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3D printed titanium spinal cages beat PEEK cages in new animal study Medical

by Medical

Stryker’s Spine division today announced the publication of a pre-clinical animal study comparing the performance of spinal implants made from a variety of materials, which illustrated the bone ingrowth and biological fixation capabilities of its 3D-printed Tritanium cages. The study, titled “Bony Ingrowth Potential of 3D Printed Porous Titanium Alloy: A Direct Comparison of Interbody Cage Materials in an In Vivo Ovine Lumbar Fusion Model,” was published in the July issue of The Spine Journal.

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NASA 3D-Printed Habitat competition selects top 5 teams Aerospace

by Architecture

Beginning in 2014, the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Competition has been challenging teams from around the world to propose effective solutions for colonizing the red planet through robotic building systems (which are now generally understood to be different types of 3D printers). After two stages where NASA awarded a total of over $1 million to competitors, the final prize was awarded to the top 5 projects.

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Fabrisonic and NASA 3D print interplanetary heat exchangers Aerospace

by Aerospace

In 2014, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) awarded Ohio-based Fabrisonic seed funding to develop its hybrid Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) process for improved metal heat exchangers. With continued support from JPL over the years and with in depth development and testing, Fabrisonic has successfully developed pumped fluid loop heat exchangers which are lighter, more efficient and faster to produce than traditional epoxy tube heat exchangers.

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Made In Space’s Archinaut can power up small satellites Aerospace

by Aerospace

With many exciting developments in the intersecting industries of additive manufacturing and space exploration this past week, we were hardly surprised to hear that Made In Space, a pioneer of 3D printing in space, also had some news. The company, responsible for sending the first 3D printer (the AMF system) into space in 2016, is now developing power systems for small satellites which will provide them with large satellite power and capability.

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3D printed construction models take hpl structural’s steel structures to the next level Industrial Additive Manufacturing

by Architecture

hpl structural, a German engineering and construction firm specializing in complex steel structures, has found a way to dramatically improve its development process with the integration of 3D printing. Whereas the company’s designers would have typically inspected a digital CAD model to determine its structural feasibility, it can now 3D print physical models of the structures for a more detailed analysis and more accurate presentation.

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ETH Zurich’s DFAB house installs largest ever 3D printed concrete slab 3D Printing Processes

by Architecture

The DFAB construction project underway at ETH Zurich aims to use all the latest digital technologies to produce a real three-story house. After using the robotic additive deposition to produce walls and advance composite materials for internal complex structures, now the researchers at ETH Zurich have fabricated an 80 m2 lightweight concrete “Smart Slab” lab using large format binder jetting technology. This makes the DFAB house the world’s first full-scale architectural project to use 3D sand printing for its formwork.

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Five giant prints for mankind Aerospace

by Architecture

Despite the fact that construction 3D printing is still just taking off here on Earth, some companies are already looking beyond the Stratosphere towards building 3D printed habitats and liveable structures in space. The ambitious and quite niche branch of AM research, spurred on by space exploration organizations such as NASA and ESA, is being pioneered by a handful of companies who believe their construction AM platforms have the potential to be adapted for the harsh environments of the Moon and Mars.