D’s CLIP technology and 3D printing company Optomec, but have also acquired 3D printing software company netfabb.

Xjet anticipates exhibiting its technology in the U.S. at RAPID 2016, in Orlando on May 17, 2016, and later in Germany later in the year at a major tradeshow. For more information check out their website here, or visit Autodesk.