News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Like a phone case, which dresses up your smartphone and sets it apart from those around you who share the same hardware, a fun watch band for the Apple Watch lends a sense of personality and style to the increasingly popular wearable device. The latest Apple Watch bands to catch our eye are part of a 3D printed collection by Dutch designer Matthijs Kok and sold under the Freshfiber brand.
Endocon GmbH, a German medical device company, has turned to additive manufacturing to improve hip and knee replacement surgeries. The company utilized metal AM technologies from GE Additive to create the endoCupcut, an innovative medical device that makes hip cup extraction easier, more cost effective and more reliable.
AddUp, the French metal AM company founded by Fives and Michelin, has announced its plan to acquire a majority stake in France-based metal AM specialist Poly-Shape. The news comes months after AddUp announced it had acquired Strasbourg-based BeAM, known for its Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology.
With over 1.5 million users around the globe, CGTrader is one of the leading marketplaces for 3D models. More than just hosting over 680,000 individual models, the company brings together all manner of 3D designs—from industry, professional design fields and from the maker community—and for various applications, including AR/VR and game development, computer graphics and, perhaps most notably, 3D printing.
Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies*, through its subsidiary Johnson & Johnson Medical GmbH, have acquired Emerging Implant Technologies GmbH (EIT), a privately held manufacturer of 3D-printed titanium interbody implants for spinal fusion surgery, based in Wurmlingen, Germany. The products in this portfolio leverage EIT’s proprietary advanced cellular titanium, which consists of an open and interconnected porous structure designed to allow bone to grow into the implant. As an industry leader across the full range of orthopaedic and spine specialties, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies will leverage its global commercial infrastructure to bring EIT’s technologies to patients around the world.
BMF Material Technology, a Chinese company specializing in micro- and nanoscale 3D printing, is partnering with Massachusetts-based CAD platform Onshape to offer its clients Onshape’s real-time data management tools. BMF Material Technologies hopes the integration of Onshape’s platform will enable it to speed up communication with its clients in order to realize optimized CAD models in a streamlined and cost efficient manner.
Large-format 3D printer company Modix has announced its newest product, the Modix Extra Large 120X, to be presented at the upcoming TCT 2018 show. The new 3D printer, which is now available for pre-order, boasts a massive build volume of 120 x 60 x 60 cm and is retailing for $6,000.
Polish 3D printer manufacturer Zortrax, known primarily for its FDM 3D printer ecosystems, has ventured into the SLA realm with the launch of its new Inkspire 3D printer. The Resin UV LCD 3D printer is marketed as being up to 8x faster and up to 9x more precise than competing SLA printers on the market.
Evolve Additive Solutions, Inc. announced this week that it has shipped its first STEP additive manufacturing system to an undisclosed client, described only as “a large manufacturing company with an iconic brand name and the undisputed leader in their field.” The AM system, now in its Alpha development stage, will be further refined and adapted to a manufacturing setting with the help of the strategic partner.
Leading AM hardware OEM 3D Systems has officialized a 3DZ Master Reseller Agreement. This agreement means that its international distributor 3DZ has achieved a status where it has become 3D Systems official partner in Italy. This status is based on 3DZ’s experience, expertise, capabilities, and resources in representing 3D Systems across its metal and plastics printers for additive manufacturing including the associated supply of official materials.