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3D Printing News Briefs, May 17, 2023: Stress-Resistant Alloy, 3D Printed Trophies, & More https://ift.tt/DuqL1Ro In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re starting off with a little research, as materials scientists developed a 3D printing process that produces an extremely stress-resistant alloy. Moving on to business, Meltio has announced a new sales partner in South Korea, and KOKONI launched its SOTA 3D printer on Kickstarter. We’ll finish things off with competitions and awards, as the 7th edition of the construction sector’s biggest startup competition is now live and pro-beam won two Red Dot Design Awards. Finally, Replique and CALLUM partnered to produce 3D printed trophies for the World Car Awards. Researchers Develop Extremely Stress-Resistant 3D Printed Alloy
Materials scientists from NASA partnered with colleagues from The Ohio State University and HX5 LLC to develop a 3D printing process capable of fabricating an alloy that is 600 times more resistant to stress than existing alloys, which they call GRX-810. There’s more need than ever now for materials that can endure extreme conditions, and previous research shows that adding ceramic to metal alloys makes them more resistant. However, these lighter bits often float to the top when they’re added to molten metal, due to the differences in their characteristics. To get around this issue, this research team used an ink made up nickel, cobalt, and chrome particles, and programmed a laser powder bed fusion 3D printer to add a little yttrium oxide powder to each layer. A layer of metal alloy is printed, followed by a layer of powder particles, and a laser heats them up, forcing them into the alloy, resulting in a ceramic-infused metal alloy.
Meltio Announces Official Sales Partner in South KoreaLaser metal deposition technology manufacturer Meltio announced that 3D printer distributor HDC is now an official sales partner of its metal AM solutions in the South Korean market. HDC is a distributor for many notable 3D printing brands in South Korea, including EOS, and will play an important role in distributing and support Meltio’s solutions, which enable industrial applications with a process build around affordable and safe welding wire. To help boost Meltio’s growth in South Korea’s metal AM market, HDC will work to set up a supportive ecosystem for its technology in the territory, as well as driving business opportunities and partnerships.
KOKONI Launches SOTA Series 3D Printer on KickstarterFounded in 2021, 3D printer manufacturer KOKONI announced the launch of its SOTA series, which features a closed-loop, upside-down motor design for fast, stable 3D printing and less than 0.1 mm precision. The company’s brand tagline is “Bringing Your Creativity to Life,” and it’s spent years working on an assembly-free, leveling-free 3D printer that anyone, from beginners to professionals, can enjoy using every day. With a speed of more than 600mm/s and acceleration of 21m/s², the SOTA is said to print ten times faster than conventional consumer 3D printers, and its self-developed intelligent motor control reduces vibration, which also lowers the noise level. It can print seven colors and materials, including PETG and PLA, and the KOKONI App, with its intelligent visual AI algorithms, allows users to generate a 3D model from 2D photo in just seconds. KOKONI SOTA is now available on Kickstarter, and with over a month left in the campaign, has already raised over 12 times the original requested amount at last check. There are still plenty of rewards available, and shipments will start in mid-August.
Construction Startup Competition 2023 LiveThe 7th edition of the construction sector’s largest startup competition, the aptly named Construction Startup Competition 2023, is now live! Hosted by Cemex Ventures, Black & Veatch, Dysruptek by Haskell, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group’s Leonard, NOVA by Saint Gobain, Trimble, and Zacua Ventures, the open call for this year’s competition began at the end of April, and you can learn more about it in-person at this week’s Digital Construction Week in London. The application phase will close on July 2nd, and winners will be announced in early October. Then, Pitch Day will take place in Las Vegas from November 6-8, and the winners will present their solutions to executive representatives of the competition’s partners on the biggest stage for construction investors. The competition is looking for the best solutions related to:
pro-beam Wins Two Red Dot Design Awards for Product DesignElectron beam technology leader pro-beam announced that it won two Red Dot Design Awards this year, in the Product Design category. The contemporary redesign of its both PB WEBAM 100 and PB EBM 30S additive manufacturing systems was aligned specifically with operator needs, and the printers now have improved aesthetics and user-friendliness, a new modular concept, and clear form language. All of these features allow for handling and process safety, in addition to a safer, more positive working environment, and convinced the jury of the Red Dot Award design competition that they deserved to win. The PB WEBAM 100 is an electron beam system for wire-based metal AM, and the PB EBM 30S also uses electron beam technology to produce small, detailed metal parts in a powder bed. The latter received the competition’s highest award, “Red Dot: Best of the Best.”
Replique & CALLUM Designed & 3D Printed Trophies for World Car AwardsWinners of the recent World Car Awards (WCA) received something very special this year: 3D printed trophies, created by design and engineering company CALLUM and printed by Replique, which provides a secure digital platform for OEMs to provide parts on-demand to customers through a global, decentralized 3D printing network. WCA organizers tasked the two companies to design and manufacture a unique, visually impactful trophy, and once they were printed in PA12 material with SLS technology, the trophies underwent post-processing, including vapor smoothing to ensure a seamless surface so gold automotive-grade coating could be added. CALLUM’s Director of Design Ian Callum, former long-time design director for Jaguar Land Rover, said the concept behind the trophies features a reimagined WCA logo theme, with a globe encircled by a road in a style that depicts movement. It makes sense that 3D printing was chosen for these particular trophies, as the automotive industry is continuing to adopt the technology.
The 2023 WCA winners are: Hyundai IONIQ 6, for World Car of the Year; Lucid Air, for World Luxury Car; Kia EV6 GT, for World Performance Car; Citroën C3, for World Urban Car; Hyundai IONIQ 6, for both World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year; and SangYup Lee, EVP, Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center, Hyundai Motor Company, for World Car Person of the Year. The post 3D Printing News Briefs, May 17, 2023: Stress-Resistant Alloy, 3D Printed Trophies, & More appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rwA14pN May 17, 2023 at 08:16AM
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ISS Successor? Vast to Launch First Commercial Space Station in 2025 https://ift.tt/CTRUSE6 Launcher Space parent company Vast said it plans to launch the world’s first commercial space station named Haven-1. Scheduled to blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to low-Earth orbit (LEO) no earlier than August 2025, Haven-1 will initially function as an independent crewed space station before integrating with a larger Vast space station in development. Designed to accommodate up to four people, Haven-1 will serve as a fully-functional living space for space agencies, individuals, and companies interested in research or manufacturing in orbit. In addition, it offers opportunities for potential customers seeking space-based activities. Following Haven-1’s launch, the Falcon 9 rocket will carry Vast’s inaugural human spaceflight mission, Vast-1, to the commercial space station. Then, with a four-person crew, the Dragon spacecraft will dock with Haven-1 for up to 30 days while orbiting Earth. Thanks to the launch partnership with SpaceX, Vast will see both the Haven-1 space station and Vast-1 human spaceflight missions blast off aboard the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. The crew selection process for Vast-1 is currently underway. Once chosen, the astronauts will receive training from SpaceX on Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft operations, emergency preparedness, spacecraft ingress, egress procedures, and comprehensive mission simulations, including docking and undocking for Earth return. Notably, the crew will be wearing the distinctive white and black SpaceX suits. No science fiction beyond this pointCommenting on the recent announcement, Vast CEO Jed McCaleb expressed excitement about launching the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1, and its inaugural crew, Vast-1. McCaleb acknowledged SpaceX’s partnership and emphasized Vast’s long-term vision of launching larger artificial gravity space stations in Earth orbit and beyond. Vast’s goal of achieving artificial gravity in space has resonated strongly. Thanks to extensive research from space agencies and academia, we know weightlessness is bad for astronauts working on long-term flights. Capable of causing bones to lose about 1 percent of their mass every month, this weightlessness could result in a 30-year-old traveler to Mars returning with the bones of a 60-year-old person. Various concepts, such as rotating spacecraft or centripetal force, have been proposed to generate artificial gravity. The aim is to simulate Earth’s gravitational effects through centrifugal acceleration. According to NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center, the only known way to create artificial gravity is to supply a force on an astronaut that produces the same acceleration as on the surface of Earth, for example, by spinning the spacecraft fast enough to create enough centrifugal acceleration. McCaleb, who has invested his estimated fortune of $2.5 billion into Vast, holds a substantial stake in the company and has a roadmap for its future. The plan involves utilizing centrifugal force from a large spinning structure to provide a gravitational-like environment, mitigating the negative physiological effects of prolonged exposure to zero gravity. Vast’s long-term objective is to develop a 100-meter-long spinning artificial gravity space station launched using SpaceX’s Starship transportation system. To support this, Vast plans to conduct the world’s first spinning artificial gravity experiment on the commercial space station Haven-1. While other specific details on implementing artificial gravity have not been disclosed, the upcoming launch has generated excitement within the space technology industry. SpaceX Senior Vice President of Commercial Business, Tom Ochinero, sees a future where commercial rockets, spacecraft, and astronauts collaborate to operate commercial space stations in LEO. What about 3D printing?With the acquisition of Launcher last February, it’s easy to imagine that Vast intends to leverage the brand’s experience in space technology and additive manufacturing (AM). In addition, Launcher’s relationship with industry giants likeVelo3D andAMCM offers the potential to become a powerful asset to Vast’s high-stakes missions to develop its affordable, artificial-gravity space stations. The acquisition of Launcher has provided Vast with a skilled team to accelerate advanced manufacturing, development capabilities, and spacecraft technologies. Additionally, Vast plans to utilize Launcher’s Orbiter space tug and hosted payload platform to reach orbit this year to test and develop space station components and subsystems. Vast has expressed its commitment to continue supporting Launcher’s Orbiter space tug, hosted payload products, and the E-2 staged combustion rocket engine. Rather than developing its own launch vehicle, Vast will focus on liquid rocket engine products. The Orbiter will continue its support for existing and future payload customers. Max Haot, who recently transitioned from Launcher CEO to Vast president, said he is enthusiastic about the opportunity to join Vast and contribute to developing the world’s first commercial space station. While it is still early to determine whether Vast’s endeavor will replace the International Space Station (ISS), which is expected to remain operational until at least 2024, there have been ongoing discussions and proposals for the future of human spaceflight beyond the ISS. These include plans for potential successor stations and private space stations. Like Haven-1, these plans are in various stages of development and have the potential to thrive in orbit, incorporating resources from diverse sectors beyond government agencies. Vast is selling up to four crewed seats on the inaugural mission to Haven-1, targeting domestic and international space agencies, as well as private individuals engaged in scientific and philanthropic projects. To reserve a spot on Vast-1 and be part of the first crew to visit the world’s first commercial space station, click here. The post ISS Successor? Vast to Launch First Commercial Space Station in 2025 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rwA14pN May 17, 2023 at 08:16AM
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BASF Forward AM Partners with Arkema to Increase Sustainability https://ift.tt/sBQbNv7 As part of #ProjectZero, Forward AM is reaffirming its commitment of contributing to a world that provides a viable future with enhanced quality of life for everyone and we have anchored this goal as part of our corporate purpose to “…create chemistry for a sustainable future.” Through this collaboration with Arkema, BASF Forward AM is embracing new technologies to not only increase sustainability but to step up as an environmental leader within the 3D printing industry. The key components of #ProjectZero are:
Why take on this project?To be better stewards of the earth as well as conservational trailblazers, Forward AM is taking major steps towards the significant reduction of powder waste, which has been a challenging point within the industry in terms of sustainability. But equally as important, we are also working to reduce emissions, water consumption, and energy consumption when it comes to material production. Our commitment to sustainability also extends to the launch of Ultrasint® AP26 with a 100% recycle rate and highly recyclable Ultrasint® PP1400 Black, both innovative materials resulting in significantly reduced waste. We continue to focus our efforts on the production of recycled spools and optimized packaging, the creation and implementation of a Net Zero booth for fairs, and maintaining our pledge to completing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies and offering partners the ability to reduce their carbon footprint by offsetting emissions. Through #ProjectZero, we are making a long-term commitment to reducing our impact on the planet by developing sustainable products, solutions, and production methods, while also studying the impact of the 3D printing industry and evolving the way we work through the education and encouragement of our team to make responsible choices. Teaming up with ArkemaArkema, a global organization headquartered in Colombes, France, is bringing innovative recycling options to both sides of the Additive Manufacturing supply chain – those who want to recycle their polymers, and those who wish to purchase partially recycled grades. Their Virtucycle® program is designed to help customers increase sustainability by focusing on polyamide 11 parts and powder. As many powder materials are in fact recyclable, the large-scale collection of these by-products and unused parts is the challenging issue that both Forward AM and Arkema are addressing. “At Sculpteo we had a significant amount of waste powder that we were paying to dispose of either via landfill or incineration. But now we can be both more sustainable and environmentally responsible by recycling this material and giving it a second life. It helps make us a better service provider and provides a way for our customers to achieve their sustainability goals as well,” says Nicolas Mathian, Head of Marketing at Sculpteo. Arkema’s recent acquisition of Agiplast, a high-performance polymer recycler/regenerator with a long history of high-performance polymer re-engineering, re-compounding, and re-certification, adds a new level of service to customers and companies looking to be better stewards of the environment. In addition to being the specialty recycler, Arkema plays the role of matchmaker among its customers looking for high performance recycled materials while playing a key role in eco-designing the finished product produced from the recycled material. A partnership to benefit the planetThe Virtucycle® program from Arkema is helping Forward AM to change the landscape of the 3D printing industry by recycling used polyamides powders and printed parts, significantly reducing the need for costly and environmentally unfriendly landfilling or burning. The time is now to enable a durable society instead of a disposable society – to embrace longer service life, continuous use, and recover/recycling. This innovative and sustainable solution for 3D used printed parts and powders is now being offered by Forward AM to interested customers to provide eco-design expertise, recyclability and recycling guarantees as well as recycled high-performance polymers to Arkema’s polymer customers and downstream users. “As we look to the future of Additive Manufacturing, sustainability is and will continue to be an integral part of how we approach our business. We strive to be a steadfast partner to every one of our customers across a variety of industries and AM applications. We do this by not only providing our 3D printing expertise but also in working as a sustainable collaborator throughout the entire AM process. Along with partners like Arkema, Forward AM is driving innovation towards a future where 100% recyclability can be the norm. A goal that will take all of us working hand in hand, as the only way forward is together.” — Martin Back, Managing Director at BASF Forward AM The post BASF Forward AM Partners with Arkema to Increase Sustainability appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/rwA14pN May 17, 2023 at 08:16AM
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Automating your email marketing: autoresponders vs. automation https://ift.tt/ranZ9tl Do you want to automate your email marketing campaigns but aren’t sure which GetResponse tool you should use – Autoresponders or Marketing Automation? Then keep reading, and it’ll all be clear in just a few moments! Table Of Contents Autoresponders vs. marketing automation: quick summaryIn a hurry? Here’s a quick table that highlights the key differences between the two solutions and what they’re best used for.
Editor’s note
To bring you this article, I’ve worked together with Jan Marcinkowski, our Customer Success Team’s Manager. Below you’ll find his tips and advice, as well as the story of how he migrated our employee onboarding course from Autoresponders to Automation. AutorespondersUsing Autoresponders, you can efficiently set up email drip campaigns, follow-ups, and simple lead nurturing sequences. This feature is available in all paid plans, starting from the Email Marketing plan. ? Learn how Sharvette Mitchell, the CEO of Mitchell Productions, uses Autoresponders to automate marketing communication and grow her marketing agency. How it worksLet’s say you’re a consultant and want to create an email course on how to grow an email list in under three months. You’ve decided that the course will consist of one welcome email and 12 individual emails, each containing one lesson. You can set up your email course using autoresponders so that your lessons will be sent one after another in specific time intervals. For example:
Thanks to this setup, whenever someone joins your email course, they’ll receive the same sequence of emails. And it won’t matter if they join you this week or the next month. They’ll receive the same messages according to the schedule you’ve created. Below, you can see what this schedule would look like for the first 30 days. Note that if we want to send the welcome email immediately, we must set it for day 0. Important: If you want your contacts to enter your autoresponder sequence, you need to ensure you have assigned them an autoresponder day. Ideally, you’d do this upon adding them to your list. Pro tip: When setting up your autoresponder messages, you can further adjust the timing of your emails. For example, you can decide that your messages won’t be sent on weekends or that they’ll be sent at a specific time of the day. Pros and cons:
When it’s best to use AutorespondersAutoresponders are perfect if you want to set up simple, linear email sequences, like:
If you’re a consultant, coach, affiliate marketer, or general marketer and only need to send your messages at specific intervals, autoresponders will be the perfect choice. Marketing automationWith Marketing Automation, you can do everything you can do with Autoresponders – and more! Whether you want to send lead nurturing sequences, re-engagement campaigns, or ecommerce-specific post-purchase follow-ups, you can accomplish that using automation. This feature is available in the Marketing Automation, Ecommerce Marketing, and MAX plans. ? Learn how Ken Furukawa, an online coach and affiliate marketer, increased his revenue by more than 100% by using automation flows as his main messaging and contact management tool. How it worksUnlike in Autoresponders, in Marketing Automation, you don’t just put your messages into a sequence and set the time intervals between them. You build so-called automation workflows where using three kinds of blocks (conditions, actions, filters), you can:
Let’s say you’re a business coach offering first-time managers a leadership program. The program consists of several emails, each leading to a different video lesson that talks about a specific topic. Using Marketing Automation, you can create a workflow that’ll:
Here’s what this automation workflow would look like for the first two lessons: What’s very useful is that you can connect different workflows together. So, for example, in the scenario above, we’ve been adding scoring points based on the recipient’s engagement. If someone reached a specific score, say 50 points, that could trigger another workflow targeting only these specific people. Here’s what this second workflow would look like: As you can see, thanks to Marketing Automation, you can target your audience with laser precision and make every message count. Pro tip: There are many ways you can use Automation to automate your communication. If you’re just starting, I recommend you check out our prebuilt workflow templates and read our documentation. Pros and cons
Pro tip: If you’d like to try Marketing Automation without making any commitments, you can do so in the first 30 days of creating your account. And if you’re already a paying user, currently on the Email Marketing plan, you can try out the prebuilt email templates or sign up for the 30-day higher plan trial. When it’s best to use Marketing AutomationMarketing Automation is perfect if you want to build more advanced communication scenarios, like:
You’ll want to use Marketing Automation if you’re a coach, consultant, agency owner, general marketer, or ecommerce marketer and want to communicate with your audience with sniper-like precision. ? Find out how Sabaton’s digital marketing team turns email subscribers across the globe into a legion of loyal fans. Autoresponders vs. Automation: which one you should useAutoresponders and automation can work together very well and can serve different purposes. It all depends on your needs and the possibilities of both features. It’s not like one feature is clearly better than the other. It all boils down to HOW you plan to communicate with your audience. How to decide what you should use? To aid your decision, start by outlining frequency, circumstances, and recipients. How often do you want to send messages? In what cases do you want to send it? Who should receive your emails? Once you’ve got that, you can contact my wonderful Customer Success Team on LiveChat, and we’ll help you choose the right tool! But as much as we’d love to talk to you, the point of this article isn’t just to send you to the chat. Let me share my advice with you here and now in super simple terms: If you’re looking for simplicity in your communication, go with Autoresponders. They’ll be great for classic communication flow where you, for example, send one message a day or a week to one mailing list. If you want an advanced communication plan based on different variables, choose Automation. You’ll save time on things you would normally need to do manually and have the flexibility that autoresponders simply don’t offer, such as reaching out to people on multiple lists. For some scenarios, autoresponders are more than enough, but other, more specific plans might even require you to use automation if you want to make them happen smoothly. Dogfooding: How we migrated our employee onboarding course from autoresponders to automationAt first, we were using Autoresponders in my team to distribute training content to new teammates. Every day, you would get a different email with a different lesson to ensure you have all the same information. That was fine for some time, but we needed a bit more as our team, training program, and training needs grew. And that’s when Automation came in. I wrote a blog post on creating an onboarding course in Automation that won us an international award. Check it out here if you’re curious – How to Set up a New Employee Onboarding Process Using GetResponse. Why did we move our Autoresponders to Automation? We wanted to use the possibilities of Automation to provide a more diverse and polished training experience to our new teammates. In that story, they were our customers, and we wanted to make sure they got the best experience possible while automating our part of the job. What do you say we move to a more practical part? I’ll show you some basics on how to build workflows and how to migrate your autoresponders to Automation, and I’ll share some of the lessons I learned the hard way so that you don’t have to. Let’s start with the basics of automation workflow building. You always start with conditions. They’re like a door to your house. And your house can have many different doors! That’s why it’s the first question we ask you when you open a workflow – based on what action would you like to start your automation process? In our house metaphor, what should people do so that you let them into your house? So, lesson #1: you always start with condition elements, not filters or actions. A classic workflow example useful to anyone is a welcome message sent to someone subscribing to your list. In our metaphor, a friend comes over to your house – that’s the subscription process. But which list, which house is it? I can decide that in the Properties tab. What’s the first thing you do when you have a guest over? Why, you welcome them, of course. In GetResponse terms, that would be like sending them a message, so adding a send message action in your workflow. Now, you could do that with an autoresponder and, let’s say, a signup form. That requires some manual work, but with Automation, you can do everything in one place – that’s what I definitely prefer. I mentioned migration from autoresponder – how we did it is super simple. Even if you created some autoresponder messages but prefer to have everything in Automation as we do, select properties of send message action. You can select your existing autoresponder from a dropdown or create a message from scratch. You can do it based on your existing messages or templates you already have. Lesson #2 – use your previous designs and stay consistent. Remember that less content is sometimes more – keep your email short and use buttons to invite people to your website where you can explain more! Now, lesson #3, and that one’s super important – to avoid sending the same message twice – both via Autoresponders and Automation, make sure to disable that autoresponder once you no longer need it. Using the autoresponder for your automation doesn’t remove the autoresponder – it’s just using its content to create a new message. The old one stays, though. It’s a perfect moment to mention one of the biggest advantages of using Automation compared to autoresponders. In your communication flow, you might want to send different content to people based on some external conditions, like the age of your recipients, selected interest, or even the email domain they’re using! You can collect such data when people sign up on your list in the form of custom fields, and it’s pretty easy to make use of it in your workflow. Let’s give a warm welcome to dynamic segments! First, create your segment and give it a meaningful name you’ll understand. Then, add a dynamic segment to your workflow, and voila! The workflow will have a modified logic. People who join the workflow and meet its criteria will move through a different path than people who don’t meet the segment’s criteria. In our case, we used such a segment to ensure that only people with a certain email address ending can use our training program. It’s a nice way to ensure your content is reserved only for people within your company. That was lesson #4 – use your knowledge about your contacts thanks to dynamic segments. And if you don’t have such data, have a moment to think about what you would like to know about your contacts and include such fields in your subscription process or post-subscription forms. One of the mistakes I often see when troubleshooting customer workflows is misusing conditions for tagging or custom fields change. Let’s have lesson #5, shall we, and that one is about how to use the right Automation element. For example, somewhere in the middle of your workflow, you’d like to check if your contacts have a particular tag assigned. It’s a common mistake to use the “tagging” condition in such a situation. Why? There can be many reasons, but in my opinion, the most common is that we think that in terms of tags and custom fields, we think of such conditions as “If I have a tag/custom field”, while in reality, these conditions work like “if I get a tag/custom field” or to be more precise “WHEN I get a tag/custom field.” So, instead of using such conditions, use a dynamic segment instead if you want to check if your contacts already have a tag or custom field. Unless you want to actually have them wait until they finally get a given tag or custom field – in that case, use a condition. Speaking of tags, we really like using them in my team. Especially when you’re designing a training program, you might want to know what stage of the training process your contacts are going through. Assign and remove tags for that purpose. Remember that when a person gets a tag, you can start a completely independent workflow with a completely different communication process. Use that to your advantage and personalize the experience for your contacts! What worked for us in that scenario? First, we send a message to a new contact. To mark the stage they’re in, we assign them a tag. Each of our training messages has one special button. That button should be clicked when someone is ready for the next lesson from our course. Once clicked, we remove the tag for that stage, send another message, and assign a new tag – to represent the passage to the next stage in the learning course. Here’s lesson #6 – you can reproduce such a scenario if you use a Link clicked condition and set it to wait indefinitely for someone to click a button. You can do that in condition’s properties. It’s a great way to increase your contact’s engagement in messages. Remember always to check all possible properties of your automation elements to get the most out of them. And if you need further help, we always place links to our Help Center to help you understand how they work. So that’s the onboarding in my team if you put the whole thing on repeat. We end it with a tagging action that initiates a different workflow with a different training program. But it’s not the only type of workflow we use. We set up a newsletter program that starts independently from different trainings, and it informs our employees about different procedures in the workplace. You can think of it as, I don’t know, short, useful email tips on how to use your product. Or incentives to use your service. Here’s lesson #7 – use wait actions to time your communication just right. For example, we use wait actions to wait with our communication either to a specific day in a month, or it can be the last day of the month or the first day of the next month. We couldn’t achieve it with Autoresponders, but we can with Automation. What’s nice to mention here is the fact that you can adjust the days of the week during which the waiting time will be applied. In our case, to separate the sending process of our messages, we used Wait actions that work only between Monday and Friday, and thanks to that, our communication isn’t sent during the weekends. What’s even better? In Automation, when sending messages, you can send them only during specific hours. It’s a nice combination of using the Wait actions I described. We can go on and on, but at some point, your contacts will reach the end of your planned workflow. What happens then? Well, they end their journey. Even if you add new elements to the end of the workflow, they won’t work for contacts who already finished their journey. But I want to share with you lesson #8 – with Wait action, you can “freeze” contacts in your workflow. Add Wait action at the end of your workflow and set the action to, say, 999 days. Contacts who reach that element will wait for that number of days. If, in the meantime, you decide to expand your workflow, add some more elements to the end, save the workflow, enter it again, and decrease that waiting time from 999 days to, say 1 hour. If someone has already waited an hour, they’ll simply move to the next available workflow element. If you discovered that your contacts might have prematurely finished your workflow or didn’t know about that trick I just talked about, don’t worry. There’s a way. Time for lesson #9 – how to get contacts back into your workflow. Create a new tag for that purpose. Open your workflow and add a tagging condition. Link its green path to the part of the workflow you want people to rejoin. Make sure to check if the linked elements have the “run multiple times” toggle enabled. Save your workflow and tag the contacts you want to reintroduce to your workflow, and voila. We’re running out of time, so I’ll leave you with a final lesson #10 – test your workflow before going live with your customers. It’s always useful to get the perspective of your potential readers if you go through the same experience. You might make mistakes – and it’s okay! Make them in a safe environment of your own test email addresses, or invite friends or colleagues to test your process. How? You just need to make sure you are on your contact list and that you meet one of the initial conditions of your workflow. I’m sure you’ll find out during such tests that you can improve your workflows and ensure all links are working and the workflow works as per your plans. And you know what’s great? Even if it doesn’t work and you need help figuring out why, let us know on chat. We’ll do our best to help you on the spot, and if need be, we’ll brainstorm within the team and provide a solution then. Automate email marketing your way!By now, you should be all familiar with both Autoresponders and Marketing Automation, and know when it’s best to use each tool. If you’d like to learn more about them, I recommend that you create a GetResponse account and try them out yourself. Even if you choose to stay on the free plan, you’ll have 30 days to make the most out of all our premium features. If you ever have any questions or would like to explore other ways to use GetResponse tools, feel free to reach out to our award-winning Customer Success Team, or visit our Help Center, Resources, and Webinars Library. Happy automating! Printing via GetResponse Blog https://ift.tt/kdseuwG May 17, 2023 at 07:06AM
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11 best SaaS partner programs for digital agencies https://ift.tt/JV5KvQp As a digital agency owner, finding the right SaaS partner program can be a game-changer. Partnering with a top-notch provider not only expands your service offerings but also creates new opportunities to grow your business. However, with so many options out there, finding the right fit can get really overwhelming really fast. Fear not, we’ve got you covered! We’ve researched and compiled a list of the top 11 reseller programs offered by the best SaaS companies on the market, complete with a breakdown of their features and benefits. Table Of Contents So, let’s dive in and discover the best SaaS reseller programs for your marketing agency! 11 best SaaS partner programs1. GetResponse MAX partner programGetResponse MAX is a custom-priced email marketing automation software that takes care of your campaigns, builds workflows, optimizes with AI, and so much more! Our GetResponse MAX Partner Program provides an excellent opportunity for digital agencies to expand their reach and maximize their effectiveness. Revenue sharing model:GetResponse MAX partners can earn up to a 50% commission on customers’ lifetime value on a reseller plan. Why choose GetResponse MAX Partner Program:
Possible limitations:GetResponse MAX is a comprehensive custom solution designed for mid-sized and large enterprises. If most of your clients come from smaller organizations, you might want to opt-in for a less profound referral program, such as GetResponse Affiliate Program. 2. HubSpot Solutions partner program for agenciesHubSpot is an all-in-one inbound marketing and sales software that empowers marketers to attract, engage, and delight customers. The HubSpot’s Solutions Partner Program is a game-changer for digital marketing agencies, providing you with a comprehensive suite of tools and resources to drive exceptional growth for your clients. By joining the dedicated HubSpot’s Partner Program for marketing agencies – Solutions, you can leverage the platform’s powerful solutions to optimize lead generation, nurture customer relationships, and achieve remarkable marketing success. Revenue share:If you choose HubSpot’s program for your SaaS partnership, you’ll be earning on a percentage-based model, adding up to 20% of net revenue per each end user you refer. Why choose HubSpot Solutions Partner Program:
Possible limitations:As is often the case with HubSpot digital products, this SaaS partner program doesn’t come in cheap. Certified partners need to be ready to pay $400/month and a one-time onboarding fee that starts at $3000 to participate. 3. Adobe Solution Partner ProgramAs a leading provider of creative and marketing solutions, Adobe empowers marketers to create impactful campaigns and drive measurable results. The Adobe Solution Partner Program provides digital marketing agencies with a unique opportunity to collaborate with Adobe and deliver exceptional digital experiences to their existing customers. By joining the Adobe Solution Partner Program, you can leverage Adobe’s cutting-edge tools and expertise to transform your clients’ digital presence, enhance customer engagement, and achieve remarkable marketing success. Revenue sharing model:Not disclosed Why choose Adobe Solution Partner Program:
Possible limitations:Adobe Solutions SaaS partnership comes with numerous strings attached and multiple annual requirements a potential partner needs to meet depending on the specific tier. Some of the requirements include upholding positive customer satisfaction ratings, paying the Solution partner program fee (goes as high as $25.000 for the Platinum level), or maintaining a certain minimum number of successful Adobe Experience Cloud customer deployments. 4. Smith Agency Reseller programSmith.ai’s chatbot solution enables businesses to automate their customer service and support operations, enhancing their efficiency and customer satisfaction – conversational marketing at its best! The Smith.ai Reseller Program offers digital marketing agencies a unique opportunity to provide AI-powered chatbot services to their clients. With this SaaS partnership, you can expand your offer and help your clients optimize their support services and customer interactions with intelligent chatbot solutions. Revenue sharing model:Smith.ai Reseller Program runs on a tiered commission structure based on the number of new paying clients and the duration of the partnership. Resellers can earn a fixed amount ranging from $60 to $90, along with an 8% commission, for each new paying client who subscribes to a live-staffed receptionist or chat plan in the first year. Resellers can then continue earning commissions at a rate of 4% for subsequent years, ensuring ongoing revenue from their client base. Why choose Smith.AI Reseller Program:
Possible limitations:Smith.ai can be an invaluable technology partner for agencies whos clients depend on its main product – AI-powered chatbots. These can be crucial for your customer success, but if your clients are after a broader range of digital marketing services from their SaaS partnerships, it may not be the best choice. 5. Zendesk reseller and referral partner programsZendesk is a powerful CRM and support software that helps marketers deliver exceptional customer experiences. The Zendesk Partner Program offers its digital marketing agency partners the opportunity to provide their clients with industry-leading customer service solutions. With it, you can benefit from enhancing your overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. Revenue sharing model:Both programs offer percentage-based revenue shares based on the partners’ tier and plans advertised to the agency clients. Why choose Zendesk Partner Programs:
Possible limitations:The disparity between different agency partners’ tiers is quite broad and the exact revenue share you can expect from the partnership is not specified. You need to pass certification in order to be able fully leverage the partner ecosystem offered by Zendesk. 6. Semrush Agency Partners programSemrush is a comprehensive digital marketing software company that equips marketers with advanced SEO, content marketing, and advertising tools. The Semrush Partner Program is invaluable for digital marketing agencies as it allows them to leverage Semrush’s cutting-edge solutions to optimize their clients’ digital strategies, drive organic traffic, and achieve outstanding results. You will oftentimes see Semrush on the list for the best SaaS partner programs and for a good reason, too! Revenue sharing model:Not disclosed, but likely percentage-based. Why choose Semrush Agency Partner Program:
Possible limitations:Semrush offers a variety of programs and different tiers, ranging from affiliate partner programs for small businesses, technical partners interested in integration partnerships specifically, or regional resellers programs. Since Agency Partner Program is the most advanced model, it is also the most costly to maintain. So, mainly companies with larger budgets tend to opt-in for this one. 7. Klaviyo partner agency platformKlaviyo is a leading email marketing and automation platform that empowers marketers to create personalized and targeted campaigns. The Klaviyo Partner Program is specifically designed for digital marketing agencies, enabling them to offer their clients state-of-the-art email marketing solutions, drive engagement, and achieve higher conversion rates. Revenue sharing model:As Klaviyo’s referral partner, you can earn up to 20% revenue share per account. Since Klaviyo’s software pricing is quite steep, it adds up to impressive profits quickly. Why choose Klaviyo Partner Program:
Possible limitations:While a highly successful SaaS partner program, Klaviyo doesn’t differentiate between affiliate and referral partners, integration partners, or agencies. As a result, the offer may be a little too universal for some and difficult to customize for the needs of your clients. 8. Vena Solutions Implementation Partners programIf you’re after the best SaaS partner programs, you can’t miss on Vena Solutions. Vena Solutions is a leading provider of cloud-based FP&A software that empowers businesses to streamline their financial processes, improve decision-making, and drive growth. Their partner program provides digital marketing agencies with a unique opportunity to collaborate with the tech company and enhance your clients’ ambition with industry-leading financial planning and analysis solutions. Revenue sharing model:As oftentimes the case with enterprise-level SaaS partner programs, the potential revenue share is not disclosed prior to subscription. Why choose Vena Solutions Implementation Partners Program:
Possible limitations:The niche specialization of Vena Solutions is quite rare which is why it won’t work for all agencies. It also doesn’t feature extensive marketing automation options. However, if you’re looking for dedicated tech partners to boost your clients’ representation – this might be a good fit. 9. Hotjar partner programHotjar is a leading all-in-one analytics and feedback platform that helps businesses understand and optimize their users’ experiences on their websites and mobile apps. The Hotjar Partner Program offers its SaaS partners an exciting opportunity to collaborate with their platform and gain access to powerful analytics solutions. By joining the Hotjar Partner Program, you can enhance your service offerings and help your clients gain valuable insights into user behavior, drive conversion rate optimization, and deliver exceptional user experiences. Revenue sharing model:As with most strategic partnerships. the Hotjar Partner Program is based on a percentage of revenue share. As a partner, you have the opportunity to earn up to 25% as long as your referral maintains a paid plan with the solution. Why choose Hotjar Partner Program:
Possible limitations:Hotjar offers one of the simplest and the most transparent SaaS partner programs on the market, which is why it will likely apply to large enterprises and solo affiliates alike. However, you can expect large payouts only once your clients subscribe to a multiple years plan, which is oftentimes not the commitment a company cooperating with an agency is ready to take on. 10. Salesforce partner programSalesforce is a renowned leader in CRM software and a reliable SaaS partner, empowering businesses to build meaningful customer relationships and drive growth. The Salesforce Consulting Partner Program comes with a prestigious opportunity to provide your clients with top-tier consulting and implementation services for the Salesforce platform. As a Salesforce Consulting Partner, you can help your clients leverage the full potential of Salesforce for streamlined operations, enhanced customer engagement, and increased business success. Revenue sharing model:The revenue sharing model for the Salesforce Partner Program is based on a percentage of net revenue. As an ISV partner, you will share 25% of your net revenue with Salesforce. This means that once you start generating revenue and report it, Salesforce will participate in revenue sharing, fostering a mutually beneficial partnership between the ISV partner and Salesforce. Why choose Salesforce Partner Program:
Possible limitations:Signing up for the Salesforce partner program is a little more challenging as it is with other popular SaaS companies open to partnerships. Partially, it is complicated because of the platform’s AppExchange pricing and monetization approach that requires all partners to purchase additional licenses. 11. ShoppingGives partner programShoppingGives is a revolutionary platform that enables businesses to effortlessly donate a portion of their sales to charitable causes. It is particularly popular with agencies the majority of whose clients come from ecommerce. The ShoppingGives Partner Program allows marketers to make a positive social impact through their clients’ online shopping experiences. It’s an exciting opportunity to align your clients’ brand with social responsibility, enhance customer loyalty, and drive meaningful change in the world while also earning some commission in the process. Revenue sharing model:As a ShoppingGives partner, you can earn 10-15% of the revenue share. Simple as that. Why choose ShoppingGives Partner Program:
Possible limitations:As both the solution and its partner portal are dedicated to ecommerce vendors, your agency may not be able to benefit from it fully unless you also focus on this specific niche. How to choose the best SaaS partner program for an agency?Step 1: Verify your business needs and goalsBefore choosing a SaaS partner program, it’s essential to assess your business’s needs and goals. Determine which services you’re interested in offering and how they align with your overall business strategy. Consider which types of clients you serve and which products or services they might be interested in. By analyzing your business needs and goals, you can identify which SaaS partner programs are most suitable and align best with your objectives. Step 2: Assess the Profit-Sharing ModelEvaluate the profit-sharing model offered by the SaaS partner program. Consider the commission structure and how it aligns with your business objectives. Look for partner programs that offer competitive commission rates, and ensure that the commission is based on customer lifetime value. This means you’ll earn a percentage of the revenue generated by the customer for as long as they continue to use the service. By assessing the profit-sharing model, you can determine which SaaS partner programs offer the best potential for revenue growth. Step 3: Consider Value and TrustPartner with a SaaS provider that values your contributions and offers reliable service. Look for providers with a proven track record of success and positive customer reviews. Choose partner programs that offer value-added services, such as marketing content and ongoing support, to help you and your clients maximize the value of the service. By partnering with a trusted provider, you can ensure that you offer the best possible service to your clients and enhance your reputation in the industry. Step 4: Look for Co-Marketing OpportunitiesPartner programs that offer co-marketing opportunities can help you save time and resources while expanding your reach. Look for programs that offer marketing support, such as email templates, banners, and landing pages, to help you generate more leads and grow your business. Additionally, seek programs that encourage joint webinars, reports, and eBooks to help you create valuable content and attract more clients. Step 5: Ensure Transparent Communication and Technical SupportTransparent communication and dedicated technical support are essential when partnering with a SaaS provider. Ensure that the partner program offers dedicated support for product onboarding and any technical knowledge required. This will ensure a seamless integration of the new service into your business operations and minimize potential roadblocks. Also, look for programs with responsive support teams that can address your questions and concerns promptly, ensuring a smooth partnership experience. Step 6: Access to Training and Certification ProgramsSelect a SaaS provider that supports your business with ongoing training and certification programs. This will enable your team to stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends, best practices, and product developments, ensuring optimal service for your clients. Certification courses can also help your business gain credibility in the eyes of potential clients, demonstrating your expertise and commitment to providing the best possible service. ConclusionBy following the 6 steps outlined above, you can make an informed decision about which SaaS partner program is the best fit for your business. After all, there are lots of SaaS partner programs offered by renowned online businesses out there and nothing is stopping you from joining more than one. For example, you can provide your ecommerce customers with a holistic experience by leveraging GetResponse MAX’s marketing automation suite, Hotjar’s advanced analytics solution, and ShoppingGives’ social iniative. Sky is the limit! You simply need to be mindful when selecting which solutions to partner up with, as it is your reputation as an agency that will be at stake. Printing via GetResponse Blog https://ift.tt/kdseuwG May 17, 2023 at 07:06AM
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Bryce Praught https://ift.tt/uFQ2pNT Bryce Praught first picked up his love for printmaking whilst studying Graphic Design at James Madison University. He tells us; “Screen printing was my favourite because of how fast you could create copies. It also just felt very “designy” for lack of a better word. There’s just something about it I love.” He continues; “That’s really what screen printing is for me; love. I love making something. There’s a part of my identity wrapped up in what I make and when I don’t get to create something cool or fun, whether its at my actual job or outside of work, I feel like I’m missing something.” Printing in his spare time, it is now Bryce’s primary creative outlet. He heads to the studio early in the morning and prints when nobody is around; “it’s nice and quiet then and there’s all the free space I need”. Bryce’s creative process usually starts with some sort of theme, be it nature, abstract shapes, or even typography. Some of his prints start off as sketches that he then scans into PhotoShop, converts to grayscale, and then throws into illustrator so he can use clipping masks to divvy up the sketch as needed or to colourise. Other prints have started out from ideas he picks up just from daily life; “One idea springs another and I just follow the trail”. Bryce states; “It’s kind of just, all about having fun and following where things take me, trust the process. I like where organic shapes and messiness aligns with design and organization. It usually works out but I’ve come to know when I’m not feeling it and just need to step away. I try not to force it anymore, the process. That often leads to frustration.” Creative recharges are important for him too, and when he feels drained of ideas he steps away for a few weeks at a time to let the inspiration return. Once he has his final artwork put together in Illustrator Bryce then separates out the colour layers, and from there he prints out transparencies and burns them to print. His materials of choice include 150 & 230 mesh usually on 11×15 or 15×22 Stonehenge paper. “I use those sizes because they are 1/4 and 1/2 of the sheets of paper (22×30),” says the printmaker. For inks, Bryce loves the green galaxy series from Ryonet. Looking to the future, Bryce hopes to continue pushing his work and making great stuff that people love; “If it excites me that’s a good feeling”. www.brycepraught.com Printing via People of Print https://ift.tt/WBuXpEI May 17, 2023 at 05:34AM
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Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Says US Needs to Strengthen Defense Industrial Base https://ift.tt/glQyE4X At the recent Defense Logistics Agency [DLA] Supply Chain Alliance Conference and Exhibition in Richmond, Virginia (5/3-5/4), head of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and former deputy secretary of defense, David Norquist, said the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) future rests on the resiliency of the US defense industrial base. Relevantly for the additive manufacturing (AM) sector, the theme of this year’s conference — which is hosted by the NDIA — was, “Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing Domestic Manufacturing & Fostering Growth.” It is highly indicative of the global economy’s current trajectory, that news about the defense industrial base is now more or less automatically news about AM, and is the case, more or less, because of the word “resiliency.” Moreover, while the call for a more resilient defense industrial base from Washington’s elite is hardly news at this point, this particular comment is nonetheless significant because of the context of where it was made, as well as the source. As deputy secretary of defense in the Trump administration, the now-lobbyist Norquist argued that the DoD should implement a zero-based budget for 2021-2025. Essentially, this means that every dollar the DoD would spend would have to be justified again for every budget, with the criteria for a justified expense being that it “is focused on increasing lethality.” Interestingly, then, Norquist doesn’t seem to associate strengthening the industrial base with an aggregate increase in military spending, and in fact seems to advocate for cutting as much of the fat from the defense budget as possible. Before becoming secretary of defense, as comptroller of DoD, Norquist oversaw the first audit of the DoD. (“Starving the beast” that is the federal government is a family hobby for the Norquists: David’s brother Grover is the founder of right-wing fringe organization Americans for Tax Reform, which advocates for a flat tax.) At the same time, largely out of a concern for the US’s ability to stay economically competitive with China, Norquist also placed a priority on making sure the R&D dollars for emerging technologies remained robust. In this sense, his influence, or at least the influence of his line of thinking, can easily be seen in recent developments. For instance, the Biden administration’s last military budget included the largest R&D budget in history, which partially explains why there has been so much defense money flowing into the 3D printing sector in 2023. Again to contrast what he perceives to be the difference between the US and China, at the DLA conference Norquist pointed out that the US government can’t just command its businesses what to make (even though in many cases it has and does). Along those lines, he stated, “For national security, we need to protect against both disruption as well as tampering. But what makes a market so powerful is exactly what makes this challenge so hard.” That is, companies have to figure out how to cooperate even as they’re competing — a point I’ve heard brought up frequently at 3D printing conferences. Above all, the lobbying for this adjustment to the military budget, i.e. “leaner”, “more resilient”, etc., reinforces something I mentioned at one point about how even when cuts to the US military budget finally start to happen, the companies in the AM sector with exposure to the defense market will be unaffected. In fact, I believe those companies can benefit, as the same factors driving a growing realization that the US military budget has been out of control for far too long will also inevitably lead to the realization that AM, and advanced manufacturing more generally, are parts of the budget that need to be increased rather than eliminated. Additionally, it is likely that in many if not most cases, rather than representing an overall shrinkage of the federal budget, the cuts to military spending will in fact be reallocated to other departments, especially energy and commerce. This would be favorable to the AM sector as well, and also suggests obvious areas for branching out to companies that are currently primarily focus on defense. The post Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Says US Needs to Strengthen Defense Industrial Base appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/LM0XhKv May 16, 2023 at 09:39AM
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Daring AM: Redwire 3D Prints for ESA and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy https://ift.tt/E2obSuD Unveiling its transformative vision in the space tech realm just a few years ago, Redwire Space (NYSE: RDW) has swiftly emerged as a catalyst propelling the space economy to unprecedented heights. With a bold commitment to innovation and a penchant for groundbreaking advancements, Redwire is taking momentous strides toward reshaping the future of space exploration and accelerating the growth of the industry. Redwire is propelling the space industry to new frontiers by acquiring groundbreaking technologies and strategic partnerships. Last week, Redwire revealed that itssubsidiary, Redwire Space NV, secured a €14 million contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a state-of-the-art 3D bioprinting facility for long-duration space missions. In addition, Redwire has collaborated with Microsoft, Marvel Studios, and the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab on a STEM challenge to empower students. And if that wasn’t enough, it revealed some high-soaring revenues for its first quarter of 2023. Let’s dig deeper into Redwire’s announcements. Astral dealMake way, BFF! Redwire’s BFF, short for BioFabrication Facility, will no longer be the sole leading bioprinter in space thanks to a €14 million contract awarded under ESA’s Exploration Programme. According to the new deal, Redwire’s Belgian subsidiary Space NV will utilize cutting-edge bioprinting technologies to develop a modular, powerful, and unique system capable of sustaining a wide range of experiments. Expanding on Redwire’s legacy of in-space manufacturing and bioprinting on the ISS, the 3D-BioSystem Facility is hailed as a comprehensive solution for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This upcoming system will feature a bioprinter, 3D cell culture units, and an incubator capable of producing samples in orbit for further processing in space or on Earth. Erik Masure, Managing Director of Redwire Space NV, states this new platform will advance crucial microgravity bioprinting capabilities. The machine’s ability to bioprint cell constructs will be particularly vital for long-duration spaceflight expeditions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Ideal for understanding cell-to-cell interactions in thick tissue and creating organoids for drug efficacy and toxicity testing, the 3D-BioSystem Facility holds great potential for printing transplantable organ patches for tissue therapy. Furthermore, Redwire emphasizes that the system will also contribute to ensuring European technological independence and competitiveness, crucial for securing space benefits for Earth and expanding the global space economy. Star-Lord’s Zune, where it belongsMusic plays a vital role in storytelling, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has taken music to new heights as Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, introduced 70s and 80s tracks that have set the stage for unforgettable moments resonating with fans for years. In Guardians Vol. 2 and 3, Quill embraces the Zune, Microsoft’s iconic handheld MP3 player, introduced in 2006. Now that device has made its way into the ISS via 3D printing. Of course, it’s important to note that the 3D-printed Zune on the ISS is not a fully functional music player. Instead, it is 3D printed in microgravity using polymer and Redwire’s flagship Additive Manufacturing Facility (AFF), a 3D printer residing on the ISS. It serves as an engaging tool to inspire students in STEM subjects, showcasing 3D printing for future space exploration, microgravity research and development, and manufacturing for the betterment of humanity. In the fictional storyline of the 3D printing in space education outreach initiative, Quill’s Zune malfunctions, and to listen to music, he needs help from the space station. Microsoft and Redwire come to the rescue by 3D printing a Zune in space for Quill and the other Guardiansunder the sponsorship of the ISS National Lab. In conjunction with Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Redwire and Microsoft have created an engaging educational video (below) and a STEM challenge called “Empowering the Galaxy.” These resources provide ample material for educators, students, and parents to delve into space-based research and technology development, such as the Teachers Guide for grades 3 through 5. This education outreach initiative serves as a platform for the public to learn more about how space opens new avenues for innovation and opportunity. Users can visit Microsoft’s Zune.net and participate in the “Azure Space: Diversity in STEM” challenge, exploring content inspired by the movies. From rocket launches to understanding the current state of the space industry and its key players, the challenge consists of five learning modules, and completion makes users eligible for a digital badge. This challenge will be active until June 30, 2023. Redwire going for the goldRedwire has manufactured over 200 parts in space, making it the sole provider of commercial 3D printing services on the ISS. During an investor call following the release of Redwire’s Q1 2023 results, Founder and CEO Peter Cannito emphasized that it was a natural choice for Redwire to 3D print Star-Lord’s Zune. For this quarter’s financials, Redwire announced another record period. Revenues soared by 75.3% year-over-year to $57.6 million, with a sequential growth of 7.3%. This marks the highest revenue achieved in any quarter to date. The net loss for the period also improved significantly, with a 58% decrease to $7.3 million compared to a net loss of $17.3 million in the previous year’s first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) showed impressive growth, increasing by $9 million year-over-year. Redwire generated a positive adjusted EBITDA of $4.3 million for Q1 2023, compared to a negative $4.7 million adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2022 Cannito considers this an “important milestone” and an “outstanding accomplishment” on both absolute and percentage growth, providing “financial momentum” as Redwire progresses through the rest of 2023. As the new era of space exploration and commercialization unfolds, Redwire is solidifying its position as a leader in the sector. Cannito concluded that by developing the bioprinting system for ESA and numerous other projects in the pipeline, Redwire is expanding its leadership in in-space manufacturing and bioprinting on the ISS for exploration purposes. 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3D Printing Experiences its First Protest at RAPID + TCT 2023 https://ift.tt/m8EeWTF At the 2023 RAPID + TCT event, the additive manufacturing (AM) industry experienced what may have been its first protest. On Wednesday, May 3, volunteers of an anti-war organization called Dissenters interrupted an all-female executive discussion to protest the participation of a member of the Boeing Corporation and its role in weapons manufacturing and conflict globally.
Reasons to ProtestIn a conversation with 3DPrint.com, two members of the action explained why they chose to intervene in the panel. Warren, currently an undergraduate student, relayed that, when the group learned of the conference and the participation of Boeing representatives in it, the team saw an opportunity to execute its mission of exposing militarism in the U.S. Specifically, the #BoeingArmsGenocide campaign is attempting to prevent the state contributing to a planned Boeing facility in southern Illinois dedicated to building the MQ-25, a drone designed to refuel fighter jets. Dissenters at large doesn’t specifically target Boeing, but has some 30-plus chapters, mostly at college campuses, that focus on the big five weapons manufacturers: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics. While exact numbers are difficult to sift through when it comes to military conflict, civilian casualties are a regular result of the weapons produced by large arms companies. For instance, after the 2016 Saudi bombing of a marketplace in Yemen that killed 107 civilians, including 25 children, fragments of Boeing JDAM bombs were found. That’s just one of countless incidents that date back to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Boeing aircraft, in which between 129,000 and 226,000 civilians were killed.
Does Protesting Work?The Illinois chapter of Dissenters, which sprung from activity at the University of Chicago, initiated its #BoeingArmsGenocide campaign when it came time for the corporation to renew its contract with the city of Chicago for its headquarters. Under the previous 20-year deal, the company got $2 million in tax credit from the state of Illinois, which Dissenters saw as unjust, given the revenues that the aerospace giant already made. In the course of its actions, Dissenters actually met with a city alderperson and the Office of the Inspector General to discuss the fact that some $2 million had gone to Boeing unaccounted for. Boeing ended up leaving Chicago for greener pastures in Arlington, Virginia, forgoing $2 million in the process .
After Boeing moved to another state, the group wanted to continue its momentum by applying pressure to the $8.7 million state annual tax credit that’s going to be applied to the drone facility. “Again, we’re trying to reclaim our resources to use for healthcare, institutions of care and things like that,” Warren added. Intersectionality and Weapons ManufacturingThe fact that the panel was female-led and sponsored by Women in 3D Printing was not lost on the protestors. Josue, one volunteer who has been with Dissenters since near its inception circa 2018, said that the group was aware of the discussion’s participants and sponsorship and that all of the panelists were female, some women of color. However, the makeup and sponsorship of the panel didn’t deter #BoeingArmsGenocide from its planned action.
Multiple studies have suggested that gender-based inequalities and violence are exacerbated as a result of military conflict. These were details known to Dissenters staff, the vast majority of which is made up of women and trans people, according to Warren.
3D Printing WeaponsThough Dissenters didn’t have a specific beef with AM, the group chose an apt venue for highlighting US militarism embedded in everyday life. While the general public may be concerned about the rise of 3D printed guns, the AM sector’s role in military weapons manufacturing goes nearly unquestioned. 3D printing has been used by defense companies since the technology’s inception, but it received a significant boost under the Obama administration when what has come to be called America Makes was founded. From the planning stages to the establishment of this pilot Manufacturing USA institution, military contractors have steered the ship. America Makes, run by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining, has invested in, via Department of Defense funds, or managed 97, out of a total 147, 3D printing projects (about 66 percent) related to military applications or with participation from military contractors. Even seemingly innocuous or even humanitarian projects, such as “Biomimetic Multijet Materials,” have supported the military apparatus. We can see that 3D printing has proliferated well beyond weapons manufacturing and into realms that were difficult to fathom back when America Makes was founded. However, we can also see that the military and its contractors still largely dictate the overall flight path for the technology, now under the goal of supply chain resilience. With the Biden administration and Congress’s slew of funding efforts, AM has become an insurance plan for manufacturers where defense contractors, as crucial portions of the supply chain, are primed to receive much of the investment. Now is the first time that people outside of AM have entered the scene to draw attention to the potential weaponized uses of the technology as part of a larger military system. And, as the industry grows, it won’t be the last. Defense contractors are regularly protested for their work outside of the 3D printing sector. As AM has been integrated into the supply chain, it stopped being used to simply prototype weapons and began directly producing them. This echoes the overall evolution of AM. Therefore, as members of the 3D printing industry begin to assert themselves as political entities in protesting events like the war in Ukraine, they will be held to account for other incidents of which they didn’t purposefully choose to select to promote. For instance, in its ability to make polluting industries like aerospace and oil and gas more efficient, thus reducing their carbon footprints, is AM actually extending the polluting lives of these firms? In turn, the protest brings up a number of questions, including how effective the action was, whether or not it was executed at the right venue, and if individuals in the world of manufacturing, additive or otherwise, are responsible for the products they develop. However, the biggest question that Dissenters raises may be what the cost is for development and growth. With every investment, is the sector going to continue expanding at the behest and direction of weapons manufacturers or will its members be able to leverage the capabilities of the technology for the greater social good, such as decarbonization? A larger issue it may raise is whether or not it’s even possible at this point in history to escape working at the behest of the larger military-industry-complex that Eisenhower warned about decades ago. However, if such an escape is impossible, is it more feasible to intervene within the apparatus or from what would appear to be the outside? The post 3D Printing Experiences its First Protest at RAPID + TCT 2023 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/LM0XhKv May 16, 2023 at 07:54AM
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Concrete Dreams: 3D Printing for Military Construction Enables New Tactics https://ift.tt/O3vNywj The US military has invested considerably in construction 3D printing. The Army in particular seems like it wants to develop recipes of local concrete mixes from all over the world, standardize procedures, and qualify parts. The Army has looked into swarm 3D printing, making better concrete and even hempcrete. Most of its public efforts focus on the obvious such as barracks. In a previous article in this series, we looked at the public ways in which the military is exploring additive construction. The motivators include a reduction in goods to transport, less waste, less energy, less people on site, fewer soldiers needed at frontline bases, and an overall reduction in cost. But, besides these more apparent reasons why the US military would wish to adopt 3D printing for barracks and the like, there are other less evident benefits that additive construction could have for the military. Let’s look at some tactics and options that the armed forces would have if they were to deploy truly automated construction 3D printing in a robust way. No Casualties Drone BaseChabbeley Airfield in Djibouti serves to launch US Reaper and other drones across the Horn of Africa. It is an important part of a lighter-touch but still heavy-hitting US military that is reliant on drones to reduce U.S. casualties. Djibuti is receptive to the US, but far from a safe place for personnel to R&R, which is precisely why its an important place to have a drone base. Indeed, in 2014 there was an attack on a cafe there targeting service people and Westerners. It may surprise you to know that this important but relatively unknown base got a $39.5 million cafeteria around 2020. What’s more, the RFQ process used to build the dining room shows you its location and that the dining hall seats 176—details that would be useful to those wishing harm on the base´s occupants. Earlier, 20 vehicles had to be hired to improve a runway and roads. Nearby Camp Lemonier has around 1,000 staff, a Wikipedia page, and one on Facebook too. Lemonier also supports ground forces, probably special forces and air operations for the region, and the rent alone is $77 million a year. I wouldn’t sleep very well if I were in charge of the security of either location. If the US wishes to project its drone power globally, then, in some cases, vehicles operated form the US would be better but they would be slower to get on site and supporting them would be expensive. Rearming would take a long time as well, while refueling would be in the air and, thus, expensive. All in all, this setup is an expensive one that few other militaries could replicate. The Chinese and Japanese bases nearby are testimony to some truly amazing diplomacy on the part of Djibouti, but also more modest goals. Having said that, the Chinese base cost over $590 million to build. Let’s imagine a base with a much more modest contingent:
Meanwhile, drones would be responsive, but could put fewer US personnel at risk. Instead of just one base or six across the region it could put in 60 at the same cost and lower risk. It could also abandon them and pivot to new areas more quickly. One of the key enablers for that to happen? To let semi-automated 3D printing equipment build, repair, and upgrade the base continually with little human intervention. Forward Operating Base in a BoxEarly morning skies bleed purple as a container wafts down to a hard landing on the desert floor. Out pops an autonomous mobile construction robot. It builds a base under the watchful eye of a satellite. Foundations and then buildings are constructed. Fortifications are made. There are no soldiers in this contested area. Indeed, given the almost featherlight footprint, no one even may even it is there. But, when the special forces unit deploys to the base, it has mortar pits, dwellings, trenches, a helipad, and a basic runway. This small base can be built without having anyone there and abandoned quickly as well. This would allow a safer and quicker creation of hard points in advance of troops. Bridges for CrossingA contested river is difficult to cross. Only a few bridging vehicles can exist in the area, meaning that units would be slow to cross and it would take time to cross enough troops to establish a bridgehead. Also, by locating the bridging vehicles, crossing points could be easily guessed. In a safe, but close area, ten bridges could be made that can be moved into place using tanks of other vehicles. The crossing point would now less known and troops could cross more quickly. This article illustrates just some of the possibilities that 3D printed construction would provide for the military, but there are still more. Check back for the next article in this series. The post Concrete Dreams: 3D Printing for Military Construction Enables New Tactics appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://ift.tt/LM0XhKv May 16, 2023 at 07:54AM |
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