Mcor Technologies Ltd

Mcor Technologies Ltd was an Irish additive-manufacturing company focused on 3D printers that built physical objects from ordinary sheets of paper. Founded in 2005 and based in Dunleer, County Louth, the company developed a distinctive alternative to conventional polymer, resin, powder, and metal additive-manufacturing processes. Its technology used standard A4 or letter-size paper, adhesive, and a tungsten-tipped cutting blade to assemble a model layer by layer from thin cross-sections generated from computer-aided-design data. The roots of the technology predated the company. In 2003, founders Dr. Conor MacCormack and Fintan MacCormack developed the underlying paper 3D-printing approach. The process was related in broad purpose to laminated object manufacturing, but differed in its use of ordinary office paper rather than rolls of adhesive-coated material. Sheets were selectively bonded and cut, with the resulting stack forming the finished object. This approach gave Mcor a distinctive materials proposition: paper was widely available, relatively inexpensive, familiar to users, and potentially easier to handle than some specialist 3D-printing feedstocks. Mcor’s systems were designed for rapid prototyping and visual model production. The company promoted applications including architectural and geographical models, product concepts, anatomical representations, molecular structures, and prototypes incorporating visual annotations. Some systems also supported full-colour output. Colour was applied by depositing ink onto each sheet before the paper entered the cutting and bonding stage. This allowed models to communicate not only shape but also surface appearance, labels, analytical results, or other visual information. The technology could therefore serve presentation and communication purposes as well as conventional form studies. The company attracted substantial attention in the expanding 3D-printing sector. In 2014, Mcor secured two rounds of venture funding with a combined value reported as US$32 million, described in the available reference material as the largest amount raised by a 3D-printing company during that year. The financing reflected investor interest in alternative additive-manufacturing methods and in Mcor’s attempt to use commonplace paper as a printing medium. No public listing or ticker is identified in the available sources. Mcor’s corporate life ended after it entered receivership on 21 March 2019. The company subsequently went into liquidation, ceased trading, and no longer operates as an independent manufacturer. CleanGreen3D Limited purchased Mcor’s assets and intellectual property on 29 November 2019. The acquisition transferred the company’s technological assets and IP but does not change Mcor’s status as a defunct operating business. Available material does not establish the extent to which the acquired technology continued under a separate commercial brand.

Mcor Technologies emerged from work by Dr. Conor MacCormack and Fintan MacCormack on paper-based three-dimensional printing. The founders developed the core technology in 2003 and established Mcor Technologies Ltd in 2005. Their approach addressed the same broad need as other rapid-prototyping systems—turning digital three-dimensional models into physical objects—but used a different material and construction method. Rather than relying on a roll of adhesive-coated paper, as in laminated object manufacturing, Mcor’s process used ordinary sheets of A4 or letter-size paper. An adhesive-dispensing system bonded the sheets together, while a tungsten-tipped blade cut the outline of each successive cross-section. The model was therefore formed by accumulating many thin paper layers derived from CAD data. This choice of material was central to Mcor’s identity: standard office paper was familiar, broadly obtainable, and could support a lower-complexity material workflow than some specialist 3D-printing media. Mcor’s technology was aimed at rapid prototyping and visual communication. Finished models could represent buildings, maps, consumer products, anatomical structures, or molecular forms. The company also developed colour-printing capability for some machines. In that process, coloured ink was deposited onto individual sheets using a modified two-dimensional inkjet-paper-printing arrangement before the sheets were transferred to the cutting and bonding section. Colour allowed users to reproduce visual appearances and to add labels, analytical overlays, or other information to a physical model. Potential uses included displaying finite-element-analysis results and producing presentation-oriented consumer or design objects. The company operated during a period of strong interest in additive manufacturing and attracted venture financing in 2014. Two rounds raised a reported total of US$32 million, which the available reference describes as the largest amount raised by a 3D-printing company during that year. The financing represented a major expansion of external support for Mcor’s paper-based approach, although the available material does not provide a complete account of the company’s investors, revenue, production volumes, or commercial performance. Mcor’s independent operation ended in 2019. It entered receivership on 21 March 2019, later went into liquidation, and ceased trading. On 29 November 2019, CleanGreen3D Limited acquired the company’s assets and intellectual property. The transaction marked the transfer of Mcor’s technological estate after the operating company’s failure. Mcor is consequently best described as a defunct Irish 3D-printing company rather than an active printer manufacturer. The available sources do not establish whether all products remained commercially available after the transaction or whether the technology was relaunched in an unchanged form.

• 2019

  Receivership and liquidation

  [1]Mcor Technologies Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Mcor entered receivership on 21 March 2019, later went into liquidation, and ceased trading.

• 2019

  CleanGreen3D purchases Mcor assets and IP

  [1]Mcor Technologies Ltden.wikipedia.org

  CleanGreen3D Limited acquired Mcor Technologies’ assets and intellectual property on 29 November 2019.

• 2014

  Two venture-funding rounds raise a reported US$32 million

  [1]Mcor Technologies Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Mcor secured two rounds of venture funding totaling a reported US$32 million, making it one of the most heavily financed 3D-printing companies of that year.

• 2005

  Mcor Technologies is founded

  [1]Mcor Technologies Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Mcor Technologies Ltd was established in Ireland to develop and manufacture paper-based 3D-printing systems.

• 2003

  Founders develop paper 3D-printing technology

  [1]Mcor Technologies Ltden.wikipedia.org

  Dr. Conor MacCormack and Fintan MacCormack developed the paper-based three-dimensional printing approach that later became the foundation of Mcor Technologies.

An alternative additive-manufacturing provider distinguished by the use of ordinary paper, adhesive, and blade cutting rather than specialist plastic, resin, powder, or metal feedstocks.

• 3D printers

  Mcor paper-based 3D printing systems

  Mcor’s principal product category comprised additive-manufacturing systems that constructed physical models from standard A4 or letter-size paper. The machines combined adhesive application with a tungsten-tipped cutting blade. Each sheet represented a thin cross-section of a CAD-derived model, and successive sheets were bonded to create the complete object. The approach differentiated Mcor from systems based on specialist plastics, resins, powders, or metals and was intended for rapid prototyping and visual model production.

• Colour 3D printing

  Mcor colour 3D printing systems

  Some Mcor printers supported colour output by depositing coloured ink onto each paper sheet before the sheet entered the cutting and bonding stage. The resulting models could communicate surface appearance, map information, anatomical or molecular distinctions, product details, and analytical annotations. Colour expanded the systems’ use beyond shape verification into presentation, education, design review, and other applications where visual information was important.

• 2019

  Transfer assets and intellectual property after receivershipM&A

  Background

  Mcor entered receivership in March 2019 and subsequently ceased trading and entered liquidation.

  Action taken

  CleanGreen3D Limited purchased Mcor’s assets and intellectual property on 29 November 2019.

  Aftermath

  The transaction transferred Mcor’s technological assets and IP, while Mcor itself remained a defunct company.

  Source

• 2014

  Scale the paper-based additive-manufacturing business through venture financingStrategy

  Background

  Mcor operated in a rapidly expanding 3D-printing market while pursuing a distinctive paper-based process rather than more conventional polymer or powder technologies.

  Action taken

  The company completed two venture-funding rounds totaling a reported US$32 million.

  Aftermath

  The financing gave Mcor substantial external funding during 2014, although the available sources do not document its subsequent financial performance or the precise use of proceeds.

  Venture funding raised. US$32 million cumulative (2014)

  Source

1. 1Mcor Technologies Ltden.wikipedia.org