08-13-2014: Norge Systems announced a Kickstarter campaign for the Ice1 & Ice9 SLS 3D printers

These were among the first low-cost, desktop-grade SLS 3D printers on the global market

On August 13, 2014, an announcement appeared in industry media about a new Kickstarter campaign for what were considered groundbreaking 3D printers at the time. Created by the Italian company Norge Systems, the Ice1 and Ice9 were among the first desktop and low-cost SLS 3D printers set to enter the market.

Priced at $13,000 and $34,000, they were intended to be more affordable alternatives to the only other real options at the time—much more expensive, industrial-grade machines from EOS or 3D Systems. Unfortunately, despite significant publicity, the campaign, which launched a week later, ended in total failure. Out of the $320,000 goal, the company raised only a meager $457. The company itself did not survive the test of time...

To be fully accurate, only the cheaper 3D printer—the Ice1 with a build volume of 20x20x25 cm—was offered on Kickstarter. The more expensive Ice9, with a build volume of 30x30x45 cm, could not be listed because its price exceeded Kickstarter's limits. This was likely the main reason the campaign failed. $13,000 for a product on Kickstarter was too great a risk for most backers.

Nevertheless, in terms of technical specifications, or based on what was shown in the promotional videos, the 3D printers appeared to be quite impressive. They were optimized to work with wide array of DuraForm powders. At that time, the only potential competitors were the Swiss Sintratec and the Polish Sinterit. Formlabs Fuse would not debut for another two years.

Both the Ice1 and Ice9 3D printers, if funded via Kickstarter, was supposed to be shipped in the third quarter of 2015. Now that may sound funny, but additionally, Norge Systems claimed to also be working on another 3D printer - the IceM. This machine was supposed to be capable of 3D printing with metal powders such as titanium, alumide and steel.

But that all never happened, because the company disappeared. Today, its website lists "top 4 fringe activity ideas for a great birthday bash"… (the domain has most likely been taken over and SEO content is being presented on it).