3D Printing News Briefs, March 31, 2021: Prodways, Zortrax, Artec 3D, MolyWorks

We’re talking about materials, business, and awards in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. First up, Prodways has introduced a new material for the mass 3D printed production of transparent dental aligners, and Zortrax has new engineering materials for its resin 3d printer. Moving on, Artec 3D announced its 2021 Gold Certified Resellers, and there are a lot of them! Finally, MolyWorks won an award at the recent SXSW 2021.

Prodways Launches Dental 3D Printing Material

Global 3D printing solutions specialist Prodways Tech has added a new material to the PLASTCure resin line for its ProMaker MovingLight LD-series 3D printers. PLASTCure Absolute Aligner resin was developed to optimize mass manufacturing of transparent dental aligner models, and offers several manufacturing-friendly features, such as excellent contrast for easier printing of ID tags or other fixturing geometries for identifying and processing the parts, advanced formulation and color for easy quality control 3D scanning, and no sedimentation, which means no more stirring. Additionally, the material is said to offer accuracy, repeatability, and an ultra-smooth surface finish, which helps in creating a more natural-feeling aligner.

“Absolute Aligner was created with our manufacturing customers in mind to ensure they are able to deliver the highest quality product on the market while increasing their productivity and addressing their manufacturing requirement. Our goal was to develop a new resin that provides an improved surface finish and transparency with minimal impact on manufacturing time,” said Alban d’Halluin, the CEO of Prodways Printers.

“Absolute Aligner is the first in this new line of materials, breathing life into the PLASTCure range of resins and covering a full spectrum of needs, from high-quality, no-line aligners to industrial productivity. We
have successfully improved our materials to meet the demands of the growing clear aligner market requiring precision, speed, and mass manufacturing capability. This approach is part of our commitment to R&D and continuous innovation to be able to meet the constantly changing needs of our customers.”

Zortrax Introduces New Line of Strong Resins

Speaking of new materials, Polish 3D printing solutions provider Zortrax just launched a new line of strong engineering resins for its Inkspire UV LCD 3D printer. Most resins used for UV LCD technology, which solidifies each layer of photo curable resin with UV light, are less durable than common polymers, such as ABS, which is why Zortrax wanted to create its Zortrax Resin Tough line, which will allow customers to use the Inkspire for new applications in production, engineering, and functional prototypes. Zortrax Resin Tough, which comes in Grey and White options, is a photopolymer resin with mechanical properties that are comparable to popular industrial blends of ABS, but with a lower flexural modulus. The company states that both options guarantee precise details and excellent surface quality, and the White variant won’t turn yellow, even after being exposed to direct sunlight. Zortrax Resin Tough Clear is translucent, but with a mechanical strength that matches the other Zortrax Resin Tough materials. This material can be used for applications that require glass-like components with excellent impact and scratch resistance.

“The introduction of the Zortrax Resin Tough line is the next step towards making the resin 3D printing technology ready for more challenging production and engineering applications,” said Rafał Tomasiak, CEO and Co-Founder of Zortrax S.A. “All resins available in this line have mechanical strength comparable to plastics used in most modern laptops, smartphones, toys, and other consumer products on the market today. Such materials make it possible to use the Inkspire 3D printer for 3D printing fully functional components ready to be used every day.”

Artec 3D’s 2021 Gold Certified Partners & Ambassadors

International 3D scanning technology leader Artec 3D has announced the 57 new Gold Certified Partners and Ambassadors in its 2021 class. To earn a Gold accreditation, the company’s resellers had to go through a tough testing process in order to demonstrate their advanced knowledge of Artec’s hardware and software, as certified resellers ensure that customers are kept up to date on new advancements and are getting the most out of their solutions. If users purchase Artec solutions through a certified reseller, it ensures that they’ll receive access to the company’s support team and qualified trainings from product experts. Gold Partners provide virtual trainings and demonstrations of Artec solutions to people who want to learn more, and resellers hoping to remain at this level have to renew their certification each year, in order to stay on top of all the latest features and products. Gold Certified Ambassadors are companies that have the entire line of Artec’s professional 3D scanners, an elite customer service rating, and have excelled in promoting its technology. This year, Artec has more than doubled its number of new Gold Certified Ambassadors.

“Our Gold Resellers and Ambassadors have done a fantastic job of embracing virtual workflows to provide continuous support to end-users throughout the past year. From engineering to healthcare to CGI and more, our technology is utilized within a variety of very different industries and by professionals of very different backgrounds. Having a global network of passionate, knowledgeable resellers is critical to ensuring that every individual that is interested in 3D scanning technology gets the proper support they need,” said Artec 3D CEO Artyom Yukhin.

MolyWorks Wins SXSW Innovative World Technology Category

The COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to really ramp up in the spring of 2020, and a lot of industry events around the world, like Formnext, RAPID + TCT, and IMTS, were either postponed, switched to a digital format, or cancelled altogether; the 2020 SXSW conference and festival was in the latter category. The Texas-based event was back this year, though, and 3D printing startup Molyworks, which developed a containerized atomization machine to convert scrap metal into 3D printing powder, has some exciting news to share from SXSW 2021, which was held in a virtual format. At the SXSW Pitch event, the California company won the “Innovative World Technologies” category, which, according to the description, is kind of a catch-all: “any creative and innovative application, product, or service that does not fit in another SXSW Pitch category, as well as technologies that act as the infrastructure that new technologies are built on.” Other categories included Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice, and Health, Wearables & Wellbeing.

“MolyWorks won the Innovative World Technology SXSW! Kudos to all who pitched. It is humbling to be included among such innovative and inspiring companies,” the company wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the news.

Congratulations to MolyWorks!