3D Design
German Armed Forces Use 3D Printing to Redesign an Obsolete Part
The German Armed Forces are working on using 3D printing directly in the field, as described in a study entitled “Characteristics of a metal additive manufacturing process for the production of spare parts.” The plan is to re-engineer machine parts that...
Knife Maker Points to 3D Printing as Alternative Method of Craftsmanship
48-year-old Stuart Mitchell has been making knives for most of his life, learning from his father as a child and using many of the same tools his parents used in the workshop they acquired in 1980. In recent years, however, Mitchell began to explore alternative...
University of Washington Team Advances 3D Printed Electronics-Free Smart Devices
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed smart 3D printed items that can track and store information about their own use, without the need for any electronics. These items, such as pill bottles or prosthetics, can gather valuable information using a...
Jabil Steps Forward with 3D Printed Footwear
Product solutions company Jabil has been increasing its focus on additive manufacturing over the past few years, recently going so far as to introduce its cloud-based Jabil Additive Manufacturing Network. The company’s additive manufacturing offerings are broad,...
3D Printing News Briefs: October 10, 2018
It’s business news as usual to kick things off in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, and then we’re moving on to a little medical and metal 3D printing news, followed by a 3D printing experiment and a superhero-sized 3D printed statue. The LEHVOSS...
Gantri’s Artistic Lamps Illuminate the Possibilities of 3D Printing
There’s nothing like a good lamp to really tie a room together, and 3D printing has opened up the floodgates for the creation of some very cool lamps. Ian Yang, founder of Gantri, loves 3D printed lamps – so much so that he started a company dedicated to...
What are the Best Fabrics for 3D Printing?
3D printed fashion is becoming more prevalent in the design world, but there are plenty of challenges surrounding it. Taking a technology that is largely used to create solid plastic items and creating something flexible and wearable isn’t easy, and a lot of 3D...
3D Printed Kits Help College Students Understand Complex Concepts
3D printed models can help anyone learn, from preschool students to doctors. In a study entitled “Modeling Antibody-Epitope Interactions with 3D Printed Kits in Large or Small Lecture Courses,” a team of researchers from Colorado State University discuss...
GE Aviation 3D Prints 30,000th Metal 3D Printed Fuel Nozzle at Auburn, Alabama Plant
GE Aviation will always be known for its 3D printed fuel nozzles, which it began producing in 2015. The complex components became something of a symbol for how 3D printing can change manufacturing, and this week GE Aviation hit a milestone – it produced its...
Hornbill Proudly Displays His New 3D Printed Beak
The Jurong Bird Park in Jurong, Singapore is home to several hornbills, including a Great Pied Hornbill named Jary. His name means “helmeted warrior” in ancient Norse, and it’s a fitting name for the 22-year-old bird, who recently battled and beat...
Using a Combined 3D Printing Method to Create Stretchable Electronics
Stretchable electronics have a lot of potential for applications in wearable devices, soft robotics, artificial skin and more. To create stretchable electronics, 3D printing is a fast, accurate technology that can built circuits and structures from liquid metal....
Multiple Approaches to 3D Printed Probe Positioners
In a paper entitled “Approaches to open source 3-D printable probe positioners and micromanipulators for probe stations,” a group of researchers evaluate three types of open source probe positioning systems: mostly 3D printed partially printed using...
DARPA Highlights its Work with 3D Printing and Advanced Manufacturing
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has been a vital part of the United States Department of Defense for more than 60 years. It was launched at the same time as Sputnik in 1957, and is dedicated to the use of breakthrough technology for national...
Building Conformal Cooling Channels Using 3D Printing To Reduce Warpage and Cooling Time
In injection molding, parts are cooled by building channels throughout them. Those channels are typically straight lines, which can result in uneven cooling. Much more even, efficient cooling can be achieved with conformal cooling channels, which conform to the shape...
One of the World’s Heaviest Satellites was Produced Using 3D Printing
On July 22nd, the heaviest commercial satellite ever launched was sent into space. Weighing in at more than 7,000 kilograms. Telstar 19 Vantage was built by spacecraft manufacturer SSL for Canadian operator Telesat, along with Telstar 18 Vantage, which was launched on...
A Closer Look at 3D Printing Support Structures
Support structures are a necessary evil of 3D printing. They can be frustrating and time-consuming, but they are required to keep many parts from collapsing or becoming distorted. In a paper entitled “Support Structures for Additive Manufacturing: A...
Case Study Shows How 3D Printing Can Optimize and Consolidate Parts
Safran Electrical and Power is a designer and manufacturer of electrical systems for both fixed and rotary wing commercial and military aircraft. Its customers were demanding more additively manufactured parts, so the company decided to connect with someone who was an...
3D Printing Studied as a Way to Produce Tooling for Injection Molding
Injection molding is one of the more traditional manufacturing technologies that 3D printing is striving to replace – at least in some applications. 3D printing will likely never fully replace it, but will rather be used alongside it as a complementary...
Freshfiber Offers Stylish 3D Printed Bands for the Apple Watch
Amsterdam-based company Freshfiber was an early promoter of 3D printing, selling fully 3D printed products in its stores back in 2009 when most people still hadn’t even heard of the technology. At that time, smartphones were only starting to become ubiquitous,...
DS Doll Presents Prototype of 3D Printed Sex Robot
Robots are capable of doing all sorts of amazing things. Tiny micro-robots may be able to perform tasks like personalized drug delivery, while giant robots are being used to build houses. Robots are being used underwater and in outer space. People are becoming used to...
Studio Plott’s 3D Printed Rugs Bring Eye-Catching Colors and Shapes to London Design Festival
From September 15th to 23rd runs the London Design Festival, a citywide showcase of fascinating creations from every aspect of design. Naturally, there’s going to be some 3D printing involved, and what Dutch design studio Studio Plott has to showcase is unusual...
3D Printing News Briefs: September 22, 2018
In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’ve got the speaker lineup for next month’s NAMIC Global Additive Manufacturing Summit in Singapore. Prusa and Cincinnati Incorporated are both releasing new 3D printing materials, and a British car manufacturer...
3D Printing Keeps Navy Ships Up and Running for Minimal Cost
3D printing has become a bigger part of life in the United States Navy, and indeed in all branches of the military, as servicepeople come up with ingenious ways to use the technology to save time and money and overall make life easier. Last month, the USS Chung-Hoon...
Sea Creatures Inspire Lilian van Daal’s Sustainably 3D Printed Chair
Radiolaria are one-celled microorganisms that take their name from the radial symmetry of their spines; they are found in the ocean as zooplankton and while they may be tiny, they served as big inspiration for designer Lilian van Daal, who takes her inspiration from...
ARRK Uses 3D Printing to Develop Sensitive Dummy for Automotive Testing
Automotive manufacturers use dummies for more than just testing how well a vehicle will hold up in a crash. They also use them to test comfort factors, such as temperature and other environmental conditions. Recently, ARRK Engineering was in need of a dummy to help...
