3D Systems to Acquire CAD/CAM Company Cimatron

Additive manufacturing technology provider 3D Systems announced this week that it reached an agreement to acquire CAD/CAM software company Cimatron. Cimatron’s products include CimatronE software and GibbsCAM.

The move is the first example I can recall of a company with product lines aimed entirely at CNC machining being acquired by a company that grew up in the 3D printing space. (But see Arcam’s recent acquisition of machining supplier DiSanto.)

My colleague Matt Danford of MoldMaking Technology magazine is at the EuroMold show in Frankfurt, Germany, this week. In 3D Systems’ booth at this show, Matt had the chance to speak with Tom Charron, the company’s VP of product marketing, about this move.

3D Systems is “expanding beyond purely additive,” Mr. Charron says. He cites Cimatron in the context of other recent acquisitions by the company, including design and scanning software Geomagic. “It's all about the entire value proposition for manufacturing.”

He says, “The reality is that in five years additive will not be a novel technology off in the corner somewhere. It will be right in the middle of the production floor alongside CNC machines.” Cimatron therefore addresses the company’s ability to serve “the non-additive side of digital fabrication.”

Read 3D Systems’ announcement here.