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RIZE Announces 2XC 3D Printer as Fifth UL GREENGUARD-Certified Product https://ift.tt/3rz17sw Early this summer, RIZE, Inc. debuted its professional desktop RIZE 2XC, an adaptive 3D printer developed collaboratively with South Korean 3D printer manufacturer Sindoh as part of the RIZIUM Alliance that’s working to drive safer, more sustainable 3D printing. This is something RIZE takes very seriously, as RIZE President and CEO Andy Kalambi previously told me that the company’s zero-emission 3D printers are “purpose built” for safety. Now, the company has announced that the RIZE 2XC has received UL GREENGUARD Certification for safety and sustainability, which is based on the ANSI/CAN/UL 2904, “Standard Method for Testing and Assessing Particle and Chemical Emissions from 3D Printers.” According to a study by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Chemical Insights, a Research Institute of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ultrafine particles (UFPs) from desktop 3D printers are compromising the indoor air quality for, and the health of, millions of employees, students, and patients who work near 3D printers in factories, hospitals, schools, and offices. But products that are GREENGUARD Certified, like the RIZE 2XC, have been scientifically proven to meet extremely exacting chemical emissions standards, which means they can be used indoors without causing a negative impact on the air quality, or exposing the user to harmful chemicals. RIZE revealed in August that its industrial XRIZE printer, RIZIUM One inks, and RIZIUM ST, Carbon Fiber, and Glass Fiber composite filaments, had achieved UL GREENGUARD Certification, making it the first color, composite 3D printer to be certified for low emissions and safe usage by UL in any market, while the RIZIUM composite and inks are the first GREENGUARD-certified materials. So the RIZE 2XC is now the company’s fifth product or material to obtain this important certification, with the RIZE One being the first, and it’s also the first RIZIUM Alliance product to receive it. I had the chance to speak with Kalambi about this exciting news, and he reiterated to me that the company’s focus has been, and will remain on, safe, affordable, and full-color 3D printing, though the 2XC itself doesn’t print in color.
In addition to being the only 3D printing company this year that was selected as a Technology Pioneer for the World Economic Forum, RIZE is also the top provider of GREENGUARD-certified products in the AM industry, and Kalambi believes that it’s the only company that has announced a GREENGUARD-certified 3D printer as well.
With the RIZIUM Alliance, third party FDM 3D printer makers—like Sindoh with the 2XC—work with RIZE to adapt their existing printers for use with its safer, more sustainable materials.
Right before the COVID-19 crisis was declared a pandemic in March of 2020, RIZE began working with Sindoh on the 2XC, and employees then completed the entire project mostly from home. In Kalambi’s words, the team “took an existing FDM machine and through material science eliminated some big problems.”
Kalambi explained that the first step was to get rid of the typical FDM dry box, because it isn’t offering “a controlled, dry shelf life.” Then, they needed to add venting. Many printers feature a hood or a HEPA filter, but they only trap some of the harmful emissions, not all of them. The most important step was eliminating all chemicals in post-processing, such as water-soluble supports that need to be removed with chemicals.
Kalambi reminded me that the “C” in the printer name stands for composite, “for the materials we use.” He explained that RIZE machines can print using common AM materials, such as nylon and ABS, but that the technology “can have its own quirks” and change the material properties during printing, “which can lead to all kinds of issues.”
The last thing that RIZE needed to do with FDM printers through the RIZIUM Alliance was add color, and make sure that materials could be impregnated with its ink while being printed. Kalambi explained that its inks have to interact very gently with the material, and that it’s “more like dying, not painting.” The color won’t fade, or react to other chemicals…another example of RIZE’s excellent material science expertise.
I asked Kalambi what RIZE has planned for 2021, and he said that the company will be building on two themes, the first of which is safe, affordable colors. He showed me a 3D printed model of a human hip, and explained that the color wasn’t just to make it look nice, but that it comes from data about the body part, such as bone density. An implant like this could cost upwards of $1,000 to make using other manufacturing technologies, and that’s not even counting CT segmentation.
He mentioned that next year, the company will be introducing new versions of its colors in order to enhance the fidelity and “expand the application suite past life sciences to more urban lifestyle applications.” As an example, he showed me a 3D printed piece of sushi that looked so real, I had the urge to grab a pair of chopsticks and order lunch. Even through the computer screen, I could see just how vibrant the reddish color of the “tuna” was, which was pretty impressive. The second theme RIZE will focus on in 2021 is safe, available manufacturing.
Kalambi also mentioned that, as it is a Technology Pioneer, the company is currently working with the World Economic Forum on several projects regarding new business models. We should learn more about this next month, but he did say that the focus is making 3D printing more inclusive.
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com December 28, 2020 at 07:32AM
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