3D Printing: The Stories We Missed — March 18, 2017

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Sláinte! In this week’s St. Patrick’s Day edition of Stories We Missed, we’re talking about partnerships, 3D printing materials, and 3D printers themselves. Concept Laser and GoEngineer are supporting each other’s expansion in metal additive manufacturing, while Big Metal Additive joins the ADAPT consortium. i.materialise and Sartomer are both introducing new materials, while colorFabb discontinues one of theirs. Nano Dimension supplies a design bureau and a medical device company with its Dragonfly 2020 3D printers, atum3D heads to Shapeways to install a DLP Station, and Sciaky delivers its first EBAM to the Asia Pacific Market.

Concept Laser Partners with GoEngineer to Expand Combined 3D Metal Printing Reach

goe-logoA top provider of 3D metal printing technology, Concept Laser announced a new partnership with GoEngineer, which delivers technology, software, and training expertise to help make a company’s product design process more efficient and innovative. The strategic partnership will help both companies grow in the metal additive manufacturing world.

“We’re excited to partner with GoEngineer as we focus our combined energies serving a broader range of customers with industry-leading 3D metal printing machine solutions,” said John Murray, President and CEO of Concept Laser Inc. “GoEngineer’s outstanding reputation in additive manufacturing design, services, and support makes them a premium partner.”

GoEngineer, which operates nearly 20 training and support centers across the central and western United States, will call on its 30-year history of providing customers with the best-in-class products, to be a marketing channel for Concept Laser’s machine solutions portfolio. Concept Laser, in turn, will bring its strength in powder-bed laser metal additive manufacturing systems to the partnership.

Brad Hansen, CEO of GoEngineer, said, “The relationship with Concept Laser presents a powerful opportunity for GoEngineer to understand and assist our customers as they develop strategies to move into the metals market while minimizing risk. While there are other 3D metal printing manufacturers, Concept Laser was the best choice based on global performance, market share and relentless innovation.”

The two companies recently produced a race car chassis together: it was built out of aluminum on Concept Laser’s M2 cusing machine, while GoEngineer designed the chassis, using its workflow of parametric CAD tools, metrology-grade laser scanners, and topology optimization software. The race car chassis will be on display at next week’s Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) 2017 Conference in Chicago.

Big Metal Additive Joins ADAPT Research Consortium

adapt-logoThe Colorado-based research consortium ADAPT, the Alliance for the Development of Additive Processing Technologies, welcomes new member Big Metal Additive (BMA), which, you might have guessed, specializes in metal additive manufacturing for larger builds. The startup is bringing its capabilities for large additive aluminium components to the consortium.

“ADAPT is excited to welcome Big Metal Additive to our membership. This Colorado startup is focused on new technologies for bigger, lightweight structures and thus brings a new length scale to our membership and research activities,” said Aaron Stebner, ADAPT Technical Director. “We are excited about this great partnership that will draw on previous research efforts and offer deep learning for better machine control.”

The ADAPT R&D organization is focused on creating advanced characterization technologies and next-generation data informatics for additive manufacturing technologies. BMA, with its arc-based, wire-fed AM method of using aluminium to build large, complex design structures, will fit right in. Its machine build volume is over 15 cubic feet, and was specially configured to allow for large-scale industrial AM in an open shop environment.

BMA Founder Slade Gardner, formally a distinguished fellow at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, said, “I have been pioneering large additive manufacturing capabilities for aerospace and spacecraft applications for almost two decades and now I am excited to launch Big Metal Additive (BMA) to satisfy complex designs that meet the needs of a broad range of customers. Colorado is the right place to be for this company launch especially with the powerful technology support that comes with ADAPT expertise.”

i.materialise Introduces New Rhodium-Plated Brass Finish

bloom-by-blueberries-rhodium-brass

Bloom by Blueberries

Online 3D printing service i.materialise is bringing a touch of luxury, with new rhodium-plated brass, to its family of 3D printing metal finishes. 3D printing jewelry designers will be excited to use the smooth, glossy material, which is capable of printing with a high level of detail. Rhodium is one of the most expensive metals out there, but i.materialise won’t let you break the bank, as only a very thin layer of electroplated rhodium is added to brass prints.

Any 3D prints made using the new finish will be constructed using wax 3D printing and brass casting; the brass object will be electroplated with the rhodium finish. The rhodium plating is hypoallergenic and increases not only an item’s brightness, but also its durability.

If you’re interested in trying out the new finish for yourself, just upload your 3D model to i.materialise, and then choose ‘brass’ and ‘rhodium-plating’ from the materials menu. Items made with this shiny surface can be 3D printed up to a size of 88 x 88 x 125 mm.

BambooFill Material Discontinued at colorFabb

bamboofeaturedOnline 3D printing filament store colorFabb just announced that it will be discontinuing its bambooFill material for economical reasons. This material, the second of colorFabb’s bio-filled filaments and made of 20% recycled bamboo fibers and 80% biodegradable PLA filament, was introduced back in 2014.

The very last batch of bambooFill was produced last week. colorFabb said the decision to discontinue the filament was not easy, but due to the rising costs of raw materials, it was “no longer economically viable to produce this filament.” It was also less popular than its other bio-filled filaments, woodFill and corkFill, both of which will continue to be produced. colorFabb said that discontinuing the production of bambooFill will keep the focus on developing new filaments, as well as maintaining its current materials portfolio.

Sartomer Featuring New Products at 2017 European Coatings Show

sartomer2Arkema Group subsidiary Sartomer is launching its new advanced acrylate and methacrylate solutions, which will be introduced at the European Coatings Show in Nuremberg next month. Sartomer is one of the leading global suppliers of these specialty solutions, which are designed for light emitting diode and electron beam (UV/LED/EB), ultraviolet, peroxide, and two-part epoxy/amine curable systems.

Its new UV/LED/EB curable high-performance coatings and inks consist of its new adhesion promoting oligomer PRO22019, and a unique urethane silicone acrylate called PRO21536. Sartomer is also releasing a dedicated product for applications in food packaging, as it meets the industry’s rigid directives and regulations. A brochure that highlights the company’s “expertise towards printing inks market drivers” will be available at Sartomer’s booth.

Also at the show, Sartomer will be presenting its new urethane dimethacrylate CN1993, which offers more control, adhesion, and flexibility in its customers’ systems, and its new N3xtDimension brand, a new generation of additive manufacturing solutions.

Nano Dimension Supplies Israeli PCB Design Bureau and Medical Device Company with the DragonFly 2020

nano_di_dragonfly_2020_3d_printer_500The DragonFly 2020 3D printer continues to take over the world, as 3D printed electronics system leader Nano Dimension recently supplied its flagship machine to a PCB design bureau in Israel. Nano Dimension’s beta program allows worldwide partners and other leading companies a chance to lease the unique and innovative PCB 3D printer for a fee.

The design bureau, now one of Nano Dimension’s beta customers, will take a closer look at the breakthrough technology of the DragonFly 2020; the bureau helps a wide range of companies design and manufacture PCBs. Nano Dimension’s ever-expanding group of beta customers are active in many industries, ranging from defense and medical devices to consumer goods and, now, to medical marijuana, as Nano Dimension has also delivered a DragonFly 2020 to Syqe Medical, also located in Israel.

Syqe Medical has been using 3D printing to prototype and produce its medical cannabis inhalers, which have been used in Israel’s Rambam Hospital for over a year. The DragonFly 2020 will help the medical device company to develop and produce its high-tech products faster than ever, according to Nano Dimension.

The DragonFly 2020 is the first 3D printer in the world that is entirely dedicated to printing multi-layer PCBs, along with advanced nanotechnology-based dielectric and conductive inks. The two companies in Israel will be able to use their leased DragonFly 2020s to enhance their in-house capabilities.

atum3D Installs New DLP Station at Shapeways NL in Eindhoven

atum3d-shapeways-installatum3D introduced its new DLP Station 4 3D printer at formnext 2016, and encouraged all the visitors to its booth to enter a raffle for the chance to have one of the machines installed at their facility for six months. Shapeways NL, located in Eindhoven, was the lucky winner, and atum3D installed a brand new, all-inclusive DLP Station at the Netherlands headquarters of Shapeways last week. The DLP Station will be integrated into the workflow of the 3D printing service bureau.

Shapeways NL Industrial Engineer Daphne Lameris, whose business card was the winning ticket, said, “We are delighted to add this state-of-the-art atum3D DLP station to our facility.”

atum3D traveled to Eindhoven to install the DLP Station, as well as to give the operators a hands-on training session.

“That’s the atum3D standard. We believe in the importance of supporting our customers during the setup and use of our products,” said atum3D Channel Manager Guy Nyssen.

He said that this strategy allows its customers to enjoy all of the DLP Station’s benefits. The machine allows detailed models and components to be quickly and cost-effectively manufactured, with the optimal material properties. Nyssen believes that the industrial Shapeways environment will be a perfect place for the DLP Station.

“The professional operators at Shapeways will be putting the DLP Station through its paces like no other,” Nyssen said. “We’re looking forward to working together the coming months.”

First EBAM Delivered by Sciaky to Asia-Pacific Region

Sciaky's EBAM(TM) 110 System

Sciaky’s EBAM(TM) 110 System

Metal 3D printing solutions leader Sciaky, a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc., will soon be delivering its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) system to a Japanese supplier, marking the company’s first EBAM system installation in the Asia-Pacific region. The supplier (remaining anonymous for competitive reasons) will announce the project details this fall, but did say that it plans to use the Sciaky EBAM 110 system to offer its customers 3D printing services as well as for internal product development.

Sciaky’s EBAM systems are the most widely scalable, metal additive manufacturing solution in the industry, capable of producing parts from 8″ all the way up to 19′ in length. The EBAM’s Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System (IRISS) is the only real-time monitoring and control system for metal 3D printers that can both sense, and precisely adjust, metal deposition. This closed-loop control is mostly responsible for Sciaky’s consistent 3D printing process.

Bob Phillips, VP of Marketing for Sciaky, Inc., said of the Japanese supplier, “Sciaky is excited to work with this forward-thinking company. This is an historic milestone for the metal 3D printing market in that it will offer manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region an opportunity to take advantage of EBAM’s one-of-a-kind capabilities.”

The Sciaky EBAM system is scheduled to be delivered to the Japanese supplier in January of 2018. Discuss in the Stories We Missed forum at 3DPB.com.

 

 

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