Materialise (Nasdaq: MTLS) has long been developing build processors and software for systems in the 3D printing industry, ranging from desktop extrusion 3D printers to industrial scale machines. Now, Materialise is going tiny with Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF). BMF announced that it will offer 3D printing software powered by Materialise, who has developed a Magics Build Processor for BMF’s Projection Micro Stereolithography (PμSL) technology.

Automated support generation using Magics Print for BMF. Image courtesy of BMF.

In February 2020, BMF debuted its flagship microArch 3D printer series, capable of printing objects 100 times smaller than a human hair. Available in a variety of sizes, the microArch is able to print at a resolution as fine as 2 microns with tolerances of ±10µm /±25µm and at volumes cost competitive with injection molding. It can also print with tough, elastic, casting, biocompatible and high-temperature resins. Example objects printing with the technology include a terahertz lens.

Magics Print for BMF enables detailed part information. Image courtesy of BMF.

Now, with Magics Print for BMF, those deploying the use of microscale 3D printing can setup builds and prepare data using Materialse software. The software offers improved support structure generation, with support structure types and styles that can be customized to a user’s specific geometries. In turn, the company claims, users are able to achieve improved build success and accuracy, as well as a cut in preprocessing times. The software offers the following capabilities:

• “STL File import
• Translate, Rotate, Scale parts
• Duplicate parts with arrays and orient parts using automatic placement
• Support structure generation with customizable profiles for Point, Line, Block, Cone and Tree support structures
• Creation of high-resolution build data (slices / layers) using the Magics Build Processor

“Today’s agreement will combine the strengths of our leading 3D file editing software with BMF’s powerful PµSL 3D printing technology,” says Karel Brans, Sr. Market Director at Materialise. “This will help BMF’s customers achieve the highest level of precision and accuracy available on the market today.”

Visit the Materialise “OEM Solutions” page on the company’s website and you’ll find a vast array of diverse businesses in the industry. Even this author was surprised at the variety, having been unaware of just some of Materialise’s newest partnerships. In addition to industry stalwarts, like EOS, SLM Solutions, 3D Systems, and Arcam/Concept Laser/GE Additive, as well as Software leaders like Siemens and PTC, there are the newer entrants that have proven their own prowess, such as Additive Industries, HP, and AddUp. And then there are exciting startups, such as Desktop Metal and Essentium.

Materialise’s many partners.

Many of these partnerships involve the integration of Materialise’s Magics Build Processor, which enables communication between 3D printing software and the machine itself. Apparently, so many of these businesses, large and small, new and old, have found that the company’s Build Processor is so capable at this key task that they have integrated it into their equipment. Either that or the rest of Materialise’s software that works with the Build Processor, such as Magics Print, is so ubiquitous that it might be easier to have the Build Processor installed in their equipment so as to streamline communication.

A 3D printed cardiovascular stent made using BMF technology. Image courtesy of BMF.

The partnership with BMF expands Materialise into the niche sector of microprinting. In other words, Materialise has established itself within every nook and cranny of the 3D printing sector. And because this sector is growing rapidly, as manufacturing giants adopt the technology, Materialise is rising with it, as demonstrated by its 2018 investment from BASF. Is there a new 3D printing technology on the market? You can probably guess that Materialise will find itself involved.

A 3D printed endoscope shell made with BMF technology. Image courtesy of BMF.

In a recent article, 3DPrint.com Executive Editor Joris Peels argued for more niche 3D printing services, including microscale production. While we now see BMF teaming with Materialise on the software front, when will we see a similar partnership on the microscale service front? After all, the ability to 3D print tiny cardiovascular stents and endoscope parts seems like it might be a nice synergy for Materialise’s vast experience in medical 3D printing.

One of the first stories I ever wrote for 3DPrint.com was about a custom sleep mask for a patient with Graves’ disease, which often causes the eye to protrude and makes it extremely difficult to get a good night’s sleep. A handheld Artec 3D scanner, specifically the Artec Eva, was used to create a textured 3D image of the patient’s face in order to make a mask that would perfectly fit her so it could block out the light and allow her eyelids to close while asleep. We listed the Eva scanner as a “trusted 3D scanner that is versatile and can be used for many applications” in our 2020 3D scanner buying guide, and with its proven portability and capacity for scanning difficult reflective surfaces, imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to review an Artec Eva demo unit for myself.

Please enjoy this picture of Millie inspecting the box

So, here are the important specs about this structured light 3D scanner, which weighs less than two pounds and was once named the best 3D scanner under $50,000 by iReviews:

• up to 0.1 mm accuracy
• up to 0.2 mm 3D resolution
• full-color scanning
• target-free tracking
• 12 white LED array 2D light source
• flashbulb 3D light source
• 3D reconstruction rate of 16 frames per second (FPS)

The Artec Eva came well-packaged with the various cords; as it operates by USB streaming through an external computer, it has to remain plugged in to the computer during scanning. Along with the scanner, Artec 3D sent me the fanciest laptop I’ve ever seen: an MSI system with light-up keys and a wireless mouse to go with it.

The laptop was pre-loaded with Artec Studio 15 software, which was just released this summer and has a variety of useful features, such as an HD mode for high-resolution scans, excellent geometry tracking algorithms, and Smart Base Removal. When the software opens, a menu directs you to several online tutorial videos, including one about the Artec Studio interface and another about basic scan processing. So, before I did anything else, I watched a few of the tutorials, and then got to work setting everything up.

This is probably just the nature of most handheld scanners, but it was difficult at times to keep all of the cords out of the way during scanning. I had the laptop plugged into the wall, the scanner plugged into the wall, and the scanner was also plugged into the laptop, so movement was a little limited. But since the Artec Eva is good for quick, detailed scans of medium-sized objects, it wasn’t like I needed to travel very far.

I quickly figured out how to work the scanner, as it’s quite user-friendly and a green light turns on once it’s all ready to go. I thought I’d start small for my first scanning project, and spied the decorative ceramic teacup I have on an end table in my dining room.

The teacup on the laptop box

I put the small, shiny object on top of the black laptop box for what I figured would be good contrast (you can laugh if you’re skilled at scanning and recognize all of my mistakes), aimed the Eva at the teacup, selected “Preview” in the software, and pushed the button to start scanning.

The disastrous scans of the teacup on the laptop box

Suffice it to say, my first scan did not go well. But it gave me a good chance to continue investigating the various software features, such as checking out all of the individual frames I captured during the scan.

Distance color map

The Studio 15 software was really great at explaining what the problem was, and how to fix it. One of the first things I learned was that I didn’t need to look at the object I was scanning, but instead at the computer screen. This way, I could make sure I wasn’t moving the scanner too fast or too slow and had it the right distance away from the scan object. I learned that, for best results, I should  keep my scan movements in the middle three boxes on the left of the screen, known as the distance color map, which you can see in the image above. The distance from the scanner to the object is displayed by color in the frames, and just like traffic lights, green means go (or good in this case), and red means stop (not so good).

I tried one more time that night, with something completely different: our mini organ with a framed photo of a favorite Friends quote on top. It was really more of an accident instead of a plan, as I’d captured some of it in the background during one of my attempts to scan the teacup and realized it was showing up pretty well. It definitely wasn’t the best result, but I felt satisfied that I could at least tell what the scan was in the software, which had not been the case with the teacup, as you can clearly see above.

My breakthrough came after the first of two training sessions with Olesya Kopteva, Artec 3D’s Training and 3D Scanning Team Leader. She provided and went over two very helpful handouts with me, the first of which covered the basics. You need good lighting, preferably from a fixture and not natural sunlight streaming in through a window; you need to ensure that the scan object is immobile and determine how difficult it will be to scan ahead of time; and while you’re scanning different angles of the object, you need to keep moving your wrist consistently at a steady pace, similar to spray-painting. Additionally, if you have other objects near the scan object, like your 3D scanner box, you’ll likely capture them too, so either move them out of the way or prepare for a lot of editing.

Kopteva explained what constitutes good geometry, as compared to bad geometry, when it comes to scanning an object. To successfully track an item, it needs to be a little larger than something like, say, a teacup. It should have rich geometry, as opposed to the flat geometry you’d see on a teacup. Corners and edges are better than round geometry…again, like a teacup has. Do you see where I’m going here?

In terms of texture, scanning works better with high contrast, multiple colors, visible color borders, and unique patterns. I also learned that shiny, reflective surfaces—like my teacup—are much more difficult to scan, and that contrast doesn’t just mean putting a flat black surface under the scan object, like I had done with my first ill-fated scanning attempt, or using my red tablecloth. Instead, Kopteva said I should draw some dark lines on a white piece of paper and use that for the base.

Once I got finished laughing at how I had broken every single rule of good scanning on my first try, Kopteva discussed the scan processing workflow with me. I was familiar with the steps from watching the tutorial, but she was able to go into greater depth about everything. The first step to perform is to edit the scan, which entails erasing the background, base, or other unwanted elements, like the scanner and computer cords, from the scan. There are several eraser options, including 2D selection, which reminded me of drawing fat lines in Microsoft Paint; rectangular selection, in which you draw rectangles around larger areas you need to erase; and base selection, which erases all the selected areas below the scan object.

She showed me how to align two scans, but also explained that if I captured enough data in one go, I would only need one scan, and, therefore, wouldn’t need to mess with the tricky alignment tool. I learned how to check my scan in Max Error mode, which again uses color to show any defects in the data, and how to complete Global Registration for the scan, which basically converts all the 3D frames into a single coordinate system.

In the Fusion section of the tool workflow, you can start with Outlier Removal, an optional step that removes all the tiny bits of “noise” around the scan that you didn’t catch during editing, and then you choose how you want to fuse all your frames together into one model: Fast, Smooth, or Sharp. As Kopteva explained, Sharp Fusion is the most commonly used, due to its smart hole filling and sharpening of fine geometry. The quickest is Fast Fusion, but it doesn’t fill any holes and leaves most of the noise. Smooth Fusion takes longer because it smooths the geometry and removes the noise. The Small Object Filter can delete the noise from any unwanted objects from the fusion, but you need to remember to click the “all except largest” option if there’s only object, and it’s the biggest.

The Mesh Simplification step reduces the number of polygons your model has, as by default the mesh has more polygons than necessary. By taking away polygons, the model requires less space and is easier to work with, which is helpful. Fast mesh simplification is the default option, and the fewer polygons you end up with, the less of the model’s geometry will be maintained.

Once I got off of the Zoom training session with Kopteva, I was ready to dive back in, and decided to try scanning my stuffed Niffler from the Harry Potter Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies, as it had a fluffier texture. The whole process was a lot easier the second time around. However, I wondered what I was doing wrong that I was getting so many gaps in the scan data, like you can see in my scans of the Niffler below. I was glad that at least you could tell what it was, which is more than I can say for my first attempt.

I got a little big for my britches next and thought it was time to go big or go home, and attempted to scan our Wet/Dry Vacuum, as it was easily accessible while my husband was working on redoing our bathroom at the time. It was definitely bigger than a teacup, and had pretty rich geometry.

Again, I could tell what the object was in the software, but as Kopteva told me later in our second training session, it’s not good to stop and start and take multiple scans of a complicated object like this from various angles. This is why a long, single scan, capturing all the angles, is better if you can manage it. The reflective, black hose of the vacuum didn’t do me any favors either.

In an effort to scan objects that could potentially be good applications for the technology, as opposed to stuffed animals, I tried to scan a drill next, which seemed fine but went off the rails when I tried to align two scans, and I finally resolved that I would stick to long, single scans.

My first real success came when I decided to try scanning the cupholder I was about to throw away from a morning coffee run. I noticed that it was textured, with pretty interesting geometry, and decided to give it a go.

I was immensely proud of my cup holder scans, and in our second training session, Kopteva introduced me to the Artec Eva’s HD mode, which is actually a setting that you choose in the software, and not a button that you push on the scanner itself.

HD mode can increase the resolution of your scan up to two times, as well as remove noise, improve the curvature of your edges, and enable better reconstruction of areas that are hard to reach and surfaces that are tricky to scan. This last feature is why Kopteva thought my cup holder would be a good test subject for an HD scan. HD is better to use when your scan object has a lot of noise and is tough to scan, with thin parts, while SD mode is mainly for simple shapes, less time-consuming projects, and more powerful computers.

The processing definitely takes longer when you’re in HD mode, which you need to remember to select as an option both before you start scanning and before you start editing. Kopteva’s handout suggested that, for a good HD scan, you need to capture 2000-3000 frames, which you can easily keep track of on the right side of your screen. Because of the vast amount of processing required, you need to unload your scans before you start working them, which just basically saves them in a folder. Once you exit the scan screen and go into your editing tools, you can reload the scans.

You can definitely tell the difference between an SD scan and an HD one, as illustrated in the pictures above of my cup holder.

Kopteva also told me that I should try scanning some small to medium-sized figurines with interesting geometry from around my house, going back and forth from SD and HD mode. She also told me to keep an eye on the color map during scanning to ensure I was capturing enough of my objects so I wouldn’t have such big gaps. I eventually settled on a pretty good pace for scanning, and just kept going over the objects multiple times to make sure I had enough data.

You can check out the results below from my owl figurine scans:

I received an email from Artec right as I was about to start packing everything up to send back, asking if I’d like them to send me some scan objects that might be used in real-world applications, and I quickly agreed. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t a plastic car grille for a Kia:

Dash was very excited about this box.

I realized quickly that this would a be pretty tough scan, due to the shiny, reflective, and black materials, but I was excited to try.

Obviously, it did not go well at first.

Basically, dark surfaces absorb the light from the scanner, while reflective ones scatter the light and bounce it out to different directions; both cause the scanner to be unable to really “see” the object in its field of view. I remembered Kopteva mentioning that you could sprinkle or spray a couple of different materials onto the item to help combat the reflectivity, so I did a little research and found some scanning tips on the Artec website.

One suggestion was to use a scanning spray or other coating on the object, while another was to adjust the angle and distance of your scan, in order to find which combination will allow the surface to be scanned best.

Making these adjustments definitely helped, but only a little. I didn’t have a scanning spray, so I did some more internet digging to see if there were any objects currently in my household that might help. I found that if you don’t need the color for your scan, you could cover shiny parts of the object with painters tape, which we had in abundance.

Again, this helped, but only for the shiny edges. I would need something else to enable 3D scanning of the many black crisscross shapes in the middle of the part.

Finally, I found a list of some common and not-so-common household alternatives to 3D scanning sprays on Artec’s website. You could use aerosol spray paint, talcum powder, dry shampoo, water-based paint, deodorant sprays, and Gold Bond foot/body spray, which is what I opted to use. The website stated that it was easy to apply, and would create “an even and uniform antiglare layer on the object.” Luckily, they had it at our neighborhood pharmacy, so I spread some newspapers out on the kitchen floor, placed the car grille on top, and started spraying.

The difference it made was remarkable:

The Gold Bond spray was able to get into all of the grille’s nooks and crannies, which allowed me to capture data from the entire object, instead of just the edges.

A lot of editing work was involved for this one, but once you get the hang of all the tools, the process is pretty easy, and I actually found the erasing step to be almost therapeutic.

My final 3D car grille model wasn’t perfect, but I still felt it was pretty successful compared to where I had started.

In terms of ease of use, I was able to set up and start using the Artec Eva 3D scanner pretty quickly, but using it well, and figuring out the software, was something else entirely. I definitely wouldn’t call the workflow difficult. But Artec 3D makes sure that users have access to many handy training tools, like video tutorials and tips, and I found my Zoom training sessions to be extremely helpful. I almost think the amount of support you have access to when learning how to use a new device matters more than how quickly you can pick it up and start using it perfectly, because it shows that the company wants you to succeed and is giving you the proper tools to do so.

(Photos courtesy of Sarah Saunders)

Just as Stratasys began to enter onto 3D Systems’ home turf, now, 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) is pulling its own such move with the introduction of a fused filament 3D printer, the Roadrunner. Developed in collaboration with contract manufacturer with Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL), Roadrunner relies on what the partners call High Speed Fusion (HSF). They claim that “[t]hrough the use of advanced electric motion control, this unique system operates at speeds and precision levels well beyond current state-of-the-art production platforms” and that it features “temperature capability and available build areas greater than those of competing systems.” With it, 3D Systems and Jabil are targeting the aerospace and automotive sectors.

“By introducing our High Speed Fusion filament printer, 3D Systems will build on the organizational focus that we adopted in 2020, and expand our presence in growing markets that demand high reliability products such as aerospace and automotive,” said Dr. Jeffrey Graves, president and CEO, 3D Systems. “Our investments in this solution, and collaboration with Jabil, will allow our customers to increase productivity and performance by using additive manufacturing with a hardware, software, and materials platform that is uniquely designed for the rigors and requirements of an industrial setting. The value proposition, which we believe is compelling, will open new markets for our company that are estimated to be over $400 million, with the promise of new markets, beyond these current opportunities, as the economics of this new technology platform are fully demonstrated.”

3D Systems claims that the new machine, of which no pictures have yet been released publicly, will have the “[h]ighest deposition rates combined with the best dimensional precision of any standard industrial class of fused filament platform. It is also said that the system will have the “lowest landed part cost” and the ability to 3D print with high-temperature materials, such as ULTEM and carbon fiber reinforced nylon, as well as general use filaments including ABS and PETg ESD.

3D Systems Headquarters. Image courtesy of 3D Systems.

Roadrunner is capable of 3D printing end parts for aircraft interiors and ducting, drones, under the hood and dash of vehicles, and general industrial uses. This is in addition to tooling and fixtures, as well as prototypes.

“We are proud of the progress the Jabil and 3D Systems teams have made and the ability of this solution to overcome the historical system and sub-system level limitations of current market offerings,” said John Dulchinos, vice president, 3D printing and digital manufacturing, Jabil. “Jabil understands the needs of a large-scale manufacturing environment and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with 3D Systems to make this new system available to the marketplace while also using it within our own factories.”

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This is indeed an exciting time for industrial 3D printing. The last time that 3D Systems had an extrusion-based system was its consumer-directed Cube line, which was scrapped in 2015 with the entirety of the company’s consumer division. Now, apparently the company is re-entering this segment with a focus on industrial applications.

No specifications have been released, but the Roadrunner sounds big and fast, bringing to mind machines like the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system from Cincinnati Inc., or its competitors. However, in this case, the system prints with filament, rather than plastic pellets, which seems counterintuitive for fast processing. Many in the industry have said that pellets are the future, as it may be easier to begin working with material already available for the injection molding world. Joshua Pearce at Michigan Tech also makes the point that directly recycled material can be used more easily via pellet extrusion, as it bypasses the step required to process plastic waste into new filament.

The 3D printing industry is in the midst of an interesting transformation. Specifically, Stratasys is now manufacturing stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers via it acquisitions of Origin and RPS. This was 3D Systems’ territory, as 3D Systems invented SLA in 1984. Now, 3D Systems is taking Stratasys at its own game of material extrusion. Meanwhile, Desktop Metal and EnvisionTEC are under one umbrella. Interestingly, Executive Editor Joris Peels just mentioned that someone like Jabil might begin manufacturing their own 3D printers.

This is a time of mergers, acquisitions and other surprises. What will happen next? In the meantime, we will surely learn more about Roadrunner in the near future. The partners have been developing this platform for over a year and will aim to begin shipping Roadrunner in 2022.

WASHINGTON, DC — Below is the oral statement prepared for delivery by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy before today’s hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“Good Morning Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Comer, and Members of the Committee. I want to applaud the subject of the hearing – legislative proposals to place the Postal Service on a more sustainable path while addressing service performance.  You have put your finger on the precise combination of success factors that the Postal Service leadership and I have been focused on for the past 8 months – building a financially sustainable organization that fulfills our responsibility to the American people and to our employees, and that enables excellent, reliable service that meets the expectations of our customers.

There is difficult work that is ahead of us to fix the systemic problems that have plagued the Postal Service, but I am confident that together those problems can be solved, and I see a bright future ahead for the Postal Service and the public we serve, if we have the collective courage to act.  A tangible reflection of our optimism for the long-term viability of the Postal Service is our award yesterday of a production contract for Next Generation Delivery Vehicles.

Let me say at the outset that we must acknowledge that during this peak season, we fell far short of meeting our service targets. Too many Americans were left waiting weeks for important deliveries of mail and packages.

This is unacceptable, and I apologize to those customers who felt the impact of our delays. All of us at the Postal Service, from our Board, to our leadership team, to our union and association leadership, to every employee strive to do better in our service to the American people-and we will do better.

That said, the fundamental challenges that the Postal Service confronted in 2020 made the urgent change that we need to pursue even more evident. The years of financial stress, underinvestment, unachievable service standards, and lack of operational precision have resulted in a system that does not have adequate resiliency to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances.

I am proud of the dedication of our employees, who worked tirelessly to meet our public service mission during the most trying of circumstances.  While our performance during the Election was tremendous, the service performance issues that we otherwise experienced during much of the year demonstrate why we must make fundamental changes to provide our customers with the service they expect and deserve.

We need to frankly confront the problems we face, be candid and realistic about the magnitude of the solutions we require, and embrace the few, crucial, elements of legislative help we need from the Congress.  

Above all, my message is that the status quo should be acceptable to no one, because the solutions are within reach if we can agree to work together.  Our dire financial trajectory, operational and network misalignment to mail trends, outdated pricing, infrastructure underinvestment, inadequate people engagement, and an insufficient growth strategy – all demand immediate action.  We have a detailed plan for such action which we will finalize soon, and with your help we can restore a Postal Service that the American people truly deserve.

Solution – 10-year Strategic Plan

To confront these urgent issues, our team has been working on a ten-year strategy that will reinforce the Postal Service’s obvious strengths and address our obvious weaknesses. 

The key commitments of this plan will include:

In the weeks ahead, I look forward to sharing more information and engaging in discussions about this strategy with public policymakers, our unions and management associations, our employees, our stakeholders, and with the American people.

Legislative Action

To be self-sufficient we also need targeted legislation. I thank you for your leadership and renewed interest in addressing our unfair and unaffordable employee retirement health benefit costs that will give us a fighting chance, when combined with the other elements of our plan, for financial sustainability.  Importantly these funding changes can be made while sustaining and improving these valued benefits.  I look forward to working with you and the Administration to revitalize the Postal Service.”

Note: The Postmaster General’s written statement is available here.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Below is the oral statement prepared for delivery by Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Ron Bloom before today’s hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

“Chairwoman Maloney, Ranking Member Comer, and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to appear before you today.

My name is Ron Bloom, and I am honored to Chair the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service. 

This is not my first involvement in public service.  I served in the Obama Administration, first as a member of the Auto Task Force helping to lead the restructuring of GM and Chrysler and later on the White House Staff.    

In my 40-plus-year career, I have held leadership roles in both labor unions and financial institutions specializing in restructuring and revitalizing large complex organizations.

In addition to the Postmaster General, I am joined on the Board by five other governors, each of whom bring significant relevant experience to our task.

My involvement with the Postal Service began a decade ago as an advisor to its largest union – the National Association of Letter Carriers.

That experience – along with my work on the Board – has only deepened my appreciation for the extraordinary dedication of the more than 645,000 women and men of the United States Postal Service.

Throughout this pandemic, Postal Service employees performed with distinction. This was most evident during last November’s election, as they delivered 4.6 billion pieces of election and political mail and ensured that 99.89% of mailed ballots were sent back to election officials within our guidance to voters.

Our peak season began immediately thereafter and while the Postal Service delivered 1.1 billion packages over the holidays, we fell far short of our service targets.

With COVID sidelining thousands of our employees, many Americans -- including your constituents -- experienced significant delays in the delivery of mail and packages.

This level of service is acceptable to no one at the Postal Service and we are working to urgently address this challenge.

But as we improve service – and we are and we will – we must face some hard truths.  As presently constituted the Postal Service’s ability to serve its twin mandates of binding the nation together and being financially self-sufficient, is profoundly threatened.

For too long, the Postal Service has been burdened with unsustainable liabilities and its own failure to adapt to the changing needs of its customers.

As we look ahead, if we continue on our current path, we are projected to lose $160 billion over the next ten years.

But for the Postal Service to succeed in the long-term, we can’t just throw money at the problem. We must address the systemic issues plaguing its outdated model.

For these reasons, the Postmaster General and Postal management have been working with the Board of Governors on a comprehensive plan to invest in and revitalize the Postal Service.

This plan is still being finalized so I am not in a position to reveal any specifics today. But I can tell you that its focus is on ensuring that the Postal Service is able to meet our universal service obligation in a reliable and affordable manner to 161 million American households six and seven days each week.

This plan will require tough choices.  As I mentioned earlier, I have significant experience in revitalizing and restructuring large complex enterprises – including the integrated steel industry, GM and Chrysler and dozens in between.  And if I have learned one thing it is that the single largest impediment to achieving a successful outcome is that stakeholders will support the abstract need for change, but will seek to avoid any change that impacts their particular interest.  Successful restructuring simply cannot work that way.  We must all be ready to do our part.

Congress has a vital role to play.  Our plan will ask you to give the Postal Service relief from its current requirement to pre-fund its retiree health benefits and that we be allowed to fully integrate our retiree health plans with Medicare.

These changes will save us approximately $40 billion or about 25% of the hole we are trying to fill.

We will also be asking the Biden Administration to calculate our obligation to the CSRS Pension Plan using modern actuarial principles that more fairly apportion our responsibility, which will save an additional $12 billion.

Today, the Postal Service stands at a cross-road, facing enormous challenges and significant opportunities.

What happens next is up to us.

We can continue to ignore these challenges and demand that nothing changes while this great organization is allowed to die, or we can come together and do something really important for the United States Postal Service and the people we serve.”

Note: Chairman Bloom’s written statement is available here.

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If I had to name just one major thing that Additive Manufacturing 2.0 company RIZE, Inc. focuses on when making its industrial 3D printers, it’s definitely safety, for which RIZE President and CEO Andy Kalambi told me in 2019 the company’s zero-emission 3D printers are “purpose built.” The latest feather in its cap, after announcing that the desktop composite 2XC 3D printer was its fifth product or material to receive the important UL GREENGUARD Certification for safety and sustainability, is the new “Safe at Home” Manufacturing initiative, which is meant to help enable organizations to build self-sufficient, distributed supply chains at the office, the factory, or the home; an often necessary task these days due to the ongoing pandemic.

As COVID-19 has repeatedly shown us, it’s critically important for supply chains to learn to become more resilient, and this new initiative will help ensure that companies can safely and seamlessly continue their workflows, no matter if its employees are working remotely or just down the hall in the office.

Role of Additive Manufacturing in Supply Chain courtesy of Croftam UK.

RIZE, a World Economic Forum (WEF) 2020 Technology Pioneer, boasts the first professional desktop 3D printer to receive UL GREENGUARD certification, which means that it helps lower the risk of chemical exposure, and in doing so adheres to third-party chemical emissions standards and gives users peace of mind that the product they’re using is safe. Research shows that many desktop 3D printers do release hazardous ultrafine particles (UFPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, which is obviously not ideal if you’re using the system at home in an enclosed space. GREENGUARD-certified products meet ANSI/CAN/UL 2904, “Standard Method for Testing and Assessing Particle and Chemical Emissions for 3D Printers,” which means that they release lower levels of harmful chemicals into the air and are thus safer to use indoors.

“Next-generation technology is solving some of the biggest limitations of additive manufacturing, such as its emission of carcinogens and other airborne particles associated with traditional FFF approaches to 3D printing. With the pandemic expanding 3D printing outside typical industrial settings such as in home offices, the innovations of next-generation additive manufacturing players such as RIZE are changing the conversation on safety and sustainability,” said Tim Greene, research director at IDC.

Automation technology and technical educational solutions provider Festo SE & Co KG is participating in RIZE’s new manufacturing initiative by purchasing RIZE 2XC composite 3D printers and then deploying them in the homes of some of its important team members in Germany and the US. This will allow the company to create a productive, self-sufficient supply chain that’s UL GREENGUARD-certified safe.

“At Festo, we believe additive manufacturing will play a key role in shaping the future of work. Collaborative distributed manufacturing will bring about a paradigm shift, which will lead to more market opportunities and increased applications,” said Nuzha Yakoob, the head of technology and innovation at Festo North America. “We are delighted to expand our work with RIZE to help scale adoption of next-generation manufacturing technologies by putting safety at the heart of the supply chain of tomorrow.”

In addition, Festo is also collaborating with RIZE to develop workflows that are capable of delivering durable, repeatable, and high-precision 3D printed parts no matter if team members are all together in the same building, or spread throughout the world.

Kalambi said, “We’re honored that Festo shares our commitment to reconceptualize manufacturing, and find better ways to work productively in the new normal of COVID-19. The RIZE “Safe at Home” Manufacturing initiative is a powerful first step to building supply chain resiliency with advanced digital fabrication solutions like RIZE’s line of UL GREENGUARD certified 3D printers that are safe for home, work and anywhere.”

(3DPrint.com PRO is available only to subscribers)

The high-touch, high-quality 3D printing service is under threat. With OEMs starting huge services, polymer companies getting into the service game, and giant manufacturing firms looking to be the biggest in the world, small services are doomed. You’re in a market where you have salaries to pay while others will pour in millions to become the “winner takes all” in 3D printing services. Meanwhile, your customers are chomping at the bit to start their own manufacturing businesses with 3D printing.

One path out of the morass is to adopt a low-cost cluster model. Generally speaking, the fact that clusters are less expensive as an up-front investment makes them a very attractive proposition to start. The up-front investment could be a single printer. A few years ago, the opportunity was clear: scale and go up the value chain to serve automotive and aerospace companies. But we can’t all have that same opportunity now. You could follow the same path and become just another service bureau running the same machines. But, what could you do to outcompete? Be bigger?

In the face of GKN, Oerlikon, Sandvik, Jabil, could you make your own metal powder?

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