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3D Printing News Briefs: April 4, 2020

It’s the first 3D Printing News Briefs of the month! To start with, SelfCAD released a new update, and ACEO is hosting a webinar series about 3D printing with silicones, while Objectify Technologies and TAGMA India are hosting a webinar series about AM adoption. Finally, SHINING 3D and Scan the World are using 3D scanners to bring art and culture to people during a time when most can’t leave their homes.

SelfCAD 2.9.2 Release

SelfCAD has released its latest software update, SelfCAD 2.9.2, which improves upon existing features and adds new ones to make 3D modeling and printing more efficient. First, there’s a new Environment Map feature in the Settings dropdown menu that lets you add lighting and scenery to your model, and even an environment map. In advanced settings, the new Macro Preview feature lets you see the results of the macros you’ve added without having to finalize your choices.

You can set a Minimum Step Size for Drawing, Transformation, and Deformation tools, and apply several operations, such as Chamfer, Fillet, Round Object, and Simplify, to Profiles. In addition, SelfCAD has fixed some bugs, and added more settings and options to the Round Object tool. If you have any questions or bugs to report, you can join the SelfCAD Facebook group or email support@selfcad.com.

ACEO Presenting 3D Silicone Printing Webinar Series

Due to newly implemented health and safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACEO continues to be operational, but is unable to receive customers right now. So, in an effort to stay connected during these strange times, the company’s team of application specialists, design engineers, and material experts are presenting a series of webinars – in English – all about silicone 3D printing.

The first one, “ACEO Basics,” will be held Tuesday, April 7, from 9-9:30 CET, and Wednesday, April 8, from 4-4:30 CET. You can sign up for the webinars here; the event password is jVMGwgX$242. Future topics for the series, with dates not yet announced, are “Real Silicones,” “Design Freedom,” and “ACEO Use Cases.” Please email service@aceo3d.com with your name, company/organization, and country if you’d like to sign up. A modern browser (i.e. not Internet Explorer) is recommended to watch the webinars.

Objectify Technologies and TAGMA India Holding Webinars

As many people around the world are staying indoors and away from other people during the pandemic, it’s easy to get bored. But, you can spend your time in a productive way, which is why Objectify Technologies and TAGMA India are holding their own 3D printing webinar series together. The series, themed “3D Printing: Prototype to Production,” was created to promote adoption of and spread awareness about additive manufacturing. Webinars will begin on April 6th and go through April 14th, with topics such as Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing 101, Learnings and Misconceptions, and Current Challenges and Demand of the Industry.

“To help engineers around the world learn something new in this lockdown time, we have come up with a series of webinars on Additive Manufacturing (AM). The idea behind this webinar is to spread awareness regarding the AM technology and help companies in their journey towards industry 4.0,” said Ankit Sahu, Founder & Director, Objectify Technologies Pvt Ltd. “The objective is to encourage individuals ranging from students, researchers, and industrialist, on 3D Printing and the value it possesses for Industry 4.0.

“I thank Mr. DK Sharma, President TAGMA India and the entire team of TAGMA for their support. During this challenging time, it’s the collective effort that will help us all grow. Let us all do our bit to help the industry in skill development.”

3D Scanning to Build a Museum Without Walls

Continuing on in our list of things to do while stuck inside during the coronavirus crisis, SHINING 3D has been working with MyMiniFactoryto to digitize important artifacts for its Scan the World community-built initiative, which archives 3D printable sculptures and other culturally significant objects. Together, they are basically building a 3D museum without walls that anyone can access at any time and from anywhere. Many museums open their data with an open license in 2D, but don’t have the necessary resources to do so in 3D. Scan the World founder and manager Jon Beck is offering museums a free end-to-end service of scanning the sculptures, with the EinScan Pro 2X Plus, before processing the data into 3D models and uploading them to the museum’s Scan the World profile.

“The quality is very nice for the price that you pay. Scanning is still quite a high-level-entry technology, but what SHINING 3D has been able to do is to create an accessible affordable product, which still produces very good results for a wide range of industries, for me working with sculptures I haven’t found any issues so far working with marble and plaster sculptures and even bronze sculptures. EinScan has been able to solve all of these problems for me,” Beck said.

“There is so much story behind every single artwork whether it’s an original or it’s a copy which is quite beautiful and so, working with each member of staff in the museum who want to tell a different story about their collection is great.”

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3D Printing News Briefs: October 14, 2019

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, everything is new, new, new! Carbon is announcing a new RPU 130 material, and STERNE Elastomere introduces its antimicrobial silicone 3D printing. Protolabs launches a new polypropylene 3D printing service in Europe, and Hydra Research has officially released its flagship Nautilus 3D printer.

Carbon Introduces RPU 130 Material

At this week’s International K Trade Fair in Dusseldorf, Carbon will debut its new RPU 130 resin, a rigid polyurethane that’s rigid, tough, impact resistant, and stands up under high temperatures, making it a perfect choice for the automotive industry in applications such as brake caliper covers. Made exclusively for Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis, the dual-cure engineering resin is comparable to unfilled thermoplastics, and Carbon also partnered with DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products to make RPU 130 out of sustainable Susterra propanediol, a 100% bio-based material that uses 46% less nonrenewable energy from cradle-to-gate and produces 48% less greenhouse gas emissions as well.

“We are focused on ways to incorporate more sustainable approaches to developing materials, and our partnership with DuPont Tate & Lyle emphasizes that commitment,” stated Jason Rolland, SVP of Materials at Carbon. “We believe that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with improved performance. In the case of RPU 130, we believe it will make the material even more appealing for our customers, as it makes it possible to create better quality products that are also ultimately better for the environment.”

You can learn more about Carbon’s new RPU 130 at its K-Show booth, H7.2, F12 from October 16-23.

Antimicrobial Silicone 3D Printing by STERNE

French silicone 3D printing specialist STERNE will also be attending K 2019 this month. Three years ago, the company unveiled its silicone 3D printer at K 2016, and its SiO-shaping 3D silicone printing technology makes it possible to fabricate very small pieces, according to standard ISO 3302-01 :2014 (M2) tolerances, at hardness from 30 to 60 Shores A. The printer also offers a full panel of colors in opaque, phosphorescent, and translucent.

The company is now combining 3D printing with antimicrobial silicone, in order to keep the silicone odor-free, avoid bacteria developing, improve the hygiene of a 3D printed object, and strengthen its immune barrier as well. You can learn more about this antimicrobial silicone 3D printing at STERNE’s Stand E23, Hall 8A, at K 2019.

Protolabs Offering Polypropylene 3D Printing in Europe

For the first time, digital manufacturing company Protolabs is offering polypropylene 3D printing, with the launch of a new service in Europe. The company has invested a lot in developing the material to be used with selective laser sintering (SLS) technology, on an SPro 60 system. SLS 3D printing with polypropylene plastic allows design engineers to rapidly develop and test prototypes, and fabricate complex designs as well, like internal channels and honeycomb structures.

“Polypropylene is one of the most used plastics available to modern manufacturers and is widely used for a number of applications. Polypropylene is one of the most used plastics available to modern manufacturers and is widely used for a number of applications. Now that we can produce a prototype in polypropylene, design engineers can develop and test it in an application using the same material that it will be manufactured from. The product design can then be quickly reiterated and retested until they have the perfect solution, before committing to tooling. This breakthrough takes product development to the next level using the most versatile of plastics, ” said Andrea Landoni, 3D printing product manager for Protolabs.

“Before, if you wanted to use polypropylene then you were limited in what you could design by the manufacturing technology available to you. Now the only limitation is your imagination.”

Hydra Research Releases Flagship 3D Printer

Oregon company Hydra Research, which began in a closet three years ago as a peer-to-peer print service, has announced the release of it flagship 3D printer, the Nautilus. The fully enclosed, industrial-grade desktop system – assembled in Portland – features a quick-change Tool Cartridge system that integrates E3D’s V6 hotend for fast nozzle switching, in addition to an integrated software solution. It also supports a variety of materials, provides Cura profiles for easy slicing, has a small footprint in a sleek frame, and offers customizable HydraCare support and consulting packages

“As a company, our primary goal is producing world-class hardware on an open source platform,” explained John Kray, the Founder and CEO of Hydra Research. “Manufacturers like E3D, Duet3D, and Fillamentum combine these values perfectly.”

You can now purchase Hydra’s Nautilus 3D printer on the company’s website, in addition to spare parts, accessories, and filament.

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The post 3D Printing News Briefs: October 14, 2019 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Sterne Bringing Silicone 3D Printing to COMPAMED Trade Fair

Sterne Elastomere, a company located in the south of France, specializes in manufacturing items out of silicone materials for industries such as food and drink, mass transit, medical, nuclear, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Two years ago, Sterne made its move into the 3D printing world and debuted its SiO-Shaping 1601 silicone 3D printer at K 2016, a top plastics and rubber trade show, for the first time.

In order to provide its clients with 3D printed silicone prototypes that possessed properties similar to that of the final product, Sterne developed its technology so it could deposit filaments of 100% UV-cured silicone. It’s definitely not easy to 3D print with silicone, due to properties that make it unable to be heated and extruded in the same way that typical thermoplastic materials can be, but companies like Sterne, Wacker Chemie, and Fripp Design Research have been making great strides over the last few years.

Over the last two years, Sterne, which has over 20 years of experience in the silicone industry, has been working hard to refine its 3D printing silicone technology, so it can be a viable alternative option for customers looking to meet their technical needs. Now the company is bringing its SiO-shaping 3D silicone printing method to COMPAMED 2018, a trade fair for medical suppliers and manufacturers which begins in a little over a week in Düsseldorf, Germany.

According to a release by the company, “Sterne is able to manufacture little to medium series on projects dedicated to 3D printing. An approved solution for pieces with a need situated between molding and extrusion technics, on specific applications both medical and short term implantable. Now, it is only in one step that devices with complex and atypical forms can be produced. A research and development department composed of 3D specialists and engineers, go with clients on project development and monitoring, perpetuating new concepts and ideas. A quick manufacturing on competitive deadlines since no design or validation of tools is necessary.”

The company’s SiO 3D silicone printing has been further refined since it was first introduced. In 2016, it promised a minimum 3D print layer height of 0.25 mm, but can now achieve a minimum of 0.1 mm (100 microns). Its SiO-Shaping 1601 silicone 3D printer offers a maximum print volume of 205 x 200 x 100 mm, along with hardness from 30 to 60 Shores A.

Sterne’s silicone 3D printing can help all of its customers with their fast prototyping needs. But its specialty is manufacturing thin, accurate silicone products for the medical sector that meet the necessary aesthetic and technical needs.

“Whether High Consistency Silicone Rubber (HCR) or Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR), Sterne masters a large range of manufacturing process such as extrusion, molding, making, over-molding inside ISO 6, ISO 7 and ISO 8 cleanrooms,” the company’s release states.

In addition, Sterne’s SiO silicone 3D printing also offers a full panel of colors, including phosphorescent, translucent, and opaque, which is available for colors like red, yellow, black, and green. However, these colors are only available for materials that meet the necessary quality requirements according to the FDA or USP class VI medical grade.

You can see the company’s silicone 3D printing prowess for yourself at COMPAMED from November 12-15 in the Düsseldorf exhibition center. To rediscover, or see for the first time, Sterne’s range of products for the medical sector, visit the company at Stand L02 in Hall 08b.

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ACEO Expands to United States with New Silicone 3D Printing Lab in Ann Arbor

WACKER, a global materials and technology manufacturer based in Munich, announced in 2016 that it had developed the first-ever industrial 3D printer for silicone materials. Around the same time, the company launched its new ACEO brand, which would be dedicated to the 3D printing of silicone rubbers. The brand is based out of its ACEO Campus in Burghausen, Germany, but is now expanding to the US. WACKER will be opening a 3D printing lab at its R&D center for silicones in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the lab will be its first regional 3D printing lab outside of Germany.

The new lab will start off with two 3D printers, which will each be able to print with a wide range of silicone rubber materials with different Shore A hardnesses and in different colors, including special media resistant FVMQ grades.

“In general, North America is the largest and most dynamic market for 3D printing,” said Bernd Pachaly, Head of the ACEO 3D printing project at WACKER. “With our new lab, prospective partners will obtain local access to the compelling possibilities of 3D printing with liquid silicone rubber.”

ACEO will continue to 3D print and deliver silicone components from its facility in Burghausen, but the new lab in Ann Arbor will provide technical service and advice to customers in North America, allowing them to get hands-on experience with silicone 3D printing technology.

“Right from the start, we will be engaged in projects involving medical devices and components needed for health care, transportation, aerospace and electronics, all of which are key industry segments, particularly for silicone-based products,” continued Pachaly. “Establishing a regional lab will support expansion of ACEO’s footprint in the US and furthers WACKER’s global service network for silicone rubber 3D printing solutions.”

ACEO’s drop-on-demand 3D printing technology allows for a great deal of design freedom and the printing of complex, functional components. Silicone rubber is a valuable 3D printing material, offering properties such as temperature and radiation resistance as well as biocompatibility. These properties make it a popular material for a range of industries including medicine, aerospace, automotive, equipment and mechanical engineering.

Since its inception, ACEO has expanded and further developed its technology, introducing multi-material 3D printing and functional materials. As the first company to introduce industrial silicone 3D printing, WACKER and its ACEO brand are exploring uncharted territory. Other companies have arisen with silicone 3D printing technology, but WACKER remains among the pioneers.

Locating the new ACEO 3D printing lab at the R&D facility in Ann Arbor is part of the company’s strategic business model for being close to its customers and serving regional business trends, according to Ian Moore, Vice President WACKER SILICONES at Wacker Chemical Corporation in Adrian, Michigan.

“Our Innovation Center is focused on developing advanced and forward-looking solutions that support regional trends which can be quickly brought to market,” Moore said. “Our team of scientists and highly specialized experts in the field of silicones and 3D printing will be able to offer our business partners valuable technical cooperation and services.”

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[Images: ACEO]

ECCO Steps Forward with 3D Printed Custom Silicone Midsoles

German company ViscoTec, which manufactures systems required for conveying, dosing, applying, filling, and emptying medium to high-viscosity fluids for multiple industries, including automotive, medical, and aerospace, is well-known in the 3D printing world for its two-component print head for viscous materials like silicone. The Bavaria-based company, which began working with 3D printing four years ago, employs about 200 people worldwide, and is now putting its print head to the test through a collaboration with Danish heritage footwear brand and manufacturer ECCO.

ECCO, a family-owned business founded in 1963 with factories and subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Portugal, Slovakia, Thailand, and Vietnam, has a vision of becoming the top premium brand for leather goods and shoes. The latest innovation to be introduced by the Innovation Lab of ECCO is called QUANT-U, an experimental footwear customization project.

QUANT-U relies on three core technologies: real-time analysis, data-driven design, and in-store 3D printing. The project combines these technologies to create custom, personalized midsoles, in just two hours, out of a heat cured two-component silicone.

Most everyone likes personalized products such as shoes, but due to the necessary cost, production time, and expertise involved in making custom footwear, they’re typically not available to everyone. But thanks to ECCO’s partnership with ViscoTec, this is going to change.

3D printing of silicone midsoles with ViscoTec printhead.

In order to specifically coordinate the material properties and the process, ECCO had to rethink its approach to customization, and now plans to utilize ViscoTec’s print head technology and two-component silicone to 3D print customer-specific midsoles for its customers, so each person can enjoy their own tailored fit and comfort.

According to the Innovation Lab ECCO website for QUANT-U, “A midsole is the functional heart of the shoe. It plays a key role in the performance and comfort of your footwear. Two years of research has proven that replacing the standard PU midsoles with 3D printed silicone can tune its inherent properties; viscoelasticity, durability and temperature stability.”

The QUANT-U process has three steps, starting with using scanners and wearable sensors to measure the customer’s feet and build a unique digital footprint. This biomechanical data is then evaluated and interpreted using a sophisticated algorithm, and a unique configuration is generated through structural simulations and machine learning.

This augmented pattern is optimized for each person’s respective feet and activity level by making adjustments to its densities, patterns, and structures, and the final 3D printed midsoles are personalized according to the customer’s own orthopedic parameters for a far more comfortable fit than you’d get with typical store-bought midsoles. Within just a few hours, you’re able to take home your custom 3D printed midsoles, along with your chosen pair of ECCO shoes.

Thermal cross-linking of the individual silicone layers.

By 3D printing the two-component silicone, ECCO is able to optimally counteract the high mechanical stresses we often deal with in everyday life; this is thanks to the midsole’s algorithmic designs combining with the silicone’s unique properties. By utilizing 3D printing, ECCO will be able to fabricate large quantities of personalized midsoles.

Using ViscoTec’s print heads gives ECCO several unique advantages, such as the usage of heat cured two-component silicone and precise 3D printing results, in addition to making sure that the silicone is uniformly mixed in the static mixing tube.

The footwear industry, which often utilizes 3D printing, has been growing fast over the last few years, with its global market expected to reach $371.8 billion by 2020. We often see 3D printed insoles and midsoles available for purchase now, and ECCO’s collaboration with ViscoTec and its unique 3D print head will certainly help keep it in the game.

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[Images provided by ViscoTec]