Farsoon debuts its FS621M large-format metal 3D printer at TCT Asia 

Chinese SLM and SLS 3D printer manufacturer Farsoon, has introduced it’s latest Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) large-format metal 3D printer, the FS621M.  Developed with industry partner and manufacturing service provider Falcontech, the new system has been designed to address the productivity challenges of metal 3D printing including size constraints, powder management and process […]

3D printing industry news sliced: Nexa3D, Tethon 3D, HP, Thor 3D, nScrypt, Farsoon and more

In this edition of Sliced, the 3D Printing Industry news digest, we cover the latest business developments, partnerships, and acquisitions across our industry.  Today’s edition features the most up-to-date distribution deals, a host of new 3D printing materials, aerospace advancements, software updates, AM awards, and a 3D printed treasure trove. Read on for the most […]

Falcontech set to ramp up “Super AM Factory” with 50 Farsoon metal 3D printers

Falcontech, a manufacturing service provider for the aerospace industry, has announced that it will be kitting out its “Super AM Factory” with 50 Farsoon metal 3D printing systems. By first installing 20 Farsoon machines by the end of 2020, the Chinese aerospace specialist plans to enhance its manufacturing capacity, facilitating series production on a grand […]

Underwater ROV built with Farsoon 3D printers

Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) manufacturer QYSEA is working with Chinese SLM and SLS 3D printer manufacturer Farsoon to produce protective covers for its FIFiSH V6 underwater ROV.  These customized covers, used for protecting the ROV’s smart vector thrusters, are created using Farsoon’s Flight additive manufacturing technology. They provide the mechanical strength and durability necessary to […]

3D Printing for COVID-19, Part Nine: Safety Goggles, Swabs and Coalitions

It seems to be the case that 3D printing related relief efforts are beginning to coalesce with government and medical regulatory efforts to, hopefully, ensure that rapid response to the COVID-19 outbreak from the additive manufacturing (AM) community is safe and reliable. The efficacy of the collaboration between these disparate parties is still too early to evaluate easily, however, and we will have a better picture of what this collaboration looks like over time. 

Meanwhile, efforts are continuing to provide 3D printed products to fulfill needed medical supplies, sometimes with the help of medical experts and sometimes without. The line between marketing initiative and humanitarianism continues to be blurred.  

As reported earlier, Formlabs is already deploying 3D-printed nasal swabs to aid in hospitals in Florida and New York, while Carbon attempts to validate its own nasal swabs. Now, EnvisionTEC is 3D printing nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs for specimen collection for testing, as well as ventilation splitters similar to those previously covered that diverts air from ventilation systems to multiple patients. 

The design for EnvisionTEC’s 3D-printed swabs. Image courtesy of EnvisionTEC.

To do so, the company is collaborating with the FDA and local Detroit hospitals to print the parts from a Class 1 material. For the NP swabs, EnvisionTEC is working with the Harvard Microbiology Lab and a larger consortium of academic and AM partners. Nilson Laboratories, has designed a flexible swab and printed 400 units in a Class 1 material.  These items are still undergoing testing and approval before deployment in the field.

Assembly diagram of additively manufactured safety goggle. Image courtesy of Farsoon.

Though a number of entities are 3D printing face shields, Huaxiang Group, Farsoon and LEHVOSS Group are 3D printing safety goggles to protect the highly exposed mucous membrane of the eyes of medical staff. Medical 3D printing experts from Huaxiang Group in China were able to develop, optimize and validate weight-optimized, 3D-printed goggles in a span of 10 days, 3D printing nylon goggle frames and flexible thermoplastic polyurethane sealing rings on Farsoon systems. These parts are then combined with acrylic lenses coated with anti-fogging material. 

Assembled safety goggle under UV disinfection. Image courtesy of Huaxiang Group.

Huaxiang 3D printed and assembled 1000 pairs of goggles for the Red Cross Society of China as of March 18 and is in the process of producing a second batch for use locally and abroad, including for Italian hospitals and in conjunction with Italian service bureau Prosilas Rapid Prototyping. The design files for the goggles are freely available online.  

Other efforts underway include the establishment of a coalition by Stratasys that currently hosts over 150 members, such as Toyota Motor Company, Boeing, the University of Central Florida and more. The company is inviting any party capable of printing a minimum of 100 face shields daily to join by filling out an online form. The group is in the process of building over 11,000 face shields for delivery next week and 16,000 the following week. 

A face shield with 3D-printed bracket. Image courtesy of Stratasys.

Italian arms manufacturer Beretta is continuing to operate through the pandemic due to its status as a critical weapons asset in Italy. To address the crisis, the company is 3D printing replacement Venturi valves on its selective laser sintering machines. 

Siemens has opened its Additive Manufacturing Network and its own 3D printing capabilities up to healthcare providers for the rapid production of medical parts. Medical professionals can register for access online. 

All of this corporate participation in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak raises a number of larger questions about whose responsibility it is to manage production under disaster response. We’ve seen how potentially authoritative government control via enforced quarantine can lead to a comparatively quick management of the coronavirus, while laissez faire approaches to management have led to widespread mismanagement and havoc.

Whereas nations have the possibility of mandating their manufacturers to produce vital medical supplies to combat the pandemic—such as with the Defense Production Act in the U.S.—governments with laissez faire economic management approaches are relying on manufacturers to take it upon themselves to do what they believe is best. The result is the ad hoc approach we are seeing with coalitions made up of trade associations, businesses, governments and regulatory bodies. 

The case of General Electric is an interesting example. As we’ve previously reported, GE Healthcare is working with Ford to produce simplified versions of GE’s ventilators. However, workers from GE Aerospace in Lynn, Massachusetts are currently protesting that the facility is continuing to manufacture jet turbine parts instead of ventilators. This occurred just as GE announced a massive round of layoffs in which 10 percent of its aviation workforce would be let go in an attempt to save the company $500 to $1 billion. This brings up the point we’ve stressed about whether or not some 3D printing initiatives by businesses in response to the coronavirus outbreak are less about manufacturing needed supplies and more about marketing and appearance.

All of this is to say that, while a nation’s government could simply make demands of its manufacturers to produce the necessary medical equipment and distribute those supplies based on where they are needed, nations with laissez faire bureaucracies are instead relying on ad hoc networks with potentially dangerous manufacturing and distribution procedures. That is why the efforts of regulatory bodies and national and continental 3D printing trade groups, such as those discussed in our last article, may be essential to combat the outbreak. They are essentially (hopefully) bringing order and safety to an otherwise impromptu disaster response.

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to wear on, it is hoped that these diverse efforts will continue to coalesce in non-competitive ways with government and medical bodies better coordinating these disparate groups and ensuring proper regulations are followed. In the meantime, as the novelty of 3D printing for use in a public health emergency wears off, it is also hoped that the marketing takes a backseat to genuinely useful production of needed medical supplies. 

The post 3D Printing for COVID-19, Part Nine: Safety Goggles, Swabs and Coalitions appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

TÜV SÜD event brings industry leaders together for additive manufacturing industrialization

Last week, 3D Printing Industry attended the 2nd TÜV SÜD Additive Manufacturing Conference in the heart of Bavaria. The Munich-headquartered technical services giant, TÜV SÜD, brought together high-level AM experts to hear industry leaders and academics share their thoughts on the implementation of industrial additive manufacturing.  3D Printing Industry made the journey to Germany’s third-largest […]

3D Printing News Briefs: October 25, 2019

We’re talking about art and business in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. An art installation at Millennium Park was created through the use of 3D printed molds, provided by Fast Radius. Farsoon has signed a joint development agreement with Rapid Manufacturing, and EVOK3D is partnering up with the Currie Group to accelerate its sales growth.

Fast Radius Makes 3D Printed Molds for Art Installation

Artist Edra Soto was commissioned to build an outdoor art installation in Chicago’s popular Millennium Park, which resulted in her freestanding Screenhouse, constructed by Navillus Woodworks out of over 400 custom-cast concrete blocks and opening today in the park’s Boeing Gallery North. Navillus enlisted the help of Fast Radius to create 3D printed molds for the blocks, which helped save on development time and money. The company printed the molds out of PA 12 material, using HP’s MJF technology. 3D printed lattice structures were used in the construction, which also helped reduce the weight of the piece.

“Our mission is to make new things possible to advance the human condition. I can think of no better way to serve that mission than helping bring Edra Soto’s beautiful design to life in Chicago’s Millennium Park, where it will be enjoyed by our fellow Chicagoans and visitors from around the world. This project with Navillus shows the potential of additively manufactured molds to redefine construction project design,” Fast Radius CEO Lou Rassey said in a case study about the project.

Farsoon and Rapid Manufacturing Sign Joint Development Agreement

PA12-based parts fabricated by Rapid Manufacturing on the beta-Flight-HT403P in Rümlang.

Stuttgart-based Farsoon Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Chinese company Farsoon Technologies, has signed a joint development agreement for beta testing of its Flight technology with Rapid Manufacturing AG, headquartered in Rümlang, Switzlerland. Per the agreement, earlier this month Farsoon installed its new Flight-HT403P, with a 400 x 400 x 540 mm3 build cylinder and 500W fiber laser, at Rapid Manufacturing. After completing initial tests successfully, the Swiss company is now using the laser sintering system to make plastic PA12 components and parts with high resolution, low surface roughness, and good mechanical properties for its customers.

“We are impressed by the strong will power to increase the competitiveness of laser sintering, which Rapid Manufacturing is systematically implementing with the installation of our machine,” stated Dr. Dirk Simon, the Managing Director of Farsoon Europe GmbH.

EVOK3D and Currie Group Partnering

Australian company EVOK3D, which supplies and supports both professional and production 3D printing solutions and is the HP 3D Production Specialist Partner for the country, announced that it has signed a partnership equity agreement with Currie Group, a top end-to-end Graphic Arts service supplier in New Zealand and Australia. Currie Group provides and services high-quality printing equipment, and EVOK3D will leverage its management experience to continue growing its sales and support capability.

“3D printing has moved beyond just prototyping and is now a viable direct manufacturing technology. To meet the growing demand for these technologies we needed to scale the business and Currie Group is ideally positioned having pioneered digital disruption of the 2D print industry over the last 20 years. For our clients across education, design, industry and healthcare it means they can continue to invest with confidence,” stated Joe Carmody, the Managing Director for EVOK3D.

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The post 3D Printing News Briefs: October 25, 2019 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Farsoon opens Beta testing program for new FS301M metal 3D printer

Chinese industrial polymer and metal 3D printer manufacturer Farsoon Technologies has launched a new machine. The FS301M has been developed to improve user-experience of metal additive manufacturing. From now, and at Formnext 2019, the company will be looking to engage potential customers in a FS301M Beta program before the system reaches full commercial release. “With strong […]

Farsoon successfully adapts H13 tool steel for DMLS additive manufacturing

Farsoon Technologies, a Chinese metal and polymer 3D printer manufacturer, has devised a method to produce H13 tool steel parts by laser sintering. After parameter optimization tests, the company has managed to 3D print H13 with properties comparable to those made by forging.  In collaboration with American tooling production company Next Chapter Manufacturing, Farsoon has […]