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3D Printing News Briefs May 31, 2020: M. Holland, Nexa3D, Formlabs

We’re sharing materials and business news with you in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. First up, M. Holland is distributing Braskem polypropylene filament, and Nexa3D has launched a new high-performance polymer material, in addition to partnering with 3DZ. Finally, Formlabs is expanding its APAC management teams.

M. Holland Distributing Braskem’s Polypropylene

Thermoplastic resins distributor M. Holland Company is partnering with Braskem to exclusively distribute the petrochemical company’s new high-performance 3D printing polypropylene (PP) filament, enhancing its own material offerings in order to better support clients with applications development and prototype creation. Polypropylene typically has high failure rates with 3D printing, so M. Holland’s AM engineers tested out Braskem’s PP material first, and found that it generates clean surfaces, great layer adhesion, and better surface performance in support material. It features a proprietary formula, which allows users to achieve low warpage, consistent extrusion, and high stability, in addition to less stringing and more repeatable outcomes.

“The 3D printing market has seen increased adoption of additive manufacturing technologies and applications due to machinery commoditization and expanded material offerings. Our partnership to distribute Braskem’s 3D printing polypropylene products will enable injection molders to finally use genuinely 3D printable and easy-to-use polypropylene, opening up a world of applications,” said Haleyanne Freedman, Market Manager, 3D Printing at M. Holland.

Nexa3D Launches High-Performance xCE-Black Polymer

Belt pulleys 3D printed on NXE400 with xCE-Black

This week, stereolithography 3D printer manufacturer Nexa3D launched its new high-performance polymer material, xCE-Black, which is meant for high-speed printing of injection molding tools, heavy duty parts, and end-use plastic components, such as belt pulleys. Extensive testing by the company found that the single cure polymer exhibits long-term environmental stability and great isotropic properties, which makes it perfect for electronics, industrial, and automotive applications. xCE-BLack also has excellent thermal stability and higher flexural strength.

Brent Zollinger, Customer Success Lead at Nexa3D, stated, “When I needed to produce thousands of belt pulleys in our flexible factory overnight, I selected our new xCE-Black material for the job because of its high flexural strength and long-term stability. Within the first 2.5 hours into the project, I was able to print 2,000 pulleys in a single build or 13 parts every minute. That’s really fast and extremely practical for serial production of industrial parts.”

Nexa3D Announces Reseller Partnership with 3DZ

More news today from Nexa3D, as the company is entering the southern European 3D printing market thanks to a new reseller partnership with 3DZ Group, the largest AM value-added reseller in that region and an authorized dealer of 3D printers and scanners for some of the industry’s biggest names, including Artec 3D, Formlabs, HP, Markforged, Materialise, and 3D Systems. 3DZ has offered AM services and consultancy to the industry for several years, and will be able to help grow Nexa3D’s global reseller network so the company can increase the distribution of its flagship NXE400 3D printer.

“It is full speed ahead for us at Nexa3D as we continue to expand our global reseller network, and we’re honored to partner with a company with the vision, reach and proven performance of 3DZ. Manufacturers are adapting processes to become much more agile in their design and resilient in their supply chain in the face of changing circumstances. We believe that our products are at the heart of enabling customers to make that adjustment by converting current 3D printing speeds from dialup internet to broadband-like productivity,” said Avi Reichental, the Executive Chairman and CEO of Nexa3D. “We’re very excited to build together with 3DZ the future of design agility and supply chain resiliency for the benefit of our mutual customers.”

Formlabs Expanding APAC Management Teams

L-R: Jiadong Sun, Yoshinori Hasebe

This week, Formlabs announced that it is expanding its management team for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region by appointing two new hires, in order to continue growing its global operations and scale its growth in these markets. Jiadong Sun, with broad experience leading global sales and marketing at top tech companies across several industries, will be joining the team as the China General Manager, while Yoshinori Hasebe, who brings over 20 years of management experience at multinational companies to the table, will serve as the Japan General Manager. Together, they will help guide the company’s business strategy in these new markets, so that Formlabs users in the APAC region can continue to localize manufacturing and reduce costs and lead times with 3D printing and rapid iteration.

“As Formlabs continues to expand our global operations, Jiadong and Yoshinori will provide strategic guidance as we expand and scale in the important APAC region. These appointments will enable Formlabs to remain at the forefront of 3D printing as needs for additive manufacturing in major industries, including healthcare, continue to grow,” said Luke Winston, Chief Business Officer of Formlabs.

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Additive Industries CEO Daan Kersten Steps Down as Firm Receives $14M Investment

One of a newer generation of metal laser powder bed fusion (PBF) manufacturers, Additive Industries is continuing to grow rapidly. The latest news is a $14 million investment from its existing shareholder, Highlands Beheer. With the funds, the company aims to expand its product portfolio, speed up its technological development strategy and shore up its working capital. This last use for the investment is meant to ensure financial resilience for the company amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Outgoing Additive Industries CEO Daan Kersten (L) with Jonas Wintermans (R). Image courtesy of Additive Industries.

Highlands has acquired the shares of the startup’s CEO and co-founder, Daan Kersten, who will leave the company by June 30, 2020. In the interim, Chief Technology Officer Mark Vaes, who has been with Additive Industries since 2013, will fill the role. Kersten said of the decision:

“This substantial investment confirms the long-term commitment of Highlands to the growth ambitions of the company and it allows Additive Industries to make yet another significant step on its mission to revolutionize the productivity for the additive manufacturing of high-quality metal parts. After eight intense years of fast growth I feel the time is right to make way and hand over the reins to new leadership.”

The firm has quickly rolled out a modular metal PBF system with a high degree of automation and throughput. By reducing the need for operator intervention, the MetalFAB1 system is able to produce parts more rapidly, with pre- and post-processing operations happening in parallel to the build job. The next step in its roadmap was the development with SMS Group of automated factories called the Scale4Series, in which parts can be printed and post-processed automatically. In the process, Additive Industries has earned a number of high profile partners and clients, including Airbus/APWORKS, Volkswagen and the Sauber F1 team.

Cutaway of the MetalFab1 from Additive Industries. Image courtesy of Additive Industries.

As Highlands is increasing its share of the 3D printing firm, it’s worthwhile to learn a bit more about the company. In fact, Highlands now says that it owns Additive Industries, in addition to a cigar machinery manufacturer, ATD Machinery, and NTS Group, which produces optomechatronic systems and mechanical modules for original equipment manufacturers. Interestingly, the CEO of NTS is also stepping down this August.

A rendering of the Scale4Series in development by Additive Industries and SMS Group. Image courtesy of Additive Industries.

Highlands is owned by the Wintermans, a Dutch family that founded and ran Royal Agio Cigars, one of the largest cigar manufacturing businesses in Europe, before selling it to Scandinavian Tobacco Group last year. The family divvied up 10 million Euros among its employees as a part of the deal. Highlands maintains its ATD business, meaning that it will continue to focus on the tech side of cigar making, but its investment in Additive Industries and its ownership of NTS Group signifies a continued shift in the family’s business operations overall, which previously had been making cigars since 1904. The sale of Royal Agio seems to suggest that the transition of Highlands from a cigar company to a tech company is near complete.

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3D Printing News Briefs, May 18, 2020: Fraunhofer, Formnext, Visagio & DiManEx, BCN3D Technologies

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, Fraunhofer will soon discuss adoption of Industry 4.0-related technologies in a webinar, and we’ve learned that Formnext 2020 is still planned for this November. Moving on, Visagio and DiManEx have announced a partnership. Finally, BCN3D’s technology was used to make an interesting event installation.

Fraunhofer’s Industry 4.0 Webinar

Tomorrow, May 19th, the Fraunhofer Project Center (FPC) at the University of Twente will be holding a free webinar called “The Road to Digitalisation” that explains some of the challenges in adopting technologies related to Industry 4.0, such as 3D printing, as well as the solutions. Industry 4.0 is about optimization, and can offer companies many benefits, such as increased revenue, better quality, and reduced cycle times and costs. But, it can be a tough journey to start, and companies looking to start could use some help.

“Industry 4.0 is all about optimization; from managing big data to efficiency in the production line. All this aims at enabling businesses to make quicker, smarter decisions while minimizing costs. This webinar sets out to explain the challenges and to offer solutions in the adoption of I4.0 related technologies.”

The webinar, featuring Join Biba Visnjicki, Managing Director of FPC, and Thomas Vollmer, Head of Production Quality Dept. from Fraunhofer IPT, will last 60 minutes; register for free here.

Formnext 2020 Still a Go in Frankfurt

As many places in the world are cautiously reopening after recent mass shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to look to the future. In that vein, Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH is still planning to hold the AM industry’s biggest event, formnext 2020, this November 10-13. Recently, the Federal Government and the Federal States of Germany ruled that trade shows are no longer under the ‘major events’ category for health risks, but the health of all the employees, exhibitors, and visitors are still considered the highest priority if the event does indeed take place this fall. That’s why the exhibition organizer is working around the clock to develop an updated health concept, such as introducing contact tracing and decreasing visitor density, along with a supplementary digital/virtual program.

“We remain convinced of the unique value and advantages of a physical exhibition. And although digital interaction will never be able to replace face-to-face contact, it does offer more scope than previously thought possible only a few weeks ago,” stated Sascha F. Wenzler, Vice President of Formnext, Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH.

“Ultimately, even in these challenging times, we want to organize a trade show that is as responsive as possible to the current situation and the needs of participants and the market.”

Visagio and DiManEx Partnering to Improve AM Supply Chains

(Image: DiManEx)

Management consultancy Visagio Ltd and DiManEx BV are partnering to strengthen end-to-end 3D printing usage in supply chains. Companies are looking to conquer supply base disruptions, and by pairing Visagio’s supply chain services with DiManEx’s end-to-end 3D printing platform, they can do so by digitizing their inventory and 3D printing parts on demand, which can delivered all over the world. The collaboration is a representation of how both companies address market needs, especially in these challenging times as COVID-19 disrupts the global supply and demand process.

“Companies are increasingly looking for ways to optimize their supply chains and mitigate risks, such as those brought about by pandemics or geo-political tensions. Our platform embeds 3D printing in supply chains easily, realising the concept of ‘Digital Inventory at your Fingertips, Ordered at a Click of a Button’. Coupled with Visagio’s industry and management expertise, this is a winning combination for supply chain optimization,” said Tibor van Melsem Kocsis, the Founder and CEO of DiManEx.

3D Printed Cisco Live 2020 Installation

Thanks to 3D printing, it was possible to quickly iterate not only the main design, but also all the smaller parts of the internal mechanisms.

Speaking of collaborations, Barcelona data interpretation firm and design studio Domestic Data Streamers pairs data and arts with storytelling to develop “participatory projects” for community building and education. Its workshop has long used 3D printers from BCN3D Technologies, and recently turned to the technology again to create an installation for the Cisco Live 2020 event. The studio wanted to give attendees “a better experience” by displaying the event schedule on an interactive Recommendation Wall of clickable screens; once clicked, the animated image turned into a QR code, which visitors could scan for more information. The screens had to be custom-made, and so Domestic Data Streamers turned to its in-house printer farm, and the BCN3D Epsilon 3D printer. They used PETG to print over 40 of the main covers in just four weeks, which equaled major cost savings.

“The printers work very well, we count on a very high success ratio, and the support from the team is always quick and helpful,” said Pol Trias, the Head of Design at Domestic Data Streamers.

“It gave us great agility when it comes to functionally and aesthetically validating the designs at a very low cost…our processes were more efficient and much faster thanks to our BCN3D Epsilon.

“This could not have happened without 3D printing. For a project like this one, where you want high-quality results in a short time and within a limited budget, there is no better option than 3D printing.”

You can learn more about the project here, or check out the video below.

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3D Printing News Briefs: May 12, 2020 Nanofabrica, Voxeljet, Elementum, AMPOWER

We’re all business today in 3D Printing News Briefs – Nanofabrica has raised $4 million in funding, and voxeljet is expanding its presence in India. Elementum 3D has achieved an important industry certification. Finally, AMPOWER has released its 2020 report.

Nanofabrica Raises $4 Million in Funding

Tel Aviv startup Nanofabrica, which makes 3D printers for fabricating complex electronic and optical parts for semiconductors and medical devices, has raised $4 million in funding, and the round was led by Microsoft’s venture arm M12, which invests in enterprise software companies in Series A through C funding with a focus on infrastructure, applied AI, business applications, and security, and NextLeap Ventures, an investor group made of former Intel Corp employees. The startup says it will use the funding – it’s raised a total of $7 million so far – to expand its sales and continue its R&D work.

M12 partner Matthew Goldstein said, “Nanoscale, precision manufacturing is a growing need for R&D organizations, as well as production-scale manufacturing companies,” and that the technology allows for the “digital mass manufacturing of precision parts.”

voxeljet Grows Presence in India with Sale of VX4000

The VX4000 is voxeljet’s largest 3D printer and has a building volume of 8 cubic meters

Industrial 3D printing solutions provider voxeljet AG has expanded its Asian presence with the announcement that Indian steel casting experts Peekay Steel Castings Pvt Ltd is investing in its 4000 x 2000 x 1000 mm VX4000 3D printer – the company’s largest industrial system. Peekay Steel, which makes high-quality steel castings, will use the printer to expand into new business areas and better cater to its current clients’ increasing demands. The flexibility, size, and speed of the VX4000 will allow the company to continue supporting the foundry industry in its native India, but also give them the opportunity to build a new Knowledge Center centered around the large 3D printer that will provide open access to a training facility. The VX4000 will be set up at a new Bangalore location in the Airport City.

“We want to offer our customers an end-to-end solution and position ourselves as a supplier of high-quality, ready-to-install components in record times. With the VX4000, we are able to increase the flexibility of our production in order to be able to react quickly, even to complex projects,” said K.E. Shanavaz, Jt., Managing Director, Peekay Steel Castings (P) Ltd. “3D printing gives us a unique competitive advantage, especially when it comes to expanding our business areas. Since the beginning, we have emphasized the importance of co engineering with our customers, most of these are Fortune 500 companies, to optimize and customize the product design, to lend better functionality and a clear competitive advantage. A specialized Design Center aligned to the VX4000 will help add value for our customers.”

Elementum 3D Achieves Quality Management Certification

Colorado metal 3D printing materials company Elementum 3D announced that it has received the important ISO 9001:2015 certification. This is recognized as the worldwide standard for quality management practices and systems, and was issued to the company through the Denver-based ISO 9001 management certification firm Platinum Registration, Inc. The scope of its certification includes manufacturing prototype and production parts to customer specifications, designing and manufacturing advanced composites, metals, and superalloys, and developing new manufacturing processes.

“This is an important milestone for Elementum 3D. It’s a rigorous process to become ISO 9001 certified. Our staff worked very hard with Platinum Registration’s auditors to demonstrate we meet the requirements of the standard. Not only does that make us feel confident we’re the most efficient that we can be, it assures our customers that we have a completely transparent and robust management system; and that means we have reliable, repeatable, continuously improving business processes so that our customers receive the best value for their money,” said Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein, Elementum 3D President and Founder.

AMPOWER Releases 2020 Metal AM Report

Metal additive manufacturing consultancy AMPOWER has released its new 2020 report, containing analysis based on over 250 data sets of metal AM supplier and user surveys. If you purchased the previous AMPOWER Report, you can get the latest edition for free through the online portal, or you could subscribe to the report to start getting it; either way, the publication is chock-full of helpful information. For instance, a separate section analyzes the possible impact scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic on the metal AM industry in both 2020 and 2021, and new contributions from the worlds of standards and startups are included from ASTM and AM Ventures, respectively. The report includes in-depth market data, and has also added new databases with over 700 entries, so readers can browse through a list of material, service, and systems suppliers; the new interactive cost calculator has been updated with the most recent productivity values.

“We hope the AMPOWER Report 2020 continues to support our customers in making the right decisions in these challenging times,” AMPOWER’s Matthias Schmidt-Lehr, Dr. Maximilian Munsch, and Dr. Eric Wycisk wrote in an email.

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Equispheres Secures $30 Million in New Funding Round

Canadian materials science company Equispheres, which specializes in aluminum alloy powder for 3D printing, announced this week that it had secured a Series B investment, along with a new $30 million (CDN) investment round.

The funding round, at an undisclosed valuation, was led by HG Ventures, which is the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group. Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a government-created foundation to advance clean technology innovation that’s supported the company in the past, and BDC, the only bank in Canada devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs, also participated in the funding round, along with some undisclosed contributors.

Lead funding partner HG Ventures, which invests in and partners with companies working in sustainable technology and advanced materials, contributed $10 million in equity investment to this round of funding, while SDTC added an $8 million grant, which was first announced back in January. BDC contributed $5 million in subordinated financing, and the round was completed with $7 million in undisclosed funding.

Equipsheres’ Doug Brouse informed us that Jonathan Schalliol, VC and Director of HG Ventures, “mentioned on LinkedIn” that the company is a new investor in the additive manufacturing space, and it’s always great to bring new companies into this industry that are excited to be here.

“We are extremely excited to have HG Ventures as a partner, their extraordinary combination of research capability and venture capital experience made them an ideal partner to understand both the technical and market potential of our product across the transportation industry,” stated Kevin Nicholds, President and CEO of Equispheres, in a press release. “We are also grateful to have the support of the Canadian government, enabling us to leverage investor financing to achieve our objective of providing a high-quality product at volume levels the marketplace demands.”

Extreme magnification of Equispheres’ aluminum alloy powders for AM.

This isn’t the first time Equisheres has received major funding for its work in unique metal AM powders. The high performance, mono-sized metal powders it develops can help print parts that are up to 30% stronger and lighter than ones fabricated with other powders. In the last year alone, the company has released two important reports about testing results of its specialty materials, including how it performed in aerospace-ready AM quality tests. With this latest funding, Equispheres can continue testing its powders, and plans to scale up the production capacity, along with investing in research and development partnerships.

Equispheres will be using the funds to focus on several important areas, including creating high quality jobs and hiring and developing new talent, and improving reactors for lower cost and higher volume powder production. In addition, the company will ramp up its R&D projects with new and existing strategic partners, as well as work on creating application support services for the aviation, automotive, defense, and space industries in order to expedite advanced manufacturing opportunities that its metal powders make possible.

Equispheres stated in its press release that “more significant developments are expected on the horizon,” so we should stay tuned to hear what’s coming next.

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Interview with Roscher Van Tonder on Simplified Manufacturing with Additive Manufacturing

Roscher Van Tonder

Managing Director and Founder of AMTC, Roscher Van Tonder takes us through an interesting topic on Simplified Manufacturing in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing. Currently based and operating in South Africa, Roscher is actively involved in the sector through consulting and printing as a service.

What is it that you do? 

The manufacturing world is changing and it is daunting to many companies out there, the rise of I4.0 has a lot of people unsure of what the correct direction is for the business relating to AM.

AMTC Pty Ltd goal is to supply a unique set of systems, strategies, additive manufacturing equipment, and materials to our customers and to cater for a wide range of industries ranging from, Aerospace, Automotive, Manufacturing industry, Mining, Oil & Gas, Metal Casting to the Defence industries.

Our scope is to assist companies to adopt AM by creating successful business cases with exceptional ROI. These business cases complement the current business workflow. We look at the business as a whole and we identify the core areas where the maximum benefit will be reached by implementing AM for sustainable successes.

AM-WorX addresses all the business areas to ensure total coverage and ensures maximum benefit to the bottom line.

The main stages of AM-WorX

  • An onsite audit (Gauge potential AMT scope)
  • Business readiness analyst (Current and lacking AM Experience/Gaps/Skills )
  • Market review ( current and potential new markets and opportunities)
  • Parts/Product review (Ascertain the printability of the product/parts)
  • Develop the new processes and skill framework for AMT integration

By aligning with some of the bleeding edge technology companies out there the result is a business case that shows a minimum potential revenue increase compared to current company revenue over the planning horizon by showing the 10x Value guarantee by unlockable the value of AMT in the business.

Can you also explain the Simplified Manufacturing line of thought concerning 3D printing and Additive Manufacturing?

Our slogan “simplified manufacturing” comes from the benefits that technology brings to the table.

Time Reduction of the new product to market.

Additive Manufacturing has been seen as an R&D tool, the last 2 years the change to the final product has taken shape. The company that gets the product out into the market the fastest has the leverage, the technology typically cuts these times by 40-60%.

Customization & Mass customization

The instant gratification culture created by online stores and the internet is spilling over to the manufacturing industry. The ability of a company to leverage mass customization will give them an advantage on their competition, Additive manufacturing is allowing companies to move away from minimum batch volumes and give the freedom to offer customized products on-demand as per customer preference in a short amount of time.

 

Various Products and models from Prototyping to Mass Customization

On Demand Manufacturing

One of the biggest benefits of Additive Manufacturing is that it enables on-demand manufacturing. The ability to manufacture parts at the point of need points to a shift from “make-to-stock” to a more sustainable “make-to-order” model for low-volume production of spare parts.

Lead Time reduction

Hydroforming is primarily used for low volume forming of sheet metal parts while thermoforming is mainly used for high volume forming of plastic sheets. The tooling used in these processes is typically produced by CNC machining of materials such as aluminum or wood which typically involves high costs and long lead times. Additive manufacturing makes it possible to substantially reduce the cost and lead time involved in making these tools while offering additional design freedom and reducing tooling weight.

Simplified Manufacturing process

Part consolidation

AM is uniquely capable of producing complex geometries that can’t be manufactured using legacy manufacturing. A mechanical assembly that would normally have many parts fabricated as separate components and then assembled can be additively manufactured as a single unit, even if the geometry is very complex. In addition to design simplification, there are other tangible benefits to using AM for part consolidation. This leads to lower overall project costs, less material, lower overall risk, better performance.

Tool-less manufacturing

We give users the ability to deliver end-use parts directly from CAD files, saving cost by cutting out tooling requirements. Benefits: Accuracy and repeatable production, High-speed printing production, Material flexibility, and versatility, improved time-to-market and part mass-customization, Low Total Cost of Operation (TCO) and low per part cost & scalable options to meet growing needs.

Manufacturing Process step reduction

The technology can reduce current legacy manufacturing processes by up to 70%. Cost-saving implications are extensive as well as risk reduction and resource savings to the company. For exaample, in an investment cast application AM can reduce the production steps from 7 steps to 3 steps.

What impact can Simplified manufacturing with 3D Printing have, especially on African economies?

We believe that Africa is sitting on an opportunity that could change the Africa continent forever. AM technology brings the ability for SMEs to not just compete but to lead supply of manufactured parts, become self-sufficient, by exporting final products that are created from our raw materials, creating sustainable economies throughout Africa. The danger is if we miss this opportunity Africa will probably never become a major player in the manufacturing world. Why should we be following if we can lead?

Are companies especially in supply chain ready or prepared for 3D printing?

The process of manufacturing, storing, and delivering spare parts is a time-consuming and laborious one for OEM, s and remote operations. Costly warehouse, transport & logistics, storage of spare parts in addition to time-intensive lead times and shipping are just some of the difficulties faced. I believe that some Multi-national companies are getting ready, however in South Africa only a handful are starting to look at AM. As Africans, we are very slow to change and adapt to “New” we don’t like change and have a mentality of “if it’s not broken why fix it” and this is hindering the widespread adoption of AM.

The change and adoption must come with a clear vision from top management that drives the vision, this is a new way of doing things potential changing the whole business model and logistics will be one of the hardest hits I believe. Savings of 30-60% on stock holding can be achieved with AM.

 

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AM 4 Industry Project Introduces Cost-Benefit Tool for Identifying Possible 3D Printing Business Cases

It can be difficult for companies in the manufacturing industry to decide if they should adopt additive manufacturing technology into their workflow, as they have to contend with lengthy trial and error and incomplete or incorrect information. That’s why it’s so important to disseminate good information about 3D printing and encourage widespread adoption – only by integrating AM into the value chain can these companies achieve an advantage over competitors. For instance, less fuel consumption, and therefore less cost, due to the use of 3D printed lightweight components can only be truly measured over the lifetime of the part, not just the first time you try it.

Tobias Schröer and Sören Münker from the Research Institute for Rationalization (FIR) at RWTH Aachen University, recognized the need for a holistic model that can, at an early stage of development, realistically compare the costs and technological advantages of using 3D printing, in order to help businesses speed up decision-making processes and determine helpful benefits. The researchers are part of the Collective Research Network (CORNET) project AM 4 Industry (AM4I), led by the privately managed agency Ecoplus Plastics and Mechatronics Cluster in Austria, and as part of the project, created an advanced, yet practical, cost-benefit tool that helps companies investigate and determine which components would be well-suited for 3D printing.

“Capturing the potential of additive manufacturing and exploiting it is a major practical challenge,” stated Schröer, Head of Production Management at the RWTH Aachen and co-developer of the cost-benefit model. “The cost-benefit tool clearly shows how to identify possible business cases by comparing costs and benefits at an early stage.”

According to its website, the goal of the AM4I network’s project is to “provide an approach for a supply-chain- and lifecycle-wide concept that enables producing companies implementing additive manufacturing in an economical way.”

“In order to reach this goal it is necessary to include the whole value chain, including the quality and process assurance of the pre-AM-process, the AM-process, the post-AM-process,” the website states.

“The overall innovation target is to develop a platform model incorporating design, additive manufacturing and finishing aspects.”

51 companies and eight research partners from Austria, Belgium, and Germany researched successful industrial use cases of 3D printing for the project, which was financially supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG. By creating these models, AM4I hoped to help companies successfully adopt and integrate 3D printing into their production workflow for real life business cases.

The new cost-benefit tool allows for identification and evaluation of 3D printing usage in terms of generated benefits, as well as cost. This model helps businesses assess, in a structured way, the cost-benefit ratio for components and parts by recognizing and endorsing AM advantages and product characteristics that can be optimized with the technology. To find the applications with the most economic promise for 3D printing, the tool accounts for the full life cycle of a product, all the way from design, engineering and production to quality check, service, and after-sales. This helps industrial users compare and contrast various methods of production for different parts.

You can find a summary of the Cornet AM4I project results here.

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3D Printing News Briefs: March 16, 2020

We’ve got news about 3D printers in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as BigRrep has shipped its 500th large-format 3D printer. Peopoly is developing new 3D printers for its Phenom series, and startup Excelencia is offering a 3D printing service for large objects. Moving on, MPA, NAMIC, and SSA have launched a Joint Industry Program for 3D printed maritime parts.

BigRep Ships 500th Industrial Large-Format 3D Printer

Large-format 3D printing leader BigRep, founded in 2014, just announced that it has shipped its 500th industrial large-format AM system. The company’s managing director, Martin Beck, said that this delivery shows how much all of the company’s industrial customers value BigRep products, which are utilized in a wide variety of applications. The 500th delivery was a BigRep ONE 3D printer, which was shipped to e-mobility tech company JAMADE GERMANY, creator of the AMAZEA underwater scooter  – the first water sports mobility device that will use serial produced 3D printed parts at the consumer level.

“We are very excited about this delivery because it represents a new dimension of industrial AM in end-consumer products, both for us as a company and the industry,” said JAMADE Managing Partner and Technical Director Detlef Klages. “The new BigRep ONE will enable us to launch the serial production of AMAZEA as planned, completing our existing fleet of four BigRep ONE printers. We greatly value the printers’ cost efficiency, accuracy and quality when compared to the extremely high investment for traditional tools.”

Peopoly Developed Two New Phenom Series 3D Printers

In October, Hong Kong company Peopoly launched its Phenom 3D printer series, which was well-received by industrial users due to a higher resolution print, shorter workflow, and reduced cost. So, using the same MSLA technology, the company, which was founded back in 2016, has developed two new systems for its third generation series: the extra-large Phenom L and the fast Phenom Noir.

The Phenom L has a build volume of 345.6 × 194.4 x 400 mm – over 50% larger than the original, which a 20% faster rate of print speed. It also features new build plate designs, which improves the post-processing experience and simplifies the workflow for larger prints. The Phenom Noir has a monochrome LCD panel, designed for enterprise 3D printing applications, that reduces UV light waste, which Peopoly says makes the system run five times faster than the Form 3. With its 293.76 × 165.24 x 400 mm build size, it’s also nearly 13% bigger than the original Phenom.

Excelencia’s Launches 3D Printing Service for Large Objects

MASSIVIT project

Spanish 3D and textile 3D printing distributor Excelencia Tech just launched earlier this month with two big projects. First, the startup is an official distributor for MASSIVIT 3D printers, so it’s focusing on selling these. Secondly, Excelencia is promoting its XL MEDIA Project, which is a service it offers for 3D printing very large objects on its MASSIVIT systems. The 3D printers the startup owns are pretty costly, which is why Excelencia is promoting the use of them to companies that need to print large objects, but can’t afford to purchase their own large-format printer.

“Nowadays, if one of our 3D printings have to be done by a “traditional” 3D printer, it will take couple of weeks and an enormous budget to succed. So we offer the chance to create your 3D products using our machine without buying it, to understand and check all advantatges that Massivit’s machines have,” Miguel Preda Lliso, the Marketing and Business Development Manager for Excelencia, told 3DPrint.com.

“With our technology we can do giant products (about 180 cm) in less tan 48 hours  and without generating as much waste as traditional machines (our machines just use as much kilos of material as the product weight).”

Phase 2 of Joint Industry Program for 3D Printed Marine Parts

Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), along with SSA and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), has launched the second phase of a Joint Industry Programme (JIP) for the 3D printing of marine and maritime parts. Phase 1 was completed in October, and Phase 2 consists of the call for proposals from classification societies or AM technology suppliers that would like to participate in the JIP as an industry consortium leader. The objective of this JIP, which has the potential to spin off further developmental projects in the future, is to establish the technical feasibility, regulatory requirements, and commercial viability for creating 3D printed marine parts.

“Maritime assets are capital intensive, and downtime is costly,” the JIP Challenge Statement reads.

“Replacement of marine spare parts involves many actors in the supply chain, and can be costly in terms of inventory, logistics, and cost of spare parts (especially for obsolete parts).”

The JIP is also working to shine a light on some of the opportunities, and challenges, involved in deploying 3D printing for marine parts, such as approval and certification processes. The application deadline for this phase is 6 pm on April 6, 2020.

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3D Printing News Briefs: March 10, 2020

The big story in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs is the postponing of the Materialise World Summit. Then we’ll finish with a little business news, as 3D PRINT UK is moving to expanded premises. Finally, starting this week, you can get QUANT-U’s 3D printed silicone midsoles at ECCO’s flagship Zürich store for a limited time.

Materialise World Summit Postponed

Every two years, Materialise holds its Materialise World Summit (MWS) in Brussels, Belgium, gathering together the industry’s thought leaders and decision makers so they can share ideas about the additive manufacturing industry. This event typically takes place in the spring, which was the original plan for this year’s MWS…but not anymore. MWS 2020, originally scheduled for May 14-15, has been postponed, due to, as the company’s Kristof Sehmke tells us, “the coronavirus and its impact on international traffic.”

MWS 2020 will now take place November 5-6, which makes it a busy month considering that will just one week before formnext in Germany. This isn’t the only major industry event that’s had to change its plans due to the COVID-19 outbreak – JEC World, originally scheduled for last  week, has been pushed back to May, and after several big companies originally planning to attend the upcoming SXSW dropped out, including Apple, Facebook, Amazon Studios, TikTok, Intel, and Warner Music, the Texas-based conference was called off. With California Governor Gavin Newsome declaring a state of emergency in California over the coronavirus, should we all cancel our plans for RAPID + TCT next month? Time will only tell.

3D PRINT UK Moves to Bigger Facility

Moving on to some better news, 3DPRINTUK has just finished the move to its new purpose-designed facility in North London’s Leyton Industrial Village. The service provider of polymer SLS 3D printing solutions for manufacturing applications was seeing increased demand for low volume production, and determined that a move was needed to accommodate the company’s current, and future, plans for expansion. 3DPRINTUK’s new home is larger, with nearly 10,000 square feet of space, and was custom-designed to hold the company’s EOS polymer SLS 3D printers, as well as offer a space for post-processing operations and a break down room that’s sealed to avoid powder contamination.

“At 3DPRINTUK we are able to work with our customers — and potential new customers — to illustrate when and why the SLS process will work for them. But we are not afraid to tell them when it won’t, either. This is really important to us, and something the industry at large is not very good at confronting,” stated Nick Allen, 3DPRINTUK’s Founder and Managing Director. “I think this approach has contributed to our growth, which has been organic year on year, and the new premises are testament to that. We are still settling in, but the printers have been working non-stop since we got here and we are looking to further expand our capacity in the near future.”

QUANT-U’s In-store Experience at ECCO

In 2018, the Innovation Lab at Danish heritage footwear brand and manufacturer ECCO introduced an experimental footwear customization project called QUANT-U, which uses real-time analysis, data-driven design, and in-store 3D printing to create custom, personalized midsoles out of a heat cured two-component silicone in just two hours. The QUANT-U experience is now coming to ECCO’s flagship Zürich store as an exclusive pop-up event from now until April 15, with a “unique limited collection” available to both men and women, along with the full customization service.

The process is simple – 3D scanners determine your orthotic fit in 30 seconds, so your midsoles have the correct shoe size and arch height. Then, during a walking analysis, wearable sensors will create an accurate representation of how you move around. The anatomical scan and the sensor data will help QUANT-U build a unique digital footprint just for you, which leads to customized, 3D printed midsoles within two hours. You can use the cloud-based service to print your own midsoles from any location and have them shipped to you, but at the upcoming ECCO pop-up event, you can just pick them up in the store. Book your fitting now!

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3D Factory Incubator Successfully Promoting 3D Printing Adoption in First Year

Last year, 3D Factory Incubator, the first high tech business incubator specializing in 3D printing in Europe, celebrated its inauguration in Barcelona. After reporting on a successful first 100 days this summer, we’re happy to say that the initiative has had an excellent first year in operation.

The project, which is led and promoted by technological institute Fundación LEITAT and public self-funded company El Consorci de Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), with financial support from the ERDF via Spain’s Fundación INCYDE, promotes 3D printing adoption by creating a space to incubate related startups, SMEs, and micro-enterprises. The initiative is part of a growing AM hub in Barcelona, and offers marketing services, co-working spaces, and access to a 3D printing lab.

3D Factory Incubator has a target of hosting the 100 best 3D printing-based business ideas in five years, and has been working hard to make this a reality over the last twelve months by encouraging the business take-off of incubated initiatives, by providing multiple services such as business consulting, parts testing, general incubation services, advice on internationalization and marketing, and 3D production technology services.

Its over 600 m2 of space features private offices, meeting rooms, a co-working and training area, and a comprehensive laboratory with eight 3D production units and a post-processing and metrology area. The lab features six different industrial and small-format 3D printing technologies, in addition to multiple design and post-processing equipment, such as a polisher, sandblaster, and systems for metrology and quality control of parts.

Over the past year, the 3DFactory has been encouraging its incubated initiatives to get going in the business world, by offering its more than 500 consulting and training services, marketing activities, parts certification, and post-processing production technologies. In 2019, the incubator hosted over 30 sessions on 3D printing-related topics for each aspect of the AM value chain, in addition to networking sessions, business development, financing and training for startups. 3D Factory Incubator also participated in multiple conferences and seminars that helped provide visibility to the initiative and its incubated projects, like the 4YFN and INDUSTRY From Needs to Solutions conferences.

As mentioned previously, the goal was to reach 100 incubated companies in five years, with 25 in the first year. In just this one year, 3D Factory Incubator has reached over 30, including 3D printing service provider Layertolayer; 3DBide, which provides 3D printing solutions and advice for equipment, development, training, implementation, and investment decision-making regarding new products related to 3D printing; and E4-3D Engineering for Additive Manufacturing, which offers spare parts for multiple vehicle brands.

According to Leitat’s Executive Vice President, Joan Parra, the incubator owes its success this first year to “…finding a need in the sector and being able to offer this emerging talent, through the 3D Factory Incubator, the support needed to boost your business, not only through access to spaces and professional advice, but also through access to the latest technology in 3D printing and post-processing on the market.”

It looks like things aren’t slowing down anytime soon: the production lab for incubated projects recently expanded by acquiring a DLP 3D printer for biocompatible and CE-certified materials. Soon, 3DFactory will likely incorporate a second processing station from HP for work with flexible TPU, in addition to several post-processing systems, such as an air-blasting parts cleaning system, a graffiti machine, and a dyeing machine.

“The forecast was that, in the first year, 20 companies would be installed and the reality is that we already have more than 30. This is a five-year project, but it has a second derivative which is the Dfactory 4.0, an industrial project that we are already building on the industrial estate; by June 2020 it will be a reality,” said Pere Navarro, Special State Delegate from the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona. He continued, noting that the DFactory 4.0 “will be a 21st century factory, where there will be 3D printing, robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain; that is to say it will welcome the new economy via companies that have already shown interest in occupying these spaces, with the ambition of making Barcelona the European capital of Economy and Industry 4.0.”

Thanks to project promoters Leitat and CZFB spreading the word about the initiative’s success so far, of the over 80 applications received to 3D Factory Incubator, 79% have national headquarters and 21% are international. The organizations are both pleased with the success of 3DFactory’s first year, and many even take the model to other countries, like Colombia.

You can visit the website to see the current call to submit 3D printing-related projects to the initiative.

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