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3D Printing News Briefs: September 29, 2018

We’ve got some 3D printing event news to share with you in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, along with some business news and a story about a cool 3D printed container. At the TCT Show this week, Additive Industries announced a partnership with Laser Lines, and DEVELOP3D Magazine will soon celebrate product design and metal 3D printing at a live event. CRP Technology has created an updated 3D printed fairing for the Energica Ego Corsa superbike, and employees at the GE Additive Customer Experience Center in Munich made a 3D printed beer krug just in time for Oktoberest.

Additive Industries Partnering with Laser Lines

L-R: Mark Beard, General Manager UK, Additive Industries; Mark Tyrtania, Sales Director, Laser Lines; Daan Kersten, CEO, Additive Industries; and Phil Craxford, Sales Manager, Laser Lines

At the opening of the TCT Show, which took place in Birmingham earlier this week, Additive Industries announced a new partnership with Laser Lines Ltd. in order to speed up its 3D printing presence in the UK and Ireland. Laser Lines is a UK supplier of 3D printers, 3D scanning equipment, lasers, and related accessories, and will work together with Additive Industries to help grow the maturing market in the UK and Ireland for industrial 3D printers. Laser Lines will support Additive Industries in its work to further develop the industrial market for various applications in the aerospace, automotive, machine building, and medical sectors.

“With the recently announced expansion to the UK with a dedicated Process & Application Development Centre, we already acknowledge that the UK & Ireland is an important market that provides great opportunities for industrial companies to enter into industrial metal additive manufacturing,” said Daan Kersten, the CEO of Additive Industries. “With Laser Lines Ltd we add an experienced partner to our fast growing worldwide network that will work with us to identify and manage these opportunities that will contribute to our execution of our accelerated growth.”

DEVELOP3D Magazine Holding Live Event

Each year, DEVELOP3D, a monthly print and digital design journal, holds a live US event all about product design. This year’s DEVELOP3D Live event will be held this coming Tuesday, October 2nd, from 8 am – 6:30 pm at Boston University.

“We have some really fascinating folks coming to celebrate product design in the 21st Century,” Martyn Day from X3D Media, which runs DEVELOP3D, told 3DPrint.com. “We are especially pleased to have Ti Chang from Crave, Tatjana Dzambazova from new metals 3D printing company Velo3D and Olympian, Jon Owen from Team USA Luge.

“Our day is split with MainStage presentations from designers and the industry, together with a track dedicated to Additive Manufacturing, with all the latest in metals 3D printing.”

Tickets are just $50, and include full access to the conference and all 30 exhibitors, plus refreshments, lunch, and drinks at a social mixer. There will be 20 speakers presenting in two separate streams, and topics include CAD, topology optimization, 3D printing, virtual reality, and product development.

3D Printed Fairing for Ego Corsa

Together, Italy-based CRP Group and its subsidiary Energica have been using 3D printing and Windform materials to develop components for electric motorcycles and superbikes for a few years now. In April, the Ego Corsa electric motorcycle completed its third demo lap, and at the last series of road tests before the first edition of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, the 2019 2019 Ego Corsa prototype hit the track with a new 3D printed fairing, manufacturing by CRP Technology with its laser sintering technology and Windform XT 2.0 Carbon-fiber reinforced composite material. The 3D printed fairing update has improved the Ego Corsa’s aerodynamics.

“We have had the fairing available in short time. Thanks to the professional 3D printing and CRP Technology’s Windform composite materials, it is possible to modify motorcycle components – even large ones – from one race to the next ones, in order to test different solutions directly on the track,” said the Energica technical staff.

“This fairing is not only more aerodynamic, but it also has a smaller frontal and lateral section. These improvements led to achieve increase in terms of performance and they led to achieve greater manageability in fast corners.

“The Windform XT 2.0 has once again proved to be a high performance composite material. We are very happy how the 3D printed new fairing behaved during the tests.”

GE Additive 3D Prints Metal Beer Stein

Even though the month of October doesn’t start for another few days, Oktoberfest itself officially kicked off last Saturday in Germany. In order to celebrate the occasion, the AddWorks team at the GE Additive Customer Experience Center in Munich, which opened last winter, decided to take another look at the traditional glass beer krug; what we’d call a pitcher or stein in the US.

The unfortunate thing about glass is that it breaks. Obviously, if you’ve enjoyed too much beer at an event like Oktoberfest, the likelihood of breaking your glass drink container goes way up. So AddWorks decided to create a new prototype beer krug, but instead of using glass, they 3D printed it using a combination of stainless steel and titanium…and the result is pretty impressive.

Take a look at the video below, which stars the head of the Munich CEC (Matthew Beaumont), to see the whole process:

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

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GE Transportation to introduce 250 3D printed locomotive parts by 2025

According to reports in UK rail industry authority the Railway Gazette GE is looking to apply additive manufacturing to components for its locomotives. If all goes according to plan, this could mean that in the next seven years GE Transportation will have an inventory of up to 250 3D printed train components. A pilot initiative for 3D […]
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GE Additive Customer Uses DMLM 3D Printing to Manufacture Blades for Medical Cutting Device

endoCupcut

As the population continues to age, the number of necessary hip replacements rise, which means we’re seeing more 3D printed hip implants and hip cups. Implanting a hip cup is fairly straightforward these days, but removing one, for reasons ranging from abrasion and infection to loosening, is another story. Surgeons typically have to use a hammer and chisel for this, which can damage tissue and bone and make it hard to reinsert a new implant.

Germany medical device company Endocon, a GE Additive customer, is using additive manufacturing to make it easier for surgeons to remove hip replacement cups. The company isn’t 3D printing the cups, but instead created a new device, called an acetabular cut cutter, with 3D printed blades. This product has improved not only the surgical experience for the patient and physician, but the cost savings and product reliability as well.

“We’ve also been able to reduce the cost per blade by around forty to forty-five percent. That means cost savings for us and in turn for our customers,” said Klaus Notarbartolo, the General Manager at Endocon. “When you combine that with a reduction in product development time, higher efficiency and lower rejection rates, then the business case for additive really becomes attractive.”

Typically, traditional casting is used to manufacture cutting blades, but for an end product that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, it could take up to three and a half months to produce a single batch of blades. Casted blades can also have a rejection rate of about 30% due to issues like non-repeatable quality, corrosion, and consistent hardness.

The company called on GE Additive’s Concept Laser Mlab Cusing 100R, which uses direct metal laser melting (DMLM) technology, to 3D print the blades for its endoCupcut in 17-4 PH stainless steel. This reusable device allows surgeons to quickly loosen and extract cementless hip cups without damaging the surrounding bone, as its blades allow for more precise cutting along the edge of the acetabular cup. Additionally, it can be combined with up to 15 different 3D printed stainless steel blades in sizes ranging from 44 mm to 72 mm, and makes it possible to implant the same size cup that was originally there.

The 3D printed blades for the endoCupcut, which had only minimal changes from the original model, can be available in just three weeks, including post-processing. The device now has a rejection rate of less than 3%, can achieve consistent outcomes, and the 3D printed blades show excellent corrosion resistance. Rather than cracking after 600 N, the blades show a plastic deformation after applying 1,8 kN, and their hardness level has improved to 42+-2 HRC, compared to 32 HRC.

“Endocon’s ability to solve multiple challenges using additive is impressive example of how it can have a positive impact for smaller companies targeting the orthopedic industry,” said Stephan Zeidler, Business Development Manager Medical for GE Additive. “What started with the need for a reduced time-to-market in terms of product development and flexible production of various shapes and sizes has resulted in a smart, innovative medical product that enhances patient outcomes.

“Moving the entire production process from casting to additive manufacturing was a logical step and that shift continues to provide inspiration for future projects.”

Metal 3D printing specialist and service bureau Weber-KP manages the entire process, including data preparation, build platform orientation, 3D printing, surface finishing, hardening, and bead blasting, for Endocon. The company has even improved the manufacturing process of the blades in order to, as GE Additive put it, “maximize the best possible outcome” and can fit between two and six blades on the Mlab Cusing 100R’s build platform, depending on orientation and size.

Using DMLM technology to 3D print the blades has improved their mechanical properties, and also ensures high density and accuracy. By using stronger, harder, and more reliable blades on the endoCupcut, the device performs better for the surgeon in the operating room, and also makes things safer for the patient by lowering the risk of breakage and splinters being embedded in their tissue. Using this device, surgery time has been decreased from 30 minutes to just three, and its precise cutting method preserves the highest possible amount of bone substance, which “supports an accelerated healing process for the patient.”

Other benefits of fabricating the endoCupcut blades with DMLM 3D printing include:

  • High-fitting accuracy of blades through modular system of ball-shaped heads
  • Perfect fitting of ball-shaped heads in a 38-60 mm width
  • Reusable for multiple operations
  • Wear-resistant and easy to sterilize

Lowering surgical risk saves hospitals money and time, and the world is definitely taking notice of Endocon’s innovative work. The endoCupcut is already being used by several medical professionals around Germany, and the company itself is a finalist in the TCT Awards next week.

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

[Images provided by GE Additive]

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GE Additive expedites Endocon medical device production with 3D printing

German medical device company endocon GmbH has developed a 3D printed surgical tool with the help of GE Additive Concept Laser Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM) technology. The medical-grade device is designed to improve and simplify the removal of hip implants, with the optional use of fifteen additively manufactured stainless steel blades. With this technology, Endocon […]
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Day One of IMTS 2018, new metal 3D printing technology and more

3D Printing Industry has returned to Chicago for the 2018 edition of IMTS. Held in every even-numbered year, IMTS is North America’s leading manufacturing technology show. The 2,123 booths cover 1,424,232 sq. ft., and final visitor numbers are expected to exceed 120,000 by the end of the week. One attendee with a background in the […]
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Air New Zealand partners with Zenith Tecnica to 3D print metal aircraft parts

Air New Zealand, the flag carrier airline of New Zealand, has partnered with Zenith Tecnica, an Auckland-based 3D titanium printing company, to manufacture 3D printed metal aircraft parts.  The metal parts will be printed with electron beam melting (EBM) printers manufactured by Arcam AB, a child company of GE Additive based in Sweden. “Aircraft interiors are made up […]
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Protolabs reports record revenue growth and income for Q2 2018

Protolabs has reported “record revenue growth and net Income” in financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018. Headline figures for the digital manufacturing enterprise show revenue for the quarter of $109.7 million. Protolabs’ net income was $18.3 million, up 52% from the prior year. Vicki Holt, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, […]
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3D Printing News Briefs: July 20, 2018

We’re starting out with some construction news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, then following that with a little business, a little metal, and a little 3D design. Russian firm AMT-SPETSAVIA has updated two of its construction 3D printers, and the University of New Brunswick has chosen a Concept Laser 3D printer to use for its upcoming research. Mass Portal’s software team went through a reorganization, and attendees learned all about lightweight aluminum material at the recent AMAP forum. Finally, users of browser-based SelfCAD 3D software can access the MyMiniFactory design library…and share their own work there as well.

Spetsavia Completes Updates on Large Construction 3D Printers

Three years ago, Russian firm Spetsavia presented its home construction methods and 3D printers at the 3D Print Expo. Now, the group of machining and 3D printing companies collectively known as AMT-SPECAVIA has updated its range of construction 3D printers (Construction Objects Printing or COP) to introduce two new large-format models. The S-300, with a “working field” of 11.5 x 11 x 5.4 m, is able to print directly on the foundation of buildings up to two stories and 120 square meters, while the S-500 features an 11.5 x 11 x 15 m field and can 3D print buildings up to five, or even six, floors. However, the latter can be increased to a working field of 40 x 11 x 80 m, which Spetsavia says makes it “the largest 3D construction printer in the world.”

“New models of the S series are essentially the next generation of building printers. We’ve always been asked for a solution for multi-storey construction,” said Alexander Maslov, the General Director of AMT-SPETSAVIA. “Now we declare with confidence that such a solution exists! The AMT S300 and S500 printers are high-performance equipment with unprecedented capabilities and competitive price. During the development we’ve taken into account the wishes of the developing companies, at the same time maintaining the inherent reliability of our equipment, ease of management and maintenance.”

Both the S-300 and the S-500 have a direct flow print head for increased productivity, in addition to a new feed station that prepares the concrete mixture. The first shipment of the S-500 is scheduled for this fall, and a team of engineers will accompany the 3D printer to the customer for training.

University of New Brunswick to Use Concept Laser M2 Cusing

L-R: Keith Campbell, Senior Sales Director, GE Additive; Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi, Director of Research and Development for the Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence; Hart Devitt, Director of Industry and Government Services; Duncan McSporran, Director, Programs and Innovation, Office of Research Services, University of New Brunswick

GE Additive has announced that the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Canada, together with commercialization partner Custom Fabricators & Machinists and training partners Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC), New Brunswick Community College (NBCC), and the College communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB), has chosen its Concept Laser M2 Cusing metal 3D printer to use in its latest research.

UNB is in charge of the country’s first Marine Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence, which will be the very first in Canada to fabricate certified parts for the marine industry with metal 3D printing. The M2 Cusing will mostly be used by UNB’s Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi, who will be the Director of Research and Development for the new center, and his team for multiple R&D areas, including bast resistance, enhanced corrosion protection, and hybrid 3D printing processes.

Mass Portal Announces Reorganization of Software Team

Latvian 3D printer manufacturer Mass Portal has reorganized, and appointed new leadership for, its software team, which is now an independent company called FabControl. The company will be building an open, next-generation software platform for managing 3D printers and AM workflows, and Mass Portal’s current CEO and co-founder Janis Grinhofs, the founder of FabControl and in charge of developing Mass Portal’s flagship Pharaoh 3D printers, will now serve as the CEO of the new company. Imants Treidis has been named the new CEO of Mass Portal.

“We will continue to serve our existing customers and industrial partners, in the same time striving for excellence in supplying the industry with highest quality machines and tailor built solutions for additive manufacturing needs,” Treidis said.

All About Aluminum at AMAP Forum 

Not too long ago in Aachen, scientific and industry experts gathered at the AMAP Forum (Advanced Metals and Processes) to demonstrate the continuing potential of researching non-ferrous metals, like aluminum, for the purposes of lightweight automotive design. 14 entrepreneurs from industry and five of the RWTH Aachen University institutions formed the AMAP Open Innovation Research cluster at the forum, and discussed topics ranging from new production technologies and materials development to modeling and metallurgic process technology. Some of the specifics included using aluminum hollow castings to create structural components with functional integration, additive manufacturing, and new design and calculation methods for high-strength aluminum alloys.

Dr. Klaus Vieregge, Chairman of the AMAP Advisory Board and Head of the Hydro Aluminium Research and Development Center in Bonn, said, “We are an efficient network. New members are always welcome, but a high number of members is not the focus of the AMAP cluster, we want to convince people by the efficiency of the work and the research results.”

SelfCAD Partners with MyMiniFactory

Online 3D design platform SelfCAD, founded in 2015, combines 3D modeling, slicing, and several other tools and functions in one easy program. Earlier this year, the platform announced a partnership with popular 3D printable model marketplace MyMiniFactory.

This partnership makes it easy for SelfCAD users to access the design library in MyMiniFactory, and also gives them the ability to download their 3D models directly from the marketplace while still in the SelfCAD program. In addition,  it’s also possible for users to upload their models directly to MyMiniFactory for maximum exposure.

To learn more, check out this helpful video:

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

 

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3D printing news Sliced GE Additive, Toll Group, EnvisionTEC, Markforged

Today in the Sliced 3D printing news digest, we take a look inside Canada’s first Marine Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence; study colorful 3D printing; explore 3D printed castles; and conduct some heavy lifting. GE Additive, Toll Group, Xometry, EnvisionTec, Markforged and more all feature below. Read on to find out more. Getting educated A study conducted […]
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GE Additive Partnering Up with Honda and Triumph Group for 3D Printing Acceleration

GE Additive, which is attending the Farnborough International Airshow this week, has been busily dropping announcements from the trade fair, the latest of which is centered around its AddWorks additive consulting service provider. GE Additive and AddWorks were chosen by the Honda R&D Co., Ltd, Aircraft Engine R&D Center in Japan to help increase the development of 3D printed aerospace applications for its future generation aircraft engines.

SmarTech Publishing stated that over $280 billion will be invested in additive manufacturing over the next decade, and GE Additive wants in. Last spring, the company announced that it would be increasing its focus on additive manufacturing, planning to sell 10,000 3D printers by 2026 and become a $1 billion business by 2020. This announcement was followed by setting up operations in Japan this winter, and announcing that more commercial offerings would be available last month. Now, it’s continuing to increase its commercial efforts in Japan by focusing on important industries like automotive and aerospace.

“We are pleased that Honda Aircraft Engine R&D Center has selected GE Additive to be its vendor in providing AddWorks consulting services to further the use of this transformative technology in its future generation aircraft engines,” said Thomas Pang, the Director of GE Additive in Japan. “We are in the best position to share our learnings from our own additive journey, having started from prototyping to successfully applying it to mass production for aviation engine parts.”

Honda R&D Headquarters

GE and Honda have been partnering together in the aviation industry for over ten years, first setting up the joint venture GE Honda Aero Engines LLC in 2004 between Honda Aero and GE Aviation, and then creating the GE Honda HF120 jet engine for use on lighter business jet aircraft like the successful HondaJet – the most delivered in its category last year.

To assist customers in adding 3D printing to their business workflows, GE Additive provides materials, 3D printers, and the engineering consultancy services of AddWorks; these consultants use their AM expertise to help clients figure out if adopting 3D printing will be beneficial in terms of performance and cost. GE Additive is hopeful that AddWorks will help Honda Aircraft Engine R&D Center, and ultimately lead to further growth of its partnership with the company and increased AM adoption in aerospace.

At its Japan location, GE Additive will sell Concept Laser and Arcam EBM 3D printers, along with materials, both directly and through local resellers to customers in the country that focus on heavy industry, automotive, and aerospace.

In addition to the partnership with Honda, Pennsylvania-headquartered Triumph Group, a leader in the aerospace industry, is working to further its own AM strategy by selecting two of GE Additive’s 3D printers and a variety of AddWorks design and engineering consultancy service packages. Triumph hopes that these new additions will help to support both its commercial objectives and its R&D initiatives.

“I really admire Triumph’s smart and progressive strategy in adopting a multimodality approach to their additive journey. And when you add to that the deep experience and divergent thinking of our AddWork’s team, I look forward to seeing the results of what I hope will be a long and rewarding relationship,” said Jason Oliver, the President and CEO of GE Additive.

Triumph works in all levels of the aerospace supply chain, ranging from single components and complex systems to aerospace structures, in order to offer solutions for an aircraft’s entire product life cycle. The company enjoys a competitive advantage over similar businesses thanks to its ability to integrate several capabilities and products.

The aerospace company chose an M2 Cusing Multilaser DMLM system from Concept Laser, as well as an Arcam EBM Q20plus system, both of which should be fully installed at its Seattle R&D facility within Q3 of 2018.

“Triumph Group is excited to work with GE Additive to broaden Triumph’s utilization of additive manufacturing technology. Thus far we have successfully used additive manufacturing for prototyping, and we are rapidly growing its use for design competency,” said Dan Crowley, the President and CEO of Triumph Group. “This partnership with GE Additive will strengthen our additive manufacturing capability, accelerating our ability to design and develop future on-wing solutions for our customers.”

L-R: Gary Tenison, VP Strategy & Business Development, Triumph Group; Jason Oliver, President & CEO, GE Additive; Dan Rowley, President & CEO, Triumph Group; David Joyce, Vice Chair of GE and President and CEO, GE Aviation; Tom Holzthum, EVP Integrated Systems, Triumph Group; Ryan Martin, Sales Leader Americas, GE Additive

Right from the beginning, GE Additive’s AddWorks team will work with Triumph in multiple areas, such as advising on prototyping strategies, discovery workshops, and materials selection.

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

[Images provided by GE Additive]