3D Printing: The Stories We Didn’t Cover This Week — February 13
Michelle Matisons
This week’s 3D printing news begins with news of a Golden Mousetrap award for Stratasys in the category of Materials and Assembly. 3D software company 3YOURMIND has partnered with Vectorworks for a plugin for Vectorworks 2016 users. Rotterdam is getting a 3D printed facelift with a new Fieldlab that includes 3D metal printers, and voxeljet has secured loans for €4 million for a new office and production space in Heidelberg. 3D Slash now offers a virtual reality viewing mode, and Germany’s Evonik plans to increase its production of nylon print powder.
Stratasys Honored at 15th Annual Golden Mousetrap Awards
This week, we start off with good news about 3D printing-related awards. Design News’ 15th Annual Golden Mousetrap Awards have been announced in Santa Monica, and there were many awards given out to emerging and established professionals in the engineering and manufacturing industries. Awards are bestowed in the following categories: Rising Engineer Star, Gadget Freak of the Year, Automation and Control, Design Tools, Electronics and Test, and Materials and Assembly. In a Materials and Assembly subcategory, Stratasys received an award for its Urethane Foam Casting for 3D Printing. Urethane Casting uses silicone molds to creates low volumes of production urethane parts, and is an ideal solution for molded parts that need to be produced efficiently. Urethane Casting gives companies an advantage by using “3D printed quick-turn master patterns, quick curing silicone molds, and first shots within 7 – 10 business days.” This allows companies to quickly place products on shelves before traditional injection mold hard-tooling is completed.
3YOURMIND Partners with Vectorworks, Inc. for Plugin
3D printing software developer 3YOURMIND, which develops 3D printing plugins for CAD programs, has announced it is partnering with design software company Vectorworks, Inc. Now, a new plugin developed by 3YOURMIND for Vectorworks 2016 users lets them analyze, check, and repair their 3D files to optimize 3D printing workflows.
Jim Wilson, Vectorworks’ User Experience Manager, summarizes the benefits of this partnership:
“We’re thrilled to have teamed up with 3YOURMIND to offer this free plugin to our user community. Now, users are just one click away from uploading their 3D files via this plugin to services that cater to all their 3D printing needs, where a wide range of materials are available to choose from and where secure file transfer with SSL is guaranteed.”
With just a click, you can upload the 3D Vectorworks file to the 3YOURMIND comparison tool. Here it can be previewed and scaled in different available 3D printing materials, and users can compare their 3D model prices and order it online.
3D Metal Printing Fieldlab Acquired by RDM Rotterdam
RDM Rotterdam is getting a 3d metal printing lab. The Additive Manufacturing Fieldlab will be devoted to 3D design and certification, 3D scanning, and 3D printing of spare parts for the maritime industry. The Port of Rotterdam Authority set up this Fieldlab with the Innovation Quarter and RDM Makerspace as key partners in its development and maintenance.
Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said:
“3D printing is promising, but also complex. Developments are appearing in rapid succession. There are few companies with sufficient expertise and resources to start working with 3D metal printing on their own. This is why we are taking the initiative to create a Fieldlab that companies and knowledge institutes can join.”
The estimated cost of the Fieldlab project is several million euros, and 15 companies have signed a declaration of intent to participate in the Fieldlab project.
voxeljet’s Friedberg Headquarters Receives Finance for Expansion
In other 3D printing news from Europe, voxeljet, a leading provider of large-format, high-speed 3D printers and on-demand parts services for commercial and industrial customers, secured three loan agreements that will be used for new office and production space in Friedberg. The construction of this space will begin in May 2016 at the latest. The loans are said to be valued at €4 million and will be used to finance the space at Balthasar-Schaller-Str. which was previously purchased by the company in December 2013.
3D Slash Now Offers Virtual Reality Mode
3D Slash is a Paris-based start-up offering highly accessible 3D modeling software that allows users in design thinking, scale modeling, prototyping, and digital entertainment to create 3D content. In fact, 3D Slash is frequently praised as the easiest 3D modeling tool on the market. A new virtual reality (VR) feature is now available in 3D Slash 2.0, and VR view users can design in 3D and then view it on their smartphone using Google Cardboard or other devices. This is the company’s first venture into VR services, but it is not going to be its last, explained Sylvain Huet, the founder of 3D Slash.
Evonik Will Increase Its Production of Nylon 12 Print Powder
Finally in this week’s news, the market leader in nylon 12 powder production, Germany’s Evonik Industries, announced investment plans “in the mid-double-digit million euro range” for a new nylon 12 powder production line at its Marl facility. Scheduled to begin in late 2017, the expansion will boost its annual capacity by half. Evonik is also aiming its investment toward the fiber composite materials field because nylon 12 powders are an “ideal matrix for thermoplastic composites made of fiberglass and carbon fibers, as well as aramid or steel fibers.” The applications for these materials are found in automotive and oil drilling industries, the sports sector, and in orthopedics.
