News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
Danish 3D printing firm 3D Printhuset has been granted the first EU patent for a construction 3D printer. The tender was given by Belgian organization Kamp C, which chose 3D Printhuset’s modular BOD2 construction printer.
From GE Additive’s many announcements to Norsk TItanium’s updates, the Farnborough Airshow in the UK has been a hotbed for aerospace AM news this week. One of the latest stories to come out of the international event is a collaboration between metal powder producer LPW Technology and metal AM company Additive Industries. Through the partnership, the companies say they will work together to further integrate industrial additive manufacturing of metal parts for the aerospace industry and other high-end applications.
German chemical giant BASF and Belgian 3D printing company Materialise will be expanding an existing partnership to advance materials and software for the additive manufacturing market. BASF has also announced it will be investing $25 million into Materialise.
Aerospace industry leader, Triumph Group has acquired two systems from GE Additive, as well as a range of AddWorksTM consultancy service packages, to help further its additive manufacturing strategy. It seems that more and more traditional industrial giants are coming to the (inevitable) realization that AM is the future and that they need to invest to get themselves on board of the soon-departing AM flight.
With the Farnborough Airshow in full swing, we’ve seen a lot of aerospace-centric AM news this week. Norsk Titanium, the developer of Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD), an FAA-certified, OEM-qualified AM process for producing titanium parts, has not been left behind in the excitement as it has made announcements in collaboration with both Spirit AeroSystems and QuesTek Innovations.
GE Additive will be conductiong their first AddWorks TM additive consulting services engagement in Japan with Honda R&D Co., Ltd, Aircraft Engine R&D Center (Honda Aircraft Engine R&D Center). This agreement aims to further Honda Aircraft Engine R&D Group’s additive application development for its future generation aircraft engines.
Prodways Group has acquired the US 3D printing maker Solidscape Inc., a subsidiary of Stratasys. The moves further marks French 3D printer manufacturer Prodways as a leading player in industrial 3D printing. The company has been posting the highest revenue growth rates among the major publicly listed industry players. Although it has not enjoyed a very high visibility, SolidScape has been a major player in 3D printing for over two decades as its wax 3D printing technology is a jewelry industry favorite.
Oerlikon, a leading technology and engineering group, and RUAG Space, a division of the technology Group RUAG, will sign a Memorandum of Understanding today during the Farnborough Airshow to qualify and accelerate series production of 3D printed space components.
Only two days into the 2018 Farnborough Airshow in the UK, and AM giant GE Additive has already made a slew of exciting new announcements. Most recently, the company reported the launch of its new Manufacturing Partner Network (MPN) along with a handful of new partnerships within the network, including Burloak Technologies, Carpenter Technology Corporation and Protolabs Inc.
Earlier this year we learned that Italian additive manufacturing company CRP Technology would play a critical role in the development of Ego Corsa, an electric racebike designed by Italian motorcycle manufacturer Energica. The motorbike, which is expected to compete in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, is moving ahead in its development with the help of 3D printed parts, CRP Technology tells us.