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3D Printing News Unpeeled: Impossible Objects, Soft Tissue Bitmaps and Aerorise https://ift.tt/EVCDzUn Weber University’s Miller Advanced Research and Solutions Center (MARS Center) has bought an Impossible Objects Composite-Based Additive Manufacturing system the CBAM-2. It is now reportedly using the system to make upgrades to spare parts. This is something I’m super excited about the idea of not only replacing old spare parts but improving on them as well using 3D printing. It is helping the Air Force on making restraining straps for first aid kits. These were first made in the 70´s and 80´s but were breaking because newer first aid kids are heavier. Now they used PEEK CF parts made on Impossible Objects machine to replace them. I think that potentially there is an aftermarket for everything in the world and think that this is a great example of this. In the paper, “Defining Soft Tissue: Bitmap Printing of Soft Tissue for Surgical Planning” by Robert MacCurdy and team the CU Boulder and CU Anschutz Medical Campus researchers of the University of Colorado have shown us how to make a six material bitmap based on a DICOM file. Using their own software the team now have a more accurate representation of the human body by defining it as a bitmap that maps voxels. This is great news for Stratasys for example whose J750 printers can take advantage of this through giving a more accurate 3D printed representation of soft tissue. The files now have better, ¨spatial and contrast resolution to current 3D modeling methods, and contain previously unachievable spatial fidelity for soft tissue differentiation.¨ So why don’t we do the same for Jack Wolfskin Aerorise backpacks? You can now buy these packs with four 3D printed back pads. They’re printed by Oechsler on Carbon systems using Carbon’s dual-cure elastomer EPU 41. They have lattices which have different hardness, softness and rigidity on different areas of the pad. This helps the pad give better cushioning and ventilation at the same time. But, what if we could combine Carbon’s ParaMatters software with Twikit or Trinkle and then have a voxel level mass customized lattice structure giving you a unique set of pads with unique properties for just you. So not just the size of them but the individual levels and areas of rigidity and softness especially and uniquely just for you. What if we then do this for shoes, headrests and tennis racket handles? Would be great right?
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Rocket Lab Launches First Vehicle from U.S. Soil https://ift.tt/jzT7MDf According to what may be the only market research report on the topic, “3D Printing in Commercial Space: The AM Ecosystem in the Private Space Industry” from SmarTech Analysis, the overall value of 3D printed parts for private space is projected to reach $2.1 billion by 2026. Among the earliest pioneers in the space is Rocket Lab. The New Zealand-based firm has not only gone on to launch a North American branch, Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), but has just launched its first vehicle from U.S. soil. At 6 pm EST on January 24, 2023, what was dubbed the “Virginia is for Launch Lovers” mission took off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (LC-2) at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport within NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. While it was the company’s first U.S. launch, it was actually the 33rd rocket launched by Rocket Lab in total, with its very first occurring in 2017. Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle is powered by a total of 10 Rutherford propulsion systems, which the company describes as “the world’s first 3D-printed, electric-pump-fed rocket engine.” This includes prop valves, injectors, pumps, and engine chambers that are all 3D printed with electron beam melting technology. With its first U.S. launch, the Electron deployed three satellites to a 550 km orbit for HawkEye 360, a leading radio frequency (RF) geospatial analytics provider. This marks a total of 155 satellites sent into space by Rocket Lab. The success of the mission means that the Kiwi company can now kick off its increasingly large U.S. presence with 12 missions per year, which makes for a total of over 130 missions annually when combined with its Launch Complex 1 operations in New Zealand.
The mission also featured the first use of NASA Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (NAFTU), which provides a common system for flight termination for launch vehicles. Rocket Lab itself has used its own autonomous flight termination system since 2019, but NAFTU can be used with a variety of launch providers. This technology is said to make it cheaper and faster to launch small satellites by widening launch windows, shrinking launch safety corridors, and reducing reliance on ground-based systems.
Now that the launch is complete, Rocket Lab will work to deliver 15 HawkEye satellites into low Earth orbit across three total missions. With a growing constellation of RF monitoring satellites, the company will be able to more effectively deliver precise geolocation of RF emissions. Thanks to its 2021 acquisition of Planetary Systems Corporation, Rocket Lab will also be able to provide HawkEye with separation systems, reinforcing Rocket Lab’s vertical integration strategy. The bigger picture for Rocket Lab’s Virginia location is making it the home for the company’s larger launch vehicle, Neutron. The company will be building, testing, launching, and landing the rocket at the Wallops Flight Facility. Construction of the Neutron Production Complex is already underway. The new space sector has proven that additive manufacturing (AM) is essentially critical to its progress, resulting in a large proliferation of 3D printing focused companies. This also means that investors are seeing the technology’s capabilities. In the case of Rocket Lab, the two major holders of RKLB stock are VK Services, LLC (15.8 percent), a unit of Khosla Ventures, and Deer Management Co. LLC (13.7 percent), a unit of Bessemer Venture Partners. They are followed by the usual players: Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street, who own 4.55 percent, 4.51 percent, and 2.88 percent respectively. While Rocket Lab has previously stated that the Rutherford relies on electron beam melting, it’s interesting to note that both Khosla and Bessemer also own significant portions of Velo3D stock, with Deer Management taking 20.31 percent and VK Services taking 16.28 percent. Both companies supported Velo3D and Rocket Lab ahead of their SPAC IPOs. This is important because Velo3D has had a tight relationship with SpaceX in the past and is currently a supplier to Launcher, which both compete and collaborate in the same space as Rocket Lab. The post Rocket Lab Launches First Vehicle from U.S. Soil appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rTKMgDN January 30, 2023 at 08:55AM 3DPOD Episode 138: Point-of-Care Medical Device 3D Printing with Dr. Steven Kurtz Drexel University1/30/2023 3DPOD Episode 138: Point-of-Care Medical Device 3D Printing with Dr. Steven Kurtz, Drexel University https://ift.tt/YlkWIKx In this episode of the 3DPOD, we speak to Dr. Steven Kurtz, director of the Implant Research Center at Drexel University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems and also acts as an implant consultant. We have a great conversation about the PAEK family of high-performance polymers, including PEKK and PEEK, for use in the body. Dr. Kurtz also discusses the opportunities for Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) which is still a nascent material for additive manufacturing. We take a journey through the successes and advantages of polymer implants for cranio maxillofacial, spinal and other areas of the body. All in all, Steve’s expert opinion is engaging and a real delight. The post 3DPOD Episode 138: Point-of-Care Medical Device 3D Printing with Dr. Steven Kurtz, Drexel University appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rTKMgDN January 30, 2023 at 08:55AM
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Stewart-Haas Racing & 3D Systems Enter Technical Partnership for Racing Parts https://ift.tt/vwREIFT When you’re making automotive components for a NASCAR team, designing them for enhanced performance and speed is key to winning. So, in order to gain a more competitive advantage on the track, Stewart-Haas Racing has entered into a multi-year technical partnership with 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD). The NASCAR team has used the company’s 3D printing systems in the past to improve its racecars, and now through this three-year partnership, the two can rapidly design, test, and produce durable, high-performance parts and critical components to help the team continue bringing home championship wins.
The North Carolina-based team Stewart-Haas Racing is co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, the founder of Haas Automation, which is North America’s largest CNC machine tool builder. So the organization is clearly built on racing and engineering skills already. The team has won a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, two NASCAR Cup Series titles, and more than 90 NASCAR races, including the Southern 500, Daytona 500, and Brickyard 400. In order to continue its prowess on the track, Stewart-Haas Racing relies on 3D Systems’ technology, specifically the ProX 800 SLA 3D printer and Figure 4 Standalone system. Both of these 3D Systems printers have been used for racecar applications in the past, and Stewart-Haas Racing will specifically be using the Figure 4 Standalone to produce pit gun, TV camera, and pit cart components, in addition to other prototype parts. The ProX 800, on the other hand, will help the team with rapid design and production of large aerodynamic parts for wind tunnel testing; the printer will enable the parts to be made with precise dimensional accuracy and a smooth surface finish. The team also uses Oqton’s Geomagic Wrap 3D scanning and imaging software in its manufacturing workflow for the purpose of collecting and processing scan data from its racecar components, in order to create digital design files that allow for shape deviation comparison. Plus, Stewart-Haas Racing uses 3D Systems’ 3D Sprint software to prepare and optimize CAD data, as well as to manage the process on both 3D printers. At the Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 3D Systems and Stewart-Haas Racing will make their first appearance together as technical partners at the season-opening NASCAR Xfinity Series race. The No. 00 Ford Mustang, driven by Cole Custer, will feature the 3D Systems logo.
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Dixit Systems Launches Innovona3D to Transform Manufacturing Quote Generation and Order Management – AMS Speaker Spotlight https://ift.tt/tW1nTMQ To create value and enable digital transformation in line with Industry 4.0, Dixit Systems has launched “Innvoana3D- A Reimagined Quoting, Order Management, and Sales Platform for Manufacturing Service Providers”. The Software as a Service (SaaS) system can be easily integrated with the manufacturing service provider’s website and transform the quote generation and order management process. Innovana3D’s team has been closely observing the challenges faced by manufacturing service providers and its customers to get RFQs and overall part ordering process and developed Innovana3D to address those pain-points. For example, Innovana3D can transform the time taken for quote generation from 2-3 business days to minutes. It offers a very intuitive and visually rich user interface for ordering parts instead of dull RFQ forms on the website followed by back and forth of multiple emails to complete the order. Regarding the launch, Prasad Dixit, CEO of Dixit Systems shared – “In today’s e-commerce environment, manufacturing landscape is changing rapidly and there is no going back. Your customers are used to instant and transparent pricing and 2-day delivery. Manufacturing Service Providers needs to be mindful that if your competitors are winning in timing and ease of ordering parts, you are at best coming in at second. And in sales, second is the last place.” He added – “Your customers need you to be present to solve complex problems for them and you should be available for them to resolve those complex issues. However, your customers don’t want to talk to you to get a quote, to make a payment, to see the pricing, material, color, and finish options you have, or to track their packages. They want to be able to access those services on their own, any time, on any device available at their fingertips. And that is the prime motivation behind developing Innovana3D.” This short video explains what Innovana3D is and why Contract Manufacturing Service Providers are choosing Innovana3D as their go-to solution for Quoting and Order management. Founded in 2016, Dixit Systems has rich experience providing solutions to CAD/CAM/CAE and the manufacturing industry. The company has track record of developing multiple commercially released software solutions for its clients that exhibit high quality and reliability. Innvoana3D is one of the solutions developed by the team of Dixit Systems to provide a comprehensive solution for quote generation and order management. Currently the focus is on Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing service providers. However, support for other manufacturing processes will be introduced iteratively. The conventional process that is followed by manufacturing service providers is divided into many steps which are clunky and cumbersome. It starts with receiving the CAD model and requirements from the customer through RFQ form or emails. Following this, the internal team shares the details with the production team and the finalized quote is shared with the customer. With this process, the customer must wait 2-3 business days to receive the quote and for the internal teams, there are challenges related to communication and payment. To resolve this issue, Dixit Systems have developed the Innovana3D solution which can be integrated with the manufacturing service provider’s website. Through Innovana3D, the customer can upload the CAD file, select the materials, and get an instant quote using its geometric quoting engine. (If the service providers prefer not to provide instant quotes, then Innovana3D can be configured that way as well.) Additionally, your customers can also make multiple orders and make payments easily. For the internal team, the information is readily shared with the production and management teams as soon as the order is received, removing the mismanagement and miscommunications issues. The Innovana3D system is also focusing on high-quality data security features to prevent critical information and enhance safety. It has a rich library of materials, colors, and post-processing solutions which can be customized according to the needs of the manufacturing service providers. The feature of post-procession solutions provides better customer service and improves the scope for business development for the manufacturing service providers. A quick sneak-peek video demonstrating ordering workflow with Innovana3D. Manufacturing service providers can schedule live demos and one-to-one session with the Innovana3D team and the Innvoana3D beta version is available at a discounted rate for early access. Additionally, the Innovana3D team will be present with live demonstrations of the software at the event Additive Manufacturing Strategies on Feb 7-9,2023, in New York. You can also reach them directly by writing to hello@innovana3d.com. About Innovana3DInnovana3D is a SaaS (Software as a service) based solution for the manufacturing industry for quote generation and order management process. The young, new-age solution is a cloud-based solution offered by the Dixit System, reflecting engineering excellence. Innvoana3D has a wide range of customization to increase sales and customer satisfaction. Contact: Website: https://www.innovana3d.com/ For Free Demo, schedule an appointment at: https://calendly.com/dixit-systems/innovana3d-demo Email: hello@innovana3d.com About Dixit SystemsDixit Systems is an engineering and 3D software startup with an office in Forest Hills, New York. The company offers services in 3D Visualization, Computational geometry, Cloud computing, Cross-platform application development, CAD development and customization, Interactive 3D visualization, CAD data exchange, Robotics, and IoT. Dixit Systems have offered quality solutions to challenging engineering solutions and worked with Industry leaders in CAM/CAM/CAE and the manufacturing industry. Contact: Website: https://www.dixitsystems.com/ Email: hello@dixitsystems.com The post Dixit Systems Launches Innovona3D to Transform Manufacturing Quote Generation and Order Management – AMS Speaker Spotlight appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rTKMgDN January 30, 2023 at 08:55AM
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Mass Customization: Proof that Complexity Isn’t Free – AMS Speaker Spotlight https://ift.tt/GmTPYQ5 Mass customization is a manufacturing paradigm where custom products are produced at large volumes that are traditionally only achievable by conventional mass production. Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, has long been heralded as the technology that will realize this vision because of its ability to produce complex and unique parts, hence providing “complexity for free”. The idea that complexity is free is at best a half-truth and at worst a blatant lie, especially when it comes to mass customization. Part complexity is often used as a proxy for process complexity, but this is facile. While there are geometries that are impossible to produce with conventional mass production methods, these are far and few. Most high-volume applications of AM produce parts that are not impossible if made conventionally but add process complexity if done so: Complexity of producing multiple unique parts in a single build, complexity of producing unique builds consecutively, and similarly the complexity of tuning the entire value-chain to deal with unique parts at scale. Mass production gets around this by dealing with complexity upfront. The part is designed, tested, refined for manufacturing, and locked in. Each step of the value-chain is then optimized for the specific part to be produced. This allows the process to scale and achieve superior unit economics. If we are to realize true mass customization with AM that can compete with these superior unit economics, the value chain needed must differ in the following ways: DigitizationWhile digitization can be a misleading term, the objective of this first step is to acquire data from the customer. This can take many forms including pressure-map scanning of feet for footwear, CT scanning of dental impressions for intraoral products, optical scanning of faces for eyewear, or even just a click of a mouse button that confirms a customer’s choice. Whether this data is a 3D file or plain text, the digitization step needs to obtain parameters that can be used to drive subsequent steps of the process and produce the end part. Design PipelineThis is arguably the most important step in the value-chain. Many (if not most) practitioners still employ an entirely manual design process. This is difficult to scale and can become prohibitively expensive at high volumes. The design pipeline is not to be confused with product design and validation that occurs during the product development process which sets constraints and guidelines for the final part. These may include overall form and function, dimensional guidelines, aesthetic considerations, and other recommendations based on the AM technology of choice. The design pipeline on the other hand focuses on converting the digitized data from the first step to a print-ready design. The pipeline must therefore be engineered to accept a broad range of digitized inputs, apply design rules to varying geometries, and account for limitations posed by the specific printer or material used. ProductionThe production step, or the printing step, eases dealing with complexity due to the nature of additive manufacturing; But it does not make it free. While there is little to no tooling required between print jobs of unique parts, the parameters of the printing process need to be considered at the part-level. Something as simple as part orientation, for example, can affect mechanical properties, surface finish, nesting efficiency per print job, and printing time. In many ways, the digital nature of AM as a manufacturing technology transforms tooling into a software problem that is dealt with during slicing. Post-processingThe inherency of mass customization makes automating the post-processing step challenging. Varying part geometries may require varying parameters for support removal, heat or chemical treatment, and/or finishing. Post-processing solutions have improved significantly in recent years and will continue to do so, but each process has its own limitations and design considerations. These need to be accounted for and fed into the design pipeline to make the process(es) as repeatable as possible. Despite the many benefits of AM, complexity is not free; Not when you consider the entire value-chain required for mass customization. The discounted complexity AM affords during the production step does not account for the complexity that is introduced in the other steps. True mass customization can be achieved only when the entire value-chain is engineered to handle this complexity that simply does not exist in conventional mass production. Glidewell is participating at Additive Manufacturing Strategies, taking place in New York City from February 7-9, 2023. Ankush Venkatesh, Intrapreneur of Additive Manufacturing at Glidewell will be taking part in Session 2, Panel 3: Low-Cost Mass Customization in Dentistry on February 8. Register for your ticket to attend here. The post Mass Customization: Proof that Complexity Isn’t Free – AMS Speaker Spotlight appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rTKMgDN January 30, 2023 at 08:55AM
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3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: January 29, 2023 https://ift.tt/ZPEyOb7 There’s a light load this week in terms of available webinars and events, but still plenty to choose from! The SPIE Photonics West show is happening at the same time as the Military AM Summit, Roboze will hold a capabilities tour at Quickparts, America Makes will host a town hall for members, and more. Read on for the details! January 28 – February 2: SPIE Photonics WestSPIE Photonics West, the largest annual international conference in optics, lasers, and photonics, began yesterday, January 28th, and goes through Thursday, February 2nd, in San Francisco. Attendees can come see exhibits for, and discuss research about, topics such as biomedical optics, biophotonics, optoelectronics, microfabrication, MOEMS-MEMS, quantum technologies, including quantum 2.0, and more. Nanoscribe will be there, showcasing its new Quantum X align and Aligned Two-Photon Lithography (A2PL) technology, and several presentations and discussions will be held relevant to its 3D microfabrication solutions.
You can register for the conference here. January 30: 3D Printing News UnpeeledOur Executive Editor Joris Peels, who’s also the Vice President of Consulting at SmarTech Analysis, offers a weekly news livestream called 3D Printing News Unpeeled at 9:30 am EST. For each episode, Peels gets on LinkedIn Live and tells us, in 20 minutes or less, what he considers to be the top news stories from the 3D printing industry that week, 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 equally interesting and impactful. The next 3D Printing News Unpeeled livestream will be held this Monday, January 30th. You don’t want to miss it! January 31 – February 2: International Builders ShowTens of thousands of residential construction professionals and exhibitors will descend on Las Vegas for the NAHB International Builders Show, January 31st through February 2nd. The event promises product launches, more than 1,300 exhibitors, 9 education tracks, and over 100 education sessions and workshops, covering all sorts of related topics. Additive construction company Black Buffalo 3D will have a booth at the IBS event, to focus on its accomplishment on becoming the first 3D construction printing company in the world to meet ICC-ES standards for structural 3D printed walls, and also won a Silver Global Innovation Award from NAHB.
You can register for the event here. January 31: Dassault on Unified Modeling & SimulationAt 9 am EST on the 31st, Dassault Systèmes will hold a webinar offering “An inside look at unified modeling and simulation,” which will explore the results of the “Integrate Design and Simulation with Cloud-Based Solutions” survey from engineering.com. Design innovation typically relies on a range of factors, including how long it takes to improve and validate models based on physical testing and simulation, and costly delays can occur when the unexpected happens. But unified modeling and simulation, or MODSIM, will change this. Jim Anderton, Director of Content, Multimedia, engineering.com, and Dassault’s Srikrishna Chittur, SIMULIA Technical Expert, will discuss the impact of cloud-based platforms compared to localized computing, what today’s engineers are doing with simulation-led design strategies, and more.
You can register for the webinar here. February 1 – 2: Military AM SummitNorth America’s largest military, aerospace, and defense AM event, the Military Additive Manufacturing Summit (MIL AM) 2023, will be held in Tampa, Florida February 1-2. The event welcomes the advanced manufacturing and 3D printing community for educational presentations, more than 65 technology and service exhibits, and 7 hours of networking. Some of the major topics of discussion will include how to implement advanced manufacturing to help soldiers produce parts where needed, the top DoD initiatives towards investing in AM, driving joint AM initiatives to improve material readiness and enhance supply chain resiliency, and more. Many AM industry companies will be in attendance, including 3D Systems, 6K Additive, Spee3D, Roboze, PostProcess Technologies, Optomec, Cumberland Additive, and more.
You can register for MIL AM 2023 here. February 1: Roboze Capabilities Tour at QuickpartsOn Wednesday, February 1st, there will be a Quickparts and Roboze Facility Capabilities Tour at the Quickparts Seattle site, featuring new Roboze 3D printing technology dedicated to manufacturing components with super polymers and composite materials. If you can’t make it to Seattle, you also have the option to attend the tour online! The agenda begins at 1 pm EST with welcome and registration, and attendees will get a chance to see the equipment live on the plant floor, and learn more about how Roboze technology can help lower their costs by replacing expensive metallic end-use parts with 3D printed composite and super polymer materials.
You can register for the capabilities tour here. February 1: America Makes Member Town HallAmerica Makes is holding a Member Town Hall on Wednesday, starting at 1 pm EST, with a focus on exploring membership benefits. Attendees will also have the chance to ask questions during the meeting.
You can register for the Town Hall here. February 4: MatterHackers at OCCUE TechFestFor the last event of the week, MatterHackers will be attending the OCCUE TechFest 2023 at Buena Park Middle School in Buena Park, California, from 8 am – 3:30 pm PST (11:30 am – 6 pm EST). The event, which works with the best teachers in Orange County, provides professional development and support to educators in order to build on the professional learning network of the local affiliate. All of the sessions will be presented for educators, by educators, and attendees will work together to make learning for engaging and relevant for students.
You can register for the TechFest for $45 a person 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: January 29, 2023 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rTKMgDN January 29, 2023 at 11:07AM 3D Printing News Briefs January 28 2023: Bronze-Steel Alloys 3D Printing on Textiles & More1/28/2023
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3D Printing News Briefs, January 28, 2023: Bronze-Steel Alloys, 3D Printing on Textiles, & More https://ift.tt/8norz3C We’re starting with research in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, as a research team based out of China developed a new approach for 3D printing hydrogel-based electronics. Also, researchers in Russia are 3D printing samples of bronze-steel alloys, which could show great promise for aircraft and rocket engines. 3DEO launched a new metal for high-volume 3D printing. Finally, a new PEUGEOT concept car features 3D printing on textiles, thanks to Stratasys technology. 3D Printing Hydrogel-Based Electronics3D polymer networks called hydrogels retain large amounts of liquids, rather than dissolving in water, which makes them excellent material platforms for environmental and biomedical applications. Many electronic devices based on soft hydrogels, like sensors, artificial tissue, and drug delivery devices, have been created, but high production costs hinder widespread use. But a team of researchers, led by Dr. Nanjia Zhou at Westlake University in China, developed a new approach to 3D printing soft hydrogel electronics that could help keep costs down for hydrogel-based devices. The goal of their study was to come up with a more efficient way to print complex, biomedically useful hydrogel-based electronics, using a stretchable silver-hydrogel ink and a hydrogel-based supporting matrix. By combining granular gel particles with a conductive filler (silver flakes), they could form a segregated structure in the highly conductive 3D printing ink. The researchers tested their method by freeform printing several hydrogel-based electronics, including biological electrodes, inductors, and strain sensors, which performed very well and could pave the way for fabrication of more sophisticated hydrogel-based electronics, including biomedical devices and environmental monitors.
Novel Bronze-Steel Alloys Could 3D Print Engine Combustion ChambersA team of researchers from Russia’s Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) decided to blend the distinct properties of two metals in an “unlikely union.” The researchers 3D printed samples of a novel bronze-steel alloy that’s previously unknown to materials science, and found that the resulting mechanical characteristics could be beneficial in fabricating combustion chambers for aircraft and rocket engines, due to the capacity of bronze to conduct heat away from the chamber and steel’s ability to withstand extreme temperatures. In their study, the team used direct laser deposition, which melts and fuses powdered ingredients with a laser beam at each successive point in the metal part during its creation, and this was reportedly the first-ever synthesis of a bronze-steel alloy using this technology. The team combined the metals in two different ways: quasi-homogeneous alloys, which has the materials mostly evenly intermixed, and sandwich structures, which consists of alternating 0.25 mm thick layers of the metals. By printing vertical bars from the bottom up and examining their microstructure, shape, and chemical composition, they determined that the two materials fused well, with no defects forming.
3DEO Introduces 316L Stainless Steel for High-Volume 3D PrintingDesign, engineering, and manufacturing firm 3DEO, which is the world’s highest volume metal 3D printing service, has launched 316L stainless steel for 3D printing. The non-magnetic, fully austenitic material exceeds MIM standards, and is weldable, very corrosion resistant, and has excellent ductility and mechanical performance. In addition, it performs very well at both room and moderately elevated temperatures, and all of these features make it a good choice for applications in industries such as marine, food processing, industrial, and medical. 316L joins 3DEO’s existing 17-4PH stainless steel, and marks its latest materials expansion, though the company is currently testing several other new materials, including pure copper, that are set to be released later this year.
3D Printing on Textiles in PEUGEOT Concept CarThe new PEUGEOT INCEPTION CONCEPT car is the Stellantis Group‘s vision for the future of electric vehicles, and also features the use of 3D printing, thanks to a collaboration between Peugeot and Stratasys. The car’s name itself means “the beginning,” and adoption of 3D printing continues to grow at Stellantis, formed in 2021 on the basis of a merger between Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group. Peugeot is actually a brand of PSA, an early Divergent investor that has used AM in the past to fabricate custom parts and accessories for the vehicle line. The floor and seats of the new PEUGEOT INCEPTION CONCEPT are covered in a special velvet, which was made of 100% recycled polyester. The velvet extends to the floor, and was then printed with 3D patterns, using Stratasys’ 3DFashion technology, to act as a car floor mat. 3D printing was also used to make final parts, like the Hypersquare control system, more comfortable by improving the ergonomics. The Hypersquare’s rim is also 3D printed. While Stellantis hasn’t yet addressed the use of 3D printing for serial part production in the PEUGEOT INCEPTION CONCEPT, but higher batch applications could be considered in the future if the value proposition fits the overall cost scheme. This could be an indication that most car manufacturers know that 3D printing could be the future.
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Startup to 3D Print Data Centers Using $7M in Funding https://ift.tt/rV9nxfl EdgeCloudLink (ECL), a Silicon Valley-based startup, has received $7 million in seed round funding from Hyperwise Ventures, based in Tel Aviv, and Molex Ventures, headquartered in Chicago, to drive its mission to 3D print hydrogen-powered data centers on demand. Pitching itself as a “data center-as-a-service” company, ECL will use the $7 million to create its first concrete-printed, modular data center powered with a hydrogen fuel cell stack, fed with hydrogen gas. ECL is building the data center in a warehouse adjacent to its main office in Mountain View, Calif., the heart of Silicon Valley, home to Google headquarters as well as a whole host of other major tech companies and institutions. ECL founder and CEO Yuval Bachar commented in an interview with Data Center Dynamics:
Though the exact method of additive construction that the startup will use isn’t disclosed, a partner is lined up to print the facility. ECL claims, once the first project is complete, it will purchase the 3D printing equipment itself. Bachar told Data Center Dynamics that the actual construction of the data center is simple, consisting of two thin walls filled with insulation. “They’re building homes, and our requirements are much much simpler than a home. A data center is just a rectangle. We don’t need sophisticated stuff. We don’t have windows,” Bachar said. “It’s it’s a very, very strong structure and a very very insulated structure, which means that the elements outside have a much smaller impact on the inside.” In addition to the hydrogen fuel cell stacks, the data centers can also draw power from the local grid. But the idea of customers’ having the ability to power the data centers with individual generators is obviously the most exciting angle to this, especially if the pilot program — which ECL is planning to complete as early as Q2 of 2023 — shows that the technology can truly achieve a net-zero carbon footprint. That last aspect, which is as crucial to the project’s potential sustainability as the ability to produce on demand, will obviously be banking on the ready availability of hydrogen gas. Thus, in that sense, the project’s success will also be depending on the success of hydrogen-powered EVs. Although that is still certainly a long shot, California is one place where there is some such infrastructure in place, which also argues in favor of CA as the site of ECL’s pilot program. ECL’s CEO also pointed out to Data Center Dynamics that the hydrogen-powered data centers could sell excess electricity back to the electrical grid, an increasingly common practice amongst homeowners with solar-powered residences. In turn, the product’s greatest selling point, long-term, could be its potential utility to the electrification of the power grid. Images courtesy of ECL The post Startup to 3D Print Data Centers Using $7M in Funding appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/AxWScCO January 27, 2023 at 10:45AM Board of Governors to meet Feb. 9 https://ift.tt/bmeoPn0 WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet Feb. 9, 2023, in open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC. Printing via USPS News https://ift.tt/7zg1Q6r January 27, 2023 at 08:59AM |
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