News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
This next consumer AM case study is a fishy one—literally. FinMan Fishing Innovations, a Michigan-based fishing equipment company has brought to market a multi-function fishing tool made with the support of Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis technology. The product, described as “the Swiss Army knife” of fishing, integrates several functions into a single, unmoldable structure.
Sigma Labs, Inc., an expert in quality assurance software for additive manufacturing, announced it has been awarded a contract by Mississippi State University’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS). The center, a leading interdisciplinary research hub focused on driving innovation in U.S. mobility industries, will integrate Sigma’s PrintRite3D software with a Renishaw AM400 3D printer.
Software developer nTopology has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) ...
The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), a new green trade organization dedicated to promoting the environmental benefits of AM, has announced the appointment of Sherry Handel as its first Executive Director. First launched in November 2019, the AMGTA is a non-commercial, unaffiliated organization open to any additive manufacturer or industry stakeholder that meets certain criteria relating to sustainability of production or process.
CGTech, a specialist in simulation software for CNC machining, is partnering with Indiana-based manufacturing company Thermwood to simulate the additive manufacturing and subtractive machining capabilities of its hybrid LSAM systems. The hybrid manufacturing technology, notable for its ability to build large-scale objects, will be simulated using CGTech’s VERICUT software platform.
Footwear 3D printing is set to grow into a 6.3 billion overall revenue opportunity over the next 10 years (according to the latest report from SmarTech Publishing). If this consumer product segment will deliver what many are now quite convinced it will, most of the credit will likely go to five major footwear AM companies that have been making significant investments in developing effective digital footwear manufacturing workflows.
Dimitris Katsanis’ passion for cycling cannot be denied. Once an elite cyclist (he was a member of the Greek National Cycling team in the 1980s), Katsanis is now an important figure in bicycle design and engineering, supporting bicycle production for top-tier sporting events like the Olympics and the Tour de France. Notably, Katsanis’ company Metron Additive Engineering has been a pioneer in the adoption of 3D printing technologies for bicycle design and production.
During the latest webinar organized by 3dpbm for the AM Focus on eyewear 3D printing, the discussion centered on the fact that, after a few years of envisioning a future made of directly 3D printed products, AM technologies are now ready to cater to the demands of the eyewear industry for eyewear production in several ways.
Relativity Space, one of the few tech-media-darling 3D printing companies, has moved into a new headquarters located at 3500 E Burnett, Long Beach. The California company employs robotic deposition metal DED additive manufacturing to build an entire launch vehicle: the new 120,000 sq. ft. space will house both business operations and an unprecedented manufacturing facility. Relativity integrates machine learning, software, and robotics with metal additive manufacturing technology and is working to produce its first Terran 1 3D printed rocket, at the Long Beach facility.
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will have a dramatic effect on everything, including additive manufacturing. And yet this crisis—like all crises—could also become an opportunity for some AM companies.