Nanofabrica raises $4m in investment round led by Microsoft-backed M12 and Nextleap Ventures

Nanofabrica, the Israeli developer of precision additive manufacturing technologies, has raised $4m of investment in a funding round led by Microsoft’s venture arm M12 and venture capitalists NextLeap Ventures.  The latest round of funding takes the total raised to $7m, which will be used to further the company’s research and development goals, in addition to […]

3D Printing News Briefs: May 12, 2020 Nanofabrica, Voxeljet, Elementum, AMPOWER

We’re all business today in 3D Printing News Briefs – Nanofabrica has raised $4 million in funding, and voxeljet is expanding its presence in India. Elementum 3D has achieved an important industry certification. Finally, AMPOWER has released its 2020 report.

Nanofabrica Raises $4 Million in Funding

Tel Aviv startup Nanofabrica, which makes 3D printers for fabricating complex electronic and optical parts for semiconductors and medical devices, has raised $4 million in funding, and the round was led by Microsoft’s venture arm M12, which invests in enterprise software companies in Series A through C funding with a focus on infrastructure, applied AI, business applications, and security, and NextLeap Ventures, an investor group made of former Intel Corp employees. The startup says it will use the funding – it’s raised a total of $7 million so far – to expand its sales and continue its R&D work.

M12 partner Matthew Goldstein said, “Nanoscale, precision manufacturing is a growing need for R&D organizations, as well as production-scale manufacturing companies,” and that the technology allows for the “digital mass manufacturing of precision parts.”

voxeljet Grows Presence in India with Sale of VX4000

The VX4000 is voxeljet’s largest 3D printer and has a building volume of 8 cubic meters

Industrial 3D printing solutions provider voxeljet AG has expanded its Asian presence with the announcement that Indian steel casting experts Peekay Steel Castings Pvt Ltd is investing in its 4000 x 2000 x 1000 mm VX4000 3D printer – the company’s largest industrial system. Peekay Steel, which makes high-quality steel castings, will use the printer to expand into new business areas and better cater to its current clients’ increasing demands. The flexibility, size, and speed of the VX4000 will allow the company to continue supporting the foundry industry in its native India, but also give them the opportunity to build a new Knowledge Center centered around the large 3D printer that will provide open access to a training facility. The VX4000 will be set up at a new Bangalore location in the Airport City.

“We want to offer our customers an end-to-end solution and position ourselves as a supplier of high-quality, ready-to-install components in record times. With the VX4000, we are able to increase the flexibility of our production in order to be able to react quickly, even to complex projects,” said K.E. Shanavaz, Jt., Managing Director, Peekay Steel Castings (P) Ltd. “3D printing gives us a unique competitive advantage, especially when it comes to expanding our business areas. Since the beginning, we have emphasized the importance of co engineering with our customers, most of these are Fortune 500 companies, to optimize and customize the product design, to lend better functionality and a clear competitive advantage. A specialized Design Center aligned to the VX4000 will help add value for our customers.”

Elementum 3D Achieves Quality Management Certification

Colorado metal 3D printing materials company Elementum 3D announced that it has received the important ISO 9001:2015 certification. This is recognized as the worldwide standard for quality management practices and systems, and was issued to the company through the Denver-based ISO 9001 management certification firm Platinum Registration, Inc. The scope of its certification includes manufacturing prototype and production parts to customer specifications, designing and manufacturing advanced composites, metals, and superalloys, and developing new manufacturing processes.

“This is an important milestone for Elementum 3D. It’s a rigorous process to become ISO 9001 certified. Our staff worked very hard with Platinum Registration’s auditors to demonstrate we meet the requirements of the standard. Not only does that make us feel confident we’re the most efficient that we can be, it assures our customers that we have a completely transparent and robust management system; and that means we have reliable, repeatable, continuously improving business processes so that our customers receive the best value for their money,” said Dr. Jacob Nuechterlein, Elementum 3D President and Founder.

AMPOWER Releases 2020 Metal AM Report

Metal additive manufacturing consultancy AMPOWER has released its new 2020 report, containing analysis based on over 250 data sets of metal AM supplier and user surveys. If you purchased the previous AMPOWER Report, you can get the latest edition for free through the online portal, or you could subscribe to the report to start getting it; either way, the publication is chock-full of helpful information. For instance, a separate section analyzes the possible impact scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic on the metal AM industry in both 2020 and 2021, and new contributions from the worlds of standards and startups are included from ASTM and AM Ventures, respectively. The report includes in-depth market data, and has also added new databases with over 700 entries, so readers can browse through a list of material, service, and systems suppliers; the new interactive cost calculator has been updated with the most recent productivity values.

“We hope the AMPOWER Report 2020 continues to support our customers in making the right decisions in these challenging times,” AMPOWER’s Matthias Schmidt-Lehr, Dr. Maximilian Munsch, and Dr. Eric Wycisk wrote in an email.

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Microsoft Community Pitch-Off: Turning Plastic Waste Into Educational Supplies with 3D Printing

People across the globe are harnessing the power of new technologies in a search for sustainable, low-cost, and localized solutions to life that will eventually deal with some of Earth’s most imminent problems, like pandemics, global warming, and plastics contamination. Particularly concerned about the future of sustainable education, three Arizona State University (ASU) students won $6,000 in startup funds for their new circular economy project through the Microsoft Community Impact Pitch-Off in late November. Hoping to meet the needs of underserved high school students in the Phoenix metro area, Brian Boyle, Matthew Burmeister and Andrew John De Los Santos (three master’s students from the School of Sustainability) created The Circular Classroom. It is an embodiment of their belief that technology could help transform hard-to-recycle plastic waste into low-cost 3D printed educational materials. Additionally, the project truly touches on all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social.

Graphic by The Circular Classroom team

According to the trio, the Circular Classroom aims to address a myriad of community needs in the Phoenix area, where many local high schools suffer from a lack of funding, which creates barriers to technology and learning opportunities. Meanwhile, schools and society at large are creating plastic waste streams that are not easily recyclable. For example, they were concerned with plastic bottle caps made out of polypropylene which does not biodegrade, meaning it would take hundreds of years for them to decompose in a landfill, and if not recycled, these caps can turn up in the water and pose a danger to marine life because of their small size. In the United States, 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour, and each one of them has a cap on, which is another reason why this project is so important.

The winners of the challenge claim that now students will have the opportunity to be introduced to a circular economy model where they can produce 3D printing educational materials from what would otherwise be a plastic waste. In doing so, it generates an opportunity to increase high school graduation rates by keeping students engaged in classrooms, reduce the school budget on 3D printing filament by providing them with the technology to generate their own filament from plastic waste, and build capacity which can create pathways to employment or higher education by training students on Computer-Aided Design (CAD).

“Our excitement and motivation for The Circular Classroom stems from the opportunity to introduce a circular economy education model into local high schools,” said Boyle, who is pursuing a Masters degree on Sustainability Solutions at ASU. “We are unaware of schools currently providing this learning opportunity to students, yet feel that it is imperative to give exposure to the next generation and empower students by building capacity to address contemporary challenges surrounding waste. Furthermore, by prioritizing underserved high schools, we aim to provide technological aptitude and learning opportunities for students to persist in high school graduation and beyond.”

They have come up with a process that is fun and simple. First off, they need to collect bottle caps at schools, so they plan to begin by identifying a local high school to establish a partnership, select interested teachers, engage students, and then set up collection sites in the classrooms. Then the plastic waste is transformed into 3D printing filament, and finally, they can 3D print new designs for educational supplies using the new 3D printers that some local high schools have received through a grant.

Boyle, Burmeister and De Los Santos took home $1,000 in prize money and $5,000 in implementation funds to start putting their plan into action. They will use the funds to purchase technology that local high schools can use to shred plastic into plastic flakes and then extrude them into spools for their 3D printers (they are currently considering buying ReDeTec’s Protocycler+). Boyle estimates that with the funding and right high school partnership opportunities, they could implement and pilot for The Circular Classroom in up to two local schools. In addition to Microsoft, the team is partnering with GreenLight Solutions, an organization that will provide ASU student support for training teachers on how to use the shredder/grinder and 3D printer.

Two of the three team members receive the $6,000 check

The idea originally came from a video of a volunteer-based 3D printing operation using plastic bottle caps in Bali, Indonesia, and from one of the team member’s experiences attending public schools in the Phoenix metro area. Now it has led the three bright minds to become winners of the Microsoft Community Pitch-Off, an event co-sponsored by Microsoft and Net Impact (a nonprofit organization for students and professionals interested in using business skills in support of various social and environmental causes) that gives students the opportunity to propose a solution that addresses a problem in their local community. Both judges from Microsoft and the local community were in charge of evaluating the proposals.

Microsoft is on point with its environmental sustainability efforts and is committed to addressing important challenges for communities where their data centers operate, so through community partnerships, the multinational company creates shared value while also advancing social opportunity, enhancing economic growth, and supporting environmental sustainability. To enter the program, the students had to present their idea for how to best leverage Microsoft’s initiatives and local community priorities to address an important issue in their area.

The platform for this particular education model is based around 3D printing and resource recovery, giving a chance to Microsoft volunteers to provide their technical expertise to students. These volunteers could help mentor students on how to use the 3D CAD software necessary to 3D print. They can also take any collected bottle caps to donate as 3D printing feedstock at the schools. While non-profit Green Light Solutions has undergraduate and graduate consultants that could guide teachers on the operations of the shredder/grinder and 3D printer.

Students don’t only get the chance to explore their local area to assess local challenges or create strategies to address them, this opportunity also gives them a greater understanding of collaborations and local resources, as well as demonstrable experience in taking an idea and turning it into a fully developed project. How would you use 3D printing to help your local community?

[Image credit: ASU, Net Impact and Microsoft]

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Air New Zealand’s Boeing 777-300ER fitted with 3D printed part before flight

Air New Zealand, Microsoft, US-based supplier of aerospace parts Moog and ST Engineering from Singapore, joined together to install a 3D printed part on a Boeing 777-300ER, a wide-body commercial jet. Hinting at the future of supply chain in the aerospace industry, Carrie Hurihanganui, Air New Zealand’s Chief Ground Operations Officer, said, “Being able to 3D […]

FELIXprinters: Accelerating industrial product development with FFF 3D printing

This week 3D Printing Industry was invited to Veldhoven, the Netherlands, to visit FELIXprinters, an FDM/FFF 3D printer manufacturer who recently ventured into large-format additive manufacturing with the Pro L and XL. These new systems are designed to accelerate product development in a variety of industries including automotive, architecture, and the food industry. The company […]

Authentise to integrate additive manufacturing into Microsoft Flow

Additive manufacturing software developer Authentise Inc. has announced a multi-year collaboration with American multinational technology corporation Microsoft. Under this collaboration, the companies will work to integrate Authentise’s AM workflow management system into the cloud-based Microsoft Flow software. With addition to the Microsoft Flow Gallery, Authentise will attain seamless integration with Microsoft products. It will also enable businesses […]

Microsoft, Siemens and Porsche contribute to further $82M funding for Markforged

Multi award winning 3D printer OEM Markforged has closed a Series D funding round with a value of $82 million. The round was led by fellow Bay State company Summit Partners, that provides growth equity investments for three areas of interest, including technology. As in the company’s earlier $30 million Series C round, Markforged received further financial […]

3MF 3D printing file format adopted by Autodesk, HP, Microsoft, Siemens, and 13 others

The 3D Manufacturing Format (3MF), a Joint Development Foundation project established to develop an advanced 3D printing file format, has announced that 17 companies have adopted its 3MF platform to create 32 products. “Wide adoption of 3MF is occurring because 3MF is a modern 3D printing file format designed with manufacturing in mind. For additive […]