News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Automotive AM company Divergent Technologies (Divergent 3D) has signed a letter of intent to purchase five pre-production next-generation AM systems from SLM Solutions, with the ultimate aim of manufacturing 3D printed components for hypercars. The two companies have been working under a Joint Development Partnership (JDP) since 2017.
Automotive AM company Divergent Technologies (Divergent 3D) has signed a letter of intent to purchase five pre-production next-generation AM systems from SLM Solutions, with the ultimate aim of manufacturing 3D printed components for hypercars. The two companies have been working under a Joint Development Partnership (JDP) since 2017.
Invited by Outpie Partners, a Netherlands-based company that promotes and facilitates business relationships between China and Europe, we recently had the opportunity to tour many of China’s tech hubs, focusing mainly on AI, from Shenzhen to Hangzhou, and then further up the Chinese East Coast to Shanghai, Wuxi, Jinan, and Bejing. While it’s true that China’s manufacturing is currently focusing almost exclusively on the very large – and AM is not part of the big picture – 3D printing is growing as fast as everything else and we had the opportunity to see it first hand when we visited Latec, a metal 3D printer manufacturer based in Jinan.
Italian 3D printing company Lumi Industries is preparing to unveil a new desktop 3D printer at Formnext this week. The resin-based 3D printer, called Lumi³ (LumiCube), was built for easy and accurate additive production and integrates a slew of new features that provide better efficiency and quality.
Kumovis, a Munich-based developer of 3D printers founded in 2017 (which was a winner of the Formnext Start Up Challenge in 2018), will showcase its KUMOVIS R1 3D printer at this year’s Formnext conference. The machine is the “world’s first 3D printer with clean room integration” and can be used for on-the-spot production of medical devices.
Perhaps some consolidation may finally be taking place in the all-too-fragmented global AM industry as materials giant BASF has acquired Sculpteo, a pioneer in exploring the opportunities of on-demand part production via AM. BASF has been taking AM very seriously lately, incrementing the company’s exposure in the market with a series of new products and partnerships.
Ajlani Motors, a new hypercar manufacturer from the UAE founded Bashar Ajlani, launched its first, superhot Drakuma model at the Dubai International Motor Show. While the car was certainly the star, the event was also enriched by a gorgeous 3D printed sculpture of a dragon. This work of art, which you can see in the video above, also designed by Ajlani Motors founder and CEO, was 3D printed by local studio Proto21.
Shortly after the official announcement about AIDRO entering into a partnership with EOS, to develop AM for petroleum and natural gas sector applications, the Italian hydraulics and AM specialist has now been added to the EOS Ecosystem of companies which will be officially unveiled during the upcoming Formnext.
A 3D printed bionic hand can be made to measure thanks to engineers at WMG, University of Warwick and a collaboration of other companies. The 3D printed IMPACT bionic hand incorporates muscle sensors to control an articulated thumb, enabling it to function similar to a human hand. It can be made to measure in 10 hours in a choice of colors.
Christian Lönne has assumed the position as CEO of Digital Metal, Höganäs AB’s subsidiary that manufactures 3D printers for metal powders. “It’s time for Digital Metal to take the next step in development,” says Fredrik Emilson, CEO of Höganäs. “Christian Lönne’s experience from both big companies and start-ups is just right.”