3D Printing News Briefs: April 4, 2020

It’s the first 3D Printing News Briefs of the month! To start with, SelfCAD released a new update, and ACEO is hosting a webinar series about 3D printing with silicones, while Objectify Technologies and TAGMA India are hosting a webinar series about AM adoption. Finally, SHINING 3D and Scan the World are using 3D scanners to bring art and culture to people during a time when most can’t leave their homes.

SelfCAD 2.9.2 Release

SelfCAD has released its latest software update, SelfCAD 2.9.2, which improves upon existing features and adds new ones to make 3D modeling and printing more efficient. First, there’s a new Environment Map feature in the Settings dropdown menu that lets you add lighting and scenery to your model, and even an environment map. In advanced settings, the new Macro Preview feature lets you see the results of the macros you’ve added without having to finalize your choices.

You can set a Minimum Step Size for Drawing, Transformation, and Deformation tools, and apply several operations, such as Chamfer, Fillet, Round Object, and Simplify, to Profiles. In addition, SelfCAD has fixed some bugs, and added more settings and options to the Round Object tool. If you have any questions or bugs to report, you can join the SelfCAD Facebook group or email support@selfcad.com.

ACEO Presenting 3D Silicone Printing Webinar Series

Due to newly implemented health and safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACEO continues to be operational, but is unable to receive customers right now. So, in an effort to stay connected during these strange times, the company’s team of application specialists, design engineers, and material experts are presenting a series of webinars – in English – all about silicone 3D printing.

The first one, “ACEO Basics,” will be held Tuesday, April 7, from 9-9:30 CET, and Wednesday, April 8, from 4-4:30 CET. You can sign up for the webinars here; the event password is jVMGwgX$242. Future topics for the series, with dates not yet announced, are “Real Silicones,” “Design Freedom,” and “ACEO Use Cases.” Please email service@aceo3d.com with your name, company/organization, and country if you’d like to sign up. A modern browser (i.e. not Internet Explorer) is recommended to watch the webinars.

Objectify Technologies and TAGMA India Holding Webinars

As many people around the world are staying indoors and away from other people during the pandemic, it’s easy to get bored. But, you can spend your time in a productive way, which is why Objectify Technologies and TAGMA India are holding their own 3D printing webinar series together. The series, themed “3D Printing: Prototype to Production,” was created to promote adoption of and spread awareness about additive manufacturing. Webinars will begin on April 6th and go through April 14th, with topics such as Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing 101, Learnings and Misconceptions, and Current Challenges and Demand of the Industry.

“To help engineers around the world learn something new in this lockdown time, we have come up with a series of webinars on Additive Manufacturing (AM). The idea behind this webinar is to spread awareness regarding the AM technology and help companies in their journey towards industry 4.0,” said Ankit Sahu, Founder & Director, Objectify Technologies Pvt Ltd. “The objective is to encourage individuals ranging from students, researchers, and industrialist, on 3D Printing and the value it possesses for Industry 4.0.

“I thank Mr. DK Sharma, President TAGMA India and the entire team of TAGMA for their support. During this challenging time, it’s the collective effort that will help us all grow. Let us all do our bit to help the industry in skill development.”

3D Scanning to Build a Museum Without Walls

Continuing on in our list of things to do while stuck inside during the coronavirus crisis, SHINING 3D has been working with MyMiniFactoryto to digitize important artifacts for its Scan the World community-built initiative, which archives 3D printable sculptures and other culturally significant objects. Together, they are basically building a 3D museum without walls that anyone can access at any time and from anywhere. Many museums open their data with an open license  in 2D, but don’t have the necessary resources to do so in 3D. Scan the World founder and manager Jon Beck is offering museums a free end-to-end service of scanning the sculptures, with the EinScan Pro 2X Plus, before processing the data into 3D models and uploading them to the museum’s Scan the World profile.

“The quality is very nice for the price that you pay. Scanning is still quite a high-level-entry technology, but what SHINING 3D has been able to do is to create an accessible affordable product, which still produces very good results for a wide range of industries, for me working with sculptures I haven’t found any issues so far working with marble and plaster sculptures and even bronze sculptures. EinScan has been able to solve all of these problems for me,” Beck said.

“There is so much story behind every single artwork whether it’s an original or it’s a copy which is quite beautiful and so, working with each member of staff in the museum who want to tell a different story about their collection is great.”

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ACEO Expands to United States with New Silicone 3D Printing Lab in Ann Arbor

WACKER, a global materials and technology manufacturer based in Munich, announced in 2016 that it had developed the first-ever industrial 3D printer for silicone materials. Around the same time, the company launched its new ACEO brand, which would be dedicated to the 3D printing of silicone rubbers. The brand is based out of its ACEO Campus in Burghausen, Germany, but is now expanding to the US. WACKER will be opening a 3D printing lab at its R&D center for silicones in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the lab will be its first regional 3D printing lab outside of Germany.

The new lab will start off with two 3D printers, which will each be able to print with a wide range of silicone rubber materials with different Shore A hardnesses and in different colors, including special media resistant FVMQ grades.

“In general, North America is the largest and most dynamic market for 3D printing,” said Bernd Pachaly, Head of the ACEO 3D printing project at WACKER. “With our new lab, prospective partners will obtain local access to the compelling possibilities of 3D printing with liquid silicone rubber.”

ACEO will continue to 3D print and deliver silicone components from its facility in Burghausen, but the new lab in Ann Arbor will provide technical service and advice to customers in North America, allowing them to get hands-on experience with silicone 3D printing technology.

“Right from the start, we will be engaged in projects involving medical devices and components needed for health care, transportation, aerospace and electronics, all of which are key industry segments, particularly for silicone-based products,” continued Pachaly. “Establishing a regional lab will support expansion of ACEO’s footprint in the US and furthers WACKER’s global service network for silicone rubber 3D printing solutions.”

ACEO’s drop-on-demand 3D printing technology allows for a great deal of design freedom and the printing of complex, functional components. Silicone rubber is a valuable 3D printing material, offering properties such as temperature and radiation resistance as well as biocompatibility. These properties make it a popular material for a range of industries including medicine, aerospace, automotive, equipment and mechanical engineering.

Since its inception, ACEO has expanded and further developed its technology, introducing multi-material 3D printing and functional materials. As the first company to introduce industrial silicone 3D printing, WACKER and its ACEO brand are exploring uncharted territory. Other companies have arisen with silicone 3D printing technology, but WACKER remains among the pioneers.

Locating the new ACEO 3D printing lab at the R&D facility in Ann Arbor is part of the company’s strategic business model for being close to its customers and serving regional business trends, according to Ian Moore, Vice President WACKER SILICONES at Wacker Chemical Corporation in Adrian, Michigan.

“Our Innovation Center is focused on developing advanced and forward-looking solutions that support regional trends which can be quickly brought to market,” Moore said. “Our team of scientists and highly specialized experts in the field of silicones and 3D printing will be able to offer our business partners valuable technical cooperation and services.”

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

[Images: ACEO]

 

WACKER to open million dollar ACEO silicone 3D printing lab in the U.S.

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