Just a few months ago, we learned from 3D°Hex that it would soon be launching a Kickstarter campaign for a new, highly temperature and wear resistant tungsten 3D printing nozzle, called the Tungzzle, that it had been working to develop for about a year. The startup, based in the Ruhr region of western Germany, is focused on designing and manufacturing better 3D printing materials and components in order to solve some of the current problems in the 3D printing industry, and started with the Tungzzle, which, as you may guess from its name, is made of an alloy with 95% pure tungsten content, and not a combination.
We’ve just learned from 3D°Hex that the crowdfunding campaign for its Tungzzle is now live on Kickstarter.
“The most affordable wear and high temperature resistant 3D-Printing nozzle on the market, made completely of tungsten heavy alloy,” the 3D Printing Tungsten Nozzle campaign’s headline claims. “While many new, cutting-edge 3D-Printing nozzles hit the market every few months, there is a huge disparity in their respective qualities. If you want something that is reliable and durable, you need to put some effort into selecting the right technology. You want something that is affordable, of course, but you want also something reliable, that will produce high quality as well.”
The nozzle is the last piece of your machine that touches your print, so it’s important that it can perform reliably. 3D°Hex founders Christopher and Paul explain on the Kickstarter campaign page that when you need an individual printer nozzle for specific tasks, you may be shelling out a high amount of money for something you’ll be using on a lower cost desktop printer. But they say that the Tungzzle combines all the important benefits of these different nozzles into one. This allows the startup to, as it told us in April, create “the ultimate balance between performance and price.”
3D printed part made of carbon fiber-reinforced filament, printed using the 3D°Hex Tungzzle.
Tungsten is an extremely dense (19.3 g / cm3) and hard (7.5 up to 8 on Mohs scale) metal, with high wear resistance and thermal conductivity, and features the highest critical melting point of all refractory metals. All of these properties mean that the Tungzzle, which is made of 95 WNiFe Tungsten heavy alloy, can print with highly abrasive materials, like carbon fiber, without the inside of the nozzle being damaged, and that it can also work with high temperature materials such as PEEK and nylon. Its excellent thermal conductivity allows for better extrusion performance out of your printer, in addition to better temperature calibration effects.
“With steel with a coefficient of 10.8 to 12.5 and brass with a coefficient of 18 to 19, tungsten has one of the lowest expansion coefficients with 4.5 and does not experience an extreme tempering effect, which means that its properties are retained even at long high-pressure temperatures,” the Kickstarter campaign states.
The Kickstarter campaign has plenty of available rewards left, such as the €12 Supporter pack, which comes with a Tungzzle sticker set and a carbon fiber 3D printed 3D°Hex logo, and the €15 3D°Hex supporter t-shirt. The Ultimate Tungzzle Super Early Bird reward is just €29, which saves 55% off the RRP and comes with the Tungzzle itself, which features an M6 thread, 0.4 diameter, and works with 1.75 mm FDM 3D printing filament. A double Tungzzle pack is €74, while a triple pack is €107, and you can purchase a pack of five Tungzzle 3D printer nozzles for €160.
As the 3D printing industry continues to grow faster, more accessible, and more affordable, it’s important that businesses continue learning about the many benefits it can offer them. We’ve seen classes on 3D printing for entrepreneurs before, but the application-focused, efficient course that the Netherlands-based e-learning company Addmio is soon launching will be easier to access because it’s on an online educational platform.
Robin Huizing, a former 3D printing engineer for Shapeways and additive manufacturing designer for Additive Industries, lives in the Dutch city of Eindhoven and ran his own design studio for nearly 12 years, before deciding to launch the Addmio platform.
Addm.io founder Robin Huizing
“I started Addmio to help the 3D printing industry flourish and to educate all of the entrepreneurs and creatives worldwide,” Huizing said. “I want to help them to create better products and businesses with 3D printing.”
Huizing trained and taught hundreds of people about 3D printing in his former jobs, giving lectures, master classes, presentations, and workshops to many large companies. But he realized that sharing knowledge in these ways was “not scalable,” and not making enough of a difference for entrepreneurs interested in learning more about AM. That’s why he decided to found Addmio.
Once things got started, he began researching existing courses and training programs, and found that the high-quality ones were costly, time-consuming, and only on-location. Classes that were more affordable provided, at best, general information about the technology, and did not offer attendees a quality experience. So Huizing determined that to really make a difference, Addmio should offer less expensive, higher quality courses that were focused on specific 3D printing applications.
“Because we can make our courses available for thousands of people at the same time, we can keep the costs very low. The value for money we’re able to offer is unparalleled,” he wrote in a press release.
extremely efficient: it condenses five years of work in the 3D printing industry into just three days
application-focused: the course provides many examples in showing users how to choose the right application
100% online: it is a mobile-first, web-based course so learning can take place anywhere, at any time
“We’re developing the course “3D Printing for Entrepreneurs” for creatives and startups, to learn about all the opportunities 3D printing has to offer for your startup or side business. We want to make sure that you have everything you need to learn and start your business, all from home,” the website states.
Huizing will be the main instructor, and the course will provide on-demand, video-based lessons relying on knowledge from industry experts. In-course assessments are included, and at the end of the class, participants will receive a digital certificate. In addition to the course, Addmio will also be offering 3D printable files and a support program for 3D printing startups that includes a tailored advisory report with advice and tips to help startups get on their feet.
Rather than working with investors or banks to get the Addmio course up and running, the company is turning to crowdfunding “because it seamlessly fits our philosophy.” Its Kickstarter campaign launched this morning, so creators and makers from around the world can contribute. In return, the company will help startups create successful 3D printing businesses.
“This is why we came up with an online platform. This is the only medium that is ultimately scalable. Our courses can help people 24 hours a day, in 100 countries at the same time,” the campaign site states.
“All you need to follow our course is a phone, tablet, or computer with an internet connection. That’s it.”
The campaign goal is just €2,500, and there are multiple reward levels – for example, an early bird pledge of €82 means you can get the complete 3D Printing for Entrepreneurs online course for a discount of 40%, while a €137 pledge gets you the early bird course and STL files of objects used in the course.
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I received my very first CD player as a birthday gift when I was in middle school; as it was the 90s, the system was a large, clunky boombox. As part of the gift, I received three new CDs as well, and I thought I was so cool listening to music on that stereo back in my bedroom. Over the years, there have been a wide variety of systems available on which people can listen to music, from tiny iPods and cassette, CD, and record players all the way up to giant stereos with huge subwoofer speakers. With the devices changing often, its the speakers that have been the least touched by technology so far.
No surprise here – 3D printing has been used numerous times to fabricate audio equipment, such as speakers, earbuds, and microphones. Paul Ellis is a London-based maker and founder of sole trader company Polymate3D, which is working to fabricate, according to its Facebook page, the “first 3D Printed full range speaker driver in kit form that you can make at home.” Ellis also says that the kit can be upgraded and customized by users.
“I have spent the last 2.5 years working on and developing a 60mm speaker driver with printed cone, former, basket, surround & Spider. This has led to 28 prototypes so far and does use other components. These include screws, glue, copper wire, magnets, and a steel tube,” Ellis told 3DPrint.com. “The result is the last prototype, P28 achieving 80dB @ 1W/1M which matches it with the performance for some industry drivers of the same size. Examples include the Aura NS3 and Tang Band W3-1876S. I believe this is the only example of 3D printing being utlised to create product capable competing in the audio field. Everything before it has shown a proof of concept, but nothing more.”
According to the website for Polymate3D, which was founded earlier this year, it took Ellis thousands of hours of hard work – and nearly 20 prototypes – to create the FD61 driver, which is the first model Polymate3D is releasing to the public.
The website states, “Polymate3D may be in it’s infancy, but it is just the start on a long and vast product range aimed to distrupt the current industry, and put more power in the hands of you, the consumer!”
Ellis began working on his first speaker builds when he was just 19, and eventually obtained an analyzer and calibrated flat response microphone in order to compare his work to what was currently available on the commercial market. What he learned was very valuable – the material used to make the speaker makes “a distinct difference.”
“So I have designed my own speakers and 3D printers. I have produced speakers and desired there to be something that doesn’t exist. Designing is what I enjoy, and so I have spent the last 2 years on this project, and developing a plan to make my passion my career,” Ellis wrote on the Polymate3D website.
The FD61 full range speaker relied a lot on 3D printing, and also features an interchangeable drivetrain. Ellis has tested out over 90 different cone designs for the speaker, and used a variety of 3D printing materials. Speaking of which, he used filaments from Fillamentum and 3DXTECH to create a demo speaker design, which will be displayed by 3D FilaPrint at the Advanced Engineering UK show next month in Birmingham.
“On top of this, I have analysed and done frequency response results for some of my attempts, showing a frequency response of 100<8,000Hz so far, and continuing to improve this,” Ellis told us.
Polymate3D will soon start a Kickstarter campaign for the 3D printed speaker driver. In the meantime, you can follow the project’s progress, and even offer advice if you have any, on the Polymate3D FD61 diyAudio page.
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Just this morning, a Kickstarter campaign launched for the Lenco-MD, a 3D printed record player created by Dutch knowledge-sharing community Qeske, Swiss quality Hi-Fi manufacturer Lenco, and 3D printer manufacturer Reprap Universe (RRU). While the Lenco-MD certainly turns the concept of the classic record player on its head, it’s certainly not the first one to be created with 3D printing; however, it is the first 3D printed record player with a modular design.
Retro is in these days, especially in terms of 3D printed objects, and vinyl itself has been experiencing something of a renaissance. However, the current design for most record players is still mostly based on concepts from the 20th century.
According to a Lenco-MD press release, “We believe a 21st century record player should offer a general platform with the possibility to individualize, upgrade and customize.”
The first functional Lenco-MD prototype was ranked as one of the top three best innovations at the 2018 IFA Berlin. The 3D printable record player invites learning, as users have the option of building their own customizable version. Multiple modular units make up the Lenco-MD, and are easy to swap out with others in order to adapt the record player for various scenarios. For example, you can combine the Solar Module with the Speaker Module to play some records outside in the sun, or use the Bluetooth Module for a wireless listening experience.
However, it’s important to note that these modules are not part of the campaign and are still currently in development, along with other options.
While you can purchase the Lenco-MD as a complete set with all the parts already 3D printed in biodegradable PLA by RRU, you can also buy one of the kits to 3D print your own at home.
Once 3D printed, it’s easy to assemble the Lenco-MD in just a few steps by adding the high-quality Lenco hardware and electronics, and you can use pre-set designs or your own imagination to create your own modules. A special tonearm for the record player comes perfectly balanced around a unipivot bearing, which means that it won’t favor one side over the other, resulting in less friction.
The tonearm handle is flexible, and while the Lenco-MD is shipped with an AT3600 cartridge from Audio Technica, you can install nearly any cartridge and stylus you want.
A belt-drive spins the platter, and the system absorbs the shock and lowers the vibrations from the record player’s motor. The Lenco-MD also comes with a built-in stereo pre-amp and RCA line out port, along with a headphone jack.
In addition to the Bluetooth module for wireless streaming that’s currently being developed, the Lenco-MD team is also working on an AccuPack and a Solar Charging Module as well. The complete set will first be available in seven different colors – apple green, sky blue, white, red, orange, yellow, and pink.
“The launch of Lenco-MD on Kickstarter only marks the exciting beginning of a new kind of record player,” the team stated in the release. “After the campaign, we will launch an online community platform where creators can share their own Lenco-MD modules and designs. We cannot wait to to see all great creations and challenge everyone involved to make the Lenco-MD a true modular and open system.”
The future Lenco-MD platform will include an overview of places around the world where people are 3D printing and building the modular record player on location, where it can then be purchased off the shelf. Additionally, a special maker reward with a new, affordable 3D printer from RRU, which was designed specifically for 3D printing the parts of the Lenco-MD, will be available in the future.
The crowdfunding campaign for the 3D printable Lenco-MD record player allows you to pre-order your own through January 4th. Once the campaign is over, rewards will be produced and shipped from early to mid-2019.
For those with access to a 3D printer with a minimum build volume of 330 x 330 x 100 mm, you can purchase the Lenco-MD Kit, which includes all of the electronics and hardware necessary to assemble the record player, for just €99. The reward also includes a license to 3D print all the parts yourself. For €149, you can get the kit with the pre-printed Platter and Tonearm, or purchase the Complete Set, with all the parts pre-printed, for €199.
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We’re starting out with a lot of business news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then finishing up with something cool (pun intended) to get you through the weekend. Link3D launched its new Production Planning System for AM workflows, Carbon has a new medical-grade material, and there’s new 3D printed footwear on Kickstarter. Several US sleep experts have joined the Oventus medical advisory board, HP’s MJF technology is being used to make assemblies, and GKN Aerospace is improving its production times with Stratasys technology. Bradley Systems has suggested using its Yellow Magic 7 to clean your SLA 3D printers. Finally, a mechanical engineer and 3D printing blogger has created a retro air cooler.
Link3D Launches Production Planning System
New York City-based Link3D, which offers a centralized software platform for the industrial 3D printing workflow over external or internal additive manufacturing, has just announced the availability of its Production Planning System (PPS) and Advanced Build Simulation. PPS, an AM scheduling solution meant to enhance the company’s software for shop managers and application engineers, can further optimize AM workflows, helping 3D printers to run more efficiently and automate various tasks, like tracing and tracking a build’s genealogy, planning out each step of a build, managing scheduling, facility capacity, and production dispatching, and forecasting accurate production lead times.
“Our comprehensive predictive models are made to forecast AM production and costing outputs by accounting for labor, hardware model, AM technology, post-processing and including material science variables like specific gravity and viscosity. Link3D PPS utilizes machine learning algorithms to make recommendations for placing work orders on the correct machines based on machine availability to achieve real-time distributed manufacturing,” said Shane Fox, the CEO and Co-Founder of Link3D.
Link3D PPS will use blockchain technology to trace and track all of the data logged and generated, so organizations can validate and certify their production processes.
Carbon Introduces New Medical-Grade Material
This week, Carbon announced the launch of its first medical-grade 3D printing material, a two-part, white polymer resin called Medical Polyurethane 100 (MPU 100). The material is made for drug- and skin-contact devices, medical system components, single-use medical device, and surgical instrument applications. The material is sterilizable, biocompatible and has good mechanical strength. MPU 100 has good abrasion resistance, is compatible with common disinfectants, and works with the company’s Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology to produce rigid, isotropic plastic parts.
“The life sciences and medical device industries show enormous promise for using 3D printing for production at scale, and we will continue to prioritize the development of next-generation materials in this segment,” said Jason Rolland, Vice President of Materials at Carbon.
Carbon is offering MPU 100 in 800 ML cartridges to its customers in Europe, the US, and Canada. You can learn more about the new medical-grade material at Carbon’s booth #431505 in the West Hall at IMTS 2018 next week.
Unis Brands Starts 3D Printed Footwear Kickstarter
Earlier this week, Unis Brands began a Kickstarter campaign for its line of user-customizable, 3D printed footwear. The line includes two different styles of sandals: the U-Straps and the U-Slides, both of which will be available, in limited quantities, to early campaign backers for just $75 and $100, as opposed to the regular retail price of $140. The 3D printed U-Straps and U-Slides offer custom sizing, as customers provide the exact length and width measurements of each foot. The sandals are made with flexible 3D printing filament for a comfortable fit, and each one has five components, including the logo, buttons, cushion, upper, and midsole, that can be customized with different patterns and colors.
Unis said, “After getting my start in footwear by taking popular sneakers apart, customizing them, putting them back together and then selling them on eBay, I’m excited to announce my first line of sandals on Kickstarter. With five different user-customizable areas, and with individually 3D-printed shoes based on each customer’s exact foot measurements, we are creating footwear that is truly one-of-a-kind.”
All of the company’s recyclable shoes are made in the US on 3D printers designed and built by CEO and founder Nicholas Unis.
US Sleep Experts Join Oventus Medical Advisory Board
Brisbane medical device company Oventus, known for its FDA-approved, 3D printed sleep apnea device, recently announced that it had appointed a Medical Technology Advisory Board (MTAB) of international sleep experts. The board will assist and guide the company on the development and commercialization of its Sleep Treatment Platform. The MTAB, a US-based consultative advisory body, will report to Oventus CEO Dr. Chris Hart, and provide guidance and input into the company’s clinical, developmental, and commercial strategy, which is currently focused on introducing its products to the US.
The following top sleep physicians and advisors in the US have been appointed to the Oventus MTAB for a three year term, which is renewable by mutual agreement:
Lee A. Surkin, MD, FAASM
Richard K. Bogan, MD, FCCP, FAASM
Jerry Kram, MD, FAASM
Mark Hickey, MD, FAASM
Mark A. Rasmus, MD, FAASM
Daniel B. Brown, Esq
Myra G. Brown
Aerosport Modeling & Design Making Assemblies with HP’s MJF Technology
The company uses MJF 3D printing to fabricate assemblies, such as a Butterfly Valve one made of PA 12 Nylon. The original assembly came in 30 pieces and took half an hour to assemble. But by using HP’s 3D printing technology to make it, the total number of pieces was reduced to just four, with only three minutes of assembly. This helped Aerosport lower its production costs by 70%, and its production time by an astonishing 90%.
GKN Aerospace Improving Production Times with Stratasys 3D Printing
3D printed tooling made on the Stratasys F900 Production 3D Printer.
This week, Stratasys announced that GKN Aerospace, which serves over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers, is removing design constraints and improving production times for many tooling applications after integrating 3D printing at its Filton manufacturing site. In an effort to lower lead times for production-line tools and create complex parts that can’t be completed with traditional manufacturing, GKN Aerospace invested in a Stratasys F900 Production 3D printer. This decision helped the company achieve “unprecedented levels of design freedom,” as well as a 40% decrease in material waste; production has also gone from several weeks to only a few hours.
Tim Hope, Additive Manufacturing Center Manager at GKN Aerospace, said, “Since integrating the F900, we have dramatically reduced production-line downtime for certain teams and are enjoying a newfound freedom to design complex tools.
“We can now cost-effectively produce tools for our operators within three hours. This saves critical production time, and by printing in engineering-grade thermoplastics, we can produce 3D printed tools with repeatable, predictable quality every time. All while matching the quality of a traditionally-produced tool, and reducing the costs and concessions compared to equivalent metallic tooling.”
Bradley Systems Wants You to Clean Your SLA 3D Printer with Yellow Magic 7
If you’ve got an SLA 3D printer that needs a good cleaning, Bradley Systems, Inc. wants you to consider using its Yellow Magic 7 (YM7) cleaner, as opposed to Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), which is also called isopropanol and dimethyl carbinol. The company first heard about people using its cleaner, which was originally formulated as a flexo UV ink and varnish cleaner for printing human and pet food packaging, to clean parts for SLA 3D printers on a Formlabs forum, and has since started offering 1 gallon jugs of YM7 on Amazon…and this decision is garnering it some pretty positive reviews.
“Until now, IPA has been the go-to cleaner for this application because it gets the job done. The downside is that IPA is a flammable chemical compound with a strong odor. This means you’ve got to make sure you’re wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and storing it properly so you don’t accidentally blow yourself up. As for the smell… well there’s not much you can do there,” the company wrote in a blog post.
YM7, unlike IPA, is biodegradable, non-toxic, and has little odor. It’s not a fire hazard, as it’s water based, and it also performs well in an ultrasonic cleaner. It’s also versatile enough to clean a multitude of different 3D printer parts and accessories, like rollers and rubber pads.
“So, what we’re seeing so far is that you can still get the job done using Yellow Magic 7 without the stink or the potential of blowing up your co-workers or family. Which is nice.”
Mechanical Engineer Builds 3D Printed Retro Air Conditioner
While 3D printing is a relatively modern technology, it can be fun to use it to recreate your favorite retro items from the past, like arcade games, original Apple computers, FM radios, and television sets…even scuba helmets! A mechanical engineer named Juan, who owns a YouTube channel and blog titled Govaju 3D Printing, has worked in the 3D printing world for eight years, 3D printing is not only his work, but also his hobby and passion. Recently, Juan decided to get back to the past by creating a 3D printed retro item of his own.
“I recently created this video of a project that I’ve been working on for a few months, it’s a retro air conditioner,” Juan told 3DPrint.com. “It is printed 100% in 3D with the lulzbot taz 6 and with wood filament and PLA.”
Take a look at the video to see the project come together!
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