3D Printing News Briefs, September 29, 2022: Crowdfunding a 3D Printed House & More

We’re kicking things off with business in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as a Dallas construction startup is looking to raise $2 million to 3D print homes. LÖMI joined the ColdMetalFusion Alliance, Stratasys has added Evonik as its latest AM materials partner, and Exaddon appointed AXT as a distributor. Moving on, a YouTuber 3D printed a jet engine prototype. Finally, a MyMiniFactory company offers affordable, high-quality, full-color 3D printed tabletop models to hundreds of indie creators.

Von Perry Crowdfunding to 3D Print Homes in Texas

Rendering of Von Perry’s concrete 3D printed home being built in Nevada, Texas.

Dallas-based startup Von Perry wants to build 3D printed homes across Texas, but it needs funding to do so, which is why it’s kicking off a $2 million fundraising campaign on the StartEngine crowdfunding platform. The startup should finish the first 3D printed proof of concept for its AM homebuilding technology next month, and is already planning six other custom projects with its geopolymer concrete material and hardware from Total Kustom. With the funding, Von Perry will hire two new construction teams, fuel ongoing research and partnerships with three Texas universities, and launch its proprietary Arcus software platform, which uses AI to modify custom home designs and consolidate the construction process. Despite interest from other parts of the world, Von Perry is doubling down on Texas, which has codes and regulations that make construction easier.

“We are actually building real houses using 3D printers, and that is a jaw-dropping moment for [people]. Because they don’t even believe it is possible,” said Sebin Joseph, Von Perry’s Co-Founder and CTO. “But this is a real thing that’s happening and is slowly revolutionizing the sector. We need more investments, more talent poured into this field to make [it]  grow and be the mainstream. It will definitely become a mainstream in next 30 years.”

LÖMI Joins the ColdMetalFusion Alliance

Germany-based LÖMI GmbH, which supplies solvent debinding machines, announced that it has joined the ColdMetalFusion Alliance. Members of this industry alliance are experienced in traditional industrial manufacturing, as well as sintering and additive manufacturing, and are working together to industrialize AM through common standards, as well as develop a common industrial mindset and culture. LÖMI’s systems are available in tabletop units as well as fully automatic systems, as well as 15 to 1,200 liters of batch-loading volume, and are also modular. This flexibility allows its customers to improve efficiency while also increasing productivity. Members of the alliance plan to demonstrate its industrialization mission at Formnext 2022, which takes place in Frankfurt, November 15-18.

“Debinding of metal parts is part of our DNA, and we have a long history of collaborating with the industry from large scale chemical site-projects down to producing our renowned all-in-one debinding stations. As we join forces with the other ColdMetalFusion partners, we want to elevate metal Additive Manufacturing to a more robust and reliable alternative to injection moulding. Together with the ColdMetalFusion partners, LÖMI will provide complete industrialised system solutions and deliver its know-how in sintering to the world’s factory floors. We understand ourselves as the industry’s partners,” said José Manuel Dias da Fonseca, the CEO of LÖMI.

Evonik is Latest Material Partner for Stratasys 

Evonik’s first industrial-grade material for the Origin One 3D printer, P3 Deflect 120, available now, with more materials on the way.

Stratasys announced that specialty chemicals company Evonik is the third material partner for its P3-based Origin One 3D printer, which offers excellent accuracy and surface finish, as well as a diverse, growing range of high-performance materials. Evonik will offer its expertise to help Stratasys develop and manufacture industrial-grade, ready-to-use photopolymer materials to enhance the P3, and the first one—P3 Deflect 120—is available for order by customers in the US and select European countries. The Stratasys-validated material has been tested by Evonik for reliability on the Origin One, and the results suggest a 10% strength improvement in comparison to a competing DLP system. Additionally, high-temperature P3 Deflect 120 can be used to print parts with a heat deflection temperature of up to 120°C, making it a good choice for applications in the manufacturing sector, like molds.

“Feedback from our customers indicated there was a real market need for a strong, high-heat photopolymer in our portfolio. The bottom line: This new partnership with Stratasys will mean that we can address more applications for Stratasys customers to grow 3D printing in manufacturing,” said Alex Sant’Anna, Director, Additive Manufacturing and Material Solutions – Americas, Evonik.

Exaddon Appoints AXT as Distributor in Australia

Swiss metal additive micromanufacturing technology (µAM) manufacturer Exaddon has appointed AXT as the official distributor in Australia for its CERES µAM system. This printer uses localized electrodeposition to deposit metals, like copper, gold, nickel, silver, and platinum, in complex geometries onto conductive substrates in the 1 to 1000 µm range with sub-micrometer resolution. CERES is proven in sectors like microelectronics and neural interfaces, an emerging field that connects computers to the human nervous system with 3D printed needles or pillars, and can print materials with greater strength and durability than multi-stage lithography microfabrication is capable of achieving, and post-processing methods like etching aren’t required. Additionally, the system can operate in a standard laboratory.

“As a Swiss company, we strive to provide outstanding technology combined with great customer support based on expertise and experience. For us it was an obvious choice to appoint AXT as our distributor in Australia; they have intimate knowledge of their local market, and crucially, an excellent reputation for adopting cutting-edge technology such as our own,” stated Exaddon’s CEO Edgar Hepp. “We are convinced AXT will represent the unique technology we provide at Swiss quality standard.”

YouTuber 3D Prints Shockwave Jet Engine Prototype

YouTuber Integza, also known as Joel Gomes, makes videos about interesting science and engineering projects that teach people about scientific concepts in an entertaining way. In one of his latest projects, he used resin 3D printing to build his own detonation-powered pulsejet engine, otherwise known as a shockwave jet engine. Pulsejet engines are lightweight, valveless engines that inject fuel into a pipe, before being ignited in a series of pulses. They only require a few moving parts, if any, so these engines are easy to build and maintain, but not very efficient, so Integza decided to 3D print a valveless engine prototype capable of continuous detonations. These engines inject oxygen and propellants into long cylinders that are open on one end and closed at the other, and the contents of the pipes are ignited, which causes the fuel to burn and transition quickly into an explosion. The pressure of this shockwave then pushes the exhaust out of the pipe exit to create thrust.

Pulsejet engines have complex geometries, but don’t enable continuous thrust, so Integza thought he could generate more power with this type of engine using detonations. He used a Prusa SL1S 3D printer and a Siraya Tech resin to create a combustion chamber that connected to a long acrylic pipe and oxygen intake and fuel valves, and ignited it with a high voltage generator, which he operated with an Arduino controller. But, he didn’t know if this was actually creating detonations, so he then injected pure oxygen into the chamber, which enabled him to achieve an output of 80 meters per second. Based on this resin prototype, the YouTuber machined a second version from metal, which he says can create “clean and consistent detonations,” while also hitting up to ten pulses per second. He’s made the 3D model design files for his prototype available to download for free via Onshape if you want to try one yourself, and you can watch his video below:

Only-Games.co Launches Full-Color 3D Printing for Tabletop Models

Finally, Only-Games.co was launched in 2021, as part of established manufacturer 3DC, to facilitate the fabrication and distribution of digital games assets for the countless tabletop game players who don’t have access to a 3D printer. Just a few months ago, it was acquired by MyMiniFactory and has been thriving, as hundreds of indie designers have chosen the platform to 3D print over 100,000 tabletop models for customers all over the world. Only-Games.co software automatically charges a manufacturing fee, based on how complex the design is, and the creator decides whether to design their own packaging, before setting a retail price; minus this manufacturing cost, these indie creators retain 90% of the final revenue for the models. Now, the company has announced the launch of full-color, on-demand 3D printing and distribution of these creations, with a lead time of less than five days. Not only is this great news for the company’s growing network of designers and tabletop gamers, but it also helps MyMiniFactory continue to build its MetaReverse universe, formed to use 3D printing to reconnect digital users in the physical world.

“We can provide this service because we have built the right process, machinery, software, packaging and, most importantly, the right team to provide the global community of miniature and model designers with access to best-in-class manufacturing capabilities. And, before anything else, we make sure we’re providing a fair business model for creators,” said Alex Ziff, the Founder of Only-Games.co and co-CEO of MyMiniFactory.