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Inspiring Non-Profit Makes 3D Printed Prosthetics for Patients in the Guatemalan Jungle https://ift.tt/3GilQbm Volunteers and designers from non-profit organization LifeNabled and engineering software startup nTopology have been busy helping amputees in northern Guatemala. The team, led by LifeNabled co-founder Brent Wright, created a fully digital workflow to produce custom 3D printed prosthetic sockets with flexible inner liners that provide stability to amputees. Now, 35 patients in the jungle of Guatemala are walking on the world’s most advanced prosthetic and orthotic devices. There are roughly 57.7 million people worldwide living with limb amputation due to traumatic causes. Over 60% of them have suffered lower limb amputation, including below and above the knee. However, in developing nations, very few have access to quality prostheses. Even if they do, an amputee will often need a new device in as little as one year due to changes in the residual limb volume. For this reason, organizations around the world are continuously working to address this need as quickly as possible. With his wife and co-founder Meredith Wright, Brent hosts bi-yearly clinics that have treated hundreds of patients in the poorest regions of Guatemala for over 15 years. For their most recent clinic, the team stopped using time-consuming, traditional fabrication methods to create their prosthetics and pivoted to a digital approach by partnering with the generative design 3D software company. Using patient scan data as input, they automatically generated the prosthetic socket designs in nTopology, and 3D printed them in durable TPU using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology. The new digital workflow saved the team more than three days of laborious work, bypassing the expertise-intensive and arduous traditional manufacturing steps and focusing on making the digital process as scalable and cost-effective as possible. The hard work of Wright’s organization and nTopology is changing people’s lives for the better. Like many developing countries in Central America, Guatemala has severe healthcare limitations. Compared to the US and other high-income nations, physician density is relatively low, with 0.93 physicians per 1,000 people, failing to achieve adequate coverage rates for primary healthcare. That means more than six million people in Guatemala (roughly 35% of the population) lack access to essential health services, including amputees. Aid organizations improve human resources by supporting and strengthening the health system. For Wright, that means investing in people on the ground, in their home countries, and teaching them how to evaluate patients and then fit the patient devices when they come in. But his NGO goes one step further and combines humanitarian labor with technology to “unlock true access to prostheses worldwide.”
The process begins by taking 3D scans of the patients. In just two days, two LifeNabled volunteers were able to evaluate 35 amputees. Next, the engineering team designed each custom prosthetic and manufactured the sockets using HP’s MJF 3D printing technology. Within a month, LifeNabled delivered the prosthetics and fit them to the patients. Moreover, the team achieved this result at a fraction of the effort compared to previous clinics. Off-the-shelf linings are expensive and have a limited lifetime of only three to six months in the tropical climates of Guatemala. For the local people who live on $2 or $3 a day, paying more than $160 for a traditional gel-like inner liner is impossible. Thereby, the team opted for a washable and low-cost cloth sock to ensure good hygiene and a prosthesis socket with a flexible 3D printed foam liner for comfort. nTopology closely controlled lattice parameters, like beam thickness and porosity, and achieved the desired cushioning effect. Quote request Are you looking to buy a 3D printer or 3D scanner? We're here to help. Get free expert advice and quotes from trusted suppliers in your area. Powered by Aniwaa Without nTopology, applying the 3D printed foam to 35 custom socket designs would have been challenging, the company explained, as traditional fabrication of prostheses is a strenuous process. In addition, legacy software would often crash or take hours to generate a single result, but with nTopology’s reusable workflows, going from 3D scan to manufacturing-ready STL files was simple, repeatable, and semi-automated, and saved LifeNabled more than a day of computational processing. Wright’s vision is to fully digitize the design and manufacturing steps, which are the most expertise-demanding phases of the prostheses fabrication process. Over the next five years, Wright and his team will continue investing in technology and automation and finding budget-friendly solutions for scanning and creating a global network of prosthetic device providers for developing nations.
Multiple industrial-grade 3D printing systems located worldwide—even in developing countries—could be leveraged to manufacture the needed prosthetic devices. For a better idea of how this would work, Wright explained that if someone in, for example, Turkey, is looking for a prosthesis printed with an MJF system, but there is nobody available to do it, they could contact LifeEnabled. The organization would then run it through nTopology, and engineers would create a design file. Afterward, LifeEnabled would contact a Turkey company with MJF platforms for 3D printing and send it on its way to be distributed.
With the average cost of a full prosthetic leg ranging from $5,000 to $70,000, without donated parts, Wright’s idea seems right on point. Moreover, through digital manufacturing and generative design tools, LifeNabled’s process can be replicated in other parts of the world to significantly improve the quality of life of amputees who don’t have the means to afford prosthetic care. (Images courtesy of LifeNabled) Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 25, 2021 at 06:45AM
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3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: October 24, 2021 https://ift.tt/3jz5cue It’s another busy week of events and roundups, covering topics from dispensing and medical applications to AM risk assessment, software, and much more. Read on for all the details! ViscoTec’s Virtual Dispensing Expo Last year, ViscoTec held a very successful online event, and now it’s second virtual Dispensing Expo is coming up this week, October 26th through 28th. The trade show will feature a live chat function and four exhibition halls regarding products, partners, lecture, and more, as well as an informative, exciting program, with presentations available for download on the website after the event is over.
You can register for the virtual Dispensing Expo here. Participation is free, but for each registration, ViscoTec will donate €5 to the NatureFund project. SOUTHTEC 2021 Also from the 26th through the 28th, SOUTHTEC 2021, which is part of the Manufacturing Technology Series produced by SME and The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), will take place at the Greenville Convention Center in South Carolina. In addition to hundreds of exhibitors showcasing new services and products, a digital transformation panel, and three keynote presentations, there will also be panel discussions, an integrated solution center, Knowledge Bars, and more.
You can register for SOUTHTEC here. Markforged & the Battle Scarred Motorsports Team At 11 am EST on Tuesday the 26th, Markforged is hosting “Markforged Gives Back: Battle Scarred Motorsports,” a live webinar with time for Q&A at the end. Battle Scarred Motorsports is a mental health resource for active duty military members, veterans, and first responders who are suffering from depression and PTSD, and the team uses Markforged’s advanced technology to print automotive parts. Brian Czech, the Founder and CEO of Battle Scarred Motorsports, will joined Markforged’s Federal Sales Manager Tony Higgins and Strategic Application Engineer Nate Samson to discuss why Markforged became an official sponsor, what parts they’ve been printing and installing over the last six months, what’s next for the team, and more.
You can register for the webinar here. Informational Webinar on Latest America Makes Project Call Later on the 26th, at 2 pm EST, America Makes will hold an informational webinar on its latest project call, “Maturation of Additive Geometric Management Approaches for High Mach Applications (MAGMA).” This project, funded by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), will focus on advancing US additive manufacturing capabilities to create aerospace and defense components for high Mach applications prone to distortion, or that fail to meet geometric design requirements. Proposals should regard applications that will improve thermal management, producibility, and geometries of 3D printed components.
You can register for the webinar here. There will be a brief Q&A session at the end. AM Medical Summit by ASME Dubbed the world’s most comprehensive medical 3D printing event, the virtual AM Medical Summit—powered by ASME—returns this week, October 27th through 28th. The main focus is on medical, but the program will also include cross-industry AM discussions about advancing processes and applications to drive cost reduction, performance, and safety. With over 40 technical sessions, more than 50 expert speakers, and 20+ technology and solution providers, you won’t want to miss this one.
You can register for the summit here. TÜV SÜD Continues Online Training Continuing its virtual AM training series, TÜV SÜD will focus on “Risk assessment and management in additive manufacturing” this week. Part of the bundled training course iAM Quality Manager certificate line, this paid training course, about how to properly conduct AM-specific risk assessment and management, will be held over two four-hour-long virtual sessions, each beginning at 2 am EST on Wednesday, October 27th and Thursday, October 28th. Quality management standard ISO 13485 requires risk management, and associated documentation, for the whole product realization process in the medical industry, which means the requirements “in ISO 14971 for this purpose must in turn be transferred to additive manufacturing technology.”
You can register for the course here. TriMech and Understanding the Potential of AM In TriMech‘s latest webinar, “Understanding the Potential of Additive Manufacturing” at 10 am EST on the 27th, Additive Manufacturing Application Engineer Ricky Shannon will discuss how PolyJet 3D printing is used today to save money, time, and resources to help improve the bottom line. In addition to relevant case studies from companies that have benefited by adopting PolyJet printing, topics will include how the technology works, applications for PolyJet, how full-color 3D printing is changing the industry, and more.
You can register for the webinar here. Nanoscribe on Advanced 3D Microfabrication At 11 am EST on Wednesday the 27th, Nanoscribe is holding a materials and life science engineering webinar, “Advanced 3D Microfabrication concepts and printing materials.” The company’s technical expert Dr. Benjamin Richter and Professor Alice White, the Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University, are hosting the webinar, and will discuss the role of specially developed 3D printing materials for tissue engineering, cell cultivation, and more, in addition to the basics and principles of 2PP 3D printing, special requirements on microfabrication in life sciences, advanced 3D printers and materials—complete with a live demo—and more.
You can register for the webinar here, though you’ll have to create a free premium account first to sign in. 3D Printing and Drill Bits Right after Nanoscribe’s webinar on Wednesday, you’ll want to tune in to “A New Twist on a Boring Bit,” a live webinar at 12 pm EST by Velo3D focused on understanding how advanced manufacturing and modern software can open up new capabilities for down hole drill bits, which is estimated to be a $5 billion market by 2026. The company’s Technical Sales Engineer Matt Karesh and the CEO & Co-Founder of Cognitive Design Systems (CDS), Rhushik Matroja, will discuss topological optimization of the drill bit, ANSYS fluent CFD analysis of the bit design, benefits of the new design, and more.
You can register for the webinar here. ExOne’s Special Webinar Event From 1-4 pm EST on the 27th, ExOne is holding a special half-day webinar event, “Fast X1 Tooling Solutions to Solve Supply Chain Delays,” that will look at the company’s broad portfolio of tooling options for final production of composite, metal, and plastic parts. Each hour will feature guest speakers explaining the binder jet process and benefits, in addition to application examples, and answer audience questions. The first hour will focus on Tooling for Plastics, while the second hour is Tooling for Composites and the third will be Tooling for Metals, and throughout, attendees will learn how to shorten lead times, improve design flexibility, lower tooling costs, and more.
You can register for the webinar here. 3DQue’s Quinly 2.0 Software Launch The final October 27th webinar, at 7:30 pm EST, will actually be the latest livestream by the 3DQue YouTube channel Perpetual Printing. This week’s livestream, called “This is How 3D Printing SHOULD BE,” will focus on the launch of the company’s new Quinly 2.0 software, which will reliably and automatically queue and print all of your parts until the que has been emptied.
Don’t forget to set your YouTube notifications for Wednesday’s livestream. nTopology Essentials Training Moving on to Thursday, October 28th, nTopology will be holding a hands-on, online workshop at 11 am EST, called “nTop Training: Essentials.” Yuki Okada, Technical Marketing Engineer at nTopology, will use short demonstrations and practical exercises to teach attendees the basics of nTopology, and how it can be used to create innovative design solutions. The workshop will cover basic lightweighting workflows, lattice generation and optimization, how to create reusable workflows and package them into custom blocks, and more. Plus, all eligible registrants will receive a free 7-day trial of nTopology, in order to follow along with the demonstrations during the live session.
You can register for this in-depth workshop here, but don’t delay, because registration closes at 5 pm EST on Tuesday the 26th. Materialise Mimics TMVR Training For the first time in a while, Materialise is holding an online, hands-on Mimics Enlight Mitral Workshop, and this one on TMVR ViV/ViR Planning will take place at 12 pm EST on the 28th. Limited to ten attendees, this workshop will offer firsthand experience in 3D-CT planning for TMVR procedures, and teach tips and tricks of the Mimics Englight planner for structural heart interventions. You’ll receive a three-week evaluation license afterwards, so you can become a 3D-CT planning expert yourself.
You can register for the workshop here. HP’s 3D Printing Virtual Tour Also at 12 pm EST on the 28th, HP is offering a live virtual tour of its 3D Printing Demo Center. During the tour, attendees will learn how the company’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing method works, as well as hear about applications and an overview of the 3D printing workflow. There will also be an HP customer panel, and an audience Q&A session at the end.
You can register for the tour here. Singapore Startup Showcase by 3DHEALS & NAMIC Finally, on Thursday, October 28th and Friday, October 29th, depending on what time zone you’re in, 3DHEALS and Singapore’s NAMIC (National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster) are hosting a Startup Showcase: Singapore, moderated by 3DHEALS Founder and CEO Dr. Jenny Chen and Mahendran V. Reddy, Business Development Director at NAMIC. From 6 to 8 pm PST and 9 to 11 pm EST on the 28th, and 9 to 11 am Singapore Time on the 29th, this showcase event will connect investors, local business leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovation enthusiasts in the medtech, healthcare 3D printing, and bioprinting space. Panel experts from US startups Nanochon, Dimension Inx, and Fluidform 3D, and Singapore startups FlexoSense, Biorithm, Craft Health, and Kosmode Health, will share their latest industry insights, research and development, and entrepreneurial activities.
You can register for the event here. Do you have news to share about any future webinars or virtual and live events? Please let us know! Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 24, 2021 at 07:33AM
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3D Printing News Briefs, October 23, 2021: Business & Software News https://ift.tt/3E5YYdi Kicking off today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, Sartomer has launched a new global website with next-generation product finders. Roboze has welcomed two new members to its Advisory Board, and 3D Solutions has become a France-exclusive sales agent of Farsoon Europe. Finally, Autodesk recently released Netfabb 2022. Read on for the details! Sartomer’s New Global Website Part of Arkema‘s Coating Solutions segment, Sartomer has launched a new global website in order to offer its current and prospective customers the best digital journey, which is why the new site also includes next-generation online product finders as well. Featuring a new interface, this is Sartomer’s first website that includes information from Asia, the EMEA, and the Americas, making it easy for users to find global market innovations, sustainability strategies, solutions, as well as specialty resin, photoinitiator, and additive product lines. Additionally, the regional hubs contain a large library of recorded webinars and important documents.
Roboze Welcomes New Advisory Board Members Italian-American 3D printing solutions provider Roboze has welcomed two renowned aerospace and industrial manufacturing members to its Advisory Board, in order to help speed up the adoption of 3D printing for production. Steven Gonzalez and Alain Harrus each bring a plethora of skills and experience to the Board, which is good news as the company is working to promote a new manufacturing paradigm that’s focused on bringing the value of production back to the point of use. Gonzalez, who joined the NASA team in 1988, is a major expert in the space industry, wanted to work with Roboze to help redefine the space sector standards, as the company’s AM technology is dedicated to metal replacement. Harrus, Chairman of the board at California-based electronics company Kateeva, is an expert in industrial manufacturing, with more than 20 years of venture capital experience in Silicon Valley and a background in physics.
3D Solutions Is France-Exclusive Farsoon Europe Sales Agent Farsoon Europe, the Stuttgart-headquartered subsidiary of Farsoon Technologies, has signed an Exclusive Sales Agreement with 3D Solutions, partnering to support 3D printing industrialization in France with Farsoon’s open laser sintering systems. Farsoon supplies industrial-grade plastic laser sintering and metal laser melting systems, while 3D Solutions distributes 3D printing materials, 3D scanners, and 3D printers, in addition to other rapid prototyping equipment. By working with a company like Farsoon, Paris-based 3D Solutions can make a solid entrance into the SLS 3D printing market.
Autodesk Releases Netfabb 2022 Finally, 3D software giant Autodesk has released the latest version of its Netfabb connected software for design, simulation, and additive manufacturing. Netfabb 2022 has three focus areas of new functionality, outlined in a new video. This version features more integrated support than ever, including for the Stratasys Origin One, ExOne X1 160Pro binder jetting, Spectroplast’s silicone extrusion SAM technology, and more. Plus, there are improvements focused on User Experience and Toolpathing Simulation, though additional support for hardware systems is the main thing here.
To learn more about Netfabb 2022, you can watch the highlights video below: Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 23, 2021 at 07:57AM
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Online Registration Open for 2022 AMUG Conference in Chicago https://ift.tt/3Gaz75Q Online registration is now open for the Additive Manufacturing Users Group’s (AMUG) Chicago, Illinois-based 2022 AMUG Conference, going on April 3rd through the 7th. Open to all owners and operators of industrial 3D printers for professional reasons, this users’ event will offer panel discussions, keynote presentations, hands-on workshops, and technical sessions so that attendees can learn how to do more with their additive solutions.
While the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered most events in 2020, the AMUG Conference was held again in-person this May, described as an “unforgettable” experience, and based on its successful previous agendas, the organization has decided to offer even more hands-on experiences at this year’s five-day conference, including workshops and Training Labs with what AMUG called “engaging environments where the AM tools are the focal point of the information exchange.” AMUG’s aim is to provide education and training on new additive manufacturing technologies, focused on operation of the equipment and advancing the applications and uses of AM. That’s why the AMUG conference is unique in comparison to most other AM events. Open to 3D printing users of all experience levels, conference attendees come together to share their own experiences, as well as important insights and knowledge, in order to help other AM users. With specific networking activities, as well as time to chat between presentations and during meals, attendees have plenty of time to talk with each other about their own challenges, best practices, application developments, and results. In fact, the conference program specifically encourages day to night participation, giving everyone more than 50 total hours of time to interact with each other at the event. To save 33% of the registration fee for this all-inclusive AM conference, you can sign up for $995 from now through January 7th, 2022, at which time the price will go up. That covers a lot—there are expected to be close to 150 hands-on workshops and presentations, one of which will be the seventh annual Innovators Showcase, in which attendees get to know an industry innovator and hear their insights during an on-stage interview, with the intimacy of a fireside chat. The agenda also includes AMUG’s Innovators Award, Technical Competition, and DINO Awards, as well as an offsite dinner gathering, catered meals, networking receptions, and the AMUGexpo on Sunday, April 3rd and Monday, April 4th, which is expected to welcome over 140 participating companies. You can register for the 34th Annual AMUG Education and Training Conference here. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 22, 2021 at 08:03AM
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Zortrax Will Launch 3D Printed Electrical Circuit Onboard First Wooden Satellite https://ift.tt/2ZfUOAc Zortrax’s next frontier is space! In early 2022, the Polish 3D printer manufacturer will be launching a 3D printed electrical circuit to low Earth orbit (LEO). Since 2019, the company has been working with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a composite 3D printing technology that enables the fabrication of space-ready parts with built-in polymeric-based electrical circuits. Now, an ESA-designed functional demonstrator circuit made with its high-tech industrial Endureal printer will be flight-tested onboard the WISA Woodsat, a Birch plywood nanosatellite designed and built by Arctic Astronautics, a Finnish company specializing in educational space technology. ESA non-metallic materials and processes engineer Ugo Lafont says the agency had the opportunity to contribute to Woodsat’s payload and requested Zortrax to manufacture one of the functional parts that his team designed using two blends of PEEK, one of the strongest polymers on the planet. The body and cover of the demonstrator are made with the company’s standard Z-PEEK material, which was launched in mid-2021 and is offered commercially for the Zortrax Endureal 3D printer. Additionally, a unique, electrically conductive blend of PEEK, enhanced with carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoparticles developed by ESA, was used to create the electrically conductive paths.
Facing very tight time constraints, the use of a dual 3D printing process has proven to be an asset to get the demo ready and qualified on time. Now, the goal of the experiment is to reach LEO. Once there, the entirely 3D printed device will transmit its first message and examine how exposure to the space environment will affect the circuit’s functionality during operation. Achieving quality and print precision to make flight-ready parts was a significant milestone for the 3D printing company’s R&D team. According to Zortrax’s Jacek Krywko, Leader of Advanced 3D Printing Solutions, the 3D printed circuits used for ground-based tests nearly a year ago were relatively large, and their geometry was simple. However, in just twelve months, his team managed to develop the capability to print a circuit that was many times smaller and had to include holes for screws and routing for cables, along with polymer conductive paths, while making sure it would survive the launch phase and space environment conditions—all this in a device the size of a post stamp. Still, making such a small composite PEEK demonstrator that can transmit data from space was not easy. Zortrax’s challenge was printing with two different PEEK materials in dual extrusion. Once the capability to print simultaneously with two blends of PEEK had been achieved, Zortrax’s R&D team started perfecting the technology to make the model ready for spaceflight. Krywko describes at least three issues that had to be solved for the demo to work once launched. First, the dimensional accuracy needed improvement to print smaller parts that would fit on CubeSats, like the WISA Woodsat. Additionally, Zortrax engineers had to increase ESA’s PEEK conductivity to make power and data transferring less energy-intensive. Finally, the gaps in the printed models that appeared between the outer wall of the part and the infill had to be eliminated to get rid of any potentially trapped air that could expand under vacuum when the printed circuit reaches space. Finally, all issues were resolved by the ESA and Zortrax engineers, who claim they were the first to use dual extrusion with two blends of PEEK to print advanced parts with power and data transfer capabilities. The demonstrator that finally got installed onboard the satellite and passed all demanding tests for flight clearance was a near solid structure. It was a feat that Krywko said: “is very difficult to achieve in printing very small objects with high-performance polymers.” The WISA Woodsat pioneering mission with the 3D printed electrical circuit will be launched to space on Rocket Lab’s two-stage small-lift launch vehicle Electron from the Māhia spaceport in New Zealand. Like many space companies today, Rocket Labs is also utilizing AM technologies to develop several of its spacecraft components, including the almost entirely 3D printed battery-powered rocket engines that will propel Electron to orbit. Once WISA Woodsat reaches LEO, it will focus on exploring the behavior of plywood in space for two years. During that time, the CubeSat will gather data on the behavior and durability of the material in the harsh temperatures, vacuum, and radiation of space. Commenting on the project, Zortrax CEO Mariusz Babula suggested that flight-testing 3D printed PEEK polymeric-based electrical circuits for the first time in history “fits great in the overall theme of this groundbreaking mission.”
Apart from printing the PEEK demonstrator with embedded electrically conductive paths, Zortrax is currently engaged with ESA on two new undisclosed research projects. In the meantime, the company’s R&D team is working on making the composite 3D printing capabilities and other features, designed specifically for ESA, available as software updates to all customers who bought Endureal 3D printers. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 22, 2021 at 07:33AM
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Project Call to Advance 3D Printed Components for Aerospace and Defense Applications https://ift.tt/3Ea82xT America Makes members are invited to apply to a new research project entitled “Maturation of Additive Geometric Management Approaches for High Mach Applications,” or MAGMA. Funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), this project will focus on advancing US additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities to create components for aerospace and defense high Mach applications that are prone to distortion or could fail to meet geometric design requirements. Worth $1 million in federal funding, the project call seeks responses that develop and demonstrate model-based approaches to advance the domestic supply chain’s ability to mitigate various factors that result in unacceptable variances in final AM product geometry for high Mach applications. Proposals should aim for applications that will improve geometries, thermal management, and the producibility of AM components. MAGMA sponsoring organizations—AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing, and Industrial Base Technology Division, and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM)—anticipate that when the results are announced on December 10, 2021, there will be at least two awards of no more than $500,000 each.
According to the proposal guidelines, despite immense progress in successfully demonstrating high Mach applications and the value that AM technologies present in this domain, these products face various design, material, and manufacturing challenges. Nonetheless, AFRL and NCDMM believe there are opportunities to demonstrate measurable improvement for AM product distortion compensation or mitigation using various modeling and analysis techniques. For this particular project call, the focus will be on product design and manufacturing that could foster improvement in AM product yield and aims to promote and accelerate the development and deployment of innovative, cost-effective, energy-efficient 3D printed technologies to meet defense and commercial needs. Moreover, any proposals should apply to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) four through seven. MAGMA aligns to strategic swimlanes determined in the America Makes’ AM Technology Roadmap that, when met, promote inquiry, knowledge-sharing, and technical advancements across the entire industry. The AM Technology Roadmap not only describes the strategic interest and knowledge gaps of the technology landscape, but it also serves as a history of prior efforts conducted by America Makes and its members, which encompass small, medium, and large industry, non-profit organizations, academia, and government partners. The perspectives of the members contained within the AM Technology Roadmap are representative of all tiers of the US AM supply chain and offer a structure to align the interests of the AM community to within five strategic swimlanes, including design, materials, process, value chain, and AM genome. In addition, there are various new or novel technologies within these swimlanes that a system depends on—otherwise known as Critical Technology Elements—and more than four hundred requirements. Additionally, the new project builds upon learnings from previous America Makes project calls, including a 2015 project focused on using AM to fabricate conformal heat exchangers for propulsion applications. Since 2012, America Makes has positioned itself as one of the leading forces in AM innovation. Focused on accelerating the adoption of 3D printing technologies in the US manufacturing sector and increasing domestic manufacturing competitiveness, the renowned AM national accelerator has fostered a highly collaborative infrastructure. It encourages an open exchange of AM information and research through a broad base of members, such as Honeywell and GE, but with an emphasis on assisting small- and medium-sized enterprises and startups. Participants have until Friday, November 19, 2021, to submit their proposals electronically to [email protected], labeled “America Makes MAGMA PROJECT PROPOSAL.” More information, details, and participant guidelines for the MAGMA can be found here. Additionally, any interested participants can attend America Makes’ informational webinar on the MAGMA project call on October 26, 2021. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 22, 2021 at 07:03AM
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Energizing Turbomachinery Innovation with Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/3vAJ2wq Even though the global movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is spurring a shift to renewable sources of energy, fossil fuels still generate 64 percent of today’s electricity, according to The Brookings Institution. To meet the need for lower emissions, the energy industry is transitioning from coal and petroleum-based fuels to cleaner-burning natural gas. This shift is rapidly transforming power plants. Energy producers are revamping existing plants and building new facilities from the ground up. At the core of these new facilities are massive industrial turbines that convert natural gas into electricity. The turbomachinery industry is highly competitive and the marketplace demands increased fuel efficiency, power generation, system reliability with reduced maintenance costs, as well as manufacturing and supply chain efficiency. This fast-paced metamorphosis presents a potent opportunity for manufacturers of gas turbines — yet traditional manufacturing methods can’t keep up with the pace of innovation. Gas turbines necessitate high-requirement superalloys and increasingly intricate shapes. Traditional manufacturing methods require long lead times and produce significant amounts of waste. In addition, they often involve multi-part assemblies that are costly to produce and yield turbines at higher risk for stresses and failures. Leading-edge turbomachinery manufacturers are overcoming these challenges and accelerating the speed of innovation by pivoting to additive manufacturing (AM), often called 3D printing. Additive manufacturing delivers design flexibility, enhanced system performance and efficiency, greater reliability, faster time to market, and improved supply chain efficiency. AM revolutionizes a variety of applications in the production of turbomachinery components. Optimize combustors for power output and fuel efficiencyCombustors are fundamental to turbomachinery performance. Achieving the greatest possible fuel efficiency and power output depends on internal structures that promote combustion and burn clean. Combustion components require the highest possible quality and are made of strong, heat-resistant superalloys. However, when manufacturers use traditional machining processes to shape these materials, they typically shorten tool life and produce higher levels of waste. By contrast, additive manufacturing gives engineers unprecedented flexibility when it comes to designing combustors. Neither geometry nor type of superalloy presents any difficulty. Engineers can develop novel orifice shapes and mixing chambers, optimizing fuel and air mixtures. Replacing multipart assemblies (such as fuel injectors, swirlers, and mixers) with monolithic parts can improve yield, reduce labor costs, and assure the integrity of the component under the highest temperatures and operating pressures. Design stator vanes that withstand intense heat and pressureInside the so-called “hot zones” of turbomachinery, the compressor and turbine stator vanes withstand intense thermal and structural pressures. Each vane or integrated stator must meet strict requirements for part integrity, accuracy, and quality to ensure the performance of the entire turbine. The two traditional processes used to manufacture stator vanes present significant challenges. When it comes to investment casting, the major obstacle is time. This decades-old process relies on wax patterns, but the molds to stamp out the patterns are costly to machine and take weeks or months to produce. The other traditional method, manufacturing vanes, and rings from billet, is costly, especially considering the sturdiness of the superalloys required. Furthermore, these complex shapes must then be brazed together, which may sacrifice the strength and longevity of the final component. With additive manufacturing, it is possible to reduce all these deficiencies by consolidating several parts into one. Consolidating part assemblies increases the manufacturing yield and significantly improves reliability. It also allows designers to build complex internal cooling channels — ones that are too difficult to machine — into these critical parts, improving thermal performance and maximizing efficiency. Unlock new levels of impeller performanceIndustrial gas turbine impellers are expensive to produce through conventional manufacturing methods. The shapes are complex and the metals extremely challenging to cut, resulting in waste rates as high as 80%. This is especially true with ducted, high-performance impellers, which are more costly to produce due to their closed shapes. Engineers often must make compromises in order to deliver cost-effective designs. Additive manufacturing allows turbomachinery producers to design sophisticated ducted impellers that are much more efficient at compressing air. Optimizing the topology and applying lattice structure to this critical rotating equipment component also allows engineers to reduce its weight, thereby enabling higher RPM with less energy, and higher total system power output. In particular, two AM processes offer significant advantages. Switching from machining billet to direct metal printing eliminates constraints involving the complexity of the part while speeding up production and reducing waste. When investment casting is called for — say, with larger impellers or higher-volume parts — 3D-printed wax patterns can be used with any alloy, delivering the flexibility and cost savings of a tool-free workflow. Produce high-quality casings and ducting faster, eliminate tooling costsProper exhaust gas evacuation is just as important to the efficiency of gas turbines as a generous supply of intake air. Ducting is essential for both — and industrial gas turbines require large, complex casings and ducting that are often customized for the site. Cutting-edge additive manufacturing processes enable architects and engineers to progress from CAD file to casting in days. Additive manufacturing gives engineers the freedom to create stronger, more reliable investment casting patterns for turbine casings and ducting, improving the efficiency of gas flow. Reducing the number of components also means fewer points of failure, resulting in greater uptime and reliability. Adding up the benefits of additive manufacturingIn the high-tech, competitive turbomachinery industry, increasing the pace of innovation is just as critical as making significant functional improvements. Additive manufacturing speeds up the design cycle by providing the ability to quickly and inexpensively produce complex parts for form, fit, and function testing. Whether you are manufacturing combustors, stator vanes, impellers, or castings, AM produces high-performance gas turbine components that meet or exceed design criteria. The entire power plant will reap the benefits in the form of improved fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 22, 2021 at 06:39AM
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Amber Butler x Black Minds Matter UK https://ift.tt/3b3cd22 Amber Butler, an up-and-coming illustrator and artist based in Luton, recently teamed up with Black Minds Matter UK in Honour of Black History Month and World Mental Health Day. The project was sparked by feelings of hopelessness, frustration, and exhaustion following the devastating murder of George Floyd. Amber’s art is often her therapy, thus she wanted to make an important contribution to her community. The result of the collaboration is an A4 stencil that encourages others to get creative with sustainability, repurposing, and up-cycling. Once you’ve finished with your stencil, it can be framed as an entirely unique piece. Ultimately, it can be used as you please! Amber would love to see your outcomes so be sure to tag her on Instagram @amberbutler_. “This is more than just a stencil but a story and message of unity, love over hate and acceptance. We are stronger together,” says Amber. She dedicates this project in loving memory of a dear friend; “He persisted to break down the stigma surrounding men’s mental health by sharing his story in the hopes no one would feel alone. He continued to spread love, hope and happiness, even during adversity. This is for him and for others like him.” Amber has been featured on the AOI and D&AD as a ‘Graduate to Watch’ as well as The Big Draw discussing art and activism, her creative process and what inspires her. Amber uses her creativity for good, she’s driven by justice and her need for positive change. Her work is punk, punchy, unique, and fearless. She combines inky lines, spray paint, hand-type, and graphic shapes. 25% of profits will be donated to Black Minds Matter UK: a charity that connect Black individuals and families to free mental health services by professional Black therapists. This is a life changing cause close to Amber’s heart. Each order includes an A4 350gsm Stencil of Amber Butler’s Artwork with a tips and instructions guide. Purchase here. Printing via People of Print https://ift.tt/2DhgcW7 October 22, 2021 at 04:35AM Service performance for First-Class Mail and Periodicals improves as peak season nears https://ift.tt/2Za9kto WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service reported service delivery performance scores for the first two weeks of the fiscal first quarter started in October showing ongoing improvements across First-Class and Periodical mail categories. Printing via USPS News https://ift.tt/2hH9aDC October 21, 2021 at 01:14PM
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Desktop Metal Qualifies Nickel Superalloy IN625 for Production System 3D Printing https://ift.tt/3jpjX2S Metal 3D printing mass production leader Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM) has announced that nickel-chromium superalloy IN625 is the latest material qualified for high-volume 3D printing with its industrial... View the entire article via our website. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com October 21, 2021 at 11:09AM |
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