Researchers Ei Cho and Thanh Tran, of Vietnamese-German University, explore the continually expanding science of 3D printing materials and how they are affected by material properties. In this study, the authors experiment with poly-lactic acid (PLA), outlining their findings in the recently published ‘Investigation on Influence of Infill Pattern and Layer Thickness on Mechanical Strength … Read more
After exploring the end users, manufacturers and service bureaus involved in the 3D printing of parts for general industrial applications, we’ll be taking a look at the metal materials that are powering that sector. Given its ubiquity in manufacturing and particularly general industry, we’ll start with steel. An alloy of carbon and iron, steel is … Read more
In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’ve got materials news, then some collaborations and an education story to share. First, KRAIBURG TPE is examining if its thermoplastic elastomers are suitable for 3D printing use, and Formatec is expanding its capacity with ceramics 3D printing. ZVerse and Forecast 3D are partnering up, while STELIA Aerospace is … Read more
The entire aerospace industry has sensed the manufacturing sea change and is integrating 3D printing into production wherever it provides value. Like others, Honeywell Aerospace has been qualifying numerous additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for the production of aerospace parts. The latest comes from VELO3D, whose Sapphire metal 3D printer will now be qualified as a … Read more
At 3DEXPERIENCE World 2020, CAD giant Dassault Systèmes made a number of announcements related to its 3DEXPERIENCE suite and SOLIDWORKS CAD software. One piece of news in particular has particular relevance for the 3D printing industry: Xometry’s manufacturing platform will be tied into Dassault’s SOLIDWORKS and CATIA applications. Within the design environments of SOLIDWORKS and … Read more
Formlabs is expanding its portfolio of 3D printing resins. The latest is Tough 1500, a stiff and pliable polymer that can bend and return to its former shape. Formlabs is targeting the material at engineers, product designers and manufacturers who need pliable parts. In response to customer feedback, Formlabs developed Tough 1500 Resin as a … Read more
A new startup called Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) has launched a high-resolution microscale 3D printer series dubbed microArch. BMF claims the system is the industry’s “most accurate and precise” microscale 3D printer. It should not be difficult to validate those claims due to the fact that over 40 microArch machines have already been operating across … Read more
“A lot of fun and a permanent smile on your face are definitely preprogrammed here!” – Urwahn Engineering Urwahn Engineering (previously known as Urwahn Bikes) has just announced their latest innovation for bicyclists—and it could prove to be pretty exciting for those athletes who are tech-savvy too. With the e-printed and 3D printed Platzhirsch, the … Read more
CRP Technology has introduced the latest in its line of specialty polymers for selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing. Windform FR2 is the most recent material from the company’s TOP-LINE series of composites for SLS. FR2 is a flame-retardant (hence the “FR”), halogen-free nylon powder reinforced with glass fiber, giving it electrically insulating properties. Demonstrating … Read more
In the recently published ‘Effect of unit cell shape and strut size on flexural properties of ordered Copper foam,’ Pulak M. Pandey and Gurminder Singh (Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India) study the relationship between cells and copper, employing both 3D printing and ultrasonic vibration-assisted pressure-less sintering. Copper foam—and metal … Read more
Researchers from the US and Canada have released a supplement to their Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2018 hands-on 3D printing course, reviewing techniques for creating 3D printed cranio-maxillofacial (CMF), orthopedic, and renal cancer models. These models can also be viewed in both virtual and augmented realities, as outlined in their recently published ‘Creating … Read more
Researchers from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia explore the potential—and the challenges—for industrial users engaged in metal 3D printing via EBM processes. Their findings are outlined in the recently published ‘Design for Metal Additive Manufacturing – An Investigation of Key Design Application on Electron Beam Melting,’ as authors Wadea Ameen, Abdulrahman Al-Ahmari, and Osama … Read more
Medical scientists from several different universities and hospitals in China continue in the fight against cancer, along with working to create better and more comfortable treatment plans for patients in the early stages of prostate cancer. With their findings outlined in the recently published ‘Expert consensus on computed tomography-assisted three-dimensional-printed coplanar template guidance for interstitial … Read more
As 3DEXPERIENCE World 2020 gears up this week in Nashville, TN, running from February 9-12, users and technology partners have opportunities to advance 3D technology skills, catch up on the latest 3D printing news and innovations—and connect with industry leaders like Stratasys. This year, the 3D printer manufacturer and creator of major production systems is … Read more
In the recently published ‘Development of 3D-printed myoelectric hand orthosis for patients with spinal cord injury,’ South Korean researchers propose the design for an innovative new wearable medical device meant to assist spinal cord injury patients in achieving greater hand function. While researchers and manufacturers around the world have engineered numerous orthotics and prosthetics—from those … Read more
In part one of this series, we gave an overview of how 3D printing is used to fabricate molds and dies for injection molding and die casting. In particular, additive manufacturing (AM) can be more cost effective for small batches of parts; however, in some cases, the technology can provide some benefits that are unique … Read more
Chinese researchers are experimenting with new ways to 3D print using metal, outlining their findings in the recently published ‘Experimental Study on Three-Dimensional Microstructure Copper Electroforming Based on 3D Printing Technology.’ In this research, they combined 3D printing and special machining technology in the form of electroforming, fabricating a substrate first and then the required … Read more
Metal powder bed processes hold enormous benefits, making highly personalised medical devices that were not feasible through machining possible, but there are pitfalls when printing parts using selective laser melting (SLM) due to the unpredictable distortions that occur during and after the part. Virtual validation is helping to stabilize the process for certain parts to … Read more
Christen Boyer and Steven Alexander (Credit: Christen Boyer) Researchers at Louisiana State University (LSU) developed a new technology to 3D print polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) medical devices. From 3D bone grafts to stents, the development allows for the production of a wide variety of biosynthetic tissues and drug delivery devices, which are very geared towards geometries. … Read more
Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE company, is starting the weekend with a little business, by making several announcements. First, the company revealed its IFRS unaudited financial results for the 4th quarter and year ended December 31st, 2019. The results, reviewed by the Board of Directors earlier this week, show that Dassault’s total revenue went up by … Read more
As adoption of 3D printing spreads throughout the larger sector of industrial manufacturing, the value of the technology as more than just a rapid prototyping tool is becoming increasingly evident. Even when additive manufacturing (AM) isn’t being used to produce end parts, businesses are learning that it can be used for the fabrication of tooling … Read more
Denise Vicentin is a 52-year-old Brazilian mother who lost her right eye due to skin cancer in 2010, which also left her with a gaping hole in her face and left her with one half of her jaw. It all started 30 years ago, when Denise developed a non-cancerous facial tumor that was later removed, … Read more
In the recently published ‘An Ultrasensitive 3D Printed Tactile Sensor for Soft Robotics,’ Australian researchers Saeb Mousavi, David Howard, Chun Wang, and Shuying Wu create a new method for production of piezo-resistive tactile sensors for soft robotics, using FDM 3D printing with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and a polylactic acid-graphene (PLA-G) composite. Fabrication of tactile sensors … Read more
Researchers from TU Delft have not only developed a new method for optimizing structures and their fabrication sequences, but the main author has also won the ISSMO/Springer prize from the International Society of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO), due to the impressive ‘Space-Time Topology Optimization for Additive Manufacturing: Concurrent Optimization of Structural Layout and Fabrication … Read more
Markforged can happily claim to be a pioneer on a number of fronts in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry: 3D printing reinforcement fibers, low-cost metal 3D printing, unique quality control systems, software and more. While there are surely other new technologies on the horizon for the Boston-based startup, the most exciting offering from the company … Read more