3D Printing News Briefs: March 31, 2020

We’re taking care of business first in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. PostProcess Technologies has announced two new partnerships, and ProtoCAM just launched its Instant Quoting platform. Moving on to 3D printers, a Czech company is turning common 3D printers into smart ones. Finally, a Reddit user shares an impressive 3D printed Iron Man suit.

PostProcess Technologies Announces Two Partnerships

PostProcess Technologies Inc., which provides automated and intelligent post-processing solutions for industrial 3D printing applications, is working to build up its network of retailers in order to continue delivering consistent, innovative solutions. To help in this initiative, the company is expanding its international reach with two new partners. First, the company has announced a channel partnership with Russian 3D printer distributor Z-axis, which will help PostProcess reach new customers in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, and Russia. Additionally, PostProcess is collaborating with Israeli 3D printing consulting company 3D Alliances in order to support its recruitment of European sales partners.

“It’s been exhilarating to see the speed at which customers across the globe are seeking our automated and intelligent post-print solutions,” said Bruno Bourguet, Managing Director of PostProcess
Technologies International. “To better service this expanding market and help us identify strong partners, we are pleased to have the opportunity to work with 3D Alliances. Already, they have helped us secure a strategic agreement with Z-axis. Together with our channel partners, we continue to aim at achieving our objective of moving forward in automating the post-print step of the additive manufacturing workflow in Industry 4.0.”

ProtoCAM Introduces Instant Quoting Platform Early

Yesterday, March 30, ProtoCAM‘s new instant quoting platform was officially launched ahead of schedule. The platform went live early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so that customers could enjoy 24/7 access to ProtoCAM’s services from anywhere in the world. Users will be connected to a central quoting page, with the option of the original engineer-assisted quote or the new instant platform, where they can upload 3D CAD files to access real-time costs in multiple materials, finish options, and technologies, such as PolyJet, FDM, stereolithography, and MJF. ProtoCAM hopes that its new platform will streamline operations, as users can order parts more quickly, and even reorder them with the touch of a button.

“We understand there is a big gap in the additive manufacturing space when it comes to quoting—most companies offer either an online platform with little or no customer support, or they offer full support with no instant option,” said Ed Graham, the Vice President of Additive Manufacturing at ProtoCAM. “We want to be the first to offer our customers both options—instant pricing as well as engineering support and customer service. We are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience, and we feel this will be the best option for any level project.”

Turning Common 3D Printers into Smart Ones

Czech IT solutions supplier Fragaria has a solution for those wanting to turn their common 3D printers into more convenient and accessible smart systems – it’s called Karmen. The two-part solution consists of the open source Karmen cloud service and the Karmen Pill hardware controller. The cloud service remotely controls an “arbitrary number of 3D printers” from a web browser, and can distribute print jobs, inspect print progress, and schedule new jobs. It supports most current smart printers, though some FDM systems won’t work with Karmen, which is where the tiny Karmen Pill comes in. The 77 x 34 x 12 mm box can connect your 3D printer to the network with a USB interface, and link it with the Karmen cloud service.

“Whole Karmen project is designed to be mostly open source. We are huge open source supporters and have strong confidence it is the right way to go,” said Martin Bílek, Fragaria’s CTO. “Our goal is to create a thriving community of developers and home hobby enthusiasts that will help us improve the project further. Nevertheless, for those who want a production-ready, fully supported and regularly updated solution to just connect their printers and manage them remotely without a hassle, our paid cloud service with the ready-made Karmen Pill controller is available.”

You can pre-order the Karmen Pill for €130 excl. VAT on the website. By choosing Fragaria’s hosted cloud service option, you will get free limited traffic and 3D printer connections.

3D Printed Iron Man Cosplay

I always enjoy a good 3D printed cosplay, and this 3D printed Iron Man suit by Reddit user u/njtricker609 definitely doesn’t disappoint. It took 12-13 lbs. of PLA+ material to print the suit, which cost about $210-$230, and 1200 hours of print time (a few months) to make the suit on two Creality CR-10S 3D printers. Then, there were another few months of sanding and painting, using Rustoleum metallic paints, before it was ready. The 3D model for the Iron Man suit was purchased for $150 from design website DO3D.com.

In the comments section, another Reddit user asked what a person with “zero experience” in 3D printing would need to “do/know/buy” to build a high quality suit like this one. The answer was “watch my YouTube and follow my process to see what’s involved! Maybe it can help you!” I checked out the channel, and it’s pretty thorough: a total of 11 videos to help you make your own 3D printed Iron Man cosplay suit!

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