3D Printing News Briefs: February 26, 2020

In our 3D Printing News Briefs today, we’ve got a workshop and a partnership, along with student discounts for 3D modeling and students 3D printing parts for an electric vehicle. ASTM is hosting a construction 3D printing workshop in Dubai, and VELO3D is partnering with Duncan Machine Products. SelfCAD is offering a major discount to students, and the ETSEIB Motorsport team is using BCN3D technology make end-use parts for its electric vehicles.

ASTM Holding Construction 3D Printing Workshop in Dubai

On April 14th, ASTM International’s United Arab Emirates Chapter and its Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence will be hosting a specialty workshop titled “Reshaping the Building and Construction Landscape with Additive Manufacturing” in Dubai. The workshop, which will focus on trends related to how AM is used in the construction sector, will include topics such as robotics in AM construction, materials development, and testing, inspection, standardization, qualification, and certification, among others. This workshop is open to professionals in building and construction who want to learn how 3D printing can advance the industry.

Dr. Alexander Liu, ASTM International’s head of AM programs for the Asia-Pacific region, said, “Advancements in AM have the potential to revolutionize the building and construction industry by reducing costs, shortening lead times, and supporting on-site construction and automation.”

VELO3D Partnering with Duncan Machine Products for Oil and Gas

Chris (left) and Teri Billings, founders and co-owners of Duncan Machine Products, with their kids & Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt (right), at the launch of Duncan’s expanded facility in 2019.

This week, VELO3D announced a new customer partnership with Oklahoma-based, female-owned Duncan Machine Products (DMP), which is a full-service precision machining company and a major supplier in the oil and gas industry. In response to increased customer demand for reduced lead times and better part performance, DMP expanded into metal 3D printing with VELO3D’s AM solution, consisting of the Sapphire system and its SupportFree 3D printing, Flow advanced pre-print software, and Assure quality management software. The Sapphire will be delivered in Q2 of 2020, which is good news for DMP, as the company has already received orders to 3D print a minimum of 1,500 parts for downhole tools for onshore and offshore exploration.

“We know that AM is essential for our future expansion. We chose VELO3D because their Sapphire printer can handle the most geometric complexity, and their support-less process doesn’t require customers to redesign their parts. This will enable us to bid on a larger portfolio of projects. We put VELO3D to the test on a series of customer-driven part builds and, in the end, it was an easy decision,” said Chris Billings, co-owner of DMP.

SelfCAD Offering Student and Teacher Discounts

Online 3D modeling and slicing software SelfCAD, founded in 2016 by Aaron Breuer, wants to make 3D printing and modeling accessible to everyone, even new users without much experience. It can be tough for beginners to learn professional CAD programs, but SelfCAD is accessible and easy to use, with no additional software required, and offers a single Saas-based program for modeling, sculpting, animating and slicing. Now, to promote 3D modeling in the classroom, SelfCAD is announcing a 65% discount of its software to all students and teachers.

“We are offering such a big discount in order to encourage students and teachers to venture into 3D printing and try SelfCAD,” Sammy Ekaran, Digital Marketer for SelfCAD, wrote in a press release.

“This is indeed a great opportunity for students and teachers who’ve been using TinkerCAD and now want something advanced and affordable for designing advanced models for 3D printing. Beyond the classroom setting, SelfCAD is helpful to the students who would like to advance their skills later as it gives them a good foundation in 3D modeling.”

To get the discount, go to the pricing page and enter the Coupon Code “Education.”

ETSEIB Motorsport 3D Printing Electric Vehicle Parts

The ETSEIB Motorsport team, formed by students from Barcelona, designs and builds 100% electric vehicles to race in the Formula Student tournament. Their budget is limited, which is why the team turned to 3D printing to make end-use parts, such as customized cooling ducts for brakes, for their cars. Good cooling is required for an optimal brake performance, as temperature increases the more you brake, which lowers the coefficient of friction and makes braking worse. The team 3D printed the parts on their BCN3D Epsilon 3D printer out of high-temperature PAHT CF15, a polyamide carbon fiber-reinforced material with high rigidity and resistance. Carbon fiber makes the part lightweight, while PVA was added to extend the use life of the parts, which take quite a beating on the race track.

With conventional manufacturing, it would have cost about €600 to manufacture the molds and insert for the parts, while the piece would be about €90. By using 3D printing, the cost per part to the ETSEIB Motorsport team was only €32.50; additionally, it took less than nine hours to print.

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