News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Berlin-based AM software company 3YOURMIND has launched the full version of its Agile Manufacturing Execution System (MES). The software, which increases production floor efficiency and agility with smart part prioritization, custom workflow creation and other tools, is being showcased at AMUG this week in Chicago.
For years, 3D printing company Stratasys has been a dominant figure in the FDM 3D printing sector. More recently, it has broken into other AM technology areas, pioneering its own PolyJet printing process and even developing a new metal AM technique. Today, the company makes its first moves into the stereolithography (SLA) segment with the launch of its new V650 Flex SLA 3D printer.
As we gradually advance towards the end of 3D printed “firsts” (don’t worry, there are still many to come!), other milestones will begin to mark the staying power of the technology in industrial sectors. HP, for instance, announced this week that its Multi Jet Fusion platform has been used to 3D print more than 10 million parts over the past year.
Desktop Metal is ramping up its production of the office-friendly Studio System for metal 3D printing to meet growing demand. The updated production capability is now allowing the Massachusetts-based company to ship out 550 Studio Systems per year. The increased production also means that new orders made from within the United States and Canada can be fulfilled within just two weeks.
In a sure sign that additive manufacturing is becoming more mainstream, AM workflow software company Authentise has announced a multi-year partnership with Microsoft through which it will use Microsoft Azure and integrate its workflow management software tools into Microsoft Flow, a cloud-based workflow automation platform. The goal of the collaboration is to further automate and streamline the AM process.
GKN Additive, a leader in the metal additive manufacturing market, and GKN Hoeganaes, a global leader in the production of high volume powders for powder metallurgy (PM) and specialized AM powders, today announced plans to merge their expertise into GKN Additive Materials. GKN Additive Materials is a new sub-brand of GKN Additive, next to the new sub-brand GKN Additive Components, that summarizes the current process and parts business. Now being a full powder-to-part solution supplier, GKN Additive is on track to become a world leader in metal AM.
Aleph Objects, known for its LulzBot 3D printers, today unveils its latest piece of 3D printer hardware, the LulzBot TAZ Pro. The new 3D printer, the company’s first industrial desktop machine, integrates a large, heated print bed and dual material printing and is suitable for producing large prototypes, manufacturing aids and on-demand parts.
With every small step ahead in NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, the world gets a little bit closer to taking the giant leap of putting humans on Mars. Most recently, NASA awarded the top three teams in the Complete Virtual Construction phase of the challenge: SEArch+/Apis Cor, Zopherus and Mars Incubator.
Exactly 100 years after the Bauhaus movement was founded, 3D print platform Aectual teamed up with famed studio DUS architects to create a novel Tiny Bauhaus building that introduces revolutionary mass-customization building techniques.
The XXII Triennale di Milano, Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, highlights the concept of restorative design and studies the state of the threads that connect humans to their natural environments. Broken Nature is composed of a thematic exhibition and a number of international participants solicited through official channels. As much as the exhibit focuses on nature and sustainability, several of the artworks on display made intensive use of 3D printing as a mean of producing objects in a more environmentally conscious manner and/or with more environmentally friendly materials.