copper 3d printing Archives - Perfect 3D Printing Filament

SmarTech Analysis: Over 1.4 Million Kg of AM Copper Powders to Ship by 2029

SmarTech Analysis has published its most recent report on the copper additive manufacturing (AM) market, “Copper Additive Manufacturing 2020–Market Database and Outlook,” projecting that the segment is growing at a rapid pace. By 2029, we estimate that over 1.4 million kilograms of copper powder, both pure copper and copper alloys, will ship for AM use.

The report is made up of two parts: a market analysis of the copper AM sector and a database forecasting the copper AM segment throughout numerous subsegments and broken out in multiple ways across a 15-year projection period from 2014 to 2029. This includes estimates of how much copper powder (pure and alloy) each metal AM technology family has consumed in the past, does and will consume in the present and future in a range of verticals and geographical regions.

For instance, SmarTech has concluded that copper AM adoption will expand rapidly from now until 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 43 percent, particularly in the Asia Pacific region. And, while the copper 3D printing market is relatively small compared to titanium, it will represent an increasingly large chunk of the broader copper market.

We also anticipate that the total sales of copper AM systems will grow by 34 percent through to 2029, which will introduce opportunities for copper powder sales across all metal 3D printing families. In particular, powder bed fusion (PBF) and bound metal printing will represent the largest revenue opportunities, though directed energy deposition will also increase its market share, despite its comparatively small size.

Part of the reason for copper AM’s rapid growth is attributed to improvements in copper 3D printing processes and materials. We know that metal PBF technologies are making advances in the processing of pure copper and copper alloys and that these materials themselves are being formulated in ways that make it easier for PBF systems to 3D print with them. This is demonstrated by work by Trumpf, which is now being expanded via a partnership with Heraeus AMLOY. Additionally, bound metal printing technologies are proving themselves to be increasingly capable of 3D printing copper parts, exemplified by recent news from Markforged.

As far as applications are concerned, the industry is proving valuable the use of copper 3D printing for the production of induction coils—now offered by a variety of service bureaus, including GKN Additive, Phoenix Contact, and GH Induction—and heat transfer components, such as heat exchangers and rocket propulsion parts.

Interestingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the niche potential of copper 3D printing for producing antimicrobial parts. The report discusses the rise of copper 3D printing for medical applications, including some of the stories that we’ve discussed during our coverage of the disease, such as copper door plates and handles by SPEE3D, antimicrobial filament from Copper3D and reusable copper filters 3D-printed by ExOne.

The report examines the current states of copper 3D printing, across all of the major metal AM technology families. Each present specific obstacles for processing the material using established AM system configurations, due to the metal’s physical characteristics, but each also present unique opportunities.

In addition to the analysis found in the report, the accompanying database has the unique feature of being easily integrated into existing internal market intelligence resources. SmarTech describes it well as an “off-the-shelf resource for market metrics and forecasts,” in that, while the report provides context for the database, the database is a versatile tool for providing actionable intelligence across business units.

Among the companies discussed in the report are EOS, Formalloy, Sandvik, Praxair Surface Technologies, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, 3T and FIT AG, as well as others already mentioned here.

To learn more about the report and database, view its table of contents, or purchase the two-part resource, visit the SmarTech website.

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Copper3D Antimicrobial Filament Device Attempts To Reduce HIV Transmission From Breastfeeding

3D printing startup Copper3D, based in Chile and the US, uses nano-copper additives, and adds antimicrobial properties to polymers like PLA and TPU to create antibacterial 3D printed objects. Last year, Copper3D partnered with NASA to study microbial risks in outer space, but now the startup is working on an important project that’s a little closer to home.

According to UNICEF, the number of children and adolescents living with HIV in 2017 reached 3 million, with 430,000 newly infected people and 130,000 deaths from AIDS-related causes. UNAIDS reports that in 2018, 26,000 new HIV infections among children up to the age of 14 resulted from withdrawal of treatment during pregnancy, and breastfeeding. But even with this knowledge, the World Health Organization reports that 37.9 million people around the world were living with HIV at the end of 2018, 8.1 million of which didn’t even know they had the disease to begin with.

Companies and scientists around the globe are working to use technology to help control dangerous bacteria and viruses with high replication rates, like HIV. Copper3D has created a 3D printed device, with its copper nanotechnology, that can effectively inactivate the HIV virus under the right conditions on certain objects- a project that the startup’s Director of Innovation Daniel Martínez tells us is “the result of more than one year of research in antimicrobial polymers and the role on inactivating high replication rate viruses like HIV.”

Dr. Claudia Soto, Copper3D’s Medical Director, said, “Understanding the global problem behind the HIV statistics and analyzing the role that our antimicrobial materials could have in containing the transmission of HIV virus led us think that we could develop some kind of device that acts like an interface between mother and child to prevent the spread of this virus through breastfeeding, which is one of the main routes of infection.

“The initial idea is based on some of the few available studies that establish that copper based additives and filters can inactivate HIV virus in a solution of breastmilk, acting specifically against the protease (essential for viral replication) where copper ions non-specifically degrade the virus phospholipidic plasmatic membrane and denaturalize its nucleic acids; nevertheless, several issues such as toxicity levels, milk nutritional degradation, time for virus inactivation, or the optimal size/form of these filters remain unsolved.”

3D concept of the Viral Inactivator (patent pending)

Copper3D, led by co-founders Martínez, Dr. Soto, and CEO Andrés Acuña, began work on a project with, as the startup stated in a release sent to 3DPrint.com, “two lines of research.” Last year, they submitted a patent application for the project, called Viral Inactivation System for a Breastmilk Shield to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV. First, the viral inactivation effectiveness of its PLACTIVE material was tested with samples of HIV-infected breast milk, and then the team designed an object that optimizes the “viral inactivation of HIV” in the milk, acting as a mother-to-child interface during breastfeeding.

“Our purpose as a company has always been related to make a global impact through innovation in materials and nanotechnology. This line of research of active/antimicrobial medical devices and applications that opens with these studies, fills us with pride as a company. We believe that we are marking a before and after in the industry and we take this honor with a great sense of responsibility,” stated Acuña. “We will continue on the path of applied innovation, always thinking of playing an important role in the most urgent global healthcare challenges, where our antimicrobial materials, intelligent 3D designs, rigorous processes of technical validations and laboratory certifications, can generate a new category of antimicrobial/active devices that can avoid infections at a global scale and save millions of lives.”

Virology Laboratory at Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile

The startup commissioned a proof-of-concept laboratory study at the Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile’s Virology Laboratory to validate PLACTIVE’s potential HIV viral inactivation capacity. The study used a split-sample protocol to test and treat 20 sub-samples of HIV-1 (subtype B, cultivated from infectious clone NL4-3, with CXCR4 co- receptor).

The sub-samples were randomized into different groups: A, B, and Control. Samples for A and B were placed in either a green or blue 3D printed box, with and without the nano-copper additive; for a proper blind study, the researchers did not know which was which. The samples were exposed to the medical device for 15, 60, 120, and 900 seconds, and then cultured with HIV-1 Jukat reporter cells LTR-luciferase Cells (1G5); Copper3D performed culture measures on the samples 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours post-treatment.

“The preliminary results showed a reduction of viral replication up to of 58.6% by simply exposition of the samples to the 3D printed boxes containing copper nanoparticles. Fifteen (15) seconds of exposition were enough to achieve such a reduction. These data allow us to infer that by increasing the contact surface by a factor of 10X, we could obtain much higher inactivation rates, very close to 100% (log3) and according to our calculations, most probably in less than 5 seconds,” explained Martínez. “These results are coherent with the hypothesized reduction times proposed by Borkow, et. al. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first essay aiming to study the inactivation of HIV virus by using this new kind of polymers with antimicrobial copper nanotechnology in 3D printed objects.”

3D model of the Viral Inactivator (patent pending)

These results are pretty promising, which bolstered the team as they moved on to the second part of the study – designing a device, with a surface of contact expanded 10X, for HIV-contaminated milk, that’s embedded in nano-copper for use during breastfeeding.

“Like any innovation project, this is a constantly evolving process. We have learned a lot along the way, and we will continue designing, iterating, testing, validating and learning about antimicrobial materials and devices in the future. The preliminary results obtained in the first phase of our investigation with viral inactivation on active/antimicrobial nanocomposites materials gives us a great drive to continue in that line of research,” said Martínez. “We hope in the coming months to conclude the second phase of this study. For these purposes we develop a new antimicrobial flexible TPU based material (MDflex), with the same nanocopper additive as PLACTIVE, to test with new iterations of the design of this viral inactivation device with expanded surfaces of contact that we believe will be much more effective. These new insights will allow the development of a whole new range of active medical devices and applications, with incredible capabilities to interact with the environment, eliminating dangerous bacteria and viruses and protecting patients and users around the globe. This second and final phase of the study will be concluded in Q2 of 2020.”

Copper3D’s concept for its Viral Inactivator is to study how the antimicrobial capacity of its nano-copper materials impacts HIV inactivation, and how different shapes and designs for the 3D printed device can increase the surface of contact with breast milk, while using the nano-copper to enhance effectiveness. The device was made with various layers and “rugosities” in order to imitate what has been observed in the human gastrointestinal tract.

Collaborators at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of Biomechanics will perform mechanical characterization testing of Copper3D’s prototype.

“Copper3D has once again disrupted the field of medical devices by creating this revolutionary device that can have a tremendous impact in reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” said Jorge Zuniga PhD, Associate Professor of Biomechanics with the university. “Our laboratory is fortuned to partner with Copper3D, in such an impactful project.”

Concept of applications with the Viral Inactivator

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Researchers Study Behavior of 3D Printed Geneva Mechanisms

A Geneva drive is a gear that will turn a continuous rotation mechanism into an intermittent rotary motion mechanism by adding a driven wheel to the gear with multiple slots. It then advances a single 90° step each time the drive wheel rotates. Named for its frequent use in Swiss-made watches, it’s still used today in things like movie projectors, and even in 3D printed applications such as novelty items and drug delivery systems.

A team of researchers from the Politehnica of Bucharest University in Romania published a paper, titled “Study behavior of Geneva mechanism using 3D printing technology,” where they considered the use of a variety of materials and technologies for developing, and studying the behavior of, these gears.

The abstract states, “In this paper the authors considered external Geneva mechanism. The design and machining of a conventional Geneva mechanism are generally well known, but there are some particularities, if we consider 3D printing technologies. Conventional, Geneva mechanisms are used to low-speed applications, or to those in which noise and vibration are of no importance. Using PLA+Copper or ABS materials noise and vibrations are reduced considerably. Also, the entire mechanism has a reduced weight. There were considered different fill factors for 3D printed parts. The experimental setup allows fast changing of mechanism parts. This research aims the study of behaviour of 3D Printed machine elements like: springs, bearings, clutches gears, bellows, diaphragms, bushes, brakes, sliders, etc developed by authors.”

A Geneva mechanism is a type of indexing mechanism with a fairly simple design – just a driving crank and wheel, with straight slots. This is known as a Maltese Cross mechanism. Conventional Geneva mechanisms are used for more low-speed applications, where the amount of vibration or noise made doesn’t matter.

The researchers 3D printed five Geneva mechanisms – each with five Maltese crosses and five driving cranks with pins – out of five different materials:

Plexiglass
PLA
ABS
PLA + copper
PLA + bronze

“The Geneva mechanism translates continuous motion to intermittent motion through the driving wheel whose crank pin is shown in figure 1,” the researchers explained. “It drives the Geneva wheel as it slides into and out of the slot of the Geneva wheel. It thus advances it – one step at a time when engaged. The driver wheel usually consists of both the crank and a raised circular blocking disk that locks the Geneva wheel in position between steps to avoid excessive vibration while rotating.”

Each cross had six slots, but a Matlab environment was used to develop a theoretical study that considered different Geneva mechanisms with z = 3, 4 and 6 slots; you can see these results in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Geneva mechanisms position and speed characteristics with different number of slots

The team also created experimental setups for five mechanisms so they could “determine cinematic parameters of Geneva mechanisms.” They used reflective sensors to find the time between two successive slots.

Figure 3. Operating mode of optical reflective sensors

“When the slot of the Maltese cross is in front of the reflective sensor the reflected beam is interrupted,” the researchers wrote. “Then, the cross is rotating with an angle of 60°. The cross passes in front of the reflective sensor and the time is recorded until the next (successive) slot is reached. When the cross is in front of the reflective sensor the beam is reflected.”

Figure 5. CAD models of Maltese cross

Different angular rotation speeds for the driver crank were also tested for the paper, in order to study the Geneva mechanisms’ cinematic and dynamic behaviors.

The experimental setups with Geneva mechanisms are connected to PC through a USB interface.

Figure 6. Experimental setups PLA (left) and PLEXI (right)

“The models obtained are used as demonstration stands used in didactic applications,” the researchers concluded. “Of the five investigated materials, ABS and PLA + Copper have been proved to have properties and characteristics close to mechanical engineering applications and these results are demonstrated by graphs. ABS also has the advantage of lighter weight, which makes it suitable for applications where low mass is needed. It can also be concluded that the angular speed of the drive element is inversely proportional to the difference between the angular speeds of the Malta crosses.”

Co-authors of the paper are D. Rizescu, D. Besnea, C.I. Rizescu, and E. Moraru.

Figure 7. Geneva mechanisms from different materials: a) PMMA b) PLA c) ABS d) PLA + copper e) PLA + bronze

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NASA and Virgin Orbit 3D print multimetallic chamber for rocket engine

NASA and satellite launch company Virgin Orbit have produced a working 3D printed combustion chamber for a rocket engine. Made using copper, the component is the product of a partnership between the two organisations which seeks to advance adoption of 3D printing across the commercial space sector and reduce the cost of future NASA missions. Formed in […]

Interview With 3DInductors About 3D Printing Pure Copper Induction Coils With EBM

Recently we told you about 3DInductors. This is a new service that lets you 3D print pure copper induction coils. 3DInductors was developed by GH Induction which is a part of GH Group, based in Valencia Spain and one of the market leaders in induction heating. The company developed its own technology application for 3D printing copper based on EBM (Electron Beam Welding). This is a complex process to work with and dial in for manufacturing. In addition, copper 3D printing has been attempted before by many players only for them to find out that it is much more difficult than they think. Of the players that say that say can do it right now precious few are actually able to deliver parts at scale. What’s more, the 3DInductors team is the first to do this for EBM. Also, it is the first company able to 3D print pure copper. It’s incredibly innovative that the GH Group would go through the significant lengths to develop their own technology and then to launch a direct to customer “start up/separate brand/skunkworks” type of play to bring it to market. I think that this really shows a very fruitful path for staid and large companies to innovate.

A 3D Printed Pure Copper Induction Coil

Induction coils are used to heat conductive metals in order to harden them via induction heating. Traditionally they were made by hand but the design freedom was limited. With 3DCoil 3DInductors opens up the design space for these parts. Lower inventory and lower TCO are just some of the benefits. A very exciting thing, however, is that due to the 3D printing process the parts last up to four times longer than the traditionally made ones. The combination of these factors may see the induction heating industry forever changed.

The company uses 99.99% copper and has a very high 99.7% recycling rate. They’ve already shipped over 400 of these 3D printed coils to customers including large automotive firms such as Renault. They also 3D print quenches to go with your induction coils. The business case for this looks very solid indeed and I love innovation such as this. We reached out to the firm with more questions and Concepción (do call her Inma) Sánchez was kind enough to answer them.

Why did you turn to 3D printing?

In induction metal parts heating, coils and inductors are the core of the process. They are the end tool where the magnetic process affecting the part, or material to be heated, occurs.

After more than a century in which the dominant manufacturing process has been mainly based, upon joining technologies such as brazing or soldering, skilled coppersmithing has been the safeguard of the quality with unique knowledge and know-how. The use of fixtures, mandrels, and machined parts has improved the repeatability and quality of the produced elements but high volume, dimensional repeatability has always been a source of problems.

All manufacturers are working continuously on the improvement of such relatively artisanal methods to allow better lifetime, minimized production time and overall better quality.

GH Induction is always looking for new technologies that benefit directly to our customers. This is our main added value.

Why copper?

The raw material for inductors is copper because it is the ideal for induction heat treatment in metal parts.

Copper represents the best compromise between electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, and cost. Other material could be used but either do not match cost limitation or mechanical properties.

Was it difficult to develop a copper process?

It really was.

GH Induction performed tests and developments with the available technologies before taking a decision on LBM (Laser Beam Melting) or EBM (Electron Beam Melting). We obtained better results (melting rate, porosity level) with EBM while using copper powder than with LBM (beam reflection problem, Argon trapped). In addition, considering an industrial production approach, the EBM technology allows to stack parts one above the other.

Then we had to develop from scratch EBM with pure copper manufacturing method. That didn’t exist before with EBM (Electron Beam Melting) printing technology.

Only titanium and cobalt-chrome printing for demanding applications in mechanical properties like orthopedic implants and aerospace parts were developed so far.

GH Induction together with a research center took some years to develop the process with pure copper material.

The solution was so innovative that we have been able to patent it. We are working with it for 5 years now and we commercialize it for almost 3 years now.

It is a breakthrough in the industrial induction heating sector.

An EBM Build Plate with pure copper

What machines do you run it on?

We have several machines, all based upon Electron Beam Melting technology which utilize a high power electron beam that generates the energy needed for high melting capacity and high productivity. The electron beam is managed by electromagnetic coils providing extremely fast and accurate beam control that allows several melt pools to be maintained simultaneously (MultiBeam). The process takes place in vacuum and at high temperature, resulting in stress relieved components with material properties better than cast and comparable to forged material. Our method based on EBM is the only 3D printing method able to print pure copper. The service life is much longer, the density is higher minimizing leakages and the mechanical and electrical properties are better. LBM techniques use copper alloys and they present intrinsic drawback when considering the manufacturing of coil with pure copper:

· Limited transformation of the energy into efficient melting due to the refraction of the beam on copper
· Post treatment needed due to created stress within the part
· Risk of pollution of the element (no vacuum)
· Use of an additional element to improve powder bonding remains as one important question mark.

Do you use pure copper? Other materials?

Only pure copper at the moment but we are always researching.

Copper alloys are not suitable because the alloy elements must be removed in order to avoid rusting creation of inclusion or compound which makes the manufacturing process more complex.

A Flame Brazing Coil

What are the advantages of 3D printing copper for your parts?

The inductor is an end effector where take place the creation of the magnetic field required for the induction heating effect. That means it follows the contour of the part we want to heat. The advantage of printing copper is that we can manage complex design that before were extremely or impossible to do with a more classical method (brazed elements).

In addition, we translate directly into the printer the CAD deign we have engineered. It includes shape changes that we believe allow to obtain the best efficiency in terms of pattern and magnetic precision.

We should not forget that an inductor is a tube shaped into the form we want to give it. Tubular section variation is needed since high power density flows onto the surface and requires cooling in most cases and we are in the vicinity of a part which can top at more than 1000 deg C.

Another aspect of that technology is the high reproducibility which allows the end-user to swap inductors with no or limited setting. That brings a clear gain in time.

Schematic of the EBM Process.

How does 3D printing extend the service life of the components?

The traditional method to manufacture copper coils is to join empty copper tubes segments by brazing. These coils must be cooled to withstand the high currency flowing through them. Mechanical fatigue results with the contraction and retraction cycles due to the magnetic forces onto the copper surface during the heating phases. Then the brazed joints in a coil/inductor assembly are often the weakest points and the initiation point of the coil destruction. Using 3D printing the coil is created as a single 3D piece without brazed joints increasing dramatically the lifespan.

We have seen improvements of over 400%. However, we see an average increase higher than 100% in most cases

In addition, the design is modelled through the 3D CAD software optimizing both outer and inner design:

reducing the points with higher current density (hot spots)
improving coil cooling by changing the geometric characteristics of the inductors
Manufacturing process carried out in a vacuum atmosphere in order to avoid porosity and rusting.
High dimensional accuracy process that allows identical coil copies.
These inductors can be repaired just like the traditional ones.

How many parts do you make?

We have already hundreds of 3D inductors in-field. Depending on the induction application, meaning type of part to heat and process, we can reach different results but always better. For instance, in an automotive driveline case we get 400% more lifespan.

Imagine the operational savings for the customer:

Dramatic decrease of their part production cost
Extreme reduction of production stoppages
Less inventory

How does geometric freedom help your part performance?

There are cases where the main benefit is the ability of adaptation to the part to be heated. In these cases the conventional brazed coils for mechanical reasons cannot fit to the part for optimum heat treatment. Another big benefit is the capability to improve continuously an original coil design once it is under production. Depending on production results, inner or outer coil modifications can be introduced to improve them.

Why is this such a good fit with inductors?

No brazed joints and total design coil flexibility
Total adaptation to the part to be heated
Design continuous improvement
High dimensional repeatability
Assembled inductors cost is sometimes more economic due to the reduction of the labor needed.

Who uses your products?

Industrial manufactures from any sector using heating processes like heat treatment (hardening, tempering, …), brazing, welding, straightening, etc.
The GH 3D inductors are highly recommended to high volume productions as automotive industry and when complex parts need to be treated.

What is the goal of your business?

To be a reference in our induction heating sector and to become a global 3D inductor provider for any induction machine or system.

What kinds of companies would you be interested in working with?

With any that can clearly benefit from our technology and experience because upgrading the traditional inductors to 3D is more than printing. Experience in induction and in 3D coils is mandatory.

3D Printing News Briefs: February 22, 2019

We’ve got some exciting dental news to share first in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs – Stratasys just announced its new full-color dental 3D printer at LMT Lab Day. Moving on, Farsoon has been busy developing an advanced pure copper laser sintering process, and Aether is working with Procter & Gamble on a joint development project. DyeMansion has announced a new UK distributor for its products, and three researchers address the challenges of adopting additive manufacturing in a new book about best practices in the AM industry.

Stratasys Introduces Full-Color Dental 3D Printer

This week at LMT Lab Day Chicago, the largest dental laboratory event in the US, Stratasys has introduced its new full-color, multi-material J720 Dental 3D printer which lets you have 500,000 color combinations for making very high resolution, patient-specific models. Its large build tray can print six materials at the same time, and it’s backed by GrabCAD Print software.

“Labs today operate in a very competitive space where differentiation counts on mastering the digital workflow and expanding into new products and services. The J720 Dental 3D Printer is designed to change the game – allowing levels of speed, productivity and realism the market has never seen,” said Barry Diener, Dental Segment Sales Leader for Stratasys. “This powers laboratories to meet the demands of a competitive market and push the boundaries of digital dentistry.”

See the new J720 Dental 3D printer at LMT Lab Day Chicago today and tomorrow at Stratasys Booth A9. It’s expected to be available for purchase this May.

Farsoon 3D Printing Pure Copper

Pure copper heat exchanger

Two years ago, after Farsoon Technologies had introduced its metal laser sintering system, the company’s application team began working with industrial partners to develop an advanced 3D printing process that could additively produce components made of pure copper. Copper is a soft, ductile metal with both high electrical and thermal conductivity, and it’s often used in industries like shipbuilding, electronics, automotive, and aerospace. But most additive copper is based on alloys, and not the pure metal itself, which is hard for lasers to regularly and continuously melt and can cause problems like thermal cracking and interface failure.

That’s why Farsoon’s work is important – all of its metal laser sintering systems can successfully create cost-effective, high-quality pure copper parts. The company’s process and unique parametric design is able to meet custom needs of customers, and to date, it’s launched 13 process parameters for metal powder sintering, including pure copper. Some of the parts that have come out of Farsoon’s recent collaborations include a pure copper heat exchanger, which featured a 0.5 mm wall thickness, complex spiral geometry and was printed in a single piece. Farsoon is open for additional partners seeking to further develop the 3D printing of pure copper and other specialized materials.

Aether and Procter & Gamble Begin Joint Development Project

Aether CEO Ryan Franks and Director of Engineering Marissa Buell with an Aether 1

San Francisco 3D bioprinting startup Aether has entered into a two-year joint development agreement with Procter & Gamble (P&G) in order to develop 3D printing and artificial intelligence technologies. The two will use the multi-material, multi-tool Aether 1 3D printer as a technology creation platform, and will create several hardware and software capabilities that hope to automate and improve P&G’s product research applications and develop a next-generation Aether 3D printer. An interconnected network of computer vision and AI algorithms aims to increase automation for multi-tool and multi-material 3D printing, while high-performance cameras will enable new robotics capabilities. Aether is also working on additional software that will help P&G automate and speed up image processing.

“Aether is working with P&G to completely redefine 3D printing. It’s no longer going to be just about depositing a material or two in a specific pattern. We’re building something more like an intelligent robotic craftsman, able to perform highly complex tasks with many different tools, visually evaluate and correct its work throughout the fabrication process, and constantly learn how to improve,” said Aether CEO and Founder Ryan Franks.

DyeMansion Names New UK Distributor

3D print finishing systems distributor DyeMansion, headquartered in Munich, announced that Cheshire-based 3D printing services supplier Europac3D will be the UK distributor for its range of machines. Per the agreement, Europac3D will now offer all of the AM finishing systems in DyeMansion’s Print-to-Product workflow, which includes its Powershot C powder blasting system, DM60 industrial coloring system, and the PowerShot S, which delivers homogeneous surface quality to 3D printed, powder-based plastics. Because of this, Europac3D is one step closer to achieving its mission of being a one-stop shop for 3D printing, scanning, and post-processing services.

“DyeMansion’s post-production systems are worldclass and add the all important finish to additive manufacturing,” said John Beckett, the Managing Director of Europac3D. “Their systems are perfect for companies or 3D print bureaus that have multiple SLS or HP 3D printers and allow us to extend our offer by providing market leading additive manufacturing finishing systems for 3D-printed polymer parts.”

New 3D Printing ‘Best Practices’ Book

We could go on and on about the many benefits offered by 3D printing (and we do), but there are still industry executives who remain unconvinced when it comes to adopting the technology. But a new book, titled “Additive Manufacturing Change Management: Best Practices” and released today, is here to provide some guidance for those still holding back. The book, which addresses some of the challenges of adopting 3D printing, was published by CRC Press as part of its Continuous Improvement Series and written by Dr. Elizabeth A. Cudney, an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, along with Divergent 3D’s VP of Additive Manufacturing Michael Kenworthy and Dr. David M. Dietrich, who is an Additive Manufacturing Engineering Design Fellow for Honeywell Aerospace and Dr. Cudney’s former doctoral student.

Dr. Cudney said, “If company leaders are interested in bringing additive manufacturing online, this book can help them decide if it makes sense for their industry.

“There’s often a lack of planning, a lack of understanding, a resistance to change and sometimes fear of the unknown. Our hope is that this book will provide a good road map for managers to advance additive manufacturing at a faster pace.

“We wanted to take a look at how companies can roll out a new technology, new processes and equipment and integrate that in such a way that you have a good product in the end.”

In the 17-chapter book, the authors present what Dr. Cudney refers to as a ‘road map’ for business leaders looking to adopt 3D printing. The eBook format costs $52.16, but if you want that shiny new hardcover version, it will set you back $191.25.

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