3D Printing Webinar and Virtual Event Roundup, June 28, 2020

This week is packed full with 3D printing webinars and virtual events, with four taking place Tuesday, and two each on Wednesday and Thursday.  We’ll tell you all about them below!

Digital Manufacturing Investor Day

First up, software provider Dyndrite will be hosting its first ever Digital Manufacturing Investor Day on Tuesday, June 30th, featuring both pre-recorded and live content. Investors and venture capital companies have been invited to hear lightning presentations by hardware and software startups from all around the world, and several industry investment firms will also give panel presentations. The advisors for the inaugural Digital Manufacturing Investor Day are Gradient Ventures, HP Tech Ventures, and The House Fund.

“This virtual event is an initiative to help link startups in the digital manufacturing space to investors in the industry. As supply chains have been recently disrupted and workforces have to remain distanced, so new digital manufacturing technology becomes even more critical as manufacturers figure out how to tackle these challenges.”

Register here.

Additive Manufacturing for Aircraft Interiors 

Also on June 30th, a webinar about 3D printed aerospace applications will take place from 9-10 am EDT. “Additive Manufacturing for Aircraft Interiors – doing the trick for the In-Service Market” will discuss the use of polymer 3D printed parts for future aircraft cabins, how the technology can save money and time, possible new business opportunities for Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Providers (MROs), and what issues still remain, such as certification, investments, and availability of the right raw materials. Stephan Keil, Director Industrialisation for AM Global, will moderate the discussion between panelists Markus Glasser, Senior Vice President EMEA, EOS; Vinu Vijayan, Global Business Development Manager – Aerospace, EOS; Frederic Becel, Design Manager, CVE, Innovation Leader Aircraft Modification Division, Air France; and Karl Bock, Principal Design Engineer, Aircraft Modification Team, P21J Design Organisation, Lufthansa Technik.

“A wide spreading of AM manufacturing also has the potential to significantly change the supply chain setup of the Aero industry, impacting small and large suppliers, as distributed manufacturing moves closer to becoming a reality. Furthermore, new business models for spare parts and part design data may emerge, along with new services, which brings a need to tackle challenges around IP and regulation.”

Register here.

nScrypt’s Cutting Edge of Digital Manufacturing Webinar

nScrypt is also holding a webinar on the 30th, titled “Pushing the Envelope of Digital Manufacturing.” The first part of the Cutting Edge Digital Manufacturing webinar series will take place at 1 pm ET on the 30th, and the second part will occur at the same time on July 7th. Panelists Mark Mirotznik, PhD, University of Delaware; Jing Wang, PhD, University of South Florida and Oregon State University; Devin MacKenzie, PhD, University of Washington, and Raymond C. Rumpf, PhD, University of Texas at El Paso, will discuss the future of direct digital manufacturing, covering topics like metamaterial use, permeating electronics in structures for control, sensing, and smart features, and going from a CAD file to a final, multimaterial electronic product in one build.

“JOIN YET ANOTHER DISTINGUISHED PANEL for part ONE of an in-depth discussion on the future of direct digital manufacturing by some of the premiere additive manufacturing universities in the country. The projects these universities are working on are solving problems with traditional antennas and printed circuit boards (PCBs).

Register here.

ACCIONA’s Concrete 3D Printing Webinar

The last June 30th webinar will be held by ACCIONA, called “Let’s Talk Concrete 3D Printing.” It will take a multidisciplinary approach when discussing the technology’s use in the value chain, “where Innovation, Academia, Design, Manufacturing and Industry join together for a broad analysis of the technology.

Speakers will be Alaa K. Ashmawy, PhD, P.E. Dean and Professor for the School of Engineering at the American University in Dubai; Sualp Ozel, Senior Product Manager at Autodesk; Fahmi Al Shawwa, the CEO of Immensa Additive Manufacturing; Carlos Egea, Manager 3D Printing, Skill Center at ACCIONA; and Luis Clemente, COO 3D Printing at ACCIONA. The webinar will take place at 8:30 am EST, and attendees can join here.

3D Systems Webinar Featuring VAULT

On Wednesday, July 1st, at 10:30 am EST, 3D Systems will be holding a live webinar, “Advanced Your Engineering and Equip Sales to Win Business with SLA,” featuring VAULT, which manufactures enclosures for tablets in the point-of-sale industry. The company integrated 3D Systems’ SLA technology into its process, and the 45-minute webinar will explain how SLA can be used at every stage of business. VAULT will share customer reactions to quality and service, in addition to the training and on-boarding process, and explain how companies can win new business by providing access to high-quality 3D printed parts.

“Gaining a new client is all about gaining their confidence. No matter how refined your sales pitch, nothing wins trust or business faster than immediately following through on your promises.

“Join our live web event featuring VAULT’s VP of Engineering, Quentin Forbes, to find out how in-house 3D printing with 3D Systems’ stereolithography is helping the company build its reputation and client base.”

Register here.

Webinar for New Metal 3D Printing Material

Also on July 1st, metallurgist expert Aubert & Duval will join Alloyed, formerly known as OxMet Technologies, in hosting a free webinar about ABD-900AM, a new nickel superalloy for metal additive manufacturing. When tested with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, the high-strength material offered improved manufacturability, as well as high creep and oxidation resistance, compared to common AM alloys. It also features ~99.9% density and is highly crack resistant. Adeline Riou, Global Sales Manager at Aubert & Duval, and Will Dick-Cleland, Additive Manufacturing Engineer at Alloyed, will give an overview of the material’s properties, along with several interesting case studies, during the 30-minute webinar.

“Designed for use at high temperatures up to 900°C / 1650°F, ABD®-900AM has been tailored for AM by Alloyed not just for high mechanical properties, but also for excellent printability. Compared with Ni718, ABD®‑900AM provides a minimum of 30% improvement in yield stress at temperatures >800°C and a creep temperature capability improvement by up to 150 o C – similar to alloy 939 and alloy 738.”

The webinar will begin at 11 am EST, and you can register here.

Stratasys Aerospace Webinar Series Continued

Stratasys will continue its new aerospace webinar series this Thursday, July 2nd, with “Value Proposition of AM to Airlines.” During this hour-long webinar, Chuan Ching Tan, General Manager, Additive Flight Solutions (AFS), will speak about several related topics, including when and where additive manufacturing can make its business case to airlines, use cases – especially regarding aircraft interiors – by AFS to airlines, and other issues to get past in order to speed adoption of the technology.

You’ll have to wake up early if you’re in my time zone – the webinar will take place at 4 am EDT. Register here.

VO Webinar: Coming of Age for Additive Manufacturing

Recently, Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global provider of advanced data solutions and digital content protection, joined the collaborative 3MF Consortium as a Founding Member. Now, it’s presenting a free 45-minute webinar with HP and Autodesk, also active members of the 3MF Consortium, about “Additive Manufacturing’s coming of age: the essential role of data security and standards.” The webinar, also held on July 2nd, will focus on the importance of data security and standards as the closed AM ecosystem moves to a more open future. Dr. Phil Reeves, Managing Director of Reeves Insight Ltd, will facilitate the discussion between speakers Scott White, Distinguished Technologist, 3D Software and Data, HP, Inc.; Martin Weismann, Principal Software Engineer for Autodesk; and Alain Nochimowski, Executive Vice President of Innovation at VO.

Learning objectives of the webinar will include why data standards are so important for the growth and deployment of the technology in the Industry 4.0 supply chain, how 3D CAD and AM hardware vendors can embrace both interoperability and data standards to benefit customers, what the 3D printing industry can learn about analytics, traceability, and data security from more mature industries, and the consortium’s newly released Secure Content specification. At the end, there will be a Question and Answer session, facilitated by Laura Griffiths, Deputy Group Editor at TCT. The webinar will take place at 10 am EST; register here.

Will you attend any of these events and webinars, or have news to share about future ones? Let us know! Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Mobile Robotic System 3D Prints Single-Piece Concrete Structures

The scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have spent a lot of time and energy over the last few years researching construction 3D printing with concrete materials. Two years ago, the NTU Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) team, led by Assistant Professor Pham Quang Cuong with NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, published a paper about their work developing concurrent mobile 3D printing construction robots. The idea was that multiple robots working together to build a concrete structure wouldn’t be held back by common issues like volume constraints and long lead times.

Adoption of concrete 3D printing is limited because of problems like lack of mobility and small size, and the use of synchronized, mobile robots is an excellent place to start working on the issue of scalability. But now, Professor Cuong and his team are taking things to the next level. They’re still using mobile robots for a print-while-moving approach, but instead of a pair systems, they’ve developed a single-robot industrial AM platform that can complete large-scale construction printing all by itself.

“Our system is mounted on a mobile robot. The ability to move the robot base in space allows our robot to print structures that are larger than itself,” Professor Cuong explained. “Also, having a mobile base makes it easier to bring the robot into the construction site and move it around inside.”

The NTU team—comprised of Mehmet Efe Tiryaki, Xu Zhang, and Professor Cuong—published a paper about their new system, titled “Printing-while-moving: a new paradigm for large-scale robotic 3D Printing.”

The abstract reads, “Building and Construction have recently become an exciting application ground for robotics. In particular, rapid progress in material formulation and in robotics technology has made robotic 3D Printing of concrete a promising technique for in-situ construction. Yet, scalability remains an important hurdle to widespread adoption: the printing systems (gantry-based or arm-based) are often much larger than the structure be printed, hence cumbersome. Recently, a mobile printing system – a manipulator mounted on a mobile base – was proposed to alleviate this issue: such a system, by moving its base, can potentially print a structure larger than itself. However, the proposed system could only print while being stationary, imposing thereby a limit on the size of structures that can be printed in a single take. Here, we develop a system that implements the printing-while-moving paradigm, which enables printing single-piece structures of arbitrary sizes with a single robot. This development requires solving motion planning, localization, and motion control problems that are specific to mobile 3D Printing.”

This system only needs one robot to print differently sized single-piece structures, which also helps to ensure better structural properties.

The mobile robotic 3D printing system

Typically, construction materials wider than the construction 3D printing system’s gantry foothold distance can’t be printed. That’s because a printed structure’s dimensions are constrained by one of three things: the robot arm’s reach, the gantry’s restricted volume, or the framework which enables the printhead to move along a particular axis. But the NTU researchers have enabled their system to move in any direction, so long as it’s on a flat surface, by mounting an industrial robot manipulator to a wheeled base. Then, a hose is used to connect the platform’s manipulator flange nozzle to a pump.

The robot manipulator’s motions, and those of the mobile platform, are painstakingly planned out in this new system in order to achieve a coordinated effort. It uses feedback motion control, and highly accurate robot localization, to make sure that the nozzle deposits the concrete material at the right pace in the correct location. By placing a camera on the back of the mobile base, its “localization system” works better over a larger surface area.

Model of NTU’s 3D printing system setup and printing process pipeline

The NTU research team claims that their printing-while-moving system can increase the size of structures that one robot can fabricate. To prove it, they used the platform to 3D print a single-piece 210 x 45 x 10 cm concrete structure, which is definitely larger than the robotic arm’s 87 cm reach. This system could significantly increase the effectiveness of 3D construction printing. But, their work is not yet done, as the system does still have some limitations, particularly in terms of uneven work areas.

Professor Cuong explained, “We’re planning to add collaborative features to our robot. The idea is to have a human operator take the robot by hand and move it around the construction site, towards the desired location, guiding it to achieve high-precision assembly.”

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(Source: IEEE)

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Sustainable Cabin Built on 3D-Printed Concrete Stilts from Infested Ash Wood

Our house had several ash trees in the front and back yard while I was growing up, and we lost three of them due to various acts of nature. Ash is a very soft wood, which is how we lost one to high winds, and another split at the top because it wasn’t well-supported at the bottom. The third was removed because it had been infected by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer beetle, a nasty little bugger that’s not even native to the US but is here wreaking havoc anyway.

Obviously, ash trees that have been infected and destroyed by the EAB aren’t often used for construction purposes, both because sawmills can’t process the wood, and due to their odd, irregular shapes. These trees are then usually burned or left to decompose, neither of which is a great option.

“Unfortunately, both scenarios release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and so the advantage to using compromised ash for construction is that is that it both binds the carbon to the earth and offsets the harvesting of more commonly used wood species,” said Sasa Zivkovic, the Co-Principal of New York-based architecture studio HANNAH.

The Ithaca studio—founded in 2014 by Zivkovic, along with fellow co-principal Leslie Lok, Alexander Chmarin, and Alexander Graf—worked with a group of Cornell University students to create the tiny but striking Ashen Cabin, located off the grid in upstate New York. The collaborative project was meant to be a small-scale study regarding sustainable construction, and combined EAB-infested ash wood with 3D printing to build the cabin.

“By implementing high precision 3D scanning and robotic based fabrication technology, HANNAH transforms Emerald-Ash-Borer-infested “waste wood” into an abundantly available, affordable, and sustainable building material. From the ground up, digital design and fabrication technologies are intrinsic to the making of this architectural prototype, facilitating fundamentally new material methods, tectonic articulations, and forms of construction,” the studio’s website states.

As architects are looking to construct houses more sustainably, these kinds of small, off-grid residences are becoming more popular housing options, and Ashen Cabin definitely fits the bill. The tiny residence, featuring walls made of infested ash wood, is elevated by 3D-printed concrete stilts, which form the angular base of the cabin and its heavy, hulking extrusions.

HANNAH stated, “The project aims to reveal 3D printing’s idiosyncratic tectonic language by exploring how the layering of concrete, the relentless 3D deposition of extruded lines of material, and the act of corbelling can suggest new strategies for building.”

All of the cabin’s 3D-printed concrete shapes, including the tall, curved chimney and fireplace, furniture, textured floor, and prismatic legs, have a distinct linear pattern that features jagged edges. By using 3D printing, HANNAH was able to lower its carbon footprint and reduce waste by using less material than would normally be required, as a concrete mold was unnecessary.

Lok explained, “By using 3D printing, we eliminate the use of wasteful formwork and can deposit concrete smartly and only where structurally necessary, reducing its use considerably while also maintaining a building’s integrity.”

Concrete was also used to 3D print a unique seating platform, which can be opened up to use for storage. A bench made of marine-grade plywood, painted black to offer a pleasing contrast to the light siding, extends out from the seat in order to form a single bed.

A robotic arm with a band saw attachment cut the irregular ash logs into curving boards of different thicknesses. Both the exterior and interior of Ashen Cabin are covered with the wavy timber panels, which also define the structure’s four, black plywood-framed windows and were used to create other architectural features, like surfaces and shelving, inside.

The studio explained, “The curvature of the wood is strategically deployed to highlight moments of architectural importance such as windows, entrances, roofs, canopies, or provide additional programmatic opportunities such as integrated shelving, desk space, or storage.”

Focusing on the aesthetics of the cabin, the wood boards will naturally turn grey over time, so that the siding will eventually match the color of the concrete. Its 3D-printed concrete floors feature interlocking designs, and the windows are all oriented so they face the surrounding wooded landscape. The scenery makes it look like any residents of Ashen Cabin will be in their own little world.

Speaking of off-grid living, Ashen Cabin does not have power or running water. The temperature is regulated through its wood-burning fireplace and foam insulation, while a small camping sink, also 3D-printed out of concrete, provides the water.

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

(All photos taken by Andy Chen, HANNAH)

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Concrete 3D Printing: Nailing Layers for Added Reinforcement

Researchers from France and the UK seek ways to improve 3D printing for construction, revealing their analysis in the recently published ‘Nailing of Layers: A Promising Way to Reinforce Concrete 3D Printing Structures.’

Concrete extrusion is a continuing source of innovation for the construction industry, lending promise to 3D printed offices, homes, and entire village concepts—as well as added potential for more affordable housing. Greater affordability, speed in production, less need for manpower, and the ability to create composites for better performance are just a few of the benefits.

“Recent research on 3D printing has almost all been focused on mix-design, rheological and process related issues. It has allowed the production of a physically-based background in order to formulate concrete with the required fresh properties, and allowed us to evaluate a time window during which it is possible to deposit a new layer of cement-based material,” stated the researchers.

“Nowadays, some technical solutions have emerged in the development of successful concrete printing, and researchers have started to work on the structural performances of reinforced and unreinforced concrete printed structures.”

Additional reinforcements are the only way for some structures, including infrastructure like bridges, to adhere to standards in design. Contemporary solutions may include steel reinforcements or the use of cables, or fibers made of the following materials:

  • Steel
  • Basalt
  • Glass
  • Bio-based materials
  • Polymeric fibers

In this study, the scientists experimented with the use of nails, driven through several layers after they were 3D printed. The overall goal was to offer ductility, tensile, and shear strength—while also offering greater strength in between layers.

“This strategy can be easily automated using a robotic placement of the nail which can be a real advantage and beneficial in the context of digital construction,” stated the researchers.

Placement of nails was studied regarding gradient of mechanical properties, along with evaluating reinforcement effects through three-point flexural tests examining orientation, surface roughness, and steel density.

(a) Nails before and after rusting treatment; (b) Considered nail geometry.

Three-layer samples and ten-layer samples were fabricated with 10 × 25 mm² rectangular cross section layers of mortar with a screw extrusion system mounted on a WASP 3MT Industrial 4.0 printer.

Picture of the printing system: printer, printing head and nozzle.

Manufactured samples geometries: (a) schematic views; (b) pictures of samples after bending tests.

Bending resistance was tested, along with post-peak behavior, and the potential for durability issues and corrosion of steel. Numerous issues must be considered to avoid corrosion, beginning with permeability, as it must be ‘the lowest possible’ to decrease carbonation and any resulting corrosion. Covers must be used to protect steel, with other materials like fly ash or granulated slag preventing steel nail corrosion. Other solutions include using stainless steel, glass, basalts, or carbon to avoid corrosion.

“It was also demonstrated that reinforcement, by using nails, was able to efficiently strengthen printed samples if the orientation of the nails was correctly chosen and the nails surface was sufficiently rough to ensure a good interface with the mortar,” said the researchers.

“In conclusion, this investigation paved a new path towards fully automated selective steel nail placements as reinforcements during the digital fabrication of concrete in order to strengthen the concrete structure.”

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Effect of the surface roughness on the post-peak behavior of the reinforced samples.

[Source / Images: ‘Nailing of Layers: A Promising Way to Reinforce Concrete 3D Printing Structures’]

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Twente AM Live Streams Large-Scale 3D Printing of Concrete Formwork

Dutch company Twente Additive Manufacturing B.V. (Twente AM, or TAM) is working to change the home building industry for the better, by challenging traditional construction methods through the use of automation and additive manufacturing. The company hasn’t been around that long, but had a big goal for its inaugural year in business – to create a large-scale 3D printer using an ABB 9-axis robot that is placed on a gantry-like structure for a large build footprint.

I’d say that Twente AM definitely succeeded in its mission. The structure supporting the conventional robot is able to move around enough so that it can build structures that are five meters high and ten meters long, which gives it a pretty impressive footprint of 391 m³….for comparison, a 6-axis robot can only complete a job with a 42 m³ footprint, but the rotational 9th axis that Twente AM added takes it the extra distance.

Ian Comishin, the President and Co-Founder of Twente Additive Manufacturing, explained in a press release that “The main role of this huge printer will be to create leave-in-place formwork for the construction of concrete homes to be built in British Columbia.”

The release goes on to explain that the extremely detailed prints its robotic AM system is capable of creating are made with a mortar material, which can rapidly cure within minutes to create artistic features and complex shapes that conventional methods of manufacturing just can’t complete. According to a video that the company released, parametric CAD/CAM software is directly connected to the large-scale printer, and makes these shapes through the use of algorithms.

The applications for Twente AM’s new 3D robotic 3D printing system include industrial architecture and building houses. That’s why the company took a pretty big risk in marketing its machine, only a few days after completing it, by live streaming its operation at the 40th Big5 international building and construction show in Dubai. Every day during the show, the team in Canada woke up at 2 am to get the machine started for the day. Check out the video to see the live 3D printing of Twente AM’s “record breaking concrete parts” below:

“Without hiding our failures, we gave them a taste of 3D concrete printing,” the video states.

And there were indeed some failures, though as awed exhibition attendees could probably tell you, most of the complicated parts they fabricated were completed successfully. The team in Canada showed off the system’s fancy footwork with intricate designs, had a little fun in making an Arabic beach cabana, and also created some necessary parts for its ongoing project, such as a formwork for the loading dock.

The Twente AM team is obviously thrilled with the results of what I’d call a pretty big gamble, which is making many in the industry think harder about what 3D printing is capable of in the architecture field. But the company also recognizes that they wouldn’t be where they are today without the help of many colleagues – collaboration is key to making these kinds of big advances.

“We couldn’t be where we are now without collaborating with other talented members of the industry…We didn’t make this ourselves, this technology is at the very early adoption stage and working with the other companies and academic institutions throughout the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, The UK and Canada who are taking on the challenge of solving 3D printing for home building is what Twente’s foundation is built upon,” said Tim Brodesser, head of R&D.

I’m pretty impressed with Twente AM’s work, and even more impressed by the fact that they live streamed the 3D printing process at a crowded exhibition not long after completing the system. It reminds me of something I witnessed two years ago in Illinois, by invitation of the US Army’s Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL).

A closer look at a completed section.

ACES demo (Image: Sarah Saunders for 3DPrint.com)

The team performed a live demonstration of its Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures (ACES) technology by attempting to fabricate a 512 square foot barracks within 24 hours of continuous 3D printing; I say attempt because they did not succeed. But that’s what was so refreshing – we often hear a lot of hype about 3D printed construction, without much to back the claims up. So it’s really great to see teams that are brave enough to let others watch the process live, even if it may fail a time or two.

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(Images provided by Twente Additive Manufacturing)

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WASP Bringing PEEK Pellet 3D Printer, and Others, to formnext 2019

Italian company WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) always manages to surprise me with the multitude of unique 3D printers it develops. At last year’s formnext event, the company introduced its Industrial 4.0 line, and this year, at formnext 2019, WASP will once again amaze visitors to the huge trade fair with something new: the Delta WASP 2040 TECH, which can print PEEK pellets.

PEEK, or polyetheretherketone, is notoriously difficult to print with, and requires a nozzle temperature of at least 380°C to properly extrude the high-strength thermoplastic. But WASP has never been one to back away from a challenge, as it’s always on the lookout for new ways to approach additive manufacturing. In fact, the company introduced its first pellet 3D printer three years ago, but it certainly wasn’t capable of working with PEEK, which it refers to as a ‘super polymer.’

“Peek pellet printing is undoubtedly a revolutionary application and the impact of this innovation on the entire WASP-printers-line is extraordinary,” the company stated in a press release.

The Delta WASP 2040 TECH 3D printer is the first of a new line that comes with a high-precision HD extruder for pellets. The company says it’s a novel machine because of the fully insulated, stainless steel, high-temperature chamber that makes it possible to print PEEK pellets.

Prosthesis from peek pellet Delta WASP 2040 TECH

“Healthcare has always been a huge branch of the applications for additive manufacturing since its beginning. This sector is showing us how tangibly 3D printing can improve our lives but also challenging every new technology and inspiring innovation,” WASP’s Giulio Buscaroli wrote on the WASP website.

“In this context, WASP is proud to unveil the results of its work on printing medical-grade PEEK from pellets with a brand new line of 3D printers: Delta WASP Tech line.”

The company has been busy researching in the medical field, and the new Delta WASP 2040 TECH is the culmination of all this hard work. The purpose of this pellet 3D printer is to fabricate implantable prostheses, in certified PEEK, at a more affordable cost. Neurosurgeon Dr. Villiam Dallolio has been helping WASP to develop the process, and the Delta WASP 2040 TECH will be showcased next week at formnext.

Delta WASP 3MT concrete 3D printing

But that isn’t the only new system WASP is bringing to the trade fair in Frankfurt. The company has been gaining experience in the architectural field as well as the medical, and will be showcasing its Delta WASP 3MT CONCRETE 3D printer – another novelty, which is capable of 3D printing large, fluid, dense materials. The company wrote that the new 3D printer “optimized the previous LDM system with a certified one,” which makes it possible to print materials like concrete through a continuous feeding method.

Finally, WASP will also be presenting its new Delta WASP 3MT INDUSTRIAL 4.0 3D printer at formnext. The printer features a continuous feeding system and optimized extruder so that it can print 100% recycled pellet polymers.

“It’s a solution for increasingly advanced medical applications but not only: WASP has identified in the pellet printing the answer to the increasingly essential needs of recycling plastic materials and also to the need of producing furniture tailored pieces,” the company wrote.

To see these three new 3D printers for yourself, you can visit WASP at formnext, November 19-22, at Stand B79 in Hall 11.0.

[Images provided by WASP]

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University of Stuttgart Investigating Reinforcement of 3D Printed Concrete

The interest in 3D printed concrete continues to skyrocket – after all, who wouldn’t be interested in a solution that could allow for extremely rapid construction of structures like bridges and houses? Researchers are also looking into using 3D printed reinforced concrete, including a trio of thesis students from the University of Stuttgart‘s Institute for Computational Design. For their thesis preparation project, Hosna Shayani, Marie Razzhivina, and Jacob Zindroski published a paper titled “Fabrication strategies for precise application of reinforcement in 3D-printed concrete” that discussed their ReCrete project, which aims to use tailored reinforcement to “expand the design space of 3D printed concrete.”

“Concrete is at a technological crossroad,” the paper states. “The implementation of the material has not relatively changed in the last century in its use, with the exception of the last twenty years. Concrete 3D printing is the answer to the materials advancement for future applications. What we seek in this research is to expand the design space of 3D printed concrete (3DCP) through tailored reinforcement. This would begin to bridge the initial design process closer to its ultimate realization.”

The team’s work falls under digital and physical categories, such as the design process, fabrication of a robotic tool and simulation; they did not look deeply into design parametrization, new materials, or structural performance of prototypes.

They explained the relevance of their topic in terms of:

  • design advancement
  • using concrete to create complex designs
  • 3D printing concrete
  • the potential of 3DCP

“Currently design has two greater purposes it must serve before it can be produced,” the researchers wrote. “With the current capabilities of the tools we as architects can use, we need to be aware of the potentials and understand the expectations of the production of large scale geometries, either through specific geometric creation or optimized designs.”

Topological optimized design. [Source: All3dp]

While we have the tools create a multitude of forms and geometries, the team noted that we have to consider fabrication “at a fundamental level” during development. Concrete has been around for a very long time, and gives designers more freedom than materials such as stone.

“Choosing to work with concrete for our research was partially based on its wide use and high consumption. What we seek is to further optimize the use of the material as it is related to the construction process. Some of the important characteristics of concrete that need to be considered is its intrinsic behavior,” the researchers explained.

Conceptual outlook of concrete 3D printed structure

Concrete is less expensive, and has good compressive strength, but it fails if any tensile force is exerted on it. So the team wanted to explore how to improve the material’s tensile properties, as well as “the optimization and improvement of complex geometric forms.”

“What 3DCP can give the designers is command over how the material is implemented. No longer will molds be the determining factor of complex geometric morphologies. We can now leverage a technology that can begin to assert itself as a more finite process,” the team stated.

“Not only that but if 3DCP becomes a finite process, then you remove the time it takes to complete a project. As a result what could typically take months in production can be completed in days depending on the complexity. The mold, scaffolding, and physical labor is removed. 3DCP is the emancipation that designers need for future construction methods.”

However, as we know, 3DCP is not without its problems – limited to its own buildability angles because of its properties, the material takes longer to set and hold shape, and angles lower than 60° require support material for direct printing.

How the research intends to situate itself.

At the moment, the materials used to reinforce concrete are inmixed or continuous steel rebar, but the researchers are interested in using segmented steel instead, and having it inserted during the 3D printing process itself, as opposed to a post-processing task.

“The method in which we see this being accomplished is through the use of a robotic tool alongside the printing process. Using a typical FDM method this research is attempting to create an all in one operation, of printing while reinforcing. The reinforcement will happen simultaneous to the printing. What we seek from this procedure is the inclusion of tensile elements in the printing process, for the simultaneous mechanism allows for continuous construction without slowing the printing time.”

ETH Zurich’s RockPrint

The researchers listed some examples of 3D printed reinforced concrete currently being worked on by the likes of companies like Apis Cor and Contour Crafting and research institutes such as ETH Zurich.

After looking at these examples, they concluded that their structure for reinforcement should be both segmented and tailored.

“Fragments of reinforcement would ideally be placed into freshly deposited layers of concrete sequentially, allowing the resulting tailored shape to grow at the same pace with the concrete 3D printed shape,” the team explained.

“Segmented reinforcements have a wide variety and considerable potential to be used in construction. Robotic insertion of segemented reinforcement matches perfectly with our fabrication method, because of its additive logic.”

The team used both structural and fabrication reinforcement in their research: the former will improve the structural strength of the concrete structure, while the latter will act partially as a formwork for support purposes and help achieve a greater overhang angle. A particle-based simulation tool was used to figure out how the concrete would behave.

In the paper, the researchers outlined their overall workflow process, which is broken down into three parts – design, particle and structural simulation, and fabrication. For material testing, they used a “ready-mix low pressure spray repair mortar with compression strength of 42.7 MPa and tensile strength of 3.3 MPa.” The first stage of testing required mixing the material with different water ratios to find the best consistency for extrusion; a 15.6 % ratio was determined to have the least amount of slumping. Then they tested the mixture during 3D printing, and looked into the best time to add the reinforcement:

“Regarding reinforcement insertion, we deduced that it should happen within the mixture’s set time of 60 minutes, which we confirmed with an experiment. If performed outside of set time, the insertion disturbed
the extrusion’s structure, resulting in cracking and breaking. “

Wait test between 3D printing layers. Left is 1 min wait between layers, right is 2 min wait time.

They also investigated how they could get a more extreme overhang by reinforcing extruded angles. Their fabrication system was a user input that works with an ABB robot, and they were also able to interface directly between both Grasshopper and Rhino and the fabrication process itself.

“What we see as a potential avenue for us to expand on is applying custom oriented reinforcement to the extrusion. The challenging part is at what length should the reinforcement be and how far can the insertion of the reinforcement go,” the researchers explained. “Another issue is also the degree of angle we can achieve from a fabrication process the insertion of the reinforcement. These constraints help inform what is plausible for a fabrication strategy.”

Opening and Branch. Tested for angles, FEA, and particle simulation

The team also outlined a design library for shapes that could be easily fabricated with their system, and used a high fidelity scanner to verify the accuracy of the 3D printed concrete models. Finally, they created the final demonstrator model: an architectural enclosure which was considered a non load-bearing structure. The researchers were able to finish their research at the Autodesk Buildspace in Boston.

“In production of this demonstrator there were great achievements and shortcomings during the process,” they stated.

“Some of the challenges were the printing system. There were times of over extrusion, because of unstable pressure during the deposition, which caused issues along the printing.

“What we were successful in was the creation of tailoring reinforcement in concrete 3D printing. It was exciting to begin to see the concept start to achieve angles greater than what can currently be produced with traditional concrete printing methods.”

Final demonstrator

They hope that by adding additional technologies, they can improve upon this research even further.

“There is rich territory for this method to contribute to the current state of concrete printing. And 3D printing in general,” the researchers concluded. “The technology is becoming less of a prototyping process and more of a self-sufficient realizing technique.”

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

[Images by University of Stuttgart research team, unless otherwise noted]

The post University of Stuttgart Investigating Reinforcement of 3D Printed Concrete appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

3D Printing in Construction: French Startup XtreeE Announces New Facility in Dubai

French startup XtreeE, continues to be a presence in the construction industry with the introduction of 3D printing on the large scale, and now a new production unit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The opening of this second site comes on the heels of the XtreeE plant in Paris—as the dynamic company forges ahead in their mission to create a worldwide network of over 50 connected 3D printing units by 2025. Local partner Concreative will be in charge of operations at the Dubai facility while using XtreeE technology.

Founded in 2015, XtreeE was borne from a collaborative research project at the Paris-Malaquais School of Architecture and the engineering school Arts et Métiers ParisTech—and their technology is now protected by an impressive ten international patents—offering architects the tools to fabricate complex geometries.

With over 20 projects behind them, XtreeE caters to clients and partners in terms of:

  • Architectural elements (walls, columns, façade panels)
  • Infrastructure (water and heating networks, telecommunication tower, reefs)
  • Interior and exterior furniture (benches, chairs, desks, vases)

“XtreeE’s ambition is, above all, environmental. Through these innovations, it is possible to build better and design new products meeting the major challenges of today and tomorrow. While 3D printing makes it possible to reduce both the costs and the overall impact of construction processes, it also makes it possible to manufacture rather unexpected objects, to restore biodiversity,” says Alban Mallet, CEO of XtreeE.

XtreeE projects include:

  • Villaprint (to begin in 2020) —in collaboration with Plurial Novilia (Action Logement group), Coste Architectures firm, and the Vicat cement group, they are constructing five ‘social houses’ near Reims, manufactured with both 3D concrete printing and offsite construction. The XtreeE team points out in their recent press release that this type of manufacturing project is a first in France and offers not only greater latitude in design for the architects, but also other benefits of 3D printing such as less use of materials and optimization in production. They predict up to a 70 percent reduction in the amount of concrete used, along with substantially fewer production delays, and greater affordability overall.
  • XReef – In a massive, continued, engineering project involving large-scale 3D printing, XtreeE teamed up with Seaboost (Egis Group) and Vicat to produce ‘a new generation of reefs,’ submerged in May, and meant to provide habitats for fish, coral, and algae.
  • St@tion4D – working with construction firm Razel-Bec, the pre-caster Saint-Léonard Group, and the architectural firm Aconcept, XtreeE created a customized, portable bench that is being tested as part of the Grand Paris metro project.

Villaprint project prototype

XtreeE is involved in increasing productivity in the construction sector, encouraging social progress, and saving resources.

“Concrete is the most consumed material after water. With structurally optimized parts, by positioning the right concrete in the right place, 3D printing offers the possibility to reduce concrete consumption in construction by up to 70 percent,” states the XtreeE team in their recent press release sent to 3DPrint.com. “The production of cement, the main component of concrete, generates 8 percent of global CO2 emissions.”

“The removal of formwork also reduces construction waste. Today, XtreeE is active on several fronts, from housing projects to infrastructure. Much remains to be done to transform the construction sector that must meet the requirements of productivity, social progress and save resources.”

After two funding rounds and capital infused via other investors, XtreeE has been able to create a strong business model for the future. In 2020, they plan to roll out their ‘XtreeE Printing as a Service’ digital platform, meant to offer interconnectivity between customers and architects, designers, and engineers—and 3D printers.

XtreeE is currently in discussions to open two other facilities in Asia.

3D printing is not only becoming more widely used in construction, as more and more houses and small structures begin to emerge, but also in materials such as concrete. 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.

XReef production

St@tion4D

[Source / Images: XtreeE press release]

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Thixotropy, Nanoclay and the Optimal Parameters of 3D Printed Concrete

In ‘The Effect of Material Fresh Properties and Process Parameters on Buildability and Interlayer Adhesion of 3D Printed Concrete,’ international authors strive to understand more about materials and parameters in relation to concrete—specifically in terms of buildability and inter-layer adhesion properties.

3D printing with concrete is being used by companies and researchers around the globe today as they hope to harness all the classic benefits of 3D printing, from affordability to greater speed in production, and the ability to create more complex geometries—often meaning that products and prototypes not possible before can now be fabricated. And although there is a growing sense of acceptance of the technology, the researchers explain that there is still little data regarding materials and process parameters.

“A soft, flowable material is easy to extrude,” explained the researchers. “On the other hand, a stiff material can sustain the weight of more layers, although it needs more pressure for the extrusion. However, the stiffness of a cementitious material changes with time due to ongoing hydration. As a result, it may not be extrudable after its dormant period. In addition, this sometimes results in poor interface bond strength due to lack of moisture, mechanical contacts, and the presence of pores in the substrate.”

A lack of surface moisture can affect inter-layer strength, as well as process parameters. Inter-layer adhesion is a common challenge, and researchers have suggesting numerous fixes, from increasing mechanical contract between the layers or even spraying cement paste in the affected zone.

Demonstration of 3D printability of (a) control mix (CM); (b) 0.5% clay modified NM mixture.

For this project, the researchers added a ‘small amount of nanoclay’ to add both strength and thixotropy. The nanoclay showed anisotropic qualities, and showed the greatest compressive strength when tested in the direction of the layer deposition.

“Nanoclay carries a negative charge on its faces and a positive charge on its ends. During the material flow, it tends to separate from each other by the electrical repulsion between similar charges. On the other hand, at rest, it flocculates by oppositely charged ends, while increasing the yield stress and viscosity,” stated the researchers, pointing out that nanoclay is not helpful in increasing the stiffening rate.

Schematic of rheology modification for 3D concrete printing

The researchers noticed macro pores, theorizing that they were weakening the 3D printed, increasing with materials higher in thixotropy.

“Reducing the standoff distance below the nozzle opening size (width) had a positive impact on improving the bond strength of the NM mix, which can be explained by the decreased porosity in the interface zone,” concluded the researchers. “The impact of the nozzle standoff distance was found to be more pronounced for the material with a higher yield stress value.

“In future work, other parameters such as structuration rate, roughness, environmental conditions, and the effect of chemical additives will be studied to gain new insights into interlayer bond strength in the concrete printing process.”

3D printing with concrete continues to rise in popularity, as users—many in the construction world—innovate with projects such as 3D printed bridges, lightweight structures, and hardware for disaster relief. 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.

(a) static yield stress; (b) tensile bond strengths of CM and NM mixtures.

[Source / Images: ‘The Effect of Material Fresh Properties and Process Parameters on Buildability and Interlayer Adhesion of 3D Printed Concrete’]

The post Thixotropy, Nanoclay and the Optimal Parameters of 3D Printed Concrete appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

3D Printing News Briefs: April 10, 2019

We’ve got some business news for you in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, before moving on to an upcoming industry event and new materials. 3DVinci Creations and the American University in Dubai will establish a facility for concrete 3D printing, while Telset signed a contract with Relativity. Lincoln Electric has acquired Baker Industries for its 3D printing technology, and Jabil is sharing the results of its survey report on 3D printing. Next month is the NAMIC Summit, with its flagship DfAM event, and Nile Polymers has announced two new PVDF filaments.

Agreement Signed to Establish Center for 3D Concrete Printing

A cooperation agreement was signed between 3DVinci Creations, the American University in Dubai (AUD), Arabtec Construction Company, and global engineering consultancy firm Robert Bird Group to establish The Center for 3D Concrete Printing and Digital Construction on AUD’s campus. The scientific research center, equipped with a 3DVinci Creations 3D printer, will serve researchers from the university’s three project partners, as well as university students and members of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. It will build partnerships, create a consortium of academic, government, and industry entities interested in the growing 3D concrete printing and digital construction fields, work with state officials to promote 3D printing culture in construction, and eventually develop and administer training workshops and seminars on concrete 3D printing.

“With this cooperation agreement, we aim to perform strategic analyses of the present and future capabilities of 3D Concrete Printing and of digitally-driven construction systems. The Center will work with local regulatory bodies to develop newly updated building codes that pertain to 3D printed buildings and structures,” said Edouard Baaklini, CEO of 3DVinci Creations. “We will also develop cost models of 3D Printed Concrete buildings and structures together with tools for value analysis vis-à-vis traditional construction methodologies.”

Relativity Signs Contract with Telesat

Los Angeles 3D printed rocket manufacturer Relativity just signed its first public, multi-year commercial contract with satellite services vendor Telesat. This is a big deal, as it’s the first agreement between a major satellite operator and a venture-backed “New Space” industry company. It costs about $10 million for Relativity to launch a 1,250 kg payload to low Earth orbit – a price that’s $10 to $20 million less than it would be using a European Ariane rocket or Indian PSLV rocket. The company can keep its costs down by using automation and metal 3D printing in its design and manufacturing processes, and claims its rockets can be made in just 60 days, with far less components. Relativity has completed 136 engine tests and is currently testing its avionics systems, with the first launch of its 3D printed Terran 1 rocket scheduled for the end of 2020.

“Early in our LEO program we decided that, in addition to working with outstanding leaders in satellite manufacturing and launch services who we know well, Telesat should also include New Space companies whose technologies and manufacturing methods offer lower costs and greater flexibility for deploying our constellation. Relativity is just such a company with their metal 3D printing, use of robotics and other advances,” said Dave Wendling, Telesat’s CTO. “Telesat continues to establish a world-class supplier team to construct, deploy and operate our global LEO network and we are very pleased to welcome Relativity to the Telesat LEO program.”

Lincoln Electric Acquires Baker Industries

According to a report published last year by SmarTech Industries, the global additive manufacturing market grew 18% to reach $9.3 billion in size, and Lincoln Electric (LECO) wanted a piece of that pie. The company announced that it has acquired Detroit-based Baker Industries, which developed 3D printing tech for the aerospace and automotive industries, for an undisclosed sum as part of a previously announced initiative to expand into the AM industry.

Baker was founded in 1992 to manufacture custom fixtures, parts, and tooling that are Nadcap-accredited, AS9100D-certified, and adhere to the tough aerospace quality management standards. While you can learn more about its services in the video below, Baker primarily offers CNC machining, design, fabrication, prototyping, quality assurance, tooling, and 3D printing services to its customers. With its acquisition of Baker, Lincoln will be able to position itself in the ever growing AM, automation, and tooling sector.

Jabil Shares Results of Survey Report

According to the 2019 Additive Materials and 3D Printing study by Jabil, the practical applications in 3D printing have grown significantly over the last two years. The company surveyed over 300 professionals who are responsible for 3D printing at manufacturing companies, and found that the technology has found its way into almost every step of production, though prototyping still remains the most popular application.

Jabil shared how several key industries, such as medical, transportation, and aerospace, are using the technology today, and reported that 25% of respondents said that 3D printing can be as much as 20 times faster than traditional forms of manufacturing – obviously a major benefit. Jabil itself has adopted the technology at some of its sites because it takes 3D printing very seriously, and believes that the technology “has unlimited potential in the future.” Nearly all of the survey’s respondents said they expected their companies’ 3D printing use to increase over the next two to five years. You can read the full survey report here.

DfAM Conference at NAMIC Summit Coming Up

Next month in Singapore, the 2019 NAMIC Summit will take place from May 6-10, with its flagship event – the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) Conference & AM Industry Showcase – happening on May 7th at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. You can register now for the event to take advantage of early bird rates.

You can spend the day meeting other like-minded professionals in networking sessions, or take in a presentation by one of over ten distinguished speakers who will be sharing their knowledge about simulation and modeling, industrial applications of digital design solutions, and generative design For example, John Barnes, the founder and managing director of The Barnes Group Advisors, will be speaking about “Design for Manufacturing: The Transformative Role of Design in Driving Innovation in the Future of Manufacturing” at 9:30 am, and the CEO and co-founder of Assembrix Ltd, Lior Polak, will present “Distributed Manufacturing in Action: Dynamic Machine Allocation and Real-Time Monitoring at 1:30 pm.

Nile Polymers Introduces New Additions to Fluorinar PVDF Family

Utah-based Nile Polymers, which offers an industrial-grade PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) filament based on Arkema’s Kynar PVDF material, just announced the addition of two new filaments to its Fluorinar PVDF family – Fluorinar-B and Fluorinar-ESD, also built on Arkema’s Kynar. Chemical-resistant Fluorinar filaments differ from other PVDF materials because they don’t have any additional diluents or polymer additives, and they are tough, flexible, high-strength, and offer flame suppression and UV protection qualities. Sample filaments are available for both

Black-colored Fluorinar-B combines the company’s Fluorosmooth adhesive, which increases the surface energy of a print at its interface with a glass build plate, with the dependability of Kynar PVDF, and carbon pigment increases the part’s tensile strength and permeation resistance as well. Graphene-enhanced electrostatic dissipation (ESD) filament Fluorinar-ESD is perfect for applications that have parts which can’t tolerate static build-up, and calibrates impact strength and melt viscosity carefully so the final part is durable and strong.

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