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Simone Fontana (AKA FNTSMN) Unboxes U2Go, Announces INSOMNIA Participation AM Software

3D Printing Media Network partner, professional 3D designer and and well know 3D printing Youtuber Simone Fontana just released a new video on his FNTSMN YouTube Channel. In the video – which you can see below – just ahead of talking the little Ultimaker out of his stylish portable box, Simone also announced that he will be participating – with his 3D Design studio 3DNA – to INSOMNIA58, the UK’s largest gaming festival. Simone, who has made a name for himself for his skills and intuitions in creating realistic 3D printed props from some of the biggest gaming IP’s around, including games from Bethesda and Blizzard, is participating to the event together with CoolerMaster UK. He will be at the PC accessories manufacturer’s stand designing and 3D printing live with his Ultimaker 2+ and the newly arrived Ultimaker 2Go. Sounds like a great way to combine two of 3D’s best applications: the virtual gaming world and the physical desktop additive manufacturing world. Simone was among the very first to see the value that 3D printing can being to videogames and videogame publishers, let’s hope the gaming giants will soon see it as well. Without further ado, check out the little Ultimaker at work in FNTSMN’s latest video

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3D printed turboprop engine by GE to power next-generation Cessna Denali plane 3D Printing Processes

Named Cessna Denali, the Textron plane will have the largest cabin in its class—seating up to eight people—and an engine powerful and efficient enough to reach Chicago from Los Angeles or Miami from New York. Textron and GE Aviation, which developed the engine, brought the plane’s cabin and engine mock-ups to the EAA AirVentures airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the announcement took place on Monday.

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A 3Design on New Zealand 3D Printer Hardware

As a 3D printing writer based in South Korea I frequently have the chance to test and review new machines from around East Asia. While most are pretty good, I had the opportunity a while back to test the Cubicon Style from HyVision and absolutely fell in love with it. I was excited to discover others, outside of Korea, who were likewise thrilled with it too. 3Design in New Zealand is one of them This led me one night to a lengthy discussion on Twitter with a gregarious Kiwi named Robert Reid. Robert, as things would have it, is the CEO of 3Design (@info_3design), a New Zealand 3D printing company who had recently started to import the Cubicon. As I learned, 3Design was the first company in NZ to stock, sell, and service 3D printers fulltime. Other general merchandise retailers were selling some machines, but as Robert tells it, once you bought the machine and took it home…you were on your own. Having taken the lead in mainstreaming 3D printing in New Zealand, their path was littered with challenges. Many of the tasks they faced came from the fact that New Zealand’s economy is currently in flux, as the nation transitions from a traditionally agrarian economy, to one based on high technology. This presented some unique problems, so the first thing Robert and his crew did was to focus on building a 3D printing team of experts to assist their customers with whatever challenges they experienced. Robert noted that, “many of the big stores just didn’t realize that 3D printing, with all of its quirks, is about service and knowledge…not numbers.” The team members were all trained in CAD, Solidworks, Magics, and Rino. They also developed and provide 3D training courses for customers of all skills; from beginner to advanced levels. And for customers who need extra help, 3Design offers 3D printing services in-house, on a file-by-file basis and turns customer files into solid objects. Past clients have included architects, engineers, product designers, and fashion designers.

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Hans Fouche Gets Serious with Cheetah 3D Printer at Decorex in Johannesburg 3D Printer Hardware

Hans Fouche’s Cheetah 3D Printer was on show at Decorex 2016 in Johannesburg South Africa for the first time. With it were some 3 meter tall pillars that were 3D printed in just 9 hours, along with some colorful and creative Bar Stools, with unique bottle shapes, hand painted by Sam, a talented artist from the I Make Makers Village of Irene. Fouche 3D Printing, Hans Fouche’s company, is now working with them, to turn the large size 3D prints of the Cheetah into some stunning decorative and display products, with the help of the Craftsman and Artists of the I Make Makers village, thereby advancing both the high tech 3D printing and traditional crafts, to the benefit of both parties. The objective of Fouche’s participation at Decorex was to show that the Cheetah, with a price of just $9,900 (US), and the fact that it prints using affordable ABS granules instead of filament, is clearly a market leader cost wise, and with it’s 1 cubic meter print volume, it represents a true bargain for the large size 3D Printer segment. “We know that we have a unique product,” Fouche stated. “We hope and trust that it will provide jobs, change the way that products are manufactured- small batches that require less storeage, and that it will inspire creativity! We use at least 25kg pellets a month. That is at least $80 worth of plastic. To do that with filament would cost $625, with spools priced at $25.” The Cheetah uses ABS granules as the raw product for filament, therefore cost per print is significantly lower. Cost per kilo is less than $4/kg for ABS granules. As standard, Fouche uses a 3mm nozzle in order to achieve a 0.5 KgHour flow rate. 1mm, 2mm, 4mm, 5 mm, and 6mm nozzles are also available.

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iGo3D Acquires GetReady43D to Invest in 3D Printing Literacy 3D Printing Processes

iGo3D, a leading European reseller and distributor of desktop 3D printing equipment, announced today that it has acquired GetReady4 3D, the brand and project co-founded by Diogo Quental and Nadia Yaakoubi with the goal to contribute to 3D printing literacy. Since its start in 2013, iGo3D has focused on identifying, distributing and reselling the best 3D printing hardware, software and materials. In the end of Q2, however, with Diogo Quental taking up the role of CEO at the reseller, the company decided to go a step further and contribute to educate the public on 3D printing technology. As a result Nadia Yaakoubi chosen as a co-coordinator for a newly established Learning Area.

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Ourobotics CEO Jemma Redmond Dies Unexpectedly AM Industry

Ourobotics CEO Jemma Redmond, one of the most outspoken and forward thinking professionals in the young low cost 3D bioprinting industry, has reportedly died unexpectedly yesterday, August 16th. As founder of bioprinting startup Ourobotics, Jemma has been working on a low cost bioprinter capable of working with up to 10 different materials. Through her blogs and social marketing skills she was working non-stop at ways to reproduce life in a lab, her legacy will very likely continue on even after her untimely death. With an MSC in Nanobioscience and a background in applied physics, Jemma has started building her own bioprinters on a kitchen table and attempted to grow fingers. She demonstrated 3D bioprinting in liquid with flow recently built the 10 material bioprinter with the Ourobotics team. She had recently pitched and won at SVOD Europe in Google HQ, Dublin. The causes of death have not been made public yet. All the information we have at this time comes from a post on Ourobotics social media accounts. We also know that Jemma passed away quickly and without suffering. “We are sorry to say, today we lost our dear CEO Jemma Redmond unexpectedly. She was an inspiration to all her colleagues and a great friend.” We can independently confirm this only from Jemma’s death notice. I had exchanged messages just a few days ago with Jemma and it is very hard for me to believe she has died. The 3D printing industry is generally very young and death just seems to have no place in it. However it does: life is a very delicate balance and that is exactly what Jemma was working to preserve and augment. She was just at the very beginning of her projects and career in the but she had already had a profound influence with many people involved with the future of biofabrication. Her show must, and will, go on. Rest in Peace, Jemma.

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3D Printing in Dentistry Revenues to Hit $3.7 Billion by 2021 3D Printing Processes

SmarTech Publishing has just published a new 140-page report showing where the money will be made with 3D printing in dentistry and identifying winners and losers in this segment. This new report assesses the revenues from 3D printers and related software, materials and services sold to the dentistry sector in 2016 will reach $1.6 billion but says that such revenues will grow to $3.7 billion by 2021.

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Stratasys Uses 3D Printing to Bring Ancient World’s Wonder Back to Life for the Olympics 3D Printing Events

Stratasys, the 3D is teaming with Atlanta’s Millennium Gate Museum to resurrect one of the rarest pieces of art in Ancient Greece through 3D printing. Working alongside the 3DCenter at Kennesaw State University and backed by a Stratasys Fortus 900mc Production 3D Printer, the team is unveiling a near-exact 3D printed replica of one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” – the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. This project represents one of the larger 3D printed classical works re-created via advanced Fused Deposition Modeling. Imagined by sculptor Phidias in 432 B.C., the initial structure was designed on a wood frame with gold and ivory panels. Taking more than 12 years to construct, the ancient statue honored King of the Greek Gods, Zeus. It was destroyed in a fire during the 5th Century A.D., and artists and historians have struggled to recreate its presence for modern times. With a unique ability to maximize production-grade thermoplastics to create strong, dimensionally stable, and accurate 3D printed parts – Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology was the impetus to overcome these challenges. “Artists around the world are being liberated by the full-fledged realism made possible by Stratasys 3D printing technology. Having the capacity to design and 3D print using highly durable materials with complex geometries and the highest levels of accuracy, museums can re-introduce some of history’s most treasured works” said Sig Behrens, General Manager of Global Education, Stratasys. “Teaming with Stratasys, institutions are completely transforming education and learning – as students and museum visitors are now able to grasp the power of forgotten classic art. 3D printing is the very impetus sparking a highly realistic learning experience – ensuring these essential pieces of history are never again forgotten. Creating and Innovating with Industrial Strength, Durability and Scale For massive recreations like the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Fortus 900mc Production 3D Printer ensures artists can build these large parts with an enhanced degree of speed and scale – up to 3x faster than traditional 3D processes. Offering maximum flexibility, creators can easily fine-tune performance and speed – achieving more realistic parts, generating complex designs and producing the smooth finish artwork requires. With the durability of production-grade thermoplastics, museum creators were guaranteed the resulting statue was highly stable to remain intact during the most challenging environments. Re-Introducing the World to Classic Work Additive manufacturing is making this rare statue available for the first time in several thousand years. Based on an initial image of the piece, designers translated the rendering into a CAD file using 3D modeling software. Actual production was achieved via an additive approach – laying successive material layers until the 3D print was complete. With the final replica standing at 6 feet tall, the work is being unveiled in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. “Throughout history, there are always instances where the most precious works of art get destroyed or broken. In the past, this disappearance meant items were lost forever. That’s why we’re so heavily invested in the artistic value of 3D printing,” said Jeremy Kobus, Director of The Gate Museum. “Committed to working at the intersection of technology and art, we see the tremendous potential of 3D printing for educational applications. Teaming with Stratasys and KSU’s 3DCenter, our hope is to deliver creations far too few have even tried to attempt.” The Statue of Zeus at Olympia will be the centerpiece of the museum’s newest exhibit “The Games: Ancient Olympia to Atlanta to Rio”, opening August 20, 2016. The event features a range of Greek artifacts from The Hearst Castle Collection in San Simeon, CA and the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, GA. Underlying the exhibition will be an exploration of 3D printing as a recognized art form – and as an effective tool for the preservation of historical artifacts.