Coming up on August 8th, the NextFlex consortium will be holding an Innovation Day at its San Jose, California headquarters. The invitation-only workshop (request an invite here) celebrates the progress made on projects and results achieved in the Technology Hub, in addition to giving members a way to discover new technology, network with each other, and meet influencers in the FHE (Flexible Hybrid Electronics) manufacturing supply chain. This year, New Mexico-based company IDS will be on hand at the event to officially announce the release of its updated desktop aerosol 3D printer.
IDS, which stands for Integrated Deposition Solutions, is a small business in Albuquerque. Founded in 2013, the company is looking to become a leader in the field of 3D printed electronics – it has licensed an aerosol-based AM technology, called NanoJet, from Sandia National Laboratories and adapted it for Direct-Write Electronic (DWE) 3D printing.
According to IDS, the company’s updated desktop 3D printer is a high-performance, low-cost system for aerosol 3D printing applications, such as printed electronics. IDS claims it’s the “first affordable aerosol-based print platform” in printed electronics that’s currently available for both research purposes and low volume production.
“The NanoJet technology is cost-effective, easy to use, reliable and capable of operating for extended periods of time without operator intervention,” the IDS website states. “The ability to print features from approximately 10 µm to 200 µm in width in conductors, dielectrics, resistors and other electronic specific materials makes the aerosol-based NanoJet technology unique.”
IDS’ aerosol 3D printer has integrated its reliable NanoJet technology into a functioning desktop machine, which includes a process vision system, print process controls, simplified tool path generation, and industrial motion control driven by G-code. This motion control platform provides flexibility to end users in using tool path generators, whether it’s the one that came with the IDS printer or something similar. In addition, the multiple NanoJet print heads make it easy to switch materials between development, production, and and research processes, thanks to its aerosol focusing assemblies and easy to replace ink cartridges; each print head includes its own module.
The printer also has a 150 x 150 mm heated platform and point of use aerosol generation. Applications for IDS’ aerosol-based NanoJet 3D printing include:
biomedical
conformal electronics
high-density interconnects
wireless power transfer
Another company that’s well-known for using an aerosol-based 3D printing process is production-grade 3D printer supplier Optomec, with its patented Aerosol Jet technology for 3D printing electronics. Aerosol jetting is a very important technology because of its ability to create intricate products like antennae and sensors.
I’m not sure if IDS’ technology works the same as Optometc’s aerosol 3D printing, but I would bet the processes are very similar. IDS claims its desktop system is a plug-and-play 3D printer, with continuous operation for four hours of unattended printing, that uses Ag nanoparticle ink and single pass line thickness between 100 nm to 4 µm. The company also says that its aerosol 3D printer costs three times less than other commercially available aerosol-based systems; you can contact IDS for a quote.
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New Mexico-based Optomec, which supplies production-grade 3D printing systems for electronics applications and LENS Directed Energy Deposition 3D printers for the manufacturing of metal parts and components, just announced that Samsung Electronics will be using its patented Aerosol Jet technology. This week, it was revealed that Samsung has commissioned one of Optomec’s Aerosol Jet (AJ) 5X 3D printers, which will be put to work in its Printed Electronics Lab for the fabrication of next-generation consumer electronics.
First unveiled back in 2014, the AJ 5X was developed for those customers working to develop electronics like molded interconnect devices (MIDs), sensors, smart phones, and tablets. Many customers use the system to work on more advanced fabrication projects, as it has the ability to print high conductivity inks and dielectric materials in complex shapes on a variety of substrates and 3D surfaces, which makes it possible to shrink electronic devices down.
[Image: Optomec]
Optomec’s Aerosol Jet technology accurately and precisely deposits electronic inks through the use of aerodynamic focusing. First, the material is place into an atomizer, which creates a mist of ink-laden droplets that is delivered to the deposition head. There, a sheath gas (usually compressed air or clean, dry Nitrogen) surrounds the aerosol as an annular ring to focus it. Once this gas and the aerosol pass through the profiled nozzle, acceleration occurs and the aerosol is focused into a tight stream of droplets that flow inside the gas, which also insulates the nozzle to prevent any material clogs.
“The resulting high velocity particle stream remains focused during its travel from the nozzle to the substrate over a distance of 2 to 5 mm maintaining feature resolution on non-uniform and 3D substrates,” the Optomec website states. “The system is driven by standard CAD data which is converted to make a vector based tool path. This tool path allows patterning of the ink by driving a 2D or 3D motion control system. Printed features range from 10 microns to millimeters.”
The Optomec AJ 5X system can print features that range from millimeters down to 10 microns, and the 3D printer also supports 5 axes of coordinated motion with its 200 x 300 x 200 mm print envelope. The company has 20 years worth of materials and process research to its name, can help industry customers improve performance and lower product costs, and it also offers the necessary software to go with its Aerosol Jet systems for printed electronics.
More and more, we are using special industrial 3D printers, with inkjet and aerosol jet technology, to embed conductive components within our intelligent products in what we call 3D printed electronics. Items like ECG electrodes and contactless payment cards use these embedded components to perform wireless activities and readings, like measuring the frequency of a person’s heart beats and paying for something at the store. The technology makes it possible to 3D print conductive circuits on nearly any surface imaginable, and the market for it is estimated at $32 billion outside Europe alone. Now, the continent is working to play catch-up.
In a move to increase Europe’s competitiveness in this field, and further prepare for Industry 4.0, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 has granted €10.6 million in funding to a new European innovation hub, led by the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), that will focus on 3D printed electronics.
“Printed electronics opens up a whole world of new opportunities, as complex constructions can be embedded just like using 3D printing, at prices able to compete with mass-produced goods,” said Zachary James Davis, DTI’s Project Coordinator for the hub. “Quite simply because electronics can be produced from CAD drawings and printed on flexible materials, as already used in architecture and 3D print.”
DTI researchers have been working with 3D printed electronics since 2016. This work, coupled with its efforts in encouraging the adoption of 3D printing, is what makes the university the perfect leader for the new hub as it works to help Europe’s manufacturing industry gain a strong position. Together with 16 RTOs and businesses, such as Fraunhofer, Eindhoven University of Technology, RISE, and Axia, DTI will develop an open innovation test bed, or LEE-BED, which will function as the hub and focus on 3D printed electronics.
Enterprises that apply to join LEE-BED will have their businesses cases evaluated first. If they are selected to participate, they will receive access to RTOs which most closely match their personal requirements. In addition, the chosen enterprises will also have access to expertise and equipment from designated RTOs in order to support their own 3D printing electronics development efforts, with no financial risk, all the way from the prototyping phase up to pilot production and full-scale manufacturing.
Davis explained, “All the partners in LEE BED will provide their various skills and facilities within printed electronics to enterprises that want to integrate and embed electronics into their products.
“Enterprises will be able to prove the viability of new technologies without major investment and financial risk during the all-important initial phase. We have already started working with jewellery giant Swarovski, looking into the idea of intelligent light in their crystals that can be integrated with clothing and home interiors.”
In addition to Swarovski, LEE-BED also has three other industrial cases with European companies: Acciona, Grafietic, and Maier.
LEE-BED is made up of three phases:
Technological & economic modeling, including lifecycle analysis, patent research and safety/legislation audit
The pilot project using current, and upgraded, pilot lines for nanomaterials, nano-enabled formulations, and 2D/3D printing of components
Knowledge transfer, to include evaluation of intellectual property rights (IPR) and patents, investment possibilities, and standards/safety screening
The purpose of LEE-BED is to spread awareness about 3D printed electronics, and develop and implement them across Europe in order to “break down barriers” for the technology to be used. The goal is to keep the European manufacturing industry in the EU, as opposed to outsourcing high-tech projects elsewhere.
Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.
[Images provided by Danish Technological Institute]
We’re starting with a bit of business news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, then a story about metal 3D printing, and then moving along with examples of some of the amazing and innovative things people have been making with this technology. Sigma Labs has issued a letter to shareholders about some company changes, and a YouTube video introduces some new hard tool steels for 3D printing. WASP is carrying on with a major project by its Crane construction 3D printer, and a University of Minnesota professors talks about 3D printing electronics directly on skin. BMW Motorrad created 3D printed motorcycle components, and a Wisconsin sign company is using 3D printing for its products. Finally, Wrights Robotics made a full-sized, 3D printed, talking robot from a little 1980s movie called Short Circuit, and a low poly artist made some neat 3D printed chain mail.
Sigma Labs Says Goodbye to Mark Cola
Mark Cola
This past Friday, September 14th, Sigma Labs, Inc., which provides quality assurance software under the PrintRite3D brand, announced that its President, Co-Founder, and CTO Mark Cola would be retiring next month. After the news had time to settle over the weekend, the company announced the release of a letter to its shareholders from CEO and Chairman John Rice. In the letter, Rice paid tribute to everything Cola had done for the company over the years, and also assured shareholders “that the succession taking place is smooth and secure,” noting that Cola’s internal management responsibilities will be covered by Sigma’s Vice President of Engineering Darren Beckett, while Dr. Martin Piltch will take over his role on the company’s outside team of technology consultants.
“We thank Mark as founder and a leader of Sigma Labs, for creating and driving a vision of advancing the Additive Manufacturing Industry’s ‘good’ 3D manufacturing technology to become a ‘great’ high-quality manufacturing technology assured by Sigma’s IPQA,” the letter reads. “We shareholders can thank Mark for building and leading the multi-discipline technology team that is commercializing our robust data-rich analytical and interactive software – hardware tools that promise to add real value to an industry that needs such a tool. Yes, Mark now surely has the right to step back. Thank you and well done, Mark Cola!”
Here at 3DPrint.com we’ve met with Mark and have been very impressed with his deep 3D Printing knowledge and his vision on 3D printing for manufacturing and know he’ll be sorely missed at Sigma Labs.
Hard Tool Steels for SLM 3D Printing
Formetrix Metals, a brand new company I’d not heard of before today, recently posted its first video about its use of BLDRmetal steel alloys for laser powder bed fusion 3D printing. The 3D printable hard tool steel was used to make industrial dies for rolling bolt threads, after the dies made with CNC machining had failed.
After designing the dies, new BLDRmetal tool steel was used to 3D print prototypes. Once the surface finish was complete on the prototype dies, they were able to achieve high toughness and a high case hardness of up to 74 HRC.
WASP Crane Construction 3D Printing
WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) is well-known for its large-scale construction 3D printers, and for the last two years has been working to develop a new one, called the Crane or “the infinity 3D printer.” Evolved from the BigDelta 12M, the Crane is a modular 3D printing system with different configurations to choose from. Next month in Italy, WASP plans to present the Crane to the public in Massa Lombarda, which is where the village of Shamballa is being 3D printed.
On October 6th and 7th, a program will be held surrounding the introduction of both the WASP Crane 3D printer and the Gaia Module, a 3D printed earth house. According to WASP, Gaia is “the first module in soil ever realized with the 3d print- technology.” For more information on the event, visit the WASP website. You can see the new Crane 3D printer in action below:
3D Printing Electronics on Skin
While augmenting humans with electronics that can monitor our vitals, enhance our senses, and provide us with real-time information may sound like just an episode out of new science fiction series Glimpse, from Futurism Studios and DUST, the idea of advanced wearable electronics is not so far-fetched. Researchers like Michael McAlpine, a 3D printed electronics expert and mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota, are working to improve upon existing technologies to make this fantasy a reality. This spring, McAlpine published a study that demonstrated how to 3D print electronics directly onto skin with an inexpensive, self-made 3D printer and ink made from silver flakes. Recently, Futurism interviewed McAlpine about his research, and his thoughts on the future of 3D printable electronics.
“All of these technologies we’re developing will lead to the post-computer era. You’re basically going from 2D to 3D [microchips to integrated circutry], which is essentially what biology is. So, that’s where the merger of electronics and biology is going to happen. Any privacy or ethical issues that spring from that aren’t going to be much different from the ones that we have with current electronics,” McAlpine said.
3D Printed Motorcycle Components
The motorcycle brand of German automotive company BMW, called BMW Motorrad, recently developed a new motorcycle that’s full of 3D printed components and parts. This is not surprising, considering the parent company’s love for and use of 3D printing for both its regular and concept automobiles – BMW has been using 3D printing to build its cars for nearly 28 years.
3D printing can achieve parts with complex geometries, which is why it’s a perfect technology for the automotive industry. BMW Motorrad’s special concept motorcycle, called the S1000RR, demonstrates how the company can build new components using rapid prototyping technologies, as it is made of many 3D printed parts, such as a swingarm and an aluminum chassis. Take a look for yourself in the video below:
3D Printing Signs: Beneficial or Not?
Adam Brown in the shop at Sign Effectz.
Four years ago, a sign making company called Fastsigns decided to adopt 3D printing in three of its major markets – Chicago, Milwaukee, and San Diego. Fastsigns isn’t the only company to use 3D printing to make signage – a Milwaukee business called Sign Effectz, which was first founded in the company president’s garage in 1996 and now resides in a 17,000-square-foot facility, decided to explore 3D printing a few years ago, because it could open new ways of customizing signs and make it simpler and less expensive to produce small batches of custom products. But, workers in skilled trades may not appreciate the technology quite as much.
“Your fabricators on the floor now turn into (computer-aided design) modelers. I did. I love it. I came from busting my knuckles and dropping stuff on my toes and wasting material to problem solve and figure out how to build something… to getting to the 3D CAD modeling world where you can do all of that stuff in a virtual world and make sure 1,000 pieces all match and align and run it through animation to see if it works,” said Adam Brown, the President of Sign Effectz, before noting the potential downside of the technology.
“I wonder if you’ll be able to maintain the level of interest and passion in 3D CAD modeling because there’s little pain associated with it all of the sudden. It’s just a mental math problem and you hit print.”
In my opinion, products like custom signage are one of the many applications for which 3D printing is perfect. Using 3D design and CAD software to create signs is still a creative way to build something, even if you’re not manufacturing every bit of the sign by hand.
Full-Size 3D Printed Johnny 5 Robot
If you’re a fan of 80s movies, then you surely know of Short Circuit, starring such well-known actors of the decade like Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy. With the tagline “Life is not a malfunction,” the movie tells the story of Number 5, one of a group of experimental military robots. When the robot is struck by lightning and electrocuted, he suddenly gains self-awareness and intelligence, and flees the laboratory, as he is afraid of being reprogrammed. He is later rechristened as Johnny 5.
Wrights Robotics recently completed its own life-size, 3D printed version of the Johnny 5 robot, and published a YouTube video showing its audio, neck motor, and lip light tests. Just like the real Johnny 5, this 3D printed robot moves, lights up, and talks, even uttering the movie phrase “Don’t disassemble Number 5!”
3D Printed Chain Mail
Do you know what’s cooler than designing and 3D printing your own chainmail? Playing with it! pic.twitter.com/s7k3jfzVSE
If you’re a frequent visitor to Renaissance festivals, then you’ve no doubt seen plenty of chain mail in your day. But Agustin Flowalistik, a low poly 3D printing artist based in Madrid and the Fablab manager of Tecnolab, decided to create his own chain mail – of the 3D printed variety, of course. If you want to make your own, Flowalistik has made the files available for download at Cults3D, Thingiverse, and MyMiniFactory.
“The chainmail size is 195x195mm. A 60x60mm sample is available to test and find the right settings before printing the big chainmail. Print the model with a 0.4mm nozzle and 0% infill,” Flowalistik wrote in the Thingiverse description for the 3D printable chainmail.
Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.
Coming up on August 8th, the NextFlex consortium will be holding an Innovation Day at its San Jose, California headquarters. The invitation-only workshop (request an invite here) celebrates the progress made on projects and results achieved in the Technology Hub, in addition to giving members a way to discover new technology, network with each other, and meet influencers in the FHE (Flexible Hybrid Electronics) manufacturing supply chain. This year, New Mexico-based company IDS will be on hand at the event to officially announce the release of its updated desktop aerosol 3D printer.
IDS’ aerosol 3D printer has integrated its reliable NanoJet technology into a functioning desktop machine, which includes a process vision system, print process controls, simplified tool path generation, and industrial motion control driven by G-code. This motion control platform provides flexibility to end users in using tool path generators, whether it’s the one that came with the IDS printer or something similar. In addition, the multiple NanoJet print heads make it easy to switch materials between development, production, and and research processes, thanks to its aerosol focusing assemblies and easy to replace ink cartridges; each print head includes its own module.
