In this 3D printing news digest, we have updates from Hinckley, A*Star, Rolls-Royce, UBC Okanagan, BioBots, University of Saskatchewan, Fraunhofer IPA, GoPrint3D, EOS, Candid, Stratasys, 3DCeram, Circuit Launch, University of North Florida, Protea, Thor3D, the Univeristy of Nottingham, General Electric, Modeclix, Renishaw and Autodesk
Electric yachts, smart collaboration and funding boosts
Maine-based yacht manufacturer Hinckley has released a new fully-electric yacht, engineered with 3D printed components. The yacht, which can reach speeds of up to 27 miles per hour has a 3D printed titanium console. Its titanium hardware is 3D printed into forms that would have been nearly impossible to produce with standard manufacturing.
A*Star, the Singapore Government Agency for Science, Technology and Research, has announced that it will collaborate with Rolls Royce and Singapore Aero Engine Services to launch the Smart Manufacturing Joint Lab. The initiative, which has received $60 million from the three parties will investigate the implications of smart technologies on the aerospace industry. A*Star previously launched a $15 million program to develop 3D printing.
The University of Northern Florida has received a donation of $250,000 from APR Energy and The John and Suzanne Campion Family Foundation for its CCEC 3D printing facility.
Positive news for 3D printing businesses
Omni3d has announced Paweł Robak as its new managing director and CEO. The 3D printer manufacturer, based in Poznan, Poland, specialises in Fused Filament Fabrication machines.
French 3D printed ceramics company 3DCeram has reported a 70% financial growth in 2016. The company, which produces ceramics for both the biomedical and luxury sectors was founded in 2001 in Limoges, France.
Circuit Launch, a 30,000 square foot collaboration space dedicated to hardware startups has opened in Oakland, California. Primary support for the venture comes from industrial-grade 3D plastics printer company Type A Machines, who will also relocate their headquarters to the facility.
New extruders and calibration kits
Toyko-based startup Protea Design has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its latest commercial extruder. The company states that the extruder, branded the DNA, is capable of extruding filament at a rate of 10 feet per minute.
Russian company Thor3D has announced that they will be adding a calibration kit to their wireless Drake scanning system. The calibration kit will allow users to maintain the accuracy of their 3D scanner in spite of dust or temperature fluctuations
Self-reflection, appearances and making time
Australian artist Debra Keenan, born with achondroplasia dwarfism has created a series of 3D printed sculptures of herself, positioned to be looking down at the viewer. The installation, named “Little Big Woman: Condescension” was created together with 3D scanner and sculptor Louis Pratt and aims to question people’s attitudes to dwarfism.
Modeclix, a 3D printing fashion technology set up at the University of Hertfordshire has appeared on the catwalk at the Aarhus Walks on Water, fashion and technology event in Denmark. The technology uses interlocking parts, allowing the fabric to be taken apart and reconstructed into new garments.
Additive manufacturing enterprise Renishaw has produced 3D printed parts for Holthinrichs Watches, using their AM250 machine. Taking 30 hours to print, the watches will be available for sale priced €30,000.
Bio-ink, BioBots, bio-hearts
A bio-ink which can be 3D printed and molded into specific human tissue shapes has been developed by researchers at UBC Okanagan. The bio-ink is based a cold-soluble gelatin hydrogel, and could be used with living cells to inexpensively fabricate human tissue.
Philadelphia-based BioBots has put their latest living tissue 3D printer on the market. The BioBot 2, developed at Pennsylvania’s University City Science Center earlier this year features six temperature-controlled extruders for different biomaterials, sub-micron precision and auto-calibration, and costs around $40,000.
Mohammad Izadifar, an engineer at the University of Saskatchewan and Canadian Light Source has developed 3D printed cells for repairing the heart after a heart attack damage. “My goal is to take stem cells from the patient and then, in-vitro, I expand and instruct them to become heart cells,” he said after preliminary tests had been performed on mice.
3D printed reading aids for the visually impaired, affordable orthodontics and prostate cancer prevention
The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Engineering and Automation has produced a 3D printed visual aid that can be attached to a smartphone to help the visually impaired read. The device can be adjusted to the wearer’s dimensions and can be made compatible with their needs and features large lenses are to focus the vision on the smartphone screen, and an integrated gyro-sensor system to adjust the focus automatically as the screen moves.
3D printing dental startup Candid has announced a range of 3D printed aligners available for postal order. The New York-based startup aims to offer FDA-approved biocompatible orthodontics at a lower price than its competitors.
Nicole Wake, a PhD candidate at the NYU School of Medicine is working with radiologists and urological surgeons to produce 3D printed models of prostate tumors. The full-colour models, 3D printed on a Stratasys J750, will help consultants with pre-surgical planning and intra-operative guidance.
Facing students with 3D printing and Mars robots in schools
Researchers at the University of Nottingham and Kingston University have developed an AI program that allows reconstruction of a face from a single 2D photograph. The AI system was taught how to quickly extrapolate the shape of a face from a single photo after reconstruction data was run through neural networks.
GE has set South African school students the challenge of assembling and building robots fashioned after the Mars Rover. The participants will be provided with i2M (introduction to mechatronics) kit using advanced technology including 3D printing, designed by top mechanical, electronic and software engineers, has been provided to participants. The winner is to receive a MakerBot 3D printer as well as a MakerBot 3D printer for their school.
Good deeds from the Girl Scouts’, teaching child cancer patients to code, saving tortoises, and Kerry Mac’s big day out for charity
Girl Scouts in Austin, Texas partnered with a local prep school and EOS North America to assemble 15 3D printed prosthetic hands suitable for children. The components were donated by EOS and the completed hands will be distributed by e-Nable, a charity that matches 3D printed prosthetic limbs to people around the world.
Teenage summer camp counsellor Max Miller has raised $300,000 as part of an initiative to teach coding and 3-D Printing to children with Cancer. The programs are to be hosted in the S.T.E.A.M. Shack, a purpose built facility in Long Island, New York. “The look of awe on a camper’s face when they watch something they have designed appear before their eyes is priceless”, Miller said, explaining his decision to start the initiative.
3D printed tortoise shells pioneered by Hardshell Labs in California last year may now be used to save South Africa’s waning geometric tortoise population, after a new project was announced at the Autodesk University South Africa Conference.
And finally, Kerry MacCormack, purchasing manager of GoPrint3d, is to run the Yorkshire Marathon for St Michael’s Hospice. If you’d like to make a donation her sponsorship page can be found here.
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Our featured image shows the Sliced logo over a 3D printed prostate tumour model to scale. Photo via Stratasys.
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