Over the past years, hype has been building over binder jetting metal. Fanned by Desktop Metal’s startup flames, both HP and GE should be launching binder jet machines soon. But another less well-known firm has been 3D printing metal powders with inkjet technology for over 20 years and for five of those years they’ve been … Read more
North Carolina researchers worked together recently to create tactile teaching tools (TTT), outlining their work in the recently published ‘Building the lac operon: A guided-inquiry activity using 3D-printed models.’ By incorporating 3D printing, the scientists were on a mission to ‘level the playing field’ for visually impaired and otherwise disadvantaged students—as well as others who … Read more
German chemical giant BASF has steadily been saturating the 3D printing industry with its presence. The latest partnership established by the world’s largest chemical company is with machine tool manufacturer Cincinnati Incorporated (CI). The two inked a distribution deal in which CI will supply ABS, carbon fiber PET and recycled PET materials from BASF 3D … Read more
Today Max and I speak with Xometry’s Greg Paulson again. This time we talk about scale in 3D printing. With manufacturing and real production seen as the new 3D printing frontier, companies are gearing up for products, services and the ever-popular “end to end solutions.” But, can we really do scale in 3D printing? And … Read more
In a previous post on the subject, we revisited 3D-printed sex toys. The topic was such a titillating one a few years ago that it was covered on a broad range of mainstream media outlets and the SEO-friendly term “3D-printed sex toy” brought to the fore the concept of customized devices for sexual pleasure that … Read more
Researchers from Iran and the UK are taking on central topics in digital fabrication, delving deeper into parameters, properties, and composites, with their findings outlined in the recently published ‘The Synergic Effects of FDM 3D Printing Parameters on Mechanical Behaviors of Bronze Poly Lactic Acid Composites.’ The authors use optimization in this study to find … Read more
Aluna Everitt recently submitted her thesis, ‘Digital Fabrication Approaches for the Design and Development of Shape-Changing Displays,’ to the Faculty of Science and Technology at Lancaster University. To achieve better success with deformable surfaces, Everitt explores the uses of 3D printing and laser cutting. As technology continues to progress worldwide, shape-changing displays are just one … Read more
Researchers from Canada and China have created a new technique for improving 3D printing, outlined in the recently published ‘Topology Optimization for Multipatch Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing.’ The authors point out that as digital fabrication progresses further, new design rules are emerging, as well as constraints. These are related to supports and post-processing, size … Read more
Janne Kyttanen is truly a 3D printing pioneer having spearheaded product design and consumer, industrial design, furniture, clothing, and other products with 3D printing. Roles at Materialise and 3D Systems as well as his own startups have prepared him to become the world’s unlikeliest VC. We spoke to him previously on investing in 3D printing, … Read more
MIT scientists are researching new ways to improve automated systems, outlining their findings in the recently published ‘Scalable and Probabilistically Complete Planning for Robotic Spatial Extrusion.’ Exploring new ways to integrate robotics into production, the authors have created a new concept for robotic spatial extrusion, accompanied by complete planning algorithms. Focusing on an alternative to … Read more
It’s necessary to perform studies on medical devices, 3D printed or otherwise, to make sure they’re working the way they’re supposed to be. Some examples we’ve heard about include: a Virginia Tech researcher used sensors to compile data about how well 3D printed amniotic band prosthetics were performing, researchers from TU Delft evaluated the level … Read more
In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, AMUG has announced the recipients of its two scholarships, Ultimaker is marking a milestone with a new online marketplace and new Cura features, and a company has created a revolutionary 3D printed helmet to help children with flat head syndrome. AMUG Announces Scholarship Recipients The Additive Manufacturing Users Group … Read more
“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.” “Hasta la vista, baby.” “Life is like a box of chocolates.” “Game over, man, game over!” These are all memorable lines from iconic films, though some people may not recognize the last one. This is a line from one of my absolute favorite movies, the 1986 Aliens, and was uttered … Read more
Chinese researchers are experimenting with materials for bioprinting, outlining their findings in the recently published ‘Dual-Enzyme Crosslinking and Post-polymerization for Printing of Polysaccharide-Polymer Hydrogel.’ Tissue engineering, while yielding many successful and astounding efforts in research labs today—from the creation of a variety of hydrogels to scaffolds, to kidney organoids—is a complex area requiring much trial … Read more
Imagine being able to understand and see the complex structures of human organs at the cellular level. On February 13 a group of researchers in Germany’s Ertürk Lab, in the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD) at Ludwig Maximilian University’s Hospital in Munich, published a paper based on a new technology that can make intact … Read more
Commercial space companies are looking to get their technology to orbit. This decade could mark a big shift in the race for space domination, with a few big names taking over Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond. Moreover, as NASA begins to transition the domain of LEO to the commercial space industry, these enterprises are … Read more
The railway industry is one of the more exciting fields to watch the adoption of additive manufacturing, as various companies begin deploying the technology for use in the production of on-demand spare parts. One of the leaders in this trend has been Siemens Mobility Services, which already worked with Stratasys to print maintenance parts for … Read more
Last summer, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jason Barnhill traveled to an undisclosed desert location in Africa with a ruggedized 3D printer and other basic supplies that could be used to biofabricate for field medical care, such as human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs). The aim was to discover how a 3D bioprinter could expedite healing and … Read more
DMG Mori is one of the largest machine builders worldwide, generating about $3 billion in revenue each from its Japanese and German divisions. Though its position in the 3D printing industry is comparatively limited, it is growing, which is why we thought we’d take a look at DMG Mori its role in additive manufacturing (AM). … Read more
Canadian researchers used 3D printing to create anatomically correct models of human organs, detailing their findings in the recently published ‘3D Printed CT-based abdominal structure mannequin for enabling research.’ Attempting to improve the medical imaging process, as well as offering more comprehensive education, the team created 3D printed organ ‘shells’ for the mannequin. When treating … Read more
Professor Andre Simpson at the University of Toronto is the director of the school’s Environmental NMR Center, dedicated to environmental research. This research uses an analytical tool that is called NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectrometer, which is similar to how an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) works for medical diagnostics. Andre Simpson via University of Toronto … Read more
A new startup has emerged from stealth mode promising a software capable of aiding designers in enhancing their parts for additive manufacturing (AM) in ways that go beyond generative design and topology optimization. Additive Flow’s newly announced FormFlow software is meant to allow engineers to quickly modify their models for AM in ways that maximize … Read more
Ecoplus Plastics and Mechatronics Cluster in Lower Austria has just completed their ‘AM 4 Industry’ Cornet project, outlining their findings regarding 3D printing—with the recently published work serving as the culmination of a large group of research partners and fifty-one companies (from Austria, Germany, and Belgium) working together on ‘industrial AM concepts’ for two years. … Read more
The very definition of an industry leader, and serving as a forerunner within industrial-scale additive manufacturing in Australia, Melbourne-headquartered Titomic has just signed an AUD $25.5M contract for two TKF Additive Manufacturing systems to be delivered to global defense supplier, Composite Technology, after two years of comprehensive research, development, prototyping, and QA measures to ensure … Read more
Scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), in North Carolina, have found a way to advance the 3D bioprinting technique they developed to engineer skeletal muscle as a potential therapy for replacing diseased or damaged muscle tissue, moving another step closer to someday being able to treat patients. Skeletal muscles are responsible for … Read more