News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently purchased and installed a Xerox ElemX 3D printer from Xerox Elem Additive Solutions at their AMPrint Center in Henrietta, NY. RIT will utilize the printer in their collaborations with manufacturers for research and product development as they focus on next-generation metal 3D printing technologies.
Nasdaq First North-listed Freemelt, whose pioneering solutions create new conditions for rapid growth and development in 3D printing, has received an order, to a value close to $500k, for a Freemelt ONE system from the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. The system will be used for materials research and will be delivered in the second quarter of 2022.
Araqev, a Purdue University-related company, has commercialized a quality-control software that could benefit the aerospace, automotive, consumer products, medical devices, national defense, and other sectors that use additive manufacturing technology.
Even as the transition to metal and ceramic binder jetting for production has only but begun, it is clear that simply implementing fast binder jetting processes will not be enough to truly cater to production demands. Binder jetting materials and processes still present several challenges and bottlenecks that need to be addressed, from the limited number of available materials to the elevated number of highly complex post-processing steps, including infiltration and of course sintering. That’s exactly what UK-based Meta Additive intends to address with its uniquely advanced technology.
SILCA a bicycle parts manufacturer that was founded in 1917, introduced MENSOLA, as “the world’s smartest computer mount, designed by the wind and [additively] manufactured in 6Al/4V Titanium by lasers”. Each MENSOLA mount is designed for specific stem face-plate geometry, ensuring minimum weight and maximum strength and improved aerodynamics over the previous computer mount solutions.
Volkswagen is pressing ahead with the use of innovative 3D printers in car production. For the first time, metal binder jetting is being used to manufacture components at the company’s main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Optomec, an established company in additive manufacturing solutions for 3D metal printing and 3D printed electronics, has recently received more than $7 million worth of new orders from its installed base. The orders include more than 10 new systems being added to increase capacity for existing users, together with a range of enabling software products and digital process recipes.
The Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force base has awarded Optomec a $500,000 process development contract for the Additive Repair of jet engine components used in the F-15 and F-16 fighters. The solution will rely on Optomec’s LENS technology, a metal additive manufacturing technique based on powder-fed directed energy deposition (DED), together with proprietary enabling machine capabilities including advanced vision and distortion compensation software, Controlled Atmosphere processing, and batch automation using oxygen-free material handling.
Last month, Fairborn, Ohio-based Tangible Solutions, which was founded in 2013 and manufactures ...
AddUp, the joint venture created by Michelin and Fives in 2016 and specialized in metal 3D printing, has just developed a new generation of machines with promising features for industrial applications. The FormUp 350 New Generation systems caters to Michelin’s ambitions to expand its operations beyond the tire sector.