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New MakerBot Replicator+ Just Released, We Tried It (and MakerBot Print), See the Exclusive Photos 3D Printer Hardware

by Technologies

You could say that MakerBot is turning over a new leaf: with the newly released MakerBot+ and MakerBot Mini+ the company is targeting quality, superior mechanics and reliability. We have the first exclusive photos from unboxing and testing of the new desktop 3D printers and we also discovered that their best new feature – by far – is MakerBot Print, the desktop version of the excellent GrabCAD Print software, designed for true, one click, pre-prototyping.

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Dealing with Brand Pollution in the Business of 3D Printing 3D Printing Processes

by Business

Over the course of the last three years, the desktop fabrication segment of the 3D Printing industry has come a long way. We have seen a great deal of innovation on the hardware side and a few new solutions that hold a great deal of promise in solving the issue of dual extrusion. At DesignBox3D, we have worked hard to choose our partners carefully and will often proudly share with anyone that happens to be listening that our longest running relationship has been with Espen Sivertsen and the entire team at Type A Machines. One of the core reasons for this mutual respect is that they look at additive manufacturing the same way as we do. It is a quickly emerging component in the design to manufacturing tool-chain and Type A Machines, like DesignBox3D, wants to be a key part of that tool-chain. Part of this vision of having Additive Manufacturing play a key role in the design to manufacturing process involves an intense focus on continual R&D and innovation on the hardware side, coupled with a desire to expand the capabilities of the hardware on the materials side of the equation. Type A has taken their version of Cura and added capabilities that cannot be found elsewhere. Absolute 3D Internal ™ structures and the 88+ materials and rising that are supported today are prime examples of the material flexibility of this platform.

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Zortrax Closes First Half of 2016 with Record Revenues for $6.7M 3D Printer Hardware

by Technologies

Zortrax reached a record-breaking $6,7M turnover in the first half of 2016, exceeding last year’s first-half result by more than $1.9M Zortrax – one of the leading European providers of 3D printing solutions – recently published its financial results for the first half of 2016. The company’s income level increased by 42% (compared annually), which resulted in more than $6,7 million of turnover. This exceeds last year’s first-half results by more than $1.9 million. The net profits have also increased by 114 percent annually to approximately $2 million. Sales of Zortrax’s key product, the M200 printer, have increased by 40 percent since the second half of 2015. “It was an intensive and demanding six months for us,” said Rafal Tomasiak, CEO of Zortrax. “We were working on the debut of the new M300 model and at the same time closing another financial round.” During that time Dariusz Miłek joined Zortrax as a new shareholder. The successful financial round enabled the company to transfer its research and development department from China to Poland and secure funding for future projects and acquisitions. The company has achieved the same income levels during the first six months of this year as it did during the first nine months of 2015. Zortrax also managed to increase its sales of printing materials, especially in the U.S. market where it noticed a 116-percent increase in sales compared to the same period in 2015. The American market is a top priority for Zortrax, as it plans to further develop the company’s market share in that country.

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Hunting for Medals with 3D Printing and Treed Filaments 3D Printing Processes

by Medical

Canoe and Surf: Two Italian athletes at the Paralympics and World Championships. Prostheses and guardians printed with TreeD Filaments materials by engineer Marco Avaro. Veronica Yoko Plebani went to the Paralympics in Rio. Fabrizio Passetti prepared for the World Championships in La Jolla, California. These are two Italian athletes who already have a rich collection of achievements and trophies, and they share one characteristic: they use prostheses 3D printed by biomedical engineer Marco Avaro, using TreeD Filaments materials. In his laboratory Avaro works with a material derived from Carbonium, an highly technical material developed specifically for this application. Veronica practices canoeing, Fabrizio surfing. “For Veronica I made a brace for the hand – explains Avaro- while Fabrizio needed a prosthesis in extremely high-performance carbon, capable of withstanding even considerable stresses“. Both athletes are thrilled with the result and are tangible evidence of the extraordinary results that can be achieved thanks to 3D printing. In the orthopedic laboratory Del Bene Fabio in Trieste, the engineer is working virtually non-stop and with TreeD Filaments he is able to create increasingly sophisticated prosthetics. “At the base there are high-quality, high performing filaments, made by Treed Filaments, and WASP printers. Now 3D printing has become something structural, calculated and extremely precise. We are printing parts with tolerances of two tenths of a millimeter.” It is important to note that a prosthesis is a tailored medical device and is subject to a whole series of rules and characteristics, based on prescriptions written by qualified physicians. Obviously we carried out a series of trial and error.The filaments are certified and in this period the specifications are being written.

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Entrepreneur disappears after building “world’s first 3D printed hotel suite Professional Additive Manufacturing

by Automotive

In September 2015, news of the “world’s first 3D-printed hotel suite” made its way to the public. Countless news outlets, from Forbes to USA Today, covered the story, allowing it to proliferate across the globe. Just two months later, however, another piece of news failed to gain the same traction. Lewis Yakich, the head of the project and main shareholder in the Lewis Grand Hotel, had gone missing.

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How to Name a New and Revolutionary 3D Scanner? Find Out on September 12th 3D Scanning Sevices

by Business

Lifting the veil of secrecy, I will tell you that our team has been working day and night on a brand-new, never-before-seen, hand-held 3D scanner. And it’s almost here! However this post is not about how great or unique this piece of tech will be. This article is a glimpse into the life of an innovative, somewhat bizarre, yet never-boring team of brilliant techies. It turns out that naming a 3D scanner is almost as difficult as inventing a 3D scanner. Our team of engineers is ordinarily in harmony with our support, sales, manufacturing and marketing staff, but in the last few weeks we’ve witnessed heated intra-departmental discussions all around our Moscow office and at our manufacturing plant. The debate especially intensified, as the first prototypes started circulating around the office and the topic of color also began appearing in conversations (“What color should the scanner be?”). So what were some of the name choices? To understand why certain names were suggested, you have to know the key features of the new technology. As we are not yet formally announcing the new scanner, I won’t go into details, but I will say this: it is a hand-held, white light 3D scanner with three sets of interchangeable lenses that never have to be calibrated and can be switched out easily like lenses of a professional photo camera (snap on/off these lenses and you can go from capturing tiny objects such as jewelry to large objects such as cars or furniture). So the new scanner will ultimately have three “heads” and will be able to scan objects of almost any size. Sounds like a breakthrough, right? Our whole whacky team is very excited about the upcoming release (due out this autumn). So what do we call this new device? Here is where the debate starts… Some of the suggestions (and reasons for rejection) were: