Collaborative Research Team Develops Density-Graded Structure for Extrusion 3D Printing of Functionally Graded Materials

Microscopic photos of top and side views of printing results with a 0.38 mm wide extrusion path: (a) without versus (b) with overlapping by 0.36 mm respectively. Overlapping extrusion paths exhibit over-extrusion of material at the overlapping region, which results in unwanted blobs on the surface of the print.

Plenty of research has been completed in regards to FDM (extrusion) 3D printing, such as how to improve part quality and how to reliably fabricate functionally graded materials (FGM). The latter is what a collaborative team of researchers from Ultimaker, the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong are focusing on in their new research project.

The team – made up of researchers Tim KuipersJun Wu Charlie, and C.L. Wang – recently published a paper, titled “CrossFill: Foam Structures with Graded Density for Continuous Material Extrusion,” which will be presented at this year’s Symposium for Solid and Physical Modeling.

“In our latest paper we present a type of microstructure which can be printed using continuous extrusion so that we can generate infill structures which follow a user specified density field to be printed reliably by standard desktop FDM printers,” Kuipers, a Software Engineer and Researcher for Ultimaker, wrote in an email.

“This is the first algorithm in the world which is able to generate spatially graded microstructures while adhering to continuous extrusion in order to ensure printing reliability.”

Because 3D printing offers such flexible fabrication, many people want to design structures with spatially graded material properties. But, it’s hard to achieve good print quality when using FDM technology to 3D print FGM, since these sorts of infill structures feature complex geometry. In terms of making foam structures with graded density using FDM, the researchers knew they needed to develop a method to generate “infill structures according to a user-specific density distribution.”

The abstract reads, “In this paper, we propose a new type of density graded structure that is particularly designed for 3D printing systems based on filament extrusion. In order to ensure high-quality fabrication results, extrusion-based 3D printing requires not only that the structures are self-supporting, but also that extrusion toolpaths are continuous and free of self-overlap. The structure proposed in this paper, called CrossFill, complies with these requirements. In particular, CrossFill is a self-supporting foam structure, for which each layer is fabricated by a single, continuous and overlap-free path of material extrusion. Our method for generating CrossFill is based on a space-filling surface that employs spatially varying subdivision levels. Dithering of the subdivision levels is performed to accurately reproduce a prescribed density distribution.”

Their method – a novel type of FDM printable foam structure – offers a way to refine the structure to match a prescribed density distribution, and provides a novel self-supporting, space-filling surface to support spatially graded density, as well as an algorithm that can merge an infill structure’s toolpath with the model’s boundary for continuity. This space-filling infill surface is called CrossFill, as the toolpath resembles crosses.

“Each layer of CrossFill is a space-filling curve that can be continuously extruded along a single overlap-free toolpath,” the researchers wrote. “The space-filling surface consists of surface patches which are embedded in prism-shaped cells, which can be adaptively subdivided to match the user-specified density distribution. The adaptive subdivision level results in graded mechanical properties throughout the foam structure. Our method consists of a step to determine a lower bound for the subdivision levels at each location and a dithering step to refine the local average densities, so that we can generate CrossFill that closely matches the required density distribution. A simple and effective algorithm is developed to merge a space-filling curve of CrossFill of a layer into the closed polygonal areas sliced from the input model. Physical printing tests have been conducted to verify the performance of the CrossFill structures.”

The researchers say that the user prescribes density distribution, and can use CrossFill and its space-filling surfaces, with continuous cross sections, to “reliably reproduce the distribution using extrusion-based printing.” CrossFill surfaces are built by using subdivision rules on prism-shaped cells, each of which contains a surface patch that’s “sliced into a line segment on each layer to be a segment” of the toolpath, which will be made with a constant width; cell size determines the density.

“By adaptively applying the subdivision rules to the prism cells, we create a subdivision structure of cells with a density distribution that closely matches a user-specified input,” the team wrote. “Continuity of the space-filling surface across adjacent cells with different subdivision levels – both horizontally and vertically – is ensured by the subdivision rules and by post-processing of the surface patches in neighboring cells.”

The subdivision system distinguishes an H-prism, which is built by cutting a cube in half vertically along a diagonal of the horizontal faces, and a Q-prism, generated by spitting a cube into quarters along the faces’ diagonals. To learn more about this system and the team’s algorithms, check out the paper in its entirety.

Schematic overview of our method. The top row shows a 2D analogue of our method for clear visualization. The prism-shaped cells in the bottom row are visualized as semi-opaque solids to keep the visualization uncluttered. Red lines in the bottom row highlight the local subdivisions performed in the dithering phase.

The researchers also explained the method’s toolpath generation in their paper, starting with how to slice the infill structure into a continuous 2D polygonal curve for each layer of the object, which is followed by fitting a layer’s curve “into the region of an input 3D model.”

Experiments measuring features like accuracy, computation time, and elastic behavior were completed on an Intel Core i7-7500U CPU @ 2.70 GHz, using test structures 3D printed out of white TPU 95A on Ultimaker 3 systems with the default Cura 4.0 profile of 0.1 mm layer thickness. The team also discussed various applications for CrossFill, such as imaging phantoms for the medical field or cushions and packaging.

“The study of experimental tests shows that CrossFill acts very much like a foam although future work needs to be conducted to further explore the mapping between density and other material properties,” the researchers concluded. “Another line of research is to further enhance the dithering technique, e.g. changing the weighing scheme of error diffusion.”

CrossFill applications. (a) Bicycle saddle with a density specification. A weight of 33 N is added on various locations to show the different response of different density infill. (b) Teddy bear with a density specification. (c) Shoe sole with densities based on a pressure map of a foot. (d) Stanford bunny painted with a density specification. (e) Medical phantom with an example density distribution for calibrating an MRI scanning procedure.

The team’s open source implementation is available here on GitHub. To learn more, check out their video below:

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

Turkey: Researchers Innovate Further in Creating Titanium Hip Implants

In ‘Design, manufacture, and fatigue analysis of lightweight hip implants,’ Turkish researchers Yunus E. Delikanli and Mehmet C. Kayacan explore and test better ways to fabricate hip implants for total hip arthroplasty (THA). Most humans are aware of the critical importance of their hip joints—especially when something goes wrong and a major health issue arises, or deterioration from age becomes an apparent, and painful.

The ball-and-socket joint allows humans to perform most of the required actions for mobility—from taking a seat, to walking or running—or more athletic activities requiring jumping. This joint is expected to handle a lot of wear and tear over a lifetime, and fractures due to trauma can occur at any age but are much more expected in the elderly. According to the research team, ‘heritage, nutrition, and lifestyle’ can play a role too.

“In cases involving high body weight and physical activity, the load on the femur increases, which in turn results in bending and torsional stresses in the femoral component of an implant,” stated the researchers. “If these stresses are repetitive and variable, fatigue fractures or deformations may arise in hip implants.

(a) Small pore (0.3 mm, KG) and (b) large pore (0.6 mm, BG) implants.

Striving to innovate further in creating implants, the researchers used titanium metal powder (Ti6Al4V alloy) for 3D printing. Nine samples were created, from .03 mm to solid, using Kubisch Raumzentrierten (KRZ) geometries in a lattice structure, with a porosity of 78.3 percent, 3D printed on an EOS M280 direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) machine. Upon fabrication of the samples, the researchers realized a reduction in weight of up to 17 percent—due to the ability to not only make complex structures but also with hollowed out interiors.

In testing, the research team found that ‘maximum equivalent stresses’ were exhibited in what is called the ‘neck region’ of each implant. Lightened implants exhibited greater stresses even with the same loading—attributed to less of a cross-sectional area, and a more complex one. Each implant was deemed successful after five million load cycles—with an infinite fatigue life.

Lightening process of the implants.

“All the implants produced with DMLS have been shown to exhibit enough fatigue performance according to the requirements of the ISO 7206 standard. In addition, FEA findings are highly consistent with fatigue test results,” concluded the researchers. “Thus, the displacements outside of the investigated pore size range can be predicted with sufficient accuracy by FEA. This enables us to save production costs and obtain an idea about the implant performance without carrying out any building process.”

Upon its inception decades ago, very few could have realized the impacts 3D printing and surrounding technologies would have on medical patients today, who are now able to enjoy a better quality of life due to a range of different implants and devices brought forward by innovative researchers who have created everything from surgical guides for replacement surgeries to knee implants to spinal implants.

Find out more about hip arthroplasty and the role of 3D printing 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.

Cell development channels of KG (a) and BG (b) hip implants.

[Source / Images: ‘Design, manufacture, and fatigue analysis of lightweight hip implants’]

A Bioprinting World Map

With 109 established bioprinting companies and many entrepreneurs around the world showing interest in the emerging field, it’s just a matter of time before it becomes one of the most sought after technologies. Mapping the companies that make up this industry is a good starting point to understand the bioprinting ecosystem, determine where most companies have established their headquarters and learn more about potential hubs, like the one in San Francisco. The technology has gained increasing attention due to the ability to control the placement of cells, biomaterials, and molecules for tissue regeneration. Researchers are using bioprinting to create cardiac patches meant to be transplanted directly onto a patient’s heart after a cardiovascular attack, as well as custom printing an implant to precisely fill the space left after removal of diseased bone. Bioprinting has been used to conduct testing for 3D printing of tailored skin grafts for patients with large wound areas, print muscle, and even for microstereolithography 3D printing to repair damaged nerve connections. Bioprinting companies around the world are continuously innovating in regenerative medicine, drug therapies, tissue engineering, stem cell biology and biotechnology; getting a lot of attention from a public eager to envision a future with better patient care, alternatives to organ transplants and customized medical treatments. In an attempt to increase knowledge and research, most bioprinting firms have established partnerships with a number of research organizations, universities, and even government institutions, to jointly create and develop projects that are often published in academic journals. Actually, the literature available on the subject to date is quite vast and growing thanks to the advances in biotechnology, and a great tool for communicating and validating most of this breakthrough knowledge.

The data we collected reveals that the United States is the biggest player, with 39 percent of the companies headquartered in 18 states. And although 28% of the total number of companies in the US are located in California, 33 percent have emerged in East Coast states like Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. The European continent is home to 35 percent of the companies, followed by Asia with 17 percent, Latin America (5%) and Oceania (3%). Countries like Great Britain, Germany, and France absorb most of the businesses, which represent a 53% stake out of all the European companies. The leader in Asia is China with three big names, although the country is heavily relying on university research to advance the technology and researchers are using their own in-house designed research, which is probably why we are still waiting to see an expansion of companies.  

Researchers, private companies and universities everywhere are very interested in advancing bioprinting technologies. And although there is a long way to determine how these results will perform in a clinical setting, advances show that the potential in therapeutic and regenerative medicine, surgeries, and overall healthcare are huge. Even 4D bioprinting may have the potential for greater strides in medicine and tissue regeneration since it shows more control over pore size, shape, and interconnectivity. The bioprinting business is giving scientists and medical researchers the tools to prototype, model, build and solidify living human tissues. From printing machines to bioinks, even scanners, and software to further enhance their work, this interconnected environment has the potential to transform life as we know it.

Pioneer companies such as Organovo, regenHUCELLINK, and Digilab have been at the forefront of bioprinting for years, creating some of the most innovative machines in the market, which, in the right hands, can make all the difference. Such as the case with Organovo’s bioprinting platform, recently implemented by Leiden University Medical Center scientists to develop stem cell-based bioprinted tissue treatments for kidney disease or Cellink’s Bio X machine which a Florida A&M University professor used to create the first 3D print of human cornea in the United States.

Many of these businesses are focusing on tissue engineering, like Cyfuse Biomedical, Regenovo Biotechnology, Aspect Biosystems or nScrypt. For instance, researchers using Allevi printers have been automating the creation of tumor models, printing vasculature within 3D gels, and achieving physiological markers unseen before in tissues. This requires a ton of knowledge about the microenvironment of the specific tissues and organs through biomimicry, or by the manufacturing of artificial tissues or organs by reproducing cellular and extracellular components natively present. This know-how is essential for in vitro manufacturing of living tissues with the same size and geometry as native organs.

Many commercially available 3D bioprinters are used in several research areas, like bioengineering, disease modeling, or studies of biomaterials. There are different versions, including syringe based extrusion of hydrogels or bioinks, inkjet printing, laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), (which is a relatively new printing technique that enables transfer from a thin-film donor material onto a chosen receiver placed nearby), and stereolithography (a form of 3D printing technology used for creating models, prototypes, patterns, and production parts in a layer by layer fashion using photopolymerization).

Bioprinting is leading the way into some of the most advanced research ever done in medicine, in a way becoming a beaming source of hope for hundreds of thousands of people who consider the future of healthcare to be focused on patient-specific treatment and an increased life expectancies. Thanks to many of the breakthroughs done at research facilities around the globe and booming interest in the applications of the technology, perhaps in a year, our map will need to be updated and bioprinting companies will have increased significantly. Still, the core of what they are doing has remained the same for the past couple of years, and partnerships continue to emerge among businesses, scientists and researchers, eager to apply their innovative spirit, knowledge of biological sciences, engineering, mathematics and other fields that are contributing to the unstoppable evolution of bioprinting, so that it can eventually transition from the research and development phases to the pre-clinical and trial, getting one step closer to changing people’s lives.

NORTH AMERICA

The US and Canada bioprinting market include the following companies:

  1. 3D BioTherapeutics
  2. 3D Biotek
  3. Advanced BioMatrix
  4. Advanced Solutions Life Sciences
  5. Aether
  6. Allegro 3D
  7. Allevi
  8. BioLife 4D
  9. Biospherix
  10. Brinter
  11. Cell Applications
  12. CELLINK
  13. Celprogen
  14. DigiLab
  15. Embodi3D
  16. Frontier Bio
  17. Hyrel
  18. International Stem Cell
  19. Koligo Therapeutics Inc.
  20. Lung Biotechnology PBC
  21. Nano 3D Biosciences
  22. Nanofiber Solutions
  23. nScrypt
  24. OrganoFab Technologies
  25. Organovo
  26. PreciseBio
  27. Prellis Biologics
  28. Qrons
  29. Rainbow Biosciences
  30. Ronawk
  31. Rooster Bio
  32. Samsara Sciences
  33. SE3D
  34. STEM Reps
  35. SunP Biotech
  36. Superlative Biosciences Corporation
  37. SuperString
  38. TeVido Biodevices
  39. TheWell Bioscience
  40. Tissue Regeneration Systems
  41. United Therapeutics Corporation
  42. Vivax Bio
  43. Volumetric
  44. Aspect Biosystems
  45. Biomomentum

EUROPE

The European bioprinting ecosystem is as follows:

  1. Poietis
  2. regenHu
  3. CTI Biotech
  4. Cellenion
  5. I&L Biosystems SAS
  6. Innov’Gel
  7. Printivo
  8. Cellbricks
  9. GeSim
  10. Black Drop Biodrucker
  11. Medprin Biotech
  12. Greiner Bio-One
  13. Innotere
  14. BiogelX
  15. OxSyBio
  16. ArrayJet
  17. Manchester BIOGEL
  18. 3Dynamics 3D Technologies
  19. Oxford MEStar
  20. ProColl
  21. FabRx
  22. Roslin Cellab (Censo Biotechnologies)
  23. PhosPrint
  24. Ourobotics
  25. Vornia Biomaterials
  26. Prometheus
  27. Twin Helix
  28. Xilloc Medical
  29. Labnatek
  30. 3D Bioprinting Solutions
  31. Regemat 3D (Breca)
  32. Artificial Nature
  33. Ebers
  34. Fluicell AB
  35. Biolamina
  36. CELLnTEC
  37. Morphodyne
  38. Axolotl Biosystems

ASIA

Asia’s new and booming bioprinting market:

  1. FoldInk Bioprinting
  2. Revotek
  3. MedPrin
  4. Regenovo
  5. Pandorum technologies
  6. Next Big Innovation Labs
  7. IndiBio
  8. BioP India
  9. OrgaNow
  10. 3DPL
  11. CollPlant
  12. Accellta
  13. Next 21 K.K.
  14. Cyfuse
  15. KosmodeHealth
  16. Nephtech 3D
  17. Osteopore
  18. Rokit

LATIN AMERICA

Latin America’s incipient bioprinting environment:

  1. Tissue Labs
  2. 3D Biotechnologies Solutions
  3. BioPrint 3D
  4. WeBio
  5. Life SI

Is your company not listed? Email joris (at) 3DPrint.com

3D Scans Help Preserve History, But Who Should Own Them?

4 documenting khe min ga zedi with the google jump cam d7f3fc17eba4772c1e8783f38d11378e3f9e3419 s900 c85
Via All things considered

War, natural disasters and climate change are destroying some of the world’s most precious cultural sites. Google is trying to help preserve these archaeological wonders by allowing users access to 3D images of these treasures through its site.

But the project is raising questions about Google’s motivations and about who should own the digital copyrights. Some critics call it a form of “digital colonialism.”

When it comes to archaeological treasures, the losses have been mounting. ISIS blew up parts of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and an earthquake hit Bagan, an ancient city in Myanmar, damaging dozens of temples, in 2016. In the past, all archaeologists and historians had for restoration and research were photos, drawings, remnants and intuition.

But that’s changing. Before the earthquake at Bagan, many of the temples on the site were scanned. One of them, Ananda ok Kyaung, stands out for Chance Coughenour, a manager at Google Arts & Culture. “This is a temple that has incredible murals, floor to ceiling across the inter-passageways and the inter-chamber of the temple,” he says.

Learn more!

Fast Things 8: The Shape Game and Mrs. Incredible

Imagine the answer to life, the universe, and everything is: donut.

In a world of Fast Things, 3D Printing is the logical production technology. With our technology, you can go from idea to file to part quicker than with alternatives. If your idea, file, or part changes, it will also take you less time to get to a new part. If you want to make a million identical copies of something then injection molding, for one, would be a much better technology. It is very good at making a million of something, once you have made the tooling and the mold. In this instance, injection molding is far cheaper per part. The set up in time and cost is considerable, however. 3D Printing will give you a higher per part cost, but this cost will be approximately the same should you want a million unique things.

In a one size fits all world, injection molding is still king. But, if time, shape or texture force you to make a few of something 3D Printing becomes the only viable option. With 3D Printing, you can produce one or a few of something with a particular shape at a specific time. So the question “when will 3D printing go mainstream” is a fundamentally incorrect one. It is a sure sign of a mind who has not been opened to the fundamental possibilities that 3D Printing will unlock.

When does a computer make sense for adding up sums? For most sums that we do a calculator would still be far superior and faster. A piece of paper and a sound mind would have outperformed computers for a reasonable length of time if the time to input the calculation were taken into account. When does it make sense to buy a computer for adding up things? In isolation, never I should think. Only for niche things like figuring out the yield of a nuclear weapon or the weather would such a device warrant an investment. Unless of course, the advent of such a computing device ignites the imaginations of many to the possibility of adding up the hereto un-addable.

If we start to then think of calculating the cost of all of our products or tracking all of the things that we sell in an efficient way our mind opens to the possibilities of increasing our profitability using computers. Perhaps for calculating stuff, it doesn’t make sense, but if we wanted to calculate everything, it may. The universal calculation machine is, therefore, a receptacle of unmet needs in calculation. The incalculable becomes what drives adoption for such a device. But, at this point, it is the most part, like many technologies, hope, and spielerei.

The thing that starts to make the machine powerful is the realization that the input cards are not just grist for the mill. The stuff that you have to do in order to get the computer to do anything is not only a protocol to be followed. Instead, this is a key to getting a universal calculation machine to in a versatile and rapid manner make all kinds of calculations. The manipulation of software and code is a revolution.

The first revolution of language let us communicate with each other through speech. The second let us store and disseminate writing through Printing. In the third, we learned to speak the language of the universe: maths. The fourth is the language of building in the universe: engineering. In the fifth we learned the language for manipulating the universe: chemistry and the sixth is the language of inception and destruction physics. The seventh language is that now Babylonian mess that is those languages of the computer that let us speak and calculate in all of the aforementioned. 3D Printing combined with CAD is the language of form, the eighth. It lets us at a higher abstraction level at different magnifications describe and create forms that exist, manipulate, and function in the world.

This may all sound a tad vague and perhaps a little bit ganja around the Goan bonfire kind of stuff. I do believe that this metaphor has merit, however. I’ve been trying to explain, unsuccessfully, the impact of 3D Printing for over a decade. And you know what? I suck at it. Even at hype’s apex, people were excited for all the wrong reasons. Yes, this is vague, but at this abstraction level, I can at least make a stab at getting you to understand why nothing will be the same again.

If we create forms, not calculations, drawings, 3D models, databases, then the world is approachable not through data or mathematics but through mimicking, designing, doodling, randomly getting, intuiting, having algorithms make, brute force creating a shape. Imagine the answer to life the universe, and everything is: donut. Imagine that you had no idea how a plane works, but you could make a lighter one by following the same set of rules as you do through making lighter chairs. Imagine that you could take a hole punch to a building and it becomes a better building. Imagine that you could not know any chemistry, engineering or physics but through a random shape generator come up with a better shampoo, nuclear reactor or Formula One engine. Imagine all the bets are off, and all the things are plastic. People often wonder if 3D Printing will make designers obsolete. Well, what if it makes everyone who is not a designer obsolete?

Jeff Bezos has to know very little about fashion to conquer the clothing market. He doesn’t need to know how to make cotton, dye it, or make a sock to sell millions of them. He doesn’t need a clothing brand, a factory, or an ounce of product. Nor does he need to know anything about tea, teapots, knives, closets or watches. He needs people to build him an unending river of commerce that they can then use to sell everything and anything to everyone. Yes, Amazon has marketing people and HR, but their power is through the creation of systems that sell products.

Similarly, Google does not have to know anything; it just has to be able to make coherent all the information that there is through it. Facebook did not need to know you; you would tell it everything so that it could connect you with those that you already knew. In each of these cases, a powerful idea coupled with capital and code became an incredibly large business.

The work in the trenches was done by those who code. Code and the internet shaped these ideas into industry killers. But the internet concerns itself chiefly with access to people and information; stripping the layers of sales channels away to create billions of dollars in reappropriated collated information which now has value for the organizer. There are exceptions of course, but generally, this is the way of the internet. Famously one of the largest hotel booking sites in the world has no hotels, nor do they know how to operate them, nor do they have to buy them. The new way is not only faster but also more efficient because, by design, the startup goes for matching demand, circumventing the problematic and capital intensive stuff.

Imagine in a similar way that you could use the pure form to enter any industry. Imagine that by designing the right shape to solve a problem, you could compete with most products. Imagine that you would not need to understand the shape or the problem or the solution necessarily. The shape only would have to work. I don’t have to understand women, men, love, or dating to have the worlds most successful dating site. My skillset is just in creating a platform that brings enough needs together for them to coalesce into a solution that is better than anyone else’s.

Dr. J.W. Mauchly with the electronic computing machine known as the ENIAC.

3D Printing is technology where we can in a timely way, make a vast variety of different shapes efficiently based on a file or an idea. And should the file, idea or shape not suffice; quicker than alternative technologies we can make a new version. So just like all bugs are shallow given enough eyeballs, all things are shallow given enough eyeballs as well. We do not have to understand your industry, or engineering, or physics, or things to create better solution shapes to your problem. We can simply plug away at it, test and make new things quicker than you. As a code based internet startup leverages attention and users to match solutions we have to in a brute force way to test enough shapes for fitness and then produce the winners. If we intuit a solution or can skip some steps through experience or physics knowledge, that is fine. But strictly speaking, we can be ignorant of anything except for the shape game to ultimately succeed.

Many an engineering, chemistry, or business problem is a shape looking for a solution or a problem looking for the right shape to solve it; and this is the true value of 3D Printing. Don’t be a pirate or a ninja; be Mrs. Incredible.

Flickr: Tom Page, Matt Gibson, Tulio Saba. Richard Gillin, Andy L.

Interview with RIZE: Trying Out the XRIZE 3D Printer at RAPID 2019

[Image: Julie Reece, RIZE]

Typically, when I attend trade shows and events like RAPID + TCT and SOLIDWORKS World, I attend some presentations, maybe sit in on a panel discussion or two, and walk the show floor, conducting interviews and seeing what there is to see. I take closer looks at the systems we write about every day, get the chance to handle a part or two, and sometimes even try on 3D printed helmets. But I don’t normally have the opportunity to actually operate the hardware…until the recent RAPID 2019, when I met with Boston-based additive manufacturing company RIZE.

Let me back up – I was there for an interview with RIZE President and CEO Andy Kalambi to discuss the company’s patented Augmented Polymer Deposition (APD) technology, which allows for the easy snap-off release of supports. At formnext in November, the company introduced its industrial desktop XRIZE 3D printer, and I wanted to get a good look at the system that promises to print parts twice as fast as other leading AM technologies.

First, Kalambi told me that the company had just announced a partnership with Wichita State University’s National Institute of Aerospace Research (NIAR) at RAPID that’s focused on bringing 3D printing to end users.

“We launched this whole concept called ‘smart spaces,’” Kalambi explained. “Makerspaces need to come to engineers, engineers don’t need to go to makerspaces.”

He told me that RIZE and its 3D printers are “purpose built” for safety, which is an area the company will not compromise on – this year, RIZE actually won the New Equipment Digest Innovation Award (the only 3D printing company to do so), and the Frost & Sullivan award for Best Practices in Technology Innovation, for its safe, zero-emission polymer 3D printing technology. In fact, Kalambi shared that a customer had told them at the AMUG conference that he uses their printers because he knows in 30 years he won’t get cancer – quite the endorsement.

“So we said, let’s purpose build our machine and our system for safety. Then we start extending that, and from safety we extend that to security – how do we ensure that a print is secure? That’s where the marking came in. And then we said, let’s start looking at applications and start solving those application problems. So that’s how we introduced carbon composite – this is another original material that has good strength.”

Engineering-grade RIZIUM CARBON is the company’s newest material, and features a higher modulus and excellent visual finish, making it perfect for functional prototyping.

Going back to the safe spaces concept, RIZE wanted to see what else they could add – more materials for more applications, and color as well.

“The 3D printing industry has condemned users to a monochrome world. So let’s bring color – every part can be in different colors, and not color for the sake of color, but color for the sake of communication, color for the sake of reducing errors, color for the sake of being more lifelike,” Kalambi said. “This is consumer validation…when you’re waiting at a traffic light and you see red, that’s communication.

“I don’t think this industry has bothered about color.”

I mentioned there were only a few companies I could think of off the top of my head that were really doing color well, and he agreed, but stated that they were all really costly machines. Kalambi hopes that the next time we see RIZE machines displayed at a conference, all of the sample parts will be in color, and not just a few.

“There are many difference aspects to color, and that’s really exploded our use case scenarios.”

The company’s new color 3D printer will be heading to the market soon, shipping to early customers this month and generally available for purchase in August.


After mentioning that RIZE’s recent strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes has brought the company a lot of continuity, we moved on to generative design and the company’s unique digitally augmented parts. He showed me how easy it was to add the company’s logo to the design file, as well as the bar code.

“Our uniqueness is our ability to mark,” Kalambi told me. “We’re the only ones doing it.”

Kalambi explained that RIZE covers the entire stream, all the way from digital marketing and quoting to manufacturing and delivery.


“You’re investing in the platform, not just the 3D printer,” he said. “We are focused on the user, not just the product.”

He said that RIZE wants users to feel comfortable using its machines and software, and that the company can train customers on its 3D printers in just 15 minutes. That’s when he got an idea – let me print something on the XRIZE at RAPID. Kalambi called over Vice President of Marketing Julie Reece to see if we’d have time to make it happen the next day, and once we figured out timing, he asked for my business card so it could be turned into a 3D model. Feeling pretty excited over what was to come, I left to conduct my next interview, with RIZE newly on my schedule for the next morning.

[Image: Julie Reece, RIZE]

When I arrived the next morning, Reece introduced me to RIZE Applications Engineer Neil Foley, who gave me a quick rundown on how the XRIZE 3D printer works. He opened the side panel so I could see the colored inks inside, and explained that the print of my business card would have a total of 29 layers; the first five layers would be a raft. The white filament is a little translucent so that the colors really shine through.



With just a few simple instructions from Foley, I was able to put in the magnetized build plate, close the door, and easily navigate the 3D printer’s touchscreen to select, and start, the print. The touchscreen not only tells you how long the print will take, but what layer it’s currently printing, with options to pause or cancel if necessary.

I stayed at the booth to watch the five layers of the raft, and the first layer of the print itself, but then had to leave to take care of a few things before driving home from the show later that day. During the time I was gone, Reece contacted me to let me know that the print was complete, and that I could come back to the booth anytime to remove it from the plate.

Once I arrived, I took a few pictures of my completed print, then opened the door and pulled out the build plate, This was a little tougher than I imagined, possibly due to the magnets, but more likely because I tend to be nervous when handling expensive machinery and was afraid to pull too hard.



I was supposed to remove the supports myself, which I was really excited about, but because the print was pretty thin, they came off almost immediately when Foley removed the raft. But, Reece brought me over a small part that had just come off the Rize One so I could remove those supports, and it truly is as easy as it looks – hardly any pressure is required to snap them off. As for the XRIZE itself, it is definitely a user-friendly system, and for an industrial machine, that’s pretty great news.

All in all, I had a good talk with Kalambi at RAPID, and was thrilled to be given the chance to operate the XRIZE 3D printer and make a 3D printed version of my business card, which now sits on my desk at home. Take a look below to see more pictures that RIZE’s Julie Reece took of me operating the printer at RAPID:







Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

[Images: Sarah Saunders unless otherwise noted]

Nanyang Technological University: Inkjet Printing of ZnO Micro-Sized Thin Films

In ‘Inkjet-printed ZnO thin film semiconductor for additive manufacturing of electronic devices,’ thesis student Van Thai Tran, from Nanyang Technological University, delves into the realm of fabricating products with conductive materials. As inkjet printing continues to gain popularity for researchers and manufacturers, it is the vehicle for creating a wide variety of innovations, to include tissue engineering and more. Here, however, Tran develops and examines ZnO thin film to promote electrical qualities in hopes of expanding 3D printing processes further overall.

The author understands the many benefits of 3D printing, as they have unfolded since the mid-80s. Today, the technology has progressed far beyond rapid prototyping, and a wide range of functional products are being made.

“It is expected that 3D printing will play a significant role in the fabrication of goods soon. As a result, the demand for printed functional devices has been raised to fulfill the need for printed consumable products, which are composed of multi-materials,” states Tran. “Hereby, the printed functional devices are not only basic electrical elements, such as resistors, capacitors, and transistors, but also advanced electric devices, such as sensor, solar cells and batteries.

“The construction of a product using 3D printing requires a combination of structural material and functional material. To accomplish the fully additive manufacturing process, printing of functional materials, such as conductor and semiconductor, is crucial.”

ZnO is helpful today in applications like:

  • Optoelectronics
  • Electronics
  • Sensors
  • Piezoelectric devices

Inkjet printing technologies: Continuous inkjet printing and Drop-on-demand Inkjet printing and electrohydrodynamic inkjet printing

Tran does raise concerns, however, regarding the use of ZnO in inkjet printing—such as the likelihood that it may cause band bending, resulting in defects in the 3D printed products. Band bending issues must be controlled and ‘engineered’ to create a device that is highly functional, lending central focus to this study, along with creating a successful way to improve on using the photolithography process, and investigating issues in annealing.

As an intrinsic n-type semiconductor, ZnO also possesses piezoelectric properties, capable of generating voltage under pressure—and causing it to be suitable for applications requiring sensors and actuators. As for thin film transistors, ZnO is an attractive option due to compatibilities with LCD applications and a variety of miniaturized electronics. As Tran mentions, ZnO is also especially suited to UV photodetector applications too.

In this project, Tran fabricated thin films via inket printing, but modifications were made with annealing—decreasing the band bending. The author also discovered that electrical properties were greatly improved due to heat treatment, with film conductivity impacted by band bending changes.

“The successful inkjet printing of micro-sized ZnO thin films and the integrated photodetector has demonstrated the feasibility and great potentials of fabricating sophisticated semiconductor devices using additive manufacturing technology,” concluded the author.

3D printing and electronics have been coupled together since the beginning, allowing for expansive innovations—and allowing many manufacturers to create items never possible. They are also able to enjoy much greater sustainability in production, whether in creating breakthrough techniques in manufacturing, liquid materials for electronic applications, or wearables. Find out more about semiconductors in AM manufacturing here.

Discuss this article and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

Additively fabricated ZnO nanostructures. (a) Selectively grown ZnO nanowire from inkjet-printed pattern (b) Electro-spinning ZnO nanowire

Printer structure and printing process to prepare the thin film. (a) Printer structure shows the main components and three-axes of the printer. (b) Optical photo of the printer. (c) Optical picture of the cartridge, including ink container and nozzles. (d) The schematic of the droplet watcher, which is the system to observe the generation of droplet before running the printing

[Source / Images: Inkjet-printed ZnO thin film semiconductor for additive manufacturing of electronic devices]

REVIEW! Savage Builds – Adam Savage, Building Iron Man @Discovery @donttrythis #savagebuilds @chac_attack

Adafruit 2019 2030

Savage Builds @ – Discovery & the YouTube trailer will give you an idea what the next in the “MythBuster-like series” Discovery and Adam Savage is up to:

SAVAGE BUILDS
Building Iron Man
SEASON 1, EPISODE 1
Adam Savage teams up with a daredevil inventor to build an authentic Iron Man suit that flies and stops bullets just like Tony Stark’s.
41 min
TV-PG
Premiered
06/14/2019

Savage Builds is on Fridays at 10p E/P on the Discovery Channel (following the new Battlebots).

Learn more, watch online for the next 13-ish days.


On to the review, is it worth watching? YES. Everyone is busy, the competition for 41 minutes in our lives is street brawl with no rules. If you like making things, how things are made, how they are “unmade” with explosives, this show has it all. The show premiered Friday night, however Limor and I watched it Sunday night since Friday to Sunday afternoon was electronics, coding, and prototyping. Our cable provider does on-demand now, so we were able to watch it any time, and skip (some of) the commercials. It’s also online. I feel this is important, it was not hard to watch this when we had the time.

Savage Builds to me seems like an evolution of Mythbusters: and then some… Mythbusters: tested something that may or may not be true, where Savage Builds celebrates the builder, the maker, the super-advance technologies that can make a Tony Stark functional Iron Man suit come to life, get shot (no damage), blown up, and fly.

What sparks any of us to decide to make something, or a kid who decides to take the life long journey of being an engineer? For some, it might be this show. Can we (humans, 2019) make something we see in the movies like an Iron Man suit? Yes, and wow – the build is as impressive as any special effects and CGI. The 3D printing of titanium, the flying, it’s all possible, just gotta have the skills which are obtainable with smarts, dedication, and working with other talented people.

If you are a young person now, watch this show, you can do this, you can make this, while it’s technically impressive, it’s not magic, or movie magic. It’s engineering. There has never been a better time to jump in. Imagine what you’ll be able to make in less than 10 years if this is possible now.

3D printing with titanium, about 250 parts! It must have taken MONTHS of print time.
Riveting titanium plates with Clecos. Handy tip!
Craig Brice, professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado School of Mines, helped Adam Savage design and build the suit.
Seeing the challenges of learning to fly with a Gravity Jet Suit in hours. Richard Browning of course makes it look easy.

It was also great to see Jen Schachter‘s work on the show builds as well.

Savage Builds is off to a perfect start, we’re looking forward to the rest of the episodes. Congrats Adam and team.

Weekly Editorial Round-Up: NYC trivia, CircuitPython 4.1.0 Beta, AdaBox012, & more!

INewImage 21 1 1


ADAFRUIT WEEKLY EDITORIAL ROUND-UP


We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.


BLOG

Untitled 33

Mike Barela posted about how the NYC subway system runs on OS/2, IBM’s old PC operating system.

More BLOG:


LEARN

Adabox 012 sheet

Our AdaBox012 guide is here!

More LEARN

Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!

New Learn Guide! PyGamer Snapfit Case #3DPrinting

This enclosure is designed to secure the PyGamer PCB without any hardware screws. The PCB rests on bottom half with built-in standoffs. The top half features cutouts for the thumb stick, buttons and display. The two halves snap fit together and clamp shut. Features on the edges of the snap allow the case to firmly stay shut but also allow it to re-open!

Download or edit the 3d files on: https://learn.adafruit.com/pygamer-snapfit-case


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Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!