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3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: August 14, 2022

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This week, you can catch Markforged and Stratasys on the road, and ASTM continues its personnel certificate course. America Makes is celebrating its 10th anniversary and holding MMX, and Nexa3D will give a live demonstration of its XiP 3D printer. For details on all of these events and more, keep on reading!

August 15 – 18: Forged Tour Part Deux

Markforged continues its global Forged Tour Part Deux this week, featuring the Digital Forge, pints, and snacks across the APAC region and the U.S. First, Markforged and Centralian will be at the Northern Festival Centre in Adelaide, Port Pirie, Australia, Monday, August 15th through Friday, August 19th, from 9 am until 6 pm ACST. On the 16th, the gerenga (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Markforged will be in Khet Huai Khwang, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, Thailand from 3-6 pm ICT. The tour continues in India on the 17th, with a stop at the Savoy Suites, Sector 1, Imt Manesa, Gurugram, Haryana from 2-5:30 pm IST with Adroitec, and then at the Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings in Focal Point, Ludhiana from 2:30-5:30 pm IST with TechNova. Finishing in India on the 18th, Markforged will join Phillips Machine Tools Pvt Ltd. at the Nashik Engineering Cluster C-10, Ambad MIDC, Nashik, MH from 10 am until 5 pm IST.

On the U.S. part of the tour, the 16th will be a busy day, as Markforged makes stops at transform GSO in Greensboro, North Carolina with 3DOLOGiE from 9-11 am EST; Port City Brewing Company in Alexandria, Virginia with Hawk Ridge Systems from 3-6 pm EST; WISEACRE Brewing Company OG in Memphis, Tennessee with Phillips from 3:30-6:30 pm CDT; Beltway Brewing Co. in Sterling, Virginia with Phillips from 3:30-6:30 pm EST; and Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Tampa Bay, Florida with Access Manufacturing Systems from 4-7 pm EST. On the 17th, Markforged joins Hawk Ridge Systems again, but up in Cleveland, Ohio at the Collision Bend Brewing Company from 3-6 pm EST. Finally, the week ends on the 18th with Phillips at Elation Brewing in Norfolk, Virginia from 3:30-6:30 pm EST. Stay tuned for more dates and locations in the future!

August 15 – 19: 3D Printing News Unpeeled

Recently, our Executive Editor Joris Peels, who’s also the Vice President of Consulting at SmarTech Analysis, launched a daily news livestream called 3D Printing News Unpeeled. Each weekday at 9:30 am EST, Peels gets on LinkedIn Live and tells us, in 20 minutes or less, what he considers to be the top 5 most exciting news stories from the 3D printing industry that day, and why they’re important. Some of the stories in his roundup are ones we’ve covered at 3DPrint.com, and some are not, but they are all interesting and impactful in their own ways.

The next 3D Printing News Unpeeled will be this Monday, August 15th, at 9:30 am EST, and will continue the rest of the week at the same time. Sign up on LinkedIn now, and you’ll receive handy notifications reminding you to sign on and watch the livestream. You don’t want to miss it!

August 15, 16, 17, & 19: The Experience Stratasys Tour Continues

The Experience Stratasys tour heads to Michigan this week, with its first stop at Gippers in Grand Rapids hosted by GoEngineer on the 15th. On the 16th, CATI will host the tour at Dave & Buster’s in Kentwood, as well as the stop at Topgolf in Auburn Hills on the 17th. Finally, the tour stays in Auburn Hills on the 19th, but GoEngineer will host the stop at Hub Stadium.

“Our mobile showroom offers a local, convenient way for you to talk with 3D printing experts and see the latest 3D printers, materials and solutions from Stratasys. Learn about additive manufacturing services from Stratasys Direct and discover how your organization can benefit from 3D printing applications.”

You can register for the Stratasys Experience Tour here. Stay tuned for more dates and locations in the future!

August 15: ASTM’s Virtual Certificate Course Continues

Starting on Monday the 15th, ASTM international’s AM Center of Excellence (AMCOE) continues its month-long virtual Additive Manufacturing General Personnel Certificate Course. The comprehensive course covers the entire AM process chain and is made up of of eight modules over four weeks, with the first two modules covering AM Process Overview & Terminology and Design & Simulation, and the third and fourth modules focused on Feedstock and Metrology & Post-Processing. The two modules covered this week will be AM Safety, taught by Francois Richard with P&W Canada, and Non-Destructive Inspection, taught by Don Roth, Roth Technical Consulting. At the end of the four-week course, there will be a multiple-choice exam, and attendees will earn a General AM Certificate.

“Join us for this unique certificate course designed and taught by 18 industry experts to better equip the workforce to support the rapid growth of AM with core technical knowledge related to AM best practices.”

You can register for the course here.

August 16 – 18: America Makes 10th Anniversary & MMX 2022

From August 16-18 in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes will be holding its Members Meeting & Exchange (MMX) 2022, at the same time it’s celebrating its 10th anniversary! MMX is its premier gathering of members and industry leaders for the purposes of networking, planning, and exchanging ideas. This year, things will kick off with a Community Day on Tuesday the 16th to celebrate the 10th anniversary of America Makes, with tours of nearby AM industry businesses and an Open House of the newly renovated America Makes facility from 1-5 pm EST, followed by the 10 Year Celebration. Then, starting at 7 am on the 17th and 18th, the annual MMX event itself will take place at the Covelli Centre downtown.

“America Makes Members Meeting & Exchange (MMX) is our annual event bringing together the AM community for two days of high-level conversations, presentations, and panels. MMX focuses on the state of the industry and where it is headed. The goal of MMX is to unite the community, encourage collaboration and build a comprehensive and globally competitive American additive manufacturing (AM) ecosystem.”

You can register for the 10 Year Celebration and MX 2022 here.

August 16: Materialise Mimics Innovation Course in Australia

Materialise is holding an Advanced Mimics Innovation Course for the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia at Griffith University, Southport on Tuesday, August 16th. Attendees will learn about what’s new in Mimics Innovation Suite 25, designing for patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) for orthopedic applications, how to import DICOM data from CT and CRI and convert the images into a 3D model, an instruction to Mimics Viewer and Virtual Reality, and more. The trainer will be Sasha Selvanayagam, Materialise Application Engineer – Medical for Australia and New Zealand.

“Medical image data serves as a powerful basis for engineers and researchers striving for solutions that will lead to safer and more predictable patient outcomes.

“The Mimics Innovation Suite was designed to make using that medical image data for all your engineering on anatomy purposes as easy and efficient as possible. During the Mimics Innovation Course you will experience all of the suites latest enhancements, features and benefits and learn how you too can benefit from such a versatile toolbox.”

You can register for the in-person course here.

August 17: Markforged’s Continuous Fiber Reinforcement

At 10 am EST on Wednesday the 17th, Markforged is holding a webinar on “Utilizing Continuous Fiber Reinforcement,” and attendees will learn how continuous fibers make it possible for the company’s composite 3D printers to fabricate metal-strength parts. Hosted by Cat Pomorski, Markforged Customer Success Engineer, the webinar will teach attendees what each type of continuous fiber is used for, how to path fiber in Eiger, where to place CFR for the best mechanical properties, and more.

“Markforged Continuous Fiber Reinforcement (CFR) can be incredibly strong, but how do we use it to make a part as strong as aluminum, without overengineering your part?”

You can register for the webinar here.

August 18: Nexa3D’s Live XiP Demonstration

According to Nexa3D, its XiP resin system is the world’s first ultrafast desktop 3D printer, with its proprietary LSPc industrial light engine speeding up the already fast mSLA technology. If you need some convincing, you’ll want to join the company’s live Zoom event, “CAD to Part with XiP in 30 minutes or less,” at 1 pm EST this Thursday, August 18th. Instructor Rob Wiggins, Nexa3D’s Head of Creative Services, will virtually welcome attendees into his studio for a live demonstration of the XiP, starting with bringing a CAD file into NexaX print preparation software, setting up the print job, and starting the print. While the part is printing, he’ll provide an overview of the XiP’s features, and then remove the build plate with the finished part.

“Sure, 3D printing overnight and coming in to find your completed print is fun but wouldn’t it be more fun if you could do that and multiple other projects all within one day?

“If that still sounds like hyperbole and marketing speak, well, you’ll just have to see it for yourself.”

You can register for the live demo here.

August 18: Modernizing Data Management with 3DEXPERIENCE

Also at 1 pm EST on the 18th, Dassault Systèmes is holding a 45-minute webinar about how to “Modernize Your Data Management Practices with the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.” Steve Fick, Industry Process Consultant and Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert, will teach attendees how to move beyond Windows File folders, using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to modernize the product development process through flexibility, powerful tools for managing SOLIDWORKS data, and fast deployment through SaaS infrastructure.

“Getting a handle on your engineering design data and modernizing your product development process can feel overwhelming. You know the importance of managing file references, working on the right revisions, understanding the impact of design changes, and ensuring tight collaboration. But the thought of embarking on a lengthy implementation and securing IT infrastructure can be daunting, to say the least.”

You can register for the webinar here.

August 18: Carbon Using AM to Take Ideas to Production

Finally, at 2 pm EST on Thursday, August 18th, the latest in the ASME webinar series will be on “How to Take an Idea to Production with Additive Manufacturing.” Jason Lopes, Technical Director at Carbon, pioneered the use of AM in Hollywood at Legacy Effects, working for A-list brands like Fox and giant blockbuster movies like Avatar and Iron Man. During this webinar, he’ll explain how supply chain issues make the use of additive manufacturing necessary and bring about transformative designs resulting in better products, as well as how traditional products are embracing newer technologies to produce innovative designs, and more. He’ll look at some real world parts and discuss how cool ideas can get from one part to production at scale through design and production expertise partnerships.

“Join Jason as he describes the process of taking an idea to production with additive manufacturing, and how additive manufacturing technology can support your company’s needs today and well into the future.”

You can register for the webinar here.

Do you have news to share about any future webinars or virtual and live events? Please let us know!

The post 3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: August 14, 2022 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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August 14, 2022 at 09:23AM

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3D Printing News Briefs, August 13, 2022: Natural Fibers, Robotic Gripper, & More

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We’re starting with an event in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as the New Collar Network is hosting a gathering of fab labs in New Mexico next month. Moving on to materials, researchers are looking into more sustainable 3D printing with natural fibers, and Desktop Metal has qualified Inconel 625 for use on the Studio System 2. Fraunhofer IGD developed a new process for avoiding the stairstep effect in 3D prints, and Washington University researchers created a 3D printed robotic gripper that can pick up anything. Finally, ETH Zurich and Nova Fundaziun Origen presented a temporary demonstrator of the White Tower that is to be constructed in Switzerland using digital printing.

Upcoming New Collar Network Meeting in New Mexico

On September 23rd, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the New Collar Network is hosting a one-day meeting for North American makerspaces, fab labs, non-profits, educators, inventors, and more, to explore and discuss how digital fabrication can be used to disrupt the world. The meeting, from 8:30 am – 4 pm, will be held at the Santa Fe Higher Education Center, with a reception to follow. The primary sponsor is Forest CNC, and there will be multiple demonstrations and presentations, such as the University of New Mexico’s new clay 3D printing project and the Santa Fe Indian pre-apprenticeship student projects. The keynote presenter is Michael Stone, VP of Innovative Learning for the Public Education Foundation, who led Volkswagen’s installation of over 35 digital fabrication facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee public schools.

“Join a fun, innovative group of educators, makers, inventors, and interested parties to hang in Santa Fe NM – one of the COOLEST places on the planet – to reimagine how we can change the world.

“All are welcome but our core group comes from fab labs, maker spaces, companies, schools and non-profits that think outside the box about the world. This one day meeting on Sept. 23 will blow your mind, get your juices flowing and re-charge your batteries – a not-to-be-missed event!”

You can purchase tickets to the New Collar Network meeting here.

3D Printing Natural Fiber Components

The Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH), together with several partners, is researching how to 3D print individual building elements out of natural fibers for the 3DNaturDruck project. Natural fibers are readily available, with good mechanical properties and low weight, which makes them an advantageous material for use in structural components for construction and architecture applications. As an added bonus, they are a renewable resource, which synthetic fibers are not. The project partners are developing different natural fiber-reinforced biopolymer composite materials for 3D printing façade elements using FDM technology. The LZH is researching one processing method for very short natural fibers, like what you’d see in straw and wood, and a different one for natural continuous fibers from flax and hemp, in combination with biopolymers. Then, it will adapt the tools and nozzle geometries of an FDM printer for the different methods.

The goal is to enable smart, innovative designs that are sustainable and ecological, as well as simplify manufacturing processes for architectural components. That’s why natural fiber-reinforced biopolymers could work—the materials can produce complex geometries with low material and cost requirements, in only a few steps. A pavilion with the 3D printed façade elements will serve as a demonstrator on the campus of the University of Stuttgart; additional partners include the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut (WKI), German industrial companies Rapid Prototyping Technologie GmbH, 3dk.berlin, ETS Extrusionstechnik, and ATMAT Sp. Z o.o. in Poland. The university’s Department of Biobased Materials and Materials Cycles in Architecture (BioMat) at the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) is coordinating the 3DNaturDruck project.

Inconel 625 Qualified for Use on the Studio System 2

Desktop Metal announced that nickel alloy Inconel 625 (IN625) has been qualified for use on its turnkey Studio System 2 bound metal deposition 3D printing platform. This is a high-performance alloy with high corrosion and temperature resistance, which makes it good for applications in the aerospace, offshore energy, and chemical processing industries. But another benefit—high strength—is what makes it so difficult and expensive to machine into complex geometries. Normally, a skilled machinist and special CNC cutting tools and coolants are required, but now that it’s qualified for the office-friendly Studio System 2, users can quickly and safely print and sinter final end-use parts that can be precision machined for key surfaces. With the addition of IN625, the flexible Studio System platform now offers a total of eight materials, including copper, tool and stainless steels, 4140, and titanium alloy Ti6Al4V.

“The Studio System 2, which features our streamlined and easy-to-use two-step process, remains the most flexible metal 3D printer in its class. It’s never been more important for manufacturers to have the agility of on-site, on-demand metal production, and the Studio System is a perfect gateway into metal 3D printing for production. Adding IN625 to the portfolio only amplifies the flexibility of this proven system,” stated Desktop Metal’s Founder and CEO Ric Fulop.

Researchers Develop New Method for Eliminating Stair-Step Artifacts

A team of scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research (IGD) have come up with an entirely geometric and algorithmic process for avoiding and eliminating stair-step artifacts in multimaterial 3D printing. Their published paper was recently presented at SIGGRAPH 2022, the leading trade fair for computer graphics. Stair-step artifacts are typically pretty unavoidable in conventional AM methods, and not only do they look bad, but they can also pose a structural problem to the print. The team came up with a new process for PolyJet printers that decreases quantization errors, which makes the artifacts no longer noticeable, and at a level below where they could physically effect the process—resulting in a smoother, more uniform, and geometrically accurate surface finish.

Their “dithering” process avoids these errors by modulating the surface of the object with a high-frequency signal, like blue noise. This results in a distribution of quantization errors to high frequencies, which are later removed by multiple printing processes, and by the function of the human eye. The process doesn’t take any longer than usual, and results in higher quality prints, and can be used as an entirely algorithmic method, independent of the hardware. The scientists used the Fraunhofer IGD-developed Cuttlefish 3D printer driver in their published solution, and plan to further investigate whether a smoother surface finish also makes the prints more resilient.

3D Printed Robotic Gripper Can Pick Up Any Shape

A passive gripper, like forklift tongs, can pick up objects without changing shape, so objects have typically been designed to match specific grippers, because passive ones can’t adjust to fit the object. A robot gripper could make assembly lines more efficient, but only if the grippers were changed for each new task, which isn’t very cost-effective. At SIGGRAPH 2022, a team of researchers from the University of Washington presented a paper on their tool for designing a 3D printed robotic passive gripper that actually can pick up anything, no matter its geometry. It actually calculates the best path to pick up whatever the object is, because for any given object, there are multiple possibilities for what the gripper could look like. First, the team provides the computer with a 3D model of the object and how it’s oriented in space, and their algorithm generates and ranks possible grasp configurations. Then, it takes the best option and, as the researchers explained, “co-optimizes” it to find a possible insert trajectory. Once the best match is found, the computer will provide a set of instructions to 3D print the gripper, and another set with the robot arm trajectory for after the gripper is attached. They tested the system on 22 different objects, including a few—wedge shape and pyramid with a curved keyhole—that are typically challenging for most grippers, and had success with 20 of them. However, the two failures resulted from issues with the objects’ 3D models.

“The points where the gripper makes contact with the object are essential for maintaining the object’s stability in the grasp. We call this set of points the ‘grasp configuration,” explained lead author Milin Kodnongbua, who worked on the project as a UW undergraduate student in the Allen School.

“Also, the gripper must contact the object at those given points, and the gripper must be a single solid object connecting the contact points to the robot arm. We can search for an insert trajectory that satisfies these requirements.”

Temporary Demonstrator of 3D Printed White Tower

Finally, a temporary 3D printed demonstrator of a structure called the White Tower was recently presented in the tiny village of Mulegns in Graubünden, Switzerland by ETH Zurich and the Nova Fundaziun Origen. Last year, Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin of the Swiss Peoples Party presented the tower project in the unique village: a 30-meter-tall tower to be built entirely with digital printing. The structure will serve as an example in the country of what additive construction is capable of, including a majorly reduced need for concrete and formwork-free, modular building directly onsite. The demonstrator is meant to give people an idea of the tower’s planned architectural presence, as well as for technical research purposes. Construction of the White Tower is scheduled to start next May, once the financing has been secured, technical questions answered, and the building permit granted. Once completed, it will act as a cultural venue and walk-in art installation and performance space before being dismantled after five years.

“A white tower is to be built in the pass village of Mulegns, a completely digitally printed building that tells of literary heavenly journeys, the homesickness of the Graubünden emigrants and, last but not least, the bold taste of the Mulegns sugar barons,” the Nova Fundaziun Origen website states.

“It should also tell the rich cultural history of the place, promote gentle, substantial tourism, bring valuable digital know-how to the mountain canton and save a dying village.”

The post 3D Printing News Briefs, August 13, 2022: Natural Fibers, Robotic Gripper, & More appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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August 13, 2022 at 07:58AM

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Elephants star on Forever Stamps on World Elephant Day

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Hohenwald, TN — Today, the U.S. Postal Service celebrated the majestic, playful, and highly intelligent elephant with a first-day-of-issue stamp ceremony at The Elephant Discovery Center.



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August 12, 2022 at 11:11AM

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3D Printing News Unpeeled, Live with Joris Peels Friday 12th of August

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Today we will be talking about a model of a cranium, Prellis Biologics new raise, 3D printing actuators for a hand that moves like a human one as well as Sprintray and BEGO working on a dental resin.

 

 

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August 12, 2022 at 10:05AM

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Legacy Aussie Building Firm Transitions to 3D Printed Construction

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Boss Products, one of the oldest building products manufacturers in Australia, made the decision about two years ago to transition to the use of additive construction (AC). The company recently announced the success of this transition, amid opening Australia’s first AC factory.

Located in Melbourne, Boss is one of the leading Australian suppliers of architectural moldings, custom planter boxes, and retail displays. Boss’s AC process uses a customized version of the Platypus X2 concrete printer, produced by Luyten 3D, which is also headquartered in Australia.

Justifiably, printed houses still get the bulk of the attention in the AC sector. On the other hand, it’s arguable that the technology’s best chance at taking off initially is through its incorporation into the production of smaller architectural components — like planter boxes and moldings.

Primarily, I think this is because producers of smaller components with AC would find it easier to take advantage of the cost savings achievable by centralizing production, than would builders of entire homes. Currently, one of the largest impediments to making AC more cost-effective than building with legacy techniques involves the time spent disassembling the printer, reassembling it at the build site, and disassembling it once more when the project is completed. In turn, the cheapest method is to prefabricate housing elements, and then to complete the final steps for assembly on-site.

As cost-effective as it could eventually be to mass-produce homes this way, the infrastructure to do so simply doesn’t exist yet. One way that the establishment of such infrastructure might be expedited, would be if AC factories like the Boss Products’ facility in Melbourne become more commonplace, first. For the broader construction sector, the logistics of incorporating AC into the provision of smaller architectural features would also be more manageable. The more seamlessly integrated with one another that both sides of the equation become, the less of a leap it will be to mainstream the commercialization of printed homes.

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August 12, 2022 at 10:05AM

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Unseen Opportunity: What Is the Ideal In-Hospital 3D Printer

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Just a few years ago, 3D printers were rare inside hospitals. Now, over the past five years, we’ve seen a huge growth in 3D printing adoption inside hospitals. This includes teams collaborating with service bureaus to 3D print parts for their medical practices.

Additionally, there’s the emergence of a new breed of specialized firms that want to aid hospitals in transitioning to the use of additive manufacturing (AM). Take Axial3D, who wants to help doctors by segmenting files for 3D printing, file preparation, and even deploying print labs at hospitals. Korean firm Medical IP develops software to automatically aid doctors in segmenting files, while also offering anatomical models and new ways to visualize models.

However, paradoxically, we haven’t see any real development of specialized 3D printers for inside hospitals, which has been particularly confusing to me. Kumovis—recently acquired by 3D Systems to aid its pivot towards bioprinting and medical 3D printing—developed one of the only healthcare-specific 3D printers that I know of. Vshaper, which manufacturers high-temperature 3D printers, has two medical AM machines. Super-segmented Stratasys also has a PolyJet 3D printer for medical applications. Other than those, I’m struggling to think of other systems dedicated specifically to medical 3D printing.

What Similar Developments Are Happening in Other Markets?

This is a huge missed opportunity in the 3D printing industry. In ancillary markets, we can see real development toward intertwined solutions that are of great benefit for customers. In dental, for example Star3D has a complete material, vat polymerization, and software solution for dental. DWS has developed a line up of innovative systems each for different sized dental labs and practitioners. It also offers the DFAB, a printer specifically made for restorations. Formlabs develops specific material offerings and printers for dental. Prodways has dental 3D printers, as does SprintRay. Meanwhile Materialise and LuxCreo have dental specific software.

There are currently a great deal of vendors and resellers that I could ring up only to be offered a partially or fully integrated and easy-to-use solution for dentist offices and labs alike. Moreover, they would be able to 3D print a whole range of dental parts from restorations to orthodontics, bridges, and more. Dental is leading the charge in simple solutions that a practitioner who knows nothing about 3D printing could buy and get up and running in just a few days. Meanwhile, in medical, there is next to nothing.

Why Is 3D Printing for Hospitals So Important?

Right now, there may be over 200 3D print labs in hospitals worldwide. Every healthcare provider worth its salt will have a 3D printing lab eventually. Why?

First of all, these facilities save money. It’s far cheaper and faster to produce medical models in-house than to outsource them. For anatomical and pathology models, current desktop machines suffice. They’re easy to operate and work in offices prevalent at hospitals.

3D printing is an innovative technology to show off to patients, but it can also aid doctors in creating fixation solutions, post-operative braces, medical instruments. Additionally, AM can be used to prototype one-off innovative instruments or solutions. This could include devices that improve patient wellbeing, surrounding them patient in their hospital beds.

Surgical planning with the aid of models saves time and money, while in-house production of pathology models for a variety of diseases can educate staff and students. Patient-specific devices can be made for surgical procedures, but also for when the patient leaves the hospital. This includes braces as well as implants that could be made on site. Prosthetics are readily made with 3D printing, as well. In-hospital production of medical devices would be difficult and require meeting exact tolerances, but it is already being performed at the U.S Veterans Administration and the Hospital for Special Surgery.

The biggest benefit to hospitals is that they would have an ability to fabricate one-off items in house. A 3D print lab coupled with an engineer could work with other hospital staff to develop unique solutions for problems, in the same way that 3D printing’s greatest asset for businesses is the ability to solve unforeseen problems through part production.

Need a special attachment to put a gurney next to an MRI machine because a radiologist wants to MRI a giraffe? 3D print it. Have a patient who needs to protect a uniquely vulnerable ankle? Make a specialty brace cover to protect it. People are unique, as are a lot of their medical problems. 3D printing is very well suited to aiding those people.

I’m also sure that a number of benefits of 3D printing in hospitals have not yet been sufficiently developed. Think of Poka-Yoke tooling for hospitals, for example. A nurse on a medical round could obtain a part that organizes all of the needles and instruments for various procedures in a specific order to minimize errors. Surgeons could have these made for every procedure—some implant packaging is already specially made for each operation. Hospitals could use more jigs and fixtures on patients to reduce errors, as well.

Many issues could be improved for patients in the hotel-like environments of the hospital, as well. Lights could be made easier to operate for people with Parkinson’s in a particular geriatric ward. Covers could be made in pediatric wards to prevent young patients from having access to lights and other equipment. Imagine a project to make the whole hospital Braille-friendly for the seeing-impaired? That would be enormous and costly. However, one person with a simple printer could get very far. Generally, a lot of items break in hospitals and printers could be used in maintenance extensively. Across the board, there is a high degree of interest in 3D printing inside hospital walls but I think there will be even more in the future.

What Would an Ideal 3D Printer for Hospitals Look Like?

PBF or Another Technology?

What AM technology would be best suited for operating within the hospital environment? There’s powder bed fusion (PBF), favored by 3D printing bureaus for its ability to batch produce durable parts. However, PBF would give off a lot of dust and introduce an explosion and fire danger that I wouldn’t be too happy about, personally. Ultimately for medical campus setups that could include ancillary buildings with 3D printers, metal and polymer PBF systems would allow them to make PEEK polymer and titanium implants in-house. Such a development will happen one day, but is still further away in time. And, even then, these hospitals could use the same metal and polymer machines that orthopedic implant manufacturers use. So, in this case, there would not be a need for specialized in hospital printers.

At the moment material extrusion and vat photpolymerization printers in the Pro segment come closest to meeting the immediate needs of hospitals. For now, we’ve seen many hospitals turn to Ultimaker S5 or Formlabs systems for in-house use.

Safe for In-Hospital Use

What the ideal 3D printer would need would be the appropriate certifications and approvals for 3D printing the types of parts needed. In some countries, specific tests or certifications for ultra fine particles or material safety would have to be undertaken, as well. Obtaining these will be kind of a slog, but well worth it as hospitals are often obligated to rely on only certain devices with the correct approvals. So, the ideal in hospital printer would be easy to use (while wearing gloves) and conform to all of the relevant safety and medical approvals for parts made on it.

In a perfect world, the system would register prints and files, enabling accountability and traceability so that the hospital knows what was printed. It would also feature the proper privacy settings as to not expose patient data on the internet, for example.

The Kumovis R1 printer actually has many of these properties, including an integrated filter system, a build chamber that can be converted to a clean room to avoid contaminating the printed part. The company suggests that the printer is “clean room ready” for use in existing clean room environments and that it can be cleaned to medical standards. To me, these features are very compelling for an in-hospital 3D printer.

Medical Materials

It could run unattended for many hours without posing a fire or electrical danger, as well. It would minimize material handling and offer excellent material storage. In the case of a material extrusion technology, this machine would have to include great material conditioning, preheating, and annealing capabilities, as well. If the printer was sterile or produced sterile parts, that would be outstanding.

Generally, the ideal machine would have to have excellent setting profiles for materials, as well as safe, biocompatible, and certified materials. The software, too, would be easy to use and secure with patient data. Ideally, the software would be an integrated solution that would save a lot of time using automated workflows. Because a large number of parts would be for similar applications and certification levels, push-button workflows from CT scan to part would be perfect.

Larger build volumes would be required in some cases.  It would also be exciting to see a machine that can print high-temperature and autoclavable materials, such as PVDF, as well as specific materials that hospitals would want and care for. Components would have to be high grade and maintenance intervals would have to be spread apart. Service would have to be excellent, as well.

Do it

On the whole, developing the perfect printer for in-hospital use would not be an impossible challenge. It would require a lot of due diligence, precision, and care to do it right. This isn’t one of those move-fast-and-break-things kind of application.

It would have to be an excellent 3D printer made specifically for use in hospitals and the medical field. To a lot of people, this may seem niche. However, making an excellent, high-grade, high-spec, highly precise FDM or SLA machine would also mean that the machine could be used in any high-end manufacturing application. I urge someone to do this. This is an excellent opportunity that would be defensible, high-margin, and long-lasting.

The post Unseen Opportunity: What Is the Ideal In-Hospital 3D Printer appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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August 12, 2022 at 08:15AM

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“We Have Limitless Opportunities to Fuel Growth” Says Randy Altschuler after Xometry’s Q2 Earnings

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The last few years have been rough for the capital market. Between the Covid-related economic slowdown, inflation’s impact on stock returns, and an ongoing war in Ukraine, the stock market fell into bear territory in June 2022, and Forbes just announced that despite moving higher in recent weeks, “the stock market still has further to fall.” However, for some 3D printing companies, earnings reports are looking brighter. The latest to inform its quarterly numbers is Xometry (Nasdaq: XMTR).

During the fiscal second quarter, the company said it had record revenue and gross profits. Total revenue for the second quarter of 2022 was $95.6 million, an increase of 89% year-over-year, driven primarily by accelerated marketplace growth, which accounted for roughly 80% of total revenue and expanding supplier services with the addition of Thomas, a leader in product sourcing, supplier selection, and digital marketing solutions.

With marketplace revenue at $75.6 million, the company witnessed a 55% growth year-over-year and 17% quarter-over-quarter. Marketplace revenue, which consists entirely of the historical Xometry business, was driven by continued strong growth in active buyers and the platform’s rapid adoption by larger accounts across both North America and Europe. Likewise, Xometry experienced strong year-over-year growth in many of the different manufacturing processes offered in its marketplace, suggested CEO Randy Altschuler during an earnings call on August 10, 2022, just hours after releasing the second quarter report.

Altschuler specified that in Q2, active buyers increased 40% year-over-year to 33,491, adding a record 2,808. Additionally, Xometry saw strength across multiple verticals, including automotive, electronics, semiconductors, robotics, and automation, as well as ongoing strength in general manufacturing. Just as during the first quarter of the year, the company continues to see growing traction in production orders from several customers across industries and manufacturing processes, including robotic assemblies in agriculture and injection molding for an electric vehicle company.

Also on an uptrend, the total gross profit for the period was $37.7 million, an increase of 217% compared to the same period last year, driven by significant improvements in marketplace gross margin and the addition of higher-margin supplier services. Altschuler also pinpointed an improvement in the company’s cash flow through a “growing basket of fintech products.” He explained that with the Thomas acquisition last December, Xometry expanded its baskets of supplier services, including marketing and advertising solutions.

“Our international business continues to deliver strong growth, with revenue increasing 136% year-over-year. In Q2, we further expanded our sales presence in the U.K., Germany, France, and Nordic regions. Alongside strong top-line growth, Europe continues to rapidly expand gross margins, underscoring the success and demand for our marketplace across geographies. In addition, we formally launched the platform in China in late Q1 and began taking orders from Chinese customers in April. We are pleased with the initial launch and continue to scale up the in-country team and supplier base and expect China to contribute to revenue growth in 2023,” pointed out Altschuler.

Xometry part production. Image courtesy of Xometry.

Regarding profitability, Xometry reported a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $16.6 million for the quarter, an increase of $4.3 million year-over-year, and a negative adjusted EBITDA of $8.3 million for the quarter, reflecting a decrease of $0.8 million year-over-year. Management hopes to reach profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis by 2023.

A leading force in custom on-demand manufacturing, Xometry said that on top of strong financial results, the period marked the most extensive product release schedule in its history, and has announced the launch of the Industrial Buying Engine (IBE) to digitize sourcing on Thomasnet, including instant quote and on platform request-for-quote capability. Another new introduction is the cloud-based software Workcenter to help suppliers digitize all aspects of their operations. The freemium version of the software was developed with the acquisition of FactoryFour in the last quarter of 2021.

In 2022, Xometry hopes to expand its domestic and international marketplaces and deliver additional services to buyers and suppliers. The company estimates its total addressable market (TAM) at over $2 trillion in the massive $35 trillion global manufacturing industry.

For the full fiscal year, Xometry is raising the bottom end of its revenue guidance and now expects revenue of up to $400 million, representing year-over-year growth of up to 83%. At the same time, it believes the gross profit will grow fourfold with a significant gross margin expansion.

Xometry celebrates going public at the NASDAQ on June 29, 2021. Image courtesy of Xometry.

It has already been a year since the company went public on the Nasdaq exchange. In June 2021, Xometry stock opened at $68 and closed at $87.39, up nearly 99% from the offer price. The strong performance came after the company sold roughly 6.9 million shares at $44 each, above its $38-to-$42 price range. Since then, shares reached an all time low of $27.62 in May 2022 – following a general market trend – before regaining some ground to oscillate between $30 and $45. Following the release of its earnings report at market opening on August 10, Xometry stock escalated more than 25% by 10 AM.  This coincided with a general uproar in the stock market after a key inflation reading showed a better-than-expected slowdown for rising prices, which led to gains in key indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite.

The post “We Have Limitless Opportunities to Fuel Growth” Says Randy Altschuler after Xometry’s Q2 Earnings appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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August 12, 2022 at 08:15AM

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MIT Researchers 3D Print Plasma Sensors Using Glass-Ceramic Material

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A team of researchers from MIT fabricated what they say are the first fully digitally manufactured plasma sensors, known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs), for orbiting spacecraft. Satellites use this type of sensor to investigate the ion energy distribution and chemical composition of the atmosphere, which means they can help scientists study climate change, and even predict the weather. The team published a paper on their work, “Compact retarding potential analyzers enabled by glass-ceramic vat polymerization for CubeSat and laboratory plasma diagnostics,” in Additive Manufacturing.

“We report the design, fabrication, and characterization of novel, digitally manufactured, compact retarding potential analyzers (RPAs), i.e., multi-electrode instruments that can be used as in-orbit mass spectrometers and as on-ground/in-orbit ion energy analyzers. Unlike most RPAs reported in the literature, our devices enforce active aperture alignment across the grid stack, maximizing ion transmission,” the team states in the abstract.

Graphical abstract

My first job out of college was as an associate producer for the local CBS affiliate; I helped write and organize stories for different newscasts, then went in the booth and made sure everything ran smoothly during the live broadcast. Sometimes a story would break during the show, so I’d have to drop a less important piece to make room for the new one, or if we were running long, I would cut the lottery numbers for the night. But one thing you can’t cut is weather, especially in Ohio, where the forecast can change on a dime, and predicting it takes a lot of work. 3D printing has been used to help with weather research before, and I’m sure it will be again.

The first time an RPA was used in a space mission was back in 1959, so it’s not a new concept. These versatile sensors can detect the charged particles floating in plasma, enabling them to measure energy and conduct chemical analyses from onboard an orbiting spacecraft. As plasma passes through the tiny holes in the electrically charged meshes of the sensor, all particles are stripped away until ions are all that’s left, which then create an electric current that’s measured and analyzed by the sensor. The housing structure that aligns the RPA’s meshes is important, as it has to be electrically insulating, as well as able to hold up under drastic, sudden temperature changes.

The MIT researchers used a 3D printable glass-ceramic material called Vitrolite—used often in the colorful tiles you see in art deco buildings—to make RPA components, as the material displays the necessary properties. Not only is it more durable than more conventional sensor materials like thin-film coatings and silicon, but it can also withstand temperatures up to 800°C, unlike the polymers in semiconductor RPAs that typically start melting at 400°C.

“When you make this sensor in the cleanroom, you don’t have the same degree of freedom to define materials and structures and how they interact together,” explained Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) and senior author of the paper. “What made this possible is the latest developments in additive manufacturing.”

Most of the time when you’re 3D printing ceramics, a laser powder bed system is used, but according to the MIT researchers, the high heat can cause weak points and leave the material coarse. The team instead used vat polymerization, which builds a 3D structure one layer at a time by repeatedly submerging it into a vat of liquid material—Vitrolite in this case—and curing each layer with UV light. This technology can print smooth, complex, pore-free ceramic shapes, which is exactly what the researchers needed. They were able to print laser-cut meshes with unique shapes, so that the holes would perfectly line up once inside the RPA housing; this allows more ions to pass through and results in higher-resolution measurements.

In the paper, the team did note that binder jetting could be used to 3D print the metallic parts of the sensor, though they did not have access to the necessary equipment during the study to try it out. Instead, they outsourced those parts.

“The RPA designs described in this report could be fully 3D printed; in particular, the metallic parts could be made via binder material jetting—a printing technique that has been shown to produce metal parts that are ultra-high vacuum (UHV) compatible, with adequate resolution for producing finely featured, miniaturized hardware,” they wrote.

Schematics of the digitally manufactured RPAs developed in this study: exploded view (a), cross-section of assembled RPA (b), and close-up cross-section of electrode stack and electrode housing when assembled (c). Schematics of the constant-aperture (d) and aperture-optimized architectures (e). In (d) and (e) FG = floating grid, FERG = first electron-repelling grid, SERG = second electron-repelling grid, IRG = ion-retarding grid, and CE = collector electrode.

The team designed four unique designs for the sensor prototypes, because they could be fabricated so quickly and at low cost; these qualities make the sensors a good fit for low-power, lightweight CubeSats, which are used often for environmental monitoring and communication. One of the designs was great at capturing and measuring a wide range of plasma, while another was better at sensing very dense and cold plasma.

“Additive manufacturing can make a big difference in the future of space hardware,” Velásquez-García said. “Some people think that when you 3D-print something, you have to concede less performance. But we’ve shown that is not always the case. Sometimes there is nothing to trade off.”

The researchers found that their 3D printed and laser-cut hardware performed just as well as the more expensive semiconductor plasma sensors manufactured in a cleanroom over several weeks. Using 3D printing makes it possible to produce these high-precision sensors for much less time and money.

“If you want to innovate, you need to be able to fail and afford the risk,” Velásquez-García concluded. “Additive manufacturing is a very different way to make space hardware. I can make space hardware and if it fails, it doesn’t matter because I can make a new version very quickly and inexpensively, and really iterate on the design. It is an ideal sandbox for researchers.”

Layout of the floating grid for the four RPA designs explored in this study. Each electrode has three curved deflection springs evenly distributed along its edge that are used to assemble the electrode to the housing.

Velásquez-García has more in mind for these sensors in the future, such as decreasing the layer thickness or pixel size in the glass-ceramic vat polymerization process to make even more precise hardware, or using artificial intelligence to optimize the design of the sensors for specific use cases, like majorly reducing their mass while keeping them structurally sound. Additionally, he says that 3D printing the entirety of the sensors would make them compatible with in-space manufacturing.

The post MIT Researchers 3D Print Plasma Sensors Using Glass-Ceramic Material appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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August 12, 2022 at 07:10AM

USPS announces proposed temporary rate adjustments for 2022 peak holiday season

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WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service filed notice today with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) regarding a temporary price adjustment for key package products for the 2022 peak holiday season.



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August 12, 2022 at 06:48AM

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Todd Drake

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“Growing up in the American South filled with its cultural undercurrents of Racism and conservatism, the youngest son of a twice widowed mother, I needed a compass, a North Star, that spoke intuitively to who I was inside and what I wanted to be. I first found that in the concept of serving others,” begins Todd Drake, a printmaker, activist, and educator living in New York City. Todd dedicated his undergraduate college degree to pursuing the pre-med path of a Biology degree. In his senior year of college, he rediscovered his talents as an artist. These skills had matured over the years and gave him the giant question of answering their call, or not. After two years of medical school, Todd could no longer ignore the artist inside himself: he resigned and headed to a Master Degree in Fine Arts program. 

“Ever since, I have never, ever, regretted leaving the field of medicine,” says the printmaker. However, he has always searched for ways to help others through his art-making practice. This search has led Todd on incredible journeys; trips into the deserts of Saudi Arabia, schools and homes in Palestine, Turkey, and rural Mexico. He comments; “It has shaped my life and that of my family”. 

One of the influences behind Todd’s art is the trauma of losing loved ones early in his life. This has led him to appreciate the art of the American landscape painter, Andrew Wyat; “His melancholy infused paintings of the land and people in his life were shaped by the loss of his father, an experience I shared in common with him”. Years later, during his MFA program, Todd discovered Max Bechmann, the German Expressionist, whose world view and art was changed by World War I; “The experience of being an ambulance driver in that war had almost broken him, but expressing his inner trauma through his art saved him, only to make him the enemy of the Third Reich. Max escaped to the US and eventually settled in New York City.” More recently, Louis Bourgeois has deeply expanded his visual and emotional vocabulary with the power of her surrealism – particularly her early paintings. “I recently found where she lived while she made those works, just blocks away from where I now live in Manhattan,” states Todd.

“The first step of my art making process begins with an aching over something I need to express- often  larger social issues that also have some connection to my personal life,” describes the artist. His more recent subject matter has ranged from global warming to, undocumented immigration, and the covid pandemic. He then begins roughly drawing out the concept in sketches that he describes as; “a conversation with myself, an effort to put on paper what I am feeling inside”. Sometimes this comes easily, sometimes it takes many revisions, but once he has worked out the composition and clearly and simply communicated the feeling, Todd then moves into creating the linocut. This then becomes another discovery process where light, black and white line cutting, energy levels, and textures are all considered. He uses battleship gray linoleum to create the linocut, and prints using rubber based ink on thin French Press paper that responds well to wheat pasting. Todd then prints using either a lightweight cold press roller or a Vandercook press for larger editions.

During the Covid Pandemic Todd and his wife stayed in New York City to help save a communal house that they manage. Todd tells us; “For those years we lived on the edge of a volcano, as all around us people fled the city or came down with life threatening cases of Covid. The hospital a block away from our house put in hundreds of Covid rooms with negative pressure vents visible at each window. On the sidewalk they set up a refrigerated container morgue. The nights were filled with ambulance sirens and the streets by day were empty. My wife and I walked those streets and spent our time looking at graffiti and boarded up storefronts.” He began adding his prints to those boarded up windows and doors, and has continued on to participate in the now reborn, vibrant, and growing graffiti culture in New York City. “My most loved image is still the wounded face that for me is both a self portrait and a mascot for these times,” says the printmaker.

Looking to the future Todd is keen to have his images more widely shared; “I would love to wheat paste all around the world and I have created an “indoor-ready” series of prints and paintings on Global Warming that I would like to travel nationally and internationally.” The artist is also working on a new series addressing White Supremacy; “I have lived full-time off this type exhibiting in the past, and I am eager to do so again. I love the mixture of printing and displaying in non-traditional venues because it is so anti-elitist and circumvents agism. (No one knows how old you are as an anonymous graffiti artist! I am 35, on the inside.)” 

He continues, honestly; “I would also love to see my work in some kick ass nice white box galleries and museums. Not for the status of it, but for the opportunity to share my art. Museums in particular put the audience in a special state of mind where they are ready to think and feel deeply.” 

“All in all, I hope my work can continue to pass along small compasses and North stars.” 

@equalist_nyc
www.the-equalist.com

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August 12, 2022 at 03:07AM