News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
The 3D printed gradient furniture collection is Philipp Aduatz’s latest project in the field of 3D concrete printing, in collaboration with Austrian manufacturer Incremental3D.
XFeet, a manufacturer of custom foot orthotics, has adopted HP Multi Jet Fusion 5200 technology to produce its insoles and accelerate the growth of the digital transition of the podiatry sector in France.
Materials manufacturer Covestro and orthopedic service provider GeBioM, based in Münster, Germany, are expanding their cooperation in the field of orthopedic footwear. In addition to producing lasts and trial shoes, they now support orthopedic shoemakers in the production of custom insoles using 3D printing. A new Addigy FPU 79A thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) from Covestro is used in the form of filaments. Together with Danish printer partner Create it REAL, the companies offer a novel and sustainable solution for the digital production of shoe insoles.
Researchers based at the Dutch Wageningen University (WUR) have developed a COVID-19 home test kit that can be 3D printed and constructed for less than 20p.
The Austrian startup Printstones has been developing mobile robotic systems for 3D printing since 2017. After completing more than 100 pilot projects the young firm has now revealed a new prototype: Baubot. This new robot has a modular design approach and is open to external inputs for innovation. The stated goal of the tech company is to bring any tool into any location and utilize it there. This means that 3rd parties can develop and add their tools and applications to the mobile robot. Developers can use an SDK as an interface to the robot’s functionality.
Revo Foods, an Austrian startup that developed a method for 3D printing veggie-protein-based salmon, closed the first fundraising round totaling more than €1.5 million. The company representatives said they are “enthusiastic to work with fantastic strategic investors that will really accelerate our 3D printed plant-based seafood market entry.” The 3D printed salmon products are now headed to European markets.
Michigan-based company DM3D has released a new DMD machine with multiple process heads that can print metal parts up to 10ft in diameter and 10ft in height. The giant system has been designed for processing steel and Inconel alloys that are less prone to oxidation.
WAZP, a global end-to-end supply chain for Additive Manufacturing has created a 3D printing solutions-focused platform called Spark. The platform will assist businesses trying to adopt and reap the benefits of additive manufacturing when producing products and components.
Danish robot 3D construction printer company COBOD International A / S, which produces large 3D printers for robot printing of buildings and wind turbine towers in concrete, submitted the financial accounts for 2020, which show that COBOD fiscal 2020 results generated profits of 9.3 million DKK (about €125,000), being profitable for the second year in a row after growing almost 100% (from 4.9 million DKK, about €65,000).
For agile businesses, development time and time to market are critical when developing products. Prototyping and manufacture using injection molding can be expensive, rigid and slow when it comes to releasing product ranges; so naturally, it is better to start with solutions that are more adaptive and cost-effective.