Oxford Performance Materials, Inc. (OPM), an industry leader in advanced polymer science and 3D printed orthopedic devices, is partnering with Fuse Medical, Inc. (Fuse) a manufacturer and distributor of innovative …
DLP 3D printer manufacturer B9Creations has launched ESD – Rigid, an ESD-safe, UV curable resin for use on its 3D printers, powered by Mechnano's MechT. "Production-ready additive manufacturing solutions from …
Roboze has presented the new PRO series, in addition to professional solutions that use its proprietary software, Prometheus, and new materials to increase companies’ digital transition opportunities. The machines offer …
VulcanForms, an MIT-born metal AM production company, confirmed that the company has raised $355 million and is now valued at over $1 billion. The company builds and operates an advanced, …
Katahashi Instruments is a Japanese violin maker that inherits and is inspired by the Japanese musical instruments tradition, starting with the Japanese government’s policy of adopting Western concepts at the …
An MIT spinout has emerged from stealth with a unique form of metal laser powder bed fusion (PBF) and $355 million in funding. With investors from Eclipse Ventures, Stata Venture Partners, Fontinalis Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Standard Investments, Atlas Innovate, Boston Seed Capital, Industry Ventures, and the Simkins Family, VulcanForms is now valued at $1 billion. Moreover, it already has two "digital production" facilities in Massachusetts, Devens and Newburyport, where it is 3D printing metal parts for customers.
The result of over $100 million in capital investment and more than 100 employees, the startup's facility in Devens is dubbed the VulcanOne. It features a fleet of the company's 100kW PBF machines, totaling 2mW of laser capacity. That's up to 250 times more power than existing PBF machines, which typically max out at 1 kW per laser. However, the Laser Wars have seen companies increase the number of energy sources from 1, 2, or 4 lasers all the way up to eight to 12. For example, the NXG XII 600 features 12 lasers with 1kW of power each, which is a little over one-tenth of the energy boasted by VulcanForms.
The VulcanOne factory with VulcanForm’s metal 3D printing systems. Image courtesy of VulcanForms.
Doing the math, the VulcaOne site should have 20 systems in total. As for the technology itself, the firm hasn't elaborated too much on how its technology works except to say that it combines simulation, in-process sensing, and machine learning. Based on this patent application, it could use an array of many lasers to 3D print large areas at a time. This granted patent suggests that it could use a line laser, which projects the energy as a line rather than a point, to increase throughput. That puts it in
The Newburyport site is set up for finishing, with "automated precision machining and assembly operations." To establish this facility, the company acquired Arwood Machine Corporation. Together with the VulcanOne location, VulcanForms has established what it considers to be a complete digital manufacturing infrastructure.
"By scaling advanced digital manufacturing, we can create a new era of U.S. innovation and economic growth," said VulcanForms Co-Founder, President & CEO Martin C. Feldmann. "We've recognized a game-changing opportunity when additive manufacturing technology is scaled for industrial production and is seamlessly integrated with automated machining and robotics. VulcanForms has built the physical infrastructure and digital workflows to deliver this full-stack manufacturing solution at unprecedented speed, precision, quality, and scale. Our technologies combined with our team of engineering and operations leaders from Google, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Precision Castparts, IPG Photonics, Faro Technologies, Schlumberger, Alcoa, Autodesk, among others enable our customers to innovate, grow and deliver sustainable impact faster."
Not only is the VulcanForms team itself made up of industry veterans, but its customers are about the biggest you can imagine. Specifically, the firm says that it supplies more than 12 U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs, such as F35 Joint Strike Fighter and Patriot Air Defense System. Less specifically, VulcanForms has said that it "has delivered thousands of components for the semiconductor industry, and is enabling innovation in medical implants."
"VulcanForms brings forth metal additive manufacturing as a scalable industrial process, and as a cornerstone of breakthrough digital production systems," said VulcanForms Co-Founder John Hart, also a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. "Integrated digital production facilities are critical infrastructure which will accelerate domestic and global innovation and draw top talent to the manufacturing sector."
"There is a fundamental shift in the ways manufacturers need to adapt to global supply chain challenges and the increasing demands for product design flexibility. VulcanForms' full stack approach to deliver an engineered solution, combining advanced additive and subtractive technologies merged through a digital thread will revitalize U.S. manufacturing and hardware innovation," said Greg Reichow, Partner at Eclipse Ventures and Director of VulcanForms. "The technologies that enable this agile workflow will dramatically impact the way products are imagined, designed, built, and delivered for decades to come."
For the time being, the company is using its own equipment to manufacture parts as a service. VulcanForms will help select candidate parts, design them for additive manufacturing with its technology, simulate production, qualify the end product, and produce at scale.
We already know that VulcanForms has been operating for some time since it received $2 million in seed funding from Eclipse in 2017. So, while more specifics about its exact PBF technique and post-processing methodology will certainly be revealed, we can say that it has received substantial validation. Validation to the tune of $355 million and contracts from the U.S. DoD.
The study revolved around the team's creation of a unique 3D printing resin, infused with an organic semiconductor (OS) material. The researchers used the resin to print multiple objects, including a micro-printed circuit board, on a multi-photon lithography (MPL) 3D printer.
In the article, the team concludes, "We anticipate that the presented MPL-compatible OS composite resins will pave the path towards production of soft, bioactive, and conductive microstructures for various applications in the emerging fields of flexible bioelectronics, biosensors, nanoelectronics, organ-on-chips, and immune cell therapies."
Notably, the team found that adding just one-half-of-one percent of the OS material in the resins yielded about 10 orders of magnitude (about 100 times greater) electrical conductivity compared to other MPL-based methods. Additionally, one of the objects the researchers created was a glucose biosensor, which they infused with laminin and glucose oxidase. Prior to printing, the team ran experiments to ensure that the OS composite microstructures retained bioactivity during the MPL process.
It found that, compared to the control group, the microstructures retained 94 percent bioactivity during printing. Once this was determined, the biosensor itself was printed. The team determined it to be 10 times more sensitive than existing glucose biosensors.
All the other divisions within the 3D printing sector are becoming evermore commonplace these days, so it's nice to see that some applications of the tech are still veering into the science fiction realm. Nano-printing probably represents the last remaining frontier of that quality, and the current example is better than most. In case it wasn't clear, one of the optimal identified applications of the tech in the study is implanted neural chips.
Aside from this, there are a wide variety of other applications, most of them involving various forms of biomedical prostheses. In addition, of course, there's the ever-growing field of wearable sensors. Presumably, that sector (like just about everything else humans consume, to be sure) will continue to create ever-increasing amounts of garbage well into the future, so it would be a real breakthrough if "organic" in the case of electronics could eventually mean less environmentally destructive. That is, if we're going to keep creating the garbage, we should try to make it out of as much of something that's decomposable, as possible.
Engineered materials producer Uniformity Labs, which develops high-density metal powder feedstocks for advanced manufacturing applications, has signed an agreement with Canadian advanced materials provider Tekna (OSE: TEKNA). As part of this agreement, the company will supply Uniformity with Ti64 5/25 and Ti64 45/105, allowing it to produce advanced titanium powders for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology. This will not only help improve Tekna’s efficiency and output capacity, but also pave the way for Uniformity to offer its customers more sustainable, higher quality metal 3D printed parts.
“We're excited to collaborate with Tekna for the supply of highest quality titanium powders for LPBF. This agreement opens a critical North American material resource for us,” Adam Hopkins, the Founder and CEO of Uniformity Labs, stated in a press release. “The complementary nature of our businesses produces an economic benefit for our customers who gain through higher printer throughput and repeatability, and a supply chain security benefit from the use of materials produced entirely in North America.”
A 3D printed roll cage made with Uniformity Labs powder. Image courtesy of Uniformity Labs.
Last winter, Uniformity Labs raised over $38 million in a Series B fundraiser, and the startup used those funds to continue work on its breakthrough metal 3D printing powders and patented technology, which it says can deliver faster printing of repeatable parts at higher density. Uniformity Labs says its reliable, high-quality materials help to improve throughput and efficiency, and reduce residual stress in parts printed with LPBF technology, and deliver fully dense parts with less sintering shrink in binder jetting. The startup already has one partner in titanium production, so signing this agreement with Tekna will further increase its titanium powder capabilities.
Speaking of Tekna, the company offers a unique, IP-protected plasma technology, which allows it to produce high-purity, spherical metal powders for applications, including 3D printing, in the automotive, aerospace, and medical industries, as well as nanomaterials for batteries and electronics. Its powder atomization technology uses hydro-energy, and recycles all process gasses in closed loops for greener production. With these complementary materials technologies, Uniformity Labs’ industrial customers should be able to enjoy more sustainable, high-quality 3D printed part production.
Ti64 titanium alloy spherical powder. Image courtesy of Tekna.
“We are extremely proud that Uniformity Labs has selected us to supply titanium powders. This is a testament to Tekna’s supply reliability and reaffirms that our product quality matches with a wide range of industry requirements,” said Luc Dionne, the CEO of Tekna.
At the beginning of the pandemic, according to “Additive Manufacturing with Metal Powders 2020” by SmarTech Analysis, metal AM was at a “critical junction” in the middle of the supply chain disruption. In previous years, the market was having some ups and downs, but with all the supply issues resulting from COVID-19 wreaking havoc around the world, the “value proposition of additive manufacturing” was quickly proved “in a very real way.” But can this be maintained?
“For many metal AM stakeholders, the challenge at hand is significant, meaning that these next several quarters and years may be the difference between life and death for the crowded metal additive market,” the report states.
If it’s really a matter of life and death for many to stay afloat in the metal AM market, then well-established companies partnering together, like Tekna and Uniformity Labs are doing, is of vital importance. This collaboration will allow Tekna, according to the press release, to “optimize the use of its production yield” of titanium, which will then be processed by Uniformity Labs in order to produce advanced powder for LPBF 3D printing. So both should benefit from this new supply agreement.
It's been a busy month on a few different fronts for Fleet Space, the Australian space startup that launched the country's first four commercial nanosatellites in November 2018. To keep up with the growing demand for its 3D printed satellites, the company partnered with Konica Minolta to implement 3D Systems printers to support its in-house satellite production capabilities. The trio will collaborate to go straight into volume manufacturing of satellites and has, in fact, already received the first metal AM platform at its Western Australia headquarters in Beverley, a 3D SystemsDMP Flex 350. In addition, Fleet Space's Alpha satellites – to be launched in 2023 – will integrate radiation shielding from local cold spray AM technology manufacturer Titomic (ASX: TTT).
To unlock the potential of global connectivity, Fleet Space wants to connect the Internet of Things (IoT) around the world with a massive fleet of its small, low-cost Alpha satellites. To achieve that goal, it is establishing a satellite Hyper Factory in the first dedicated space manufacturing hub, called Australian Space Park in Adelaide, backed by an AU$20 million ($14 million) investment from the South Australian Government. Once the first 3D-printed Alpha satellites launch to low Earth orbit (LEO), they will sit next to its existing Centauri constellation for global satellite connectivity to the IoT.
This recently announced plans to launch a constellation of fully additively manufactured Alpha satellites caught Titomic's attention, and now the cold spray 3D printing specialist will use its Titomic Kinetic Fusion technology to mitigate ionizing radiation to prolong the satellite's lifespan through a cold spray AM and coating process which allows deposition and fusion of dissimilar metals.
To provide radiation shielding, the Titomic Kinetic Fusion technology will fuse thin layers of material to make customized, multi-material radiation shielding in a range of areal densities tailored to Alpha's specific mission, offering a cost-effective solution to protect against harsh ionizing radiation in LEO.
Kinetic Fusion process involves a 6 axis robot arm spraying titanium powder particles onto a scaffold at supersonic speeds. Image courtesy of Titomic.
Commenting on the project, Titomic's head of engineering, Max Osborne, said the company's radiation mitigating coating would significantly prolong the satellite’s lifespan, allowing it to remain operational for several years beyond previous iterations.
"For example, in low-Earth orbit, a small amount of shielding provides a cost and weight-effective insurance policy for enhanced reliability and additional mission life, and for higher orbits, further shielding can even reduce a dependence on expensive, radiation-hardened components," stated Osborne. "With an ever-increasing number of participants and commercialization of space, increasing operational life is one aspect of managing congestion. Extending the operational lifetime reduces the number of replacement platforms, their associated launch costs, and the need to track and de-orbit as many decommissioned platforms."
Described by Fleet Space CEO and co-founder Flavia Tata Nardini as a new take on small satellites, Alpha has migrated away from the CubeSat and nanosat standards into its own category. It's an entirely different design than traditional small sats, says Nardini. One side of the satellite is covered in 3D-printed antennas creating several beams, and the entire product will be 3D printed. Costing roughly the same as the company's Centauri satellites, Alpha is expected to have a better performance. Once in orbit, the Alpha satellites will form a constellation to backhaul customer data from remote areas not serviced by terrestrial communications. The applications for the Fleet Space technology include backhauling geophysical survey data for mining exploration, enabling rapid 3D-modelling of vast terrain.
Partnering to 3D print spacecraft
With the Australian space sector growing significantly and expected to be worth AU$12 billion ($8.3 billion) by 2030, Fleet Space wants to be among the leading companies to build a constellation of small satellites to provide high-value data and automation to the world's industries. So far in 2022, the startup has grown its number of customers exponentially and added new team members, like Saju Pothen from Hitachi and Francesco Chiarelli, who was previously at Schneider Electric.
As far as 3D printing is concerned, the company has established a new partnership with Konica Minolta to implement 3D printers from 3D Systems to support its innovation. The new printer, delivered just three weeks ago, will also scale up Fleet Space's manufacturing of small satellites for LEO to connect billions of devices.
The small satellites from Fleet Space incorporate the world's first 3D printed, all-metal patch antenna, which delivers ten times more throughput per kilogram of spacecraft. Since Fleet Space has been contracted to scale its operations significantly in 2022 and 2023 and needed a more efficient way to 3D print these antennae at scale, so it decided to harness the efficiency of deploying a smart, in-house 3D printing solution. Otherwise, additively manufacturing these antennae is usually outsourced to an offshore provider.
Fleet Space Technology’s CEO and founder Tata Nardini with 3D printed Alpha satellite. Image courtesy of Fleet Space Technologies.
According to Konica Minolta Australia's national manager Matthew Hunter, the multinational reached out to Fleet Space to start a discussion and begin a proof of concept to prove that the 3D Systems DMP 350 Flex metal 3D printing solution could deliver the outcomes Fleet Space required. The local Konica Minolta branch and 3D Systems then worked with Fleet Space to develop a build strategy, first proving that the DMP 350 was capable of printing the quality of the aluminum part and in the volume required for Fleet Space to keep up with demand. This process was vital in Fleet Space's decision to implement the metal printer.
Hunter explained that in the highly technical environment of spacecraft manufacturing, Konica Minolta proved that 3D Systems' metal printers allow users to print with aluminum in a precise, repeated, and scalable method. Although Fleet Space initially plans to use the 3D printer to scale up manufacturing of the metal antennae, the capabilities provided by this new device will let Australia's leading satellite manufacturer ramp up innovation at the same time, using it to develop prototypes and new parts during downtime from manufacturing the antennae.
Enrico Gallino is a materials scientist with Ricoh. The Japanese firm has developed its own powder bed fusion (PBF) technology, rolled out a 3D printing service, has developed an anatomical model 3D printing workflow, and is establishing a binder jetting process. In a candid interview, Enrico discusses Ricoh´s role in 3D printing and what the company is doing. In particular, he details some materials he is excited about, including a thermoset PBF powder that was completely new to Max and I. Really enjoyable interview for us to do and hopefully also for you to listen to.
Surprise—it’s a very light lineup of events and webinars this week! First up are two multi-day events in Europe, with the AM Forum Berlin and Plastics Live in Coventry. Then, ASTM is holding a webinar on designing for additive manufacturing, and we’ll finish the week with TriMech’s webinar on tips and tricks to pass SOLIDWORKS certifications. Read on for the details!
July 5 – 6: AM Forum Berlin 2022
From Tuesday to Wednesday, July 5th through the 6th, the 6th Additive Manufacturing Forum Berlin will be held in the city’s Estrel Congress Center. This hybrid event, with both in-person and virtual options, is considered Europe’s leading AM conference, with more than 80 speakers and over 120 exhibitors focusing on industrial additive manufacturing. 800 onsite participants are expected, with another 1,500 projected to participate virtually, and plenty of the industry’s top companies, including Materialise, 3D Systems, and 3YOURMIND, will be attending the event.
“Based on foundation partnerships with Airbus, Deutsche Bahn, MGA, Stratasys and 3YOURMIND, the AM conference brings together the decision-makers and experts of the additive manufacturing value chain in Berlin and online: AM users & AM solution providers such as printer manufacturers, material suppliers and service providers meet in Berlin, every year.”
You can register for the online option, or save your seat for the in-person conference, here.
July 5 – 6: Plastics Live 2022
Also taking place from July 5-6 is Plastics Live, a new annual event for the plastics sector in Ireland and the UK. Co-located with Sustainable Plastics Live, AMPLAS, and Industry 4.0 in Plastics at the Coventry Building Society Arena, the event will show attendees a variety of traditional and additive manufacturing processes, enabling broad business opportunities from all parts of the plastics-based industries. Over 150 leading suppliers will be on-hand to discuss the various technologies, including injection molding and 3D printing, that can be used to help save energy, improve output, and create the ideal factories of the future in plastics.
“It needs to be appreciated from the start, that additive manufacturing is by no means suited to every application. To assess where the best fit is, you need to factor in all the benefits and the constraints,” explained John Jones, Event Manager. “First and foremost, consider how big the proposed part is. Pricing is effectively based on size, and as a rule of thumb, the larger the part, the less viable 3D printing is for production. Small components like jigs, fixtures, housings and fittings, however, are perfectly suited to the process. Next you need to assess the complexity of the proposed design. AM is agnostic to part complexity, where traditional production technologies are not. Again, as a general rule, the more complex the part, the higher the associated tooling or machining costs, and therefore the more viable additive manufacturing becomes. Finally, what sort of run volume do you have in mind? If you are looking for hundreds of thousands or millions, then injection moulding is your only option. If, however, you want hundreds or multiple thousands of small parts, then you are in the sweet spot for 3D printing as a production process.”
July 7: Understanding Value in AM with ASTM International
On Thursday, July 7th, at 10 am EST, ASTM International’s AM Center of Excellence (AM CoE) will hold “Design for AM: Understanding Value,” the latest in its webinar series. Taught by industry expert Olaf Diegel, a Professor of AM at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and one of the principal authors of the annual Wohlers Report, the webinar is meant for AM managers and process engineers, as well as design, manufacturing, and research engineers. The attendees will learn which AM production factors most affect cost, how to use design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) to decrease costs while also adding functional value, and the thought process that goes into reducing the effect of AM production cost factors.
“AM is one of the most expensive manufacturing methods in the known universe. Therefore, for it to be usable, it must add enough 'value' to overcome those high costs. This talk will focus on the main factors that affect AM cost and how these can be transformed into value adding features. It will demonstrate how a basic understanding of the economics of AM can help companies to design parts in a way that truly take advantage of what AM can offer while, at the time, adding enough value to make AM production not only possible, but desirable. It will show real world examples showing how good design for AM practices can transform products that would, otherwise, be uneconomical to produce using AM.”
July 7: TriMech on Passing SOLIDWORKS Certifications
Finally, TriMech will hold a webinar, also at 10 am EST on the 7th, on “Tips & Tricks: Passing SOLIDWORKS Certifications.” During the brief webinar, TriMech Solutions Consultant Neil Brayman will share helpful tips and tricks to help attendees confidently pass their next certifications in SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Attendees will learn about resources, like MySolidWorks, that can help them prepare for these certifications, in addition to the different types of certifications, how SOLIDWORKS subscription holders can access certification vouchers, and more.
“Certifications are a great way to show off your knowledge of the software. They give you a way to stand out among others and can even lead to job opportunities, career advancements, and self-gratitude. Being on subscription services for SOLIDWORKS even provides you the opportunity for 3 certification vouchers twice a year!”
We’re beginning with awards in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as Hexagon has recognized two winners in its first Sixth Sense cohort of manufacturing startups, and then on to automotive, as we discuss how the supply chain could be helped by 3D printing at the dealership. In materials news, Carbon and adidas have made a sustainability breakthrough with plant-derived materials for 3D printing, and Barilla’s 3D printed pasta is now available to purchase. Finally, a stork is back on its feet again thanks to a 3D printed prosthetic.
Hexagon Crowns Two Winners in Cohort Manufacturing Startups
L-R: Paul Boris, President of runner-up Praemo; Milan Kocic, Head of the Sixth Sense platform, Jan Büchsenschütz and Felix Fink, co-founders of winner RIIICO; Cody Burke and Robert Haleluk, co-founders of winner SmartParts.
This winter, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence Division launched its new approach to the traditional accelerator, called the Sixth Sense cohort, which was designed as an exchange of value between Hexagon and the participating manufacturing startups. To challenge how multinationals approach innovation, the company connects with participating startups to help nurture creative solutions to humanity’s manufacturing challenges. After an intense eight-week training program and a final presentation to the judges, Hexagon has announced the winners of its first cohort of startups, which will work to help the manufacturing industry operate more efficiently and sustainably, with the help of Hexagon’s customer base.
The runner-up is Praemo, which developed a manufacturing insights application called Razor that ingests data as-is from automation, historians, quality, and maintenance systems to drive continuous improvement, using machine learning, in areas like productivity, cost, and throughput. The first of the two cohort winners is RIIICO, which designed an AI-powered drag and drop virtual factory floor. The solution creates a digital twin of a plant with one 3D scan, which gives teams flexibility and tools to collaborate and improve on factory design. SmartParts, which created an embedded digital barcode for 3D printing, is the second winner. Its novel traceability solution is based on data-rich particles that form the barcodes and can be embedded into materials of 3D printed parts; once scanned, the barcode reveals the part’s material, history, and specifications.
Ease Automotive Supply Chain Issues by 3D Printing at the Dealership
Kurtis Wilde: 3D printed parts could help resolve the backlog of vehicles waiting for repairs.
Some people, like Kurtis Wilde, believe that a lot of automotive supply chain hold-ups could be solved if car dealerships had their own 3D printers onsite. Wilde, parts manager at a Murray Honda in British Columbia, owns two small 3D printers at home, and thinks that dealerships could currently use the technology to print small, plastic, non-safety related parts on-demand that have been back-ordered, and get vehicles back on the road quicker; in the future, metal 3D printing could even be added for more intense parts. There are some inherent challenges, of course, such as high 3D printer prices, the risk of counterfeiting, and the fact that all auto parts must go through a tough process called advanced product quality planning, which requires parts suppliers to demonstrate that they understand how parts are designed, and that they have a repeatable process to produce these parts at the highest quality standard. But there are also benefits to 3D printing at the dealership, including high levels of vehicle customization and personalization. But one thing is for certain: the more automakers become familiar with and adopt 3D printing, the quicker the path is being paved for car dealerships to start printing parts as well.
This spring, Wilde said, “We’ve got cars that have been down since Novembers. Just think how helpful it would be if [3D-printed parts at dealerships] were a possibility.”
adidas Using Carbon’s Plant-Derived Resin to 3D Print Midsoles
EPU 44 White featured in the adidas 4DFWD PULSE midsole.
Carbon and adidas have long partnered to 3D print athletic shoes. Now, the 3D printing leader has developed a bio-based elastomer that can be used to print large volumes, and the athletic company is already using it to create midsoles for its 4DFWD sneakers. This durable new resin, EPU 44, is so named because 40% of its weight is derived from raw plant material. Carbon says the material, which is exclusive to its Digital Light Synthesis platform, is stiffer, more sustainable and resilient, flexible, and is available in white and translucent gray. The company also says EPU 44 enables lighter 3D printed lattices, and prints faster, than its EPU 41, and is commercialized as a General Factory product, requiring industrial dispensing, cleaning, and baking equipment. Serial production is available in China, Taiwan, and Germany.
“Many product designers who rely on foam are performance constrained by the linear compressibility of foam. Companies like adidas, Specialized, and Selle Royal are now breaking through that limitation by developing next-gen products focused on improving energy return via elastomeric lattices,” Carbon wrote.
“As product teams look for new applications of elastomeric lattices, they want to push in new directions, requiring different characteristics that were previously unattainable, all the while maintaining great functional properties, aesthetics, durability, and cost-effectiveness. EPU 44 enables them to achieve these benefits.”
Barilla’s 3D Printed Pasta Now Available for Sale
For the last several years, Italian company Barilla has pretty much owned the market when it comes to 3D printed pasta. Now, this tasty offering is available to purchase via BluRhapsody, a spinoff project born out of its R&D department. Based out of Parma, Italy, BluRhapsody is the first startup of Blu1877, a company that supports and interacts with people working to create the future of food. The main product that BluRhapsody offers is a selection of high-quality durum wheat semolina, processed and kneaded in small batches for the right texture before it’s combined with water and a natural extract with coloring properties.
Each piece weighs 7 grams and measures about 1.1 x 1.8 inches, and the startup offers 15 different custom pasta shapes, including butterflies, shells, hearts, and even words! It costs between $26-$60 to purchase 12 large pieces of 3D printed pasta, which is reasonably affordable for chefs to use in creating tasty, distinct dishes. However, we don’t know if consumers will pay more for this unique meal in a restaurant setting, and more importantly, if the taste of the 3D printed pasta will be preserved.
3D Printed Prosthetic Leg for a Stork
Finally, a female stork named Yuma, who lives in Italy, is walking much better after receiving a 3D printed leg prosthesis. Yuma was adopted by the Parco Natura Volalto in Rome, which helps in the conservation efforts of endangered species and offers environmental education to children. Her right leg was fractured, resulting in the amputation of the lower half, and the other leg was starting to become inflamed as well; a solution was needed if she hoped to have a chance of walking normally again. Her owners, Alessandro Guidi and Gianluca Monti, took the stork to many veterinary specialists in Italy, and finally found the help they needed in Naples with Dr. Emilio Noviello, a veterinarian for exotic animals.
Dr. Noviello, who called the process a “team effort,” took the stork to see Dr. Ciro Marra at the Diaz Veterinary Clinic, where CT scanning was used to get a more complete picture of Yuma’s leg and stump. The scans were processed by Dr. Matteo Zanfabro of PlayVet in Padua, who then designed and 3D printed the prosthetic leg for Yuma. The prosthesis would keep the disease from advancing to the other leg, and allow the stork to lead a more normal life. Yuma adapted quickly to the prosthesis, which took a lot of unnecessary weight off of her healthy leg and caused the inflammatory pathology to regress, and now she seems to be doing just fine. Check out Dr. Noviello’s Instagram to see videos of Yuma up and about with her 3D printed prosthesis!
Amid a wave of global inflation, collapsing stock markets, and the specter of war, you may be forgiven for worrying about how 3D printing will rise to this impossibly complex occasion. We’ve found the answer for you: why not 3D print all of the swimming pools? Fox and Friends reports that Lakeland, Florida-based San Juan Pools is 3D printing fiber glass swimming pools in days.
A family-owned business, San Juan invented the fiberglass pool, bringing them to market in 1958. Now, the firm is innovating and turning to a technology that reduces labors and speeds up time-to-market. By relying on Alpha Additive, another Florida firm that builds custom 3D printers and offerings additive manufacturing services, the company is able to 3D print swimming pools in a fraction of the time it would take to make them traditionally.
¨The age of instant gratification is truly here — just in time for summer,¨ reports Fox. Compared to traditionally made fiber glass pools, these 3D printed counterparts are “completely recyclable.” Home improvement host Skip Bedell stated, “So, when they're done, they can put it through a plastic shredder and reuse those plastic pellets.”
San Juan’s Baja Beach model was shipped to Fox in Manhattan, where the show’s team actually sat in the model. Bedell explained that, normally, a wood mold that might take months to build would be required to form the final fiber glass product. Now, the process can be faster and more sustainable with 3D printing. Obviously, the time-to-market is shortened—the pool can be shipped on a flatbed truck it can be installed in one day.
The Baja Beach model itself looks like it may be a tad difficult to swim in, but it does feature a sloping beach entryway and an eight-person hot tub. One side is made of transparent glass, allowing swimmers to look out towards the view. The Baja Beach measures 7.92 m by 3.66 m, with a depth of 91 cm, giving it an area of seven square meters and a volume of over 8,000 liters. The pricing on San Juan’s pools ranges from around $17,000 to around $38,000. That’s quite a 3D print.
We know that large scale 3D printing technology such as that made by Cincinnati, Thermwood, Ingersoll, and CEAD is growing. We can find a lot of applications for 3D printing of large-scale carbon fiber and fiber glass-reinforced polymers. We also know that these large-scale 3D prints typically require such reinforcement to keep them from warping. So, we may be able to assume that the Baja Beach model is made from a 3D printed polymer reinforced with glass fiber. However, I believe that fiber glass is a horrible material and any replacement of it is an excellent development. So, perhaps replace fiber glass with a flax composite or something similar? Of that, we can’t be sure just yet.
The biggest applications for large scale 3D printing have been large aerospace tooling. Additionally, boat hulls and aircraft bodies are probably the biggest reason why Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in particular, and the U.S. government, more generally, are pushing large scale polymer manufacturing with 3D printing.
The fiberglass pool market is nearly the same as that of fiberglass boats. They’re both luxury products that are now made painstakingly by hand through via layup processes feature moles, a lot of workers, and nasty chemicals. Additionally, they contain near un-recyclable materials and fibers that are horrible for the environment. The industry could derive significant environmental benefits form 3D printing both hulls and pools. Additionally, a reduction in labor and up-front investment per pool are both advantages for pool manufacturing. Potentially, these pools could be customized, as well.
Will we revolutionize the pool industry? It would depend really on the material cost. If San Juan or another party can develop their own polymer and compound it for a lower cost than is now commonplace, then the economics may very well work out. It may be more financially advantageous because of the reduced outlay and fixed costs. The company would have to invest in some automation and run the printers hard, but AM could very well be a meaningful competitor for this market.
If so, it would be very interesting to see if 3D printing can make other large-scale objects for around $30,000. This would make some large, complex formwork, room dividers, tooling, and vehicle hulls much more affordable and enable many business cases in those markets. Michiel De Bruijcker, of Poly Products, already told us on the 3DPOD that his firm is 3D printing custom Jacuzzis for super yachts. So, there must be more entrepreneurial activity going on in this area as well.
The Australian metal additive manufacturing (AM) firm, AML3D, has announced a $190,000 purchase order for a high-pressure piping vessel, from global oil megalith ExxonMobil. Specifically, ExxonMobil's Asia Pacific division has ordered what AML3D touts as the "world's largest" metal 3D printed commercial pressure vessel. AML3D completed its first successful print of the component last November.
In a press release, AML3D's managing director, Andrew Sales, said, "Signing this deal with ExxonMobil is a further demonstration of delivery against our multi-phase growth strategy. We have a major focus on building our capability and presence in the global oil and gas sector…Our understanding is, due to supply chain constraints, some traditional manufacturers were estimating a delivery date in excess of 12 months. AML3D will deliver a superior component in less than half that time."
According to the company, it can produce the eight-ton, eight-meter-long part in around 12 weeks. This decrease in manufacturing lead-time more or less tracks with other recent uses of AM in the oil and gas sector.
To meet its deadline within such a compressed timeframe, AML3D states that it will be devoting up to 75% of the capacity of its Adelaide facility exclusively to the part. Moreover, five out of the facility's eight installed Arcemy machines will be used for the job. The Arcemy is AML3D's proprietary system for AM-driven wire arc melding.
Largely due to its inextricability from all other industrial and commercial processes — as well as, quite simply, consumer demand in general — the dynamics shaping the oil and gas market are more complex than in any other sector. Such uniquely volatile supply and demand pressures are currently making a compelling argument for increased incorporation of digital supply chains in general, and AM in particular, in the oil and gas industry.
In addition to the present example, this year, Chevron has used AM to procure right-on-time replacement parts for one of its refineries in the U.S., which allowed the corporation to avoid output delays. At the RAPID + TCT event in May, metal parts for oil and gas production were one of the most commonly-touted applications for metal AM. And Shell has used AM to produce impellers for its Dutch refinery, after becoming, last year, the first European company to receive third-party certification for a printed part, from LRQA (formerly Lloyd's of London). LRQA also certified the first version of the AML3D part that was produced last November. According to "The Market for Additive Manufacturing in the Oil and Gas Sector 2018-2029" report from SmarTech Analysis, 3D printing for the oil and gas industry could represent a $2 billion revenue opportunity by 2029. Large-format 3D printing may play a crucial role, as SmarTech's "DED and Large-Format Additive Manufacturing Markets: 2021-2030" report projects that this sector will be worth $739 million in 2026.
The entire world is presently struggling from the price volatility created by fluctuations in the oil market. In simplest terms, the increase in price catalyzes more production, which — if not supported by equivalent demand — quickly leads to price swings in the opposite direction, in turn leading production to plummet once more, etc. Long-term planning is thus hampered in the area of the economy where it's probably most necessary. AM won't solve this, but it will give companies a powerful weapon in their toolkits for remaining agile in the face of continued supply chain disruptions.
Knust-Godwin (K-G), a contract manufacturer with ties to the aerospace, defense, semi-conductor, and oil and gas industries, is set to receive Velo3D's most advanced metal powder bed fusion (PBF) 3D printer, the Sapphire XC. This addition will allow Knust-Godwin to increase its metal additive manufacturing capacities, cut production costs, and continue delivering high-quality products.
When contract manufacturers work with large companies like Lockheed Martin, Halliburton, or Honeywell, they know time is of the essence. Any delay in manufacturing can affect the company's bottom line and, thus, theirs own. They must stay up to date with the fastest and most reliable manufacturing processes. Otherwise, those clients will quickly take their business elsewhere.
A Knust-Godwin Employee using a Sapphire metal 3D printer (Source: Velo3D)
Knust-Godwin is no stranger to this pressure. Having spent over 50 years in manufacturing, it knows the importance of continuously updating its facilities with state-of-the-art equipment.
For the past few years, that state-of-the-art equipment has been Velo3D's Sapphire 3D printers. Capable of printing parts with minimal support structures, this metal powder bed fusion 3D printer offers a range of unique capabilities, including in-process quality control and part simulation software. The printers have helped K-G exponentially expand its additive manufacturing potential and provide its customers with exceptional service. Naturally, the firm jumped at the opportunity to add Velo3D's newest 3D printer, the Sapphire XC, to its line of printers.
The Sapphire XC itself has a cylindrical build volume of 0.16 m3 with a diameter of 600 mm and a height of 550 mm. The printer also features eight 1kW lasers, making it Velo3D's contribution to the ongoing laser wars in metal PBF, which seek to increase the throughput of metal 3D printers through sheer laser quantity. Additionally, the system includes Velo3D's proprietary protrusion-tolerant, non-contact recoater and its front-end and back-end software, Flow and Assure.
The Sapphire XC 3D printer from Velo3D.
When the new Sapphire XC arrived at the company's plant in Katy, Texas, Knust-Godwin became the first contract manufacturer in Velo3D's network to receive the printer. Calibrated for use with Inconel 718 nickel alloy, the Sapphire XC now stands alongside Knust-Godwin's six other Velo3D Sapphire systems and gives them the ability to scale production even faster. The newest machine is said to cut production costs by 75% and produce parts 500% larger in volume compared to the previous generation of machines.
Knust-Godwin VP of Technology Mike Corliss said of the new unit, "By adding a Sapphire XC to our manufacturing floor, we can better serve our customers, utilize additive manufacturing in new ways, and differentiate our additive manufacturing offerings from our competitors'."
Outside of Knust-Godwin, the buzz around the Sapphire XC seems to have made it a hot commodity. It could be sold out for deliveries through the end of 2022, according to Zack Murphree, Velo3D's Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development, and with "the Sapphire XC (helping) customers like Knust-Godwin unlock new use-cases for AM by enabling the printing of larger parts, and significantly lowering manufacturing costs for customers printing parts in larger volumes," it's no wonder why the machine is flying off the shelf.
Velo3D's innovations are pushing the boundaries of what metal additive manufacturing can do. As they continue to build bigger, faster, and more efficient printers, companies like Knust-Godwin, Vertex Manufacturing, and Lockheed-Martin will continue adding them in abundance to their manufacturing floors. In turn, according to its "DED and Large-Format Additive Manufacturing Markets: 2021-2030", SmarTech Analysis expects the large format sector to reach $739 million by 2026.
While we don’t have a crystal ball, Velo3D's 3D printers look like they will be a major player in the industry for the foreseeable future. Its machines are doing things many other metal 3D printers simply can’t. If it continues to build well-received products like the Sapphire XC, you can bet Knust-Godwin will be first in line again to snatch up Velo3D's next production system.
After making the rounds at Formnext 2021, AMUG 2022, and RAPID+TCT 2022, Sindoh subsidiary fabWeaver has begun shipping its type A530 3D printer to Europe and North America. The system is designed to be an office-friendly, yet industrial-grade system with ease-of-use, reliability, and accuracy in mind.
Created with prototype production in mind, the dual-nozzle A530 has a build volume of 310 x 310 x 310 mm (12.2 x 12.2 x 12.2 in) for large parts. Accuracy with a tolerance range of ±0.2mm/±0.2% is achieved in part through a steady ambient temperature of 75℃ and closed loop motor control, which prevents position errors.
The A530 features an Automatic Feeding System, with which it can draw material from four filament spools stored in an optional smartStation. This allows for non-stop printing, thus improving lead times. The front face of the printer is itself a display, with an ambient LED around the door to indicate the printer status through color for quick visual reference even from a distance. This is complemented with a 7-inch touch screen.
Priced starting at $5,999, the A530 seems to compete in a space with Ultimaker, which offers the 5S and now Method X from MakerBot at similar price points and with similar capabilities. Ultimaker has been somewhat stagnant for some time but could be revitalized with its MakerBot purchase. Meanwhile, the competition could be increasingly steep from the likes of Prusa, BCN3D, and, now, fabWeaver.
The fused filament fabrication brand is a subsidiary of Sindoh (KRX: 029530), the South Korean 2D printing firm that has steadily been increasing its stake in the additive world. With a market cap of about $240 million, the company has already released a number of machines under its own brand name and co-branded with other manufacturers. This has included the 3DFF-222 desktop 3D printer made with Mimaki, the RIZE 7XC desktop composite system, a masked stereolithography machine for the dental market, and an industrial selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printer. This last machine is so far the only SLS system capable of using Materialise's Bluesint technology, capable of using 100 percent recycled powder.
The A530 in its production facility.
With the backing of an established 2D printing leader, it's possible that fabWeaver could take on the likes of Ultimaker. Its booths at the aforementioned events were quite large and hard to miss. The material set is currently somewhat limited (ABS, ASA, PVA, and PLA), but that makes sense if the manufacturer wants to make it as easy to use as possible. fabWeaver could then introduce new materials as it finds itself in the market. While it is a new name that may be unfamiliar to the market, the A530 seems to be a well-made machine capable of repeatable, high-quality prints.
"This 3D printer has uniqueness and distinction of its own, simply different from the other 3D printers that we have produced, we are looking forward to seeing the success of the type A530." said Jae-hak Jeon, President of Sindoh VINA Co., Ltd.
It's now shipping to customers in North America, so we'll soon have a better idea of how it fairs. Perhaps its reputation will quickly grow and the legacy desktop firms will have a fight on their hands. For more information on placing order or finding a reseller in your location, visit fabWeaver.com or e-mail the company at sales@fabweaver.com.
