3D Printing News Briefs: December 2, 2019

We’re finishing up with formnext news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then moving on to a presentation and some business. Flightware presented its work on LPBF in-situ inspection and closed loop control at formnext, and a free online 3D printing summit will be held live next week. NASA just purchased its third Factory in a Tool from nScrypt, and EnvisionTEC Launched its EnvisionOne cDLM system in the European market. Finally, Digital Metal has announced a new partnership.

Flightware Presented at formnext 2019

At the recent formnext event in Frankfurt, David Maass of Flightware Inc. presented the company’s work on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) in-situ inspection and closed loop control. The presentation took place at the event’s TCT Conference. Maass told us that we would be able to “get a pretty good sense for the presentation” from two videos he sent us, one on each topic.

The video focused on in-situ inspection of LPBF using Layer Topographic Mapping (LTM) technology, which measures the melt layer quality of each layer formed in order to improve process yield and decrease unit cost. The video about closed loop control shows development, and a demo, of LPBF technology with Inconel 625.

Free Online 3D Printing Seminar

Coming up next week, on December 4th and 5th, the Online 3D Printing Summit 2019 will be held live…and obviously online. Free tickets are still available for a limited time to the “world’s first 100% online virtual summit dedicated to 3D printing,” and the event will feature ten expert interviews and presentations over both days. You can watch from anywhere, on any device, and the website states the Online 3D Printing Summit is definitely not just a pitch fest.

“Online 3D Printing Summit’s mission is simple…Get some of 3D printing’s most knowledgeable minds to divulge their best practices, top tips and secret hacks to improve your prints, projects and designs,” Summit host Ed Tyson states on the event website.

NASA Purchases Third nScrypt Factory in a Tool

To support research into intelligent flight systems at its Langley Research Center (LARC), NASA has purchased its third Factory in a Tool system from Florida-based nScrypt. NASA will be using the system to 3D print silver, and other conductive, materials in order to create 3D antennas, transmission lines, and sensors – the project’s main objectives are creating 3D antennas and conformal antennas on non-flat surfaces. The multimaterial 3Dn-Tabletop (Dual-Head) system that NASA selected comes with a precision ball screw motion platform, and will also feature nVision cameras for automated in-process monitoring, a SmartPump microdispensing tool head and nFD material extrusion tool head, as well as a surface mapping feature.

“We selected the nScrypt platform because it is capable of printing onto a range of shaped surfaces using a wide range of materials of varying viscosity, particularly conductive materials,” stated Omar Torres, NASA’s lead of the wireless avionics community of practice. “This allows the printing of a conformal antenna with the possibility of reaching frequencies as low as 150 MHz. This nScrypt platform delivers amazing capabilities at the lowest cost in the market.”

EnvisionTEC Launches Envision One cDLM in Europe

Professional 3D printing solutions provider EnvisionTEC announced that it has officially released its Envision One cDLM 3D printer into the European 3D printer market. The system can print at an average speed of up to 75 mm per hour in the Z axis, and works with a range of high-quality materials from EnvisionTEC and several of its new Open Material Access Program partners, such as DSM Somos, Henkel Loctite, and Sartomer Arkema.

Sobhi Aris, Managing Director of EnvisionTEC GmbH, said, “Envision One uses patented cDLM technology with zero separation forces during the build process coupled with a continuous movement option, allowing for the delivery of 3D printed parts at an incredible speed without any loss of accuracy.”

Digital Metal Partners with Elnik Systems and DHS Technologies

Metal binder jetting AM leader Digital Metal announced that it has entered into a collaborative agreement with Elnik Systems and DHS Technologies, LLC, both leading companies in the debinding and sintering of metal parts. Digital Metal, part of the Höganäs Group, is working to keep developing and optimizing its customer-driven solutions, and its two new partners, along with their process optimization services, will definitely help with this.

Christian Lönne, the General Manager of Digital Metal AB, said, “Learning and exploring together with the curious and highly experienced people at Elnik Systems/DSH Technologies LLC means that we together can provide even higher consistency and stability, as well exploring new fields for our fast growing customer base.”

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