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3D Printing News Briefs: September 27, 2018

We’re starting with some news from the ongoing TCT Show in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to webcasts and YouTube videos, finishing with an update on the upcoming Viaggio a Shamballa event by WASP. At the TCT Show, AMFG has unveiled its new Supplier Integration Network. An applications engineer from Fisher Unitech conducted a webcast about using Lean Six Sigma Manufacturing to optimize additive manufacturing, a Technical University of Denmark professor talked about the possibilities of topology optimization for 3D printing, and a Boeing engineer discussed 3D printing in the aeronautics industry. Finally, we’re getting ever closer to the date that WASP will publicly present its Crane construction 3D printer, and the village it’s building, in Massa Lombarda, Italy.

AMFG Introducing Supplier Integration Network at TCT Show

At the TCT Show, which continues in Birmingham through this Thursday, AM automation software provider AMFG is unveiling the newest feature in its software platform: the Supplier Integration Network, which lets manufacturers coordinate their AM supply chain network and automate production. With the Supplier Integration Network, manufacturers can outsource production or post-processing to their suppliers, and suppliers and service bureaus can use it to give OEMs easier access to their services. The company believes that this latest feature will make its portfolio more attractive to manufacturers looking to invest in 3D printing.

“Manufacturers are looking to scale their additive production effectively and we’re committed to giving them the software infrastructure to do so. Facilitating greater connectivity between all players along the supply chain, through automation, is a large part of this,” said Keyvan Karimi, CEO of AMFG. “Our vision with the Supplier Integration Network is also to help companies achieve truly distributed manufacturing by providing a greater level of connectivity along the supply chain through our platform. Of course, the Supplier Integration Network feature is designed to be used in conjunction with our other AM solutions, from project management to production planning and more.”

To see this new automation platform for yourself, visit AMFG at Stand J42 at the TCT Show.

Fisher Unitech Webcast: Optimizing Additive with Lean Six Sigma Manufacturing

3D printer and 3D product development software provider Fisher Unitech, a distributor of MakerBot and Nano Dimension 3D printers, is on a mission to advance manufacturing in America by supporting, delivering, and training customers on the best software and manufacturing solutions. Recently, Gerald Matarazzo, a 3D Printing Application Engineer with the company, as well as a Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, recorded a webcast all about using the Lean Six Sigma methodology to optimize additive manufacturing. During the webcast, Matarazzo introduces viewers to some Lean Six Sigma best practices, tips, tools, and tricks to help 3D printing companies stop getting hung up on costly delays.

“I want to be very clear – this presentation is meant for managers, not analysts,” Matarazzo explains in the webcast. “What that basically means is, once again, we’re going to be going over management tools, optimization, and tips and tricks on how to better manage a team or better manage a fleet of machines.”

Watch the 30-minute webcast below to learn more:

Topology Optimization Possibilities for 3D Printing

In a new YouTube video posted by Simuleon, a reseller of Dassault Systèmes SIMULIA products, you can see an interview with Ole Sigmund, a professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the keynote speaker at Dassault’s Additive Manufacturing Symposium, which opened this year’s popular Science in the Age of Experience event. Sigmund is one of the inventors of topology optimization, a mathematical approach that optimizes material layout within a given design space. It allows designers to take advantage of the geometrical freedoms possible through 3D printing. In the video, Sigmund discusses the possibilities of topology optimization, and infill technologies, for additive manufacturing.

“So essentially additive manufacturing offers ultimate freedom for manufacturing but they don’t know how to come up with these optimal parts. And on the other hand, topology optimization uses this ultimate freedom to come up with parts that are optimized for specific load cases and extreme situations. And so topology optimization provides the designs to additive manufacturing and additive manufacturing makes it possible to realize the designs coming from topology optimization, so that is an ideal marriage.”

3D Printing in the Aeronautics Industry

At this summer’s EAA Oshkosh AirVenture aviation event in Wisconsin, Boeing structures researcher Bernardo Malfitano delivered an hour-long talk about the use of 3D printing in the aeronautics industry. Understanding Airplanes recently published the YouTube video of the talk, along with the presentation slides. The Boeing researcher’s talk discussed the history of aviation companies using common 3D printing methods like SLA and FFF, how the the technology is currently used in the aerospace industry, and the ongoing research that will introduce even more applications in the future, such as surface smoothing and fatigue testing. The presentation also shows dozens of 3D printed parts that are currently in use on aircraft by companies and organizations like Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and NASA.

“I should probably specify that this isn’t really 3D printing for home builders, because I’m mostly gonna talk about more advanced technologies and more expensive 3D printers,” Malfitano said at the beginning of his talk. “I’m gonna talk about 3D printers that can print metal parts that cost millions of dollars.”

You can watch the whole presentation in the video below:

Viaggio a Shamballa Event by WASP Coming Soon

The versatile Italian company WASP, or the World’s Advanced Saving Project, has spent the last two years developing a new large-scale construction 3D printer called the Crane, a modular system consisting of multiple print bodies that’s evolved from the BigDelta 12M. In less than two weeks, WASP will be presenting the Crane to the public in Massa Lombarda, which is where the village of Shamballa is being 3D printed. On October 6th and 7th, a program will be held surrounding the introduction of the WASP Crane 3D printer and the Gaia Module 3D printed earth house. The conference “A call to save the world” will open the event, focusing on future 3D printing construction developments and proposing themes for reflection on both design strategy and the technology’s potential in architecture.

“Knowledge applied to common good. If we use digital manufacturing techniques to respond to the basic human needs, we start up a real hope and this will be the guiding thread of “A call to save the world”. A home is undoubtedly a primary need and WASP’s mission has always been to develop processes and tools to allow men, wherever they are, to build 3D printed houses with material found on site and at a cost that tends to zero,” WASP wrote in a press release.

“The WASP call is addressed to all those who want to collaborate and spread the new construction techniques, with the final aim to create a better world. Representatives of international organizations involved in architectural research, such as IaaC (Institute Advanced Architecture Catalunya, ES), XtreeE (FR), D-Shape (IT), Emerging Objects (USA), will take part in the meeting.”

Check out the complete program here.

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High-Speed Cameras Used to Monitor 3D Printing Process

3D printing, particulalry laser-powder bed fusion or L-PBF, requires a great deal of monitoring to avoid defects and flaws in the final parts. In a thesis entitled “Process Monitoring for Temporal-Spatial Modeling of Laser Powder Bed Fusion,” a student named Animek Shaurya studies the use of high-speed video cameras for in-situ monitoring of the 3D printing process of nickel alloy 625 to detect meltpool, splatter, and over melting regions to improve the quality of the print.

“The quantities that can be measured via in-situ sensing can be referred to as process signatures and can represent the source of information to detect possible defects,” states Shaurya. “The video images are processed for temporal-spatial analysis by using principal component analysis and T2 statistics for identifying the history of pixel intensity levels through the process monitoring. These results are correlated as over melting and spatter regions. The results obtained from these studies will provide information about the process parameters which can be used for further validation of modelling studies or for industrial purposes.”

Another objective of the research is to study meltpool locations and the types being generated during over melting, normal melting and under melting. There are two main types of meltpool: Type One, in which the meltpool area being processed is still within the heat-affected zone of the previous hatch scanning (or track processing); and Type Two, in which the meltpool area being processed is no longer affected by the heat from laser scanning of the previous track or hatch.

For the study, an EOS Direct Metal Laser Sintering Machine was used to 3D print nickel cubes. Experiments were designed to establish
a relationship between process parameters and part quality. A high-speed camera was used to perform an in-situ process monitoring to quantitatively analyze meltpool size and understand and analyze spattering behavior.

It was shown that over melting occurs more frequently in the processing of Type One tracks than in Type Two tracks.

“Such high values are usually occurring since pixel in these areas are characterized by an intensity profile that is mainly different from the underlying pattern that describes the image stream,” says Shaurya. “The knowledge of spatial localization of these spikes is important from an in-situ perspective, because they can provide information about local anomalies that may result to defects happening in products.”

Spattering happens more in Type One tracks than in Type Two as well, the video evidence concluded.

“The results obtained from this study proves that the method is more than suitable in developing a self-learning assistance system which can help in detecting spatter as the product is being made layer by layer,” concludes Shaurya. “Also, the robustness of PCA methodology used in this study can be easily verified by associating it with a statistical descriptor called Hotelling’s T2 distance which gives a spatial mapping against the pixel location using principal components which contribute most towards the video file and restricting loss of the information too.”

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Optimizing the 3D Printing of Natural Materials on a Large Scale

Many people are concerned about the effects of additive manufacturing on the environment, and are making efforts to find ways to 3D print more sustainably. This often involves finding new materials that are more environmentally friendly than, for example, plastic. In a paper entitled “Control of Process Settings for Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing with Sustainable Natural Composites,” a group of researchers describe an additive manufacturing system they developed for 3D printing large-scale objects using natural biocomposite materials.

According to the researchers, composites made from natural materials with good mechanical properties have been limited in use so far as they are often mixed with plastics or hazardous solvents, and for the most part their use has only been demonstrated on a smaller scale. Because most natural biocomposite materials are water-based, they present their own set of challenges because when they dry and harden, the removal of moisture results in changes in structure and dimension.

In the study, the researchers used a cellulose-chitin material that is both recyclable and compostable. In its dry state, its mechanical properties are similar to that of Rigid Polyurethane Foam. In its wet state, it is pliable and exhibits thixotropy, meaning that it is viscous while in a static state but flows under pressure from an extruder. As it dries, it shrinks anisotropically.

“Our additive manufacturing approach with this material resembles the Direct Ink Write method given the colloidal state of the material used,” the researchers explain. “However as in a Fused Deposition Modelling process, we also employ a filamentary layering approach. With the extruder mounted on an industrial robotic system, the scale of the process extends to the physical reach of the robot.”

The system consisted of three main components: a six-axis articulated industrial robot, a precision material dispenser and a material pump system. Two cameras were used to capture the top and side views of the filaments, allowing the researchers to measure the dimensions of the material. They used mathematical models to “uncover the possible dimensions of a filament that can be obtained within operating boundaries of our system,” and to optimize the machine parameters.

To test the models, the researchers 3D printed three replicates of filaments with different machine settings. The width and height of the filaments in both wet and dry states were measured along with their tensile strengths upon drying. Overall, the results affirmed the accuracy of the researchers’ models.

“The linear scaling of shrinkage of overall width along with constant shrinkage in length and height of the repeating units provides valuable insights on developing pathing algorithms which predict and suitably compensate for shrinkage,” they add.

The researchers’ experiments allowed them to develop “the fundamental knowledge pertaining the interplay between the material and the extrusion process, relating controllable parameters to geometric and physical properties of individual filaments.” They identified the lateral overlap settings that fuse filaments together with strength greater than individual filaments, and “mitigated cross-sectional tapering of walls and showed linear scalability of shrinkage models in 3D space which can be used to preset toolpaths and allow for accurate prints.”

Over the course of the study, the researchers successfully 3D printed a vertical single wall tubular structure of 0.25m height, a 1.2m long wind turbine blade and a 5m tall structure composed of multiple ruled-surface segments. More work is required, they state, to understand complex layer compression and bucking phenomena in single and multi-walled structures, and to explore the behavior of free-form designs and internal structural lattice patterns.

“While 3D printing with natural materials is certainly more challenging compared to well-behaved industrial grade material products, positive results towards understanding and controlling 3D printed biomaterials, positive steps towards this direction presented here, may impact general manifesting towards a more sustainable future,” the researchers conclude.

Authors of the paper include Yadunund Vijay, Naresh D. Sanandiya, Stylianos Dritsas and Javier G. Fernandez.

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Fabpilot by Sculpteo Demonstrating New FDM 3D Printing Integration at TCT Show

Last year, French 3D printing company Sculpteo first introduced its standalone Fabpilot software in October, before officially launching the fully cloud-based solution at formnext the month after. Now this week, at the 2018 TCT Show in Birmingham, Fabpilot by Sculpteo will be presenting its new Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) integration – the software solution now directly connects to FDM 3D printers in order to optimize their production and handle industrial production.

Fabpilot is a Software as a Service (SaaS) and this update helps it serve professionals who own several FDM 3D printers and are looking for a better way to manage them. Especially in businesses where multiple users control the machines and need file security and traceability.

“Fabpilot aims to eliminate the insecure and error prone practices of physically moving data around,” explained Alex Gryson, Product Owner. “Machine integration such as with FDMs makes this a reality for any scale of lab or production facility.”

It took Sculpteo eight years of in-house development to create Fabpilot, which provides third parties with a way to better manage and optimize their 3D printers. The software provides traceability, auto-routing for machine scheduling, streamlined file analysis and repair, file management and versioning, and a historical record of settings and configurations. The company claims that by using Fabpilot companies can increase overall production efficiency by 35%, and improve part quality.

Now, with its new direct FDM machine integration, Fabpilot is on a mission to support 3D printing for makerspaces, FabLabs, educational programs, universities, manufacturers and other businesses that provide 3D printing services. These can all use Fabpilot for direct integration with most FDM 3D printers, in order to combine file analysis and repair, quotation, part and order management, and performance analytics, as well as controlling end-to-end FDM production from the same cloud-based platform.

“FDM is by far the most common 3D printing technology: it’s cost-effective, highly adaptable, and the applications, from a microscopic scale to 3D printing houses, are endless. When thinking about the next progression, it made perfect sense to integrate directly with FDM,” said Clément Moreau, CEO and Co-Founder of Sculpteo and Fabpilot. “I am very proud of releasing this new functionality, which will bring a huge increase in the return-over investment ratio for users.”

With the new integration, Fabpilot users will be able to connect directly to FDM 3D printers and print from the cloud. It only takes a simple set-up and instance of Fabpilot to upload files, analyze and repair STLs, slice, and send G-code right to the FDM 3D printer. Some of the features the integration offers include:

Multi-machine control: automatically assign jobs to available printers.
2D Nesting: arrange the maximum number of parts on the build plate while avoiding a collision to reduce the number of required jobs to print parts.
Cloud slicing: upload over 30 file types, which are sliced and have their toolpaths defined so that G-code is ready to be sent to the printer.
Optimize orientation: use Fabpilot’s current automatic orientation algorithm to find the best orientation and minimize the need for support structures.
Print from the cloud: no need to download G-code and manually upload it, because slicing is completed in the cloud and sent directly to the printer.

This new development by Sculpteo’s Fabpilot protects files in a single platform from upload all the way to printing, completes the end-to-end workflow, and streamlines FDM 3D printing for several kinds of 3D printing labs.

The company’s new direct FDM integration was announced today at the TCT Show. At booth #P48 at the show this week, Fabpilot by Sculpteo will be proving it to visitors. There will be several demos of the integration, and a fun 3D Tetris Challenge with an interactive display will also be held.

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Shapeways Teams Up With Stratasys to Offer Full-Color, Multi-Material 3D Printing to Customers

People and organizations all around the globe use Shapeways, the largest 3D printing service and marketplace in the world, to build up business by creating 3D printed products. The company, which has 3D printed more than 10 million products, offers over 40 materials and finishes. Its latest customer is Biologic Models, a company that turns x-ray crystallography data into detailed, 3D printed protein models millions of times larger than the actual protein.

Today at the 2018 TCT Show in Birmingham, Shapeways announced a new agreement with global 3D printing leader Stratasys – the two are partnering up to make full-color, multi-material 3D printing more accessible to creators, designers, and companies like Biologic Models, which will be one of the first Shapeways customers to enjoy unprecedented access to the Stratasys J750 3D printer. One of the only full-color, multi-material 3D printers in the world, the Stratasys J750 is what the new manufacturing services are based around.

“Since its introduction, the Stratasys J750 has driven transformation across a number of industries. With Shapeways, the unmatched capabilities of the J750 will now be made available to an entirely new community of designers and creators,” said Pat Carey, Senior Vice President of Sales North America for Stratasys.

Shapeways and Stratasys are working together to bring the potential that the J750 3D printer offers to a much wider market. Now, customers that wouldn’t ordinarily have access to the full-color, multi-material capabilities of the J750 due to economics, lack of expertise, or barriers-to-access will be able to take advantage of the system, and use it make realistic prototypes with more streamlined design-to-prototype workflows.

Not only will using the PolyJet-driven Stratasys J750 allow customers to lower their time to revenue, but it will also help decrease time-to-market as well. The 3D printer provides over 500,000 color combinations, with transparent to opaque color gradients, accurate color-matching, and advanced, textured clear material that can create extremely fine and delicate details.

“The vivid colors of the Stratasys J750 3D Printer will enable the Shapeways community of designers, businesses, students, and artists to realize their brightest ideas and boldest ambitions in true physical form with full-color, texture mapping and color gradients,” said Shapeways CEO Greg Kess. “It’s exactly what our customers have been asking for.”

The Stratasys J750 can consistently and reliably fabricate parts that feel, look, and operate just like fully finished products, and gets rid of any lengthy assembly, painting, or post-processing requirements, which helps decrease production cycles. It’s perfect for Shapeways and its workflow – the platform can help design 3D printable objects that take full advantage of the 3D printer’s capabilities, along with running the systems at scale and providing ready-to-sell products.

This is perfect for Biologic Models, which uses its multi-colored protein data models to explain the subtle interactions of proteins and molecules. The company, founded by award-winning medical animator and 3D designer Casey Steffen in 2008, visualizes the unique properties of the molecules with 3D printed models that are millions of times larger than their actual size, which are then used by educators and scientists as helpful visual aids to explain the various properties of specific proteins, and their subtle interactions with molecules.

The 3D printed, multi-colored models, which the company pairs with augmented reality apps and 3D medical animations, also help in explaining the nature of disease and health that occurs on the molecular landscape.

“J750 is the best of both manufacturing worlds, full-color 3D printing combined with high-quality transparent plastics,” said Steffen, who is also the Director of Operations at Biologic Models. “This is exactly what my customers want. Transparency and color coding are necessary features to create the highest quality and most durable models. The J750 tackles these design and manufacturing challenges head on.”

Beta customers for the new agreement between Stratasys and Shapeways will be able to access this service before the year is out. A full launch should occur sometime in 2019. To learn more, visit Shapeways & Stratasys at the TCT Show this week in Hall 3, Stand H36.

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Wolfmet 3D 3D Prints 100% Tungsten Using SLM Showcases Its Products at TCT Birmingham 2018

Wolfmet 3D is the commercialization of 3D Printing methods developed at M&I Metals to 3D print tungsten. The company is a service bureau that makes tungsten 3D printed components for industry. Tungsten is not completely new to 3D printing with us having written about a study looking into the parameters of 3D printed tungsten and looking at Philips subsidiary Smit Rontgen 3D printing tungsten.

Now, Wolfmet 3D will try to conquer the world with this very special very dense material that for our industry is very exotic. To introduce their product the Wolfmet3D team is exhibiting at the TCT show in Birmingham and we interviewed them about 3D printing tungsten. Curious about them? Check them out at stand G41.

What is Wolfmet 3D?

Wolfmet 3D is the revolutionary additive manufacturing process whereby we produce 3D printed parts via SLM. It allows us to make parts which would either be impossible or not economical using traditional subtractive techniques.

What are the applications for 3D printed tungsten?

Extensive! It really is a very exciting time. Medical and industrial imaging in many ways are at the forefront of recent developments, but we are making new advances all the time in other areas too. To give just one example, we are in discussions with clients interested in tungsten’s heat resistant properties, which opens up another field of possible applications.

Tungsten is a very heavy metal. We almost always think about lightweighting things using 3D printing. But your material is used to make things heavier?

As you indicate, tungsten has a very high density (approx. 60% denser than lead). In the applications we have discovered so far for Wolfmet 3D, it is valued for its radiation attenuation properties, derived from the density, and also its heat resistance. The weight is really incidental.

What do you see as future applications for 3D printing tungsten?

Future opportunities are perhaps only limited by our own imagination, so our specialists work in partnership with leading research institutes and universities to ensure we are at the forefront of new developments across the globe.

How is tungsten used in vibration damping?

Tungsten’s high density enables it to act as a vibration weight in various dynamic applications.

Why does one want to 3D print a collimator?

The collimator’s function in an imaging system is to focus beams of radiation (gamma or x-ray) onto a detector and to filter out stray beams which might distort the signal. The detector’s software converts the signals into a 3D image of the subject. Until the arrival of Wolfmet 3D, most collimators were made from lead. Lead has several disadvantages – it is toxic and has to be handled with care and it is relatively soft. Most importantly, from the point of view of imaging systems, its density is much lower than that of tungsten. As a result, lead collimators are much less effective in screening out stray beams and, therefore, give inferior image quality.

What is the DEPICT system?

The DEPICT system was developed by a consortium which included Kromek and the University of Liverpool. Its function is to measure the amount of radioactivity issuing from a thyroid cancer patient during radiation therapy. This enables the medical staff to personalise the dosage of each treatment according to the patient’s physique and metabolism. The DEPICT team acknowledged early on that a tungsten collimator would give much more accurate readings than a lead one and we are very proud to have worked with them on this project.

Do you see many more applications in MRI or imaging generally?

Yes absolutely, Wolfmet 3D helps to make the innovations of our clients possible. Wolfmet tungsten has been shown to be MRI compatible in terms of its magnetic properties. This, together with the advantages that using tungsten can bring, makes it an exciting prospect for the future.

Are imaging apertures also a good application for your technology?

“In principle, yes, if the design is complex, as is increasingly the case.”

Isn’t shrinkage a huge problem with tungsten?

There is no shrinkage with the SLM technology which we use. I believe that this is not always the case with other Additive Manufacturing methods.

What kind of part properties can you get with this material?

The density is typically 94 – 96%. We have a continuous improvement programme designed to optimise the physical properties.

What kind of alloys are available?

At present we offer 100% tungsten components but as this is such a rapidly developing market, we are of course looking at other options. We have clients who are interested in developing other tungsten-based materials, but I’m afraid that I am also prevented from saying more due to our confidentiality agreements.

Minifactory Releases the Minifactory Ultra High Temperature Printer for PEEK and PEI at the TCT Show

Fins have this concept called Sisu. Sisu is a kind of hail mary pass, fatalistic almost, belief in one’s own toughness, resilience and survivability in the face of adversity. It’s kind of a gritty gumption with a side of never give up. Its this inner strength that shines through in what Minifactory does. Minifactory is a small but dedicated team of 3D printer builders in Finland. They’ve got Susi in spades. Often confused with MyMinifactory this one is not a download site but a builder of some of the world’s best high-temperature printers. The team is now releasing the Minifactory Ultra.

A Minifactory Ultras part in PEI (Ultem)

The Ultra is a new high-temperature 3D printer optimized for PEEK, PEI, PEKK and other ultra-high-performance materials.

The printer has a 330 x 180 x 180mm build volume.
Nozzle temperature can go up to 480°C
Chamber temperature of up to 250°C
Servo motors instead of steppers.
An on-board annealing system so you can post process and strengthen your parts on the machine.
Fully automated calibration
Two independent extruders
Seven-inch touchscreen
A vacuum table print bed so that print sheets can easily be added to it or removed.
Carbon filters.

A PEI part as it comes off the printer right, and once its annealed left.

The 100 x 80 x 100cm printer is a proper industrial device that displays good build quality. The parts that come off of it are very high quality. It is extremely difficult to 3D print PEEK. The material is difficult to process and one can get lots of issues with trying to obtain crystallization and build a part. Many 3D printers essentially ‘wick’ heat with a lot of heat flowing out of the chamber during builds. Operators and OEMs solve this by raising the nozzle temperature higher and higher. This is akin to you putting your oven on high in order to try to heat your house. Therefore many PEEK parts fail due to the temperature being too high or there being insufficient thermal control over the chamber. By focusing on good thermal management and thermal control Minifactory seems to have solved many of the issues affecting PEEK prints.

A Minifactory 9085 Ultem part

Another issue is that incomplete or improper crystallization can lead to poor part performance. This they seem to be actively trying to solve. By optimizing the machine so that it can anneal on the machine itself users can bake their parts after printing to improve the results. This removes a handling step and would be easier for operators but at the same time is not super optimal in machine utilization. The fact that they’re focussing on this though means that they understand the needs of their customers. Annealing itself is a controlled heating of the part so that stress is relieved this then can combat warping, dimensional issues and improve physical properties of parts.

The Minifactory Ultra

Sales and marketing director Olli Pihlajamäki told us

“miniFactory is an industrial 3D printer manufacturer driven by passion for ultra-polymers and the best results for industry class 3D printed parts. miniFactory Ultra is our third endeavor into 3D printing. A culmination of our years of experience, industry know-how and our perfected madness for 3D printing.”

“Biggest advantage in the miniFactory Ultra is the real capability to 3D print ultra-polymers with high strength without warping. It’s possible with the heated chamber up to 250 celsius. ULTEM (PEI), PPSU and other amorphous polymers require printing chamber temperatures above the polymers glass transition temperature (Tg). Tg is one of the most important thermophysical properties of amorphous polymers. In that temperature, polymer chains are oriented randomly and have freedom to move and polymer is in structural relaxation and cools down smoothly and evenly. From there comes the strength and dimensional accuracy to our printed ultra-polymer parts.”

“PEEK, PEKK and other semi-crystalline polymers require a really sensitive printing process for optimal crystallization. For that the Ultra has unique integrated and automated annealing system which means that after a print job, the machine calculates and perform the optimal annealing process for semi-crystalline polymer parts. High quality servo motors in all axes takes care of the printing accuracy.”

Only a few years ago high-temperature desktop 3D printers didn’t exist. Now there is an expanding and growing market of credible working machines that are being used to test and make parts in some of the most high-performance materials in the polymer world. The potential market for these things is huge with many companies turning to these materials to replace metal, lightweight things and make implants. I personally believe that these kinds of systems are the future. A system that is accurate and has good thermal control and management will print any material well. Carbon filter, servos, linear guides and annealing are all features that I want on my home machine too. $45,000 is far away from the RepRap kits we started with but it’s not a lot of money if it prints high-performance parts reliably for business users. The Minifactory Ultra is available now at minifactory.fi and if you’re in Birmingham for TCT, then they’re at J18.

Freshfiber Offers Stylish 3D Printed Bands for the Apple Watch

Amsterdam-based company Freshfiber was an early promoter of 3D printing, selling fully 3D printed products in its stores back in 2009 when most people still hadn’t even heard of the technology. At that time, smartphones were only starting to become ubiquitous, but Freshfiber saw an opportunity and took it, offering 3D printed phone cases that it described as sculptural works of art. As soon as Apple announced the development of its smart Apple Watch, Freshfiber was ready to meet a new demand – 3D printed watch bands.

Now Freshfiber is introducing a new collection of bands for the Apple Watch. There are three designs: the Pulse, the Obsidian and the Aurora. Here is how Freshfiber describes each design:

The Pulse Watch Band has a waveform made up of fifty-one differently shaped panels contracting and expanding in a vertical array. Their fluent motion creates an undulating landscape of fluid lines, pulsing with a gentle rhythm. Its geometry unites in an intriguing form, creating a confident presence on the wrist.
The name Obsidian derives from a type of igneous rock which is formed by the rapid cooling of viscous lava. An all round landscape of interlinking fractiles tessellate to form a surface of obsidian facets. The landscape gradually evolves from delicate shards on the sides to larger facets in the center. This results in an intriguing gradient pattern, delivering a luxurious, sophisticated style to the Apple Watch.
A formation of sweeping lines covering the wristband, inspired by the rhythmic light swirls of Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. The balanced composition of positive elements and negative space creates a delicate linework around the wrist, purely composed by the flow of movement. The Aurora Watch Band embraces the striking curvatures from nature, translated into an abstract, sculptural design with a contemporary look.

Freshfiber describes the structure of each of the bands as “a flat strip of material helix coiled into a flattened spiral,” each made from semi-rigid nylon material and wrapped into a helical spring. The bands are both flexible and sturdy and will return to their original shape if stretched or twisted. They come in a total of five sizes, compatible with 38mm/40mm and 42mm/44mm Apple Watch Series 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Each band has a printed clasp that is easily interchangeable so that the bands can be quickly swapped out if desired. The closure is hidden and integrated with the Freshfiber logo, and it has a novel press-and-release function that enables the watch to fit snugly around the wrist. Both ends of the watch band merge seamlessly together, without the closure disrupting the decorative elements. The bands are lightweight and have a pleasant feel on the wrist, according to Freshfiber.

In addition to the different designs, the watch bands are available in five different colors: black, gray, brown, red and blue, so if you’ve got some money to spare, you can get a whole collection of different bands, to match each outfit or situation. Each model costs €37.15. The designs were created by Matthijs Kok, Creative Director of Freshfiber.

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

[Images: Freshfiber]

Additive Works to Present Latest Version of Amphyon Software at Formnext 2018

German company Additive Works has spent a great deal of time perfecting its Amphyon software, a simulation tool for powder bed-based, laser beam melting 3D printing that allows users to run through the additive manufacturing process before doing it for real. The simulation enables users to see and address any problems that may arise, making it possible to achieve a perfect part on the first try. At formnext, which is taking place in Frankfurt from November 13th to 16th, Additive Works will be presenting the newest version of Amphyon.

The new Amphyon release includes a support structure module that automatically generates necessary supports, making sure that critical values are not exceeded and that the desired shape of the part will be achieved. The automatic creation of the support geometry means that less post-processing is required and that the 3D printing process is stable and smooth. It saves material and reduces calculation time and development costs.

Another new feature in the latest version of Amphyon is adaptive meshing, which allows for the calculation of larger and more complex components and the possibility of exporting layer data. This will save time when developing models and create an improved workflow, integrating the support module and an improved connectivity to machines.

“We are excited to present the new version of our first-time-right additive manufacturing solution at formnext in Frankfurt. The new version will be a significant improvement for Amphyon users who can now perform calculations of even larger and more complex models and benefit from an overall improved, simulation-driven workflow. The new features, such as automatic generation of support structures, adaptive meshing, and the possibility to export layers will lead to significant time savings,” said Dr. rer. Nat. Nils Keller, Co-Founder & CEO at Additive Works. “With the new version, we are taking Amphyon to the next level, helping our customers to become even more efficient. Formnext will be the perfect platform to present our new module and I’m looking forward to demonstrating the latest features of our solution and its potential benefits to our visitors.”

Formnext will feature more than 500 exhibitors and is expecting over 20,000 visitors from around the world. Focused on the latest developments in additive manufacturing, the event will give attendees a fresh idea of how the technology can be used in serial production. At the Additive Works booth, visitors can get a look at the new version of Amphyon and see live demos. Experts from the company will be on hand to talk about the new features and capabilities of the software, and to answer any questions about additive manufacturing. If you’ll be attending formnext, you can stop by and visit Additive Works at Booth #3.1-G51. 3DPrint.com will be in attendance at the event as well.

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Dog Recovering After Groundbreaking Surgery to Implant 3D Printed Skull Cap

Patches is a nine-year-old dachshund who, for years, had a small and apparently harmless bump on her head. Recently, however, that bump began growing until it became the size of an orange, and turned out to be cancerous. Patches’ owner was referred by her veterinarian to Cornell University‘s veterinary program, which in turn pointed her toward Michelle Oblak, a veterinary surgical oncologist with the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. Oblak had been studying the use of 3D printing technology for dogs.

Patches’ tumor had grown right through her skull; normally for a case like hers the tumor and part of the skull would be removed, and then a titanium mesh would be fitted in place. According to Oblak, the procedure is imprecise, costly and lengthy. However, Patches, who needed about 70 percent of her skull removed and replaced, was a perfect candidate for a new procedure, in which a custom titanium skull cap is 3D printed. According to Oblak, veterinarians in the United Kingdom had performed a similar procedure, though on a much smaller scale.

Patches’ owner, Danielle Dymeck, was nervous about the prospect, but decided to go ahead with the procedure.

“They felt she could recover from this,” Dymeck said. “And to be part of cancer research was a big thing for me — if they can learn something from animals to help humans, that’s pretty important.”

Oblak and her team started by taking a CT scan of Patches’ head, then used several different software programs to digitally cut out the tumor and diseased parts of the skull from the CT image. They then designed the 3D printed replacement, complete with holes for screws to hold it in place, and sent the design to ADEISS, a London, Ontario-based medical 3D printing company, which 3D printed a custom titanium skull cap. It took about two hours to design the skull cap and send it to ADEISS, and the final print was ready in about two weeks.

Oblak also created a cutting guide to follow during the surgery.

“There’s very little room for error,” she said. “We’re talking less than two millimetres or else the plate wouldn’t fit.”

On March 23, the surgery on Patches was carried out. Veterinarians removed the tumor and the affected parts of the dog’s skull, then carefully replaced them with the 3D printed skull cap. The entire procedure took about four hours, and within 30 minutes after waking up, Patches was taking a walk outside.

Oblak hopes to have the details of the procedure, which she believes is the first of its kind in North America, published in the upcoming months. A similar case was treated in Texas earlier this year, but a titanium mesh was used rather than a full skull cap, and tragically, the dog passed away from complications after the surgery. Patches, on the other hand, is doing well, despite the fact that in a separate incident a week after the surgery, she suffered a slipped disk that paralyzed her hind legs. She is in good spirits, however, and otherwise healthy and cancer-free.

“She has a wheelchair that she refuses to use, so she pulls herself around on her two feet, but she’s pretty fast,” Dymeck said. “I feel lucky to be her owner, and she’s still the boss of the house…We called her our little unicorn because she had this bump on her head, but it would have killed her. It’s pretty amazing what they did for my girl.”

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[Source/Images: The Province]