3D Printing News Briefs: September 12, 2017

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We’ve got a lot of 3D printing business news for you today in 3D Printing News Briefs – CollPlant has signed an agreement with a US investor, while the Hobs Group receives an additional BGF investment and Robo is raising capital for additional production runs. LiquidPlanner is partnering with P3 Group to deliver project management software, and Farsoon and BASF will continue their collaborative partnership to advance high temperature 3D printing solutions. Then we’re moving on to 3D design, medical and construction 3D printing, and a new material – MyMiniFactory has updated its Click & Print automatic slicing feature, and Anatomiz3D is using a 3D printed model to plan for complex TAVI procedures. Finally, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony recently for Europe’s first 3D printed building, and Verbatim is launching its latest material.

CollPlant Signs Definitive Agreement with US Investor

Earlier this summer, regenerative medicine company CollPlant filed a US patent application for 3D printing bioink based on its rhCollagen, and the company has now announced that it signed a definitive agreement for a $5 million private placement with an unnamed US investor. In the coming weeks, CollPlant will pursue up-listing of its American Deposit Shares on the NASDAQ exchange, and the closing of the first of three transaction phases – $2 million upon signing of the agreement – is expected to occur later this month. Once the transaction is approved at a soon-to-be-convened special meeting of shareholders, the second $2 million tranch will occur, with a $1 million tranch coming after a successful up-listing.

“We are pleased to have signed a definitive agreement with this US investor. This transaction, once closed, and in combination with potential, additional funds from current investors, will increase our financial stability and allow us to progress our strategic plan more rapidly,” said Yehiel Tal, CollPlant’s CEO. “In addition to supporting our Vergenix STR and Vergenix FG commercial distribution partners in Europe, we continue to advance our pipeline, including a novel rhCollagen-based BioInk for 3D printing of tissues and organs. We believe that our unique tissue repair technology may represent a potential paradigm shift in the field of regenerative medicine, and we look forward to raising CollPlant’s profile and expanding our shareholder base through an up-listing to the NASDAQ Exchange.”

Hobs Group Secures Additional £4 Million Investment from BGF

[Image: Insider Media Limited]

In 2014, the UK’s Business Growth Fund (BGF) invested £7 million so the Hobs Group could expand its Hobs Studio 3D printing services; recently, the BGF invested an additional £4 million so the company could continue expanding its 3D printing, reprographics, facilities management and legal support services businesses in the UK. Since the two first partnered, the Hobs Group has experienced growth across its four businesses, including Hobs Studio, which offers 3D printing and scanning, and digital visualizations for product designers, architects, and engineers. Later this year, Hobs Studio is set to open a larger facility in East London to increase business capacity, and it recently finished the largest 3D printed master planning model ever created for an East London development.

James Duckenfield, the chief executive of Hobs Group, said, “BGF were happy with the first investment and the 3D business has grown well – it will grow from £3.5m to £5m this year – and we will shortly be opening the new facility for 3D printing as we’ve run out of capacity at our existing location.”

“What we’ve demonstrated to BGF is that we have a model whereby we can grow a reprographics business through acquisitions and integrate them well and grow both the top line and the bottom line of the business. We’ve got an active pipeline of acquisitions – we won’t do the wrong deal but we are going to be proactive in the sense of looking for and making acquisitions. That’s part of the reason we wanted to have BGF on board – we’ve got the right amount of headroom to go off and do what we need to do now.”

Robo Raising Capital to Fulfill Production Runs for High Pre-Order Pipeline

In order to allow for additional production runs for its higher than anticipated pre-order pipeline for the December quarter, Robo has announced that it will complete a capital raising of $800,000. The company has seen a large increase in demand for its products, especially since its Robo R2 3D printer was released, and its December quarter pre-order pipeline is around $2 million, which is Robo’s highest ever pipeline level. This increased demand means more production runs to deliver the pre-orders, which is why the immediate capital injection is necessary. Subject to conditions like shareholder approval, Robo also has the ability to raise an additional $1 million in capital; Hunter Capital Advisors has been enlisted as the company’s corporate advisor and lead capital raising manager.

“We are delighted with the fast-paced growth and demand for Robo’s product line up, as evident in the record pipeline of pre-orders and expected growth over the next quarter,” said Ryan Legudi, Robo CEO. “This is validation of the high calibre of Robo’s products as well as the Company’s strategic approach to key channel partners over the last six months. We are also pleased at the support from existing and new shareholders for this capital raising, which provides funding to enable further growth over the coming months.”

LiquidPlanner Partnering with P3 Group to Deliver Project Management Software

Project management software developer LiquidPlanner and global manufacturing consultancy P3 Group have announced that they have formed a partnership in response to the impact of Industry 4.0 on manufacturing. LiquidPlanner’s project management tool evaluates the relationships between effort, priorities, and resources, in order to give companies adaptable, realistic business plans and schedules. The two will deliver project management software and accelerate deployments for worldwide manufacturing customers, to help them rebalance tasks when schedules and priorities change and evolve.

“With Industry 4.0, IoT and 3D Printing, manufacturers face a tidal wave of complexity. They require the ability to navigate multidimensional, fluid relationships between people, priorities and effort,” said Liz Pearce, LiquidPlanner CEO. “LiquidPlanner delivers the dynamic rebalancing manufacturers require. P3 is uniquely qualified to help accelerate deployments, assess manufacturers’ processes and goals and partner with manufacturers to help deliver complex projects.”

Farsoon and BASF Continue Partnership for High Temperature 3D Printing Solutions

403P Series

3D printing system provider Farsoon and BASF, the largest chemical company in the world, teamed up five years ago to provide high performance 3D printing systems and materials. Two years ago, thanks to Farsoon’s material processing and machine development competencies, the two created and introduced a high-performance PA6 material from BASF; this relationship has also resulted in the release of several 3D printing systems capable of high temperatures, such as the HT252P, ST252P, and HT403P. Now, the companies have announced that they will continue their collaborative partnership to advance high temperature 3D printing solutions. The continued collaboration demonstrates their desire and dedication to use advanced systems and materials to industrialize 3D printing.

The success of cooperation between Farsoon and BASF is based on the common goal of industrializing 3D printing,” said Dr. Xu Xiaoshu, the Founder and President of Farsoon. “In the future close cooperation, we will share the advantage resources on R&D, technology, machines, materials and applications in order to provide the customers with the most valuable industrialized 3D printing solutions.

MyMiniFactory Announces Click & Print Update

Less than a month ago, 3D printable object-sharing platform MyMiniFactory launched the first version of Click & Print, its automatic slicing feature. For new 3D printer owners (Click & Print is only available for the STARTT 3D printer now), the feature gets rid of the need to slice objects together, and users can simply click ‘print preview for STARTT’ on supported objects to get a quick render of what the object will look like with supports. The gCode can be downloaded directly and sent straight the printer.

Now, MyMiniFactory has updated its Click & Print feature, so it’s almost as easy to 3D print something as it is to 2D print. Currently, 8,000 objects from the Scan the World collection support the Click & Print feature – just select the one you want, and then easily change the model’s scale and decide if you want more than one copy of it to print out.

Anatomiz3D Using 3D Printed Models to Pre-Plan Complex TAVI Procedures

Medical 3D printing company Anatomiz3D has successfully used 3D printed surgical models and guides before to plan complex surgeries, and its most recent case study, with Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) cases, was no different. In the procedure, a catheter, carrying an artificial valve, is inserted through a small suture in the pelvis region to enter the aorta’s femoral illiac branch, and then pushed up to the aortic opening to implant the valve in the patient. The procedure is difficult, due to the different curvatures of the descending aorta. Dr. Keyur Parikh, Cardiologist and Chairman of Ahmedabad, India’s CIMS Hospital, recently worked on two TAVI cases where these curvatures were incredibly steep, and asked Anatomiz3D for help.

To separate the aorta from the heart for 3D printing a model, the team took a look at the patients’ CT scan data first. Then they used a transparent material for the anatomical simulation model, so Dr. Parikh would be able to try inserting the catheter and the artificial valve and check his results right through the material before performing the procedure for real on his patients; both surgeries were a success, and Dr. Parikh said that 3D printing technology “could change how we deal with TAVI cases.” Anatomiz3D is now working to make more pre-operative simulation models for TAVI procedures.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Europe’s First 3D Printed Building

Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO at 3D Printhuset being interviewed to national Danish TV at the opening of The BOD

This week, over 100 attendees gathered in Copenhagen for the grand opening of The BOD (Building on Demand), the first up-to-code 3D printed building in Europe. The upper part of the foundation was 3D printed live in front of the guests, and Jens Kramer Mikkelsen, the former Mayor of Copenhagen, cut the red ribbon at the event, which was organized to celebrate that 3D Printhuset had officially begun construction of the building. Once the building is finished this fall, it will be used as a small office hotel; 3D Printhuset CEO Henrik Lund-Nielsen said that the company is not trying to promote its 3D printer, but rather promote 3D construction printing in general.

“As a former mayor and CEO of By & Havn I have attended quite many red ribbon cutting events at new constructions sites, but today we will see something special, which the large amount of attendees and press representatives here today is also verifying,” said Mikkelsen. “Today we will with our own eyes be able to see Europe’s first 3D printed building being made just in front of us by the 3D printer. Today we are really seeing the future!”

The upper part of the foundation reached its completion height of 60 cm a few hours after the event had ended; the next phases of construction include traditional casting of the floor, and then 3D printed walls up to 4.5 meters tall.

Verbatim Launching New Material

This week, Verbatim launched its high performance PRIMALLOY BLACK filament for material extrusion. The material will allow designers to make 3D functioning objects that are durable and flexible; applications include items like grips, gaskets, door latches, and electrical connector boots for the automotive, industrial, and home sectors. The material is a thermoplastic ester elastomer (TPEE) that is far more flexible and elastic than standard TPE materials. It offers high mechanical strength and resistance, low temperature properties, and is perfect for outdoor applications due to a “high level of hardness stability across a wide temperature range.”

Shigeyuki Furomoto, the Manager, Global CEO office, of Verbatim’s parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Media, said, “Customers have been pushing us to launch a black version of our popular PRIMALLOY material, and here it is! We expect good demand for it as most applications where a flexible material is needed, such as door or window seals, grips, holders etc. tend to be in black.”

The material will be showcased later this month at Verbatim’s booth at the TCT Show Birmingham, where we’ll be getting a first-hand look.

Let us know your thoughts; join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com, or discuss in the Facebook comments below.

 

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