3D Printing: The Stories We Missed This Week — July 2, 2016

It’s been yet another week jam-packed with news from all around the 3D printing industry, and as usual, it was impossible to cover it all. DELRAY Systems has announced that they will sell and service the 3ntr Industrial 3D printers through their new reseller agreement with Plural Additive Manufacturing Inc., and NinjaTek has announced the global availability of their new high performance Cheetah and Armadillo filaments. Global Scanning has acquired assets from Real Awesomesauce, including their cloud-based solution, p3D.in. The tools systems company Dremel continues their involvement with STEM education, announcing 10 different teachers as Dremel Idea Builder Ambassadors for the 2016-17 school year. Crew members from Expedition 48 conducted experiments with 3D printing in zero-gravity in the Destiny laboratory module, and lastly, Sony has announced their plan to develop a robot capable of forming an emotional bond with their customers.

DELRAY Systems Signs Reseller Agreement With Plural AM to Sell 3ntr Industrial 3D Printers

This week, the manufacturing and product development solutions provider DELRAY Systems announced that they’ve signed a reseller agreement with Plural Additive Manufacturing Inc., and will now sell and service 3ntr Industrial 3D printers. This industrial-grade printing system is capable of achieving prints that nearly match up with injection molded part quality. Known for their precision and reliability, both the 3ntr A2 and A4 3D printer models will enable companies to manufacture parts in multiple production-grade materials in a single build sequence. Key features of these industrial-grade 3D printers include a large build envelope and three print nozzles for multi-material and soluble support printing.

“After more than 20 years in the 3D printing business and after an exhausting search for something better, we have finally found the diamond in the rough,” said Joe Rocca, President of DELRAY Systems. “We are very fortunate to team up with Plural and excited to experience the possibilities that this technology will provide in advancing and replacing traditional manufacturing processes.”

NinjaTek Announces Release of Their Two New High-Performance Filaments, Cheetah and Armadillo

The filament producer NinjaTek, a division of Fenner Drives, recently announced the global release of their two newly developed filaments, named Cheetah and Armadillo. These two filaments are engineered for high-performance 3D printing, and are ideal for a multitude of industrial needs, including seals, plugs, covers, and chemical resistant properties. According to NinjaTek, their flexible Cheetah filament is the fastest on the market, capable of being printed at 60mm/s. The Armadillo filament, on the other hand, is a rigid material that provides 90% higher abrasion resistance compared to other nylon materials, and also has a toughness rating that is a whopping 86 times greater than commonly used ABS.

Global Scanning A/S Acquires Assets from Real Awesomesauce S.A.

Scanning solutions provider Global Scanning A/S has recently announced that they’ve acquired assets from Real Awesomesauce S.A., including their established cloud-based platform, p3D.in. The platform is used to seamlessly share and edit 3D files via the internet. The acquisition, which was valued at $3 million, is comprised of 50% cash and 50% newly issued shares. With this move, Global Scanning A/S plans to explore opportunities within 3D file sharing and other collaboration services, and will now control a platform that could enable them to branch out into 3D models.

“This acquisition supports our future 2D product strategy, but also extends our opportunities within the emerging 3D market, allowing Global Scanning to accelerate the development and launch of future 3D products,” said Graham Tinn, CEO of Global Scanning.

Dremel Designates 10 K-12 Educators As Dremel Idea Builder Ambassadors

In an attempt to recognize and support teachers who are pioneering the maker movement in STEM education, the tools systems company Dremel has just named 10 different educators as Dremel Idea Builder Ambassadors. These selected educators, who teach K-12 classes around the United States, will receive a Dremel Idea Builder 3D40 and 10 spools of filament, and will be asked to share their corresponding 3D printing experiences. These ‘Ambassadors’ will share their teaching and learning experiences with Dremel’s 3D printing technology by creating multimedia content, which will be shared across Dremel Education’s social media channels. This educational content will include lesson plans for 3D printing projects, as well as explanations of the design and build process for these ideas. These Dremel Idea Builder Ambassadors will share their experiences starting in August 2016. The list of selected educators can be found here.

NASA’s Expedition 48 Commander Conducts 3D Printing Experiment in Zero-Gravity

This past week, on NASA’s Destiny laboratory module, Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams began conducting an experiment to 3D print in zero gravity. After gathering the 3D printing payload hardware and setting it up in the lab’s Microgravity Science Glovebox, Williams began testing whether or not a 3D printer can work in the conditions of outer space. The experiment demonstrated that the 3D printer operated normally while in space, proving that the emerging technology may provide major benefits for deep-space crewed missions and in-space manufacturing. During Williams’ experimentation with 3D printing, his Russian crewmates, Flight Engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, worked on a variety of other experiments, and also prepared a cargo ship for departure back into the Earth’s atmosphere this weekend.

Sony Developing Robot Capable of Forming Emotional Bond With Humans

Back in April, Sony quietly established an organization that would strictly focus on the development of robots. This past week, during the company’s corporate strategy meeting in Tokyo, the tech giant revealed that they are working to develop a robot that is capable of forming ’emotional bonds’ with human beings. According to a tidbit of information revealed by Sony, they are looking to “propose new business models that integrate hardware and services to provide emotionally compelling experiences.” In addition, Sony CEO Kaz Harai expects their VR development to play a major role in the company’s future growth as well, due in part to the Playstation VR, which is set to launch in October. In fact, Sony may create a new business domain just for VR development and products. Although their image sensor sales were lower than expected last year, Sony fully expects their Devices division to expand significantly in the near future, which they believe will come in the form of their dual-lens cameras for smartphones.

Do you have any interesting thoughts or questions about these topics? Let’s discuss over in the 3D Printing News This Week forum at 3DPB.com.