Inside 3D Printing Seoul 2019 Day One

Inside 3D Printing Seoul is one of the world’s largest 3D printing shows. Set in the giant maelstrom that is Seoul, the show brings together people from all over the region and world to meet, discuss, and learn. The show will see over 10,000 people join exhibitors and speakers from all over. Alan Meckler kicked it off with a short presentation on the 3D printing industry’s growth. He looked at the growth of 3D printer unit sales, revenue growth, regional growth, and industry sector growth. He talked about the shift towards manufacturing and the maturation of our industry.

On next was Hugo da Silva of DSM. Hugo talked about working together to create an ecosystem for 3D printing. He said that manufacturing firms will never settle for having just one supplier with a limited choice of materials. He felt that new business models and new models of working together were needed. Revenue sharing would be the way to go forward. He was also aiming for DSM to create a wholly sustainable product portfolio. This would mean that you can recycle or reuse all of their materials. They would be looking at recycling powders. Recycling PET filament and pellets would also be on the menu. The company would also invest more in bio-based materials.

Kibong Lee of 3D Systems was next. He went through 3D Systems’ offering of SLA, SLS and metal 3D printing machines. He also discussed some cases of customers including aerospace, rocket engines, and aircraft parts. Invisalign is one of the most exciting examples of a company using 3D printing to manufacture using 3D printing anywhere. The firm helps millions straighten their teeth by taking CT scans and turning these into 3D prints. These are then used as a mold for a silicone dental aligner. This easier to use process has been used by millions. Kibong said that now Align 3D prints 320,000 parts per day which would make it a huge application for 3D printing.

Sang Joon Park of Medicalip is both a radiologist and computer science graduate. He’s a professor of Radiology at Seoul National University, as well as CEO of his own firm. Specializing in medical models and converting MRI and CT data into models used for testing, education and training, his firm has also innovated on software. They now use machine learning to clean up images and segment files which will make their high-quality medical models more accessible and more accurate.

Lauralyn McDaniel of ASME told us over a million patients have been helped by 3D printing and the total value of all 3D printing is nearly ten billion and 11% of that is in medical. She took us through the history of 3D printing in medicine talking about Materialise, Medical Modeling, Surgical guides, and mold patterns. She mentioned that in In The Ear hearing aids 3D Printing became the standard. She looked at early applications such as CMF and “highly complex and rare procedures such as conjoined twins.” She explained that often people are using terms such as “biocompatible materials” incorrectly and that we could do “design to be clean” and make medical devices that are designed for optimal powder removal for example. She also mentioned that US IPT codes are opening up for models and surgical guides.

Raymond Zhang of Shining3D talked about the company’s portfolio of 3D scanners but also their printers. He mentioned that the firm has an SLS printer specialized for orthoses. They also have an SLA machine and metal printers. He then went deeper into Shining’s medical cases including an osteotomy guide where a CT scan became the basis for the case. A complex fracture was another case whereby Shining was able to help. In a scoliosis brace the firm was also able to help young patients regain quality of life. The braces are optimized to be breathable and comfortable. A spine implant in PEEK and an interbody cage made out of titanium by Korean company Mantiz complete their showcase.

Tony Kim is one of the people who was instrumental in defining the Korean government’s 3D printing strategy. He specializes in looking at SLA and DLP. He’s very knowledgeable on photopolymers, especially for dental applications. He talked about dentures, temporary structures, implants and more. He talked about the core design characteristics of 3D printing resins. For example, if you wanted it for a certain application, how do you design a resin for reliability.

Inside 3D Printing Seoul continues until June 28th at KINTEX, South Korea.