News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Ford Spain is the first car manufacturer in Europe to use the Form 3L, a larger format 3D printer from photopolymerization 3D printer OEM Formlabs. Ford Body and Assembly in Valencia uses the Form 3L to produce plastic caps that are used in a vacuum test to check engines for leakages. 3D printing helps Ford to prototype new tools and produce specific parts in less time and for a lower cost than with traditional manufacturing.
Autodesk added its suite of Netfabb tools to the Autodesk Fusion 360 software, which incorporates additive CAD, cost-projection and milling tools. Netfabb, a web-based subscription service, builds upon the Fusion 360 software by adding a parts library, additive system and material parameters and simulation software to the Fusion 360 package. Existing Netfabb subscribers will receive access to the Fusion 360 package included with their subscriptions.
An INEOS Styrolution research and development project reported an overall energy savings of up to 67% through the life cycle of a new styrenics polymer compound. The comparison styrenics compound was traditional Polyamide 12 (PA12). The massive savings derived from the new material benefits manufacturers and customers alike, let alone the wider environmental benefits supplied by energy-efficient products.
Michigan-based company DM3D has released a new DMD machine with multiple process heads that can print metal parts up to 10ft in diameter and 10ft in height. The giant system has been designed for processing steel and Inconel alloys that are less prone to oxidation.
Imaginarium, a large 3D printing service provider in India, supported Kotti Srikanth in his quest to achieve a Guinness World Record for the most diamonds set in one ring. Kotti Srikanth, owner of the Diamond Store by Chandubhai, a unit of Hallmark Jewellers, in Hyderabad, set ou to break the record with a ring named The Divine – 7801 Brahma Vajra Kamalam.
Scientists from medical tech company Fluicell have partnered with clinical R&D firm Cellectricon and the Swedish Karolinska Institutet university to 3D bioprint neural cells into complex patterns.
Oryx Additive‘s new Oryx Additive scaWaterjet is specifically designed for user productivity and comfort and engineered for function and quality. The new post processing system is part of the company’s goal to provide a more ergonomically considered solution to help industry manufacturing scale up their support removal efficiencies and improve other finishing processes.
Sindoh, the Korea-based specialist of both 2D and 3D printers, is introducing the new Sindoh S100, its first industrial polymer 3D printer based on SLS technology. The Sindoh S100 will also be the first commercially available 3D printer to feature Bluesint PA12 technology to 3D print with up to 100% recycled powder.
COBOD, a company that specializes in 3D printing buildings, printed a concrete two-story building in India made by L&T Construction, a first for the AM industry. COBOD’s expertise as a construction specialist is evidenced by its partnership with GE Additive, where COBOD prints bases for 200-meter-tall wind turbines. The company has also printed 3.5 houses in four days. Its efforts averaged eight square meters an hour on this occasion.
Aprecia Pharmaceuticals, the company behind the first FDA approved 3D printed drug Spritam, has entered into a long-term collaboration with private non-profit research and development (R&D) firm, Battelle.