News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Due to concerns relating to the Coronavirus outbreak in China and in other Asian nations, two leading Asian shows with a focus on additive manufacturing – TCT Asia and Asiamold – have been postponed to a later date.
BEAMIT, Italy’s largest metal additive manufacturing service bureau, has come a long way since 3dpbm staff last visited the company’s AM facilities in 2013. The Fornovo-based firm has grown into one of the largest metal AM factories in Europe and – by extension – worldwide. However, its expansion is not slowing down. In fact it is accelerating with an agreement to purchase 15 Selective Laser Melting machines from SLM Solutions within the next three years. The commitment emphasizes SLM Solutions as the preferred supplier for BEAMIT’s machines.
The Bassetti Group, a French software solutions company, is now offering the Senvol Database of industrial additive manufacturing machines and materials to its client base through its TEEXMA for Additive solution. The offering was announced this week after both Bassetti and Senvol signed a partnership agreement.
Barcelona-based 3D printer manufacturer BCN3D Technologies has signed a distribution agreement with Bulgaria-based PrintMe 3D. The partnership, which will see PrintMe 3D distribute SIGMA and SIGMAX 3D printers, filaments and more, aims to expand BCN3D’s reach to the Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Balkan markets.
Youtube channel 3D Maker Things, which specializes in very large format and life-size print jobs, just completed a life-size replica of Drogon, the largest of the three dragons from the Game of Thrones series. With an almost three and a half meter wingspan, the print replicates Drogon in his teenage years (you know, when he ran around burning up sheep and the occasional kid) but it is nonetheless an impressive feat. You can see the project taking shape in this video.
Additive manufacturing history was made with the first flight of the Boeing 777X aircraft. That’s because each of the two GE9X engines powering the aircraft is built using over 300 3D printed parts (of which about 80% are the titanium alumide engine blades). These parts were produced by GE teams at Avio Aero in Cameri, Italy and GE’s Additive Technology Center (ATC) in West Chester, Ohio.
GE Healthcare Life Sciences has opened a new additive manufacturing center in Umeå, Sweden, which will be used for the serial production of components for biomanufacturing equipment.
In addition to the shivers that went down my spine when I first watched the trailer for Bombshell ...
3D printing company HP Inc. has announced a collaboration with insole brand Superfeet and sportswear company New Balance. Together, the companies will produce and market customized 3D printed insoles based on customer’s biometric data.
GE and partners at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Xerox-owned PARC have been granted over $1.3 million through ARPA-E’s DIFFERENTIATE program. The funding will enable the partners to pursue a research project aimed at reducing design and validation timelines for additive manufacturing by as much as 65%. If successful, the project could influence the adoption of industrial 3D printing technologies for energy systems, as it would effectively make AM faster than many traditional manufacturing processes.