News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
EOS has entered an exclusive partnership with Hyperganic, a company that aims to accelerate innovation in engineering through its software platform that creates parts, structures, and entire machines through computer algorithms and AI, to advance the field of space propulsion.
BEAMIT Group, partly owned by SANDVIK, has invested in a GE Additive Concept Laser M Line system to meet growing demand from its aerospace and defense customers for both large format metal 3D printed components and the assistance in industrializing additive production.
Chinese AM service provider JINGYE Additive Manufacturing, has acquired a batch of large Eplus3D EP-M650 metal 3D printers from Chinese 3D printer manufacturer Eplus3D to be used in production of aerospace applications. JINGYE Additive Manufacturing is the AM division of the giant JINGYE group, the largest Chinese steelmaker and the only additive manufacturing company in the world that integrates professional R&D, production and sales of high-end aerosol metal powder, laser remanufacturing and 3D printing services.
Activities are set to intensify in 2022, as we get closer to the date (2024) that ESA and NASA have planned for humanity’s return to the Moon. The ESA Discovery program has been supporting groups from industry and academia to develop technologies for off-Earth manufacturing. Last November, a public online symposium presented their latest results and highlighted which technologies are most promising for maturing further towards integration into future space missions.
Primaeam Solutions Pvt. Ltd (PRIMAEAM), an Indian additive parts manufacturing company, inaugurated its new Additive Manufacturing Customer Experience Centre, Innovation & Incubation Centre for Healthcare in Chennai. Mr. S. Pankaj Kumar Bansal, IAS, Chairman & Managing Director, TIDCO, inaugurated the center in the presence of Dr. S. Christopher, Former Chairman – DRDO, Dr. N. Vivek, MDS, Dean- SRM Dental College and Dr. Rita Christopher, Dean- NIMHANS.
Velo3D (NYSE: VLD) delivered its first Sapphire XC 3D printer. Featuring 8 1-kW lasers, the Sapphire XC, or “Extra Capacity,” is Velo3D’s newest and largest metal 3D printer, made for faster production and larger parts. The Sapphire XC is a scaled-up version of the Sapphire printer, utilizing the same Flow print preparation software, the same Assure quality control software, and the same Intelligent Fusion manufacturing process. Velo3D revealed that the system has been acquired by an aerospace customer but did not disclose the name of the company. Several companies in aviation and space parts manufacturing are already using Velo3D solutions, including SpaceX, Launcher, Primus Aerospace, Honeywell and others.
The partnership between Velo3D and Launcher is further proving out the value of 3D printing for delivering satellites to orbit cost-effectively and with destination-orbit flexibility. In April 2021, Launcher purchased a Velo3D Sapphire metal additive manufacturing solution to print rocket engine parts in Inconel last. Now the company has added a second one that prints in titanium.
A skeletal floor for the ESA-supported lunar habitat design was created by leading architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and is currently on show at this year’s Venice Biennale. This prototype lunar floor design section was 3D printed in stainless steel by Dutch company MX3D, known for creating a metal 3D printed bridge in Amsterdam using internally developed large format, robotic WAAM technology
Only 5% of the Moon’s surface has been explored by the human race, and to reach the other 95%, NASA astronauts on the Artemis program are going to need some serious wheels. That’s why Lockheed Martin and General Motors have teamed up to design a next-generation lunar rover, capable of transporting astronauts across farther distances on the lunar surface. While the rover doesn’t need to be lightweight to travel around the Moon, it will certainly have to be extremely lightweight in order to be transported from the Earth’s surface (where it will likely be assembled, until there will be AM factories available in space) to the surface of the Moon. For this endeavor, Lockheed Martin and GM—with both companies already quite familiar with using AM—may want to turn to SLM Solutions. The metal AM hardware manufacturer has built up experience with building both lunar rovers and cars.
Rounding-off 2020, December saw the launch of various dental 3D printing products, as well as novel production processes, and the completion of significant business moves by Desktop Metal and Stratasys among others.