3D Printing News Briefs: September 21, 2019

We’re talking about an event, some 3D printing education news, and racing applications in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. Russia’s top 3D printing festival is returning for a second year, 3D Universe is introducing its Educators Exchange Community, and SUNY New Paltz is opening a 3D printing/business incubator. Scheurer Swiss GmbH supplied Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand with 3D printed parts, and Cincinnati Inc. is now an official sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports.

3D Today Festival in Russia

Russian 3D printing media outlet 3Dtoday will soon hold 3Dtoday Fest, the country’s top national 3D printing event. The festival premiered last year in St. Petersburg, but is moving to Moscow this time. Top local 3D technology manufacturers and distributors, such as iGo3D Russia and Picaso 3D, will attend the event, and many amateur 3D printer designers will showcase their work as well. Industry professionals and popular 3Dtoday bloggers will speak at the festival, and makers will have the chance to take complimentary workshops on topics ranging from post processing and painting 3D printed models to drawing with a 3D pen.

The goal of 3Dtoday Fest, which is working to expand the reach of 3D printing on a prosumer level, is to unite the community in order to help new and established manufacturers promote their materials and equipment, help beginners enter the world of 3D printing, and give artists and designers a place to display their work to a larger audience. 3Dtoday Fest will take place in Pavilion 5 of Moscow’s Expocentre on November 29 and 30 from 10 am to 6 pm.

3D Universe Introduces Educators Exchange Community

For a teacher who’s long wanted a classroom 3D printer, confusion may set in once the dream becomes a reality – what to have the students do with it now that it’s here? That’s why  3D Universe, a retailer and founding member of the e-NABLE community, has launched its new Educators Exchange community group on Facebook. The page is for educators who want to share their classroom’s digital fabrication projects, which is easy to do with the group’s spreadsheet.

“Our hope is that teachers from all over the world will share their curriculums with each other as open-source resources. We would love to see classrooms create collaborative projects that can connect students from different demographics together in a global 3D Universe Educational Maker Movement!”

Simply request to join, answer a few questions, and agree to the group rules, and then you can start sharing what your students are working on. You can browse the spreadsheet to find open source educational project files and resources, and even find helpful links to websites, articles, and machine-specific tutorials.

SUNY New Paltz Opens New Engineering Innovation Hub

The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz has just opened its $13.5 million Engineering Innovation Hub (EIH) building, built by Urbahn Architects and general contractor PC Construction. The 19,500 square foot facility, designed to meet LEED Silver environmental and sustainability standards, includes teaching and research lab spaces, the school’s Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center (HVAMC), a popular bachelor’s degree program in mechanical engineering, and 3D print prototyping labs to support the program. It was designed in such a way that an expansion could be supported in the future if necessary.

“The bright, open, 661-square foot entrance lobby is intended as a collaborative space for students,” explained Urbahn Architects’ Construction Administrator Manuel Mateus. “It features cabinets for the display of 3D-printed artifacts. Counters with computer charging and data outlets, lounge-style seating, and whiteboards that allow students to study, work, and collaborate. The lobby also features a textured art wall invoking 3D-printed panels. The flooring consists of textured porcelain ceramic tile and the ceiling is gypsum board. The space features ring-like curvilinear LED ceiling light fixtures.”

3D Printed Toyota Race Car Parts by Scheurer Swiss

Scheurer Swiss GmbH was commissioned to create carbon-reinforced 3D printed engine components for the well-known Castrol Toyota Racing Series (TRS). With the company’s help, Toyota GAZOO Racing New Zealand has created the more powerful Toyota FT-60 for the TRS 2020. The engine can produce 285 hp – far more than its predecessor – and the car itself was tested on the track in Italy this summer. The material was able to stand up under the enormous heat and speed, in addition to the race track’s compressive forces.

“We are planning to go into series production soon with the 3D-printed carbon-reinforced engine components from Scheurer Swiss. We are very satisfied with the advice and service provided by Scheurer Swiss, in particular the flawless and fast delivery of the urgently needed carbon-reinforced components for the Toyota FT-60 test series,” said David Gouk, the owner of David Gouk Race Engines.

The Castrol Toyota Racing Series’ 2020 racing season starts in January at the Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand.

Cincinnati Inc. Sponsoring Hendricks Motorsports starting in 2019

In a record 10-year agreement beginning this year, machine tool manufacturer Cincinnati Inc. has joined Hendrick Motorsports – a 12-time NASCAR Cup Series champion – as an official sponsor through the 2028 racing season. The company will be a primary sponsor of Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the October 6th Cup Series playoff race, in addition to two 2020 events. Cincinnati Inc. is also a full-season associate sponsor of the team’s entire stable for ten years, and was named Hendrick Motorsports’ Official Metal Fabrication and Additive Equipment Provider. Hendrick will use the company’s 3D printing, laser cutting, and press brake machinery to help develop and construct its race car fleet.

“Ten years is quite a statement. It demonstrates how the Cincinnati team feels about NASCAR and the opportunities the sport presents for their business,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “From the perspective of our team, it’s a major endorsement of how fantastic the Cincinnati products are and the confidence we have that the relationship will help provide a competitive advantage on the racetrack. We look forward to a lot of trips to Victory Lane together over the next decade.”

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

[Image: e-NABLE]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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