3D Printing: The Stories We Didn’t Cover This Week — April 23

In this week’s 3D printing news we see a partnership forged between Latvia’s Mass Portal and Ohio’s DesignBox3D, for the distribution of Mass Portal’s high-quality 3D printers. Also, Autodesk has acquired Solid Angle, in an effort to get more into the 3D animation game. Two awards were presented this week in the 3D printing space. One went to 3D System’s Charles W. Hull, known as the father of 3D printing, and the other award went to the manufacturing company Faustson. Finally, are we ready for a new high-quality and affordable 3D printer on the market? I think so. Hong Kong’s 3D Fab Lab has unveiled its new Novio 3D printer, which has a simple design and excellent software package that is sure to make the printer attractive to 3D printing novices.

Mass Portal Partners with DesignBox3D

Latvia is a country I know quite a bit about because my father was born there. It’s fun to hear that the country is getting more involved with 3D printing technology, and now, one of Latvia’s 3D printer manufacturers, Mass Portal, is partnering with Ohio-based DesignBox3D so that Mass Portal’s Pharaoah 3D printers can be distributed in the US market. Mass Portal 3D printers are know for their exceptional speed and printing quality. Also, the company uses exchangeable stainless steel and brass nozzles that allow the printers to be adapted to different needs. These printers can work with many of today’s materials, they note, including PLA, ABS, PC, PET, TPU, PS and other thermoplastics.

DesignBox3D is very excited about this opportunity to work with Mass Portal in getting the printers out there in the US. Preet Jesrani, President and CEO of DesignBox3D, summarizes his excitement here:

“Having met with the entire Mass Portal team, we are extremely excited to formally announce this partnership and expect it to be a very successful cooperation to continue with our focus of only bringing forward the best that the market has to offer. It is my firm belief that Mass Portal produces the highest quality delta 3D printers on the market with an unrelenting focus on quality, reliability and design. I am looking forward a long and successful partnership with our friends at Mass Portal.”

Mass Portal has returned the enthusiasm, expressing the utmost confidence in DesignBox3D’s abilities to introduce new products to the US market.

Solid Angle Acquired by Autodesk

You have probably heard of Autodesk, the 3D engineering and entertainment software company, but you may not have heard of Solid Angle, the company Autodesk has recently acquired. Solid Angle is a 3D animation company, with offices in Madrid and London, that produces software used in large-scale television and film productions such as Game of Thrones and The Martian.

Solid Angle’s Marcos Fajardo states how his company benefits from its new status, and he explains how the company’s 3D rendering technology, Arnold brand, can benefit from Autodesk:

“With Autodesk, we’ll be able to accelerate development as well as scale our marketing, sales and support operations for Arnold to better meet the needs of our growing user base.”

Autodesk has longstanding industry connections that Solid Angle can benefit from as well. In 1982, the company first introduced AutoCAD software, and the company continues to develop a portfolio of 3D software for international markets. Now Solid Angle’s 3D rendering software will be added to this growing software in a timely deal that clearly benefits both companies.

Father of 3D Printing Chuck Hull Receives RIT Award

Considered by many to be the “father of 3D printing,” Charles W. Hull accepted Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) College of Imaging Arts and Sciences’ Melbert B. Cary Jr. Award on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at RIT’s University Gallery. Hull is considered the inventor of stereolithography, and he founded 3D Systems in 1986 to advance this technology. Hull also holds 85 US patents in his name, and he can be credited with inventing the STL file — which was the “first format that enabled CAD software to send print commands to a 3D printer — changing the game in manufacturing.”

RIT is not only dedicated to acknowledging the 3D printing pioneers of the past and present, but the university is also dedicated to staying current with 3D printing technologies moving forward. It has an AMPrint Center, which is a “university-corporate-government consortium” that seeks to develop 3D printing/additive manufacturing technologies. The Center will include “3D printers, direct-write printing equipment, analog printing and surface metrology technologies.” This award, which is named after a man whose “lifelong support for the graphic arts inspired others” is a fitting one for a man who is one of the original inventors in the 3D printing space. Also fitting is that it came from an institution dedicated to furthering Hull’s technological vision in a rigorous higher education environment that honors the past and looks toward the future of 3D printing technologies.

Colorado Manufacturing Awards Honor Fauston

In more 3D printing awards news, the company Faustson has just received the inaugural Colorado Manufacturing Award in the Contract Manufacturing category. The company is a worldwide leader in the machining industry, and it provides services in “medical, aerospace, aeronautics, defense, semiconductor and other industries” for clients all over the world. This award, which was sponsored by CompanyWeek and Manufacturer’s Edge, was the most difficult to judge in the Contract Manufacturing category — according to judges.

CompanyWeek’s founder, Bart Taylor, has this to say about Faustson’s award:

“If food and beverage has become Colorado’s national manufacturing calling card, its Contract Manufacturing sector, today boasting world-class advanced fabricators in technology sectors like aerospace and bioscience, may be its future. Metal 3D printing innovator Faustson Tool and its blue chip roster of clientele emerged in a close vote.”

Faustson’s Vice President, Heidi Hostetter, accepts the award as a great honor from the Colorado business community:

“It was an honor just to be nominated in such an aggressive and competitive category, but a complete shock, and one we were humbled by, to win. We have always had the mantra that we need to be the ‘Ritz’ of our industry and we will continue to carry that mantra out. This award is validation that we’re doing what our manufacturing partners expect. To be a contract manufacturer in this day in age means you must really engage with different industries and customers and be able to pivot and adapt quickly. We hear you Colorado, and we will continue to service you to the absolute best of our abilities.”

New Novio 3D Printer from Hong Kong’s 3D Fab Lab

In Hong Kong, the Novio 3D printer has been unveiled as the latest offering from 3D Fab Lab. This printer is simply designed with a user-friendly interface, and it is lightweight, portable, and foldable as well — without “losing its mechanical configurations.” This new 3D printer’s minimalist design has caught the interests of investors who have pledged to acquire possibly thousands of the printers, requiring some serious mass production to take place. But 3D Fab Lab is up for the challenge. The company began in 2011 as 3D Stuff Makers India and I-Optic Computing Sydney, and it has evolved from a private R&D tech company to the printer manufacturing powerhouse it now aims to be. The introduction of the Novio 3D printer, with its software that appeals to novices with little 3D printing experience, is a game changer for the company. To be sure, this printer’s simplicity, which does not impact its high quality printing, is surely to make some waves wherever people seek an affordable and easy to use 3D printer that beginners can use easily and seasoned printers can also appreciate.

That’s all for this week’s news. Discuss in the Week’s 3D Printing News forum over at 3DPB.com.