News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
At the TCT Show in Birmingham (UK), Materialise has launched its simulation software for metal 3D printing. In combination with the Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite, this software will bring simulation for additive manufacturing to the production floor by providing easy-to-manage simulation capabilities at lower price points.
Today, Belgian 3D printing company Materialise has released a new simulation module for its Magics 3D Print Suite which promises to optimize metal 3D printing in a production floor environment. The new software update is the latest release by Materialise and brings it and its users one step closer to metal 3D printing at an industrial scale, competing against traditional manufacturing processes.
Ever since it was launched last year (and even earlier when its Connex3 predecessor was launched), many of us working in AM have been wondering why Stratasys never fully leveraged the system’s unique voxel-level control 3D printing capabilities to provide widespread services instead of just continuing to focus on just prototyping. Sure, polyjet material durability and costs are an issue but experience has shown that these issues can often be overcome in the AM industry with valid and innovative applications.
The World Economic Forum recently published The Future of Jobs Report 2018. The study involved executive strategists, as well as human resources managers, with a large sample of companies from 12 industrial sectors and 20 economic areas (which represent 70% of the World’s GDP and over 15 million workers).
Thought3D, the Malta-based company behind the Magigoo 3D printer adhesive, is delving into the industrial market with the release of new specialty AM adhesive products created specifically for industrial-grade materials. Thought3D are starting to roll out the new Magigoo products—all biocide and solvent free—in Q3 2018.
It is hard to see a day go by without some new innovative technology or online platform being launched. For this reason, it can sometimes be too easy to overlook certain projects and let them fall through the cracks. When I came across STHER, Inc., a new subscription platform founded by Margot Paez, however, I knew there was something special at work and I had to learn more.
Luxexcel, a Dutch company specializing in 3D printed lenses and specifically ophthalmic lenses, has released a couple of exciting announcements today. For one, Fabio Esposito, the former President and CEO of Solidscape, has been appointed as Luxexcel’s new CEO, replacing Hans Streng. And second, the company has raised $13.9 million through a Series C funding round.
Who has never dreamed of having a life-size 3D printed Jabba the Hut in their living room? When affordable 3D printers became a reality, they made it possible for these highly personalized “dreams” to come true. In what is certainly an effective promotional campaign, the YouTube channel Mighty Jabba’s Collection created a life-size replica of the popular gangster from the Star Wars Universe.
Airbus Helicopters has officially launched the production of latch shafts for the doors of A350 passenger aircraft using 3D manufacturing. The printed components are cheaper to produce and weigh less than their counterparts made using traditional means, thereby helping Airbus to offer ever more economical and environmentally friendly aircraft. Airbus Helicopters in Donauwörth is manufacturing doors for all Airbus aircraft programmes as a supplier. The redesign of the latch shafts and the new production process have resulted in Airbus’s first large-scale production using metallic 3D printing.
Since as early as 2014, Dutch designer Lilian van Daal has sought to combine digital manufacturing practices, such as 3D printing, with bioinspired design to create stunningly complex and original pieces of furniture and art. The Arnhem-based designer recently presented her latest project: a 3D printed chair called Radiolaria #1, which showcases the amazing potential of turning to nature for structural design inspiration.