It’s Friday, so we’ll start off today’s 3D Printing News Briefs with something interesting to roll us into the weekend, then move right on to 3D printing business news and some new product announcements. Linglong Tire has developed the first 3D printed polyurethane tires in China, and Carl Bass, formerly the CEO of Autodesk, joins the Formlabs Board of Directors. Beamler achieves its crowdfunding goal in one week, while the Vectary app has integrated with MyMiniFactory. The Robo R2 3D printer is now fully available for purchase, and Omegasonics introduces its Matrix 9000 Mark II generator.
First 3D Printed TPU Tires in China
The tires were 3D printed with FDM technology, which Linglong said makes the manufacturing process faster and more efficient, as it eliminates the need for a tire mold. 3D printing made it possible to form the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material into a tire shape, with a hexagonal structure similar to a honeycomb. According to the tire making company, using TPU rather than rubber tread offers a lower rolling resistance, because it results in less heat build-up. Used tires made out of this material are easily recycled. Linglong is anticipating lower costs for the 3D printed TPU tires when compared to traditional rubber ones, and believes that TPU will be the “main material” used for next-generation green tires.
Newest Member of Formlabs’ Board of Directors is Carl Bass
This winter, technology veteran Carl Bass announced his resignation as CEO of Autodesk, after a tenure of 24 years spent at the company in various positions; last month, the company named its CMO Andrew Anagnost as his successor. At the time, Bass did not say exactly what his next move would be, but this week we finally learned his plans – Bass has been appointed to the Formlabs board of directors.Bass said, “In just a few years, Formlabs has become the leader in professional 3D printing. Formlabs is poised to continue upending the industry, and I’m excited to join its journey in improving digital design and manufacturing for product designers everywhere.”
Bass remains on the board of directors at Autodesk, and also serves on the boards at both Zendesk and HP.
“We’re honored to have Carl join the board. Under his leadership, Carl transformed Autodesk from a 2D design company into a global leader of 3D design and engineering software,” said Max Lobovsky, the CEO of Formlabs. “I’m also personally thrilled to have another board member who is a passionate creator and uses CAD, 3D printers, and other tools himself. His experience and expertise will be invaluable for Formlabs as we continue charting new territories in professional 3D printing.”
Beamler Hits Crowdfunding Goal in One Week
The startup will use the additional funds to hire another developer, and its first sales engineer, in order to stimulate faster growth. In addition, Beamler was listed as #15 on the Top 40 Crowdfunding Campaigns list, and was chosen by ASML to speak at the recent IMPACT Summit in Eindhoven.
Vectary Announces App Integration with MyMiniFactory
“This new plugin will make it a lot easier and will encourage our users to start creating more 3D models and to share them with MyMiniFactory’s large community,” said Michal Koor, the co-founder and CEO of VECTARY. “I think we’re already seeing glimpses of how the future will look like in five-ten years from now, when creating 3D designs will be a common thing for almost anyone.”
VECTARY will continue to add and connect different plugins and integrations, so 3D printer owners can easily edit and customize shapes they find online.
Robo R2 3D Printer is Now Fully Available for Purchase
Ryan Legudi, the Managing Director at Robo, said, “To say we’ve worked hard to ensure Robo R2 meets and exceeds expectations with its full market availability is an understatement — it’s been an all hands on deck, around-the-clock effort since we decided to move forward with the very idea of a flagship 3D printer. We’re immensely proud of this finished product, whose feature set and functionality are aimed to redefine the entire industry. We’re fully confident that makers and professional users from various backgrounds and skillsets have the machine necessary to enjoy a world-class and truly innovative 3D printing experience.”
The Robo R2 is available through several large retailers, like [easyazon_link identifier=”B071JMB4ZG” locale=”US” tag=”3dprint09-20″]Amazon[/easyazon_link], and on the company’s website, for $1,499 MSRP. All orders are shipping within 24 hours.
Omegasonics Releases Matrix 9000 Mark II Generator
It has an enhanced heat sync that helps reduce the temperature, which will extend the life of your electronics, and an optional digital display that shows the generator’s output power.
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