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3D Printing News Briefs: September 14, 2018

We’re bringing you the latest 3D printing business news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, plus a little 3D printed art to round things out. FATHOM is partnering with SOLIDWORKS software reseller GoEngineer, while L’Oréal is working with INITIAL, a Prodways Group company. Kickstarter and Autodesk are releasing a new open source 3D printing test, and 3D LifePrints has renewed its collaboration with the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Fargo 3D Printing has formed a new spin-off business, a metal 3D printed parts bureau has purchased an EBAM system from Sciaky, and 3D Systems’ SLA technology is being used to deliver customized dental solutions. Finally, we take a look at some fun and creative 3D printed artwork.

FATHOM and GoEngineer Announce Strategic Partnership

SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD software and Stratasys 3D printer reseller GoEngineer has announced a new strategic agreement with 3D printing company FATHOM. GoEngineer has purchased FATHOM’s 3D printing equipment reseller business, so that FATHOM can focus solely on its digital manufacturing services. Thanks to the agreement, the two partners will be able to scale their respective businesses in different, but significant ways, leveraging their strengths in order to create a large product development ecosystem of hardware, software, engineering, design, manufacturing, and training solutions that customers can use to drive innovation.

Michelle Mihevc, the Co-founder and Principal at FATHOM, said, “It’s exciting for our industry because both FATHOM and GoEngineer are uniquely positioned to meet the ever-increasing demand for advanced tools and services that enhance and accelerate a company’s product development and production processes.”

L’Oréal and INITIAL Increasing Development of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Parts

The cosmetics industry has a constant challenge in quickly marketing new products to meet the many specific demands of customers. That’s why L’Oréal is teaming up with INITIAL, a Prodways Group subsidiary – the two are ramping up development of 3D printed thermoplastic parts. More specifically, INITIAL’s new solution, 3D Molding, uses 3D printing to make plastic injection molds for “final material” parts at less cost and in record time. Recently, L’Oréal needed 14 resin test molds, along with 20 injection molding test runs and several hundred molded parts. By using Prodways’ patented MOVINGLight 3D printing technology and PLASTCure Rigid 10500 resin, the company was able to achieve accurate 3D prints in just two weeks.

“We produce the 3D Printing mould and the final material parts are then directly injection-moulded,” said Yvon Gallet, INITIAL’s Chairman. “With our 3D printing and injection expertise, we were best placed to develop this unique solution. It is aimed at designers in the development phase and complements our traditional machining and injection solutions. It is an innovative alternative that meets the needs of manufacturers, like L’Oréal, that could benefit from this technological advance to reduce their time to market.”

Kickstarter and Autodesk Releasing Open Source 3D Printing Calibration Test

Prints of the test file from Cubibot and Robo printers.

The evidence speaks for itself – Kickstarter is a great place for 3D printing. The popular crowdfunding site requires that 3D printer creators demonstrate the functionality of their systems through various means, but it can be hard to compare the performance of different machines, because not everyone shows off the same test prints, like the 3D Benchy. So Kickstarter is working at Autodesk to address this lack of a common standard for assessing FDM 3D printer performance, and will soon be releasing a new open source 3D printer test for Kickstarter creators, developed by Autodesk research scientist Andreas Bastian.

“We believe this test procedure will support greater transparency in our community,” Zach Dunham wrote in a Kickstarter blog post. “We started with FDM printers because they’re the most common model on Kickstarter. Our goal over time is to expand this calibration test to other printing technologies like stereolithography. Though this test is optional for creators to share on their project pages, electing to do so opens a frank conversation about quality. And backers of any 3D printer project can share images of their own tests by posting them with the hashtag #FDMtest.”

Creators can download the single, consolidated STL file and instructions to test their 3D printers’ alignment, dimensional accuracy, and resolution on Github.

3D LifePrints and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Renew Collaboration

The Alder Hey Children’s Hospital has signed a long-term collaboration agreement with 3D LifePrints, a UK-based medical 3D printing company and a founding member of the hospital’s Innovation Hub. The company has had an embedded 3D printing facility at the 1,000 square meter underground co-creation space since 2015, and was supported by the hospital for its first two years there, showcasing the impact of its work and establishing its unique 3D printed offerings. Under the agreement, the company will continue supplying the hospital with its specialized 3D printing services.

“I am really proud of this milestone in our ongoing partnership. Incubating a start-up company in a hospital, to the point where they have series A funding, a multi-year contract with the NHS and diffusion to other medical centres around the country is an enormous vindication of what the Innovation hub was set up for,” said Iain Hennessey, Clinical Director and a paediatric surgeon at Alder Hey. “I couldn’t be more pleased to see 3DLP help integrate this emerging technology into clinical practice.”

Fargo 3D Printing Forms 3D Printer Repair Business

North Dakota-based Fargo 3D Printing has formed a new business out of its 3D printer repair segment, called Fargo 3D Printer Repair. While its parent company continues to focus on multiple aspects of the industry, the five-person repair team at the new Fargo 3D Printer Repair can devote 100% of its time to providing 3D printer repair and service to individuals, schools, OEMs, and businesses. The new spin-off company currently provides production-scale warranty servicing, maintenance, and repair services for multiple OEM 3D printing companies across North America; service and repair requests can be made through an intuitive form on its website.

“We don’t sell any 3D printers ourselves, so we are able to remain brand impartial when recommending and performing 3D printer repairs,” said John Olhoft, the CEO of Fargo 3D Printer Repair, who started working in the original shop as a repair technician. “Original Equipment Manufacturers like that they can trust us to provide high quality repairs with a quick turnaround, and not push a competing brand on their customers.”

Sciaky Providing EBAM System to Metal 3D Printing Bureau

Metal 3D printing solutions provider Sciaky will provide one of its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) systems to Michigan-based FAMAero (Future Additive Manufacturing in Aerospace), a privately-owned metal 3D printed parts bureau. According to Sciaky, this custom EBAM system will be the largest production metal 3D printer in the world, with a 146″ x 62″ 62″ nominal part envelope that will be able to produce metal parts over 12 feet in length. FAMAero will use the massive new EBAM system to provide metal 3D printing services to customers in the aerospace, defense, oil & gas, and sea exploration industries.

Don Doyle, President of FAMAero, said, “FAMAero is entering the market as the first private, dedicated parts bureau in North America for large-scale 3D printed metal parts. Our Factory as a Service concept, combined with Sciaky’s industry-leading EBAM® technology, will provide manufacturers a new avenue to significantly slash time and cost on the production of critical parts, while offering the largest build platform and selection of exotic metals to choose from in the 3D parts service market.”

Creating Customized Dental Solutions with 3D Systems’ SLA 3D Printing

In order to make over 320,000 invisible dental aligners in a single day, Align Technology uses SLA 3D printing from 3D Systems. The company’s technology allows Align to create the unique aligner forms so that they are customized to each individual patient’s dental data. So far, Align has treated nearly 6 million patients, but using 3D printing technology is helping the growth of its business accelerate.

“What makes Align’s mass customization so unique is not only are we producing millions of parts every month, but each one of these parts that we produce is unique,” said Srini Kaza, the Vice President of Advanced Technology for Align Technology. “And this is really, as far as I know, the only true example of mass production using 3D printing.”

Ben Fearnley Uses SLA 3D Printing to Bring Artwork to Life

Sculptmojis

SLA 3D printing isn’t just good for use in dental applications, however. Ben Fearnley, a designer, illustrator, and 3D artist based out of New York City, uses the technology to, as he told 3DPrint.com, “bring my work to life from the 3D world to the real world.”

One interesting piece of 3D printed art Fearnley creates is Good Vibes Only Typography – script style typography lettering sculptures modeled in Cinema 4D and 3D printed on his Form 2. But my personal favorite are his Sculptmojis, which look pretty much exactly how they sound. These pieces, which are a combination of traditional sculpture art forms and modern emojis, originally began as a digital art project, and have now been brought to amusing, quirky life through 3D printing. You can purchase Fearnley’s unique 3D printed artwork here.

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

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The Latest 3D Printing Kickstarter Campaigns: Volumetric Images and 3D Printable Dino Models

From new 3D printers and 3D software to the latest 3D printed customizable products, we like to keep you updated on the latest crowdfunding campaigns on the popular Kickstarter website, the largest funding platform in the world for creative projects.

For the last few years, we’ve been following the work of Italian startup Lumi Industries, which introduced a semi-professional DLP 3D printer two years ago. The startup has had Kickstarter success before, and will hopefully see it again with its latest campaign, which is for a project that is, as Lumi’s Manuela Pipino tells us, “closely related to 3D printing.”

The startup has recently been working with 3D visualization and volumetric images (what many may still think of as holograms) and developing its patent-pending VVD (Volumetric Visualization Device). According to the Kickstarter campaign for the VVD, it’s a graphic display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions. The device gives an unlimited amount of people the ability to get a 3D visualization of any 3D content.

3D reconstruction of human jaw from intraoral scan.

“We needed such a technology to be able to revise 3D models before going for 3D printing, but after we have created it, we envisioned many more sectors where it could be of great use like: training/educational, medical/dentistry field, museums/exhibitions, marketing & communication,” Pipino told 3DPrint.com.

The VVD projects the horizontal layers of a 3D model on a special film that is vibrating very quickly, which exploits something called the persistence of vision – a characteristic that enables people to retain an image long after it’s been removed. It’s easy to use – just load any 3D model and hit the View button to create a true tridimensional volumetric visualization of your content.

The startup took the VVD on the road to several international events, such as formnext and CES, and received lots of positive feedback on it – the device was even awarded the Maker of Merit honor at the European Maker Faire in Rome last year. So Lumi decided to launch its VVD on Kickstarter.

While holograms can only be seen from certain angles, volumetric visualizations can be explored from any viewpoint. In addition, more people can share the experience and watch at the same time, and because the VVD doesn’t require additional glasses, eye fatigue is decreased.

“With VVD you can explore the design you have just created or double check all details of the mechanical component you have just developed, like if it was already in your hand, before going for prototyping,” the campaign states. “Because when you design in 3D, you are watching your work on a bi-dimensional screen. Perspective, created through visual effects, allows us to get an idea of the volume and proportions of what we are designing, but, believe us, to watch your model as it really is, is not the same thing!”

Styracosaurus head 3D model.

The VVD has many applications in the medical field, as it offers technicians a new way to look at 3D images created from 2D slices taken from MRI and CT scans. It also keeps people more engaged in the classroom and in museums, due to its interactive nature.

There are still more than three weeks to go in Lumi’s VVD Kickstarter campaign, and the Incredible Early Bird Special is still available – for a pledge of €1,899, you can receive your own VVD by February of 2019. If this cost is a little steep, and you just want to support the startup, €30 will get you a special T-shirt.

Another intriguing Kickstarter campaign was just launched by Pinshape ambassador and 3D printing expert Joe Larson, better known as the 3D Printing Professor on his YouTube channel, where he produces educational and fun content about making, 3D printing, and technology for more than 20,000 subscribers.

Larson has a solution for 3D printer owners who struggle to find high-quality, ready to print models: his fun Low Poly Dinosaur models, which are designed to print easily at home on extrusion-based 3D printers.

“Welcome to Lowpolysaurus park. Kid friendly, whimsical, low-poly dinosaur models for your 3D printer. Designed to print without supports and print with low or no infill. Perfect as a test print or just for fun with gentle angles to minimize sharp edges so they’re suitable for all ages,” the campaign states.

“Help build the whole set and print your own dinosaur park!”

Larson’s Kickstarter, which still has about a month left, blew through its initial funding goal within its first two hours, and then went on to raise twice that goal amount in its first day on Kickstarter.

There are currently four 3D dino models in the set, including Dippy and Trixy, with four additional ones planned thanks to the campaign’s stretch goals and its overwhelming support.


According to Larson’s Kickstarter, “The success of this campaign will determine how many dinosaurs will be modeled. The more it raises, the larger the rewards will be. For your support you will not only receive the 3D dinosaur models developed in this campaign, but you will have a vote in what the next dinosaur will be as the campaign progresses.”

For those pledging to the Triassic tier, you will receive a limited set of 3D dino models and accessories, as voted on by the community. Those pledging to the Jurassic tier will get every dinosaur and accessory model created for the campaign.

The funds raised during the campaign will actually go toward improving the video production quality for Larson’s YouTube channel.

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