News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
3D printing company Stratasys announced it is downsizing its global workforce due in part to the impact of COVID-19 and the consequent economic slow down. The decision to transition to a “leaner operating model” will reportedly affect about 10% of the company’s employees.
In a planned leadership transition, experienced chief executive, Gulf War veteran and pilot James D. Taiclet, 60, today became president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Jim Taiclet succeeds Marillyn A. Hewson, 66, who has served as chairman, president and CEO since 2014 and president and CEO since 2013. Taiclet will continue to serve as a member of the corporation’s board, which he joined in 2018. Hewson will become the Executive Chairman of the board and provide ongoing support for the leadership transition.
AREVO, a Silicon Valley company startup transforming composites production through digitalization and automation, is building one of the world’s largest high-speed continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites MaaS additive manufacturing facilities.
Photocentric, a UK-based specialist in photopolymer resin 3D printing , has penned a deal with the UK Government to supply over 7.6 million 3D printed protective face shields to health and care staff in the National Health Service (NHS). The company will utilize its patented LCD Screen 3D printing technology to mass produce the PPE, at a rate of millions of units per month. The company also says it has plans to produce up to 500,000 parts a day, if needed.
It is no surprise to those in the AM industry that additive has the power to dramatically speed up product development times. However, it is always interesting to see exactly how it happens, especially in cases where time is of the essence. The Rise Emergency Ventilator, developed in just 21 days to meet the dire need in hospitals, is one such example.
Yokohama, Japan-based 3D Printing Corporation Co., Ltd signed a general agency contract to start equipment sales and contract manufacturing services for AON3D‘s high-performance plastic 3D printer AON-M2.
Intech Additive Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Intech DMLS), a metal additive manufacturing company based in Bangalore, has appointed Pradeep Nair as Vice President of Hardware Sales for APAC and ME Asia. Nair is a veteran of the AM industry and played a vital role in introducing the technology to the Indian and ASEAN markets in the mid 1990s.
As part of its Additive Alliance Against Corona initiative, SLM Solutions used its metal 3D printing technology to produce plastic injection tooling molds to mass manufacture face shield headbands for the Manufacturing & Advocacy Growth Network (MAGNET), a manufacturing consulting firm in Ohio. SLM Solutions 3D printed the molds in its Wixom, Michigan facility enabling MAGNET to save time and money in additively manufacturing the tooling needed to produce the face shields quickly.
Over the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has made some things absolutely clear. Among them is the importance of essential service jobs like medical staff, grocery store employees, delivery people and transit workers. While many people have had the opportunity to work from home in this challenging time, people in these positions have really kept society afloat, and that has come with a personal health risk. Recognizing this risk, a team from Seattle Children’s decided that its shuttle bus drivers needed to be protected from the virus. A unique solution, consisting of a bespoke protective door, was developed by GoProto and Function Foundry with the help of 3D printing.
Swedish bioprinting firm CELLINK has announced it has formed an alliance with Swiss chemicals and biotech company Lonza. Through the agreement, the partners will combine CELLINK’s 3D bioprinting systems and bioinks with Lonza’s primary cells and culture media to offer a complete 3D bioprinting solution for 3D cell culture workflows. The solution is intended for cell biologists and other researchers pushing the boundaries of bioprinting and human tissue generation.