3D Printing: The Stories We Missed This Week — October 22, 2016

On this edition of “The Stories We Missed This Week,” we take a trip around the world to unearth the latest 3D printing news we were unable to cover over the jam-packed week. For starters, Formlabs is bringing their 3D printing technology to India through a new distribution partnership with leading provider Novabeans. Michigan-based software developer Altair will head to formnext 2016 in Frankfurt to showcase the latest versions of its simulation software suite HyperWorks 14.0 and much more. Sam Taylor, the head of London-based environmental consultancy firm Eunomia Research & Consulting, is looking to bring 3D printing and the waste industry together to create a positive environmental impact. Everyone’s favorite television scientist Bill Nye sees a very bright future for additive manufacturing, citing more precise production and less waste as reasons why the industry will only go up from here. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission released a report on the number of legal and illegal guns in Australia, making mention of the growing number of criminals using 3D printing to produce weapons. The 3D bioprinting company Organovo announced the sale of 9,000,000 shares of its common stock, worth a total of approximately $25 million. Lastly, at an exhibition in Jingdezhen, China, makers are proving that 3D printing technology will revolutionize the traditional making porcelain making process.

Formlabs Announces Distribution Partnership with Novabeans to Excel in India’s Market

Looking to meet the market demand in the region of India, Massachusetts-based 3D printing company Formlabs has announced a distribution partnership with Novabeans, the leading provider of 3D printing technology throughout the country. With their experience in sales and servicing, Novabeans will provide customers in India the same seamless experience and quality customer service enjoyed by Formlabs customers in other regions. Already with a strong presence in China, Japan, and South Korea, this new partnership is a major part of Formlabs’ goal to expand their footprint throughout Asia. Novabeans will be handling the sales and service for the Form 2 SLA 3D printer, providing their customers in India with one of the most highly regarded desktop 3D printers on the market.

Altair to Showcase Latest Software Developments at formnext 2016 in Frankfurt

Michigan-based software developer Altair will be showcasing their latest developments at the upcoming formnext 2016, a conference hosted by TCT that will be held from November 15 to 18 in Frankfurt, Germany. Altair will have their newest products on display, including their simulation software suite HyperWorks 14.0, concept design and optimization tools solidThinking Evolve, and Inspire 2016, which creates new design processes for the development and production of innovative products. Their customers will also present collaborative products at the show, most notably the Airbus APWorks’ Light Rider, the world’s first prototype of a 3D printed electric motorcycle. In addition, Altair will also show off the 3D printed antenna bracket created with RUAG Space, as well as the development and manufacturing processes of a cast aluminum component created in tandem by their partners HBM nCode and voxeljet. 3DPrint.com will also be present at formnext 2016, and we will be sure to stop by Altair’s booth (E50) to check out all of the innovative projects they have on display.

“We are very much looking forward to presenting our solutions, including our Simulation-driven Innovation approach at formnext,” said Mirko Bromberger, Director of Marketing and Additive Manufacturing Strategies at Altair Engineering. “Additive manufacturing (AM) is making headlines across industry as companies discover and take advantage of the inherent flexibility as well as the potential weight advantages the method offers, when combined with design optimization techniques.”

Eunomia Research & Consulting Aims to Connect 3D Printing and the Waste Industry

Sam Taylor

While he was attending the recently held TCT Show, Sam Taylor, the Principal Consultant and Head of the London office at leading environmental consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd., realized there was a great opportunity for the waste industry and 3D printing industry to work together. Taylor believes that as manufacturing moves from the factory to our doorstep, it will bring about a major economic and social impact, as well as critical environmental implications. To him, 3D printing technology can potentially benefit or debilitate the environment, and that’s why it’s so important for the industry to connect with waste consultants like Eunomia. For instance, polymer producers must create a system to ensure that their products can be safely disposed of once printed. Taylor also spoke on the danger of “legacy wastes” that will impact future generations, and also called for the 3D printing industry to focus more on waste management implications of 3D printed products.

“3D printing is something of a double-edged sword when it comes to waste. On one hand the technologies has considerable potential to help prevent waste. The opportunity for DIY repairs, especially to everyday items that we might otherwise decide were uneconomic to fix, appears enormous. Additionally it could also be an outlet for recycled plastics to be used to manufacture goods – ensuring that we move towards a more circular economy,” said Taylor.

Bill Nye Sees Additive Manufacturing as a Critical Part of our Future

Back when I was in middle school, there was nothing better than walking into my science class and finding out that we’d be watching Bill Nye the Science Guy. It’s been a while since I’ve caught an episode of the actor and science educator’s show, but that didn’t stop me from getting excited about his recent statements on the 3D printing industry. According to Nye, the future of production will shift from subtractive manufacturing, which is still widely used for almost all commercial manufacturing, to additive manufacturing. He believes that the future of 3D printing is unknown, but it will likely lead to zero waste, lighter and cheaper products, and will enable the entire world to make and create. In his eyes, the elimination of waste seems to be the biggest advantage of 3D printing over subtractive manufacturing. His future forecast is that we will have 3D printing stores or hubs that are stocked with machines that will download the design of what we need and produce it on the spot, eliminating the need for international freighting and resource wastage.

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Includes 3D Printed Guns in New Report

As the Australian government continues their strict crackdown on 3D printed guns, a recent report by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission foreshadows a future where the number of these home-produced weapons will grow. The report states that Australian citizens are currently armed with almost three million legal firearms and up to 600,000 illegal ones, some of which were 3D printed. As 3D printing technology continues to improve, the ACIC fears the threat that criminals in the country will increasingly produce and utilize 3D printed guns. This issue has been a hot topic in Australia for quite some time now. Last year, the government passed legislation putting restrictions on possessing a physical 3D printed gun, as well as the 3D files.

Organovo Announces Public Offering of Common Stock Priced at Approximately $25 Million

After recently unveiling their plan to develop a 3D bioprinted human liver for transplant, the biomedical company Organovo is now going public in a different kind of way. This past week, they announced the sale of 9,000,000 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering, which has been priced at $2.75 per share. The gross offering proceeds from the sale of these shares are expected to total around $25 million. Organovo plans to utilize these net proceeds for research and development, the commercialization of their products, general administrative expenses, as well as working capital and capital expenditures. Organovo also listed a second offering yesterday, but they aren’t the only 3D bioprinting company to make their grand entrance to the stock market this week. On November 3, the Sweden-based bioprinting company Cellink will make an initial public offering (IPO) on Sweden’s Nasdaq First North, which is meant for smaller-sized companies. They’re expected to have a pre-money valuation of around $17.7 million.

Exhibition in East China Showcases 3D Printing Impact on Porcelain Making

This past week, at the 2016 Jingdezhen Ceramic Fair in East China’s Jiangxi Province, 3D printing equipment that produces porcelain was unveiled by the Jingdezhen Innov-Source Industrial High-Tech Co. Ltd. According to insiders from the conference, the machine can reduce the production time of porcelain from five days to 20 hours, while maintaining high accuracy and a flawless success rate. Some believe that the new technology poses a threat to traditional manufacturing techniques. The 3D printing equipment, which reportedly took the company 15 years to fully develop, will allow people with no ceramics training to design and product their own porcelain clay creations.

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