WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service today celebrated the majesty and visual mystique of the winter season by dedicating new Winter Scenes stamps. The virtual ceremony can be viewed on the Postal Service’s Facebook and Twitter pages. These Forever stamps are available at Post Office locations nationwide and at usps.com/winterscenesstamp.

The booklet of 20 captures the serenity of snowy seasonal landscapes. The 10 photographs featured on the stamps show iconic scenes of winter in the Northern United States. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with existing images taken by various photographers.

“The winter landscape shines with its own special beauty,” said USPS Delivery Operations Vice President Joshua Colin. “The Postal Service shares scenes of that winter allure on these new stamps that hopefully will add brightness, color and a bit of joy to your cards and letters.”

Five of the stamps feature images of winter wildlife against their snowy habitats: a bright red cardinal, a colorful blue jay, two foraging deer, a majestic owl and a portly brown bunny. Two stamps feature barns, both a brilliant red that contrasts elegantly with the surrounding snow and evergreen trees.

The landscapes in two of the stamps focus on the beauty of freshly fallen snow; one shows a long lane bounded by tall trees with snow-covered branches and the other features two towering evergreens covered in snow, highlighted against a cloudy sky and far-off hills. The final stamp depicts the joyous romp of two large brown horses pulling a sleigh through the snow.

The Winter Scenes stamps are being issued as Forever stamps, which are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

A pictorial postmark of the first-day-of-issue location, Winter Park, FL, is available at usps.com/stamps.

News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #WinterScenesStamps.

Background

In the United States, winter officially begins on Dec. 21 or 22. But in some parts of the country, the snow begins falling and the temperatures plummet long before the solstice. Winter is not only a season but also a state of mind.

Many people enjoy the great outdoors most during the winter months. The light and quiet after a snowfall lend themselves to restorative, contemplative walks where wildlife can be seen foraging for food. Others might prefer a brisk sleigh ride through the countryside, where evergreens and winter berries offer color and shape to the landscape.

There is a lot to celebrate indoors as well. Some of our most cherished holidays, such as Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Lunar New Year, occur during the winter months.

Whatever the inclination — indoors or out — winter offers something for everyone.

Postal Products

Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide.

Information on ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks and covers is at usps.com/shopstamps under “Collectors.”

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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The extraordinary advantages of a weightless laboratory have fascinated scientists for decades. That’s because observing phenomena and processes in microgravity conditions can help prepare the field for deep-space human explorations and provide knowledge to improve the quality of life on Earth. Microgravity offers an ideal environment to explore the basics of many types of scientific research and can hold the key to unlocking the full potential of 3D printing. Without the distortion experienced on Earth, investigators can gain insight into the inner workings of physical and biological systems, leading to the advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) technology in orbit.

For years, researchers have performed studies in microgravity. Before the National Space Laboratory of the International Space Station (ISS) became a platform for research in orbit, space agencies relied solely on other means. These included drop towers, suborbital space flights, artificial microgravity simulators, and, particularly, on parabolic flights on Earth that can be tuned to allow for zero gravity or reduced gravity levels like those found on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Many of these innovative and viable options have been around since the 1950s, but are only limited to short continuous spans of microgravity that can only last seconds.

The International Space Station. Image courtesy of ESA.

The only permanently occupied microgravity laboratory aboard the ISS has allowed researchers and space crew to carry out hundreds of hours of experiments, proving theories and revealing previously unexplained phenomena. The have even taken the first steps toward realizing the requirements for an on-demand, microgravity 3D printing station off Earth.

The ISS provides a valuable starting point to propel the potential of 3D printing technology for space. According to ISS Chief Scientist Kirt Costello, “in space, you don’t have buoyancy-driven convection. Hot things don’t rise over colder things, so, a lot of times, that can lead to discoveries when you’re doing material science, especially involved around melting or processing of materials. So, there have been advances where people look at new materials in space and how to form stronger and more advantageous materials using microgravity as one of the factors.”

With extremely limited availability of Earth-based logistics support, 3D printing capabilities could become one of the most important technologies in space. Spaceflight missions today require the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to send up more than 7,000 pounds of spare parts to the ISS every year. While another 29,000 pounds of spaceflight hardware spares are stored aboard the station and 39,000 await on the ground, ready to fly if needed.

This logistics system might work well for a spacecraft that is orbiting 250 miles above Earth, but for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, this is simply not viable. It takes about three days for a spacecraft to reach the Moon and, at a cost of $10,000 per pound, any Moon colony would become a very expensive undertaking very quickly. Space crew will need to make their own spare parts, tools, and materials. Therefore, enabling on-demand manufacturing with common raw materials is essential, with some researchers exploring the use of a variety of recycled, onboard waste material as feedstock.

First In-space 3D Printers

Up until now, the space station has received several 3D printing experiments and 3D printing system platforms. In the fall of 2014, NASA and Made In Space (MIS) executed the first demonstration of on-orbit manufacturing using a fused filament fabrication (FFF) printer as part of the 3D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration Mission. Once installed in the ISS’ Microgravity Science Glovebox – a sealed facility for investigations – the printer was set to work immediately, even churning out the very first wrench 3D printed on the ISS by Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore.

The primary objective of the mission was to prove critical operational functions of the printer, as well as evaluate the impact of microgravity on material outcomes with the FFF process by manufacturing mechanical property test articles and functional tools, and, finally, to demonstrate remote commanding. According to NASA’s analysis, after a four-year comparative research experiment in which the space agency fabricated tools and other objects both onboard the ISS and in simulated microgravity using 3D printers on Earth, all objects performed equally well. In fact, in the published study, the researchers noted no significant microgravity effects on material outcomes in the physics-based model of the FFF process.

The 3D printing mission successfully demonstrated the first step toward manufacturing in space. However, MIS kept advancing its vision of off-Earth manufacturing by launching another commercial printing facility. This time, the company’s Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) reached orbit in March 2016 and has already additively manufactured more than 100 individual parts for a variety of commercial and private customers, utilizing three different polymers: ABS plastic, green polyethylene bioplastic, and space-capable plastic PEI/PC.

A 3D printed multi-tool, designed by students in the Future Engineers program, floats in front of the Additive Manufacturing Facility on the International Space Station. Image courtesy of NASA

Leveraging 3D printing for space developments is the ultimate use for the technology. On Earth, AM competes with older, more established manufacturing platforms. In space, 3D printing can become the first, most reliable, and cost-effective production platform in an entirely new commercial dimension. 3D printing in space is an enabling technology that is crucial to human exploration beyond the low Earth orbit (LEO) environment. With some modification to the key systems, MIS was able to demonstrate that AM with extrusion-based machines functions similarly in microgravity as it does on the ground, allowing for a full proof of concept.

Nonetheless, based on MIS’s experience, using polymer feedstocks for in-orbit AM does not show substantial differences in the end product versus terrestrial production. While this is good to predict what can be produced in orbit, scientists consider that the lack of structural differences using polymer feedstocks may also limit the potential for material performance advantages for in-space AM.

Alternatively, this is not the case for metals. Metal AM in microgravity changes product microstructure and porosity. An expert panel discussing the advantages and limitations of in-space manufacturing during the 2020 virtual Additive Manufacturing in Space Workshop, organized by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) – manager of the ISS U.S. National Laboratory – determined that, in microgravity, the lack of convection-driven mixing in the melt pool impacts elemental mixing/homogeneity of composition during deposition, as well as cooling rates. Therefore, studies should consider metal-wire (such as for directed energy deposition) or polymer-filament systems, along with “mixed-media” products, such as fiber-reinforced plastics or metal-wire-reinforced ceramics.

“If we want to establish a sustainable presence off Earth, we need to come up with new materials or we need to adapt the old materials to be used and reduced in a microgravity environment, with special attention paid to the environment,” explained NASA Project Manager Jennifer Edmunson. “So, if we want something that survives on the lunar surface, it has to be prepared to deal with the thermoswings, radiation, micrometeor impact and electrostatically charged lunar surface. If the new materials can survive in the lunar environment, they most likely will be able to thrive pretty well on Earth.”

Experts believe that novel approaches to in-space production are necessary where terrestrial systems do not readily translate to microgravity conditions. Opening up new options for feedstocks, including soft materials like elastomers, foams, and rubbers; low-viscosity inks; new polymer options like longer cure time thermosets, filled polymer systems, continuous fiber reinforcement, and semi-crystalline polymers. Moreover, there is a need to study how in-situ materials will translate into suitable AM feedstocks, especially for in-situ resource utilization in other planetary bodies, where space crews can expect to find regolith-type materials that could have the potential to become 3D printing materials.

The US Lab aboard the International Space Station. Image courtesy of NASA

Although the ISS National Lab is an ideal environment to explore the possibilities of 3D printing in microgravity, there are still many unanswered questions. Up until now, collaborative and innovative approaches between space agencies and private companies have been enabling AM to thrive in space. As human habitation initiatives expand, primarily aiming at exploring more of the lunar surface than ever before, this unique orbiting laboratory will be essential to understand how humans can live sustainably in orbit for long periods of time.

The field of microfluidics continues to grow as it’s used in a variety of applications: tissue engineering, drug screening and delivery, sensors, bioprinting, and more. Microfluidics involves manipulating and controlling fluid flows at the micron scale; they are essentially a tiny plumbing system with an increasing overlap with 3D printing. The traditional way to make microfluidic devices is through a complex photolithography technique, which requires several steps and takes place in a cleanroom with a controlled environment. A silicone liquid is sent flowing over a patterned surface, then cured so the patterns will form channels in the solidified silicone.

But a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota, together with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, figured out a way to 3D print fluidic microscale channels that could be used to help automate the fabrication of sensors, diagnostics, and assays for medical testing… no cleanroom necessary.

“This new effort opens up numerous future possibilities for microfluidic devices. Being able to 3D print these devices without a cleanroom means that diagnostic tools could be printed by a doctor right in their office or printed remotely by soldiers in the field,” explained Michael McAlpine, a UMN mechanical engineering professor and leader of the UMN McAlpine Research Group.

McAlpine, who holds the Kuhrmeyer Family Chair Professorship in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is also the senior researcher for the team, which published a study about their work, “3D printed self-supporting elastomeric structures for multifunctional microfluidics,” in the peer-reviewed Science Advances journal. Other co-authors of the study are UMN mechanical engineering graduate student Ruitao Su; UMN electrical and computer engineering researchers and PhD candidates Jiaxuan Wen and Qun Su; US Army CCDC Soldier Center researcher Dr. Michael S. Wiederoder; UMN’s Louis John Schnell Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Steven Koester; and Dr. Joshua R. Uzarski, also with the Army’s CCDC Soldier Center.

“Microfluidic devices fabricated via soft lithography have demonstrated compelling applications such as lab-on-a-chip diagnostics, DNA microarrays, and cell-based assays. These technologies could be further developed by directly integrating microfluidics with electronic sensors and curvilinear substrates as well as improved automation for higher throughput. Current additive manufacturing methods, such as stereolithography and multi-jet printing, tend to contaminate substrates with uncured resins or supporting materials during printing,” the abstract states.

3D printed self-supporting microfluidic structures. (A) Top: Schematic of 3D printing a microfluidic channel. Bottom: 3D models of self-supporting structures including triangular & circular channels, hexagonal & conical domes. (B) Left: Bending moment analysis of self-supporting wall printed with straight profile. Right: (a) Composite cross-sectional images of silicone walls of varying incline angles and an overhang length of 700 μm. The boundary of each image is distinguished by the edge of the wall. (b) 37° was found to be the smallest incline angle that can be printed. (c) A silicone wall printed at an incline angle below 37° collapsed at the root. Scale bars, 200 μm. (C) Photos of 3D printed microfluidic channels and chambers with walls cut open to display cross-sectional profiles. Scale bars, 1 mm. (D) SEM images of triangular and circular channels with a width of ca. 100 μm. Scale bars, 100 μm. (E) Plot of burst pressure and wall thickness of the triangular channels with respect to printing speed (N = 3). Inset shows one specimen under test with a length of 5 mm and wall thickness of ca. 150 μm. (Photos courtesy of Ruitao Su, UMN)

What’s really exciting here, according to the researchers, is that this is the first time we’ve seen microfluidic structures 3D printed directly onto a curved surface. This is one important step closer to printing them right on a person’s skin in order to sense bodily fluids in real time.

“The self-supporting microfluidic structures enable the automatable fabrication of multifunctional devices, including multimaterial mixers, microfluidic-integrated sensors, automation components, and 3D microfluidics,” the researchers wrote.

The team used a custom 3D printer to print microfluidic channels—three times the size of a human hair—directly on a surface, in just one step, in an open lab, not in a cleanroom setting. They used a series of valves to control, pump, and re-direct fluid flow through the tiny channels. All devices used in the research act as a proof of concept for their hypothesis.

“Here, we introduce an automatable extrusion-based printing methodology that can directly align and print elastomeric microfluidic structures onto planar and curvilinear substrates with minimal involvement of postprocessing. By selecting inks of proper yield strength and controlling the profiles of printed overhung structures, self-supporting walls can be realized and further enclosed to form hollow structures such as channels and chambers. Since the microfluidic spanning distance is in the submillimeter regime, a sufficiently small bending moment results that the as-printed walls can withstand, rendering this method suitable for printing microfluidic structures. Printing toolpaths can then be designed to create leakage-free transitions between channels and chambers, T-shaped intersections, and overlapping channels,” the researchers wrote.

3D printed microfluidic valve, pump, and spherical microfluidic network. (A) Schematic displaying configuration of the 3D printed microfluidic valve. (B) Photos displaying open and closed states of the 3D printed microfluidic valve. The valve was closed with a pressure of 100 kPa. Scale bar, 3 mm. (C) Closing pressure test of 3D printed microfluidic valve under varying flow pressures. (D) Flow rate test of microfluidic pump, which was actuated with a standard peristaltic code: 001, 100, and 010, where 1 and 0 denote the open and closed state, respectively. Inset displays a 3D printed microfluidic pump with two liquid reservoirs. Scale bar, 5 mm. (E) 3D printed spherical converging and serpentine microfluidic channels with integrated valves. The images show three combinational operation states of valves 1 and 2. Scale bars, 10 mm. (F) Filament stacking schemes of spherical microfluidic channels. (a) to (c) demonstrate the designed and printed profiles of three channel cross sections. Spacer filaments were added to prevent the collapse of asymmetric channels distal to the sphere center. Scale bars. 1 mm. (Photos courtesy of Ruitao Su, UMN)

The microfluidics that the team 3D printed onto a curved surface were also integrated with electronic sensors for lab-on-a-chip capabilities.

McAlpine reiterated, “Being able to print on a curved surface also opens up many new possibilities and uses for the devices, including printing microfluidics directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids and functions.”

While 3D printing the microfluidic channels onto a curved surface certainly makes them unique, another important aspect of this research is the fact that they could be fabricated outside of a cleanroom setting. This means there is a future where the devices can be produced, with repeatable results, with robotic-based automation.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are the first to 3D print microfluidic channels on a curved surface, providing the initial step for someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time sensing of bodily fluids. Photo courtesy of McAlpine Group.

Parts of this research were completed in the Minnesota Nano Center, which is supported by the National Science Foundation through the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) Network. The work was funded by the US Army Research Office via the CCDC Soldier Center; the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; and the Minnesota Discovery, Research, and InnoVation Economy (MnDRIVE) Initiative.

(Source: University of Minnesota)

Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) has announced that it will be joining an additive manufacturing (AM) focused production site called Neighborhood 91, located at Pittsburgh’s International Airport Innovation Campus. Currently under construction, Neighborhood 91 is meant to encompass a complete 3D printing ecosystem alongside the local airport and, therefore, a hub that connects to the rest of the U.S. and globe. Wabtec is set to be the first manufacturing anchor tenant of the site as it advances the state of 3D printing for rail in the country.

Wabtec currently hosts AM capabilities in west Pennsylvania, including 3D printing labs in Erie and Grove City. By joining the Neighborhood 91 initiative, the company will further develop its 3D printing for the railway industry. The $3.8B company, which merged with GE Transportation in 2019, claims that the 3D printing of large-scale, lightweight rail parts could reduce lead times by 80 percent. This includes aluminum parts, such as brake components and heat sinks for freight trains.

The components that will be 3D printed range from adapters and IOT shield covers for brake controllers to customized dispenser tips and sensor holders. Image courtesy of Wabtec.

As an early beta customer of GE’s metal binder jetting technology and a customer of HP’s multi jet fusion process, Wabtec is demonstrating a savviness one might typically expect from a large industrial conglomerate. In fact, Wabtec has set a goal to use AM for the production of over 25,000 parts by 2025.

“Additive technology is a key focus area for us that provides new capabilities to drive innovation where traditional manufacturing could not,” said Wabtec’s Chief Technology Officer, Eric Gebhardt. “This agreement continues our investment in resources that enable our engineers to design new and complex products for the industries we serve. As the first development in the world to connect all elements of the additive manufacturing supply chain into a single location, Neighborhood 91 is the ideal location to fully realize the potential of this technology.”

The Neighborhood 91 concept is an interesting concept in itself. Within the entire area, all of the necessary capital resources for a complete 3D printing ecosystem are found. This includes sites for powder, parts, post-production, testing and analysis. In turn, the concept is meant to allow for greater efficiency in production, post-processing and shipment, with the airport located next door.

A central selling point to the Neighborhood 91 ecosystem involves the site’s first tenant, a company called Arencibia, which focuses on monitoring, analysis and recovery of noble gases, such as argon for 3D printing. Through recycling argon gas used in metal AM, the company believes it can help reduce the 60 percent of 3D printing costs associated with the use of argon or other noble gasses.

Neighborhood 91 is also meant to spur development at the 195-acre Pittsburgh Airport Innovation Campus, with the airport itself hoping to take on an increasingly cutting-edge image. Wabtec will be occupying over 11,000 square feet of space at Neighborhood 91, with plans for the site to open in Spring 2021. Parts will then be able to ship to any location in the world within 24 hours from the airport.

As 3DPrint.com Executive Editor Joris Peels recently pointed out, rail is a significant opportunity for the 3D printing industry. In Europe, the Mobility Goes Additive coalition has seen over 120 members work together to make AM suitable for the railway sector and vice versa. In the U.S., attention on rail has always been lacking, sometimes deliberately, in favor of automobile infrastructure.

Whereas Europe, Japan and China all boast significant tracks of high-speed rail (HSR), the U.S. contains a single corridor that barely meets the definition of HSR. Wabtec’s embrace of 3D printing could help make some headway in making the country hip to a more advanced railway industry, which will be key to replacing fossil fuel transportation in the country.

Polish 3D printing solutions provider Zortrax has been working with the European Space Agency (ESA) for the last year to figure out how to use 3D printing to fabricate high-performance composite parts out of two different PEEK (polyetheretherketone) filament blends, and the two have finally reached a milestone in the project.

At the recent FabAddComp scientific conference in France, the ESA revealed during the keynote that the industrial Zortrax Endureal printer, which features dual extruders, is able to print models using two space-grade PEEK polymers, and so can support 3D printing components with built-in electronics and electrical circuits.

Zortrax PEEK composite model with ESA conductive PEEK

The Zortrax Endureal is a third generation industrial LPD Plus 3D printer, with a 400 x 300 x 300 mm build space, and featuring over 30 built-in sensors that work in real-time to guarantee uninterrupted operation in high-tech manufacturing and product development projects. Often used to fabricate components out of high-performance polymers like Z-PEI 9085 and PEEK-based materials already, the Endureal’s dual extrusion technology is typically used to print a model and its support structures out of two different materials. But, the aerospace sector is seeing a higher demand for 3D printed composite parts featuring two high-performance polymers, which is what the ESA and Zortrax have just done.

Zortrax 3D printed composite PEEK model with black conductive paths

NASA has used Zortrax systems in the past to make tools, so the company’s printers are clearly able to handle aerospace applications already. But now, the ESA has developed an experimental, electrically conductive PEEK material blend, which Zortrax used, together with pure PEEK, to create 3D printed proof of concept composite models, featuring simple electricity, on its Zotrax Endureal.

“Reducing weight is always one of the key design goals in aerospace engineering and it can be done by building parts which serve multiple purposes at once,” explained Michał Siemaszko, Head of Research and Development at Zortrax S.A. “In a standard airplane or spacecraft, you need to include both structural elements and wiring responsible for transferring energy or data between various systems. That is what we aim to solve with 3D printing PEEK components with electrically conductive paths. This way, the structural parts can at the same time perform electricity or data transfer functions without weight penalty incurred for additional wires. Imagine casting a solid steel slab that also works as a USB connector. That’s what the Endureal can do with high- performance polymers.”

Zortrax composite PEEK model with blue LED

Together with the ESA, Zortrax has successfully 3D printed what it’s calling “the world’s first data transfer device” entirely out of PEEK polymers.

“A data transfer of 9600 bit/s has been achieved between two computers connected with USB cables and USB-RS232 converters through a 3D printed model,” the company stated on its website. “We have also fabricated models with built-in electrically conductive paths.”

Zortrax composite PEEK model data transfer demonstration

The Zortrax Endureal system is divided into three separate thermally isolated zones: the print chamber, the filament compartment, and the extruder compartment.  It was an impressive printer already, with automated annealing and advanced filament sensors, but for the ESA project, the company’s engineering team worked to make it even better. In addition to updating the software and firmware, the industrial printer can now achieve better dimensional accuracy thanks to increased rigidity of the extrusion system, and additional tweaks to the hardware have enabled the Endureal to reach even higher operating temperatures; for instance, the maximum extrusion temperature is now 480°C. Users can now precisely define the temperature in the print chamber, which can now reach 200°C, and the PEI film-covered aluminum built platform can get up to 220°C, which helps decrease material shrinkage and warping.

“The technology we are developing opens up a clear path to use the Zortrax Endureal for 3D printing smart components with built-in electrical circuits, all while retaining excellent thermal and mechanical properties of high-performance polymers like PEEK,” stated Zortrax CEO Rafał Tomasiak. “This will make this printer a powerful tool in the hands of engineers and designers working for high end and demanding application like automotive, aerospace and space. We also expect groundbreaking solutions developed in projects like this one to quickly trickle down to our production level 3D printers.”

Zortrax Endureal

As a bonus for other customers, Zortrax has implemented all of the changes and improvements in the design of the Endureal to all commercially available systems, in order to ensure dual extrusion 3D printing of composite models with pure and conductive PEEK. What this also means is that the technology could eventually make it into space one day, expanding the possibilities of what can be manufactured aboard the ISS or even on potential bases on the Moon.

(Source/Images: Zortrax)

The Prodways Group (PWG: PA) out of France has upgraded its compact ProMaker LD Series of 3D printers by introducing improved resolution and what it refers to as “centrifuge” post-processing for dental aligners. To underscore the new features, the company has sold two of the new machines to a key manufacturer of orthodontic aligners in Poland.

The resolution upgrades to the ProMaker LD Series machines sees them able to now 3D print with a native resolution of 42 microns, thus improving greater control over accuracy and geometry. To achieve this, Prodways developed new 3D algorithms that make it possible to obtain object surfaces that more closely match 3D model rendering. Along with improvements in hardware and treatment processes, the enhanced software and increased resolution are the outcome of two years of R&D efforts.

Additionally, the company has released a new centrifuge for the cleaning of clear dental aligners, which also improves the recycling rate of uncured resin. The new system is a part of Prodways’ ongoing efforts to tackle the orthodontic aligners market. This includes an automated aligner printing ecosystem that the company unveiled in February 2020.

“Prodways Group is constantly innovating to help its customers increase their productivity and improve their results,” said Olivier Strebelle, chief executive officer of Prodways Group. “Our 3D Super-Resolution technology combined with a major software update provides an improved surface finish while reducing manufacturing time. This technology is complemented by centrifugal post- processing, which is much more economical and environmentally friendly than isopropanol processing. This innovative duo breathes new life into this range to better serve the most demanding sectors, requiring accuracy and speed”.

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While Medgadget anticipates the global invisible aligners market as a whole to reach $8.2 billion by 2026, SmarTech Analysis believes that 3D printing will represent $317.3M of that larger market by 2028, as detailed in the Additive Manufacturing in Dentistry 2019: An Opportunity Analysis and Ten-year Forecast report.

In turn, we are seeing 3D printing and new software quickly advancing the production of dental aligners. Whereas previously, AM was used most often to 3D print patient-specific molds for the thermoforming of clear dental aligners, we are now seeing the beginnings of a shift toward 3D printing of the aligners themselves. Soon, new technologies, such as AI-driven modeling of dental aligners, automation solutions like those offered by Prodways, and new biocompatible materials will see a revolution in the way these personally-tailored dental devices are made.

Signalling the trend for Prodways was the sale of two ProMaker LD 20 3D printers to a Polish manufacturer of such dental products, Brightalign. The company had apparently already bought two other, older machines in the past.

Like most other companies in the 3D printing industry, 2020 has been a rough year financially for Prodways. However, the firm did see some recovery during the second quarter. Perhaps 3D printing aligners will be the boon that the company needs to push forward.

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service provided new service performance data today to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for the week of Oct. 3 through Oct. 9, 2020.

The Postal Service has seen a significant increase in mail volume, with volume surpassing 3 billion mailpieces for the week of Oct. 3. This surge in volume represents an increase of 19 percent, or an additional 480 million mailpieces, compared to the average volume in September. It also represents a 5 percent increase, or an additional 140 million mailpieces, compared to the same period last year.  Despite this ongoing surge in mail volume and continuing operational challenges related to COVID-19, the Postal Service has been able to effectively maintain service performance across all categories.

Key performance indicators for the week of Oct. 3 include:

• First-Class Mail: 86.15 percent of First-Class Mail was delivered on time, a 0.18 percent increase from the week of Sept. 26
• Marketing Mail: 89.17 percent of Marketing Mail was delivered on time, a 0.65 percent decrease from week of Sept. 26
• Periodicals: 78.54 percent of Periodicals were delivered on time, a 0.24 percent increase from the week of Sept. 26

For First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail, 98.00 percent and 97.67 percent of mailpieces respectively reached their intended destination within two days of the service standard.

As part of the ongoing support for the Postal Service for the November election, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy authorized and instructed the use of additional resources to satisfy any demand and to ensure that all Election Mail is prioritized and delivered securely and in a timely manner. Learn more about the additional resources allocated effective Oct. 1 here.

Service performance is defined by the Postal Service from acceptance of a mailpiece into our system through delivery, measured against published service standards. Mail volume is defined by the number of mailpieces entered into the U.S. Postal Service network.

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CRP USA, a specialist provider of additive manufacturing (AM) services and the high performance Windform family of composite materials, has received the AS9100 Rev D certification for the 3D printing of parts for the aerospace industry.

With the stringent requirements of the aerospace industry, the AS9100D certification is critical to quality management and assurance and shows that CRP USA is capable of producing the most demanding parts in the aerospace sector. Earlier this year in May, the company had collaborated with high-tech SME Alba Orbital to improve the access, manufacturability, and efficiency of PocketQube satellite deployers, the Albapod 2.0. These satellites measure as small as five cubic centimeters with a mass of just 250 grams. The effectiveness of the Windform materials was so evident that the Alba Oribtal team said, “The most innovative aspect of the project was the sheer number of components we switched over to Windform XT 2.0, not only was the shell redesigned in the material, but also the moving ejection mechanism and door assembly”.

Images courtesy of CRP USA

Founded in 2008, the company initially specialized in AM applications using Windform for on-car and wind tunnel components. Today, the companies AM solutions and composite materials, especially the TOP-Line family of flame-retardant, glass-fiber reinforced laser sintering materials, have found advanced application in space, aerospace, automotive, UAV, medical, motorsports and even high performance sports sectors.

Stewart Davis, who has more than two decades of experience in additive manufacturing and Director of Operations at CRP USA, commented: “We have taken our expertise in Additive Manufacturing solutions to new heights to produce parts for the most demanding sectors as Aerospace and Defense. Our team is working alongside key space industry leaders, supplying value-added high-performance 3D printed products to meet their needs. AS9100 Rev.D certification reflects our dedication to achieving the highest standard of customer satisfaction; moreover, it is a further demonstration of the effectiveness of additive manufacturing and use of Windform as structural materials for space and aerospace applications.”

In January this year, the company announced a new material for high speed sintering (HSS) called Windform P2, the second in the Windform P-line of materials. P2 features improved stiffness due to reinforcement, while preserving the tensile strength of the P1 material, for production grade 3D printing. Last year, the company had presented at AMUG 2019 the effectiveness of its materials in the development of CubeSats used to dispense TubeSatellites. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company made its materials available to biomedical companies and hospitals to support the small batch production of small parts for medical equipment in Italy.

Earlier in August, Additive Flight Solutions had also earned the AS9100D certification, and we had spoken about how the new certification had updated more than 98% in the previous standard. with a stronger focus on accountability, safety protocols, preventive risk management, and reducing counterfeiting. Several service bureau’s serving the aerospace industry have looked to earn the AS9100D certification, including Forecast3D, and BEAMIT in Europe, which was recently acquired by Sandvik.