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Mount all the things with this system from HeyVey on Thingiverse:
The modules can be used with GoPro compatible equipment. The bolts and nuts included in the design are standard M5. It’s hightly recommended to use metal bolts and nuts for the arm. There is also a printable version if anyone is interested to try out.
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Oral cancer is on the rise around the world, and it’s especially bad in developing countries, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India, which don’t have the necessary medical infrastructure for early detection and treatment. A team of researchers from Boston and India explained in their paper, “Platform for ergonomic intraoral photodynamic therapy using low-cost, modular 3D-printed components: Design, comfort and clinical evaluation,” that there is “critical demand for an effective treatment modality that can be transparently adapted to low-resource settings.”
“The high expense and logistical barriers to obtaining treatment with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy often result in progression to unmanageable late stage disease with high morbidity. Even when curative, these approaches can be cosmetically and functionally disfiguring with extensive side effects. An alternate effective therapy for oral cancer is a light based spatially-targeted cytotoxic therapy called photodynamic therapy (PDT),” the researchers wrote.
PDT uses a photosensitizer molecule accumulated in the tumor, and once it interacts with a specific light wavelength, it can cause targeted damage. It has few side effects, doesn’t cause disfigurement or loss of sensation, and has shown some good clinical results in terms of good post-treatment healing and epithelial necrosis. For regions with fewer medical resources, it would be very helpful to translate PDT therapy so it can be completed in an outpatient visit, and 3D printed oral applicators would be a great help on this journey.
“Despite excellent healing of the oral mucosa in PDT, a lack of robust enabling technology for intraoral light delivery has limited its broader implementation,” the team continued in their paper.
“Leveraging advances in 3D printing, we have developed an intraoral light delivery system consisting of modular 3D printed light applicators with pre-calibrated dosimetry and mouth props that can be utilized to perform PDT in conscious subjects without the need of extensive infrastructure or manual positioning of an optical fiber.”
The team’s goal in this study was to evaluate the clinical utility and ergonomics of their 3D printed oral PDT applicators, which were designed to comfortably, and stably, deliver light to patients’ oral lesions.
“Here, the natural structure of the patients’ oral cavity, teeth and jaw provided the support and stability to hold the fiber in place, avoiding any use of posts, holders, reflectors or light pipes,” the researchers explained.
3D Schematics of the applicators for three different regions in the mouth. The photos showcase the integrated unit with the applicator (1), the bite wing (2) and the endoscope (3) utilized in the ergonomics clinical study.
The 3D printed intraoral applicators, which attach to the optical fiber, have two parts – bite blocks and applicators. The blocks position the angle of the applicator, which then delivers the suitable beam spot, along with pre-calibrated dosimetry, to a certain lesion size. The team used Autodesk Fusion 360 to design the light applicators, and they were printed on a Stratasys Objet Pro system out of VeroBlue and VeroBlack filament.
Photograph of the oral cavity with ink marks in three points tested in the ergonomics study.
In order to determine how stable and comfortable the applicators were, the researchers performed a study, approved by the Massachusetts General Hospital Partners Institution Review Board, on ten subjects.
A physician placed three fiducial ink marks on each subject’s inner cheek, and tested the anterior and posterior buccal cheek and retromolar positions for ten minutes, one after the other. The light delivery fiber was replaced with an endoscope of similar size, with a 5.5 mm diameter camera and 6 LEDs, in order to record motion at these three spots.
The researchers explained, “Subjects were asked to rate comfort and fatigue on a numerical scale of 1 to 5 where 1 was no discomfort due to the applicator and 5 was intolerable discomfort due to the applicator.”
Each subject was asked three questions:
Flow chart of video and image processing method to calculate centroid of the fiducial ink mark mimicking the anterior buccal cheek, posterior buccal cheek or retromolar position imaged with a USB Endoscope fitted to the oral applicators.
Additionally, the endoscope actually recorded the movement of the ink marks during testing in order to evaluate the applicators’ stability. Custom-designed algorithms in MATLAB were used to process the videos. They determined that the applicators were indeed stable, and capable of “delivering light precisely to the target location in ten healthy volunteers.” Additionally, the ten subjects rated the devices overall as comfortable, though one did report “no tolerance” to the applicator in the posterior buccal cheek position.
Five of the subjects had confirmed T1N0M0 oral cancer lesions with no lymph node involvement, and several months after PDT treatment, demonstrated no cancerous lesions, fibrosis, or scarring. This showed that the 3D printed applicators, paired with an inexpensive fiber and LED-based light source, “served as a complete platform for intraoral light delivery achieving complete tumor response with no residual disease at initial histopathology follow up in these patients.”
“While we used a set of applicators with pre-determined sizes that were comfortable for various subjects, mouth and jaw dimensions and genders, it is reasonable to envision extension of this approach to customized patient treatment. Specifically, personalized applicators can be rapidly printed at the time of procedure due to advances in image-based 3D printing and the increasing availability of low-cost, high-quality 3D printers in clinical settings,” the researchers concluded.
“The ergonomic design of 3D printable light applicators has significant practical benefit in enabling longer irradiation duration and improved accuracy of light delivery necessary for curative PDT. With costs of healthcare and cancer incidences increasing worldwide, particularly in developing countries, we report an affordable methodology for delivering light stably and ergonomically in the oral cavity which can be used in conjunction with a low-cost, portable, battery-powered fiber-coupled LED based light source.”
This is just one more good example of 3D printing successfully being used for cancer therapy.
Co-authors of the paper are Srivalleesha Mallidi, Amjad P. Khan, Hui Liu, Liam Daly, Grant Rudd, Paola Leon, Shakir Khan, Bilal M. A. Hussain, Syed A. Hasan, Shahid A. Siddique, Kafil Akhtar, Meredith August, Maria Troulis, Filip Cuckov, Jonathan P. Celli, and Tayyaba Hasan.
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The post Researchers Evaluate Comfort and Stability of 3D Printed Applicators for Oral Cancer Therapy appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
We’re talking about events and business today in 3D Printing News Briefs. In November, Cincinnati Inc. is presenting at FABTECH, and Additive Manufacturing Technologies and XJet are heading off to formnext. Moving on, Thor3D has announced a new partnership with Rhinoceros.
Cincinnati Incorporated Showing at FABTECH
Machine tool manufacturer Cincinnati Incorporated (CI) is going to FABTECH 2019 next month in Chicago, and plans on showcasing its recently announced partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, along with the #88 car driven by Alex Bowman, and its latest machines at the event. CI is now a full-season associate sponsor of the team’s four-car stable for the next ten years, in addition to its Official Metal Fabrication and Additive Equipment Provider. The racecar will be in booth #A2973 at the show, along with CI’s Hyform and AFX press brakes, Roboform cell, and new CLX laser, which was built specifically for automation-minded metal fabricators. The company’s high temperature Small Area Additive Manufacturing (SAAM HT) machine will be on display in booth #A3839, and its Medium Area Additive Manufacturing (MAAM) machine will make its official debut to the public.
“We’re ready to get to FABTECH and show the fabricating world what we’ve been up to in the past year. Walking through our facility, you can feel the energy and see the production happening. It’s exciting and it’s contagious, and we can’t wait to share it,” said Matt Garbarino, Director of Marketing Communications at Cincinnati Incorporated.
XJet Bringing Extended Carmel Product Line to formnext
FABTECH isn’t the only show in November – formnext is taking place in Frankfurt from November 19-22, and XJet announced that it will be introducing two new versions of its Carmel 1400 3D printer at the event. The Carmel 1400M for metals and the Carmel 1400C for ceramics, both of which use XJet’s NanoParticle Jetting technology, are part of the company’s continuing work to, as XJet put it, “redefine metal and ceramic AM.”
“Formnext is always a highpoint on XJet’s calendar. Each year we hit new milestones, and this is particularly evident at Formnext. From Formnext, XJet will offer two systems, the Carmel 1400C devoted to ceramics and the Carmel 1400M dedicated to metals. While both systems use the same NanoParticle Jetting technology, they are different and have been optimized to handle the different materials. Both will be demonstrated on our booth throughout the show,” said XJet’s CBO Dror Danai.
At Booth C01 in Hall 12.1 of formnext, XJet will demonstrate multiple applications and sample parts that showcase its NPJ technology for both metal and ceramic 3D printing. Representatives from the company’s distribution network will be on hand to answer question, and visitors can also enjoy an immersive, virtual reality experience into XJet’s NanoParticle Jetting at the booth.
Additive Manufacturing Technologies Presenting Modular, 3D Printed Booth at formnext
Sheffield-based Additive Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) will also be attending formnext as it officially exits stealth mode. The company will be showcasing a customizable, modular, and sustainable stand construction at the event, with over 6,000 3D printed parts that will connect 1,100 meters of aluminum tubing to create the booth, which was designed and constructed by Steel Roots Design. Materialise printed the parts out of Nylon PA 2200 material, using SLS technology by EOS, and they were then post-processed with AMT’s own PostPro3D platform. The lightweight parts have complex geometries, with moving features and internal threads that would have been impossible to create using another fabrication process.
“The whole point of exhibiting at a show like Formnext is to demonstrate your technologies and capabilities. At AMT we don’t want to just tell people how good our technologies are, we want to really show them. Our unique stand will show how functional and sustainable 3D printed parts — even at higher volumes — can be utilised when using our automated post processing technologies,” stated AMT’s CEO Joseph Crabtree.
“This level of sustainability commitment is a fundamental principle for AMT at every level of the business. Every decision we make takes sustainability into consideration.”
See AMT’s 120 kg stand structure for yourself at Booth 361, Hall 12.1, at formnext next month. Once it’s been constructed, several other company innovations will be showcased inside, such as the automated Digital Manufacturing System (DMS).
Thor3D and Rhinoceros Sign Partnership Agreement for New Product
3D scanner manufacturer Thor3D and Rhinoceros software developer McNeel have signed a partnership agreement so that Rhino software can now be resold by Thor3D’s distribution partners, along with multiple plug-ins, in a bundle with the Calibry handheld 3D scanner. Rhino’s set of tools for analysis, animation, engineering, free-form 3D modeling, and engineering can now be supplemented by Calibray scans, which can be used as base models. In addition, the bundle can also be extended using Brazil and Penguin rendering software, the Flamingo nXt rendering engine, and integrated animation by Bongo.
“Rhino software is widely known and used worldwide. Many of our customers already use it and our goal is to make it even more accessible to a wider audience. Engineers and digital artists alike, will find this software, in combination with our 3D scanners, extremely helpful in their day-to-day work,” said Anna Zevelyov, the CEO and Co-Founder of Thor3D.
Recommended retail price for the new Calibry and Rhino bundle will be €5,700.
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The post 3D Printing News Briefs: October 10, 2019 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re starting with a couple of stories from the recent Paris Air Show: TUSAS Engine Industries has invested in GE Additive technology, and ARMOR explained its AM materials partnership with Airbus. Moving on, Formlabs just hosted some live webinars, and PostProcess Technologies released a whitepaper on surface finishing metal 3D printed parts. Modix is sharing a lot of news, including four new 3D printer models, and finally, FormFutura has introduced sustainable packaging.
TEI Invests in GE Additive Technology
TUSAŞ Engine Industries, Inc. (TEI), founded in Turkey as a joint venture in 1985, has invested in GE Additive‘s direct metal laser melting (DMLM) technology. GE Additive announced at the recent Paris Air Show that TEI had purchased two of its M LINE factory systems and two M2 cusing machines. While the financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, the 3D printers will be installed at TEI’s Eskişehir headquarters, joining its current fleet of laser and Arcam EBM printers.
Professor Dr. Mahmut Faruk Akşit, President and CEO of TEI, said, “Today, we invest in TEI’s future by investing in additive manufacturing, ‘the future of manufacturing.’ Our longstanding partnership and collaboration with GE is now broadening with GE Additive’s machine portfolio.”
Armor and Airbus Partner Up for Aerospace 3D Printing
Air pipe prototype printed using the Kimya PLA HI (Photo: ProtoSpace Airbus)
Continuing with news from the Paris Air Show, ARMOR Group – a French multinational company – was also at the event, exhibiting its Kimya materials and a miniFactory printer, as well as its new aeronautics filament, PEI-9085. While there, ARMOR also met up with Airbus, which has frequently used 3D printing to create parts and prototypes, such as an air nozzle for the climate control system of its 330neo passenger cabin. The company has now requested ARMOR’s expertise in better qualifying its materials in order to standardize its own AM process.
“We have qualified the PLA-HI and PETG-S. We are currently testing more technical materials, such as the PETG Carbon before moving on to the PEI and PEEK. We have requested a specific preparation to make it easier to use them in our machines,” Marc Carré, who is responsible for innovation at Airbus ProtoSpace in Saint-Nazaire,
“We expect to be able to make prototypes quickly and of high quality in terms of tolerances, aesthetics and resistance.
“Thanks to ARMOR and its Kimya range and services, we have found a partner we can share our issues with and jointly find solutions. It is very important for us to be able to rely on a competent and responsive supplier.”
Webinars by Formlabs: Product Demo and Advanced Hybrid Workflows
Recently, Formlabs hosted a couple of informative webinars, and the first was a live product demonstration of its Form 3. 3D printing expert Faris Sheikh explained the technology behind the company’s Low Force Stereolithography (LFS) 3D printing, walked through the Form 3’s step-by-step-workflow, and participated in a live Q&A session with attendees. Speaking of workflows, Formlabs also held a webinar titled “Metal, Ceramic, and Silicone: Using 3D Printed Molds in Advanced Hybrid Workflows” that was led by Applications Engineering Lead Jennifer Milne.
“Hybrid workflows can help you reduce cost per part and scale to meet demand, while taking advantage of a wider range of materials in the production of end-use parts,” Formlabs wrote. “Tune in for some inspiration on new ways of working to advance your own process or to stay on top of trends and capabilities across the ever-growing range of printable materials.”
PostProcess Whitepaper on 3D Print Surface Finishing
PostProcess Technologies has released its new whitepaper, titled “Considerations for Optimizing Surface Finishing of 3D Printed Inconel 718.” The paper discusses a novel approach to help improve surface finish results by combining a patent-pending chemistry solution and software-driven automation. Using this new approach, PostProcess reports increased consistency and productivity, as well as decreased technician touch time. The whitepaper focuses on surface finishing 3D prints made with alloys and metals, but especially zeroes in on nickel superalloy Inconel 718, 3D printed with DMLS technology.
“With current surface finishing techniques used that are largely expensive, can require significant manual labor, or require the use of hazardous chemicals, this paper analyzes the benefits of a novel alternative method for post-printing the part’s surface,” PostProcess wrote. “Key considerations are reviewed including part density and hardness, corrosion (chemical) resistance, grain structure, as well as manufacturing factors including the impact of print technology and print orientation on the surface profile.”
You can download the new whitepaper here.
Modix Announces New 3D Printers, Reseller Program, and Executive
Israel-based Modix, which develops large-format 3D printers, has plenty of news to share – first, the company has come out with four new 3D printer models based on its modular design. The new models, which should be available as soon as Q3 2019, are the 1000 x 1000 x 600 mm Big-1000, the 600 x 600 x 1200 mm Big-120Z, the 1800 x 600 x 600 mm Big-180X, and the 400 x 400 x 600 mm Big-40. Additionally, the company has launched a reseller program, where resellers can offer Modix printers to current customers of smaller printers as the “best next 3D printer.” Finally, Modix has appointed 3D printing veteran John Van El as its new Chief Commercial Officer; he will help build up the company’s partner program.
“We are proud to have John with us,” said Modix CEO Shachar Gafni. “John brings aboard unique capabilities and experiences strengthening Modix’s current momentum on the path to become a global leader in the large scale 3D printing market.”
FormFutura Presents Recyclable Cardboard Packaging
Dutch filament supplier FormFutura wants to set an example for the rest of the industry by not only raising awareness about sustainability, but also by stepping up its own efforts. That’s why the company has moved completely to cardboard packaging – all of its filaments up to one kilogram will now be spooled onto fully recyclable cardboard spools, which will also come in cardboard boxes. All of FormFutura’s cardboard spools and boxes are manufactured in its home country of the Netherlands, which helps reduce its carbon footprint in terms of travel distance, and the material is also a natural drying agent, so it will better protect filament against humidity.
“Over the past couple of months we’ve been brainstorming a lot on how we can make FormFutura more sustainable and help renew our branding. As over this period we have received feedback from the market about helping to find a viable solution to the empty plastic spools, we started setting up a plan to reduce our carbon footprint through cardboard spools,” said Arnold Medenblik, the CEO of FormFutura. “But as we got to working on realizing rolling out cardboard spools, we’ve also expanded the scope of the project to include boxes and logistics.”
Because the company still has some warehoused stock on plastic spools, customers may receive both types of packaging during the transition.
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In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, euspen plans to hold a Special Interest Group meeting in September centered around additive manufacturing, and an adjunct professor completed a comparison between a small SLS 3D printer and a large one. Moving on to interesting 3D printing projects, an artist teamed up with Mimaki to use full-color 3D printing to make a stage prop, a reddit user created an anti-cat button for an Xbox system, and an imgur user created a modular 3D printed fashion system.
euspen to Hold Special Interest Group Meeting on AM
The European Society for Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology (euspen) will be addressing the factors which are influencing an uptake of the use of additive manufacturing as a production technology at a Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting in September. The meeting, which will be co-hosted by the American Society of Precision Engineering (ASPE), will analyze the barriers to, and the opportunities for, the adoption of AM in production. It will be held from September 16-18 at the École Centrale de Nantes in France.
At the AM SIG meeting, issues that are, as euspen put it, “critical to the viability of AM as a production technology,” will be addressed. The co-chairs of the meeting are Professor Richard Leach from the University of Nottingham and Dr. John Taylor from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Local hosts and the organizing committee include Professor Alain Bernard from Centrale Nantes, Dr. David Bue Pedersen from the Technical University of Denmark, Professor Leach, and Dr. Taylor.
Comparison of Small and Large SLS 3D Printers
3D printers are often used in educational settings these days. Piotr Dudek, an adjunct professor at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Poland, runs a 3D printing lab at the school that both students and researchers frequent. While many technologies are used in the lab, SLS is the one that most interests Dudek, who decided to compare a big SLS system from EOS with the smaller Sinterit Lisa.
“We are using the big EOS SLS 3D printer for a long time and we wanted to compare it with Sinterit Lisa, check the possibilities of it. In SLS technology every detail matters. The temperature of the printing chamber, powder distribution system, heating or laser moving mechanism are very precise and important features. We wanted to test if Sinterit’s device is the valuable solution,” Dudek stated.
Larger 3D printers obviously have higher print volumes, but the down sides include difficult calibration, specialized training, and higher costs. In addition, it’s easy to mess up the calibration of a large 3D printer during transport. The Lisa 3D printer uses a gantry system, which comes pre-calibrated to save time, and it also uses less material, which means less money. The desktop printer is also much more student-friendly, making it the better choice for 3D printing labs like the one Professor Dudek runs.
Full-Color 3D Printed Stage Prop
A few months ago, 3DPrint.com heard from 3D printing specialist and Post Digital Artist Taketo Kobayashi, from the Ultra Modelers community, about an art exhibit in Japan that he helped organize which featured colorful, 3D printed works created on the Mimaki 3DUJ-553 full-color 3D printer. Recently, he reached out to us again with news of his latest Mimaki Engineering collaboration – a stage prop for the Japanese artist Saori Kanda, who performed with techno/trance band Shpongle at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.
“It is a artwork,” Kobayashi told 3DPrint.com, “but also a utilization of full color 3D printing to entertainment field.”
The “Shpongle Mask,” which took 28 hours to print and mixed in Asian details, was worn onstage by Kanda as she performed her painting live with the band.
3D Printed Anti-Cat Xbox Button
reddit user Mbiggz was getting sick of their cat turning off the touch-sensitive button on the Xbox console while it was in use, which I can understand, having two cats of my own. So Mbiggz came up with the perfect solution – a 3D printed cover for the button. The design can be found on the maker’s Tinkercad account, as Mbiggz originally made the design for a Digital 3D class.
“Adhesive goes on the back part (it is labeled in the print). I’m a newcomer in terms of this so it’s not perfect,” Mbiggz wrote on Tinkercad. “Also, the door doesn’t open all the way, so you can fix it so that it does if you want to (even though it doesn’t really matter, there’s not really a need for it to open it all the way).”
3D Printed Modular Fashion System
hunter62610, a young imgur user, designed and 3D printed a Lego-like modular fabric system, which was featured in his school’s fashion show. He made two dresses that are made with a 3D printed prototype fabric pattern called Escher, which was designed to be “put together and taken apart” hundreds of times. It took him just two weeks to make the material, which the two young ladies who modeled the dresses said was fairly comfortable.
“The idea of the system is that theoretically, one could buy a fashion catalog filled with designs, and say 5000 links. Once could make every clothing item in the catalog, based on there needs. Perhaps that’s a pipe dream, but it’s a fun idea,” hunters62610 wrote.
“The Escher system is quite versatile. Each link acts like a free flowing Equilateral triangle, and has a male and female ball joint on each side. Every individual link is theoretically compatible with every other link. Special links are stored in the middle of this pouch that are really 3 merged links with a screw hole. If needed, these links can be used as elastic tie down points or buttons, if you screw in the buttons i made.”
A Makerbot Replicator Plus was used to print the fabric links in unique, small panels.
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This year’s RAPID + TCT ended late last week at the Cobo Center in Detroit, so we’re again starting off today’s 3D Printing News Briefs with more news from the busy show floor. DyeMansion launched a new extended color series at RAPID, while 3D Systems made the announcement that its Figure 4 Modular is now available. Moving on, SLM Solutions just celebrated the grand opening of its new Shanghai application center. Finally, a Reddit user made an adorable miniature 3D printer.
RAPID 2019: DyeMansion’s New Colors
DyeMansion at RAPID 2019 [Image: Sarah Saunders]
Munich startup DyeMansion, a leader in finishing and coloring solutions for 3D printing, launched its new ColorsX extended color series for end-use products at RAPID last week, in order to continue helping its customers achieve the perfect finish for all of their applications. Automotive ColorsX and Neon ColorsX are the first solutions under the startup’s X Colors for X Industries premise, with more to follow in the future. The automotive color line has improved light and heat resistance for better 3D printed polyamide components and interior car parts, and features Automotive BlackX, which has a less saturated black tone than DyeMansion’s basic DM Black 01 and was created according to ISO EN 105 B06 method 3’s hot irradiation standards. The luminous neon color line includes GreenX, YellowX, OrangeX and PinkX to help create striking end-use products. Both of these new color lines are compatible with DyeMansion’s PolyShot Surfacing (PSS) and VaporFuse Surfacing (VFS).
“Some of our earliest customers who made use of DyeMansion Print-to-Product technologies for serial production are from the Automotive and Lifestyle industries,” explained Kai Witter, DyeMansion’s Chief Customer Officer. “While working closely with our customers, joint strategies are always about creating even more value to their businesses. So, I feel very delighted to now offer additional value creating products. Automotive and Neon ColorsX are only the beginning of providing more specific industry offers.”
Once DyeMansion decided to launch its ColorsX series, it also named the coloring process it established back in 2015: DeepDye Coloring (DDC), which can be easily controlled and traced through integrated RFID technology and offers a limitless choice of custom colors.
RAPID 2019: 3D Systems Announces General Availability of Figure 4 Modular
Also at RAPID last week, 3D Systems announced the general availability of its scalable Figure 4 Modular production platform. The flexible digital light printing (DLP) system has multiple configurations that can print parts with high surface quality, and allows manufacturers to iterate designs more quickly, as well as produce end-use parts without having to worry about a minimum order quantity. Three models make up the Figure 4 – Standalone, Production, and Modular – and several customers, such as D&K Engineering and Midwest Prototyping, are reaping the benefits. Additionally, 3D Systems also announced five new DLP and SLS materials, the first of which is the immediately available Figure 4 FLEX-BLK 10. The other new Figure 4 materials, such as TOUGH-BLK 20, MED-AMB 10, MED-WHT 10, and HI-TEMP-AMB 250, are expected to be available in Q3 and Q4 of 2019.
“The newest additions to our plastic 3D printing portfolio demonstrate our commitment to driving the adoption of digital manufacturing. With the industry’s first, truly scalable plastic production platform and our robust selection of materials, 3D Systems enables customers to rethink manufacturing and realize improved agility, reduced complexity, and lower overall total cost of operation,” said Vyomesh Joshi, the President and CEO of 3D Systems.
3D Systems also announced that its customers Rodin Cars (based in New Zealand) and North Carolina-based Stewart-Haas Racing are using its plastic and metal 3D printing solutions to improve the speed and performance of their cars.
SLM Solutions Celebrates Opening of New Shanghai Application Center
The same year that SLM Solutions opened an applications and demonstration center in Germany, it also established Chinese operations in Shanghai. Earlier this week, the selective laser melting experts celebrated the grand opening of their expanded office facilities and application center in Shanghai, which will help the company continue to grow its presence on the Asian market. The new center has installed four SLM systems: one SLM 125, one SLM 500, and two SLM 280 printers. Additionally, the facility also has equipment to represent an SLM build’s supporting process chain, such as a metallurgical lab and post-processing capabilities. The grand opening included a tour through the new new customer service and application engineering center.
“As we continue to grow our Chinese team, the opening of our Shanghai Application Center is an important milestone in SLM Solutions’ development and indicates the confidence in the Chinese market,” stated Jerry Ma, General Manager of SLM Solutions (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. “As part of the global strategy for growth we have the capacity to more than double our number of employees and the equipment to support all Chinese users with the technological resources shared by our applications centers around the world. We can also provide high-quality, fast technical services to better promote the development of selective laser melting and create more value for customers.”
Mini 3D Printed 3D Printer
A reddit and imgur user by the name of “Mega Andy” used 3D printed parts and DVD drive motors to make his own miniature 3D printer. And by miniature, I mean that he used a banana for scale, which was taller than the 3D printed 3D printer itself! It’s a really interesting project – the device runs Marlin, and features a glass bed and an E3D V6 hotend. The black and gold parts of the mini 3D printer were made out of PLA material, while PETG was used to make teeth for the leadscrews. Speaking of this, Mega Andy said that the printer is “fairly unreliable” because it easily ruins the teeth that guide the device on the leadscrew. Additionally, he’s also working to improve and lengthen the Z axis due to binding problems. Mega Andy released the STLs onto Thingiverse so others could try to make their own versions of the miniature 3D printed 3D printer…say that five times fast.
“So this project is nothing new, people have made 3d printers, CNC, engravers before using this hardware. What I wanted to do differently with this is have a designed 3D printed frame to hopefully fit standard parts. Instead of mounting full metal dvd drive assembly’s together and look like a DIY project I wanted a something that could be more compact and neat,” Mega Andy wrote on Thingiverse.
“This project is not for everyone and would only recommend to someone with a decent knowledge of 3d printers, basic soldering and lots of patience. Also some fiddling was needed to get the right amount of tension on the leadscrew, this bit is a massive pain but hopefully no one else needs to go through quite as much issues as i did with this bit. They will wear out though and a 3d printer will be needed to print new parts for it when they inevitable wear out.”
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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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A little over two years ago, GE acquired a 75% stake in metal 3D printing leader Concept Laser. Ever since then, GE Additive has been working to review and redesign the system, software, and design architecture of Concept Laser’s M LINE FACTORY 3D printer so that it’s in line with established GE processes. The modular system has also been undergoing beta testing with some selected customers. But today at formnext in Frankfurt, GE Additive announced that its first Concept Laser M LINE FACTORY systems will finally be delivered to customers in Q2 of 2019.
The M LINE Factory provides excellent reliability and automation, which in turn drives scalable, economical series production on an industrial scale – something that most current standalone machine solutions cannot achieve. As the technology continues its transition from prototyping to production, the demand for quality 3D printers, along with operators to run them and floor space to house them, is rising.
“The positive impact the M LINE FACTORY can have on our customers’ operations and their bottom line is huge,” said Jason Oliver, the President and CEO of GE Additive. “It’s important we provide technologically advanced systems that are reliable and add value to our customers. M LINE FACTORY delivers on those commitments.”
The system is an important part of GE Additive’s focus on providing reliable, repeatable 3D printers that are ready for series production. The M LINE FACTORY has a maximum build envelope of 500 x 500 x up to 400 mm³ (x,y,z), and is optionally equipped with one to four laser sources, each one delivering 1,000 W of power.
During the last two years of lifetime and rig testing, the company identified several areas for improvement that have since been incorporated, such as the onboard software system, which offers real-time, in-situ process monitoring, modularized architecture, and superior exposure strategies. The 3D printer’s automation and in-machine architecture have been improved, and its ease of service, scalable modular system design, serviceability, process control, and thermal stability have all been enhanced.
The set-up and dismantling processes, along with part production, actually occur in two independent machine units, which can either be combined or operated separately from one another, according to the customer’s preference. This makes it possible to run production processes in parallel, instead of sequentially, which increases the output quantity and availability of the process chain and lowers downtime.
The M LINE Factory LPS, which stands for Laser Processing System, increases the laser ‘on’ time by separating the pre/post processing unit from the individual work process, while at the same time maintaining an integrated machine design. Instead of forming a single continuous unit, the LPS is made up of an independent powder module, build module, and overflow module, which are of a uniform size and can each be activated individually now for the first time. An easy to use internal transport system is used to automatically transport the modules, and to maximize the efficiency of the system’s footprint, the modules can be stacked up in a series alignment as well.
Additional features of the M LINE Factory LPS include:
A flexible configuration makes it possible for the build and process time to dictate the LPS to the ratio of the M LINE Factory MHS, or Material Handling Station. This processing unit, which comes with an integrated sieving station, is for powder management and pre/post processing, and automates both the upstream and downstream stages of the production process.
Additionally, the MHS uses automation, digitization, and interlinking to provide interfaces to more conventional manufacturing methods. The MHS has high safety standards, including an automated module lidding system that contains full powder and inert gas, water-flood passivation of filters, contactless powder handling, and no manual handling in the process chamber.
To learn more about the innovative M LINE Factory, which will ship to customers in Q2 of 2019, visit GE Additive at formnext this week in booth D30, Hall 3.
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[Images provided by GE Additive]
