3D Printing News Briefs: March 13, 2018

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We’re starting off with plenty of business news on today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, before moving on to an event report and some science for your Tuesday afternoon. Agreements and partnerships abound, as Innofil3D and Beijing Tiertime signed a collaboration agreement, Stratasys and Eckhart announced one as well, and 3YOURMIND has begun a partnership with OMNI3D. HB Technology has acquired the Roboze One + 400 3D printer, and EOS plans to open an Innovation Center for 3D Printing in Germany. Snow didn’t keep attendees away from a recent GoPrint3D event, and scientists at Nanyang Technological University have 3D printed skin that matches human pigments.

Innofil3D and Beijing Tiertime Sign Collaboration Agreement

Customized filament producer Innofil3D, acquired last summer by chemical giant BASF, has signed a collaboration agreement with FFF 3D printer manufacturer Beijing Tiertime. As per the strategic partnership, which supports continued development of the 3D printing industry in both China and the US, Beijing Tiertime will distribute a wide range of Innofil3D’s high-quality FFF 3D printing filaments in both countries. The companies will also work together on developing engineering materials for FFF 3D printing with industrial applications.

“Beijing Tiertime offers significant advantages for Innofil3D in China. They have demonstrated their capabilities in manufacturing reliable 3D printing machines with a strong market penetration. We believe this strong partnership will enable end-customers to capitalize on the full benefits of FFF printing in China and the United States,” said Jeroen Wiggers, Managing Director of Innofil3D.

Stratasys and Eckhart Announce Collaboration for 3D Printed Tooling

[Image: Eckhart]

3D printing leader Stratasys announced that it’s signed an exclusive three-year collaboration agreement with manufacturing solutions provider Eckhart Inc. to increase the adoption of 3D printing technology in North America for factory tooling. Eckhart has spent over 60 years building tools, like an ergonomic lift-assist, that manufacturers use to make production lines efficient and safe, and the company believes that additive manufacturing – with its line-of-sight improvement, light-weighting, and simplified build structure and bill of materials – can disrupt the tooling industry and help design a new generation of factory tools. Eckhart itself has a 3D printing laboratory, and as part of its new agreement, the lab includes some of Stratasys’ FDM 3D printers and materials.

Eckhart President and CEO Andy Storm said, “At Eckhart, we believe that with additive manufacturing, there is a real opportunity to reinvent how industrial tools are designed, manufactured, and ultimately used by customers.

“Our intent is to completely replace existing metal tools with 3D printed equivalents. The potential for innovation in weight-savings, simplified bills-of-material, and enhanced operator visibility that additive manufacturing affords is unprecedented.”

3YOURMIND and OMNI3D Announce Partnership

Moving right along with this week’s partnerships, Polish 3D printer manufacturer OMNI3D and digital platform 3YOURMIND have also announced a new partnership. Customers who don’t own 3D printers can use the 3YOURMIND platform to quickly take advantage of the technology, as the platform makes it easy to find a professional 3D printing supplier that can complete the print job. As per the new cooperation between the two, OMNI3D’s industrial 3D printing solutions are now available to order from 3YOURMIND.

According to a release about the new partnership, “The presence of OMNI3D on the 3YOURMIND platform makes it even easier access for customers to obtain high-precision 3D prints with industrial quality.”

HB Technology Acquires Roboze 3D Printer 

HB Technology’s assembly line.

Italy-based HB Technology, which provides manufacturing services in the aerospace sector, has a solid background in metal 3D printing, and considers itself a pioneer in using 3D printing technology in the industry to help its customers optimize supply chains, drive innovation, and improve competitiveness. Roboze announced that HB Technology has acquired its Roboze One+400 3D printer, in order to increase productivity in the aerospace industry by printing components and parts out of high-performance materials like PEEK.

“Our goal is to grow and improve our customers’ productivity by accelerating their opportunity to use our machines across various applications,” said Alessio Lorusso, Roboze Founder and CEO. “We are proud to confirm HB Technology’s acquisition of Roboze One+400 as it brings our territory and our innovation together in Apulia, a region representing one of Italy’s main aerospace districts and leader in scientific and technological advancements.”

EOS Opening Innovation Center for 3D Printing

Industrial 3D printing leader EOS, headquartered in Germany, recently expanded its production capacity by relocating its system manufacturing facilities to Maisach-Gerlinden near Munich. The move, in addition to providing EOS with a larger manufacturing space, brings these facilities closer to its Krailling headquarters. Now, the company is announcing more good news – it’s opening a new Innovation Center for 3D Printing in Düsseldorf. Other than providing customers with individual consulting and regional support, we don’t know much about the new facility yet, so stay tuned.

GoPrint3D Hosts Successful Event

Kevin Askew from GoPrint3D demonstrating how to add fibers using Eiger.

Last week, 3D printing specialist GoPrint3D hosted an event in its new Ripon showroom – the same week that the UK was in the the throes of a winter storm. The event was delayed by an hour, due to heavy snow not in the forecast, but 17 out of the 40 registered delegates were still able to make it out for a day of CAD, reverse engineering, 3D printing, and scanning.

GoPrint3D Sales Director James Blackburn welcomed the delegates, and then John Minto introduced his company, Mintronics, and first speaker David Jupp. Jupp discussed using Alibre for 3D printing CAD design, and designed a test tray and CNC machine multi-holder, which GoPrint3D speakers Kevin Askew and Darren Ayres then sliced, loaded, and 3D printed on a Zortrax M200 3D printer. Robert Footitt gave a demonstration on 3D scanning and reverse engineering after lunch, and Askew and Ayres 3D printed his designs on the Formlabs Form 2 and the Markforged Mark Two. Overall, the event was success, in spite of the snow.

NTU Scientists 3D Print Skin Matching Human Pigment

As part of a bioprinting project between the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, SC3DP scientists are reportedly the first ever to 3D print human skin that matches our own natural pigmentation and colors. This will give companies a more ethical way to test cosmetics and drugs, and 3D printed skin can be used to help diabetics and burn victims as well.

The 3D printable bioink is made up of three types of skin cells, which are fed into a special 3D printer with a soft collagen gel, before being extruded into layers that result in the natural color of human skin. The whole process can take up to two months, as the skin construct needs to be cultured for four weeks before it can be harvested. But more research is necessary – while 3D printed skin is a major innovation, any skin that’s pre-grown from human donors may be rejected by a patient’s immune system. In addition, it could take quite a while for their skin cells to be harvested and grow enough cells for the bioink.

Discuss these and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com, or share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

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