Make All the Things Part 2: Ring Creation and Casting a Wax Ring, Part 2 https://ift.tt/2YEMTed This is the final installation of the wax ring project I have been working on. It has been such a great learning experience, and it has invigorated the maker within me. I highly suggest everyone to start making projects for fun. There is such a cathartic feeling attached with having an idea and bringing it to completion. It really pushes oneself to get things done. The creativity and new skill sets associated with building projects is so rewarding. Before this project I had zero skills in jewelry making and prototyping. After this project, I will not be at the level of a professional jeweler, but I have a newfound confidence to experiment and make new jewelry projects in my spare time. I also see what areas I need to improve to be a better designer. I will definitely be working and crafting my 3D design skills if I want to make very intricate designs for the future. Before Cleaning Up The end of this project required a good amount of clean up of our rings. Buffing, cutting, as well as sanding was necessary to complete the project. The ring was still attached to our sprue structure that was discussed in our previous articles. In order to remove this, we first needed large bolt cutters to clip the base material of the structure. This requires one to place the structure on the floor and then use force to cut the base. I had to put on a mask for facial safety in case of debri flying from the ground towards my eyes. After this has been cut, the tree like structure can then be cut further with different tools. The main tools used for this include a jeweler’s blade as well as pliers. The pliers were used to remove the stems of sprues within the structure. It takes a bit of dexterity as well as patience to make sure that the structure is properly handled. Rotary Dentist Tool The biggest issue from this is making sure that the cuts and blade movement are precise. A jeweler’s blade is very thin. This can lead to the blade breaking easily during a cut if one is not precise in their movement. One does not want to have chunks of material still hanging off their piece also. This will make the next step of the process way more difficult than we would want. I learned this through firsthand experience. The next step in the process was focusing on grinding the extra chunks of material within the ring. The pliers did an okay job of removing the stems within our sprue structure, but nubs of the material were still present. I then used a handy set of dentist tools to grind the inside of my rings. Before this project, I had no idea how the dentistry industry and the jewelry industry used similar tools. With the rotary grinder tool available to me, I then smoothed out the inside of the ring as best as I could. Honestly, my precision and detail were only okay. It is definitely a great start in the journey of refinement and detail. I would say that I miss out on details at times, and I believe keeping up with this hobby of jewelry will really develop my attention to detail. Jeweler’s Blade Once these nubs of material were ground out with the dentistry tools, I focused on finishing the product in terms of refinement. This is where sanding precision came into play. I took an 80 grit piece of sandpaper and applied it to the perimeter of the rings. This helped to bring out the true shine of silver in the designs. This part of the process was simple, but the most difficult part was to come. I had to sand done the face of the lion without degrading the actual design of the ring. This requires using the rotary dentist tool again. It took some precision, but the lion head was buffed and the silver shine of the material came through all around the ring. Finished Product With this done, I finally had a cool lion ring made. The overall cost of the project itself in terms of silver was $200. With a bit more refinement, I will be able to sell this product at a high price point. Some follow ups of this project would include building a mold of the ring. This would then cut down the time associated with creating this product. Thank you all for watching this project evolved, but be prepared for new projects that I have ready for the future. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 30, 2019 at 03:18AM
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Exclusive Interview with the Henkel LOCTITE Team on its Entry Into the 3D Printing Market https://ift.tt/2yz8t5b Henkel is a 143-year-old company with over 53,000 employees that is well known for Pritt and Loctite glue, SYOSS shampoos, Sun and Persil detergent as well as Right Guard deodorant. Henkel’s products are available worldwide and they’re usually active in large product categories often selling directly to consumers. The firm, however, has entered the 3D printing market with a flurry of business to business activity and end consumer products. Henkel is working with companies such as EnvisionTEC and Origin on photopolymer resins, has launched its own resins, has 3D printing finishing kits and specialized 3D print finishing machines (which I swear were both ideas I gave them), has opened a new facility and has acquired Molecule Corp. Through their Loctite brand and division, the company is developing and launching products aimed at facilitating 3D printing as well as materials aimed to make it more prevalent. Henkel seems intent to put its considerable weight behind expanding 3D printing applications and industrialization, so we interviewed their 3D printing management team to find out more. Why is Henkel interested in 3D Printing?
What do you have to offer the market?
What is different about Henkel’s approach vis a vis other polymer companies?
Why is so much of your effort focused on finishing?
How would I use your finishing station?
What are you working on with Origin?
What are you working on with HP?
What kinds of materials are you developing?
What did the acquisition of Molecule Corp do for you?
What 3D printing technologies are you focusing on?
Who are you interested in partnering with?
What advice would you give a company that wants to manufacture with 3D printing?
What is holding 3D printing back?
Will you sell your products only directly, also through resellers? Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 30, 2019 at 02:12AM 3D Printing Awakens Renewed Interest in Polymeric Heart Valves for Patient-Specific Treatment7/30/2019 3D Printing Awakens Renewed Interest in Polymeric Heart Valves for Patient-Specific Treatment https://ift.tt/30WtDpU Authors Charles D. Resor and Deepak L Batte review the recent work of André R. Studart and his co-researchers in creating artificial heart valves via 3D printing. Their findings are outlined in their recently published article, ‘Polymeric Heart Valves: Back to the Future?’ Along with this is the work previously performed by Studart, et al. predominantly referred to in ‘Bioinspired Heart Valve Prosthesis Made by Silicone Additive Manufacturing.’ While the authors discuss the continued progression of heart valves and replacements, they highlight the work of Studart and his co-researchers, in their creation of a silicone-based polymeric heart valve—harkening back to medical trends beginning in the 1960s. Employing some of the classic benefits of 3D printing, the medical scientists fabricated a prototype with a patient-specific crimpable polymer stent using decidedly more modern methods. Today, most heart valves as prosthetics are either mechanical or ‘biprosthetic,’ which is the more preferred type (making up 80 to 90 percent of the aortic valve replacements in the US), usually consisting of xenograft tissue valves.
Historically, earlier valves have been created with a variety of materials to include silicone, polyurethane, and other polymers—only to meet with failure structurally, or in causing calcification or thrombosis. Even with the tremendous amount of progress made recently in creating prosthetic heart valves, there have been continued challenges in manufacturing a ‘durable, thrombus-resistant valve,’ which the scientists state would be best from a catheter-based approach. As polymer synthesis has been refined over time, to include a realistic promise for crimpable valves—polymers have become more interesting overall in the manufacturing of valves—whether stand-alone or as scaffolds. The prototype is an ‘impressive’ valve prototype which has the added advantage of allowing for patient-specific treatment—a wave of the future in medicine, and one which is certainly more than a trend as it eliminates so many problems which emanate from the previous necessity of the one-size-fits-all culture. With the ability to create models directly from 3D scans, or in other cases create implants laden with stem cells from a patient, complications are substantially reduced—meaning much better outcomes overall. While the ‘in vitro’ assessments are promising, they require more testing, and especially due to so much previous research of limitations regarding polymer valves.
3D printed implants and medical models and prototypes have lent enormous value to the medical field—and on so many levels—from advantages to patients with more options for specific treatment and better diagnoses, for medical students to practice, and for surgeons to speak with patients and their families and to describe procedures in pre-operative education, along with being able to use the models as surgical planning tools. What do you think of this news? Let us know your thoughts! Join the discussion of this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com. [Source / Images: ‘ Polymeric Heart Valves: Back to the Future?’] Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 30, 2019 at 02:06AM
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Penn State professor gets 1.5 million dollars for research into medical projects https://ift.tt/2OsqrkA At universities across the United States funding is helping academic research of scientific processes advance the medical field, especially when it comes to bioengineered tissues and organoids that could help solve some of the major problems for the future of medicine. A lot of research is needed to create a fundamental base that leads to more applied developments. Just last week, Ibrahim Tarik Ozbolat, Hartz Family Career Development Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), received grants totaling 1.5 million dollars for bioprinting. At University Park, in Pennsylvania, Ozbolat will explore ways to bioprint biological tissues like bone, lungs and other organs for use as models in four different medicine-related studies. To explore a new process for 3D bioprinting that could be a solid base for the future creation of implantable, bioengineered tissues and organs, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded him a three-year, 448,539 dollar grant. These bioprinted organs and tissue would not require immunosuppressant drugs or have other shortcomings associated with transplants. Ozbolat will use an aspiration-assisted bioprinting process to position the building blocks of tissue rapidly and precisely so that tissues and tissue models to use for drug development, lesion studies or replacement parts become possible. The project will investigate a number of current questions about bioprinting of cell spheroids, their size, density, mechanics, placement and ability to survive. 3DPrint.com spoke with Ozbolat about the projects he is undertaking to try to understand some of the possibilities and limitations in the field. At the lab, the expert engineer is making different kinds of tissues, including cartilage, pancreas, tumor models, heart and skin tissues.
At the lab, Ozbolat and his team work with commercial bioprinters from brands like Cellink, MicroFab, and Turkish-based Axolotl Biosystems. They also have custom-made machines from various companies, and the lab engineers modify some of the existing printers to suit their needs. Since the new aspiration-assisted bioprinting process only uses XYZ motion system, they modified an already existing MakerBot extrusion system bioprinter at the lab. VIDEO Ozbolat is also a subcontractor for a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cooperative Center on Human Immunology (CCHI) supported by a five-year, $11 million grant to the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). His 900,000 dollars will support the development of 3D bioprinted models of the lung and upper respiratory environment to mimic and explore the functional lung and immune system interactions and determine the mechanisms and pathways involved in lung antiviral response or response to metabolic agents. Thanks to the grant, a major new research center led by JAX Professor Karolina Palucka, will explore the mechanisms of antiviral lung immune function and the role of our lung microbiome. The CCHI will also investigate lung immune responses to viral infection, bringing together scientists who specialize in different fields, like Ozbolat from bioengineering.
The third project that is receiving a grant is focusing on bioprinting bone. Ozbolat, along with Elias Rizk, associate professor of neurosurgery at Penn State College of Medicine, will explore using 3D bioprinting capabilities to repair critical-sized bone defects on three-year-old Rhoen sheep to investigate the feasibility of repairing skull, jaw and facial injuries or defects. The two-year work will be awarded $75,000 from the Osteology Foundation in Switzerland. The goal is to develop ways to transfer this bioprinting method to clinical use and to build the fundamentals of tissue printing technologies for surgical settings.
Also focusing on bone is a $65,000 grant to create a 3D bone tissue model to study Gaucher disease from the Lysosomal and Rare Disorders Research and Treatment Center. Gaucher disease is an inherited genetic disorder that among other things can create bone abnormalities and arthritis that may be the result of alterations in cellular and/or humoral immunity. The focus of the research project is to bioprint a model in which to study Gaucher disease in the laboratory and to understand the 3D interactions in a bone model using cells from patients in the treatment center. Ozbolat’s background and experience at the Penn State lab make it easier to find setbacks in the medical field which he can attempt to solve with bioprinting, other times, professional medical practitioners ask him and his team for help solving some of the hurdles they encounter. He has been doing research for many years at the Penn State engineering lab tackling medical problems that affect thousands of patients. Some three years ago he even began developing a new method of bioprinting that could eventually be used to create cartilage patches for worn-out joints – a potential cure for osteoarthritis–a problem that affects people all over the world and is very painful.
Ozbolat has many different projects in various tissue types, like cancer immune therapy, working alongside Jackson Lab immunologist Derya Unutmaz, who engineers immune cells for Ozbolat to use them in a 3D printed tumor platform to test several hypotheses and work on different scenarios. Last year, the experienced engineer along with fellow researchers at Penn State created tissues with micropores that allow nutrient and oxygen diffusion into the core of the cell as an alternative to vascularization, or growing blood vessels inside the tissue. Historically, funding in academic research has helped advance humankind, grants like the ones Ozbolat is receiving are crucial for biomedical developments and devices, making it possible to answer fundamental questions and develop new therapies for many disorders. [Image: Ozbolat LAB / Penn State University] Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 30, 2019 at 01:57AM Fitz Frames: The 3D Printed Eyewear Company for Children https://ift.tt/2YdkvA7 Fitz Frames is a children’s eyewear company that was created earlier this year by Heidi Hertel and Gabriel Schlumberger, in Los Angeles. Gabriel left his career as a designer at Disney and Pixar a year ago to cofound this new startup, Fitz Frames, with his friend, Heidi, who has worked as a political consultant in the past. Both founders believed that children eyewear needed to be reinvented, so they went for 3D printed eyeglasses.
It’s known that kids are pretty hyperactive, they move around all day, and most of them break things or forget things unintentionally. Eyeglasses are easy to break and it is easy to forget them somewhere in the playground, or wherever they go. Gabriel had an experience with broken glasses before: his son went around for several weeks with his eyeglasses broken, but he had taped them together before Gabriel and his wife found out. Their child was too afraid to tell them about the broken glasses. Eyewear can be a burden, especially for parents. Knowing that they have to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of glasses that could be broken easily at any time, is an annoyance. Heidi felt that parents are often too busy to visit an optician, or to make their kids sit still while they try different frames. They made creating Fitz Frames into their perfect solution for parents, and also children. Unlike many children eyewear brands, Fitz Frames offers a pair of glasses for children that can fit their unique faces, instead of just having two sizes. And what’s better, they don’t need to leave home to try frames. It’s all easily done through an App.
How do Fitz Frames work?
Download the app “Fitz Glasses”, which is currently available only on App Store. Then, get your kid! You will have to use the app and camera to help Fitz Frames get accurate measurements of your child’s face to make the perfect frame. The app uses facial mapping, and provides you with a lifelike virtual try-on process experience. After getting the measurements, you will have to select the frame style of your kid’s preference, as well as the color. Once you decide the design and color of the frame, the frame will get 3D printed by Fitz Frames and delivered to you according to prescriptions. You can also order sunglasses and blue-light glasses as well.
The frames are unique. Not only will kids be able to select their favorite color, but also they can include their name 3D printed inside of the glasses, as to know the glasses belong to them. Price and subscription details Testing Durability via Fitz Frames’ Facebook Page Fitz Frames glasses cost $95, but they offer a subscription plan because they already know kids will break, lose or grow out of their glasses. The subscription costs $185 a year, and this includes: – Custom-fit glasses – Unlimited pairs of glasses throughout the year. After the first two pairs, all you pay for is the lenses; – Shipping is free New manufacturing facility The company already has seven workers at its Los Angeles headquarters. Now, they have three workers in Youngstown, where they opened a new manufacturing facility in the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) Tech Block Building 5 last week. The 3D printed frames are printed using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (sintering, SLS, Selective Laser Sintering) and from the look of them, the glasses appear to be post-processed and dyed using Dye Mansion. Fitz Frames via The Youngstown Business Journal “The more research we did, the more we were impressed with the city and saw it to be the Silicon Valley of all things 3D printing. The community has been really supportive and we have found solid talent coming out of the local universities,” Hertel explains. To Barb Ewing, YBI CEO, this is one of the milestones in additive manufacturing. “We see a lot of new technologies being developed that are either related to the development of new pieces of AM equipment or materials, or products that are for low volume production, like aerospace or race cars. This is the next step in the evolution of the additive manufacturing market, and is another important milestone for the industry.”
[Sources: Fast Company, Vindy, Fitz Frames, Crain’s Cleveland Business] Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 30, 2019 at 01:57AM VSHAPER 3D Printer Used in Fabrication of Underwater Scooter Prototype https://ift.tt/2Oqe745 A few years ago, we did a story on a 3D printed “e-floater” scooter that was solar powered and allowed users to “float” down the street. But now, Polish 3D printer manufacturer Verashape is using its VSHAPER 3D printing technology to help create an underwater scooter that can float for real. Rzeszów-based company B-4 Association is working with Verashape to manufacture a scooter prototype of the SEACRAFT underwater device. In business for nearly 20 years, the B-4 Association offers support for projects in the fields of development, education, and innovation, as well as offering auditing and consulting services. In addition, the company is conducting design research to hep develop a new underwater SEACRAFT scooter. The ultimate goal is to use 3D printing to help with serial production of the scooters, but right now the cooperating companies are working on the prototype device. One task that the B-4 Association is in charge of is developing, testing, and preparing efficient electric cells to act as the underwater scooter’s power supply. In order to produce batteries, a dedicated base is needed, which is later filled with cells that will be welded together layer by layer, held in place using special clamps. The company is using Verashape’s VSHAPER PRO+ 3D printer for the work; this system is an updated version of the company’s award-winning VSHAPER PRO.
B-4 chose to use 3D printing to make the base and template because of its rapid prototyping capability. Any design developments or shape corrections for the template and the cover can be quickly completed, which is a major benefit. In addition, because the VSHAPER PRO+ was also used to make precise models, B-4 was able to create separate elements, such as blocks, which can be assembled to build the template that’s used to keep the cells “in a fixed position” while they are being welded into place. Not only does this make it easier to take the template apart after welding, 3D printing helps save on time and resources in other ways as well, like no more time-consuming CNC machine programming for template production. The use of 3D printing in the design process allowed SEACRAFT and B-4 to create a solution that would have been much more difficult to fabricate with traditional forms of manufacturing. SEACRAFT’s underwater scooters were designed for diving at depths up to 150 m, and helps divers increase both their diving range and their rate of speed underwater.
Plenty of famous divers have helped test the underwater scooters by exploring shipwrecks and caves in both fresh and salt water. The whole device weighs 16 kg, and it only takes about 2.5 hours to charge the scooter’s lithium-ion batteries. Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. [Images: Verashape, unless otherwise noted] Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 30, 2019 at 01:54AM 3D Systems: Augmenting Your Workflow with Traditional and Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/2LLyqqE Combining Old and New Technology Remember the days when people thought that we would all end up with our own home desktop 3D printers to make anything our hearts desired and would never have to leave the house to buy consumer goods again? While I’m not saying this future isn’t still in the cards (imagine never having to get in another shopping cart lane battle at the store!), most people have realized this might be just wishful thinking and are focusing on other uses for additive manufacturing – such as combining the technology with traditional forms of manufacturing. Just because you’re interested in 3D printing doesn’t mean you have to completely forget about all of the existing manufacturing technologies – you can complement your workflow, learn something new, and add that skill to your wheelhouse. And try as you might, it’s not always economically feasible or the right choice for your business to switch completely over to 3D printing. So one more time for the people in the back – by combining conventional manufacturing with 3D printing, companies can truly augment and speed up their workflows. 3D Systems knows a little something about this, as the company offers both additive and subtractive manufacturing capabilities through its On Demand manufacturing services. “Our online 3D printing portal was designed by engineers for engineers,” the 3D Systems On Demand webpage states. “Our goal is to make the process of ordering 3D printed parts and prototypes the easiest in the industry.” This is what sets 3D Systems apart from other service bureaus in the market. In fact, the company just released an eBook, titled “The Benefits of Traditional and Additive Manufacturing from a Single Source,” that’s all about combining 3D printing with other types of manufacturing it offers, such as CNC machining, investment casting, injection molding, urethane casting, sheet metal, die casting, etc. The campaign for 3D Systems’ new eBook recently went live, and the book itself discusses different ways to combine additive and traditional manufacturing for the optimal effect, in addition to using your project budget in the most efficient way, speeding up time to market, and the best ways to fulfill design goals. 3D Systems On Demand service bureau offers traditional injection molding for low-volume projects, and most commercially available thermoplastics from production-grade tooling are available. Nearly 20 different materials are available, with ten finish options, including Light Texture, Mirror, and Color-Matching. A urethane casting service is also available for rapid prototyping purposes, with a wide array of materials and three different finishes offered. “One of the greatest benefits of the Cast Urethane process is the ability to over-mold existing parts or hardware with a second material,” the website states. Learn more about the traditional Capabilities such as Cast Urethane in the new eBook. While you can visit many vendors to receive external prototyping and production services, there aren’t too many like 3D Systems that offer a full range of options in both traditional and additive methods. For example, less than a year ago, the company released its ProJet® MJP 2500 IC RealWax™ 3D printer, which lets existing investment casting operators switch to additive manufacturing for their patterns, using 3D Systems’ MJP 3D printing technology. In addition, its VisiJet® M2 ICast (MJP) material is wax, which means it will work within the existing foundry without requiring any updates or changes to furnaces or temperatures. Four years ago, 3D Systems also highlighted its digital molding technology for the first time. This is a scalable 3D printing process – backed by the company’s configurable Figure 4® technology – that lets you do tool-less production, and is a good alternative for low-volume plastic part production. 3D Systems’ Figure 4® Confederate Motors, which has been designing and manufacturing bespoke motorcycles in small batches for over two decades, has been collaborating with 3D Systems On Demand since 2014 in an effort to convert 140 different designs into prototypes and production parts for its P51 Combat Fighter. 3D Systems provides a one-stop shop for Confederate Motors’ motorcycle parts, including everything from the intake manifold and swing arm parts to the front and back fenders and the key to start up the motorcycle. “With the exception of some engine components, wiring, wheels, tires and lighting, 3D Systems makes every part of the Fighter. We save a tremendous amount of time and hassle by being able to consolidate part production with one primary vendor. Parts go together better coming from the same vendor, and we can be assured that the part finish of everything will match,” said Jordan Cornille, a designer at Confederate Motors. “We like to move quickly in our decision-making processes and design quickly in order to offer our customers as many solutions as possible within a certain time frame. We don’t produce thousands of copies of each model, and 3D Systems allows us to change designs frequently without committing to thousands of dollars worth of tooling.” 3D Systems used plenty of CNC machining to make the parts for the P51 Combat Fighter motorcycle; according to the 3D Systems On Demand site, this subtractive technology “is the best choice for rapid prototyping of high-quality metal and plastic parts” that need an extremely high degree of dimensional accuracy. The service bureau offers a variety of different materials and finishes for CNC machining and promises a standard delivery time of 1-2 weeks, based on the order. As noted in its new eBook, the company also offers integrated additive and traditional manufacturing approaches, which is perfect for projects that need to combine the ability to manufacture complex shapes at a faster rate of speed with high precision. Room Temperature Vulcanization (RTV) is just one of these integrated processes – it uses 3D printed masters and silicone molds to produce high-quality parts in low to mid-volume batches, without having to rely on expensive hard tooling. The benefits of RTV include a large material selection, a shorter lead time, and the ability to over-mold existing hardware and parts with an additional material. “When the 3D Systems On Demand service bureau was established several years ago, the company expanded its expertise and resources through strategic acquisitions, not only for 3D printing and additive manufacturing, but for traditional approaches as well,” the eBook states. “3D Systems On Demand now has a worldwide network of facilities to locally service companies that need a stable, reliable, well-resourced and uniquely experienced partner.” To learn more about the wide variety of additive and traditional manufacturing processes that 3D Systems offers through its On Demand service bureau, check out the company’s new eBook, or contact us for more details. [Images: 3D Systems] Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 29, 2019 at 03:51AM
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Interview with 3DGuru’s Inbo Song on 3D Printing in Korea https://ift.tt/2SKt4wm We’re all familiar with Terry Wohlers and his eponymous report. What you may not know is that there is also a Korean Terry, Inbo Song. He provides companies with research, analysis, training and consulting in 3D Printing. With deep experience in the Korean market he is guiding companies there towards 3D printing through the highest quality information that he can provide. He’s also the perfect person to guide us into 3D printing trends in Korea and beyond. What does 3DGURU do?
Why should I choose to work with your company?
What is the 3D printing market in Korea like?
Are Korean companies going to expand outside of Korea?
What is holding back the adoption of 3D printing?
What kind of companies buy 3D printers in Korea?
What kind of parts are they printing?
Are companies doing production with 3D printing?
How is the 3D scanning market evolving? Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 29, 2019 at 03:33AM Interview with Gil Lavi on the Past 12 Months in Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/2ymnhE6 I’m still trying to interview as many 3D printing resellers worldwide (want to be included, contact me!). I’m very interested in how they are “crossing the chasm” from desktop consumer printers to more industrial applications. Resellers to me are a bellwether of our overall success: if they are optimistic, fat and happy, then we will all soon be those things as well. We interviewed Gil Lavi of 3D Alliances before, his business is to connect OEMs to resellers worldwide and he acts as a matchmaker for our industry. So he’s kind of a meta-bellwether to our business. He recently has added new customers and is now offering company reports as well, so more than enough stuff for us to consider once again when looking back over the previous 12 months in 3D printing. What has the last year been like?
Is it a challenging time to start a 3D printing business now?
What has the market been like?
How is the market developing worldwide?
Are desktop 3D printers for consumers dead?
How is the Pro desktop 3D printing market evolving?
Are more people using 3D printing to manufacture?
What are the exciting developments on the material front?
What is Mosaic?
Is the channel under threat from companies going direct? Or not at all?
What are your reports like?
What significant news do you have?
What does the future hold for 3D Alliances? Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com July 29, 2019 at 03:24AM 3D Printing News Briefs: July 29, 2019 https://ift.tt/2yi8zxT We’ve got some business to cover in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. The Engineering Technology Group (ETG) has acquired HK Holdings and all its subsidiaries, Ascent Aerospace is investing in 3D printing with a new machine purchase, and the Defense Innovation Lab has received a Manufacturing Technology Assistance Grant. 3D Systems signed an MoU with the US Institute of 3D Technology and the state government of Gujarat, and Xometry is joining Alibaba.com’s B2B ecosystem in the US as a co-marketing sponsor. ETG Acquires HK Holdings Wellesbourne-based company Engineering Technology Group (ETG), which delivers turnkey solutions to customers in the aerospace, automotive, high value engineering, medical, and oil & gas sectors, has acquired HK Holdings, and all of its subsidiaries, from the Pexion Group. The deal could change how ETG’s manufacturing clients access modern production technologies, such as 3D printing, CNC machining, and wire EDM machines. ETG is planning to invest in the HK Holdings name, and a new marketing plan, in order to maximize various cross-selling opportunities.
Ascent Aerospace Purchases LSAM 3D Printer Aerospace tooling systems, integration solutions, and factory automation provider Ascent Aerospace recently invested in 3D printing with the purchase of a Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) machine from Indiana-based Thermwood Corporation. Ascent wants to challenge the industry norms of the maturing aerospace tooling sector by taking additive manufacturing to a new level, using the LSAM to do so. The machine, with a 10′ x 40′ fabrication area, will help the company’s customers bring tools like vacuum holding fixtures, trimming/drilling fixtures, and layup molds to market at faster speeds, and will be co-located in its Santa Ana, California composite tooling shop, autoclave, and clean room.
Defense Innovation Lab, Inc. Receives Manufacturing Technology Assistance Grant Located in New York’s Hudson Valley, Defense Innovation Lab, Inc. (DiLab) supports entrepreneurs working on technology focused on defense and government. Now, it will be able to help drive local 3D printing innovation, thanks to a Manufacturing Technology Assistance grant it’s been awarded from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). DiLab will support R3 Printing, Inc. in designing, prototyping, and testing its proprietary enterprise-grade R3 Printer with RIT’s AMPrint Center for Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing. The R3 Printer can produce plastic and composite prints, and is optimized for commercial manufacturing and defense logistics applications.
3D Systems Signs MoU with USI3DT and Gujarat While many industries are adopting 3D printing, there’s still a major gap between companies that want to bring the technology in-house and the necessary skilled manpower that’s available to do so. Even if employees do receive training in operating the printers, there’s a lack of people who are “skilled and knowledgeable enough to understand the dynamics of the 3D printing technology,” according to a blog post written by Deelip Menezes, the Managing Director for 3D Systems in India. That’s why the company recently signed a strategic 3D printing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the California-based US Institute of 3D Technology (USI3DT) and the state government of Gujarat, India in an effort to close this skills gap. Seven 3D printing Centers of Excellence (CoE) will be set up in technical institutes across the state, and students can enroll in 3D Systems-certified 3D printing courses offered by USI3DT.
Xometry Partners with Alibaba.com as a Co-Marketing Sponsor Custom manufacturing marketplace Xometry is joining Alibaba.com – one of the largest B2B eCommerce marketplaces – as a Co- Marketing Sponsor for its US ecosystem. The company is joining Alibaba.com’s new, expanded ecosystem of service providers in order help small businesses in the US sell both locally and globally, and will offer Alibaba.com’s business buyers exclusive deals for its own on-demand manufacturing services. The two marketplaces have a shared passion, as Alibaba.com, a business unite of the Alibaba Groupo, has started this initiative in order to help SMBs access the very wide eCommerce industry.
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