While you and your family gathered together this week to gorge on turkey and talk politics, the 3D printing industry proved that it halts for no holiday. On this Thanksgiving edition of “The Stories We Missed This Week”, we’ve got the latest on innovative 3D printing news from across the world. For starters, engineers from the Russian city of Samara announced that they are aiming to develop a solar 3D printer for construction activity on the moon. The United Arab Emirates has been recognized for havng among the most innovative and least wasteful infrastructure projects in the world. The global tech giant Siemens has partnered with production solutions provider TRUMPF to develop a software solution for the design and preparation of 3D printed metal parts. The UK-based 3D printing company Hawk 3D Proto has expanded their 3D printing range through a new reseller agreement with Raise 3D for the N2 Plus. The South Korean 3D printer manufacturer Carima will now starting bundling Materialise Magics Print software with their DLP 3D printer line. Lastly, the microfluidics company Dolomite was recognized with the prestigious R&D 100 Awards for Fluidic Factory 3D printing system.
Russian Engineers to Develop Solar 3D Printer for Construction Activity on the Moon
As the international race to colonize outer space becomes a plausible reality, space agencies across the world have implied that 3D printing technology will play a major role in future exploration missions. Both NASA and the ESA have already unveiled plans to bring additive manufacturing up to the moon, and now engineers from the Russian city of Samara have announced plans to develop a solar 3D printer for construction activity on the moon’s surface. Engineers from the Samara State Technical University are planning to develop a prototypical 3D printing system that will utilize moon soil as material to construct stone coverings. These coverings will protect modules sent from Earth from dust and debris caused by rocket engines. These 3D printed stone objects will also function as surface navigation systems, as well as for the construction of underground facilities.
Dubai 3D Printing Infrastructure Project Recognized for Innovation and Conservation
If you’ve followed the inner happenings of 3D printing closely over the past few years, you likely know that the United Arab Emirates city-state of Dubai has pioneered the technology with a vast array of ambitious projects, from construction to healthcare. This past week, the UAE government was recognized for five major projects at the Tekla Global Building Information Modeling (BIM) Awards. Team of judges awarded the Castle Kingdom at Legoland Dubai, Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal, Al Habtoor City Theatre, Dubai Opera, and NAS Arena for spearheading the use of 4D digital models that can “enhance productivity and collaboration.” The 11th annual international award ceremony recognized the UAE government for leading the adoption of Tekla’s BIM software in their infrastructure projects. The BIM software essentially automates of the use of CAD information to ensure accuracy and completion in the manufacturing process.
“This year has been a seminal moment for GCC construction innovation, and 2017 will see continued momentum with government BIM directives, 3D printing and pre-fabrication, and BIM gaining wider take-up. The UAE’s strong showing in international awards demonstrates the country’s standing as a global BIM leader,” said Paul Wallett, Regional Director of Trimble Solutions Middle East.
Siemens and TRUMPF Partner to Develop Metal 3D Printing Software
Earlier this week, the global tech powerhouse Siemens and the laser system manufacturer TRUMPF partnered up to enhance their metal 3D printing capabilities. The two companies will work in tandem to develop a software solution for the design and preparation of 3D printed metal parts. Their deal will lead to the integration and streamlining of the Siemens NX software into TRUMPF’s laser metal fusion (LMF) printers. This would allow users to design and engineer parts for metal additive manufacturing as well as 3D print preparation them for printing with TRUMPF’s integrated build processor technology. Ultimately, the collaborative solution will combine the newly released NX software with the TRUMPF build processor and sold with their TruPrint Laser Metal Fusion 3D printers. The integrated software solution will cluster the entire digital production process chain in a single software solution, eliminating the need for separate standalone applications to handle part design and data preparation.
“Our combined solution will offer customers a high degree of process reliability thanks to its use of smart product models through all phases of the process,” said Tony Hemmelgarn, CEO and President, Siemens PLM Software. “There will be no need for data conversion because the tools for design, simulation, 3D printing and NC programming of metal parts are integrated into one system.”
Hawk 3D Extends 3D Printing Capabilities with N2 Plus 3D Printer
The UK-based 3D printing company Hawk 3D Proto recently announced the expansion of their services thanks to a new reseller agreement with Raise 3D. The deal will bring a fully operational N2 Plus 3D printer into Hawk 3D’s West Yorkshire-based showroom and training facility. The newly added 3D printer will be available for individual and company tours, offering potential customers a firsthand look at the large-scale printing capabilities of the N2 3D printer. The machine is equipped with an enclosed print volume of 305 x 305 x 610 mm, and is compatible with both single and dual extruders. Priced at £3000, Raise 3D’s printer provides large-scale production at an affordable price, and is a product that Hawk 3D Proto clearly feels their customers will appreciate having access to.
CEO & Founder of Hawk 3D Proto Ben Hawksworth said: “I am delighted that Hawk 3D Proto will be able to offer our UK clients the benefits of the N Series of 3D printers from Raise 3D. We have been very impressed with the machines’ large build volumes and overall capabilities. In particular, we are loving the pause and save feature of this 3D printer which allows users to pause during printing and continue at any time without failure during the process. We call it ‘Pause it – Resume it – 3D Print it!’”
Carima 3D Printing to Bundle Materialise Magics Print Software with 3D Printers
Last week, during the formnext 2016 exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, Materialise NV announced that they would be integrating their Materialise Magics Print software within the Digital Light Processing (DLP) 3D printers manufactured by the South Korea-based company Carima. The collaboration aims to enable those utilizing Carima’s DLP printing line, which includes the Master EV, DM200, and DM250, to efficiently repair and prepare files directly through the Magics Print software. This partnership developed out of test results that were found by Materialise’s DLP Technology Centre of Excellence in Malaysia, which reportedly shows that integrating the software will allow Carima users to prepare their 3D models twice as fast, while the usage of the auto-scaffold support structures feature will reduce the support removal time by up to 82%.
“We are happy to actively work with machine manufacturers like Carima to enable the user of their machines to get the most out of 3D printing technology. By bundling part of our open and neutral software backbone with their machines, we combine each other’s strength and expertise,” explains Stefaan Motte, Vice President of Software at Materialise.
Dolomite’s Microfluidics Factory Recognized at R&D 100 Awards
After releasing the first commercial 3D printer for fabricating microfluidic chips earlier this year, Dolomite’s Fluidic Factory has garnered some gracious recognition from the R&D 100 Awards, a ceremony that recognizes the most innovative technology products of the year. This past week, the Fluidic Factory was honored with the award in the ‘Processing and Prototyping’ category. The commercial FDM 3D printer is exceptionally unique, allowing users to make fluidically sealed devices using cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), which is a sturdy material that is biocompatible, translucent, and approved by the FDA for various implants. The award was granted to Dolomite for their advanced FDM 3D printing system’s potential impact on research and development for medical diagnostics, drug development, chemical synthesis, biomedical assays and education, and other healthcare-related applications.
“The entire Blacktrace Group is delighted that we have once again been successful at the esteemed R&D 100 Awards, highlighting our strengths in innovation and developing novel technologies with real world applications. This award recognizes how the Fluidic Factory is helping to push the boundaries of microfluidics, enabling faster and more cost-effective prototyping and opening up new avenues of research,” said Mark Gilligan, CEO of Blacktrace Holdings, of which Dolomite is a part.
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