Bill Binko of ATMakers.org visited me here in Indianapolis to assist me in constructing a new edition of my “ultimate remote” that does IR control of mouse, keyboard, cable box, TV, Blu-ray and other devices as well as Bluetooth switch control for my iPhone. While he was here we took the opportunity to take a tour of all of my assistive technology projects that I use on a daily basis.
A dynamic new partnership is in the making for additive manufacturing practices in the future as Chinese steel titan HBIS Group Co. and Siemens, a leader in automation and digitalization, come together to focus on further research and development of global industrial applications. The two companies have just signed a ‘strategic cooperation agreement’ with the goal of working together to become a domestic leader in 3D printing.
“HBIS is the first iron and steel enterprise in the country to develop substantial cooperation with Siemens on AM,” said Li Yiren, head of the strategic planning department at HBIS.
Siemens’ role in the partnership with HBIS will be centered around consulting, as they are able to offer the following to the China-headquartered company:
Strategic direction
Market positioning
Competitive advantages
Application scenarios of AM
The two companies will be creating a joint additive manufacturing lab, and Siemens will give input on building research and development systems, ‘road mapping’ of new technology and planning for equipment and production processes as they move forward. With an exclusive supply of steel at their fingertips, it will be interesting to see what innovations the two companies produce—especially with 3D printing in metal, which is becoming more and more popular, and especially within big industrial companies with vast resources. Metal 3D printing offers the ability to create strong and durable parts that are often much more lightweight than components printed through conventional practices, along with being more affordable and faster to make.
Siemens has already made multiple forays into the additive manufacturing field (Photo: Siemens).
According to a recent press release, HBIS will also be accelerating work on their industrial service platform. They worked with Siemens previously (2016) on some substantial endeavors, to include the creation of digital factories, smart manufacturing, and streamlining of metal technology. Known as one of the largest producers of steel in the world, a variety of industries rely on HBIS to provide them with steel and related solutions. Currently they are the biggest supplier in China for steel used to make home appliances, as well as second in their country for providing steel to automotive companies, nuclear power companies, and both marine engineering and bridges and construction.
While HBIS will be more of a newcomer in the AM scene, their access to metals like steel and their expertise in processing such materials should make for a strong collaboration with Siemens, often featured in connection with 3D printing lately; for instance, they have contributed educational offerings in STEM learning for teachers and students, and also recently created a 3D printed gas turbine component to help lower CO emissions. Siemens also has a long history of powerful collaborations in 3D printing. The list of other companies they have worked with is extensive, to include HP (a long-time partner), Inert, Alstom Rail, and Solukon.
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Optimus Prime Blaster Modeled in Sketch up. Based on the original G1 Design. Fits most modern Transformers with the 5mm hole. There are 2 files. One for Voyager Scale and one for leader Scale.
We’re taking care of business first in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to education. Optomec has announced two new additions to its LENS series, and CRP Technology is introducing a new commercial strategy for its Windform composite materials. HP India is building a new Center of Excellence for 3D Printing, while the South Korean government continues its investment in the technology. The GE Additive Education Program is now accepting applications for 2019-2020, and a Philadelphia-based university and health system has integrated Ultimaker 3D printers into its teaching curriculum. Speaking of health, Sweden is looking into 3D printing food for the elderly.
Optomec’s New LENS Systems
This week, production-grade metal 3D printer supplier Optomec announced that it was releasing two new Directed Energy Deposition (DED) 3D printers in its Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) Classic System Series: the CS 600 and the CS 800 Controlled Atmosphere (CA) DED Systems. Both of the systems are configurable, and are designed to maximize the process build envelope, while at the same time lowering the system footprint and chamber volume. They have CA chambers that make it possible to process both non-reactive and reactive metals, and are both compatible with the company’s latest generation LENS deposition head.
“These new systems come packed with next-generation DED components all born from signature Optomec know-how and built to provide affordable, high-quality metal additive manufacturing capabilities for industry’s most demanding requirements. The LENS CS 600 and CS 800 systems represent the latest in DED processing from precision deposition to cladding applications and extend our product portfolio to continue to provide high-value metal additive manufacturing solutions,” said Tom Cobbs, Optomec’s LENS product manager.
The first customer shipments of the CS 600 and the CS 800 CA systems have already begun this year.
New Commercial Strategy for Windform Materials
CRP Technology has for years made components and also sold its Windform composite materials. Now the company has decided to revise its commercial strategy for the materials: from now on, they will no longer be sold to service bureaus for the toll-manufacturing of 3D printing components. However, the materials will continue to be sold to companies that produce their own components, while CRP Technology and CRP USA will continue to offer support for service and assistance in producing Windform parts.
“The change in the strategy of CRP Technology is because we believe we can ensure the highest quality in the manufacture of 3D printed components; indeed the increase in production capacity -both in Europe and in the United States- will guarantee the volumes necessary to satisfy any request from our customers based all over the world, in compliance with the high standards of service and quality that has always been a distinctive element of CRP Technology and CRP USA’s activities,” CRP Technology told 3DPrint.com in an email.
HP Building Center of Excellence for 3D Printing in India
HP introduced its Jet Fusion 4200 3D Printing solutions to India last year, and is now planning to build a Center of Excellence (CoE) for 3D Printing in Andhra Pradesh, which is the country’s seventh-largest state. This week, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to build the CoE, which will give small and medium businesses (SMBs) and startups in the state the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of adopting 3D printing. HP India will be the main knowledge provider for the CoE, while the Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) will enable accreditations and certifications and provide infrastructure support, and the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) will encourage and drive public sector enterprises and government departments to use the CoE.
“Manufacturing in Andhra Pradesh has great potential as a lot of demand is slated to come from domestic consumption,” said J. Krishna Kishore, the CEO of APEDB. “Andhra Pradesh’s impetus in automotive, electronics and aerospace makes technologies like 3D printing market-ready.”
South Korea Continues to Invest in 3D Printing
For the last couple of years, the government of South Korea has been investing in 3D printing, and 2019 is no different. The country’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it would be spending 59.3 billion won (US $52.7 million) this year – up nearly 17% from its 2018 investment – in order to continue developing 3D printing expertise to help nurture the industry. According to government officials, 27.73 billion of this will be allocated to further development of 3D printing materials technology, and some of the budget will go towards helping the military make 3D printed components, in addition to helping the medical sector make 3D printed rehab devices.
“3D printing is a core sector that can create innovation in manufacturing and new markets. The ministry will support development by working with other related ministries and strengthen the basis of the industry,” said Yong Hong-taek, an ICT ministry official.
GE Additive Education Program Accepting Applications
In 2017, GE Additive announced that it would be investing $10 million in the GE Additive Education Program (AEP), an educational initiative designed to foster and develop students’ skills in additive manufacturing. To date, the global program has donated over 1,400 polymer 3D printers to 1,000 schools in 30 different countries, and announced this week that it is now accepting applications for the 2019-2020 cycle from primary and secondary schools. While in previous years the AEP also awarded metal 3D printers to universities, that’s not the case this time around.
“This year’s education program will focus only on primary and secondary schools,” said Jason Oliver, President & CEO of GE Additive. “The original purpose of our program is to accelerate awareness and education of 3D printing among students – building a pipeline of talent that understands 3D design and printing when they enter the workplace. We already enjoy some wonderful working relationships with universities and colleges, so this year we have decided to focus our efforts on younger students.”
The deadline for online AEP applications is Monday, April 1st, 2019. Packages include a Polar Cloud premium account, a Polar Cloud enabled 3D printer from either Dremel, Flashforge, or Monoprice, rolls of filament, and – new this round – learning and Tinkercad software resources from Autodesk. Check out the video below to learn about GE Additive’s ‘Anything Factory’ brand campaign, the heart of which was formed by a young student who had just discovered 3D printing and what it’s capable of creating…this is, of course, the purpose behind AEP.
Ultimaker 3D Printers Integrated into Medical Teaching Curriculum
Dr. Robert Pugliese and Dr. Bon Ku of Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health wanted to better prepare their students for real-world hospital challenges, and so decided to integrate Ultimaker 3D printers into the system’s Health Design Lab. The Lab is used for multiple medical and educational applications, from ultrasound training and cardiology to ENT surgery and high-risk obstetrics, and students are able to work with radiologists on real patient cases by helping to produce accurate anatomic models. The Lab houses a total of 14 Ultimaker 3D printers, including the Ultimaker 2+ Extended, the Ultimaker 3, and the Ultimaker S5, and the models 3D printed there help enhance patient care and improve surgical planning, as well as teach students how to segment critical features and interpret medical scan data.
“When we introduce these models to the patients their eyes get big and they ask a lot of questions, it helps them to understand what the complexity of their case really is. It’s just so much better to have the patient on the same page and these models really help bring that reality to them,” said Dr. Amy Mackey, Vice Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jefferson’s Abington Hospital.
3D Printing Food for the Elderly in Sweden
Swedish care homes hope to make pureéd chicken indistinguishable from a drumstick [Image: EYEEM]
If you’ve attended a meal at a nursing home, or care home, then you know the food that’s served is not overly appetizing. This is because elderly people can also just have a more difficult time eating regular food. Roughly 8% of adults in Sweden have trouble chewing or swallowing their food, which can easily cause them to become malnourished. That’s why the Halmstad municipality on the country’s west coast wants to use 3D printing to stimulate these residents’ appetites, which will be accomplished by reconstituting soft, puréed food like chicken and broccoli to make it look more realistic.
Richard Asplund, a former head chef at the luxury Falkenbergs Strandbad hotel who’s now the head of Halmstad’s catering department, said, “When you find it hard to chew and swallow, the food that exists today doesn’t look very appetising.
“So the idea is to make something more aesthetic to look at, to make it look good to eat by recreating the original form of the food.”
The state innovation body Rise is coordinating the project, which is currently in the pre-study phase and plans to serve the first 3D printed meals in Halmstad and Helsingborg by the end of this year.
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Deutsche Bahn, a Berlin-based railway company, has integrated 3D printing into its maintenance network to produce hard-to-find parts for older trains as well as lighter parts for newer trains. They started Mobility goes Additive to invite relevant companies, institutions, and research firms to form partnerships that embrace additive manufacturing to create industrial solutions. Partnering for […]
“The purpose of this design study is to explore the elastic performance in the various 3D printed structures using flexible FDM filament (nylon) in ready to wear apparel,” Sun wrote in her paper. “The goal is also to explore visual illusion in surface design through digital textile printing. Research through design (RTD) methodology was applied in this case study, and data were collected through reflexive journal documentation, video recording of the virtual design process.”
[Image: Danit Peleg]
Many designers are experimenting with the use of 3D printing in customized apparel design, in order to solve aesthetic issues as well as creating a unique design that’s also functional. While some designers, like Continuum Fashion with its N12 bikini, use SLS technology to create articulating structures for clothing, others, such as Israeli fashion designer Danit Peleg, use FDM and more flexible materials to make pieces that are actually comfortable to wear.
This second was the route that Sun took for the study, which focused on the “inspiration of visual illusion.” Sun integrated organic forms, which fused together to look like lace, in the prototype garment, which featured a delicate torso and skirt portion, completed with a flared silk skirt with an uneven hemline. The torso part of the dress, which blends two digital design applications, was lined with silk habotai – one of the most basic plain weaves of silk fabric – and did not require an additional closure in the form of a zipper.
“The torso was developed in silk charmeuse and consists of a stylized neckline and waistline. The back consists of two layers, a stylized cowl neckline and a 3D printed portion (nylon in FDM). The silks are draped over the elastic 3D printed lace to juxtapose the loosely fitted and the form-fitted silhouettes,” Sun wrote.
“Overall, the organic engineered print and 3D printed lace patterns in the front and back help to provide a unique focal point from different angles of the garment.”
There were four important phases in the development of the dress. First, Sun explored and sampled the chosen engineered textile prints in order to work out the appearance and color schemes, using Adobe to generate graphics for rendering and manipulation. Draping techniques were then used to develop flat patterns for the flowing piece.
The third step consisted of using direct 3D modeling techniques in Rhino to fully reflect the style of the dress’s organic shapes.
Sun explained, “The units were repeated to form the various groupings that were sampled for different elastic performance.”
The shapes in the lace-like, 3D printed part of the garment, which is fitted to the waist, upper hip, and shoulder, were customized to the shape of the flat pattern, in addition to being engineered to different scales so they would fit both the elastic and aesthetic needs of the dress. Finally, Sun used commercial Rit dye to give the 3D printed part of the garment the same ombre transitioning color scheme that the textile portions had.
“The resulting garment prototype takes the advantage of engineered elastic performance of the 3D printed lace in form fitting,” Sun concluded.
“This case study also suggested some challenges exist in developing a resilient and flexible structure that is both comfortable and durable in wearing. Future research should consider alternative 3D printed structures through difference 3D modeling techniques. Additionally, alternative complexity can be considered in the structure with different FDM materials.”
I can honestly say, without a doubt, that this is one of my favorite 3D printed pieces of clothing. I would definitely wear this dress out and about, as it looks comfortable enough to spend a decent amount of time in…pair it with some 3D printed high heels and I’m out the door!
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Planes, trains, and automobiles come to mind in terms of 3D printing today, and the technology is being put to very serious use for global infrastructure and transportation. Additive manufacturing can change the face of how repairs and maintenance are made on trains, which throughout the years can be enormously extensive—and expensive.
Bringing all the benefits of 3D printing on board, however, changes a lot of processes. The bottom line is affected substantially as parts can be made so much easier—and in many cases better, stronger, and lighter in weight. Turnaround in production time is affected exponentially, labor is decreased, and many parts can be made on-side, on-demand.
There are many critical details to consider with trains though, beginning with safety. These are machines with a vast amount of moving parts that must be maintained with excellence, for decades. Dealing with schedules, inventory, passengers, cargo, and the actual running of trains all over the world is an enormous endeavor—but managing the mechanics is a world unto itself.
Some train parts may be as old as trains themselves, and when one tiny component falls out of order, it may not be easy to find at all. Having just one piece made can be extraordinarily expensive by traditional methods; with 3D printing though, the process is seamless via scanning, creating a file, and choosing a material for rapid fabrication.
Stefanie Brickwede
“When we buy trains we get the service level agreement for delivery of spare parts for around 15 years,” says Stefanie Brickwede, head of additive manufacturing at Deutsche Bahn and managing director of Mobility goes Additive. “After that time, we look for the parts on the world market and we cannot get them.”
In hopes to overcome challenges in finding parts, they have created their own AM network, Mobility goes Additive, allowing for partnerships with numerous other businesses and organizations.
“We just celebrated the second birthday of our network which has grown from nine members to 19,” says Brickwede. “From those figures you can get a sense of how important our subject is and the number of companies who want to focus on industrial use cases for printing spare parts.”
Brickwede says that 3D printing has advanced just in the past couple of years in relevance to the train industry, although Deutsche Bahn mainly uses the technology right now for maintenance of parts.
“Nowadays they ask what kind of parts we can produce, what the use cases are and the economic effect,” Brickwede says. “The knowledge and expertise concerning additive manufacturing has grown rapidly.”
One of the most recent parts 3D printed for maintenance issues was a tube fixture for display lights on the electronic information system. From beginning to end (with delivery of the part), it took a month to create and install the tube fixture, which was a staggering 80 percent less expensive via 3D printing. Currently, they are also 3D printing the following:
Coffee makers
Coat hooks
Steering wheel covers
Headrest frames
Braille signposts
“We have a very broad range of use cases and very nice examples of parts increasing comfort too,” says Brickwede. “We also use a lot of different materials. Two thirds of the parts we produce are made from plastic, the rest from metal. We have different polymers, and metals including aluminum steel and more recently titanium.”
3D printing in the rail sector has changed dramatically in the past two years (Photo credit: Deutsche Bahn AG; Kai Michael Neuhold).
You may have noticed that 3D printing seems to be finding a niche nearly everywhere today, from the operating room to outer space! The ability to create new parts as well as finding newer and easier ways to replace those that have become obsolete are hard to find is now being enjoyed by so many other industries too; for example, luxury automobile companies like Porsche use 3D printing to rebuild very old motors, and BMW refurbishes an old car from Elvis’ collection. Military organizations are also beginning to use 3D printing more often for maintaining munitions and even making a variety of parts on naval ships while out to sea.
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Even though industrial 3D printing gaining some traction in the past few years, there is still an adoption gap. There are many reasons for this, but chief among them, at least among the firms that may feel they seek to benefit from it, is a lack of familiarity. To curb this factor, JuggerBot and Royal […]
THINK OF THINGS, a lifestyle store in Tokyo, is to feature a limited range of 3D printed office accessories. The product of a partnership between the store’s founder, KOKUYO Co., Ltd., and fellow Japanese 3D printing service provider Kabuku Inc., these so-called “TRANS TOOLS” are designed to transform ordinary objects with whole new purposes. The product range […]
