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3D Printing News Briefs: March 10, 2020

The big story in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs is the postponing of the Materialise World Summit. Then we’ll finish with a little business news, as 3D PRINT UK is moving to expanded premises. Finally, starting this week, you can get QUANT-U’s 3D printed silicone midsoles at ECCO’s flagship Zürich store for a limited time.

Materialise World Summit Postponed

Every two years, Materialise holds its Materialise World Summit (MWS) in Brussels, Belgium, gathering together the industry’s thought leaders and decision makers so they can share ideas about the additive manufacturing industry. This event typically takes place in the spring, which was the original plan for this year’s MWS…but not anymore. MWS 2020, originally scheduled for May 14-15, has been postponed, due to, as the company’s Kristof Sehmke tells us, “the coronavirus and its impact on international traffic.”

MWS 2020 will now take place November 5-6, which makes it a busy month considering that will just one week before formnext in Germany. This isn’t the only major industry event that’s had to change its plans due to the COVID-19 outbreak – JEC World, originally scheduled for last week, has been pushed back to May, and after several big companies originally planning to attend the upcoming SXSW dropped out, including Apple, Facebook, Amazon Studios, TikTok, Intel, and Warner Music, the Texas-based conference was called off. With California Governor Gavin Newsome declaring a state of emergency in California over the coronavirus, should we all cancel our plans for RAPID + TCT next month? Time will only tell.

3D PRINT UK Moves to Bigger Facility

Moving on to some better news, 3DPRINTUK has just finished the move to its new purpose-designed facility in North London’s Leyton Industrial Village. The service provider of polymer SLS 3D printing solutions for manufacturing applications was seeing increased demand for low volume production, and determined that a move was needed to accommodate the company’s current, and future, plans for expansion. 3DPRINTUK’s new home is larger, with nearly 10,000 square feet of space, and was custom-designed to hold the company’s EOS polymer SLS 3D printers, as well as offer a space for post-processing operations and a break down room that’s sealed to avoid powder contamination.

“At 3DPRINTUK we are able to work with our customers — and potential new customers — to illustrate when and why the SLS process will work for them. But we are not afraid to tell them when it won’t, either. This is really important to us, and something the industry at large is not very good at confronting,” stated Nick Allen, 3DPRINTUK’s Founder and Managing Director. “I think this approach has contributed to our growth, which has been organic year on year, and the new premises are testament to that. We are still settling in, but the printers have been working non-stop since we got here and we are looking to further expand our capacity in the near future.”

QUANT-U’s In-store Experience at ECCO

In 2018, the Innovation Lab at Danish heritage footwear brand and manufacturer ECCO introduced an experimental footwear customization project called QUANT-U, which uses real-time analysis, data-driven design, and in-store 3D printing to create custom, personalized midsoles out of a heat cured two-component silicone in just two hours. The QUANT-U experience is now coming to ECCO’s flagship Zürich store as an exclusive pop-up event from now until April 15, with a “unique limited collection” available to both men and women, along with the full customization service.

The process is simple – 3D scanners determine your orthotic fit in 30 seconds, so your midsoles have the correct shoe size and arch height. Then, during a walking analysis, wearable sensors will create an accurate representation of how you move around. The anatomical scan and the sensor data will help QUANT-U build a unique digital footprint just for you, which leads to customized, 3D printed midsoles within two hours. You can use the cloud-based service to print your own midsoles from any location and have them shipped to you, but at the upcoming ECCO pop-up event, you can just pick them up in the store. Book your fitting now!

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

The post 3D Printing News Briefs: March 10, 2020 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

3D Printed Jigs and Fixtures Can Help Boost your Productivity

Liuzhou JingDa Automotive Brake Tube Manufacturing Co., is a leading supplier for SAIC Motor for break tubes for both Micro and Passenger cars. Mr. Bian, the technical director of JingDa, says that 3D printing is certainly having a tangible impact on how break tube engineers create solutions that improve the effectiveness of production lines while enhancing the effectiveness of the tubes.

Everything JingDa does with 3D printing revolves around aiding in one or more of three benefits: quality, productivity, and increased effectiveness. In fact, those pillars are arguably at the core of any factory around the world.

Here’s a look at JingDa Automotive’s brake tubes. There are 6 sorts of brake tubes, at least, required on every single vehicle, some require 8 kinds or more. Each and every tube needs test fixtures to measure them to see if they’re in spec.

Traditional brake tube fixture

Traditional fixtures can’t test these tubes quickly enough. They also can’t test them accurately according to the key position and the tortuosity of the brake tubes. The quality and the precision that FDM 3D printing brings to the table can satisfy the conditions required.

Traditional brake tube fixture

In order to complete a whole project in one week, the company will need 2 sets of 3 meter long fixtures to inspect a fixture line. To complete this task Jingda reached out to Deed 3d printing company. With more than 40 Stratasys Fortus printers, Deed3D have very short turnover time. Indeed the delivery of the fixtures was completed within 5 days.

ABS-M30 material printed on Stratasys 900MC printers, 500mm to 800mm length model.

Comparison between CNC and 3d printing fixtures

mode of production	Original CNC Production	Stratasys FDM 3D Printing
Production Method	After each independent inspection fixture is completed, all inspection fixtures are fixed on the substrate by means of bonding.	Print in one piece, or print in sections, and then fix it on the substrate.
Cost	The cost of the two methods of production is not very different
Time	The production time is long, it is difficult to control the delivery period, and it will affect the project progress.	The turnaround time is short and controllable. It can be controlled according to its own production schedule without affecting the project schedule.
Production difficulty	The more curved detection parts will make the production of the inspection fixture difficult and the accuracy difficult to control.	The degree of bending of the product has nothing to do with manufacturing difficulty, and the accuracy is easy to control.
Accuracy	Low accuracy caused by splicing fixture	Accuracy is much higher than the customer requirement
Data requirements	2D projection + height marking	3D data, need to redraw
Convenience	Heavyweight solid material, inconvenient to use	Sparse printing, lightweight, easy to use

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How to Apply Material Science Principles to Optimize For Strength in 3D Printing

3D printing can be used to manufacture all kinds of objects. It’s a very versatile process, and it can handle even the most complicated designs without much issue. When printing functional parts, strength is an important factor, and you might question if 3D printing is really your best option. With smart design and proper material selection, it’s surprisingly easy to make strong and durable 3D printed parts.

Basic Definitions

In the world of engineering and material science, “strength” has a specific meaning. So do other words like “toughness” and “stiffness”. Let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here and quickly go over some commonly used terms.

Yield strength is a material property that quantifies how much stress (internal pressure) a material can withstand before permanently deforming. Let’s consider a paperclip. If you bend it very gently, it will spring back to its original shape. If you bend it with considerable force, it will not spring back entirely, and it will stay bent. Usually, we don’t want parts to permanently deform like this, so for strong parts, it’s important to choose materials with high yield strength.

Toughness tells us how much energy a material can absorb without breaking. A material with high toughness is usually desirable in impact-absorption applications, but it comes with certain tradeoffs such as increased ductility.

Ductility is a measure of how far an object can deform without breaking. For example, paperclips must be made from a ductile material so they can be bent into shape without snapping.

Brittleness is the opposite of ductility. If an object is brittle, it will fracture after deforming only a small distance. Glass, for example, is brittle even though it has a relatively high yield strength. Brittleness is usually undesirable.

Stiffness measures how rigid a material is. Materials with high stiffness are very good at keeping their shape even under load, and stiff materials are usually used in load-bearing applications. A stiff or rigid material will deflect less than a flexible material under the same load.

Hardness measures a material’s resistance to scratching and surface indentation. Hard materials will scratch softer materials, but not vice-versa.

Material Choice

The material you choose significantly influences the strength of your part. You will normally choose a material depending on which material properties are most important to you. Shapeways offers a wide variety of materials, and each material has a unique set of properties that should be taken into consideration when you want a strong 3D print.

Thermoplastics

Thermoplastics are quite common in 3D printing. These plastics soften with heat and can be remelted once they have been printed. Some common thermoplastics are Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Nylon or Polyamide (PA), and Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Of these common thermoplastics, Nylon has the best balance of strength, toughness, and stiffness. Shapeways has several options of industrial-grade Nylon, two of these are: PA12, and PA12 GB.

PA12, also known as Nylon 12 is a tough, high-strength thermoplastic. It is printed with multi-jet-fusion (MJF) technology and can be smoothed to make parts watertight. As an added benefit, PA12 offers good chemical resistance.

PA12 GB is very similar to PA12 but this material is infused with lots of tiny glass beads. Since this material is 40% glass-filled, it has improved stiffness and resistance to warping.

Both of these thermoplastics have near-homogeneous properties. Due to the MJF printing process, these parts have comparable strength in the X, Y, and Z directions.

Thermoset Plastics

Thermoset plastics cannot be remelted once they have been cured. The 3D printing method used to print thermoset plastics is called stereolithography or SLA. In this process, a laser scans over a liquid bath of light-activated photopolymer resin, hardening the areas to be printed and leaving the rest as a liquid.

Parts printed with SLA have an extremely smooth and high-quality surface finish. They usually have a high yield strength, and are quite stiff. They tend to be more brittle than thermoplastics, so they are not ideal for high-impact applications. There are, however, certain resins which have been formulated to provide a mix of strength and stiffness as well as toughness.

Accura Xtreme 200 is our strongest SLA resin. It has a higher yield strength and similar stiffness to PA12 GB. For a rigid SLA material, it is exceptionally tough, and well-designed parts should be able to handle moderate impact loads.

Metals

Yes, metals can be 3D printed! While typically more costly than plastics, parts 3D printed in metal are by far the strongest. We offer a wide variety of metals for 3D printing, including steel, aluminum, and a variety of precious metals.

For industrial load-bearing applications, aluminum is a top choice because parts are printed using a process known as selective laser melting (SLM). This process uses a computer-controlled laser to fully melt aluminum powder. Aluminum is also corrosion-resistant and has exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity.

Steel is also available but it’s not recommended for heavy-duty industrial applications because it is printed very differently than aluminum. It is printed using an adhesive binder, which is later replaced with bronze. This process results in a part that is 60% steel, and 40% bronze. It’s still a very strong material, but for the best mechanical performance, aluminum is a better choice.

3D printed aluminum is one of the strongest 3D printing materials. It has an impressively high strength-to-weight ratio, and is perfect for creating parts that are strong, tough, and also lightweight such as drone frames. It has a yield strength 4-5 times higher than our Accura Xtreme 200 SLA resin and based on elastic modulus, it is over 20 times stiffer!

Material Data Sheets

Every material offered at Shapeways comes with a detailed material datasheet. These datasheets provide useful information including a comprehensive list of mechanical and thermal properties. These datasheets can be found at the bottom of every Shapeways material information page. For example, here’s the datasheet for PA12 GB.

Thermal and Environmental Factors

Sometimes you’ll want your parts to be able to withstand exposure to heat, light, and moisture. Some 3D printing materials are specifically formulated to be resistant to these conditions, and others should be avoided. Thermal and environmental factors must be taken into account to ensure parts will remain strong in harsh conditions.

Temperature Resistance

When parts will be used close to a heat source, or in a hot environment, it’s important that they do not deform or melt due to heat. 3D printed metals have the best temperature resistance by far.

SLA prints do not remelt, but they tend to become soft at relatively low temperatures. Accura Xtreme 200 has a heat deflection temperature of only 42°C (at 1.82 MPa) while PA12 GB has a heat deflection temperature of 114°C (at 1.82 MPa). Metals behave differently from plastics, so they do not have this characteristic. For comparison, 3D printed aluminum parts have a melting temperature of 570°C.

Keep in mind that parts that are darker in color will absorb more radiation energy, so for parts exposed to sunlight, white or translucent plastics are the best color choices.

Moisture Resistance

Some materials are slightly porous after being 3D printed so they will absorb moisture, and this can change their mechanical properties. Thermoplastics such as Nylon will absorb some amount of water, leading to minor swelling. Moisture exposure can cause a small reduction in strength and stiffness to some thermoplastics. Waterproof coatings, such as polyurethane spray, can be applied to some plastics to prevent moisture absorption.

SLA and metal 3D prints are not affected by moisture exposure.

Smart Design

3D printing is extremely versatile, but there are still a few general design guidelines that must be followed to ensure parts are printed properly. Every material available on Shapeways includes detailed material information as well as a set of design guidelines.

In order to maximize part strength, here are some general rules of thumb.

Increase Wall Thickness

Wall thickness greatly affects part strength. No matter what 3D printing method you use, having thicker walls will greatly increase the strength of your part. Although most 3D printing methods can print walls 1 mm thick, if strength is important to you, walls should be at the very least 2-3 mm.

Optimize Layer Orientation

Depending on how they are printed, some 3D printed parts are weaker along the layer lines. Parts are more prone to breaking along these planes, so if strength is required in all directions, it will be beneficial to reinforce areas that will be printed vertically.

Some methods of 3D printing such as SLA and multi-jet-fusion have been proven to have close-to-uniform strength in every direction.

Prevent Warping

As parts are being 3D printed, they will expand and contract due to temperature differences. This can cause warping, and this may weaken the structure of your part. Long, thin parts will experience this effect the most, so be sure to reinforce critical areas by increasing wall thickness or adding supporting features such as ribs.

Avoid Sharp Internal Corners

Be sure to use generous fillets if your part has any load-bearing sharp internal corners. Sharp internal corners can lead to highly localized internal stress concentrations, causing failure at loads lower than expected.

Conclusions

3D printed parts can be surprisingly strong! Your parts can be made for industrial-strength applications by understanding the basics of material science, selecting a suitable material, and following smart design guidelines. 3D printed parts can be strong enough to support heavy loads, absorb big impacts, and resist deformation in a variety of harsh conditions. Due to advances in 3D printing technology, and specifically engineered material formulations, we’re seeing more 3D printed end-use parts every year.

For more information, and our entire selection of materials, check out our materials page!

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Sigma Labs signs new contracts with Northwestern University, Materialise

Two pieces of news show how Sigma Labs’ PrintRite3D software will be used by Materialise and Northwestern University. Santa Fe-based Sigma Labs has signed a contract to implement its quality assurance software for metal additive manufacturing at Northwestern University for the first time. Furthermore, Sigma Labs has signed a joint sales agreement with Belgium headquartered Materialise, advancing an earlier MoU to develop an integrated in-situ […]

FELIXprinters Launches Its First Bioprinter the FELIX BIOprinter

If we could visualize the future of medicine, drug testing, and artificial tissue and organ development, we would most certainly find bioprinters in the spotlight. Part of the vanguard vision of many companies and researchers alike is that the machines will become a familiar resource used in every bioengineering lab, university and even school around the globe. But building up to that momentum might take many years, even decades, yet this is becoming one of the most interesting times for the field, with a widening array of companies boosting bioprinting technology commercially, we can’t help but get excited when we hear about recent advances and newly launched machines.

Taking advantage of years of knowledge in 3D printing, Dutch manufacturer FELIXprinters announced today their latest venture, the commercial launch of a new bioprinter known as the FELIX BIOprinter. The company partnered with TRAINING4CRM and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) to design a machine that works for all types of bioprinting research, equipped with strong motors that can extrude a wide range of material types and viscosities. According to the product site, the BIOprinter dispenses a wide range of viscous materials up to a viscosity of 64,000 Centipoise, with the ability to extrude materials and bioinks that range in consistency from liquids to pastes.

“The BIOprinter has been designed to be the ultimate bio research instrument in a cost-effective package, and has been developed alongside the brightest minds in the bioprinting sector,” suggested Wilgo Feliksdal, co-founder of FELIXprinters. “Uniquely, the BIOprinter combines dual sterilizable printheads which have a modular design for easy changeovers, and separate heads are available to print different bioinks at the same time. This integrates different material properties into a single scaffold structure.”

The new BIOprinter (Image: FELIXprinters)

Based on the existing and established FELIX products, the BIOprinter was developed on the chassis of the FELIXprinters product line. According to the company, the new printer is characterized by key features that are specifically designed for medical, scientific and research applications, including syringe cooling, print bed cooling and heating, a dual-head system, easy syringe positioning (ergonomic access to the machine innards supports researchers in their work), and automatic bed leveling.

It is also equipped with a touchscreen that has a user-friendly interface and embedded print server that allows remote print file monitoring, use in a multi-user environment, and print-file management. A nozzle probing system enables automated bed leveling and calibration of the nozzles, plus a camera module that allows users to monitor prints remotely from their smartphone or computer complete the features of this machine. FELIX indicates that the BIOprinter also retracts with a highly precise motor for better dosage or materials and more accurate material flow versus alternative air pressure systems.

“The BIOprinter consists of an adaptable and flexible ecosystem to ensure that it can meet a wide range of researchers’ needs without generating unnecessary costs. One major advantage is the source control system which enables the user to use standard slicing software and make changes themselves if needed. Also, syringes are not restricted to expensive brand-specific or in-house produced products that essentially drive up operating costs. The machine instead has been designed to use a standard 5ml syringe, and standardized Petri dishes and culture plates, so there are no limitations on auxiliary parts and materials,” continued Feliksdal.

A big plus is that the machine uses familiar slicing software Simplify 3D, to allow fully in-control and customizable user experience. The BIOprinter is also WIFI and LAN enabled, comes with a one-year warranty, and lifetime customer support.

FELIXprinters officials claim that their new machine has been designed to be easily upgradeable, which means that its lifecycle can be extended without compromising quality, reliability, and productivity. While users can benefit from the fact that print heads are easy to sterilize, which eliminates the likelihood of contamination.

First introduced at Formnext‘s event in Frankfurt, Germany, last November, the machine is now commercially available with pre-orders already being processed. It was showcased alongside the company’s Tec 4, Pro 3 Touch, and Pro L and XL machines, which are used throughout an array of industry sectors for challenging AM production applications, and under the umbrella of their theme: “Going Dutch”, which displayed moving windmills, mini-clogs, and iconic colored tulips all created in FELIXprinter’s machines. It’s all part of the company’s Dutch heritage, which they are extremely proud of.

To develop the BIOprinter, which is handmade in the Netherlands, the company received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme, a funding program for research and innovation with nearly €80 billion of funding available over a seven-year period (from 2014 to 2020). While 13 research institutions participated in the development, including the University of Gothenburg, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Tufts University, Lund University and more.

New 3D bioprinters and bioinks bring so many opportunities to researchers with unique needs. And exploring new possibilities to work with different biomaterials and machines in the field of biofabrication helps them make new discoveries that can benefit everyone. For now, we will have to wait and see what FELIX BIOprinter users will create!

The post FELIXprinters Launches Its First Bioprinter the FELIX BIOprinter appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

New Method: Immersion Bioprinting of Tumor Organoids Will Increase the Throughput of 3D Drug Screening

Drug testing and screening for cancer drug discovery can take years and the 2D cell cultures and animal models used to estimate their efficacy before reaching human trials are often not representative of the human body, which is why researchers are turning to bioprinting technologies to increase the success rate during human trials by providing human-specific preclinical data. In 2018 there were 17 million new cases of cancer worldwide, and the disease is expected to affect 27.5 million people each year by 2040, this high incidence level makes tackling the disease enough of a reason for researchers to consider new technologies that could accelerate drug discoveries and screenings. Although still in its lab phase, a new development that uses immersion bioprinting of human organoids could change 3D drug screening.

Researchers from Cornell University, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and The Ohio State University have published an article in Micromachines, demonstrating an immersion printing technique to bioprint tissue organoids in 96-well plates to increase the throughput of 3D drug screening. Using a hydrogel bioink comprised of hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen they were able to bioprint it into a viscous gelatin bath, which blocks the bioink from interacting with the well walls and provides support to maintain a spherical form.

According to the article, the use of bioengineered human cell-based organoids may not only increase the probability of success during human trials, but they could also be deployed for personalized medicine diagnostics to optimize therapies in diseases such as cancer. However, they suggest that one limitation in employing organoids in drug screening has been the difficulty in creating large numbers of homogeneous organoids in form factors compatible with high throughput screening, so bioprinting can be used to scale up the deposition of such organoids and tissue constructs.

The team of scientists employed two commercially available bioprinters to evaluate the compatibility of the collagen-HA hydrogel and the HyStem-HP hydrogel: Cellink‘s INKREDIBLE bioprinter and Allevi‘s Allevi2 bioprinter. This method was validated using several cancerous cell lines and then applied to patient-derived glioblastoma (GBM) –a fast-growing brain tumor– and sarcoma (or malignant tumor) biospecimens for drug screening.

For the initial analysis of hydrogel biocompatibility, researchers used two common cell lines: human liver cancer and human colorectal cancer.

While carrying out patient-derived tumor biospecimen processing, they obtained two glioblastomas and one sarcoma biospecimen from three surgically treated patients in adherence to the guidelines of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center IRB protocols. These biospecimens were processed into cell suspensions, successfully yielding millions of viable cells from each sample. The cells were then combined with the collagen–HA bioink for deployment in immersion bioprinting. After bioprinting, the GBM and sarcoma patient-derived tumor organoids (PTOs) were maintained for seven days in the incubator, after which a chemotherapy screening study was initiated.

Schematic of the printing process using 2 bioinks in two commercially available bioprinters: Cellink Inkredible and Allevi 2 (Image: Cornell University/Wake Forest)

The researchers claim that while their PTOs have been useful for disease modeling, mechanistic study, and drug development, they have also used these models in a diagnostic sense to influence therapy, which might just be the ultimate goal of their work.

This 3D bioprinting approach called immersion bioprinting is an efficient way to surpass the limitations that have plagued tumor organoid systems. The experts, in this case, suggest that there have been few advances in regard to approaches to the printing process itself, or generation of novel, more user-friendly bioinks. Indicating that “unfortunately, many bioprinting studies are somewhat repetitive, falling back on traditional biomaterials and their crosslinking approaches, which were never developed to be bioprinted or to accurately represent the complexities of the native ECM (extracellular matrix).”

Results of the published study suggests that the realization of this technology that can fabricate PTOs in a consistent and high-throughput fashion will provide a valuable ex vivo/ in vitro tool that can be deployed for many subsequent studies, including target discovery, mechanistic investigation of tumor biology, drug development, and personalized drug screens to aid in treatment selection in the clinic.

Clinical oncology is faced with some critical challenges during this decade, from inefficient trial design to integrating new technologies in diagnostics and drug trails. However, advances in new methodologies, from hardware design to improved bioinks developed specifically for bioprinting, are opening up new opportunities for bioprinting-based applications. This new study, in particular, suggests that with advances in bioprinting hardware, software, functional ECM-derived bioinks, and modifications to printing protocols, bioprinting can be harnessed not only to print larger tissue constructs, but also large numbers of micro-scaled tissue and tumor models for applications such as drug development, diagnostics, and personalized medicine.

Employing bioprinted patient-derived tumor organoids in a clinical precision medicine setting (Image: Cornell University/Wake Forest)

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3D-Fuel to provide Dow polyethylene filament in North America

3D-Fuel, a USA-based filament manufacturer, has partnered with multinational chemical company Dow to provide the latter’s IMAGIN3D Polyethylene Olefin Block Copolymer (OBC) product to the North America filament market. Dow’s IMAGIN3D Polyethylene OBC is designed for the production of lightweight, durable 3D printed parts. Based on polyethylene, it retains the material’s inherent properties, while maintaining […]

Japanese research sees the 3D printing of metal-organic framework solids

A team of researchers at Kyoto University has successfully 3D printed solid structures made of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are a group of materials used for catalysis, gas storage and gas processing due to their adsorbing properties which are a result of their porosity. By using a modified 3D printer for the controlled deposition of […]

How Rapid Prototyping Has Revolutionized Product Development

From demonstrating proof of concept to testing the viability of a new part, prototypes are an essential part of the design process. Advancements in rapid prototyping technology, including processes like CNC machining and SLS rapid prototyping, have completely revolutionized the way that engineers review, test, and display their final designs.

What is rapid prototyping?

Rapid prototyping refers to a variety of computer-aided manufacturing processes that are capable of replicating parts from digital models. These processes are highly accurate and take far less time than traditional manufacturing methods.

Many engineers automatically associate rapid prototyping with additive manufacturing processes like 3D printing. Parts made with additive manufacturing are created by layering plastic, resin, or other materials in the shape of the final product. Some post-processing may be required to remove support structures and achieve the desired finish.

Rapid prototyping can also be accomplished with subtractive manufacturing. Subtractive processes like CNC machining create parts by removing layers from a block of metal, wood, or resin. Sheet metal prototyping can also be used to bend or cut metal into the desired shape based on computer-provided specifications.

In general, additive processes like SLA or SLS rapid prototyping are used to create complicated designs and low-cost visual models. Subtractive processes like CNC rapid prototyping are used for durable end-use parts or detailed models with high manufacturing tolerances.

Why traditional manufacturing isn’t enough

Prototyping is an essential part of the design process, but it hasn’t always been economically viable for most design teams. Creating a prototype with traditional manufacturing methods is often incredibly expensive and takes too long for an efficient design cycle.

The main problem is that most traditional manufacturing processes like injection molding require custom molds, tools, and other starting equipment. These non-recurring costs are negligible for large print runs, but they become prohibitively expensive for single prototypes.

As a result, many engineers were reduced to creating custom prototypes by hand or paying high up-front costs to a manufacturing specialist. Design teams were faced with the choice of either paying for an expensive prototype or sending a design to production without proper testing.

Luckily, rapid prototyping has none of the problems that come with traditional manufacturing. Processes like CNC machining and SLS rapid prototyping have no start-up costs, can be completed in short time frames, and allow engineers to create an exact replica of their original design.

Efficient and affordable production

When the first rapid manufacturing methods were developed, engineers immediately saw the potential for prototyping and design. Thanks to computer-aided technology, even a standard CNC turning service could now be used to create perfect replicas without the costs typically associated with traditional manufacturing.

All rapid prototyping services share the same feature of low start-up costs and a standardized price per unit. Because no custom molds or equipment are required, the per-unit price remains nearly identical for all levels of production. This makes it viable to order one, five, fifty, or a hundred parts on an as-needed basis.

Rapid prototyping lets engineers order scale models of their designs with incredibly short lead times. Depending on the rapid prototyping service, finished parts could be delivered within less than one week. Online manufacturing platforms streamline the process even further by introducing instant quote generation and an accessible online portal where engineers can track and manage existing orders.

With low costs and short lead times, it’s no surprise that many engineers have added rapid prototyping as a standard part of their design process. Design teams can compare visual models, test different materials, and create a perfect version of their product for final manufacturing.

Common applications for rapid prototyping

Services like 3D printing and CNC rapid prototyping are widely used by both individual and corporate design teams. Rapid prototypes are often used throughout the entire design process to help engineers create accurate parts and avoid costly changes during actual production.

Conceptual models: One of the most popular uses of rapid prototyping is to create proof-of-concept models during the early stages of the design process. These models are used to communicate ideas and demonstrate project viability to interested parties. Thanks to the speed and efficiency of processes like SLS rapid prototyping, engineers can rely on these models to be available early in the design cycle.
Functional prototypes: The parts made with SLS and CNC rapid prototyping are as durable and functional as parts made with traditional manufacturing. Depending on the process, the part will often look and feel exactly the same as the consumer-ready product. This means that engineers can make changes to the prototype and trust that they will reflect accurately on the final design.
Pre-production design: Some prototypes show that a design is ready, while others highlight obvious flaws and areas that need additional work. The main benefit of rapid prototyping is that it allows engineers to go through an iterative design process. As soon as a change is made, the design team can order a new prototype and expect to receive it within a viable timeframe.

From 3D printing to sheet metal prototyping, rapid manufacturing can be used to create highly accurate models of nearly any design. Test the possibilities and compare material options by uploading a design to the 3D Hubs manufacturing platform today.

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5G Networks Benefit from 3D Printed Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Antennas

As 3D printing continues to offer a host of benefits in the manufacturing of components like antennas, researchers Shaker Alkaraki and Yue Gao explore new applications, outlining their findings in the recently published ‘mm-Wave Low Cost MIMO Antennas with Beam Switching Capabilities Fabricated Using 3D Printing for 5G Communication Systems.’

One of the greatest advantages 3D printing and additive manufacturing processes offer is the potential to save exponentially on the bottom line in manufacturing certain parts—as well as being able to create them on demand and in many cases, much faster than by conventional methods. In this study, the authors investigate 3D printing of prototypes for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas for 5G and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) applications.

With comprehensive standardization in place by 2020, 5G wireless technology for mobile technology is meant to expand in capacity enormously—by several hundred times over in comparison to previous processes, as it will be used over several frequency bands. So far, most countries have agreed with the proposal to use the following millimeter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies:

24 GHz to 29.5 GHz
37 GHz to 42.5 GHz
2 GHz to 48.2 GHz
64 to 71 GHz

Along with speed and affordability, 3D printing also allows the researchers to develop complex shapes; in this case, however, the process is more effective when used with new metallization techniques that are significantly lower in cost. In the MIMO system, multiple antennas are to be used, although there are challenges such as signal losses in higher atmospheres and high cost for system components.

“The attenuation of the signal at mm-wave mainly depends on the propagation distance, weather conditions and operating frequency,” stated the authors. “Shadowing is another important source of signal losses.”

The goal is to 3D print high-performance antennas that are steerable and more efficient but without the typically associated high expense.

The schematic of the proposed single element antenna. (a) Cross section of front view, (b) top view, (c) bottom view, and (d) perspective view.

The MIMO antenna prototypes developed for this study are:

Compact in design, measuring 2×2 and 4×3
More affordable
More efficient
Offers beam-switching abilities without phased array technology

The dimension of the proposed single element antenna

The schematic of proposed antenna with wall on its side. (a) Front view and (b) perspective view.

The antennas are comprised of two main parts:

Feeding structure – microstrip made up of mini-smp ground plane/pad, vias and transmission line fabricated using RO4003C substrate with a dielectric constant of 3.38.
Radiating structure – the 3D printed component, made up of a central slot surrounded by a rectangular cavity and two corrugations.

Creating both an asymmetric electric field and asymmetric surface current, one side of the antenna features a metallized wall. These elements steer the antenna beam, dependent on the wall height. The researchers note that ‘further increment within the wall height’ increases gain up to the point of saturation.

The relationship between wall height (?ℎ), directivity and beam direction at 28 GHz. (? = 10.71 ??)

While the smaller antenna is made up of four elements providing radiation in the boresight direction, the larger prototype offers six elements just for providing radiation—and then another six for steering.

The effect of wall height (?ℎ) on the radiation patterns of the antenna. (a) 2D radiation patterns of H-plane (y-z plane) for different wall height in ??, (b) 3D radiation patterns of the antenna with no wall ?ℎ = 0 ??, (c) 3D radiation pattern for ?ℎ = 4.5 ??, (d) ?ℎ = 11 ?? and (e) ?ℎ =25 ??.

“The beam of the 4 × 3 MIMO is steered mechanically through introducing a metallic wall with different height on the side of the radiating single element structure. The sidewall creates asymmetric electric field on the surface of the antenna, which reflects the beam of the antenna to the opposite direction.”

“The proposed sidewall is able to steer the beam of the MIMO up to 30° in the elevation plane. Finally, the performance of the proposed MIMO antennas are measured and found to operate as predicted by the numerical simulation tool,” concluded the authors.

3D printing is often a catalyst for greater innovation in creating parts like antennas, encouraging new concepts and expansion of traditional applications as researchers bring forth new projects featuring antennas for biomedical monitoring, polymer antennas for SAR systems, nanoantenna arrays, and more.

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[Source / Images: ‘mm-Wave Low Cost MIMO Antennas with Beam Switching Capabilities Fabricated Using 3D Printing for 5G Communication Systems’]

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