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Smart International Introducing Multimaterial Dryer for 3D Printing Filaments

Moisture is not your friend when it comes to 3D printer filament, as humidity can cause weakened material, which then leads to fragile prints, poor surface finish and adhesion, and also degradation. The filament can break in your printer or parts can warp or become very brittle. If you just leave a PLA filament on your printer it will degrade in days, nylon in hours. That’s why it’s so important to keep your material dry before you use it.

Smart International, the 3D printing licensee for KODAK, just announced the launch of a new system that they say will help dry 3D filaments and materials up to ten times faster than other systems – the Smart3D Multimaterial Dryer.

“While typical drying cycles take between 8 – 48 hours and use heat which does not remove moisture completely, the Smart 3D MultiMaterial Dryer uses a hybrid technology to dry filament in as little as an hour,” Helen Blesky, the Marketing Manager for KODAK 3D Printing’s Global Brand Licensee Smart International, told 3DPrint.com.

The 892 x 500 x 825 mm machine, developed for the FFF 3D printing market, offers efficient 3D filament drying through the use of hybrid technology, and, as a Smart International press release states, integrates industrial drying “at end-user level.” By ensuring moisture-free filament, users of the Smart3D Multimaterial Dryer can achieve consistent and repeatable 3D printing results.

Most current solutions that work to combat moisture and humidity will dry filament through the use of heat, but this really isn’t the best solution to the problem. For starters, heat won’t even necessarily remove 100% of the humidity from filament, and it doesn’t allow different materials to dry at the same time. In addition, it can affect both the chemical and physical characteristics of the materials it’s being used to treat by up to several degrees, and it can take between 8-48 hours to run a full cycle.

The new Smart3D Multimaterial Dryer uses a hybrid technology that can ensure dry filament in as little as one hour – up to ten times faster than current methods of drying. With an internal storage capacity of 733 x 250 x 506 mm – equaling up to 30 spools able to be dried and stored inside – the system is compatible with any 3D printing filament with a spool diameter of up to 500 mm.

“This product is the natural result of our customers’ requests to complete the low moisture chain and guarantee repeatable prints. When we launched the Kodak filament line featuring low moisture and vacuum-sealed packaging, and the enclosed KODAK Portrait 3D Printer with its filament protection cases, humidity was not widely perceived as FFF 3D printing’s silent enemy as it begins to be understood now,” stated Demian Gawanski, CCO of Smart International. “Since then, with chemical giants strongly stepping onto our industry and broadening its range of applications, it hurts our eyes to see high performance filament go to waste, bake in ovens or centrifugate in salad spinners. We feel this completes the most comprehensive professional ecosystem on the market and inaugurates our new year of exciting Industry 4.0 compliant releases targeted at exacting customers.”

The system, with both Ethernet and USB connectivity, recognizes spools through RFID tags, and an intuitive 7″ touchscreen records all the ambient conditions inside the drying chamber. Each filament can be scanned as it’s stored, so it’s very easy to keep track of your stock of dried materials.

When it comes to energy consumption, the Smart3D Multimaterial Dryer is very efficient, as it uses up to ten times less energy than other filament dryers on the market; this allows users to process more material in a shorter amount of time. Speaking of materials, the new system’s drying process makes it possible to dry several different materials, such as TPU, PVA, and Nylon, at the same time.

This latest edition to the KODAK 3D Printing Ecosystem comes with a discount of 10% off the $4299 MSRP for pre-order customers throughout the month of February, or until the limited stock of systems runs out. Visit local resellers for availability; pre-ordered machines will ship out this April.

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[Images provided by Smart International]

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Recycled Content of Filamentive’s 3D Printing Filaments in Accordance with ISO 14021 Standard

According to UK-based 3D printing material startup Filamentive, 90% of all the plastic used in the world comes from non-renewable sources, which means there’s definitely a major environmental need for recycled 3D printing filament. That’s why Ravi Toor, the startup’s founder and director, decided to launch Filamentive back in 2015, with support from the University of Leeds.

Toor realized that the 3D printing materials market needed to change, and put his environment-based degree, and experience running a 3D printing business, to the test. He founded the startup in order to offer more sustainable filament that can address both environmental impact and the need for high quality materials at the same time.

“As 3D printing becomes more popular, plastic production and consumption will increase, causing many environmental impacts,” the startup notes on its website. “Filamentive was set-up to address the environmental concerns in 3D printing – committed to using recycled materials where possible, without compromising quality.“

Filamentive is an ethical brand, committed to both social and environmental sustainability, which is why it is so proud to announce the news that the recycled content of all of its 3D printing filament products are now in accordance with the ISO 14021 standard.

Toor said, “It is becoming evident that all consumers – from hobbyists to large businesses – are becoming increasingly environmentally-aware and so we will continue to set high targets for recycled content and the recyclability of our packaging.”

The Filamentive 3D printing material products listed below have all been evaluated by the International Organization of Standards (ISO) according to BS EN ISO 14021:2016 – Environmental labels and declarations — Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling).

Filamentive has responded to the ever-growing issue of harmful waste plastic, and the rise of plastic usage due to the 3D printing industry, by remaining steadfast in its commitment to use a higher percentage of recycled materials in all of the products it manufactures and sells. In addition, the West Yorkshire startup is committed to creating recyclable spools and packaging, thanks in large part to the empty spool return initiative it launched in 2017.

“Due to FDM/FFF 3D printers using plastic materials as feedstock, unfortunately as 3D printing becomes more popular, plastic production and consumption will increase, causing the industry to exacerbate the global problem of plastic. Filamentive specialise in sustainable 3D printing filament materials. The company was founded to address to the environmental need to use more recycled plastics in 3D printing, and also alleviate market concerns over quality and long term sustainability,” Toor stated.

While 3D printing is actually far less wasteful than more traditional methods of subtractive manufacturing, such as CNC machining, using plastic as a feedstock could actually, according to the startup, “exacerbate the global plastic epidemic.”

Thankfully, there are many initiatives around the world that are set on using 3D printing to lower the amount of plastic that we waste, by making things like prosthetic limbs, furniture, shoes, and filament out of the used material. Filamentive is obviously focusing on the latter, and was also founded in order to challenge the common thought that products made from recycled materials are somehow of lesser quality.

The startup knows that high quality prints can only come from high quality filament, which is why it has committed itself to “strict waste selection and manufacturing procedures” so the 3D printing performance of its users isn’t impacted. The news that its 3D printing filaments are now in accordance with the ISO 14021 standard will only serve to help Filamentive continue its mission.

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[Source/Images: Filamentive]

XYZprinting Showcasing da Vinci Color mini and Three New 3D Printing Materials at CES 2019

Today in Las Vegas, CES 2019 officially kicked off, though the official CES Unveiled media event took place on Sunday at the Mandalay Bay hotel. Taiwan-based 3D printer manufacturer XYZprinting attended the media event and showed off its newest product, the consumer-oriented da Vinci Color mini, which was first introduced this summer. The company plans on unveiling several additions to its 3D printer line at the show this year, including an upgraded extruder option and an expanded filament line.

XYZprinting is committed to making 3D printing more accessible to the masses, and the compact da Vinci Color mini, its second-generation desktop full-colored FFF 3D printer, is crushing full-color 3D printing size and price barriers. It’s a good choice for consumers, designers, makers, and small business owners looking to use full-color 3D printing for the purposes of prototyping. The da Vinci Color mini uses the company’s 3DColorJet technology, which creates millions of color combinations by applying a single CMY ink cartridge to a color-absorbing PLA filament; however, it’s also possible to print in monochrome if you wish.

“Our investment in full-color 3d printing technology has opened the door to the next level of 3D printing innovation. By providing an affordable and compact full-color printer, we are very pleased to be bringing color 3D printing technology within reach for small businesses, schools, designers, makers and general consumers,” said XYZprinting CEO Simon Shen. “We will continue to provide innovative, high-quality 3D printers while making it affordable for everyone to utilize this technology and incorporate it into their daily lives.”

The da Vinci Color mini features a 5″ color touchscreen, which gives users an intuitive way to work the user interface, and also comes with a 5.1″ x 5.1″ x 5.1″ EZ-removable print bed.

In addition, there are several upgradeable options for the desktop 3D printer, such as a Laser Engraver module for engraving on leather, paper, wood, and other materials, and a Hardened Steel nozzle for 3D printing with some of the company’s newest materials.

The newest filaments by XYZprinting include a Metallic PLA and a Carbon Fiber PLA, which gives users access to higher-performing materials. The Hardened Steel nozzle upgrade, which is very wear-resistant in terms of these more abrasive materials, will cost 119.95 with the da Vinci Color series, and $79.95 for select XYZprinting 3D printers, like the da Vinci mini-series and the da Vinci Jr. Pro. series.

The company also launched an additional new filament that was designed with antibacterial properties. The special Antibacterial PLA inhabits bacterial growth by at least 99% through the use of silver ions, which majorly lowers the risk of infections.

Antibacterial PLA

Because the Antibacterial PLA comes with enhanced protection against germs and infections, it’s a safer and more hygienic choice of material for young kids who are just starting to learn about 3D printing. Educators and parents who use this new filament can rest assured that their 3D printing experience will yield safe, functional prints that can be used in the household and the classroom with no worries. A 600 gram spool of XYZprinting’s new Antibacterial PLA costs $29.95 on the company’s online eShop, and the material is compatible with the company’s Color series, Nano series, da Vinci Jr. and Jr. Pro series, and the da Vinci Super 3D printer.

The company’s newest 3D printer, along with its other new products, materials, and accompanying software, will be available for purchase by the end of the first quarter of 2019 on the XYZprinting online eShop. At just $1,599, the da Vinci Color mini is a more affordable option for users interested in full-color 3D printing. You can take a look at all of these new products, along with a range of other commercial 3D printers and ancillary products, at XYZprinting’s booth #31524 in South Hall 3 of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) at CES 2019 this week.

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[Images provided by XYZprinting]

3D Printing News Briefs: December 19, 2018

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, a maker has published a free 3D print management app in the Play Store, while Formlabs works to continue accelerating its growth in the Asia Pacific region. America Makes has announced the winners of two Directed Project Opportunities, and a chemist employed by Sinterit has won a prestigious award. Finally, an engineer with a thirst for vengeance used 3D printing and a lot of glitter to get back at the people who steal packages from his porch.

Free 3D Printing App for Filament Management

A new app, simply called 3D Print, is now available to download for free on the Google Play Store. The app was published by a maker who goes by paratiDev on Google Play, and was developed to help other makers better manage their filament.

“It has happened to all of us, you want to print a piece and not to know for sure if you have enough filament in the coil to print it. If you have only one coil of that filament, you have only two options; you can use another filament that has more quantity or risk and print it,” paratiDev writes.

“In the first case it forces you to use another filament different from the one you wanted while in the second case you run the risk that there is not enough filament and the piece remains halfway, assuming a loss of money, filament and time.”

The app allows users to visualize how much filament they have left, view the history of 3D printed pieces they’ve made, and can also generate invoices and quotations for 3D prints. The free 3D Print app also allows you to create projects that group together several pieces, and will visualize the wight and total cost of the project.

Formlabs Continues to Grow in APAC Region

Today, Formlabs announced that its growth in the APAC region is continuing to speed up. The company, which first entered the China market in 2015, is planning to open its new APAC headquarters in Singapore soon, and has also completed a new warehouse in Shenzhen, China for more efficient processing and shipping. While its physical presence in the region is growing, so too is its headcount: Formlabs also announced that David Tan, previously the APAC director of strategy and programs for Oracle Cloud Platform, Alliances & Channels, has been hired on as a new general manager for its own APAC team.

“Formlabs has long set its sights on making 3D printing processes more accessible. Part of this strategy has been completely rethinking 3D printing technologies from the ground up. The second is bringing the technology to market,” explained Max Lobovsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Formlabs. “There is an immense amount of opportunity in Asia Pacific, we’re looking forward to what David and these new locations can do to improve our growing success in the region.”

America Makes Announces Directed Project Opportunities Winners

America Makes has announced the award winners of two Directed Project Opportunities, both of which were funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing and Industrial Base Technology Division. The first is the acceleration of large scale additive manufacturing (ALSAM) project, with the objective of getting past the shortcomings of SLM 3D printing, and America Makes awarded $2.1 million to GE Global Research, in conjunction with GE Additive and the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. With at least $525,000 in matching funds from the team, the total funding for the ALSAM Directed Project to develop an open source, multi-laser manufacturing research platform will be about $2.6 million.

The second is the advancing AM post-processing techniques (AAPT) project, with a goal of improving process control and lowering costs for qualifying complex parts made with SLM technology. The first awardee is Arizona State University, in conjunction with Quintus Technologies, Phoenix Heat Treating, Inc., and Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies, Inc., and the second is led by the ASTM International AM Center of Excellence collaborative, in conjunction with Quintus Technologies, Carpenter Technologies Corporation, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Rolls Royce Corporation, Honeywell Aerospace, GE Aviation, and Raytheon. America Makes awarded a total of $1.6 million to the two teams, which will also contribute at least $800,000 in matching funds. Both projects are expected to begin next month.

Sinterit Chemist Makes Forbes List of ’25 Under 25′ Poland

Desktop SLS 3D printer manufacturer Sinterit is proud to announce that its chemist, Paweł Piszko, has been selected by Forbes and the Warsaw office of McKinsey & Company as one of the prestigious “25 Under 25” in Poland. There are five categories in the awards, with five winners in each, and the jury appreciated Piszko’s work on increasing the efficiency of energy collection from renewable sources. When asked by his employers what his goal was, he answered that he wanted to have “an impact on the architecture of society.”

“We are delighted that Paweł chose Sinterit as a place where he can develop his skills and check the results of his scientific activities in practice,” Sinterit wrote in a blog post. “As part of his work, he researches the chemical processes that occur during the sintering of polymers, which allows us to improve the materials that Lisa and Lisa Pro, our flagship SLS 3D printers, print from.”

3DPrint.com congratulates Paweł on this exciting achievement!

Engineer Uses 3D Printed Component to Make Glitter Bomb

Revenge is a dish best served with glitter and fart spray…at least according to a mechanical engineer and evil genius Mark Rober. He spent nine years working at NASA’s JPL – mostly on the Curiosity Rover – and later founded a company called Digital Dudz. He was upset when someone stole a delivered package right off of his porch, and decided to employ all kinds of technology to take revenge.

“I just felt like something needs to be done to take a stand against dishonest punks like this,” Rober said in his YouTube video.

“I spent nine years designing hardware that’s currently roving around on another freaking planet. If anyone was going to make a revenge bait package and over-engineer the crap out of it, it was going to be me.”

Over the course of several months, Rober sketched his idea out, then finished it in CAD before getting to work on the physical prototypes. The package contains a 3D printed component that’s contoured in such a way that four hidden phones inside can capture package thieves opening the box and getting hit with a giant cloud of colorful glitter and continuous blasts of fart spray. Check out his video below to see how things turned out, though be warned that there is some bleeped out profanity. To learn more about the details of his build, check out his friend Sean’s video as well.

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Take That, Quagga Mussels: Student Turns an Invasive Species into 3D Printer Filament

The quagga mussel is an invasive species that has caused a great deal of trouble in the Great Lakes. It’s an aggressive creature, native to eastern Europe, that kills other species, breeds quickly, and messes up ecosystems. But Davidson College sophomore Lorena James has found a use for quagga mussels – 3D printing them. When James was in high school, she came up with an idea in an entrepreneurship class – creating 3D printer filament out of the shell of the quagga mussel. Previously Spanish designer Carmen Brio also created a PLA filament from the shells of muscles and oysters from restaurants. In that case, the shells were ground down and the idea was to recycle restaurant waste and turn it into a higher impact filament. Laura James is doing this specifically with one kind of muscle local to her.

After pitching the idea to her class, James entered her Z Spools concept in the Cleveland Water Alliance Erie Hack competition and won. Now she has applied for a utility patent for the product, and is thinking about how to mass produce it.

Lorena James

3D printer filament has been made out of all sorts of bizarre materials, from the byproducts of beer brewing to another problematic species, algae. Creating filament from quagga mussels won’t solve the issue of the invasive species, but it’s an interesting concept, and an eco-friendly one.

“I do help relieve the issue of making the beach unsanitary and unpleasant for beach goers,” said James. “And bring attention to other issues. I’m also bring attention to invasive species issue, providing new method for sustainable 3D printing.”

Quagga mussel shells have the potential to produce attractive 3D prints, too – they may be a menace to the Great Lakes, but filament made from their shells is unique, producing a pale gray color.

To make the filament, James crushes up the quagga mussel shells and mixes them with PLA pellets, which she then extrudes using a filament extruder she purchased from Filabot. She plans to reach out to Filabot to see if they will mass produce her filament once she returns from Shanghai, where she is currently studying abroad. After that, James may pursue ideas that involve the use of other invasive species; she’s very interested in the idea of a circular economy. Her first idea, before she came up with the Z-Spools concept, was to sell hydrilla verticillata, an invasive water plant, as food. She scrapped that idea, however, after realizing how much pollution the plants absorb from the lake.

James’ passionate pursuit of her idea came from disappointment – her entrepreneurship class had no interest in her idea, preferring instead “startups involving pillows, cruises and ice cream, none of which solved any problems I viewed worth pursuing,” she said. She admits she was somewhat bitter, but she took that bitterness and channeled it into bigger things, like taking her idea to Erie Hack. That competition ended up being a catalyst for her business pursuits.

“Without Erie Hack, there’s no way I would have wanted to pursue entrepreneurship as early as I did,” she said.

James is only 19, but she has a strong vision and passion for helping the environment and making the world a better place. Her Z-Spools idea is an ingenious one – rather than simply getting quagga mussels off the beach, she is creating something useful with them. If she continues pursuing her ideas about turning invasive species into useful products, she could end up with a successful business, catering to the many people who feel the same way that she does about the environment.

“When I came to Cleveland for Erie Hack, I thought people in Cleveland appreciated Lake Erie more and found more uses, than people in Buffalo,” she said. “But it’s changing. People are appreciating lake more. When I return from Davidson I’ll be spending a lot more time on the lake. I think Z Spools has definitely brought me closer to the lake.”

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[Source: Cleveland.com/Images courtesy of Lorena James]

3D Universe Introduces Skin Tone Filaments for 3D Printed Prosthetics

[Image: e-NABLE]

e-NABLE has done wonderful things for people with missing limbs, particularly children, allowing them free access to prosthetic hands and arms that can even make them look like superheroes or princesses. 3D printing can be used to easily create prosthetics in bright, flashy colors, which kids tend to love. But what if you’re an adult – or a child – who would rather have a more subtle prosthetic hand, one that matches your skin tone as closely as possible? There isn’t a whole lot of flesh-toned filament readily available, but that’s changing now thanks to 3D Universe, a retailer and founding member of the e-NABLE community.

3D Universe tuned in to the thousands of people who wanted to blend in with the crowd, rather than stand out, and used the feedback to create four new skin tone colors of PETG filament.

“We did a lot of research on skin tones throughout the world,” Jeremy Simon of 3D Universe told e-NABLE. We, humans, come in so many beautiful colors, but we had to pick four since that’s what our initial budget allowed for. We wanted to pick those that would match the broadest possible range of skin tones. We reviewed work like this and this. We also purchased the Pantone Skin Tone Guide.

“We asked the e-NABLE community to vote on which colors they would prefer. Based on that voting and our own research and inquiries, we ended up selecting four skin tones ranging from a caucasian skin tone to a dark brown color. The names for these colors are Rose Tan, Light Brown, Medium Brown, and Dark Brown. Additional colors may be added in the future, depending on how these are received by the e-NABLE community.”

3D Universe went with PETG instead of PLA because, like PLA, it is easy to print, but has higher temperature resistance and strength than PLA. PLA doesn’t hold up too well in hot, humid climates, Simon pointed out. PETG is also capable of thermoforming.

“3D Universe has supported ETF (Enabling the Future) for years because it aligns perfectly with our company’s mission to put digital fabrication technologies into the hands of as many people as possible,” Simon continued. “e-NABLE represents everything that got us excited about 3D printing in the first place – the potential to disrupt old manufacturing paradigms and to bring product design and production capabilities to ordinary people with small budgets. We want to support that and be a part of that progress in any way possible. 3D Universe maintains an affiliate program with ETF, with a portion of all e-NABLE related sales being used to help support ETF each month.”

With the new colors available from 3D Universe, people with missing limbs – especially in cultures where blending in is valued more than standing out – can feel more comfortable with their less noticeable prosthetic devices. The flesh-toned filaments are available now and can be purchased here. Each 750g spool is $34.99.

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Apium partners with Purpose AM to create new filament dryer

High performance 3D printing materials specialist, Apium Additive Technologies, has partnered with extrusion technology firm, Purpose AM Systems, to launch the Apium Filament Dryer. The dryer is designed to reduce unwanted moisture in filaments, which can cause poor print quality and significantly affect the 3D printing process. Pinar Karakas, Head of Marketing and Quality Management […]

Natural Plant-Derived Resins Used to Make Antibacterial 3D Printing Filament

Hospital-acquired infections are a growing problem everywhere. The CDC calls them a “major, yet preventable threat to patient safety,” and the key to preventing them lies in keeping bacteria from spreading in a setting where bacteria is rampant. As 3D printing becomes more and more prevalent in the medical field, it is vital to make sure that 3D printed implants and tools do not play a role in spreading disease. Certain companies have been working on creating antibacterial 3D printing filament, and a group of researchers has conducted a study on bioactive filaments with antimicrobial and antifungal properties. You can access the paper, entitled Bioactive Potential of 3D-Printed Oleo-Gum-Resin Disks: B. papyrifera , C.myrrha , and S. benzoin Loading Nanooxides—TiO2 , P25, Cu2O, and MoO3, here.

The researchers point out that bacteria have managed to develop resistance to many antibiotics, but that there are many natural antibiotics to which resistance has not yet been developed. They extracted oleo-gum-resins from benzoin, myrrha, and olibanum plants and combined some of them with 10% of metal nano oxide particles. 3D printer filament was created from the resins and metals, then 3D printed into disks which were subject to a number of tests.

“Due to their intrinsic properties, disks containing resins in pure state mostly prevent surface-associated growth; meanwhile, disks loaded with 10% oxides prevent planktonic growth of microorganisms in the susceptibility assay,” the researchers explain. “The microscopy analysis showed that part of nanoparticles was encapsulated by the biopolymeric matrix of resins, in most cases remaining disorderly dispersed over the surface of resins. Thermal analysis shows that plant resins have peculiar characteristics, with a thermal behavior similar to commercial available semicrystalline polymers, although their structure consists of a mix of organic compoundsThe disks 3D printed from the natural materials, in most cases, inhibited the growth of the clinical pathogens being studied, and when nano oxide particles were added, the materials were even more effective.

Whats more these materials behaved just like some polymers do. The resins,

showed thermal behavior inherent to semicrystalline polymers such as polyester and polyurea; at some point, the molecules disposed in amorphous matrix obtain enough freedom of motion to spontaneously rearrange themselves into crystalline forms. This transition from amor-phous solid to crystalline solid was evidenced by distinct exothermic peaks, as the temperature increases to 500∘C samples, eventually reaching its melting point.

In short this is a promising study. Polymeric behavior from these Oleo-Gum-Resin may make it easy to process them just as many other 3D printing materials. Furthermore, as 3D printing is being increasingly used to create things such as surgical instruments, surgical guides and implants, special consideration should be given to the materials that are used to 3D print these tools. Of course, all surgical instruments and implants are made to be sterile before being used, but what if they could be made from materials that actively prevented infection? There’s a big difference between tools that are free of pathogens and those that actively repel pathogens. Surgeries could be made safer and recoveries quicker, without the complications and extended hospital stays that happen when infections are acquired. 3D printing surgical tools from these materials will not eliminate all hospital-acquired infections; there are a number of causes for these diseases that go beyond surgeries themselves and threaten anyone who has to stay in a hospital. But if the use of these materials could cut down even a little bit on surgical complications, that would be progress.

Authors of the paper include Diogo José Horst, Sergio Mazurek Tebcerhani, Evaldo Toniolo Kubaski, and Rogério de Almeida Vieira.

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Developer of Printoid App Introduces New App for Managing Your 3D Printing Filament Spools

Two years ago, Android software engineer and OctoPrint fan Anthony Stephan, who’s based out of France, developed an Android app for OctoPrint called Printoid that provides direct access to the OctoPrint server and has features such as video streaming and a 3D visualizer for G-code and STL files. Now, Stephan is back with a new project – RollingUp, an Android app that can help you more efficiently manage your 3D printing filament spools. The app, which aims to make life easier for makers, was launched about a month ago, and Stephan tells us that since then, over 2,000 users have joined the RollingUp community and “are very happy with the app.”

As he explained to 3DPrint.com, Stephan decided to make the RollingUp app for three reasons:

“firstly, I have a personal stock 50+ spools, and it is pretty hard to know how much filament I still have in this spool or this one. I maintained an Excel sheet with the input information each time I had to use a spool, but most of time I forgot to do this, and I had to power-on my computer…

“secondly, I am working with a pro here in France, who has also a high stock of spools (200+). And he needed a tool to manage his stock too.

“finally, there was no good tool to do this yet. Because the Printoid users was requesting me this feature since a while, I though that it was a good idea to provide a standalone tool for everybody!”

The RollingUp app is a 3D printer filament spool manager, which lets you easily add your spools to the app and input their usage. The app is only available on Google Play for now, though the iOS version is currently under development and should be available soon on the Apple Store.

In terms of making money, Stephan told us that the app does contain small advertisement banners, though these only show up for those who use the free version to manage just two spools of filament. The $4.99 Premium plan, accessible from an in-app purchase, doesn’t include any ads and lets you add and manage as many spools as you want.

When asked who he made the RollingUp app for, Stephan told us:

“For every makers/printers who want to track his own filament consumption. It is also a good start to make the makers/printers aware of the consumption of plastics / bio-plastics. I am currently working on new screens to display statistics to the users about their habits: how much ABS are you using against PLA? How much filament do you put in the trash? These informations will be available very soon, and I hope that we all will contribute to change our mind about the 3D printing universe: we can do amazing things, be we also have to think about our environment.”

Users can synchronize the app on multiple devices, as well as access its spools shop to get great deals on filament.

Stephan told 3DPrint.com, “I let the users filling their spool information by themself. But I am currently working with Filament.Directory, a huge spool database. They will provide me API in the next weeks to connect RollingUp with their database: users will be able to select their spools in a list instead of creating it by themself, and will also have an access to two kind of information: the best parameters provided by the manufacturer of the filament, and the best parameters observed by the users. Filament.Directory already work a lot on these informations, and it would be amazing to provide them in RollingUp.”

The app cannot currently be used to share pictures of your 3D prints, but Stephan has said he may think about adding a social media function to the next version of RollingUp. But the app has all sorts of other great features, including:

Easy management of your stock and various materials parameters
Spool consumption cost and input
Verify if a spool has enough filament left for a specific print job

“Very soon I will introduce new features, first in order to sensitise the users about eco-responsibility in the 3D printing world, and secondly to bind the app with the Filament.directory database (in order to create automatically spools in the app according existing spools on the market),” Stephan told us.

The app also lets users sort their filament spools by weight, material, and manufacturer, and, if you have the Premium version, access a special NFC tag-writing feature. This feature allows you to write out your spools on NFC tags, then access their status by scanning the spool with your Android device.

To take advantage of this feature, you first have to create your spool in the app. This is easy to do if you already use Printoid for OctoPrint – just choose a file in the file manager, then click the RollingUp icon to send its length and weight (in meters and grams) to the app, or directly input this information by clicking on the file name from the dashboard. Label the input and then open the ‘NFC Tags’ menu and click the ‘write’ button. Choose your spool, add your device to the tags, and voila! You can now stick the tags right on your spools.

One swift click on the spool in your app’s dashboard lets you input consumption, while a longer click will pull up its consumption history. A cost manager feature also shows how much money you’ve spent on each print.

In terms of crowdsource settings, Stephan explained to us that users will have the best settings for their own spools in the app, and will be able to contribute to the Filament.Directory database.

When asked by 3DPrint.com what he hoped to achieve with RollingUp, Stephan answered,

“Actually, I hope that the user base will grow a lot. Then, with the new features, for example the integration of the data from Filament.Directory, I hope that we will be able to improve a lot the best parameters information found in this website. Also, since users can create new spools in RollingUp, it’s also a good way to be informed about new spools on the market, which are the best parameters, etc. and so, feed the Filament.Directory database. This database is amazing and deserve to grow quickly, with the help of every makers/printers!

“Moreover, with RollingUp, I really want to give super-powers to the 3D printers and their spools. The NFC feature, for example, is easy to use, but very impressive and convenient!”

Will you try out the RollingUp app? Let us know! Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Images provided by Anthony Stephan]

GROWLAY 3D Printer Filament Allows You to Grow Plants, Mushrooms or Even Cheese

If you grew up in the 1980s or ’90s, you’re likely familiar with Chia Pets, those terra cotta figures shaped like animals, cartoon characters or people’s heads. All you had to do was put moist chia seeds in the terra cotta’s grooves, and they would quickly sprout and give you a green fuzzy “pet.” Chia Pets are still around today, though not as popular as they used to be. Now a German filament maker has designed a sort of Chia Pet for the 21st century. Kai Parthy of Lay Filaments has designed unusual 3D printing filaments in the past, and his latest, GROWLAY, brings to mind a technological Chia Pet, though you can use it to grow much more than just chia seeds.

GROWLAY filament is microcapillary, meaning that it has cavities that absorb and store water, dissolved nutrients or fertilizer. Place seeds or spores on the 3D printed material, and you can grow grass, moss, lichen, fungus, and even cheese or pharma-cultures. The material acts like a breeding ground, allowing for indoor farming without soil. Grass seeds can easily catch and sprout through the filament, while mold grows through the open-cell capillaries and forms a mycelium. The filament also has space for roots to grow, anchoring grass and other small plants to the 3D printed structure. Even fungal spores can germinate in the tiny cavities, so you can grow your own mushrooms. (Maybe not eat them, though – you can never be too careful with mushrooms.)

Above: Growing Gorgonzola; below: white cheese

GROWLAY can be sterilized for food or research purposes with liquid or gas, though not thermally. The material is an absorptive carrier for agents and comes in two different versions: GROWLAY White and GROWLAY Brown. GROWLAY White is fully compostable and has open capillaries, and is a more experimental filament designed for experienced users. GROWLAY Brown is easier to print, with higher rigidity, temperature stability and tensile strength than GROWLAY White. It also has open capillaries, but contains organic nutrients in the form of wood particles to help your plants or cultures grow.

If you want a different color option than white or brown, GROWLAY can also be colored with food coloring. There are many possibilities for a filament like this – adding some grass seed or moss to an intricate 3D print will provide some creative decor, or some alfalfa or broccoli seed will sprout into edible greens. If you’re brave, you can try growing your own cheese, or you can conduct your own research on mold or fungi.

Lay Filaments has a number of other unique materials, such as the lightweight LAYWOOD and the reflective REFLECT-O-LAY. GROWLAY is the latest addition to the filament line, and may be the most interesting yet – it’s not every day you encounter a 3D printing material that allows you to grow food or conduct scientific research.

Left: GROWLAY Brown, middle: GROWLAY with mold, right: GROWLAY with lichen

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.

[Images: Lay Filaments]