3D Printing News Briefs: July 6, 2019

In this installment of 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re sharing some business news with you, along with a case study about a 3D printer farm. First up, AMUG just installed its new board for 2019-2020. Then, Print Parts Inc. has launched its new additive manufacturing website. Finally, BCN3D is showing the world how it produces parts assembled on its 3D printers at the company’s Print Farm.

AMUG Installs New Board Members

The 2019-2020 AMUG Board. Front row (L to R): Leslie Frost, Gary Rabinovitz, Jamie Cone, and Todd Grimm. Back row (L to R): Andrew Allshorn, Vince Anewenter, Tom Sorovetz, Carl Dekker, and Paul Bates.

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) has installed its nine-member board for 2019-2020. The new board, made up of appointed and elected positions, will build and oversee the next AMUG Conference, as well as develop an organizational structure to support the continued growth of the annual 5-day event, which will next be held in Chicago from March 22-26, 2020. Each member of the board serves as an AMUG officer, and the industry professionals were elected during this year’s AMUG Conference. Carl Dekker of Met-L-Flo has replaced Paul Bates of UL as the new AMUG President; Bates has now taken on the role of Past President.

“I am excited to be AMUG’s 2020 president,” said Dekker. “We have an excellent and experienced team leading us on the path to the next event. The recent growth of AMUG has been astounding! This brings many challenges, which I am pleased to say the new AMUG Board is being very proactive in addressing.

Additional board members are:

  • Vice President: Jamie Cone, BD
  • Vice President: Andrew Allshorn, At 3D-Squared
  • Event Manager: Tom Sorovetz, FCA
  • Secretary: Leslie Frost, GE Additive
  • Chairman: Gary Rabinovitz, Reebok
  • Treasurer: Vince Anewenter, Milwaukee School of Engineering
  • AM Industry Advisor: Todd Grimm, T. A. Grimm & Associates

New Additive Service Website Launched

There’s a new additive manufacturing service in town for when you need on-demand, 3D printed performance and production-grade parts: New York-based Print Parts Inc. recently launched its new PrintParts.com website. The company’s mission is to help its customers achieve on-demand printed parts at an affordable costs, and it is also one of the first AM services that offers composite parts made on Markforged 3D printers. Clients can order flexible quantities – from 1 to 1 million – at competitive prices, 3D printed out of materials like carbon fiber, Kevlar, Nylon, and Onyx. The company helps its customers navigate the entire process from start to finish, including consulting, industrial design services, and even technology-specific feedback. PrintParts.com is celebrating its launch by offering a 25% discount on part orders during its first month of operation. In addition, the first 100 customers will receive a special gift package, including stickers, a branded operator’s apron, and a PrintParts t-shirt.

“Print Parts. That’s what we do,” explained company founder Robert Haleluk. “Our team creates functional prototypes, high quality concepts, and performance parts to help customers take on mission critical projects with confidence. We love what we do and put passion into every part we print.”

Video & Case Study: Producing Parts at the BCN3D Print Farm

Desktop 3D printer manufacturer BCN3D Technologies, based in Barcelona, uses its breakthrough IDEX (Independent Dual Extruder) technology at the BCN3D Print Farm to double its 3D printer production capacity. At the Farm, 63 printers are working 24/7 to manufacture 10,000 pieces per month. In a recent case study, the company explains how it produces 47 plastic Sigma and Sigmax pieces, which are assembled by its printers at the Print Farm.

“We think it will have a huge impact for those companies and users wanting to produce small series,” Marc Felis, the BCN3D Marketing Manager, told 3DPrint.com about the video the company produced about its Print Farm and IDEX technology.

IDEX allows BCN3D printers to control both toolheads independently, which makes it possible to double the production capacity for pieces like the Vertical Bowden, which holds the 3D printer’s Teflon tube in place and made with PET-G material at the BCN3D Print Farm. Customers who use IDEX technology can also cut labor, machinery, and maintenance costs in half, as well as decreasing printer downtime. Additionally, the technology is very clean, because it prevents molten plastic from dripping into printed pieces. To see how your company could speed up the production workflow while keeping costs reasonable, check out the video below:

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The post 3D Printing News Briefs: July 6, 2019 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Penn State: 4D Printing with Wood Composites for Architectural Applications

In ‘Designing for Shape Change: A Case study on 3D Printing Composite Materials for Responsive Architectures,’ Elena Vazquez, Benay Gursoy, and Jose Duarte present details on customizing parts to optimize shape changing behavior. Forging straight ahead into the 4D, the Pennsylvania State University researchers delve more comprehensively into smart materials and how they are able to morph depending on user requirements and changes in the environment—whether due to temperature, moisture, or other elements.

Looking into past studies regarding the ability for building systems to become enhanced due to ‘shifting environmental conditions,’ the authors became inspired, envisioning new concepts for architectural 4D frameworks—along with embracing the concept of unpredictability within these frameworks that can be viewed as opportunities to learn. Their question, and mission, became not only how to harness such capabilities, but also how to control them as they formed a unique ‘hydroactive architectural skin system’ that would morph in reaction to moisture in the air. The materials are a 3D printed, wood-based, bio-composite. With customized settings, the team was able to study the behavior of the material, along with comparing notes to previous 4D experiments using wood.

The framework for systematic explorations in 3D printing bilayer composite materials.

“In the case of wood-based composites, 3D printing enables the design of specific patterns for layers that lead to differential swelling and then to shape-change,” state the researchers.

Six 3D printed bilayer composite samples of PLA with varying tool path geometry and their response to being immersed in hot water.

In setting parameters for 3D printing, the team used the Silkworm plug-in for Grasshopper to customize the G Code—thus establishing control not only over the nozzle, but also the printing pattern. This means being able to manipulate the fiber orientation and shape-changing dynamics. Additional identified parameters are as follows:

  • Number of print layers
  • Layer height
  • Order for active and constraint layers in the bilayer configuration
  • Road distance controlling porosity

“The 3D printing settings that we control also through custom G Code include bed and nozzle temperatures and the 3D printing speeds,” state the researchers. “Another parameter that is in play while 3D printing is the filaments used, and whether the objects are printed using a single material or with multiple materials.”

In beginning the case study, the team 3D printed some samples with PLA to have a baseline for comparing. The next set of ‘explorations’ included the use of Laywood, a wooden material made up of 40wt% wood fiber. The authors state that samples printed with Laywood offer an elongation rate of 106% if substantial amounts of humidity are present. Activators are both temperature and humidity, with the amount of time samples were exposed directly corresponding to the level of effect.

The shape changes of the six bilayer wood-based bio composite samples with 10 minute intervals for a total duration of 40 minutes.

Aware of the effect that both porosity and print angles had on activated shapes, the researchers created 175 x 75mm prototypes in the form of combined triangles. They discovered that samples subjected to humidity deformed from 70 minutes onward.

Prototype design for a hydroactive architectural skin

“To assess how the samples keep changing shape over hours instead of minutes, we recorded shape-change of prototype B over a period of 7 hours,” said the researchers.

The shape-changes of the Prototype A with 10 minute intervals, B) The
shape-changes of Prototype B with 2 hours intervals.

During their experimenting, the researchers discovered that they could change porosity levels—which allowed them to control the 4D models. They were also able to use the study parameters to control the level of transparency in the ‘architectural skins’ they created. As many other research studies before this have made note of, 3D printing will allow for the fabrication of complex geometries. In relation to this project, the authors note that many other types of material could be used in creating the architectural skin system. In noting also that single-material prototypes deformed completely when subjected to humidity, the authors suggest that in the future a multi-material approach could be more successful

“In the explorations conducted, design decisions orchestrate the interdependence between geometry -from tool path to overall form, 3D printing settings, and time, as the added dimension in the design process. Time, in this study represents shape transformation, and we argue that a systematic material exploration and computation brings us one step closer to controlling this dynamic behavior in designing for shape-change,” concluded the researchers.

“We postulate that once the shape-changing behavior is formalized through systematic material explorations, material intelligence can be embedded in parametric computer models. This constitutes a next stage in this research and can enable us to explore design variations in the computer prior to materialization. It will also allow us to create computer simulations to assess the performance of the architectural skin designs in controlling air flow, daylight and interior temperature.”

Scientists involved in 3D printing research are hard at work around the world improving and perfecting different ways to use the technology. Along with making continually new strides in software and hardware for 3D printing, the study of materials is a strong center of focus—and composites have become very popular with strengthening metals used in the process, from carbon nanotube composites to PEEK composites or trials with continuous fiber.

[Source / Images: ‘Designing for Shape Change: A Case study on 3D Printing Composite Materials for Responsive Architectures’]

Los Angeles: Greneker Explores the Challenges of 3D Printing Their Mannequins

3D printing has changed the world of how we create today in so many ways. Allowing for self-sustainability in innovation, everyone from the home hobbyist entrenched in DIY to the engineer working for an automotive company can make designs, objects, prototypes—and so much more—even houses. Many are newer to the technology and may be working on ideas that are completely new and extremely challenging.

That was the case for the Greneker team, headquartered in Los Angeles. Innovators since 1934, Greneker has always been known for their novel techniques in creating mannequins. 3D printing is a new endeavor for them though.

“When I started with this business, we would get together as a group, we would look at the trends in the marketplace, and we would develop a line based on what we saw happening in the marketplace at that time,” said Steve Beckman, President & COO of Greneker.

Creating the mannequin line was indeed a major trial, but the team is used to taking on difficult missions in their work.

“That was done with clay sculpting, so we would start with armatures and clay, go through the process ourselves, create an entire line of mannequins, and really just kind of rolled the dice and hope that it would sell to that market,” said Beckman.

The Greneker team began doing a lot of custom work, and for big clients too, like Under Armour and adidas.

“It was a very long process to develop a line of custom mannequins,” Beckman said. “We would have to spend a great deal of time upfront with a client trying to figure out what they were looking for, what the poses were, what the dimensions were, what sizes these pieces were. The armatures would be set up by hand, the sculpting would be done by hand in clay. It would require several visits of the client on premises before we got an approval to move into the molding process to begin production.”

On working with athletic apparel manufacturers:

“The poses are either accurate or they’re inaccurate,” Beckman said. “If you try and put a golf mannequin in a golf shop and he is not in the proper position, the mannequin will be ripped apart by patrons.”

They streamlined the creating and 3D printing process as they learned more about what worked.

“We started to look at digital as a way of creating these pieces, and creating them precisely and accurately,” Beckman recounted. “We’ve now moved from clay sculpting to everything being 3D printed, which has helped us in a myriad of ways.”

3D printing at Greneker began with a CubeX, and then other small 3D printers. After that, they graduated to the re:3D Gigabot 3D printer, which has provided advanced solutions in fire stations, veterinary practices, and many more impactful applications.

“We selected the printer based on, again, the human body,” Beckman explained. “We’re a mannequin manufacturer. We wanted larger printers to be able to print torsos and legs.”

“Before 3D printing, it would’ve been just unthinkable to make a mannequin in a day,” said Daniel Stocks, senior sculptor at Greneker. “Now it’s actually possible.”

Speed in creating the mannequins is one of the greatest benefits Greneker experiences in 3D printing, along with the digital process overall.

“We save time throughout the entire process,” said Beckman. “Instead of having clients visit, we can have video conferencing now, which accelerates the initial consultation period greatly. The client can sit on the other end – whether they’re across the country or across the world – and in real time we can make those changes and those tweaks to make these pieces exactly what they’re looking for.”

Sculpting mannequins can be challenging, but with 3D printing manufacturers are able to work with new creations easily—and without the physical workout.

“With 3D printing, we take the digital model and we’ll produce a scaled model, usually about 18 inches tall, and then we can send that to the clients,” said Beckman. “They can make sure that all the measurements fit where they like and that the posing is what it needs to be in. Once we get the sign-off at that point, then we produce a full-scale 3D print.

“With this new process, the model goes in front of everybody, so it’s there for everyone to look at. You get a much, much tighter buy-in much more quickly.”

Needless to say, at Greneker, they have a lot more tools to work with than they did previously—and they are making the most of it.

“If I have a large project and I have three sculptors working on it, because it’s three sets of hands, it may not look identical,” Beckman explained. “With the digital design, we don’t have to worry about that. The design is the design and you can move it, change it, scale it, but it’s always the base design and it’s always obvious what it is, no question.”

The added Greneker goal now is to be faster and more cost-effective in development.

“The marketplace is requiring speed to market. Everything has got to be done sooner rather than later,” Beckman explained. “When we would sculpt and create a new line by hand, the process could take upwards of six months in preproduction. In 3D printing, now we’ve reduced that process to where it can be as short as just a few weeks.

“Right now, we’ve just finished realizing our first set of goals with 3D printing. Our future goals: we’re going to bring in as many printers as it takes to be the absolute fastest to market as we can be. We want to stay ahead of our competition.”

You can read more about Greneker and their innovative projects here.

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts; join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.

[Source / Images: re:3D]