3D Printing News Briefs: July 27, 2018

We’ve got plenty of awards and other business news for you today in 3D Printing News Briefs. Sinterit and ViscoTec each received awards for their technology, while Arkema announced that it is opening a 3D Printing Center of Excellence at its Pennsylvania facility. Vectary and Sketchfab are integrating, and Xometry is now offering SLA 3D printing. Finally, OPEN MIND Technologies has introduced its latest hyperMILL CAM software.

Sinterit Lisa Receives Award from All3DP

Sinterit, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of SLS 3D printers, just received the “Best Desktop SLS 3D Printer Summer 2018” award for its Lisa 3D printer by All3DP. The award shows that the company is moving in the right direction, and confirms that the Lisa is the perfect choice for 3D printing professionals looking to upgrade to SLS technology without breaking the bank. Even better for Sinterit: the award was announced in the final week of a pre-order period for its upgraded Lisa model, which will feature better hardware, bigger 3D prints, and easier maintenance.

“All3DP is happy to present the Sinterit Lisa with the award for Best Desktop SLS 3D Printer on the market. We recognize the Sinterit team for their tremendous work in making SLS 3D printing technology more affordable and accessible,” said Tyler Koslow, Editor at All3DP. “Additionally, their recent update to the Sinterit Lisa and development of the new Sinterit Lisa 2 PRO suggests that they will remain a market leader for a long time.”

ViscoTec Awarded Special Title Two Years Running

Georg Senftl (holding certificate) and Martin Stadler (holding lion) accepted the award on behalf of all ViscoTec employees.

For the second year in a row, German company ViscoTec, which specializes in pump and dose technology and has 3D printing viscous liquid products for silicone and other materials was awarded the “Bayern’s Best 50” title. For 17 years, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs has honored the 50 most dynamic, medium-sized companies in Bavaria, and the jury considers criteria such as number of employees, turnover, and social and economic contributions. ViscoTec, and the other 49 winning companies were personally awarded the title, a certificate, and a Bavarian porcelain lion by Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology Franz Josef Pschierer at a recent event in Schleißheim Castle.

“Our employees all over the world actively help us to be such a successful company every day and that we will continue to develop very well in the future. Special thanks also go to our partners and customers. Their partnership with ViscoTec is constantly driving us forward. This motivates us not to stand still, to open up new possibilities and to find solutions for the daily challenges,” said Georg Senftl, Commercial Director of ViscoTec Pumpen- u. Dosiertechnik GmbH. “Last but not least, the innovative climate in the Inn-Salzach region contributes to the continuous development of companies like ViscoTec.”

Arkema to Open 3D Printing Center of Excellence

3D Printers and Post-Processing Machines for UV-Cured Resins at Arkema Center for Excellence.

This Monday, July 30th, speciality chemical and advanced materials developer Arkema will be holding the grand opening for its new 3D Printing Center of Excellence. The center will be located at the Exton, Pennsylvania facility of its Sartomer subsidiary, which designs engineered resins for UV-curable additive manufacturing under its N3xtDimension brand. The 3D Printing Center of Excellence will work to advance 3D printing resins technology and be home to most UV-based 3D printing technologies, such as Digital Light Processing (DLP), stereolithography (SLA), and HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). It will offer a collaborative space for developing custom resins, and complete the company’s worldwide R&D network, which is dedicated to developing advanced 3D printing materials.

“Sartomer is a historic partner for 3D printing pioneers. We’re launching the 3D Printing Center of Excellence to deepen our support of the visionaries working to develop innovative 3D printed materials,” said Sumeet Jain, Global Director, 3D Printing at Sartomer.

Vectary Integrates Sketchfab

Online 3D design tool Vectary is giving its users access to thousands of new 3D models, as it has now integrated Sketchfab, the world’s largest platform for interactive 3D content. Vectary users can connect to the Sketchfab library and import hundreds of thousands of 3D models with one click, as well as export, publish, and even sell their own 3D work on Sketchfab. Vectary CEO Michal Koor, who co-founded the tool in 2014 with Pavol Sovis said, “Easily importing Sketchfab 3D models in the Vectary 3D tool can be a great way to create design concepts and bring more inspiration to their work. Exporting their Vectary models to Sketchfab gets them exposure to a larger audience, which can mean an increased customer base and new income possibilities by selling their work on one of the best 3D marketplaces available.”

Xometry Adds SLA 3D Printing to List of Services

3D printing service provider Xometry has added stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing to the list of 3D printing processes it provides. Versatile SLA technology offers higher resolution 3D printing, which will allow Xometry’s customers to achieve prints with good surface finish and fine detail – perfect for production parts and prototypes. The technology also enables you to print large products and parts and can create complex parts, to meet tolerances of +/- 0.004” or +/- 0.001” per inch, in a single operation.

Xometry also offers plenty of SLA-friendly materials, such as the Accura and Somos brands. Try it out today – upload your 3D CAD file to Xometry now to get an instant SLA quote.

New Version of hyperMILL CAM Software Released

3D Z-Level Shape Finishing

Germany CAD/CAM software solutions develop OPEN MIND Technologies AG has released the latest version of its advanced CAM software, hyperMILL 2018.2, which provides more machining efficiency and several new enhancements and features. 3D Z-level Shape Finishing, available in the hyperCAD -S module, now comes with automatic face extension to automatically extend selected milling surfaces during CAM programming, and can now also support conical barrel cutters.

This version also provides a “V sketch” command, which allows users to make easy changes to turning contours and milling boundaries by assigning geometric constraints to 2D contours. Other enhancements to the -S module include being able to measure and record distances between two shapes, like meshes, solids, and face models.

Alan Levine, Managing Director of OPEN MIND Technologies USA, Inc., said, “Keeping the hyperMILL suite at the forefront of CAM technology, we are pleased to offer our customers improved CAM strategies and enhanced CAD tools for even greater machining productivity through our new release of hyperMILL 2018.2.”

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Cloud-Based Simulation and More Among New Features in Netfabb 2019

Netfabb has been a popular software program even since before it was acquired by Autodesk, and each year it offers more and more features to its users as Autodesk brings out new versions. Recently, Autodesk introduced Netfabb 2019, which has several new features in addition to updates to some of its existing features. The new release focuses on improved productivity and updates the simulation and latticing, two of the software’s most significant features.

Simulation is a critical part of the additive manufacturing process, particularly metal additive manufacturing. It saves time and materials by allowing the user to run through a process before running it for real, and to smooth out any issues that the software predicts. Netfabb subscribers beginning at the Premium tier can now take advantage of cloud-based, multi-scale, metal powder bed process simulation.

“With metal additive manufacturing, the stakes are high. Materials are expensive and lead times are continually compressed,” says Autodesk. “The ability to anticipate your outcomes can often save the day, and the project. From additive consultancies to industrial innovation labs and research facilities, industry leaders turn to Netfabb Simulation.  Now, this same simulation capability is available in the cloud, allowing you the ability to pay for simulation only when you need it.”

Netfabb simulation uses a multi-scale modelling approach. Users can input machine parameters and material properties to develop their PRM files, then simulate large, complex parts “with a fully predictive part-scale simulation which captures the complex thermal and mechanical interaction between parts during the build process,” says Autodesk. The cloud credit cost for a PRM file is fixed, but part-scale simulation depends on the complexity of the parts being submitted.

In addition, the PRM library has been redesigned to give the user visibility into process parameters. PRM files can now be edited directly from the library.

Manual latticing is now available to customers at the Premium tier, and all Netfabb lattice functionality is now available from a single location. Additional updates allow for better productivity, such as:

  • A replay function that allows regeneration of manual or script-based supports after a change in geometry is made, even after the support strategy has been finalized.
  • Supports can be deleted by criteria
  • Shared viewing and cloud storage
  • A new My Machines workspace that streamlines the process by allowing the user to define only the machines they have access to. The user can also categorize machines by functions and assign repair or support scripts accordingly.

Netfabb 2019 also includes a new workspace for the DMG Mori Lasertec 30 and features updated Form2 integration, giving the user direct access to Form2 from Netfabb.

That’s only a few of the new and updated features that Netfabb 2019 offers – for a full list, you can find out more here.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. 

[Source/Images: Autodesk]

 

NASA Announces 3D Printed Habitat Competition Winners

For a while now, NASA have been gathering up submission concepts for their 3D printed habitat competition. The various contestants all presented their ideas for what they consider to be an on-site manufacturing plan for Mars. Moreover, they had to come up with solutions to materials delivery, shelter and production. Now, the prestigious aerospace giant has […]

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UK University Developing Universal Language For Additive Manufacturing

As companies begin to implement new manufacturing tech into their workflows, more cross-applicability becomes necessary. One of the main problems of creating such a homogenous workflow is that of interchangeable language protocols. Since all systems are quite different, researchers at Huddersfield university are developing a universal language for additive manufacturing systems. This new method would […]

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University of Huddersfield proposes universal language for additive manufacturing

Researchers from the University of Huddersfield in the UK are developing a new language to help streamline the additive manufacturing process. According to Dr Qunfen Qi, a research fellow at Huddersfield’s EPSRC Future Advanced Metrology Hub, “The research can provide a smart language that enables designers, [additive manufacturing] engineers and inspectors to truly communicate with each other in […]

F-35 stealth fighter gets boost from 3D printing

United States’ Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is planning the use of 3D printing to replace parts on the F-35, a stealth multirole fighter. The parts will be produced at the base’s 388th Maintenance Group. The 388th Maintenance Group commander, Col. Michael Miles said, “We’re always driving for speed, safety and quality.” In manufacturing replacement parts, 3D […]

3D-Printed Death Star Enclosure for Your Pi 3 | #StarWars #enclosure #piday #raspberrypi @Raspberry_Pi

This is a cool case from Furnibird on MyMiniFactory – the enclosure is pretty simple and could easily be developed upon with internal or external accessories and designs (think blinking lights or audio files that play when you do something in the OS):

Maker Darren Furniss, who goes by the username “Furnibird” online, has created a created a 3D printed Death Star to house a Raspberry Pi 3.

When we spoke to Furniss he told us that the print was created in Fusion 360, a programme he learnt from watching YouTube tutorials.

The design process took three weeks and had to incorporate some kind of closing mechanism. Instead of a hinge on one side, the top and bottom sections slide lock into place. Some screws are required to keep everything together, including the stand which is needed to stop your Pi rolling away.

check out the files here at MyMiniFactory – via makers.htxt.africa



3055 06Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!

Custom 3D Printed CT-Bone Graft Implants Coming to Japan and Europe

We first heard of innovative CT-Bone technology three years ago, when Dutch company Xilloc reached an agreement with Tokyo-based Next21 K.K., the creator of CT-Bone, to bring 3D printable bone into hospitals in Europe. Back in 2001, Next 21 K.K. collaborated with the University of Tokyo and RIKEN on developmental research into the technology, which uses 3D printing to make synthetic bone grafts out of calcium-deficient HA material.

Now, after receiving an approval for manufacturing and marketing medical devices from the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), the company is announcing formal approval for a new technology to 3D print synthetic bone grafts, which can both fuse and be assimilated into a patient’s existing bone.

There are currently four different types of existing bone grafts for patients with different kinds of bone defects and deformities: Autograft and Allograft (the most common), Synthetic Bone graft, and Xenograft. Custom synthetic graft materials are shaped from a heated and sintered block of material with machine tools, and is hard for natural bone tissue to absorb, which could lead to inflammation.

Autograft, which is the foremost transplant method in Japan, requires an additional surgery in order to remove a piece of bone from the patient’s leg or hip, so patients have to go through a second invasive procedure and deal with the potential risks, like damage and infection, from extended exposure. Allograft from a bone bank is the most common in the US and Europe, but as it’s harvested from cadavers, there are potential infectious and ethical conundrums to consider. Additionally, it can be hard to find a cadaver bone that’s the appropriate size and shape to match a patient’s original bone.

But, 3D printing makes it possible to reproduce the shape of the original bone with 0.1 mm accuracy, and CT-Bone also uses a curing treatment method to help with recrystallization. This the technology, as Next21 K.K. puts it, “most suitable for molding biomaterial like a bone graft.”

CT-Bone does not use a sintering process to increase mechanical strength like other synthetic bones or 3D printed ceramics do, so it actually becomes physiologically activated; this helps the material in the custom implant fuse and assimilate to the patient’s existing bone much more quickly.

While most typical bone implants are made from material like titanium or PEEK, or even cut and re-positioned bone from the patient, CT-bone is a 3D printable, calcium phosphate implant that’s actually converted into real bone by the patient’s own body.

After a CT-scan, Next21 K.K.’s biomedical engineers work with the surgeons to create a patient-specific implant (PSI), which can incorporate porosity and match the patient’s anatomy perfectly, which helps facilitate bony ingrowth and good bone-to-implant contact. It only takes a few months post-implantation for CT-Bone to unify with the patient’s existing bone.

Thanks to a subsidy from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the company completed a pre-clinical study for CT-Bone, titled “Computed tomographic evaluation of novel custom-made artificial bones, “CT-bone”, applied for maxillofacial reconstruction” and performed with support from the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN). Co-authors include Yuki Kanno from the University of Tokyo, Takashi Nakatsuka with Saitama Medical School, Hideto Saijo, Yuko Fujihara, and Hikita Atsuhiko from the university, Ung-il Chung with the university’s Graduate Schools of Engineering and Medicine, and Tsuyoshi Takato and Kazuto Hoshi with the university.

The abstract reads, “We fabricated custom-made artificial bones using three-dimensionally layered manufacturing (3D printing) process, and have applied them to patients with facial deformities. We termed this novel artificial bone the “CT-bone”. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the middle-and long-term safety and effectiveness of the CT-bones after transplantation.”

CT-Bone grafts were implanted into 23 sites on 20 patients with facial bone deformities and then evaluated through the use of CT scans post-op, minimally for one year and then maximally for seven years and three months after transplantation.

According to the paper, “No serious systemic events due to the CT-bone graft were found during the observation period (1 year postoperatively). In 4 sites of 4 patients, the CT-bones were removed due to local infection of the surgical wounds at 1-5 years postoperatively. Compatibility of the shapes between the CT-bone and the recipient bone was confirmed to be good during the operation in all of the 20 cases, implying that the CT-bones could be easily installed onto the recipient sites. During the CT evaluation (<7 years and 3 months), no apparent chronological change was seen in the shape of the CT-bones. Sufficient bone union was confirmed in 19 sites. The inner CT values of the CT-bones increased in all the sites. The longer the postoperative period, greater increases in the CT values of the CT-bones tended to be observed.”

Next21 K.K. plans to commercialize CT-bone in the Japanese market, and initiate export to other Asian countries. Having already reached a license agreement with Xilloc for local manufacturing and sales of CT-Bone in the EU, the company will also expand sales to Europe.

Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the comments below. 

[Images provided by Next21 K.K.]

Fashion Designer Creates Both Attractive and Wearable 3D Printed Clothing

Lingxiao Luo

Often fashion on the runways looks good but is unwearable in a real-life setting, and that goes double for 3D printed fashion. Much of it is stiff and uncomfortable-looking, but some designers are incorporating the technology in a way that is both attractive and wearable. Lingxiao Luo of the Royal College of Art is one of those designers. Her work combines 3D printing with knitted fabric to create brightly colored, unique garments that feature 3D printed details and unusual seams.

Luo is pursuing a Master’s degree at the Royal College of Art, but she first learned about 3D printing as an undergraduate at the London College of Fashion. The pieces she saw combined 3D printing with mesh fabric, and she began to think about the possibility of knitted fabric combined with 3D printing. She bought her own 3D printer and set about developing her own techniques for melding the two methods of fabrication. She came up with three different techniques, in fact. The first is to use 3D printed patterns to join two different fabrics together, while the second is to print onto loosely knit nature-fiber fabric and felt the fabric afterwards “so that the contraction during the felting process can change the printed patterns and create 3D structure,” she explains. The third technique involves using a flexible filament to print onto tightly knitted elastic fabric and twist the printed patterns into a 3D structure.

“The techniques that I have investigated are unique, and the products made with my techniques have unique aesthetic and texture,” Luo says. “They’re much more playful and structural than traditional knitwear.”

She also says that her designs are “less plastic-like” and “much more wearable” than a lot of other 3D printed fashion, and they can also be easily washed and cared for, as any other clothing. She wants to appeal to consumers with both the aesthetic and user-friendliness of her designs, as well as the customization possibilities.

“With the engineering of knitting and printing, this innovation introduces a zero-waste fabrication to the fashion industry through the creation of customizable products,” she says.

Luo eventually hopes to work with a 3D printer company to develop fashion-specific 3D printers that can print wearable, consumer-friendly clothing. She plans to start her own business, as well.

“Based on this technique and my final collection, I’m planning to build up a business of providing high-end products and services for the designer studios, including technical consultancy, sample making, textile, and product developing,” she says. “My market research shows that the application of 3D printing technology in the fashion industry is developing very quickly, and the design studios I have interviewed showed strong interest in using my technique and products in their collections.”

So look for Luo’s work in the near future; if you’re interested in trying 3D printed clothing, hers is definitely a good place to start, with its wearability and aesthetic appeal. Some 3D printed fashion looks great, but as a gallery piece – Luo’s is well-suited to both the runway and the closet.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. 

[Source: Design News/Images: Royal College of Art]

 

Design Student Presents 3D Printed Knitwear Fashion

Graduate design student Lingxiao Luo is putting out unique concepts in fashion with her combination printed knitwear. As a result, she’s created multiple designs where 3D printed elements pull together the fabric or even 2 disparate pieces of fabric. The colorful and comfortable designs provide a unique aesthetic while looking less plastic than other printed clothing. […]

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