News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Makerbot is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its 3D model sharing platform Thingiverse. The online platform, which now includes over two million users, is the largest free and open 3D printing community in the world.
Titomic Limited, an Australia-based metal AM company, has signed a $2.6 million deal with the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), CSIRO and RMIT University to launch the Additively Manufactured Titanium Complex Structures Project. The project is aimed at establishing standards for the company’s Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) technology.
Cimetrix Solutions, the AM solutions division of Ontario-based software company Javelin Technologies, is seeking to promote additive manufacturing through education with a new partnership with Toronto’s Humber College. The partnership, which will span five years, aims to provide students with a deep understanding of current and potential industrial applications for 3D printing.
Razor company Gillette hasn’t been a successful business for over a hundred years by resting on its laurels. The company, known for its “The Best a Man Can Get” slogan, has innovated over the years, introducing the first disposable razor, the iconic Gillette Blue Blade and the first three-blade razor, to name but a few. Most recently, the company introduced a new range of razors featuring customizable 3D printed handles.
3YOURMIND, a Berlin-based AM software company, recently updated its Additive Manufacturing Part Identifier (AMPI) tool in order to offer users a more advanced and accurate way of determining what parts are well suited for 3D printing. The software update is expected to simplify and improve the AM adoption process across a range of industries.
The CRIQ (also known as the “Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec”) is a research organization run by the Quebec government in Canada which undertakes over a thousand projects a year to push forward industrial innovation. In recent years, one of these projects has revolved around the adoption of additive manufacturing technologies for the development and production of next-gen implants and, specifically, lower jawbone implants.
We know the common places. Compared to other countries in Italy there are fewer research funds, there is less coordination at the national level and it is difficult to emerge with new technologies. The visit to the AddMe Lab of the Polytechnic University of Milan, where Professor Bianca Maria Colosimo and her team of engineers from the Department of Mechanics work on some of the most innovative aspects of 3D printing of metals, has partially dispelled them. It also confirmed other clichés with more positive connotations, including how Italian ingenuity can make up for some organizational and macroeconomic weaknesses.
Carpenter Technology Corporation, a producer of premium specialty alloys, has acquired metal powder and powder lifecycle management solutions leader LPW Technology Ltd. for approximately $81 million. The acquisition could mark a major shift in leadership within the additive manufacturing powders industry, bringing Carpenter to the fore.
HP Inc. has announced a collaboration with the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) to launch the HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Corporate Lab. The new lab, which cost $84 million, will support various areas geared towards accelerating the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Biotech companies CollPlant and United Therapeutics Corporation have signed an agreement for the licensing, development and commercialization of 3D bioprinted lungs for transplant. The companies will leverage their respective specializations: CollPlant will offer its proprietary recombinant human collagen (rhCollagen) and bioink technology, while United Therapeutics will use its expertise in regenerative medicine and organ manufacturing.