14 Resources to Make Digital Packaging Part of Your Print Business https://ift.tt/2vapDUn Digital Packaging Resource RoundupHave you added digital packaging to your print services portfolio yet? Whether you’re already down that path or still in the research stage, taking the first steps have never been easier. Here, we’ve compiled 14 resources to help guide you through every stage of your journey. Digital Packaging Infographic and Conversation StartersFind useful data about the digital packaging market on this infographics page, plus conversation starters to engage your customers. When brands aren’t aware of the benefits of digitally printed packaging, you can use these suggestions to kick off a conversation:
Digital Packaging Case StudiesMid-York Press finds new business – “With Xerox, we keep up with a changing packaging industry, while tapping into lucrative new markets,” said Bob Tenney, President, and CEO, Mid-York Press, Inc. The business increased digital packaging volume to 10% of their total volume. They leveraged variable data to produce personalized packaging along with trackable SKUs. It proved a successful entry point into the relatively new digital packaging segment. “We’re developing unique packaging solutions, not just producing outputs. And we’re acquiring customers we never would have been able to reach before.” OTC Group takes control of the process – OTC Group is the first company in North America to connect the most advanced digital printing and packaging technology to equally advanced database segmentation analytics and development with integrated Web applications. “We’ve completed a variety of different applications, and we’ve fine-tuned our standard operating procedures to where we know our processes are very tight and controlled,” said Tim Graham President and Chief Operating Officer. “We’re confident we’re taking a perfect product to the market.” Downloadable Market Segment Guide: “Digital Packaging: An Opportunity for Growth”The digital model represents a fundamental rethinking of how to produce packaging efficiently and effectively. This guide, “Digital Packaging An Opportunity for Growth,” shows how to unwrap the benefits of digital packaging for you and your customers. From shorter runs to increased variations, digital packaging opens doors. While the future is bright for many digital print segments, the packaging space is especially exciting. The data shared in this resource paints an encouraging picture. Packaging represents one of the largest and most stable opportunities for print providers. 53% of converters say the ability to do short runs is a key reason why their own customers buy digital printing. Digital packaging attracts marketers because it reduces obsolescence in packaging and labeling, and it enables more customized packaging. Converters and brands are paying more attention to digitally produced packaging. Make sure you’re paying attention, too, starting with this guide. Blog Posts about Digitally Printed PackagingBlog 1: Why Short-run Packaging is a Huge Opportunity for Commercial Printers Matthew Parker brings his business-building expertise to short-run packaging. Traditionally, packaging print has been a viewed as a long-run process, best suited to specialized manufacturers. And although there is still a place for this approach, the packaging world is rapidly changing. So, how do you make the most of this opportunity? Matthew shares three action points to start your packaging journey. Here’s the first: make sure you’re aware of what you can produce. Your press might be more packaging-ready than you realize. Blog 2: How Digital Printing on Plastic Films Can Change the Flexible Packaging Market Digital printing brings real disruption to the flexible packaging market in much the same way it transformed commercial printing over the last two-plus decades. The workaround has been to print on a different substrate and affix it to the target. But there’s a downside. Greater costs and additional process steps have slowed things down. Emerging capabilities print directly onto thin plastic films using a digital inkjet to improve flexible packager productivity and lower costs. Short runs and personalization also offer better solutions for changing market needs. Using digital inkjet technology to print directly onto thin plastic films benefits both flexible packagers and brand owners. For brands, product packaging can achieve a clean look and professional feel that had previously been difficult or expensive. Blog 3: Finally, Add Affordable Intelligence to Packaging Imagine packaging that included built-in information like region, store and distributor codes to check if your distribution channel is in working order. End-users want authentic, safe and intelligent products. Meanwhile, companies feel the impact of counterfeit goods to the tune of billions of dollars. How about scanning a high-value cosmetic product to verify its contents are authentic? These are a couple of the intelligent packaging possibilities unleashed by Xerox® Printed Memory. Printed memory finally makes adding intelligence to packaging accessible for converters and brand owners. Printed electronics with more advanced capabilities will enable a future where packaging can store, sense, compute and communicate information. Read this blog to learn more about making packaging smarter: Examining a low-cost way to add intelligence and security to packaging. In one example, the non-volatile memory stores up to up to 36 bits, which translates to 68 billion distinct data combinations. Everything from lot codes and serial numbers to expiration dates and geographic codes can be stored on it. Data is preserved until overwritten within a 10-year span. There’s no better time than now to learn how digital printing can transform your packaging productivity. Whether you’re just starting the conversation or are ready to make the move, Xerox is ready to help. The post 14 Resources to Make Digital Packaging Part of Your Print Business appeared first on Digital Printing Hot Spot. Printing via Digital Printing Hot Spot https://ift.tt/2LodXbz July 26, 2018 at 02:52PM
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Study Compares 3D Printed Braille to Traditional Methods https://ift.tt/2A9hDZq 3D printing lends itself well to aiding the visually impaired. It has been used numerous times to create tactile maps, learning tools, tactile art, and other aids. The technology makes the printing of Braille on objects easy, as well. A new study takes a closer look at the use of 3D printing to produce embossed dot graphics for the purpose of helping the visually impaired. The goal of the study was to improve upon traditional methods of creating Braille, like embossing machines. Entitled “A Proposed Method for Producing Embossed Dots Graphics with a 3D Printer,” the study can be accessed here. The author of the study, Kazunori Minatani, is visually impaired himself.
The biggest advantage, according to the study, that 3D printers have over traditional Braille embossers is that they can freely customize the arrangement and shapes of the dots. Converting embossed dots graphics drawing software to CAD data allowed for full customization of the sizes and shapes of the dots; the software Minatani designed was named Ed12scad. Edel is a piece of drawing software used for designing embossed dots graphics for the ESA 721 embosser, which can punch out three different dot sizes.
By using a 3D printer, Minatani was able to produce larger dots than could be produced with the embosser. He created a tactile map using the 3D dots, and enlisted the input of other visually impaired people to assess the results of the study. The following conclusions were reached:
Although the results created using the 3D printer weren’t without their flaws, the study emphasized the freedom that 3D printing allows in terms of creating different shapes, sizes, and arrangements of dots, unlike the limits of the traditional Braille embosser. Using 3D printing also makes it easier to create objects with Braille printed directly on them. 3D printing can be used in a number of creative ways to bring “sight” to visually impaired people – through maps, 3D pictures, even 3D ultrasounds. With 3D printing technology, visually impaired people can experience the world in more ways than ever before. Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 02:24PM No Bones About It: Materialise Has Taken On a Mammoth 3D Printed Reconstruction Project https://ift.tt/2uRu8DV Materialise is in the middle of an SLA 3D printing project of epic proportions…one might even call it a mammoth job. The Belgium-based company is creating a life-size, 3D printed reconstruction of the first mammoth skeleton ever displayed in Western Europe. Fittingly, Materialise is using its extra-large Mammoth 3D printers – the only machines it makes but does not sell – to complete the project. The Mammoth of Lier, named for the Belgian city where it was discovered, has been on display at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels since 1869…nearly 150 years. But now it’s coming home to Lier, where it will be displayed in 3D printed fashion beginning in October. Materialise is collaborating with the museum to 3D print the entire skeleton, which is made up of 320 bones…the mammoth was, after all, one of the largest land mammals ever to walk the earth. We’ve seen 3D printed mammoth reconstructions and statues before, but not of these proportions. This project was a pretty mammoth task (okay, last one I swear), but Materialise, with previous experience in 3D printed archaeological projects and historical reconstructions was more than up to the challenge.
The company is pooling together all of its interior resources, and calling in some outside help, to make every step of the project – from optimizing scans and building a mount structure outside of the bones to 3D printing the bones themselves – a reality. Each bone was scanned on-site at the museum, and together with Dr. Germonpré, Materialise digitally reconstructed the entire thing in order to, as the company put it, “achieve the highest degree of anatomical accuracy.” Additionally, Materialise Magics software was used to clean up the scans and prepare them to be 3D printed, as scans don’t produce structurally sound 3D forms that are ready for printing. Materialise engineers also had a challenge to overcome in developing a more sophisticated, quasi-invisible interior mount structure made of carbon for the skeleton, rather than sticking with the original 19th-century exterior mounting system. While working in the digital phase, they had to determine how best to fit this custom structure within the bones, and integrate both entry and exit holes for the carbon tubes. Materialise worked off the automotive tooling expertise of RapidFit, its daughter company,and created a lightweight but sturdy structure that only weighs 300 kg.
The replica mammoth bones will soon be 3D printed on nine of Materialise’s Mammoth SLA 3D printers, which the company specifically designed for projects that need an extra-large print capacity. It will take over a month for the mammoth to be 3D printed, as Materialise can only apply 1/10th of a millimetre of resin at a time. Then, it will be finished and painted with a variety of lacquers, paints, and textures to ensure that the bones are a close match to the original skeleton. Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the comments below. [Images provided by Materialise] Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 01:24PM Actinomorphic Shape Memory Soft Robots with 3D Printed Parts Zig-Zag Through Sand and Water7/26/2018 Actinomorphic Shape Memory Soft Robots with 3D Printed Parts Zig-Zag Through Sand and Water https://ift.tt/2Aah9CD One of my favorite things about my job here at 3DPrint.com is the fact that I learn at least one new thing every single day. The first new thing I learned today is the word actinomorphic, which means something that is characterized by radial symmetry, such as a starfish or a daisy. A team of researchers based out of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) developed some unique robots that have soft arms actuated by shape memory alloy wires, these robots are actinomorphic as well. There are all kinds of applications for soft robotics when combined with 3D printing, from making the factory floor safer and helping people experience tactile feedback in a VR environment to creating better prosthetics and creating robots that can navigate through confined spaces and over rough terrain. In their experiments, the USTC team focused on the idea of locomotion for their actinomorphic robots. They recently published a paper, titled “Locomotion analysis and optimization of actinomorphic robots with soft arms actuated by shape memory alloy wires,” in the International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems.
The soft robots, with anywhere from three to six arms, were not entirely 3D printed. But the polygon racks, which were combined with soft arms to make up each actinomorphic robot, were 3D printed out of ABS. The soft arms were fabricated using a molding technique, along with a layering technique, and the bodies, actuated by SMA wires, were made out of PDMS; an embedded polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymer plate was also inside the PDMS.
Each soft robot arm features a swing state, where the arm is off the ground, and a supporting state, where the arm is static or moving, depending on friction force with the ground. The actinomorphic soft robot can move around thanks to a series of these arm states powered by the shape memory wires. The researchers created an equivalent parallel closed-chain mechanism in order to analyze the locomotion of the robots, and performed a series of experiments that had the little soft robots moving through a variety of environments.
Future work on these actinomorphic soft robots will include increasing their mobility and autonomy. Soft robots are a completely new way of thinking about robotics. In a soft robotic world, robots can become more efficient, cheaper, more specialized and simpler than traditional robots. These specialized and simple robots are now in their infancy waddling through sand in labs. Over the coming years we will see them emerge and start to play roles in the real world. Authors of the paper include Chunshan Liu, Erbao Dong, Min Xu, Gursel Alici, with the University of Wollongong, and Jie Yang. Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the comments below. [Images: Liu et. al.] Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 12:09PM Airbus Signs Agreement to Help Singapore Agency 3D Print Aircraft Parts https://ift.tt/2mJbl9n 3D printing is becoming widespread in the aerospace industry, but one of the biggest enthusiasts of the technology has always been Airbus. From satellites to robots, Airbus is using 3D printing in nearly every aspect of its business, especially its airplanes. The Airbus A350 XW3 aircraft has more than 1,000 3D printed parts in it, and recently the company created the first aircraft cabin component to be visible to passengers. Now Airbus is reaching out to help other organizations with 3D printing in aerospace. Airbus recently announced an agreement with Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) to develop 3D printed spare parts that will initially be trialed on Singapore’s new fleet of A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (A330-MRTT) aircraft. This will be the first initiative under a new digital technology collaboration between the two organizations. An implementation agreement was signed at the Farnborough Air Show stating that Airbus Defence and Space will support DSTA in designing and certifying 3D printed parts for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aircraft.
SmartForce is a new suite of services that enables operators to use aircraft data to improve troubleshooting, optimize maintenance effort, predict maintenance actions and plan for material demand. It will allow for significantly more efficient maintenance, freeing up resources to focus on mission execution. Using 3D printing to create spare parts for aircraft is becoming more appealing to all aircraft manufacturers. When an aircraft needs a part replaced, rather than waiting weeks or even months for the outsourced part to become available, the manufacturer can simply 3D print it themselves, having it ready for installation within hours or days. In addition, 3D printing is capable of creating more lightweight parts than traditional manufacturing – and lightweight parts mean faster travel and more efficient fuel usage, lowering both cost and environmental impact. Airbus is now sharing this expertise with others, including the DSTA. Singapore on the whole has been extensively pursuing 3D printing, particularly for the maritime industry. While 3D printing has been used extensively in refits, upgrades and on some military aircraft this alliance is a step forward for Singapore. Can the small but wealthy techno-state use 3D printing to customize and develop weapons? Perhaps technological edge will give tiny Singapore an outsized presence in the future of 3D printed weapons. The RSAF has acquired the A330 MRTT and the first aircraft will be delivered to Singapore in the coming months. [Source: Airbus]
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 12:09PM Okuma Introduces New Hybrid 3D Printer and CNC Machine https://ift.tt/2NPa1h1 Okuma is known for being a manufacturer of CNC machines, but the company is now branching out into additive manufacturing – or rather hybrid manufacturing. Hybrid manufacturing combines one or more manufacturing techniques, often additive and subtractive manufacturing, into one process or, in some cases, one machine. For some types of parts, it is one of the most effective manufacturing methods, as the benefits of multiple technologies are combined to create a more efficient, more effective process. Okuma has just introduced the MU-8000V Laser EX multitasking CNC machine, which combines subtractive manufacturing with laser additive manufacturing technology. The machine uses Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), a technique which can not only 3D print entirely new items but can also add onto existing items for repair or cladding. It can also print with multiple materials in one build. Combining LMD with CNC machining allows for parts to be cut into different shapes and sizes, added on to, and trimmed again. The MU-8000V Laser EX allows for parts to be inspected and repaired during production, and efficiency and resolution are increased thanks to an infinitely variable control of laser spot diameters (Ø0.4 to 8.5 mm). By using LMD instead of Laser Metal Fusion, the MU-8000V Laser EX offers mid-process part inspection and material exchange, coolant use in the work envelope, and an overall faster process, according to Okuma. Okuma plans to introduce additional Laser EX machines in the future. Features will include laser hardening, which is designed to work on carbon steel material and involves heating by laser emission and hardening by self-cooling. Case hardening is also possible, and this technique involves less warpage than with high frequency or flame hardening. Another feature will be process-intensive turn hardening and grinding, in which cutting and grinding is completed on a single CNC machine with no setup change. It allows for uniform-width turn hardening using a high-output, stable laser and case hardening on a cylindrical surface with no uneven hardening and little warping. Finally, the company will offer resin mold repairs, from crack removal to finishing, on a single machine. This feature will accommodate hard-to-cut and high-hardness materials. Many other CNC companies have begun to bring additive manufacturing into their businesses and this will lead to the expansion of 3D printing as a technology. Perhaps increased competitiveness will lead to better machines as well? Okuma is the latest to acknowledge the effectiveness of combining CNC and 3D Printing, and the MU-8000V Laser EX may just be the beginning of the company’s venture into 3D printing. Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 11:39AM 3D Printed Drone Saves Thousands of Crops per Year https://ift.tt/2mH2t4a The corn borer is a pest that attacks maize stalks, causing the loss of thousands of crops every year. Rather than drenching said crops with chemicals, a company called Soleon is taking a natural approach – the SoleonAgro drone, which distributes trichogramma wasp eggs. The trichogramma wasp eats corn borers, offering an eco-friendly pest control alternative. The SoleonAgro drone has specialized arms that can distribute the eggs in three different directions at once, spreading them evenly and quickly across fields. To build the drone’s unique design, Soleon turned to 3D printing by way of Materialise, which had been working with the company for years to create its wide range of drones for aerial photography, thermal mapping, civil defense and more. Each drone has a different design according to its purpose: a photography drone, for example, would need camera mounting points while a pest control drone like the SoleonAgro requires arms that move in different directions to distribute the eggs efficiently and evenly. 3D printing allows Soleon to rapidly prototype these drones, quickly moving through different iterations until the final product is achieved. Using 3D printing also results in a much more lightweight drone than would be possible with other technologies.
Because of the complexity of the design, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) was chosen to 3D print the SoleonAgro. It was 3D printed mostly in PA 12, a lightweight, durable material, which would allow for the weight reduction needed as well as the strength and toughness required for the drone’s operation. PA-GF, a polyamide filled with glass particles, was used for parts closer to the drone’s motor, as the material has higher rigidity and is less vulnerable to vibration.
Soleon is based in Italy and has been in business since 2009. It’s one of a growing number of companies that have been employing 3D printing in the manufacture of drones. Because drones tend to have complex designs, and because they need to be lightweight, 3D printing is the technology that makes the most sense for these machines. Thanks to the SoleonAgro’s unique 3D printed design, Soleon can save thousands of maize crops – and be faster than its competitors in doing so. Speaking of agricultural drones, check out this project in progress as well. VIDEO Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. [Source: Materialise/Images: Soleon]
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 09:09AM Unique 3D Printed Connectors Help You Create Versatile Pieces of Furniture https://ift.tt/2AcUYM6 While it is absolutely possibleto 3D print custom furnituretoday, I think we can all agree that doing so is generally not as easyas just heading out to IKEA, Natuzzi or Ethan Allen or Value City Furniture or wherever it is you buy your home furnishings. In addition, some of the 3D printed furnitureout there is just not that practical.Some pieces can even looklike they belong on the set of another Willy Wonka movie remake…sorry if that’s harsh. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t use 3D printing to enhance or build furniture through the creative use of brackets, connectors, fasteners, and joints. It’s entirely possible to improve upon furniture and make it your own without creating the entire piece in a wood or 3D printing workshop; most desktop 3D printers don’t have the build area to print a kitchen table anyway. But using connectors allows you to customize your furnishings without having to build something entirely new…unless you feel like it, of course. Asa Christiana and Drew Prindle with Digital Trends recently highlighted a quick DIY end table project that used a 3D printed tripod joint.
The simple design for the 3D printable joint model, by Cults3D user Alejandro Macias, will need to be tweaked so you’re sure the three 7/8″ dowel rods used as the table legs will fit. Once the file has been downloaded and loaded into a slicer program, you’ll want to scale the part’s flange up to about 106% of its original size, or even 107% just to be safe. Print the part on a 3D printer with a build envelope of at least 105 mm wide and 130 mm tall.
They also noted that the interior will need to have supports, as there is a possible failure-causing “unsupported stalactite in the middle of the model.” The dowel rods should slide right into the 3D printed joint, which includes small screw holes in the sides for fixing everything into place; these holes will probably need to drilled a little bit larger so the screws can freely pass through.
To learn all the important details of building the actual table, check out the rest of the project here. Over the last few years, we’ve seen all kinds of interesting 3D printed furniture connecting pieces. For example, the Control DIY Furniture collection by Jack Hollowayoffers open source, downloadable files of custom, 3D printable furniture joints that, once completed, can be fitted with standard dimension lumber to build benches, tables, and chairs. These joints are recommended to be printed in nylon (polyamide), acrylics, and even metal. These look so elegant, you’d think the entire piece was built to look that way. 3D printed connectors offer versatility, letting you create unique pieces of furniture that sit at unusual angles, link together, or even create a table out of four chairs and a flat surface – perfect for smaller spaces. Italian-Japanese Studio Minale-Maeda created 3D printable sculptural Keystone connectors, which can be ordered from the Rotterdam studio or, to help cut down on emissions resulting from shipping and the need for big-box stores, be 3D printed as an open source design. These connectors can be tightened easily with a screwdriver, to help you repurpose old furniture parts or assorted pieces of wood into new furnishings. The Playwood collection of colorful 3D printed connectors by Italian designer Stefano Guerrieri gives you the flexibility to change up your environment on a whim, with only an Allen key needed to tighten the connections. Build your own furniture with whatever materials you want – so long as they are between 1.5 and 2 cm thick – and join the pieces together at 90°, 105°, or 150°, with three different kinds of recyclable polyamide connectors. According to the designer, Playwood was inspired as a modular and tactile response to the creativity-killing environment of a static office.
Personally, I prefer my furniture to be a little less whimsical than the Playwood collection, but to each his own…which is the whole point of custom 3D printable furniture connectors, of course. Discuss 3D printed furniture connectors and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 26, 2018 at 01:18AM
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Two Children Receive 3D Printed Prosthetics at Newly Opened Center in India https://ift.tt/2uPny0Z A child with a missing or damaged limb doesn’t get to do a lot of the things that make up a childhood, such as playing sports. Prosthetics have, in the past, been highly expensive devices that not everyone can afford, and prosthetics for children are a particular challenge because kids outgrow them and need new ones so quickly. 3D printing has changed that, however, making things easier for children with limb differences in a number of ways. 3D printed prosthetics are drastically cheaper, costing in the hundreds of dollars – or less – rather than thousands. They can be easily customized to fit comfortably and allow the wearer to throw a ballor do any of the other multitudes of activities a typical child does. Their appearance can be customized as well, lessening stigma and allowing the wearer to look like a superheroinstead of someone with a disability. Two children in Manipal, India recently received 3D printed prosthetic limbs from the brand new 3D printing facility at the Department of Orthopedics at Kasturba Hospital. The 3D printing facility, called the Hastha Centre for Congenital Hand Differences, was established specifically for the 3D printing of artificial limbs, particularly for children. The prosthetics made at the center can be customized to any level of amputation, whether above or below the elbow or for missing or shortened fingers. They can also be task specific, allowing kids to have different prosthetics for sports, school work, or other daily tasks. The Hastha Centre for Congenital Hand Differences was established under the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) through the unit of Hand and Microsurgery at the Department of Orthopaedics, Kasturba Medical College and Hospital. The Chief Coordinator for the center is Dr. Anil K. Bhat, Professor and Head, Department of Orthopaedics, Manipal. It was inaugurated recently by Dr. H. Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor, MAHE. It’s encouraging that hospitals and medical centers are taking 3D printed prosthetics seriously enough to create entire departments devoted to them. A major milestone came recently when the first clinical trials for 3D printed bionic prosthetics began in the United States, signalling that the medical establishment is indeed seeing the many benefits of 3D printing for the purpose of creating artificial limbs. Not long ago, 3D printed prosthetics were mostly the domain of makers and nonprofits, but the evidence of how beneficial they are can’t be ignored. India has been on the map for its progressive uses of medical 3D printing lately, including some groundbreaking surgeriesusing 3D printed implants to restore mobility and even save lives. The country has become very serious about 3D printing, particularly in the medical field, so it’s not surprising that it should open a center entirely dedicated to 3D printing prosthetic limbs. Millions of children around the world are in need of prosthetic limbs, and organizations such as e-NABLE have been working tirelessly to see that as many children are given access to them as possible. It’s still vitally important, though, that hospitals avail themselves of 3D printing technology as well. Eventually, 3D printed prosthetics might be the norm instead of the exception, making affordable artificial limbs available to patients in need everywhere. Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. [Source: Times of India]
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 25, 2018 at 01:36PM
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Colorado-Based AMIDE Alliance Focused on Workforce Development and Creating Sustainable 3D Printing Thermoplastics https://ift.tt/2LmjQGr It seems these days that Colorado is the place to be in the 3D printing industry. Home to the ADAPT Consortium and 3D Systems’ Littleton Healthcare Technology Center, along with Aleph Objects and its LulzBot 3D printers, the state has had its fair share of innovations in the medical and educational fields. We’ve got more news coming out of the Centennial State this week, as Vartega, which produces recycled carbon fiber from scrap material generated in aerospace, automotive, sporting goods, and wind energy manufacturing, and the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA) have teamed up with several academic and industry partners to form an alliance centered around additive manufacturing and sustainable thermoplastics. The Advanced Materials and Additive Manufacturing Infrastructure Development and Education (AMIDE) Alliance is the direct result of a $500,000 Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) Collaborative Infrastructure Grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). The funding from this grant will support the development of at least three separate innovation centers in the state, which will focus on creating and applying 3D printing materials, like fiber-reinforced thermoplastics.
Members of the AMIDE Alliance will be represented by a seven-person governance board that’s made up of academic and industry partners; CCIA will oversee the board’s establishment. Founding partners include Vartega, CCIA, Colorado State University (CSU) EWI, and The 3D Printing Store. Additional support for both the alliance and the grant proposal came from the following: Colorado manufacturers AMP Industrial, the Crestridge Group, Oribi Manufacturing, and Steelhead Composites, which all currently have new products in development with advanced materials and manufacturing methods like 3D printed carbon fiber thermoplastics, also provided support.
Vartega makes custom 3D printing and injection molding materials by combining its recycled carbon fiber with thermoplastics. By participating in the alliance, the company will be making capital equipment investments that will help to grow the state’s production of custom thermoplastic formulations. The overall goal of the AMIDE Alliance, which will close a major gap in Colorado’s materials supply chain by providing critical development resources for AM thermoplastics, is to develop a materials development and testing ecosystem by investing in resources and equipment. The ecosystem will make it possible to increase advanced 3D printing materials development, as well as training the next generation of skilled manufacturing workers. The alliance will accomplish its goals by opening innovation centers in collaboration with CSU, the Colorado School of Mines, and Vartega.
The CCIA will administer the grand funds for the innovation centers, which will be home to programs for educating and training new students, technicians, and professionals. The centers will also have the necessary equipment to help mature new additive manufacturing technologies and materials. Additionally, EWI will support materials development by offering advanced nondestructive evaluation, modeling and inspection services to support the ongoing new materials development. CSU’s innovation center will be at the university’s Composite Materials, Manufacture and Structures (CMMS) Laboratory, and will include the installation of a six-axis robotic system for the direct manufacture of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites. The center at the Colorado School of Mines, which will be home to an HP Jet Fusion 580 3D printer that will evaluate and characterize fiber-reinforced polymer powders being developed by project partners, will be located in the school’s Interdisciplinary Advanced Manufacturing Teaching Lab. The final innovation center, which will house extrusion equipment meant for developing fiber-reinforced thermoplastics for 3D printing applications, will be located at an unknown industry partner’s facility. Another objective of the new AMIDE Alliance is workforce development, and Front Range Community College, Colorado School of Mines, IACMI, and ACMA will support these efforts by creating a curriculum centring around closing the skills gap for composites and 3D printing. Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. [Source: CompositesWorld] Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 25, 2018 at 01:15PM |
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