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3D Printing News Briefs: June 26, 2018

We have plenty of business, material, and 3D printer news to share with you in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. 3D printing led to increased savings for GM over the last two years, which is now increasing its use of the technology as a result. ExOne is saying goodbye to one CEO and hello to another, while Polymaker announces a global distribution arrangement with Nexeo Solutions and CollPlant receives R&D project approval in Israel. The US Patent and Trademark Office will be hosting its annual Additive Manufacturing Partnership Meeting this week, and RP Platform has announced a rebrand and a new AI software platform. Finally, the UK’s National Centre for Additive Manufacturing has decided to add Digital Metal’s binder jetting technology to its portfolio.

GM Increasing Use of 3D Printing at Plants

Zane Meike, AM lead at GM’s Lansing Delta Township assembly plant, holds a common 3D printed tool used to align engine and transmission vehicle identification numbers. [Photo: Michael Wayland]

According to Dan Grieshaber, the Director of Global Manufacturing Integration for General Motors (GM), most of the company’s factories have 3D printers, which are used to build accessories and tools for workers. A $35,000 3D printer at GM’s Lansing Delta Township assembly plant has actually helped save the company over $300,000 over two years: it’s used to make multiple items, such as part hangers, socket covers, and ergonomic and safety tools. A common tool used to align engine and transmission vehicle identification numbers cost $3,000 to buy from a third party, but is less than $3 to 3D print at the factory. Realizing that these kinds of savings can add up quickly, GM is increasing the use of 3D printing – part of its new Manufacturing 4.0 processes – at its plants in order to help streamline operations.

“We’re quickly evolving, creating real value for the plant. This will become, as we progress, our footprint. We’ll have this in every one of our sites,” Grieshaber said.

Grieshaber also said that GM is working to standardize 3D printing, as well as share best practices across all of its global plants.

ExOne Welcomes New CEO

The ExOne Company, which provides 3D printers and 3D printed products, materials, and services to its industrial customers around the world, has announced that its CEO, James L. McCarley, is departing the company, effective immediately, to pursue other interests and opportunities; he will be assisting the company in transitioning his responsibilities to the new CEO. ExOne’s Board of Directors has also announced who the new CEO will be – S. Kent Rockwell, the company’s Executive Chairman, who has served in the position in previous years. Rockwell’s new title is effective immediately.

“On behalf of our Board and management team, I would like to thank Jim for his efforts and wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” said Rockwell.

Polymaker Makes Distribution Arrangement with Nexeo Solutions

Shanghai-based 3D printing material producer Polymaker has entered an arrangement with chemicals and plastics distributor Nexeo Solutions, Inc., also based in Shanghai. Nexeo will be a global distributor for three new materials in the Polymaker Industrial line, but plans to introduce more of its materials over the rest of the year. C515 is an advanced polycarbonate (PC) filament that has excellent toughness and a low warping effect, while C515FR is a flame retardant PC with high impact resistance. SU301 is a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based polymer that’s water soluble and was developed as a support material for FFF 3D printers.

Paul Tayler, the Vice President of EMEA at Nexeo Solutions, said, “Expanding our portfolio to include industrial grade filaments from Polymaker Industrial gives our customers access to a wider range of filaments that solve new 3D printing challenges and meet the demands of manufacturers. Industrial customers benefit from Nexeo Solutions’ access to world leading plastic producers coupled with additive manufacturing technical expertise.”

CollPlant Receives R&D Project Approval

Two years ago, regenerative medicine company CollPlant received funding from Israel’s Ministry of Economy for its research in developing collagen-based bioinks for 3D printing tissues and organs. CollPlant, which uses its proprietary plant-based rhCollagen (recombinant human collagen) technology for tissue repair products, has now announced that the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) has approved a grant to finance the continued development of its rhCollagen-based formulations intended for use as bioinks. Terms of the grant require CollPlant to pay royalties to the IIA on future sales of any technology that’s developed with the use of the funding, up to the full grant amount. The total project budget is roughly $1.2 million (NIS 4.2 million), and the IIA will finance 30%, subject to certain conditions.

“In addition to providing immediate non-dilutive funding, this grant from the Israel Innovation Authority represents an important validation of our BioInk technology and its market potential. With the recent opening of our new cGMP production facility in Rehovot, Israel, we are well positioned to meet growing demand for our BioInk and tissue repair products. We are grateful to the IIA for this recognition,” said CollPlant CEO Yehiel Tal.

Additive Manufacturing Partnership Meeting Hosted by US Patent and Trademark Office

For the last several years, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been hosting the Additive Manufacturing Partnership Meeting, and this year’s meeting takes place tomorrow, June 27th, from 1 to 5 PM at the USPTO headquarters inside the Madison Building in Alexandria, Virginia. The USPTO will be seeking opinions from various participants at the informal meeting, which is really a forum for individual 3D printing users and the USPTO to share ideas, insights, and personal experiences.

“We value our customers and the feedback provided from individual participants is important in our efforts to continuously improve the quality of our products and services,” the USPTO meeting site reads. “Your willing participation in this informal process is helpful in providing us with new insights and perspectives.”

Scheduled speakers at this year’s meeting are coming from CIMP-3D, HRL, Kansas State University, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, and the NextManufacturing Center, and an RSVP is required to attend the AM Partnership Meeting.

RP Platform Launches New AI Software and Rebrand

London-based RP Platform, which provides customizable workflow automation software for industrial 3D printing, is launching a new software platform, which will use AI for the first time to automate 3D printing production. With customers in over 30 countries, the company is one of the top automation software providers for industrial 3D printing. In addition to its software launch, RP Platform has also announced that, as it continues to expand its software capabilities to target AM end part production, it is rebranding, and has changed its name to AMFG.

“We want to help companies make their 3D printing processes much smoother so that they can produce more parts with greater visibility and less effort. And we have more exciting releases to our software over the coming months that will further enhance our production automation capabilities,” said Keyvan Karimi, the CEO of AMFG.

“Ultimately, we’re creating a truly autonomous manufacturing process for industrial 3D printing. For us, this means taking manufacturing to a new era of production. The launch of our new software, as well as our company rebrand, fully reflects this vision going forward.”

NCAM Installing a Digital Metal 3D Printer

The National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM) in the UK, headquartered at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, has decided to add the unique binder jetting technology developed by Digital Metal to its large range of advanced manufacturing equipment, and will soon be installing one of its high-precision metal 3D printers – which are not available anywhere else in the UK. The 3D printer will be available for use by NCAM’s member companies, and other organizations, who are interested in testing the capabilities of Digital Metal’s proprietary binder jetting technology.

Dr. David Brackett, AM Technology Manager at the NCAM, explained, “The Digital Metal binder jetting technology falls into the category of ‘bind-and-sinter AM’, where a multi-stage process chain incorporating sintering is required to achieve full density. It’s a very fast technology that can create complicated and highly detailed designs, and there is potential for wider material choice than with AM processes that use melting. We are delighted to be able to offer this to the companies we work with.”

The Digital Metal 3D printer will be operational later this summer, and NCAM personnel are already training with it to ensure they can operate it efficiently and safely.

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

 

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3D Printing with Magnets in Microgravity

While methods of 3D bioprinting vary, most of them have one thing in common – they print cells layer by layer into a desired shape, which is then transferred to an incubator where it further grows and develops. Alternative methods exist, however, that involve the manipulation of the cell material by magnetic fields. The cells are then “labeled” with magnetic nanoparticles. But now a Russian research team has developed a new method of bioprinting that neither prints layer by layer nor uses magnetic labeling. This method could lead to the creation of radiation-sensitive biological constructs and the repair of organs and tissues.

The new method, which involves magnetic levitation research in conditions of microgravity, was conducted by the 3D Bioprinting Solutions company in collaboration with other Russian and foreign scientists, including the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JIHT RAS).

“During the period from 2010 to 2017, a series of experimental studies were carried out aboard the Russian Orbital Segment of the International Space Station with the Coulomb Crystal experimental device,” said Mikhail Vasiliev, head of the laboratory of dusty plasma diagnostics in JIHT RAS. “The main element of the device is an electromagnet that creates a special inhomogeneous magnetic field in which the structures of the diamagnetic particles (they are magnetized against the direction of the magnetic field) can be formed in the microgravity conditions.”

The research was documented in a paper entitled “Scaffold-free, label-free and nozzle-free biofabrication technology using magnetic levitational assembly,” which you can access here. In the study, the researchers describe how small charged particles behave in the magnetic field of a special shape under microgravity or zero-gravity conditions. They also developed a mathematical model of this process based on the methods of molecular dynamics. These results explain how to obtain homogeneous and extended three-dimensional structures consisting of thousands of the particles.

Conventional methods of magnetic 3D bioprinting had several limitations associated with gravity. There are a couple of ways to reduce the power of gravitational forces, one being to increase the power of the magnets that control the magnetic field. This will, however, require a much more complex bioprinter. Another way is to reduce the gravity, which is the approach used by the scientists from 3D Bioprinting Solutions. The method is called formative three-dimensional biofactory, which creates three-dimensional biological structures immediately from all sides, rather than in layers.

The researchers applied the experimental data and the results of the mathematical modeling obtained by the JIHT RAS scientists in order to control the shape of the structures.

“The results of the Coulomb crystal experiment on the study of the formation of the spatially ordered structures led to the development of a new method for the formative 3-D biofactory of the tissue-like structures based on the programmable self-assembly of the living tissues and organs under the conditions of gravity and microgravity by means of an inhomogeneous magnetic field,” said Vasiliev.

Bioprinters based on this new technology will be able to create biological constructs that can be used for many purposes, including estimating the adverse effects of space radiation on the health of astronauts on long-term space missions. It should also be able to restore the function of damaged tissues and organs.

Authors of the paper include Vladislav A. Parfenov, Elizaveta V. Koudan, Elena A. Bulanova, Pavel A. Karelkin, Frederico DAS Pereira, Nikita E. Norkin, Alisa D. Knyazeva, Anna A. Gryadunova, Oleg F. Petrov, Mikhail M. Vasiliev, Maxim I. Myasnikov, Valery P. Chernikov, Vladimir A. Kasyanov, Artem Yu Marchenkov, Kenn Brakke, Yusef D. Khesuani, Utkan Demirci, and Vladimir A. Mironov.

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

[Source: Phys.org]

 

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Korean Lab Helps Strengthen Biofabrication Using 3D Printing

A lab in Korea has just fabricated micro-sized biostructures, applying mechanical engineering knowledge to biofabrication. These biostructures act as a scaffolding or regenerative placeholder, helping cure major injuries. The team’s work could aid in the repair of complex bone and cartilage fractures, in addition to non-transplant based treating finish-stage liver disease. Dong-Woo Cho, director of the Intelligent Manufacturing […]

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Los Angeles: Greneker Explores the Challenges of 3D Printing Their Mannequins

3D printing has changed the world of how we create today in so many ways. Allowing for self-sustainability in innovation, everyone from the home hobbyist entrenched in DIY to the engineer working for an automotive company can make designs, objects, prototypes—and so much more—even houses. Many are newer to the technology and may be working on ideas that are completely new and extremely challenging.

That was the case for the Greneker team, headquartered in Los Angeles. Innovators since 1934, Greneker has always been known for their novel techniques in creating mannequins. 3D printing is a new endeavor for them though.

“When I started with this business, we would get together as a group, we would look at the trends in the marketplace, and we would develop a line based on what we saw happening in the marketplace at that time,” said Steve Beckman, President & COO of Greneker.

Creating the mannequin line was indeed a major trial, but the team is used to taking on difficult missions in their work.

“That was done with clay sculpting, so we would start with armatures and clay, go through the process ourselves, create an entire line of mannequins, and really just kind of rolled the dice and hope that it would sell to that market,” said Beckman.

The Greneker team began doing a lot of custom work, and for big clients too, like Under Armour and adidas.

“It was a very long process to develop a line of custom mannequins,” Beckman said. “We would have to spend a great deal of time upfront with a client trying to figure out what they were looking for, what the poses were, what the dimensions were, what sizes these pieces were. The armatures would be set up by hand, the sculpting would be done by hand in clay. It would require several visits of the client on premises before we got an approval to move into the molding process to begin production.”

On working with athletic apparel manufacturers:

“The poses are either accurate or they’re inaccurate,” Beckman said. “If you try and put a golf mannequin in a golf shop and he is not in the proper position, the mannequin will be ripped apart by patrons.”

They streamlined the creating and 3D printing process as they learned more about what worked.

“We started to look at digital as a way of creating these pieces, and creating them precisely and accurately,” Beckman recounted. “We’ve now moved from clay sculpting to everything being 3D printed, which has helped us in a myriad of ways.”

3D printing at Greneker began with a CubeX, and then other small 3D printers. After that, they graduated to the re:3D Gigabot 3D printer, which has provided advanced solutions in fire stations, veterinary practices, and many more impactful applications.

“We selected the printer based on, again, the human body,” Beckman explained. “We’re a mannequin manufacturer. We wanted larger printers to be able to print torsos and legs.”

“Before 3D printing, it would’ve been just unthinkable to make a mannequin in a day,” said Daniel Stocks, senior sculptor at Greneker. “Now it’s actually possible.”

Speed in creating the mannequins is one of the greatest benefits Greneker experiences in 3D printing, along with the digital process overall.

“We save time throughout the entire process,” said Beckman. “Instead of having clients visit, we can have video conferencing now, which accelerates the initial consultation period greatly. The client can sit on the other end – whether they’re across the country or across the world – and in real time we can make those changes and those tweaks to make these pieces exactly what they’re looking for.”

Sculpting mannequins can be challenging, but with 3D printing manufacturers are able to work with new creations easily—and without the physical workout.

“With 3D printing, we take the digital model and we’ll produce a scaled model, usually about 18 inches tall, and then we can send that to the clients,” said Beckman. “They can make sure that all the measurements fit where they like and that the posing is what it needs to be in. Once we get the sign-off at that point, then we produce a full-scale 3D print.

“With this new process, the model goes in front of everybody, so it’s there for everyone to look at. You get a much, much tighter buy-in much more quickly.”

Needless to say, at Greneker, they have a lot more tools to work with than they did previously—and they are making the most of it.

“If I have a large project and I have three sculptors working on it, because it’s three sets of hands, it may not look identical,” Beckman explained. “With the digital design, we don’t have to worry about that. The design is the design and you can move it, change it, scale it, but it’s always the base design and it’s always obvious what it is, no question.”

The added Greneker goal now is to be faster and more cost-effective in development.

“The marketplace is requiring speed to market. Everything has got to be done sooner rather than later,” Beckman explained. “When we would sculpt and create a new line by hand, the process could take upwards of six months in preproduction. In 3D printing, now we’ve reduced that process to where it can be as short as just a few weeks.

“Right now, we’ve just finished realizing our first set of goals with 3D printing. Our future goals: we’re going to bring in as many printers as it takes to be the absolute fastest to market as we can be. We want to stay ahead of our competition.”

You can read more about Greneker and their innovative projects here.

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 or share your thoughts below.

[Source / Images: re:3D]

 

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Graphmatec Partnering with Materials Developer Add North 3D to Develop Conductive 3D Printing Filaments

Last summer, materials scientist Dr. Mamoun Taher, a researcher in the Department of Chemistry at Uppsala University in Sweden, worked with serial entrepreneur Björn Lindh to found a startup company, of which Taher is the CEO, called Graphmatech. Not only is the startup part of top European business accelerator the InnoEnergy Highway, which specializes in sustainable energy, but it also belongs to SynerLeap, the ABB Corporate Research Center‘s innovation growth hub.

Back when Taher was working on graphene materials as a postdoc at Uppsala, he discovered just how many properties were lost when the thin flakes stuck to each other during large-scale production, and determined to find a solution.

Now one of the top 10 companies in the 2018 Nordic Cleantech Open startup competition, Graphmatec is doing pretty well for itself, and Taher even developed a new form of graphene, called Aros Graphene, which makes it possible to use the complex material on a larger scale in industry.

Graphene, a two-dimensional carbon material, is increasingly being used in 3D printing applications, and is 200 times stronger than steel, but 12% lighter weight than the second lightest material in the world. While the material poses difficulties when it comes to bulk production, it’s great for conducting electricity and heat, and 3D printable materials can be improved by mixing graphene with nanocomposites.

Now, Graphmatech has teamed up with another material technology startup, Add North 3D, to develop conductive, novel filaments for 3D printing, based on its own patented Aros Graphene nanocomposite material.

According to the Add North 3D website, “3D printing offers unique possibilities to test new materials and we want to be in the forefront in contributing to replacing the black carbon atom with the green one in all possible parts of society.”

Swedish materials developer Add North 3D, which got its start in 2016, specializes in FFF/FDM materials. For the last two years, the startup has been focused on consumables, developing new materials, such as its new matte material add:architect, and sustainable plastic solutions. It also works on development projects, such as creating a new process to make 3D printable PLA from the country’s forest industry side-streams, that are financed by the Swedish Innovation Authority.

Aros Graphene Polymer 3D Filament

The startup is now getting ready to introduce an international expansion, and Aros Graphene-based filament will be one of its cornerstones.

Recently, Graphmatec developed a cost-efficient, scalable process for coating polymer granular and powder with its Aros Graphene material to gain high-quality dispersion. The process is a “compounding step” before filaments are extruded, and could also be put to work coating polymer granular and powder with different types of additives.

Aros Graphene is easy to disperse in polymers, and Graphmatec’s technology makes it possible to tailor the precise level of the filament’s conductivity, which will introduce a whole new range of 3D printing applications, including thermal management components, electromagnetic and radiofrequency shields, sensors, and circuit boards.

Taher said in May, “We’ve seen that a thermal paste that contains Aros Graphene is 180 percent more thermally conductive than other thermal paste products on the market. In the close future where more and more data centres will be needed to store data, there is huge demand for advanced thermal management solutions.”

The new conductive filaments by Add North 3D and Graphmatec will soon be optimized, and then they will be put through beta testing with a reference group. The material is expected to hit the market within the next 6-12 months.

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

 

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Henkel, Sauber: Big Week For 3D Printing Investments

There have been a bunch of very large investments this week. We’ve previously covered GM doubling down on additive manufacturing in their North American factories. This time around we have two separate stories of large-scale investment. The first is from chemical giant Henkel and the second is from Sauber Motorsport, the company behind the Alpha […]

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Concurrent Technologies Corporation partners with Sciaky to expand reach of metal additive manufacturing

Sciaky, Inc., creator of the award-winning Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) system, has announced a strategic partnership with nonprofit applied scientific R&D organization, Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), to meet the increasing demand for large-scale additively manufactured metal parts. Using its wide range of manufacturing clients, CTC will now provide Sciaky’s EBAM metal 3D printing technology, […]
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$500,000 3D printed construction project plans to use bacteria for building

In April 2018, assistant professor Michelle Bernhardt-Barry at the University of Arkansas was awarded a National Science Foundation research grant of $500,000 to support the development of 3D printed construction materials. Two months on, and further information about the 5 year project has been revealed, showing that it aims to use an usual method of binding natural […]
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The Latest 3D Printing Kickstarter Campaigns: Volumetric Images and 3D Printable Dino Models

From new 3D printers and 3D software to the latest 3D printed customizable products, we like to keep you updated on the latest crowdfunding campaigns on the popular Kickstarter website, the largest funding platform in the world for creative projects.

For the last few years, we’ve been following the work of Italian startup Lumi Industries, which introduced a semi-professional DLP 3D printer two years ago. The startup has had Kickstarter success before, and will hopefully see it again with its latest campaign, which is for a project that is, as Lumi’s Manuela Pipino tells us, “closely related to 3D printing.”

The startup has recently been working with 3D visualization and volumetric images (what many may still think of as holograms) and developing its patent-pending VVD (Volumetric Visualization Device). According to the Kickstarter campaign for the VVD, it’s a graphic display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions. The device gives an unlimited amount of people the ability to get a 3D visualization of any 3D content.

3D reconstruction of human jaw from intraoral scan.

“We needed such a technology to be able to revise 3D models before going for 3D printing, but after we have created it, we envisioned many more sectors where it could be of great use like: training/educational, medical/dentistry field, museums/exhibitions, marketing & communication,” Pipino told 3DPrint.com.

The VVD projects the horizontal layers of a 3D model on a special film that is vibrating very quickly, which exploits something called the persistence of vision – a characteristic that enables people to retain an image long after it’s been removed. It’s easy to use – just load any 3D model and hit the View button to create a true tridimensional volumetric visualization of your content.

The startup took the VVD on the road to several international events, such as formnext and CES, and received lots of positive feedback on it – the device was even awarded the Maker of Merit honor at the European Maker Faire in Rome last year. So Lumi decided to launch its VVD on Kickstarter.

While holograms can only be seen from certain angles, volumetric visualizations can be explored from any viewpoint. In addition, more people can share the experience and watch at the same time, and because the VVD doesn’t require additional glasses, eye fatigue is decreased.

“With VVD you can explore the design you have just created or double check all details of the mechanical component you have just developed, like if it was already in your hand, before going for prototyping,” the campaign states. “Because when you design in 3D, you are watching your work on a bi-dimensional screen. Perspective, created through visual effects, allows us to get an idea of the volume and proportions of what we are designing, but, believe us, to watch your model as it really is, is not the same thing!”

Styracosaurus head 3D model.

The VVD has many applications in the medical field, as it offers technicians a new way to look at 3D images created from 2D slices taken from MRI and CT scans. It also keeps people more engaged in the classroom and in museums, due to its interactive nature.

There are still more than three weeks to go in Lumi’s VVD Kickstarter campaign, and the Incredible Early Bird Special is still available – for a pledge of €1,899, you can receive your own VVD by February of 2019. If this cost is a little steep, and you just want to support the startup, €30 will get you a special T-shirt.

Another intriguing Kickstarter campaign was just launched by Pinshape ambassador and 3D printing expert Joe Larson, better known as the 3D Printing Professor on his YouTube channel, where he produces educational and fun content about making, 3D printing, and technology for more than 20,000 subscribers.

Larson has a solution for 3D printer owners who struggle to find high-quality, ready to print models: his fun Low Poly Dinosaur models, which are designed to print easily at home on extrusion-based 3D printers.

“Welcome to Lowpolysaurus park. Kid friendly, whimsical, low-poly dinosaur models for your 3D printer. Designed to print without supports and print with low or no infill. Perfect as a test print or just for fun with gentle angles to minimize sharp edges so they’re suitable for all ages,” the campaign states.

“Help build the whole set and print your own dinosaur park!”

Larson’s Kickstarter, which still has about a month left, blew through its initial funding goal within its first two hours, and then went on to raise twice that goal amount in its first day on Kickstarter.

There are currently four 3D dino models in the set, including Dippy and Trixy, with four additional ones planned thanks to the campaign’s stretch goals and its overwhelming support.


According to Larson’s Kickstarter, “The success of this campaign will determine how many dinosaurs will be modeled. The more it raises, the larger the rewards will be. For your support you will not only receive the 3D dinosaur models developed in this campaign, but you will have a vote in what the next dinosaur will be as the campaign progresses.”

For those pledging to the Triassic tier, you will receive a limited set of 3D dino models and accessories, as voted on by the community. Those pledging to the Jurassic tier will get every dinosaur and accessory model created for the campaign.

The funds raised during the campaign will actually go toward improving the video production quality for Larson’s YouTube channel.

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