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Brazil: Experimenting with Recycled ABS & PLA for Dosimetry

Brazilian researchers seek an environmentally friendly method not only for 3D printing but to put discarded plastic to use in dosimetry, a method for measuring radiation therapy. Outlining their findings in the recently published ‘Reuse of 3D printed materials for dosimetry purposes,’ the authors focus on ABS and PLA.

Material (PLA) prepared for the application of the recycling tests.

While a huge variety of materials are now available on the market, ABS and PLA still prevail due to their accessibility and affordability. 3D models can be easily created and while they are helpful in the medical field for everything from educating patients to being used for diagnosing, treating, and surgical planning, they can also be used as phantoms for ionizing radiation dosimetry.

Schematic assembled for obtain Kerma rate values.

While there is a need for characterization of 3D printed samples, the researchers considered the true feasibility of recycling plastic filament for use in dosimetry. In this study, the team attempted to re-use transparent PLA and black ABS.

Characterization of radiation quality series RQT

The researchers printed two samples with recycled PLA and ABS materials for experimentation, measuring 7cm in diameter and 9mm in thickness. The images were analyzed in a CT scanner, targeting one area of interest and measuring Hounsfield units (HU).

Overall, the team reported PLA as the winner in terms of offering ‘better performance’ due to homogeneity; even so, ABS performed fairly well despite a make up of petroleum. Heading into the experimental phase with materials, the research team had expectations that there would be problems with the ABS materials; however, the team reported ‘satisfactory’ results.

“After the readings with the ionization chamber, correction factors were applied, in order to obtain the Kerma values to evaluate the materials,” explained the team.

measured values in Hounsfield units for each sample

Ultimately, the researchers came to the conclusion that the variations found in the samples could have been a consequence of material density that resulted from the recycling process. There were numerous questions surrounding the use of typical parameters, as well as how they cause different reactions due to the differences in the material once it has been recycled.

Samples printed in transparent PLA and black ABS for comparison with recycled samples

“Different printing parameters may be applied during prototype acquisition, which influence the amount of material deposited on each printed layer and, depending on the type of printer used and the print setting, these layers may have air holes between them,” concluded the researchers the end of their study.

“Although high quality printing parameters were chosen in this paper, the results for the samples point to a difference between the densities of recycled and printed PLA/ABS samples. For more inclusive analysis, studies can be performed with samples from different printers to define the best print resolution to compare with samples of fused materials.”

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.

[Source / Images: ‘Reuse of 3D printed materials for dosimetry purposes’]

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Brazil: 3D Printed Miniaturized Platform with Disposable Detector

Brazilian researchers from Instituto de Química explore miniaturized devices in the recently published ‘Design of novel, simple, and inexpensive 3D printing-based miniaturized electrochemical platform containing embedded disposable detector for analytical applications.’

While there are many different methods used today for detection in miniaturized devices, electrochemical methods are attractive to users for the following reasons:

  • Sensitivity
  • Simplicity
  • Ease in operation
  • Potential for miniaturization of instrumentation
  • Low environmental impact
  • Minimal power requirements

Steps for the fabrication of the electro-chemical platform: (A) CAD design of the 3D printed mold used for prototyping the PDMS devices. The internal relief structures were20 mm length × 600 μmwidth × 1 mm height; (B)PDMS device obtained using the 3D printed mold;(C) PDMS miniaturized cell with the integrated working,pseudo-reference and counter electrodes; (D) geometric area of the electrodes delimited with adhesive tape, and (E)electrochemical platform

These techniques are applicable to other applications too, like electrochemical sensors:

“These aspects make the electrochemical techniques affordable, very attractive, and a powerful tool for analytical sciences,” stated the researchers.

Here, pencil graphite was chosen as it is a good alternative to carbon, accessible and affordable, and effective. For this project, the researchers presented a platform with a ‘fully integrated electrochemical detector, fabricated via FDM 3D printing.’

SEM images of the pencil graphite lead surface obtained in different magnifications

For the proof of concept, the device created here was used in analyzing both dopamine DOPA and acetaminophen (AC). This allowed the researchers to evaluate the functionality of the device, as they assessed parameters. Urine sample results were found to be ‘quite satisfactory,’ with the device functioning via a structure containing microchannels with the pencil graphite leads inserted into them, resulting in working electrodes.

“This way, the results reported here testify the good analytical efficiency, precision, and stability of the proposed device, and enables its use for routine analytical procedures and determination of electroactive substances in real samples, even using simple and inexpensive materials. Moreover, the 3D printing-based fabrication protocol used here may be an interesting alternative to the most widely used soft lithography on the fabrication of PDMS-based structures,” concluded the research team.

“It is interesting since the configuration of the devices is easily adjusted and the molds might be fabricated in-house without the use of complex instrumentation and expensive facilities such as clean rooms. Moreover, the device presented here might be used as a detector in other analytical systems such as flow and microfluidic devices. It opens promising new possibilities for application of the approach described here.”

3D printing and miniaturization often accompany each other today, and especially as researchers around the world seek greater opportunity to innovate and push the limits for versatility in a multitude of different applications, using a variety of hardware, software, and materials. As the lab-on-a-chip concept becomes increasingly more popular for scientists and industrial users, other vehicles such as microfluidics and micro-mixers are becoming widely used, along with so many other new methods and materials.

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.

[Source / Images: ‘Design of novel, simple, and inexpensive 3D printing-based miniaturized electrochemical platform containing embedded disposable detector for analytical applications’]

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Brazil: Researchers Test the Potential of Recycling PLA for Greater Sustainability in 3D Printing

Brazilian researchers are interested in furthering not only the benefits of 3D printing but also the advantages of PLA’s biodegradability for ease in recycling. Their findings are further outlined in the recently published, ‘Recovery and recycling of a biopolymer as an alternative of sustainability for 3D printing.’ With the intent to motivate users to follow through with mechanical recycling of PLA, the researchers have started a program to do so on their end at the Materials and Design Laboratory at University of State of Pará.

3D printer on the left and PLA filament coil ready to be printed.

As the problem of trash and waste disposal—and the ever-growing amount of plastic—continues to be an enormous point of concern regarding our planet and the ongoing havoc humans wreak—alternatives must be considered for many different materials. Polylactic acid (PLA) is attractive to many users because it is a non-toxic, thermoplastic material—a biopolymer—and it is biodegradable due to its plant-based origins. While PLA and its other popular cousin in 3D printing, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) are both extremely popular, the business of materials is exploding within the industry—and with more prints comes more discards.

With PLA at least there is more of a head-start regarding a positive environmental factor, and users—as well as the industry overall—should realize their options in recycling and leaving behind even less of a footprint. The researchers were able to collect PLA from a local 3D printing services bureau for recycling, and material was separated out by color, and then dried. Afterward, they added wood granules and jute to the PLA material. The material was then melted and analyzed by the team.

“The addition of lignocellulosic reinforcements to thermoplastic polymers is environmentally interesting,” stated the researchers. “The wood waste can return to the production chain and can generate new products when added to thermoplastic resins. The jute fiber mainly used in packaging can now be able to generate other products with PLA biopolymer.”

PLA wastes used in this work (left), enameled pan and silicone mold (right)

PLA waste can be easily recycled due to the low melting temperature of this polymer. The tablets can be saved to use in other researches, or mixed with cellulosic fibers to consolidate composite plates.

Plates of PLA recycled with the addition of wood granules consolidate with no pressure, showing mold contact surface and the opposite surface, where we can observe that the fast cooling after leaked promote an irregular surface texture mainly on the free surface of the sample.

It is possible to observe the aspects of the plates produced with the recycled PLA with addition of jute fiber of 1.5 to 2,00 centimeter, consolidated under pressure, showing the regularity on the surface on both sides. For these samples light color waste was selected.

“Considering the problem of the increase of materials waste generated from 3D printing, a process that tends to become popular, and few researches were found in the literature focusing on the recycling of these materials, this work contributed to the identification the residue of PLA discarded in the digital manufacturing activities as a possible raw material for new products through the recycling process.”

“The waste recycling of 3D printing is a sustainability alternative for this activity; As future research it is proposed to carry out physical and mechanical characterization of the samples made from the recycled PLA,” concluded the researchers.

While recycling is an ongoing conversation around the world, it is especially emphasized in the realm of 3D printing where a wide range of plastics are used and often discarded. Researchers and enthusiasts around the world are engaged in innovative projects to recycle powder into filament, into prosthetics, and even metal stock into components for the military. 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.

[Source / Images: ‘Recovery and recycling of a biopolymer as an alternative of sustainability for 3D printing’)

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Materialise Acquires Engimplan, Enters the Medical Device Market

Materialise is the leader in 3D printing software. Additionally, the firm has a 3D printing service bureau. By leveraging its learnings in manufacturing it can improve its software; while additions to software packages such as 3Matic and Magics can be validated at its own production locations. For years the firm has supported surgeons and medical device manufacturers with software for surgical guides. It has partnered with medical device manufacturers, facilitated surgical planning and printed parts for CMF and other surgeries. Today the firm takes another bold step towards medical 3D printing by acquiring Engimplan.

Materialise today acquired 75% of Engimplan, a Brazil-based medical device manufacturer that is a strong national player making innovative CMF and orthopedic devices with revenues of 6 million euros. Materialise will keep the Engimplan management team in place and continue with a strong focus on the Brazillian market. This is a huge boost for Brazil’s chances of becoming a medical device and 3D printing hub for the region and perhaps the wider world. Materialise will together with Engimplan manufacture 3D printed orthopedic and CMF implants, patient-specific and standard, in Brazil. Materialise has a huge lead over everyone else in surgical planning, translating DICOM and other files into 3D prints, the software chain for medical and printing in surgical guides. Meanwhile, Engimplan is in the, traditionally clubby, medical device industry which could set up Materialise for further local and global success in medical device. With 510K and other approvals on the rise for 3D printed products and with a proactive FDA open to engaging actively with firms to define the new regulatory landscape, this seems like a prescient move by Materialise. Medical device manufacturing itself in ortho will also rise through obesity, people living longer and more developing country people getting access to high-end orthopedic solutions. Other medical device firms, with Striker leading the pack, have invested heavily in 3D printing orthopedics and are developing new polymer and metal orthopedic solutions.

With titanium textures making for good bone adhesion and customization leading to patient-specific solutions that may give better patient outcomes it makes a lot of sense for Materialise to enter this market. To do so in Brazil is a ballsy move betting on the future growth, prosperity and technical sophistication of the South American nation of over 200 million. The local market should be promising for the immediate future. Prosperity would bring many more into the 3D printed prosthetic fold but if prosperity will lag then the middle and richer classes of Brazillian society could still bring many more patients to Engimplan and Materialise. If the team can then grow internationally this will be a great move indeed.

3DPrint.com was given the opportunity to speak with Brigitte de Vet, Vice President and General Manager of Materialise Medical in advance of this transaction. Brigitte was able to tell us that this is a “strategic investment,” where “the Materialise technology in 3D printing will lead to the local production of innovative medical devices in Brazil.”

“The focus will be on the Brazillian market where we could combine our expertise in this large important market with a strong local player for CMF and orthopedics.”

Brigitte felt that this investment was “complementary to existing partnerships with medical device companies, as they will do things in Brazil that they do not do with current partners.” A distinct advantage was that, “this transaction will use the power of 3D printing and the digital backbone to strengthen and leverage global process and product innovation locally.” Materialise, “through having 30 years in the market, the software backbone and certified solutions in this arena will be able to build on Engimplan’s considerable expertise.”

The investment will focus on “Standard implants such as spinal cages but also develop new innovations in patient-specific implants.” She sees that there is a real business case for 3D printed patient-specific implants.

“Depending on the indication there could be a patient-specific solution where there simply is not a standardized solution available. In other cases patients may spend less time in the operating theatre due to the patient-specific implant and this will save the patient, hospital and health system money making the business case for these implants.”

“Patient-specific implants also lead to better planning that is integrated with the software and patient scans which will lead to better procedures. Meanwhile a specific implant also means that the hospital has to have fewer implants in stock and the surgeons immediately have the correct implant at hand.” 

This seems like a very wise and bold move from Materialise and places the company is an excellent position to manufacture innovative medical devices and instruments. Patient specific orthopedics are a growing very exciting market and Materialise has just put itself in the driving seat.

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EOS Explains the State of Industrial 3D Printing in Latin America

Back in 1989, Hans Langer’s vision of going straight from CAD to manufacturing without tooling for the fabrication of physical components led to the creation of Electro Optical Systems (EOS GmbH) and revolutionized the industrial manufacturing sector in Germany. EOS has grown to become one of the global technology leaders in industrial 3D printing of metals and polymers, specializing in the interaction of laser and powder materials and is currently celebrating 30 years in the industry.

Industrial 3D printing is booming, AM in aerospace is growing, the cost-effective, tool-less production of lightweight components reduces fuel consumption, material costs, and CO2 emissions. And what about automotive, 3D printing is heralding new paths in the sector; not to mention prosthetics, medical implants, defense and renewables (just to mention a few). The latest Wohlers Report 2019 says the AM industry will exceed $15.8 billion, so it’s no wonder that Latin America has become an incipient and promising market for 3D printing. Latin America is home to around 9 percent of the world population (that’s roughly 651 million people), so like other machine developers, EOS is interested in breaking into the southern cone, although it’s not an easy market, especially compared to North America, Europe or Asia. Much of the economy still relies heavily on traditional sectors involving natural resources such as agriculture and textiles, nonetheless, opportunities are springing up across the subcontinent and Latin America GDP is expected to improve in 2020 thanks to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina.

Production of EOS technology

“In Latin America, the additive manufacturing business is developing slower than expected. One major reason for that might be that leveraging 3D printing technology requires relatively high investments, which companies in the region are not willing or not able to invest on yet. Furthermore, 3D printing expertise has to be build up, but there is still a lack of AM specialists in the region. However, EOS is confident that these points will change in the next two to three years, meaning that more and more industry companies will use AM technology for series applications,” suggested Davide Iacovelli, Regional Director South of EOS, to 3DPrint.com.

“In general, I see the following trend: In Europe, more and more customers have evolved from 3D printing for prototyping towards using the technology in production. Topics like industry 4.0 are especially important accelerators and companies are getting more interested in setting-up digital factories. That’s following our EOS vision: We strictly believe that additive manufacturing is a key technology for advanced industrial production and is THE technology for digital manufacturing. In comparison, this is not the case in Latin America yet, where AM technology is mostly used for prototyping or for university research and development,” he continued. 

With regards to the different areas of industrial 3D printing usage in Latin America, Iacovelli considers that in general, the most active and mature industries are medical and dental, something many other experts have also confirmed to 3DPrint in the past.

“In these industries, the jump to series production could succeed the fastest,” he claims, with corresponding applications for crowns, bridges, and implants.

According to the expert, there are other exciting applications and industries pushing additive manufacturing, like aerospace, which “is certainly not to be underestimated in Latin America, be it in the field of aircraft or satellites, to name just two possible areas of application.” 

For EOS, in the Latin American region, the most successful areas of their system usage are academia, followed by service providers (for the production of prototypes). This means that the most common areas for additive manufacturing are still prototyping as well as research and development, and other important fields include medical and dental applications where patient-specific solutions are in high demand. And with companies like EOS providing all essential elements for industrial 3D printing, system, material and process parameters can be intelligently harmonized to facilitate and ensure a reliable high quality of printed parts.

Iacovelli considers that “the oil and gas as well as mining industries are certainly interesting scenarios (like offshore applications in the area of power generation) where the benefits of AM can be implemented. The automotive industry is also an important sector – about three million vehicles per year are produced in Brazil alone, so the potential is huge. Others, like the prospective Industry 4.0 scenarios probably will take some more time, here we see potential but not in the short-term.”

The automotive industry is well within a comfort zone for EOS. Back in 1991, one of Langer’s first customers was Bavarian car manufacturer BMW (one of the early users of 3D printing technology), and other automotive developers followed suit. In 2018, Brazil produced over 2.8 million vehicles, everything from passenger cars to trucks and buses, of some major global brands like Volkswagen, Fiat, GM, and Ford. And although today is not the same as it was 10 years ago with many plants closing, like Ford’s oldest truck-producing factory, many expect this will soon shift as the region exit’s its current recession.

“One of the challenges the market in general faces is that companies in Latin America typically strive for a faster Return On Investment (ROI), in these kinds of investments with industrial machinery needed for 3D printing, than in Europe. We also see local regulations and guidelines, which are different from Europe, like in the medical/dental sector in Brazil. This is especially complex as almost every country in Latin America has its own regulations,” continued Iacovelli.

In the region, EOS is offering systems for industrial 3D printing with metal as well as polymer materials, each category with different sized build volumes. They consider the ratio in Latin America to be 45 percent metal and 55 percent polymer systems. In the area of polymers, the EOS P 110 system (a machine ideally suited for research and development but that some consider perfect for manufacturing) is extremely popular with the most sales. Particularly in Brazil, there are also systems used with a larger build area from the EOS P 3 system family, while in the metal area, the EOS M 2 system family is predominantly bought.

With sales that top 1,000 units globally every year, the company could be well on its way to expanding these AM systems in Latin America. All of the countries in the region are in dire need of a strong 3D printing market to help them change the traditional manufacturing systems and become sustainable companies that can grow at similar levels as the rest of the world. Big events like Inside 3D Printing in Brazil and 3D Print Week in Argentina can help shape the 3D market. For companies like EOS to thrive and for the population to start considering the benefits of 3D printing beyond just a hobby, big changes need to happen, from state officials to leading companies and entrepreneurs. More importantly, big investments in AM systems could benefit countries like Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil and lead them into the fourth industrial revolution. 

The EOS P 110, very popular in Latin America

[Image Source: EOS]

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Inside 3D Printing Brazil: 3D Criar’s Founders Expect 3D Printing will Change Education in Brazil

One of the companies leading the way in Brazil’s growing 3D printing industry is targeting education. Founded in 2014, 3D Criar is a big part of the additive manufacturing community, pushing their ideas through and around economic, political and industry limitations.

Like other emerging countries in Latin America, Brazil is lagging the world in 3D printing, and even though it is leading the region, there are too many challenges. One of the big concerns is a rising demand for engineers, biomedical scientists, software designers, 3D customization and prototyping specialists, among other professions needed to become an innovative leader in the global arena, something the country is lacking at the moment. Furthermore, private and public high schools and universities are in great need of new tools to learn and interact through collaborative and motivational learning, which is why 3D Criar is offering solutions for the education industry through 3D printing technologies, user training, and educational tools. Operating in the professional desktop 3D printer segment and distributing the world’s leading brands in Brazil, it carries the widest range of technologies available from a single company: FFF/FDM, SLA, DLP and polymer SLS, as well as high performance 3D printing materials such as HTPLA, Taulman 645 Nylon and biocompatible resins. 3D Criar is helping the industry, health and education sectors develop a customized 3D printing workflow. To better understand how the company is adding value in Brazil’s complex educational, economic and technological life, 3DPrint.com spoke with André Skortzaru, co-founder of 3D Criar. 

André Skortzaru speaking about 3D Criar at the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo in Brazil

After years spent as a top executive at big companies, among them Dow Chemical, Skortzaru took a long break, moving to China to learn the culture, language and find some perspective. Which he did. A couple of months into the journey, he noticed the country was thriving and a lot of it had to do with disruptive technologies, smart factories and a great big leap into industry 4.0, not to mention the massive expansion of education, tripling the share of GDP spent in the last 20 years and even plans to install 3D printers in all of its elementary schools. 3D printing definitely caught the attention of Skortzaru who started planning his return to Brazil and financing for a 3D printing startup. Along with business partner Leandro Chen (who at the time was an executive at a software company), they established 3D Criar, incubated at the technology park Center of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (Cietec), in São Paulo. From there on, they began to identify market opportunities and decided to focus on digital manufacturing in education, contributing to the development of knowledge, preparing students for careers of the future, providing 3D printers, raw materials, consultancy services, in addition to training -which is already included in the purchase price of the machines- for any institution that wanted to set up a digital manufacturing lab, or fab lab, and maker spaces.

“With financial support from international institutions, like the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Brazilian government has funded education initiatives in certain impoverished sectors of the country, including the purchase of 3D printers. However, we noticed that universities and schools still had a huge demand for 3D printers, but little or no staff prepared to use the devices and back when we started, there was no awareness of the applications and technology available, especially in elementary schools. So we got to work and in the last five years, 3D Criar sold 1,000 machines to the public sector for education. Today the country faces a complex reality, with institutions highly demanding 3D printing technology, yet not enough money to invest in education. To become more competitve we need more policies and initiatives from the Brazilian government, like access to credit lines, tax advantages for universities, and other economic incentives that will drive investment in the region,” Skortzaru explained.  

The 3D Criar stand at Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo in Brazil

According to Skortzaru, one of the big problems facing private universities in Brazil is the cutback in student registrations, something that began right after the State chose to reduce by half the low-interest loans it offered poorer students to attend the more numerous fee-paying private universities. For poor Brazilians who miss out on the small number of free university places, a cheap loan from the Fund of Student Financing (FIES) is the best hope of accessing a college education. Skortzaru worries that with these cuts in funding inherent risks are significant.

“We are in a very bad cycle. Clearly, if students are dropping out of college because they dont have money to pay for it, the institutions will schematicaly lose investment in education, and if we dont invest right now, Brazil will be lagging behind the world average in terms of education, technological advances and trained professionals, ruining future growth prospects. And of course, I’m not even thinking about the next couple of years, at 3D Criar we worry about the coming decades, because the students that are going to graduate soon will not have any knowledge of the 3D printing industry. And how could they, if they’ve never even seen one of the machines, let alone used it. Our engineers, software developers, and scientists will all have sallaries below the global average,” revealed Skortzaru.

With so many universities around the world developing 3D printing machines, like Formlabs – which was founded six years ago by three MIT graduates becoming a 3D printing unicorn company – or biotech startup OxSyBio, which spun out of the University of Oxford, the Latin American 3D printing ecosystem dreams of catching up. Skortzaru is hopeful that enabling 3D printing in all schooling levels will help children learn various disciplines, including STEM, and in a way prepare them for the future.

André Skortzaru explains how 3D Criar will change the 3D printing industry in Brazil

As one of the top exhibitors at the 6th edition of South America’s largest 3D printing event, “Inside 3D Printing Conference & Expo”, 3D Criar is successfully implementing the technologies of industry 4.0 in Brazil, providing customized training, lifetime technical support, research and development, consulting and post-sale follow-up. The entrepreneurs’ efforts to ensure the best 3D printing experience for their users has led to many participations in trade shows and fairs where the startup has gained recognition among competing companies and interest from 3D printing manufacturers eager to find a reseller in South America. The companies they currently represent in Brazil are BCN3D, ZMorph, Sinterit, Sprintray, B9 Core and XYZ Printing.

3D Criar’s success led them to also supply machines for the Brazilian industry, that means this pair of business entrepreneurs also have a good idea of how the sector is struggling to incorporate 3D printing technology. At this time, 3D Criar provides complete additive manufacturing solutions to the industry, from the machines to the input materials, and the training, they even help companies develop viability studies to understand the return on investment from purchasing a 3D printer, including analyzing 3D printing successes and cost reductions over time.

“The industry was really late in implementing additive manufacturing, especially compared to Europe, North America, and Asia. This comes as no surprise, since during the last five years, Brazil has been in a deep economic recession and political crisis; as a consequence, in 2019, the industrial GDP was the same as it was in 2013. Then, the industry began to cut costs, mainly affecting investment and R&D, which means that today we are implementing 3D printing technology in its last stages, to produce final products, bypassing the normal phases of research and development that most of the world is doing. This needs to change soon, we want universities and institutions to investigate, experiment with the technology, and learn to use the machines,” explained Skortzaru, who is also Commercial Director of 3D Criar.

One of the most visited stands at Inside 3D Printing Conference & Event was 3D Criar

Indeed, the industry is now more open to 3D printing and manufacturing companies are searching for FDM technologies, like multinationals Ford Motors and Renault. Other “fields, like dental and medicine, haven’t entirely grasped the importance of the advances this technology brings.” For example, in Brazil “the majority of dentists finish university without even knowing what 3D printing is,” in an area that is continuously advancing; moreover, the speed with which the dental industry is adopting 3D printing technology may be unrivaled in the history of 3D printing. While the medical sector is continuously struggling to find a way to democratize AM processes, as surgeons have big restrictions to create biomodels, except for very complex surgeries where they are being used. At 3D Criar they “are working hard to make doctors, hospitals and biologists understand that 3D printing goes beyond just creating 3D models of unborn babies so parents know what they look like,” they want to help develop bioengineering applications and bioprinting.  

3D Criar helps students’ ideas come to life (Image: 3D Criar)

“3D Criar is fighting to alter the technological environment in Brazil starting with the younger generations, teaching them what they will need in the future,” Skortzaru said. “Although, if universities and schools don’t have the technology, knowledge, and money to sustainably implement the required changes, we will always be a developing country. If our national industry can only develop FDM machines, we are hopeless. if our teaching institutions can’t afford to buy a 3D printer, how will we ever carry out any research? The most renowned engineering university in Brazil the Escola Politecnica of the University of Sao Paolo doesn’t even have 3D printers, how will we ever become an additive manufacturing hub?”

3D Criar’s printers for education: the ZMorph (Image: 3D Criar)

Skortzaru believes that the rewards of all the efforts they make will come in 10 years when they expect to be the biggest 3D company in Brazil. Now they are investing to create the market, growing demand and teaching the basics. In the last two years, the entrepreneurs have been working on a project to develop 10,000 Social Technology Laboratories throughout the country to provide knowledge for new startups. With only one of these centers to date, the team is anxious and hopes to add many more in the next five years. This is one of their dreams, a plan that they believe could cost up to one billion dollars, an idea that could take 3D printing into some of the most remote areas of the region, places where there is barely any government funding for innovation. Just like with 3D Criar, they believe they can make the centers a reality, hopefully, they will build them in time for the next generation to enjoy them. 

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Interview with Juan Carlos Miralles: 3D Printing in Latin America has Taken Longer than Expected

Juan Carlos Miralles

It is quite common for emerging Latin American countries to follow global technology trends, but 3D printing hasn’t gained enough force to even begin to disrupt some of the main industries. Latin American economies have posted average annual GDP growth rates of about 3 percent, far slower than growth in some other developing regions. Furthermore, a report about productivity growth in Latin America by the World Bank, states that the technologies found in the factories are far less productive and closer to obsolescence than those in the United States. Only 22 percent of firms in the region innovate, which is very poor compared with 62 percent of firms in Europe and Central Asia. And even when they do innovate, Latin American firms do it cautiously. In an interview with 3DPrint.com, Juan Carlos Miralles, Stratasys Sales Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, tried to shed some light on the importance of using 3D printing technologies in local universities and hospitals, as well as educating younger generations in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Miralles is very interested in the impact that medical models can have on the overall performance of hospitals and clinics, especially as pre-surgical models for complex procedures, also as cost-effective 3D printed anatomical replicas for medical education and training. For him, this means that the adoption of these advances in healthcare would help the region grow at a faster rate. According to Miralles, Brazil leads through research and development of 3D printing in medicine, and with one of the world’s biggest public health care systems, it’s no wonder it’s getting quickly ahead of the pack. 

In 2013, just after Stratasys acquired Objet, Miralles was hired as Territory Manager for the US-based firm, hoping to bring the 3D printing revolution to America’s southern cone. At the time, Latin America was lagging badly, there were only a few printers -both Stratasys and Objet- in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, so the company focused on increased participation of 3D printers in industries, but this took longer than expected.

“At the time, we felt we had to step up the expansion process for the technology, which we thought would be quick, but that did not happen. Actually, we noticed that when patents for our FDM machines expired, many small manufacturing companies in the region began producing 3D printers and marketing them as Stratasys FDM technology, so many people bought the cheaper versions. But after a while, they realized that they couldn’t do a lot with a $5,000 printer. So that was definitely a contributing factor that delayed the adoption of AM technology. Nevertheless, the market came around in 2015 and the Latin American tech community saw the difference between a professional printer and the hobbyist version,” Miralles told 3DPrint.com. 

Juan Carlos Miralles at ITBA’s Demo Center (Image: AMS Argentina)

Investment in modernization of products and processes is very low, shifting the full burden of innovation to universities, which are accountable for most of the research. With Foreign Direct Investment flows to Latin America and the Caribbean contracting for the fourth year in a row in 2017, to 161,673 billion dollars, (that’s 3.6% down from 2016 and 20% less than in 2011), it’s not a pretty picture. Still, projects like the Brazilian Air Force’s partnership with Stratasys to manufacture aircraft components, or Chile-based Honeycomb Graphics’ tri-dimensional coloring system, which the company plans to use to transform the world of the average 3D printer user, are a few of the examples of ways in which local public and private undertakings are trying to build up experience.

“The fourth industrial revolution changes the way goods are produced everywhere, and that eventually will hit markets in the region. Through the use of new technologies, small countries can produce at reasonable costs, so that places like Chile or Colombia can compete with China in terms of goods production as well as begin to generate added value to their industry. Today, the largest industries are in Brazil and Mexico, followed by Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. Leading the way is Brazil with significant advances in the use of AM technology, notably at the the Renato Archer Institute, which has made great strides in healthcare. Chile is a pioneer, approving laws that compel medical insurance providers to pay for biomodels in complex surgeries, something that is currently undergoing FDA aprrovals in the United States, for example. Yet, in other countries, like Argentina, doctors have to find their own means to 3D print a pre-surgical model for a patient, which is exactly what Ignacio Berra is doing at Garrahan Children’s Hospital, even using money of his own to pay for them. On average, we talk about millions of dollars in savings thanks to 3D printing, something many helth systems in emerging countries really need to start thinking about,” Miralles suggested.

On average, the specialist claims that savings in both time and money from pre-surgical medical models (biomodels) range between 50 and 60 percent. But public and private health systems in Latin America are taking too long to use the technology, which is why Stratasys is focusing on universities, creating alliances with renown institutions and developing Demo Centers to showcase their AM technology to industries and the academic community. Miralles suggested that the main purpose of this ongoing project is to establish long-term relationships with its customers so that they can forge their own applications using tools and technology from Stratasys. 

“The concept of Demo Center arises in universities, which have become accelerators in the adoption of the new machines. We provide the best product available so that they can, in turn, help local companies use AM in any type of processes,” he said.

There is only one Demo Center in each country, including Perú’s Pontificia Universidad Católica (PUCP); SENAI CETIQT Technology Center for Chemical and Textile Industry, in Brazil; Argentina’s Institute of Technology of Buenos Aires; the University of Santiago de Chile; Colombia’s Pontífica Universidad Javeriana; Guatemala’s Francisco Marroquin University, and soon we can expect a new Demo Center in Ecuador’s Technological University of the North. 

Stratasys Demo Center at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Image: Stratasys)

“Companies are interested in incorporating additive manufacturing and 3D printing. However, a lack of resources, investment and a shortage of local well-trained professionals limit their ability to fully adopt the technology. More universities need to promote STEM careers to increase the number of professionals with capabilities aligned to the 4.0 industry goals. This change has to start at the different levels of education, otherwise, emerging countries will find it hard to make a conversion to future jobs and disruptive technologies. At Stratasys, we seek to promote regional small and medium industries, so that they can become interested in 3D printing, allowing emerging countries to move away from traditional forms of production and become more competitive at the global market level, and today that can only be achieved by applying the best technology out there,” suggested Miralles.

The Senai Cetiqt Fashion Lab and Demo Center in Brazil (Image: Senai Cetiqt)

Since 2013, Stratasys has grown in the region, with offices in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico and with over 1,000 machines in universities, industries, and hospitals. Miralles considers that there is a growth curve that is beginning to step up the pace.

“It all started very slowly for us and the technology in general, but now it might start getting more dynamic. Although I’m still waiting for the boom, where the increase in both research and commercial activity mean that many more people have started to incorporate the technology; perhaps in a few years when thousands of people and communities are benefiting directly from 3D printing, we can actually say that. I really hope so,” he concluded.

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3D Printing as an Industrial Process

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, took its first steps in Brazil in the 1990s and is finally reaching the exposure it deserves, not only as a prototyping resource but also as an adaptable manufacturing technique. By combining the resources of mass production with its customization possibilities, 3D printing is well capable of meeting many demands for consumer goods.

According to São Paulo’s IDC do Brasil, a market intelligence consulting firm, 37% of information technology investments in Latin America are channeled to Brazil, so we can infer that the Brazilian market received 3D printing investments of around US$15 million in 2018—an increase of 34% over 2017. With a predicted 25% growth in 2019, industrial investors would do well to follow this segment closely.

IDC’s analyst Rodrigo Pereira details the total invested in the Latin American 3D printing market in 2018 as: 28.5% in printer purchases; 44% in process inputs (polymer filaments, metallic powders, etc.); and 23% for systems integration services, consulting, and other services related to the production of parts on demand. The remaining 4.5% involve spending on software for rendering, conversion, and file manipulation.

When tallying the investments distribution along the so-called “vertical” axis—that is, the economic areas where 3D printing is used—IDC gets figures that reveal this technology’s potential in solving typical industrial problems:

– 60.5% of the investments is in industry and concentrates on the execution of tasks related to “discrete production”—that is, of products that can be counted in units and taken apart at the end of their life cycle, which includes automobiles, home appliances and consumer electronics;

– 13% is in the health segment, including medical applications, biotechnology, prostheses, implants and dentistry;

– the remaining 26.5% is in education (learning tools for courses such as medicine, engineering and architecture) and in building, in modeling for design, mock-ups, tools, etc.

When tallied by purpose or segment, investments are distributed at 39% in prototyping for product development, execution of mock-ups and small sets; 30% in manufacturing itself, with printer integration along production processes; 12% in the tooling and molding sector; and the remaining 19% in various different applications, including leisure and entertainment.

This technology has been growing much more accessible through the reduction in prices and the increase in the supply of equipment, as well as the evolution of 3D printing processes. In plastic products manufacture, the adoption of 3D has followed the pace of the digital transformation currently underway in industry. By the end of 2018, Plástico Industrial magazine’s biannual report found that 3D printers are present in around 5% of the plastic transformation industry. This represents a slow but consistent adoption rate, which today means something around 347 machines in operation.

Market innovations highlighted at event

In their turn, printers and materials have been developing very fast. New types of dedicated plastic filaments and metal powders are regularly announced. As for the machines themselves, the current spotlight is on printers capable of delivering metal parts on demand, with complete design freedom; these have been contributing to the emergence of a new paradigm in a playing field that is already brimming with possibilities and opportunities.

Some of those machines will be on display at the 4th edition of Inside 3D Printing, at the Frei Caneca Convention Center in São Paulo, Brazil, on June 10 and 11. Organized by Aranda Eventos, the trade show will feature an extensive program of lectures and an exhibition of the various resources and supplies of the 3D printing market.

The exhibitors are established suppliers of machinery and materials as well as service providers. They include 3D create, 3D Procer, Additiva Chemicals, Alcateia, Transire, DDDrop, EOS, Etech Brasil, GT Max 3D, M.Braun, Infocus Lasertech, Materialise , Oderço, Sethi, Topink 3D, Up3D, Ultralline and Wanhao. You can learn more about each of those at http://inside3dprintingbrasil.com.br, where you can also check out the lecture program on the various aspects of 3D printing.

Aranda Eventos – Tel. (5511) 38245300, http://inside3dprintingbrasil.com.br/

IDC – tel. (5511) 55083400, http://br.idclatin.com/

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Interview with Fabio Sant´Ana of Farcco Tecnologia About Metal Printing and 3D Printing in Brazil

Fabio Sant´Ana is from Brazil a country we associate with beaches, football, and carnivals. Yet, the verdant green Carnival-land has much more potential than just being a fun place. Brazil produces aircraft, has growing international companies, a large auto industry, and a growing medical industry. Meanwhile, it has also had some tough years behind in politically and economically. For years Fabio has been trying to bring metal 3D printing and industrial 3D printing solutions to Brazil with Farcco Tecnologia. In this difficult economic environment, he’s been trying to get companies to industrialize metal 3D printing, trying to get companies to start making titanium medical devices in Brazil and doing what he can to 3D print Brazil.
Fabio started with a Precision Mechanics Degree and since then has worked in precision machining for over 25 years. He is a specialist in metal 3D printing and has a deep understanding of EBM in particular. He’s worked with a number of blue-chip companies in Brazil and has helped them to go from knowing next to nothing to industrializing 3D printing for manufacturing. Fabio is a part of the ASTM F42 Additive Manufacturing, ISO TC26, ABNT CEE-261 Manufatura Aditiva and ABNT CB-26 Odonto-Médico-Hospitalar standardization efforts and an expert in Design For Additive Manufacturing. 
What is Farcco Tecnologia?
Farcco Tecnologia is a company devoted to introducing Additive Manufacturing technologies to the Brazilian Industries,  it is specialized in real metal additive production technology,  and is really reaching out to every possible specialization in AM . The main focus is expanding the knowledge of Brazilian market. Farcco researches and finds the most important technologies thru shows, conferences , training and suppliers to make Brazilian Industries to reach the same level of capability and expertise found overseas .
What is the 3D printing market in Brazil like? 
The Brazilian Additive Manufacturing market is developing in slower pace, the last 8 years did hold Brazil back in terms of R&D. In a not growing, or more in a depressed economy, is hard for companies to justify investment in new,  and technology advanced, manufacturing capacities. Starting in 2018 with the new government , companies started to forecast economic growth for the next years and this made the industrial environment reach out to us, for 3D printing,  to revamp their production resources. In Brazil the medical market is the first adopter in additive and had the first equipment, this is being used for manufacturing titanium implants. During 2017 and 2018, more companies are beginning to understand the real advances of the technology and its benefits in quality, product development and cost saving features. Aerospace started to evaluate AM during 2018 and the first metal machine should be working in Q1 2019 . Most machines installed before this new boom time are in Universities and Research Institutes.
We see very few Brazillian 3D printing startups? How could this be improved? 
Brazil has a very limited investment capability, this is what holds us back, the startup environment is not well supported by banks and startups normally only rely on Private Equity and Angel Investments. AM is very capital intensive in case of equipment for startups and this makes it difficult to do.
Is metal 3D Printing increasing in Brazil?
Yes , companies have started to realize the beauty of the technology. Many companies are looking for information in that area,, and some have already started to R&D using smaller or cheaper machines to be able to develop and go for real production machines in a shorter time.
What advice would you give me if I’m an OEM or a materials company wanting to do business in Brazil?
Call me ! … Joking … anyway , Brazil is different in many ways. Lack of infrastructure and investment as well as a difficult tax structure create many entrance barriers for foreign companies , To find a very knowledgeable local partner is something that can keep the company on right track with the right information one can jump many steps and problems. To invest in training of locals to support the “pre” and “after” sales is also a good advice . Brazilian Industry is used to local support and short service time.
What opportunities do you see for Brazil in 3D printing?
“Most of the actual opportunities are in medical , so beside of metals, medical polymers and bio-printing can be better explored . We are growing also in Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy, both have good growth in Brazil , Additive has great features for these areas.”
You’ve been a long time EBM expert what do you see as some of the advantages compared to other metal technologies? 
The EBM process has some nice specific characteristics that benefit reactive materials such as titanium, it can supply more energy and generates up to 70 simultaneous melt pools. This is what lets you grow fast compared with other process that have 1 , 2 or 4 melt pools.  The way electron beam hits the powder is different than laser, that is basic light and has its particular ways of propagation reflection etc. In EBM energy loss is much lower that also benefits the process. EBM is a less precise in terms of geometry, but can stack parts filling the build chamber, another benefit in terms of production quantities and gives one more balanced building cycles. Each process has its advantages. Laser has a very good precision and also better finished surface, this can work well with steel and forms a less compact build cake what makes cleaning the powder easier in cases of something such as conformal cooling . In Additive Manufacturing each process has its right business case. Every technology has its niches and must be well understood to give you the best results.
 Are you excited about the new Arcam EBM systems?
The Q10+ and Q20+ have reached a very stable processing and performance. The Spectra is a big chamber focused on TiAl and bigger quantites. The products are all reaching a very mature state.
You’re not active in binder jetting metals, how come? 
Let me tell you how I started in Additive, I’ve been a machining guy since 1991 when I left the Precision Mechanics Technical High School. I’ve been supplying the market with CNC machining equipment since 1992 had to develop skills in 3D manufacturing since that time , from complex mass production processes to really difficult 5 axis applications all in my range. In 2013 a medical implants company R&D manager and friend came to me with a very crazy part he found in Europe and asked me how to make that thing. I told him ” I dont know , yet “. My Additive journey started in that day of 2013, after almost 6 years researching, learning, teaching and going all over the world to be able to implement additive equipment and technologies, I know that each technology has its case, binder jetting cases will appear, no doubt. But, for now, I don’t know yet.
You do work with Sciaky EBAM?
EBM has very good performance in medical and Aerospace, most of the companies in those segments are paying attention to EBM.  For larger structural parts Sciaky makes an EBAM based machine that melts wire forming near net shapes for posterior machining, its a processe that speeds up the production of this components a lot , it has potential to short by months the development and manufacturing of large titanium and other metals parts. In Brazil, we don’t have any Sciacky EBAM yet.
I see a lot of potential in using it to rejuvenate molds and blisks, but this is not used a lot?
I really agree with you, but the economics are against it right now, To use a DED head over a mold inside a CNC machining center makes more than sense. However, DED heads or Hybrid machines need economically to fight against a regular machining center that receives a mold filled by a very experienced welder. When you put that in your financial spreadsheet you have the answer why this is not being more used. The final shape and precision will come from the machining anyway, and you already have the welder in your payroll, so …
What do you think the potential of 3D printing?
“AM is a marvelous tech, I think we are only scratching the surface of the technology and the new designs made by biomimetcs and topology and generative systems will give us products we cannot even imagine now… so the sky is the limit.?