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5 Benefits of Using 3D Printing in Facade Architecture and Construction

A building’s facade
is a challenging, multi-functional aspect of the structure that carries a lot
of responsibility and expectations. It acts as a barrier and protects the
inside from the elements, determines how much light enters the space and also
provides the overall aesthetic to the building. Find out how architects are
using 3D printing to streamline architectural design and construction
processes, freeing up more time and costs to continue innovating.

“Deep
Facade” from ETH Zurich Uses 3D Printing to Produce Complex Geometric Shapes

Deep Facade is a 6×4 meter aluminium structure composed of 26 sections of looping metal cast in a 3D printed open sand mold. It was created by students from the Digital Fabrication course at ETH Zurich in 2018 and evokes the folds of the cerebral cortex. This process makes use of the computational design method called topology optimization, where lightweight material can be used to create highly stable and efficient structures. They used binder jetting technology to fabricate the sand molds which allowed them substantial geometric freedom and sped up the fabrication process due to fast printing time, eliminating patternmaking and reducing material waste. The complexity of the geometric shapes of Deep Facade would not have been possible without the use of digital design and 3D printing. Each mold took under 12 hours to print and once printing began the facade itself was formed in less than half a week. The students’ work on Deep Facade demonstrated that the production of parts with 3D printed sand molds was faster and cheaper than traditional mold making methods, and also showed how efficiently one of a kind complex geometric designs could be produced.

FIT
Additive Manufacturing Group’s “Facade 3000” Demonstrates the Potential for
Mass Individualization with 3D Printing

In Lupburg Germany, FIT created a 3D printed aluminium facade for its boarding house made up of panels each with its own complex pattern of cavities to showcase how to use 3D printing in construction to favor economical individualization. The panels each have a unique arrangement of cavity shapes, each created using aluminium inserts in the molds. They were able to produce 20 different panels simultaneously in rotation. This method of producing unique panel pieces demonstrates that 3D printing is a key resource when it comes to the future of cost-effective mass-individualization and customization in construction.

1 South
First Building by COOKFOX Architects Finds Higher Productivity and Durability
with 3D Printed Molds

The new building at the site of the former Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn, NY. consists of two interlocking structures with facades of all-white concrete precast from 3D printed molds. The crystalline facades were designed to emulate sugar crystals and are self-shading with each piece shaped according to its solar orientation. The variations in the panels meant that over 100 different molds were needed, and creating each one took between 14-16 hours instead of taking 40-50 hours each if the molds were made traditionally. The efficiency of the molding process freed up substantial time and the 3D printed molds proved to be more durable than traditional wood and fiberglass molds (which can be used up to 10 times), as they were able to be reused 150-200 times.

Rainier
Square Tower in Seattle by 3Diligent Corp x Walters & Wolf Use 3D Printed
Parts for Better Accuracy and Reliability

In order to create an upward slope from the 4th to the 40th floor in the 59-story Rainier Square Tower in Seattle, Walters & Wolf and digital manufacturing company 3Diligent Corp printed aluminium nodes and wall curtains. 140 3D printed v-shaped nodes and square cut pieces of curtain wall were custom fabricated to geometrically accommodate a different angle for each section of the building. 3Diligent gave Walters & Wolf the option between investment casting and 3d printing and Walters & Wolf decided to use the 3D printed nodes because of their level of precision and structural integrity. Each node was created with varying dimensions up to a cubic foot, another testament to the efficiency and flexibility of 3d printing.

The
“Fluid Morphology” Project in Munich Make Use of Fast Prototyping to Develop
Functionally Integrated Facades

At the Technical University in Munich, Moritz Mungenast and Studio 3F began a project to create a 3D printed facade envelope that integrates ventilation, insulation and shading to become the new facade of the Deutsches Museum in 2020. The facade design is flowing and translucent, resembling Shapeways’ translucent material Accura 60. Studio 3F built a 1.6×2.8 meter section to test for a year to improve the design before making another polycarbonate prototype. The team was able to print 1:1 scale models and prototypes along the way with ease, meaning they were able to fully comprehend the viability of their design, determine production costs, communicate their ideas to their clients and continue developing what they hope to be a widely used facade technology that combines form and function.

In addition to these innovative projects, more and more architecture firms are utilizing 3D printing to achieve a higher level of freedom in design and as a way of making processes more time and cost efficient. 3D printed molds hold up better than traditional wood casts and have a higher range of possibility when it comes to complex geometric shapes. Because of the range of materials available, 3D printing also assures a level of structural reliability for the printing of end-use parts.

Shapeways can print with a variety of materials, including stainless steel, translucent and high strength plastics, and can help you get started with producing custom molds and parts.

The post 5 Benefits of Using 3D Printing in Facade Architecture and Construction appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

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Open Stereolithography: The Winner Takes All Opportunity in SLA Materials

Twelve years ago I was at a conference and the only thing we could all agree on was that SLA was dead. Intrinsicly expensive, dangerous, and without options to automate post-processing, but with limitations in heat deflection and strength, this was a technology without a future. A few years later, when I heard from a friend that Fab@Home‘s brilliant Max Lobovsky was working on an SLA machine, my response was, “but, why?.” My my how the world can change, it wasn’t a black but rather an orange swan. SLA/DLP and other similar vat polymerization technologies are expanding now, machines are getting cheaper and we’re in the midst of a stereolithography renaissance. But, who will be its king?

In the riotous hyper-competitive world of FDM (material extrusion, please stop saying FFF) there are many material suppliers. Most of the large polymer companies worldwide have joined the market, along with many compounders, startups and extrusion companies. This means that in the FDM world you are spoilt for choice. Prices have been reduced, while R&D work has lead to the development of many new and improved materials. Most readily extrudable thermoplastics are now available in filament form. For the home user, this has meant an expanded menu of options for you when contemplating your next project or print. On the industrial side, more polymers mean that more companies can use the materials that they are familiar with for prototypes and production. The open FDM world has made manufacturing in 3D printing more likely, especially since a lack of lock-in means less reliance on one supplier and more resilience in your supply chain. Lower prices and more selection are obviously going to lead to higher demand and yet much of our industry is still firmly locked in. Right now in FDM, from the depths of Ali Baba caverns, we’re actually ascending in price and quality towards a world of pricier but more dependable branded filaments from a large selection of suppliers.

The closed lock in FDM world is not completely forlorn or lost, however. In a prototyping arena having one material that is perfectly tied to one printer may actually be desirable. After all, you want your prints to work, and now you can select from a limited but always functional library of materials. Limited but “works every time” is in that case much more preferable to spending a few valuable days dialing in a material. But, if we move towards production, higher prices won’t withstand manufacturing level attention from procurement. It doesn’t help either that, for example. a car company does kind of already buy a lot of ABS, and not for $140 or $40 a kilo either. We can pull the wool over the muggles’ eyes if we’re a line item in R&D or a Design Center, but not if we want to bask in the red light glow of the factory floor. If we wish to transition from carpet to concrete, low cost and wide selection will be key.

DSM Somos PerForm part

In the stereolithography and DLP world, we’ve of course always had DSM Somos and Arkema’s Sartomer that have sold materials to open SLA vendors across the world. Many machines are or have been open. Exotic chemistry has allowed much of the SLA world to remain quite closed, however. And yes, a lot of manufacturing has been occurring in SLA/DLP, with tens of millions of hearing aids, tens of millions of lost wax cast jewelry intermediates, millions of molds for Invisalign, and millions of more dental parts being made per year. Actually, in sheer numbers of parts, SLA/DLP if taken together probably accounts for more end-use parts than other technologies. Yet, liter prices for photopolymer resin still stay around the $99 to $800. This is 250% higher at least than it needs to be.

A Sartomer Carbon part

In highly regulated fields people don’t mind paying more for a material that is ensured to work and meet standards. Things like hearing aids and dental have their strict requirements and are typically also made by conservative as well as safety-conscious industries. Crucially the parts are very small as well. Hearing aid shells are tiny things that use only a few milliliters of material. If you can make 200 hearing aids from one liter, then it can be expensive per liter and you won’t even notice. This is especially the case if support removal by hand clouds the cost picture further by often being much more expensive than the part cost itself. The combination of high manual labor cost, small parts, and safety-conscious users has kept a vibrant industry for resins well fed. A focus on high-value applications also insulates photopolymer manufactures from the pressures of the wider market.

At the same time process limitations, as well as random things such as the output strength and size of commercial projectors from companies such as Epson, have kept SLA/DLP part sizes small. It is still today rather hard to make orange sized parts on many orange vat polymerization machines. Research into LED and other light sources, as well as increased R&D efforts by many firms and researchers into SLA/DLP and mSLA, will advance these technologies, however. Carbon, Formlabs, and indeed before that, 3D Systems acquisitiveness and momentum have ensured that SLA has been supplied with cash and interest. Yet even though Formlabs lets you put in your resin of choice, most new startups are firmly closed, locking you into their materials. Indeed Formlabs even acquired its materials supplier Spectra, making the case for further vertical integration and coordination. Origin is open, as is Atum3D, but most investment activity is focused on the “razor plus blades” type firms.

In FDM we’ve got hundreds of materials suppliers, but in SLA/DLP we see very few. Quick, name a brand of desktop SLA resin? Name three? We’re seeing quite the light-based renaissance, but the materials world remains very vendor-specific. Mitsubishi has moved in with some activity and BASF now sells resins but overall, especially on the consumer front, activity has been minimal.

Meanwhile, there are hundreds of photopolymer companies selling resins, mostly in Asia. Catering to the jewelry market mostly. In their world regulation and safety are low priorities but they do a brisk business anyhow. Low safety Asian photopolymer sales are still one of my biggest worries in 3D printing. I believe this to be a near existential risk for SLA as a technology, I see many potential issues with cancers and skin sensitization when people make and sell resins without much care. Experience has thought us that from within that maelstrom we will get one or two credible safety-conscious firms who do want to reputably expand worldwide and go upmarket, however.

This likelihood of opportunity has been aided by the rapid expansion of lower-cost industrial SLA equipment from Chinese and Korean firms that has briskly expanded across the word’s manufacturing base. I missed this trend entirely until only a year ago a local 3D printing expert pointed it out to me. Sindoh, Carima, Graphy, Kings, who will expand globally? Thousands of new industrial SLA machines are being sold each year throughout the region. Largely unseen now, new giants are emerging that will challenge preexisting OEMs. At the same time, consumer SLA has been heating up. Creality now offers a $269 resin printer while Elgoo, Longer3D, and others all have low-cost offerings. Formlabs has expanded its premium product line while squarely in between those extremes, we can find Prusa3D with their $1600 open source SLA system.

Count the parts.

Between the fleshing out of “at every price point” line of 3D printers and industrial expansion in SLA systems, there is a huge opportunity emerging in SLA materials. OEM competition will be incredibly fierce, this will be exacerbated by the fact that assembly costs are relatively low in SLA systems. Certain components (light source and Z motion stage) have to be expensive and high quality, but once you have those the rest of the system consists of relatively few parts, which are also relatively low cost. In high quality industrial and Pro, margins may remain because people will pay for service, brand, and uptime; but for those not squarely nestled in the Pro or high-end manufacturing segment, times will be tough. Generally, however, we would expect increased pressure on margins as well as competitiveness across all price points in SLA from within a growing installed base of SLA systems. There is, even with many new offerings, a huge gap in segments from Pro to $15,000 systems and then another huge gap between these systems and Perfactories with yet another gap between them and iPro’s. This is a market you could drive a 10,000 unit selling OEM through and no one would even know that they existed.

With SLA expanding quickly, we can see an established high-cost resin market in regulated industries that will to a certain extent remain insulated from pricing pressure. Other segments including manufacturing will face increased competitive forces. Meanwhile, it is clear that a significant opportunity is emerging, what’s more, this opportunity is largely unmet. We have low-cost resin (and this only to a certain extent) of dubious quality and high-cost high margin resin for the dental labs et al, but what of the rest of the market? There is currently no visible globally available branded photopolymer that is safe, known and affordable.

On the consumer market, there is hardly anyone with any brand recognition in resin what so ever. MakerJuice? Who else? Meanwhile, in industrial, there is no brand positioning equivalent of Volkswagen in the resin market, only Audi’s. The low-cost segment, the general industrial segment, and the consumer segments specifically are growing quickly but there is no brand to cater to these segments with an adequate value proposition. Recently Italian OEM DWS released OpenDWS which is its initiative in trying to sell resin to the broader market. Selling to a captive audience may seem like a good business but not if the other guy sells to his and your audience at the same time.

I don’t believe that there can be an OEM winner takes all situation. There are simply too many niches and technologies for one winner to happen. Similarly, in FDM materials, base polymer/monomer synthesis and the manufacturing of those materials mean that per polymer, some companies have cost advantages. Good luck trying to make cheaper ABS than Sabic for example. But, ABS will not work for everyone in all cases. Also, people will ask for and want a particular polymer whether you make it or not. Different go to market models have also meant that “winner takes all” is very unlikely at this point in FDM.

SLA/DLP material to me is a different matter. Here I can see that the level of branding, market penetration, and availability is so low as that there can still emerge one “winner takes all” in SLA materials. With one photopolymer manufacturing chain moreover, a lot of the market needs can be addressed with one or at least a few materials. All the photopolymers are exotic to manufacturers, so they don’t come to you with a need for a certain PC grade, a wish to use 12 different materials, or a desire to keep manufacturing in POM. You see in thermoplastic filaments the fit for purpose of the polymer to the application, or previous experience/regulatory is key, along with the cost of the material. You seek the right polymer for the application. In filaments, you have a puzzle and you seek the puzzle piece to complete it. With SLA you know you have the wrong material at the wrong price point from the get-go. Furthermore, you know you’ll never get the right material that will behave in the same way as you’re used to. With SLA you’ll always be puzzled.

But, what is the SLA/DLP materials market then? To me its a pure safety play. Anyone that has a more or less application fit solution that leads you to believe that they have the highest safety standards and safest material for your users and is marginally more cost-effective will prevail.

To me, this means that there is currently a huge opportunity for a materials supplier to become the default and by far the largest supplier of SLA materials. What’s more, they could leverage throughput, distribution, and brand to dominate the market. Scale, capacity/throughput on manufacturing, high fixed costs/investment to get safe materials, mean that it is clear that one player could dominate. Looking at SLA/DLP materials as some kind of raw materials/polymer or a “solutions” kind of market is in my mind, not the right perception. This isn’t a value-based pricing or features thing at all to me. To me, this market is like aero engines, seat belts, MRI scanners or sushi restaurants. Feel free to perform every time, fail only once. SLA materials seem most similar to orthopedic implants to me, a few careful big players with burdens to shoulder and some innovative minnows on their way to being lunch.

To me, this opportunity in SLA materials is wide open and is ill addressed at this moment. Who will meet the needs of OEMs, consumers, and manufacturers in this expanding materials space? What do you think, which company will become the largest supplier of SLA resins? Who will survive and thrive?

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Large-Scale SLA Comes to North America via RPS

British stereolithography system manufacturer RPS has begun introducing its large-scale 3D printer to North America. While the company first introduced us to the NEO800 in 2016, this is its first sale in the U.S. The first customer is Midwest Prototyping, a service bureau based in Wisconsin.

RPS NEO800 3D printers. Image courtesy of RPS.

The NEO800 gets its name from its 800 x 800 x 600 mm build envelope, on the large end of vat photopolymerization systems on par in terms of scale with the RSPro800 from UnionTech, Prodways’ MOVINGLight series, the Rapid Meister ATOMm 8000 from CMET, 3D Systems largest machines, and several others. The machine also relies on an open resin system, meaning that it is not limited by the use of proprietary resins. For Midwest Prototyping’s use of the NEO800, Dutch chemical company DSM has been selected as the material provider. Customers could buy and use other resins, however.

Since the system was launched in 2017, the company has made steady progress in expanding its presence. Large customers such as Clarks Shoes acquired one earlier this year for prototyping footwear designs. Meanwhile, RPS has been involved in significant activity in the world of high-performance automobiles. Specifically, Briggs Automotive Company used Malcolm Nicholls Limited to produce parts with the large-scale printer for its BAC Mono R supercar. The Oxford Brookes Racing (OBR) Formula Student racing steam also used the system for its 2019 vehicle.

Given the size of the machine, it makes sense that it would be the tool of choice for service bureaus, which produce large batches of part at once. While one of the industry’s oldest service bureaus, Materialise, uses its massive Mammoth 3D printing systems in-house, smaller or newer businesses have access to larger machines via companies like RPS, which is why service firms such as Ogle Models & Prototypes in the U.K. and One3D in the Czech Republic turned to the NEO800.

As the company extends beyond Europe and into the U.S., it has also continued its partnership with DSM. DSM materials have routinely been selected for use with the NEO800 in the aforementioned projects. In 2019, RPS and DSM formed the TriCollective, a method for companies without the knowledge or capital resources to lease in 3D printing hardware and materials. This is one of many partnerships with smaller firms that DSM has made, which also include Origin and Inkbit.

A part 3D printed by the NEO800. Image courtesy of RPS.

For its own technology, RPS uses the NEO Material Development Kit, a polymer research and development tool that allows material developers to test new resins for NEO systems using a one liter vat, single layer exposure panes and RPS’s Titanium software. This allows them to determine the necessary exposure time and material formulations before moving on to a larger 13-liter system.

The fact that RPS relies on an open materials approach to its SLA technology is representative of the larger trend away from hardware-specific materials in the industry as a whole. While early stalwarts like 3D Systems and Stratasys have sold their materials directly to customers, the open materials approach allows newer machine manufacturers entry into the marketplace as customers look to them for lower cost feedstock options. In turn, this gives companies like DSM a greater footprint, while expanding the adoption of 3D printing across industries.

While RPS continues to grow, it and every other manufacturer of SLA technology will have to look over their shoulders for competitors working on large-scale, continuous-DLP technology, such as Azul.

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SHINING 3D is using 3D Scanning and 3D Printing Technologies to support the allocation of much-needed medical equipment in the fight against Covid-19

SHINING 3D, the whole solution provider from 3D Scanning, through Intelligent Design, to Additive Manufacturing is using its newest technologies to support humankind in the battle against the pandemic. As a developer and provider of high-tech devices and equipment, a pioneer and leader in the 3D Digitizing and Additive Manufacturing Industry we see it as our duty to come up with solutions using our technologies to support the global community in this trying situation. Therefore we came up with solutions, which can easily help to sustainably and efficiently produce customized equipment.

Production of Medical Goggles by EP-A800 large scale SLA 3D-Printer

Medical goggles are necessary medical supplies needed to overcome the epidemic. Our EP-A800 resin 3D printer can be used for a quick bridge manufacturing in case of shortages. It enables a “no-human production” and thus ensures a hygienic production process avoiding the further spreading of the virus. Additionally, it is possible to share the goggles’ digital data in order to realize and put into practice network collaborative production, to improve and increase the amount and efficiency of units printed.

1. During the pandemic, wearing goggles will block the virus from directly contacting the wearer´s eyes and thus can help prevent an infection via the conjunctiva. Wearing medical goggles is not only necessary for medical professionals, but also recommended for personal use. Considering today’s situation with medical resources in shortage, 3D printing technology can help to produce medical equipment like these goggles not only quickly and efficiently, but also customize them.

2. Traditional goggles, because of their non-customized fit, fog easily and can be extremely uncomfortable to wear. Using 3D Printing and 3D Scanning technologies, the goggles can be customized to fit the wearers’ unique facial characteristics and the wearing comfort can be increased without the need of further tooling.

3. We provide a FREE downloadable STL file, which includes not only the original goggle structure, but also a breathing valve design on the side to make the goggles more comfortable and more suitable for long-term wear.

Kind reminder: SLA resin-printed goggle frames need to be sterilized with alcohol and UV lamps, and then equipped with lenses (or transparent plastic materials with good light transmission such as transparent PC, acrylic plates etc.), sponge strips, elastic bands and other necessary accessories in order to create a complete pair of goggles.

About the EP-A800

Based on our profound experience of 3D Digital Technology, Laser Scanning Strategy Optimization and the great success of the predecessor models EP-A650, EP-A450 and EP-A350 resin 3D-Printers, SHINING 3D has lately launched the new large-scale resin 3D-Printer EP-A800. The newly developed 3D-Printer is of high efficiency, high precision, comprising of a large size and especially suitable for prototype production, precision casting prototypes as well as sole molds and orthodontic models.

Features

Large Size, High efficiency, Great productivity

  • Compared with EP-A650, the build volume is increased by 85% to 800mm*800mm*450mm.
  • Based on the dynamic optimization of printing path algorithm and the patented VarioBeam technology, the printing efficiency is doubled.
  • With dual-laser, the printing speed is 30%~45% faster than single-laser.
  • The max weight of one-time produced part is 120kg.

Patented Technology, Stable and Reliable, High Precision

  • Patented VarioBeam Technology, which has a high positioning accuracy, ensures not only the processing efficiency, but also the details and surface quality of the parts.
  • Liquid-level Control Technology, the adjustment accuracy is within ±0.01mm; automatic detection during printing, dynamic fine adjustment.
  • The design of machine hardware framework is optimized and more stable.
  • 00-level marble platform to improve the motion accuracy and long-term stability.

User-friendly Software, Easy to operate

  • Upgrade software and processing algorithm, automatically identifies the model features and optimizes the surface quality.
  • Provide variety of process parameter packages, such as dimension and power coefficient, to customers for convenient adjustments.
  • Regarding different features of models from the same batch or the same model, the process parameters can be dynamically specified for a better printing.
  • One-click to calibrate the Laser Power. The power will be detected and adjusted automatically before printing in order to improve the printing success rate.
  • Simple software interface for an easy operation, one-click to print. The printing progress is clearly displayed and the parameters can be monitored in real time.

Fill out the form in the link below and get the 3D STL data of the goggle for Free!

http://www.123formbuilder.com/form-5353099/form

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China: Smart Phones as Imaging Devices for Human Bones to be 3D Printed & Used in Education

Researchers from China assess the further potential for the smartphone in medical applications, outlining their findings in ‘Evaluating phone camera and cloud service-based 3D imaging and printing of human bones for anatomical education.’

Historically, training on real bodies is one of the best ways for medical students to learn—but cadavers are often not available globally. To make up for that, as technology has progressed, so have a wide range of simulation programs and visual aids. Today, 3D printed medical models and an array of devices are able to offer comprehensive benefits for diagnosing, treating, educating patients, planning for surgeries, and more. Medical students (as well as experienced surgeons) can also benefit enormously from models which may feature tumors about to be operated on in new or rarely performed procedures.

“The primary advantage of 3D printing lies in its ability to create graspable shapes or geometric features of high complexity, overcoming the limitations brought about using flat screens for the visualization of 3D imaging data. Moreover, compared with embalmed cadaveric specimens, 3D printed models are more wear-resistant, easier to clean and store, and, essentially, environmentally green,” state the researchers.

While many industries are benefiting from 3D printing, the impacts are undeniably vast within the medical arena, as anatomical models allow for training and planning, and offer an ‘increasingly significant role’ in developing countries like India.

“In effect, reports indicate that 3D printing helps to improve the effectiveness of teaching and that students learning with 3D printed models performed even better in tests than those learning with real specimens,” stated the researchers.

There are still challenges and limitations in terms of 3D printing as the technology continues to evolve within the medical field; however, education and knowledge of special equipment has been a specific concern. The researchers were motivated in this study to offer technology that is easy to use via phone-based 3D imaging, requiring a basic 3D printer to fabricate models.

Flow chart of technical route. Three main stages are involved. first, specimens acquired are photographed from all around to obtain enough 2D images from all possible directions. Second, 2D images are converted into digital models with a cloud-based specialized server. Third, after editing, digital models and 3D printing setting data are applied to 3D printer for printing. 2D, two dimensional; 3D, three dimensional.

The following sample bones were used for imaging: femur, rib, cervical vertebra, and skull. Specimens were photographed repeatedly while spinning on a turntable.

“During our testing, the photographer held the phone and captured the images with one hand and rotated the turntable with the other hand after each shot. Two rounds of photography were carried out on different horizontal planes,” explained the researchers.

Original specimens, digital models and 3D printed models made with SLA technology. (A) femur, (B) rib, (C) cervical vertebra, (D) skull (the digital models may seem smaller because of the special display mode in materialise magics, which is different from single perspective). 3D, threedimensional; SLA, stereolithography apparatus.

Each specimen was photographed 80-100 times, with the photos being uploaded to Get3D and the converted files sent to an online 3D printing service in China. The researchers stated that the costs of the 3D printed femur, rib, cervical vertebra, and skull were USD $20.27, $3.96, $1.13, and $35.40, respectively.

Analysis of deviation between original specimens and 3D printed models. Gradation on the deviation spectrum is 0.5mm each; green colour indicates deviations ranging from −0.5 to 0.5mm; hot colour indicates positive deviations ranging from 0.5 to 2mm; cool colour indicates negative deviations ranging from −0.5 to 2mm. deviation analysis of (A) femur, (B) rib, (C) cervical vertebra; (D) distribution of deviations (in %). 3D, three-dimensional.

Analysis of the deviation between digital models and 3D printed models. Gradation on the deviation spectrum is 0.5mm each; green color indicates deviations ranging from −0.5 to 0.5mm; hot color indicates positive deviations ranging from 0.5 to 2mm; cool color indicates negative deviations ranging from −0.5 to 2mm. deviation analysis of (A) femur, (B) rib, (C) cervical vertebra; (D) skull; (E) distribution of deviations (in %). 3D, three-dimensional.

Upon evaluation, the researchers confirmed that their method offered a ‘fairly high precision’ in digital and 3D printed models.

“The most noteworthy feature of the proposed workflow is that it works without scanners or the CT/MRI dataset, thus enabling a broader range of 3D printing technology for educational applications,” stated the authors.

The models offered a good display of anatomical features; for example, the nutrient foramina on the femur was ‘observed easily.’ This was noted in comparison to previous research where an FDM 3D printer using ABS rendered a similar femur sample to be invisible in the area of the nutrient foramina. For this study, SLA was chosen, with Somos Imagine 8000—a rigid material that is tough, dense, and easy to clean.

“The 3D printed models created using the photogrammetry method demonstrate only the external features of the bone specimens; the inner structures are invisible. Human specimens also have this limitation. To display the different anatomical landmarks on the interior of the skull, three or four differently dissected specimens must be used. The same strategy can be applied while creating 3D printed models that display different anatomical structures—differently dissected or sliced specimens are chosen as the resources to be put through photogrammetry,” explained the researchers in their final discussion.

“The photogrammetric digitization workflow adapted in the present study demonstrates fairly high precision with relatively low cost and fewer equipment requirements. This workflow is expected to be used in morphological/anatomical science education, particularly in institutions and schools with limited funds or in certain field research projects involving the fast acquisition of 3D digital data on human/animal bone specimens or on other remains.”

Comparison of fine structures among specimens, digital models and prints. (A) Nutrient foramina in the great trochanter (above) and the fovea for ligament of head (below). (B) Nerve foramina in cranial base (above) and intraorbital structures (below). (C) Tubercle of the rib. (D) Nutrient foramina in vertebral body

What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com.

[Source / Images: ‘Evaluating phone camera and cloud service-based 3D imaging and printing of human bones for anatomical education’]

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SLA Parts Are Cheaper than You Think

Stereolithography, widely known as “SLA,” is one of the most exciting forms of 3D printing technology on the market. It’s precise, it can produce smooth and detailed parts, and it can even be used to make parts indirectly via patterns for casting and injection molding.

Much more than an obscure cousin to FDM, Stereolithography is a practical, versatile process for a wide range of applications.

So why isn’t SLA as widely used as FDM? In a word: cost. Though companies like Formlabs have driven down the cost of desktop Stereolithography 3D printers for the mass market, resin printing machines are generally far more expensive than their polymer-extruding counterparts. So unless your parts and prototypes demand the use of SLA, it is often more economical to go with FDM. Besides, the range of FDM 3D printers out there is far greater than the range of SLA machines.

But what if you’re not investing in a 3D printer at all? What if you simply have a project that requires one, five or 500 SLA-printed parts? What if you could get somebody else — an expert in additive manufacturing — to invest in and operate the machinery for you?

SLA parts may be less common than FDM parts, but the cost-prohibitive nature of SLA printers does not make SLA parts cost-prohibitive. In fact, with an on-demand manufacturing partner like 3ERP, ordering resin parts and prototypes can be comparable in price to ordering FDM parts.

What Is Stereolithography?

Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process in which a light-emitting device — usually a laser — is used to solidify a photosensitive resin in a layer-by-layer fashion. This unique approach offers numerous advantages over other 3D printing methods.

Most SLA machines use an ultraviolet laser, which, like the nozzle of an FDM printer, is controlled by computer instructions. Following those instructions, the laser “draws” a 2D shape onto the photosensitive resin, which is stored in a vat in the lower section of the printer. When the 2D shape has been drawn onto the resin (either on its surface or at the bottom of the vat), that thin section of resin solidifies. A build platform then moves the solidified layer up or down, allowing the laser to draw the next “layer” of the part onto the resin. When every layer has been created, the end result is a fully 3D printed object.

Having been invented in the 1980s by 3D Systems founder Chuck Hull, Stereolithography is actually one of the oldest additive manufacturing technologies around — despite being less widely used than several other processes.

Why Is Stereolithography So Desirable?

There are several reasons why SLA 3D printers may be preferred to FDM 3D printers.

Some of the advantages of Stereolithography include:

  • Accuracy and precision
  • Typical layer heights of 25-100 microns
  • Extremely detailed features
  • Strong adhesion between layers
  • Isotropy (parts strong in all directions)
  • Watertightness

SLA parts can be made with detailed features and a smooth surface finish, and they sidestep some of the more common issues associated with FDM 3D printing, such as visible layer lines and anisotropy (weakness along certain axes because of gaps between layers).

3D printed parts made with Stereolithography can also be useful for specific functions such as maintaining air flow or water flow, since they are highly watertight. And SLA can even be used to create master patterns for casting and molding process, which makes the technology popular in fields as diverse as dentistry and jewelry making.

Affordable SLA Parts with 3ERP

Ordering Stereolithography parts is more affordable than you think. That’s because 3ERP, an established manufacturing company with a fleet of manufacturing machines and experienced engineers, does not need to subsidize the cost of its SLA 3D printers by charging high prices to customers.

When you order SLA 3D printed parts from 3ERP, you pay for the resin, the labor and not much else. That means your resin parts and prototypes can be comparable in price to simple FDM parts.

Above all, ordering parts through 3ERP is a risk-free way of incorporating SLA into your production cycle. Since even a consumer-level machine may cost around $5,000 to purchase, and since engineers need to be trained to get the most out of a complex 3D printer, it may be more financially viable to use a third-party manufacturer to carry out production or prototyping of SLA parts.

With 3ERP, you even have several resin options at your fingertips. 3ERP can make SLA parts from Resins 8119, 8118H, 8228 and 8228, giving you the options of nylon-like parts, ABS-like parts and even parts that are resistant to temperatures up to 120°C.

Request a free quote from 3ERP to see for yourself how SLA parts are cheaper than you think. Asides from Additive manufacturing, 3ERP also offers:

CNC Machining Parts

Urethane Casting

Rapid Tooling

Injection Molding

Rapid Metal Casting

Sheet Metal

Low Volume Extrusion

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Bunnie Huang tears down a Formlabs Form 3 “from the exterior shell down to the lone galvanometer” @bunniestudios @formlabs

The brilliant, ever-curious Andrew “bunnie” Huang has posted an exhaustive tear down of the Formlabs Form 3 SLA 3D printer, released last year. In the nearly 7,000-word article, bunnie offers up his first impressions, does some test printing, and then gets to work deconstructing the machine. He identifies some of the machine’s strengths and weaknesses, speculates on the reasoning behind various design decisions, and attempts to identify parts sources. He even includes a sound clip of what the LPU (light processing unit) sounds like as it scans.

One problem that became immediately evident to me, however, was a lack of a way to put the Form 3 into standby. I searched through the UI for a soft-standby option, but couldn’t find it. Perhaps it’s there, but it’s just very well hidden. However, the lack of a “hard” button to turn the system on from standby is possibly indicative of a deliberate choice to eliminate standby as an option. For good print quality, it seems the resin must be pre-heated to 30C, a process that could take quite some time in facilities that are kept cold or not heated. By maintaining the resin temperature even when the printer is not in use, Formlabs can reduce the “first print of the day” time substantially. Fortunately, Formlabs came up with a clever way to recycle waste heat from the electronics to heat the resin; we’ll go into that in more detail later.

The other thing that set the Form 3 apart from its predecessors is that when I looked inside, there were no optics in sight. Where I had expected to be staring at a galvanometer or mirror assembly, there was nothing but an empty metal pan, a lead screw, and a rather-serious looking metal box on the right hand side. I knew at this point the Form 3 was no incremental improvement over the Form 2: it was a clean-sheet redesign of their printing architecture.

Thoughtful tear downs like this do the maker community a great service — bunnie field-strips it so you don’t have to. It’s also wonderful that Formlabs themselves offered up this unit to the slaughter.

If you’re interested in seeing and comparing his tear downs of the Form 1 and Form 2, he has links to these articles in the first paragraph of the piece.

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Interview with Glassomer’s Dorothea Helmer: 3D Printing Fused Silica Glass on Desktop SLA Machines

Dr. rer. nat. Dorothea Helmer specializes in organic and inorganic chemistry and works at Glassomer. Along with Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Bastian E. Rapp and Dr.-Ing. Frederik Kotz she co-founded the company. Glassomer is trying to solve one of the most difficult and elusive problems in 3D printing, 3D printing glass, and optically clear components. The path they have chosen is to use stereolithography resins to make fused silica glass. The firm has found methods to make glass through methods usually reserved for polymers. Glassomer’s work really blew me away and I was just as amazed that there wasn’t more press about this incredible technology. In a technologically-astounding manner, we can now create optical objects with standard desktop machines (and debinding and sintering equipment).

The Glassomer Team (Image: Markus Breig/KIT.)

What is Glassomer?

The Glassomer GmbH is a start-up situated in Freiburg, Germany. Glassomer invented and patented a technology that lets us process glass like a polymer – hence Glass-o-mer. The process is based on a resin that contains a large amount of glass particles that can be structured by UV light, for instance in the 3D printer. After developing the parts are processed in an oven to give transparent fused silica glass.

What products do you make?

We sell the resins for molding and for stereolithography printing. We further do feasibility studies and small series prototyping of custom glass products.

Why is fused silica glass interesting?

Fused silica glass is a highly interesting material due to its outstanding optical transparency combined with its high chemical and thermal resistance and pleasant haptics. That makes it interesting for optics, as well as chemical glass ware but also decorative objects.

How can I 3D Print it?

The Glassomer material can be printed using standard benchtop stereolithography printers as long as the printer is material open.

From start to finish how does the manufacturing of a part work?

Glassomer resins can be shaped using a benchtop stereolithography printer or by casting against molds made our of e.g. silicones. Like other resins, the material polymerizes under UV light. The parts are washed and then processed at high temperature to give transparent fused silica glass. This process is executed in two steps: removal of the resin and sintering of the glass particles.

Do I need specialized equipment?

The printing process needs a standard, material open stereolithography printer. The thermal debinding process needs a programmable oven with temperatures up to 600 °C. Sintering requires an oven that withstands 1300 °C.

Is the process predictable?

During the sintering process the part shrinks but the shrinkage is completely isotropic (the same in each direction) and thus highly predictable and can be easily calculated in advance. For makers, they just need to resize their original print by the percentage of the shrinkage. For the Glassomer L50 formulation the linear shrinkage is 15.6 %.

Is it optically clear?

The finished part is completely transparent and clear. Fused silica is the purest glass out there, and it shows a high optical transparency throughout the wavelength spectrum of ultraviolet, visible and infrared light.

What can It be used for?

It can be used for printing optical parts, small chips or decorative objects. In general, for everything that requires high transparency and small structures, Glassomer is the material of choice.

What customers are you seeing?

Glass is a versatile material used in a great variety of fields. Our customers come from different fields like optics & photonics, chemistry, MedTec. But we also get a lot of interest form the jewellery, art and design sectors.

What do you hope to achieve?

Glassomer has the potential to revolutionize the way we fabricate glasses. Glass shaping has always been a challenge – up until now it is not something that people could be easily be doing at home. Now working with glasses is as simple as working with polymer clay. We want to make glasses accessible to every modern fabrication technology – besides 3D printing that includes high-throughput processes like industrial molding. This way high precision glass parts will become customizable and affordable. In the future, all compact optics like the cameras in smartphones will be made from glass – ensuring a higher quality and robustness.

What do you expect to be able to make in mSLA?

Glasses are the number one material used in data transfer – fast internet connections rely on glass fibre cables. Those cables need to be connected to the electronics that we ultimately use for generating the data. Using mSLA and 2-photon polymerization we want to make compact optics and connectors to ensure a higher transfer efficiency.

How strong and durable is it?

The material is real fused silica glass. It is not the same glass we use for e.g. windows, it is of much higher purity. Fused silica is very stable against chemicals or heat. Upon heating it almost does not expand, thus you can (other than our everyday glassware) put it in a flame of 1000 C and then instantly cool it under water without causing cracks. It is, however, a glass – if you hit it with enough force, it will break.

What other variants will you develop?

So far the material is accessible to stereolithography printing we will further develop technologies for fused deposition modeling and other forms of 3D printing and industrial molding.

What is holding back 3D Printing?

We still live in a world of abundance – the industry will need more time to understand that the future of fabrication is high-quality on-demand customized products instead of unspecific over-production. 3D printing still needs to improve in terms of production fidelity, production speed as well as available materials. At Glassomer we constantly work on expanding the material palette of 3D printing and hope to contribute a significant part to the industrial advance of 3D printing.

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Large Build Volume, High Quality, Fast and Cost Effective, The G3D T-1000

T-1000 DLP 3D Printer by G3D

The T1000, manufactured by G3D, has disrupted the desktop SLA 3D print industry. The unit has the largest build volume with the fastest build speed in its price category and represents the most cost-effective solution for newcomers to skilled engineers for complicated prototypes.

G3D announces lifetime warranty and upgrades to new products for universities, colleges and other educational institutes as well as prototype manufacturers. For details contact www.g3dsys.com.

Dubbed the T-1000, the DLP SLA product of G3D is designed to have the cost-effectiveness and large build volume of FDM machines while also having the quality and high-tech appearance of SLA machines. For their Black Friday promotion, G3D is offering the printer for only $1,500! This offer is available for November 29 – December 10 2019 only!

Batch of rook models printed on the T-1000 (56 models)

Dreamcatcher printed in the T-1000 using clear resin

The T-1000, having a maximum build volume of 7.06 in x 5.29 in x 11.81 in allows users to print models with large print volumes like a leg prosthetic model or an almost 12 in replica of the Eiffel tower:

Prosthetic leg model printed in the T-1000

Almost 12-in replica of the Eiffel Tower printed on the T-1000

To cater to the varying demand of users of 3D printer machines, the T-1000 was also designed to have a small volume print configuration where the user can increase the quality of the prints up to 100 μm x-y resolution and 7.5 μm layer height for finer and more detailed prints.

Small gears printed on the T-1000 using Black Matte resin

To change the printer settings from large build volume to small build volume the user would only need to turn a knob on the T-1000 to change the configuration, recalibrate the printer for this new setting and update the slicer settings in the software. G3D designed the T-1000 to be this easy with no need for replacing or upgrading parts.

With this quality and size, the T-1000 also doesn’t miss on the speed. The T-1000, with the backbone of Digital Light Processing technology where the cross-section of the model is cured all at the same time, can achieve maximum speeds of up to 2.6 in/hr. This means you can print a max build on the printer (11.8 in) in only 4.6 hours. Compared to laser SLA technologies and FDM which traces the cross section of the object being printed, DLP, because it cures the whole cross section at the same time, allows the user to print for the same length both 1 model or multiple models on the build plate. G3D endorses that this capability will allow users to 3D print multiple models per batch without worrying about increasing the printing time.

Digital Light Processing (DLP) of the T-1000 in action

For prototyping activities this speed reduces the turnaround time to produce prototypes allowing engineers and designers to rapidly verify their designs and models speeding up their rapid prototyping process.

With this affordable price, especially with the Black Friday promotion, schools would also be able to affordably purchase and use the T-1000 allowing them to experience a fast, reliable and high-volume 3D printer, the next generation of 3D printers in their own classrooms.

Ease of use was also put in mind with the patented 4-point Bed Calibration System. Coupled with the tilting mechanism for easier peeling of the model from the FEP film, the T-1000 can produce prints unsupervised.

Another factor that increases the cost-effectiveness of the T-1000 is the consumables which are only the resin and vat, this would only cost the user around $75/L (standard resin) and T-1000 vat ($45, 30L life).

Comparing to a known SLA 3D printing machine manufacturer using G-Boy (a G3D standard model) with a volume of 13.8 ml, printing using their clear resin would cost the user around $2.06/model ($149/L) while printing using G3D clear resin would only cost around $1.04/model ($75/L).

G3D G-Boy model computer file (left), 3D printed using T1000 (right)

For heavy users consuming 5L/week, this translates to more savings. For the competitor’s resin this would cost the user around 5L times $149/L ($745) plus $59/2L times 5L ($147.5) for resin tank (standard) replacement every 2L for a total of $892.5/week or $46,410/year. Using G3D T-1000 this will only cost the user 5L times $75/L ($375) plus $45/30L times 5L ($7.5) for G3D vat replacement every 30L for a total of $382.5/week or $19,890/year. Using G3D T-1000 for high volume prints will save you $26,520/year! Allowing you to purchase a lot more 3D printers and scale your capabilities.

Operating cost comparison for G3D and SLA Competitor

But wait there’s more! For heavy volume users, G3D promises to replace the vat for FREE when ordering for more resins if there are signs of wear and tear before using more than 10L!

G3D have also invested in producing quality resins to make sure customers would be satisfied in the G3D platform. Currently, the company has the following resins:

Resins produced by G3D (same color labels are matte and non-matte options)

Each of the standard and colored resins only cost around $75/L and available in colored and matte colored options.

G3D resins also include functional resins for functional 3D printing. The company has Tough resin ($85/L) designed to withstand 6000 psi of pressure (equivalent to 6000 pounds of force per square inch) for functional parts and prototyping. Flexible resin ($109/L) for soft parts and flexible parts. And Heat resistant ($105/L) resin that can withstand 500 degrees Fahrenheit temperature for high temperature resistant parts and models.

Functional resins by G3D (from top-left clockwise) Flexible resin gray, Heat Resistant resin, Flexible resin white, and Tough resin

G3D also doesn’t limit the user on the resins that you can use on their printer. The printer was designed to have no custom fit container, no complex loading mechanisms, so the user can pour and use any resin he likes, just make sure that the resin is designed for 405nm DLP 3D printing as the light engine of the T-1000 emits curing UV at 450 nm wavelength. This simple design also prevents clogging and other 3D printer problems from the resin.

G3D T-1000 in the showroom

You can see more sample prints by G3D through following their Instagram page.

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3D Printing Unicorns, Part 1: Formlabs

When a privately held startup hits $1 billion in value, it magically transforms from an ugly mare into a beautiful unicorn (or so the legend goes). In the 3D printing space, there are three such creatures and we’ll be profiling each one, beginning with the oldest: Formlabs.

The Boston-based company was born out of MIT Media Lab, where its co-founders, Maxim Lobovsky, Natan Linder and David Cranor met as students learning about the newly hyped technology of 3D printing. The trio went on to establish Formlabs in September 2011 with the Form 1.

What made the Form 1 so remarkable was that it was the first desktop SLA 3D printer, bringing quality associated with much more expensive systems to under $5,000 (the original base package was just $2299 for early birds). And it did so via Kickstarter, raising nearly $3 million and becoming one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns for 3D printing. 

The original Form 1 3D printer.

The firm continued to sell and develop, which is a lot more than can be said for some other crowdfunded companies (looking at you, Pirate3D). This resulted in the release of the Form 1+, Form 2, Form 3 and Form 3L, all representing improvements in the hardware architecture and/or size of the printer. Most recently, the company added the Form 3B, dedicated to biocompatible materials, including resins for 3D printing surgical guides.

With the Form 3 and 3L (released in 2019), Formlabs introduced “low force stereolithography (LFS),” a re-engineering of its previous SLA process, wherein the forces of suction of the part on the optical window were too strong for certain geometries and materials. In LFS, a redesigned optics system made up of lenses, mirrors and a galvanometer directs a laser beam directly perpendicular to the build plane, resulting in the ability to print in finer details and lighter support structures. The optical window, and indeed the frame holding it, flex which reduces the forces acting on the part. 

The Form 3 and Form 3L.

But Formlabs didn’t limit itself to just SLA or even LFS. In 2017, the firm confirmed it was working on the Fuse 1, one of a very low number of desktop SLS 3D printers. By this point, it was more clear than ever that Formlabs wasn’t just a startup, but was evolving into something more… majestic? Well, at least something much more significant because it was no longer just selling printers on Kickstarter, but had established a global presence mainly selling direct but also an extensive reseller and distribution network. 

The Fuse 1 SLS system.

That isn’t to say that it didn’t face its share of obstacles. Along the way, in 2012, it was sued by the original inventor of SLA, 3D Systems, for patent infringement before the two reached a licensing settlement netting the larger of the two companies 8% of every sale. Formlabs was sued once again in 2016 by DLP inventor EnvisionTEC. The startup had officially made the big leagues. 

In fact, the company is so substantial at this point that it’s not just being sued by the big dogs, but it’s becoming a big dog itself. Formlabs announced its first acquisition, that of Spectra Group Photopolymers, who has supplied its parent company with resins since the Form 1 days. With the purchase, Formlabs will be investing over $1 million into renovating Spectra’s facilities to become an FDA registered, ISO Class 8 certified cleanroom in an ISO 13485 certified facility for dental and medical materials development. 

After early seed funding from investors that included Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, the startup concluded Series A Funding of $19 million in 2013. Series A led to Series B  ($35 million in 2016), which led to Series C ($30 million in 2018). With a $15 million infusion (also in 2018), Formlabs added former GE CEO Jeff Immelt to its board of directors. At this point, the startup was valued at over $1 billion, officially transforming Formlabs from a beast of burden into a mythical unicorn. 

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