News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
The packaging industry has been a keen adopter of 3D printing technologies. Especially in the luxury market, additive manufacturing has created new possibilities for bespoke or limited series products. Last week, for instance, Formula 1 launched a 3D printed F1 fragrance collection designed by Ross Lovegrove, which exemplifies how AM can be used for original (and frankly stunning) product packaging.
Nano Dimension appointed veteran turnaround executive, Yoav Stern as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2, 2020. He will be succeeding the co-founder and current CEO Amit Dror, who is taking the executive role of Customer Success Officer reporting directly to Mr. Stern. Mr. Dror will also continue to serve as a director on the company’s Board of Directors.
In a big effort to increase reliance on renewable energy sources in the Swedish city of Göteborg, Göteborg Energi and Siemens are partnering to test state-of-the-art gas turbine technology and renewable fuels. The partnership will be based at the Rya combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Göteborg’s energy port and will begin with the validation of innovative 3D printed burners.
Netherlands-based 3D Hubs is continuing its global expansion. After announcing a new American headquarters in May 2019, the company has revealed it will be emerging into the French market with backing from iPod inventor Tony Fadell, who now heads the Future Shape investment firm. As part of the expansion, 3D Hubs will open new offices in France’s capital, Paris.
Carpenter Technology has announced the opening of its new Emerging Technology Center (ETC) in Athens, Alabama. The facility, which spans 500,000 square feet, will focus on additive manufacturing processes and will produce parts for a range of cross-industry applications in aerospace, transportation, energy and oil and gas.
GE Healthcare and Formlabs have entered into a partnership to increase the accessibility of 3D printed, patient-specific anatomical models. In the medical sector, patient-specific models based on medical imaging data have multiple uses, from practitioner training to surgical preparation to patient communications.
Wematter, a Swedish startup specializing in SLS 3D printing, has launched two new products for the additive market: a new SLS 3D printer, Gravity 2020, and the BlasThing Cabinet for safely and cost-efficiently cleaning SLS parts.
Xometry, the largest marketplace for on-demand (additive+subtractive+formative) manufacturing acquired Munich-based Shift, the largest on-demand (subtractive+formative-only) manufacturing marketplace in Europe. Through the acquisition, Xometry will accelerate its international expansion into 12 new countries, leveraging a worldwide network of over 4,000 manufacturers.
Digital Alloys, a Massachusetts-based 3D printing company, has announced the appointment of Carl Calabria as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Calabria has worked in the additive manufacturing industry for years, holding positions such as the Head of Engineering at Formlabs, and engineering leadership positions at Markforged, iRobot, Sonos and Avid. At Digital Alloys, Calabria will help the company to accelerate the commercial release of its Joule Printing metal AM technology.
German additive manufacturing expert SLM Solutions has partnered with American conglomerate Honeywell to qualify new 3D printing parameters with the aim of printing at increased thicknesses to save more time and money. Honeywell has been a proponent for additive manufacturing for some time and has adopted various forms of the technology for a range of applications. This in depth knowledge of AM and its industrial applications will be vital to the partnership with SLM Solutions, which specializes in selective laser melting.