News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
DOMO Chemicals, a leader in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) materials innovation, is strengthening its position as a key player in the additive manufacturing sector by partnering with ZARE, a leading 3D printed parts service bureau on the use of Sinterline Technyl PA6 powder for SLS.
Desktop Metal has announced a new collaboration with Cetim, the France-based Technical Centre for Mechanical Industry. The partners will work together to promote and accelerate the global adoption of metal additive manufacturing across industrial sectors by identifying market opportunities for AM and supporting innovation across Cetim’s customer network. As part of the partnership, Cetim will also become one of the first adopters of Desktop Metal’s new Shop System metal binder jetting platform.
Swiss 3D printing service bureau Rapid Manufacturing AG, together with Swiss creative agency Atoll and Zurich-based Pragma Engineering, developed a simple solution to address the issue of disposable glove removal: a 3D printed glove remover. This is something many of us have become quite familiar with during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: personal protective equipment has become part of our daily lives in dealing with the risk of contamination.
AM recruitment company Alexander Daniels Global is offering support in the COVID-19 pandemic in the best way it knows how: with recruitment and employment tips and solutions. As part of this effort, the company has launched the Coronavirus Help Hub, through which 3D printing companies, organizations and professionals can access outplacement services, HR crisis management advice and more.
A senior design engineer from GE Additive has come up with a remarkably low-cost and simple 3D printed face mask that has already been adopted across the U.S. Navy to protect its troops and personnel across the world. The mask consists of a 3D printed frame, which is fitted with a piece of filter material, such as cloth, and elastics.
Petrochemical company Braskem has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with M. Holland Company for its new polypropylene 3D printing filament. The material is based on a proprietary formula that delivers high stability, low warpage and consistent extrusion. M. Holland Company will resell the filament to its broad network of clients.
B2B SaaS company DigiFabster is making a digital library available of 3D printable PPE devices as a resource for 3D manufacturers who are making personal protective equipment for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Global security and defense company HENSOLDT has achieved a milestone in 3D printing electronics in cooperation with Israeli leader in additively manufactured electronics Nano Dimension. The companies, which have been working together since 2016 to advance electronics AM, have assembled the world’s first 10-layer printed circuit board (PCB) with high-performance electronic structures soldered to both outer sides. The 3D printed PCB, made from a new dielectric polymer ink and conductive ink, is the first to successfully use soldering for a two-sided component.
As soon as 3D printing’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic started to crystallize, America Makes stepped up to help consolidate and coordinate 3D printing efforts. As part of this, the national AM institution teamed up with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the FDA and the National Institutes of Health to fast-track clinical reviews of 3D printed personal protective equipment (PPE) and other useful parts. The organization also launched the Fit to Face Mask Design Challenge in a bid to optimize the fit for face masks, a critical part of keeping medical and frontline workers protected.
As additive manufacturing technology has developed rapidly over the last decades, it has shown great potential for environmental sustainability. The benefits offered through reduced material waste, supply chain innovations and the use of recycled plastics and metals in materials can all position AM as a sustainable production solution for companies. In these times, where large companies are increasingly under societal and governmental pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, sustainability in AM is a great opportunity. It could even support the acceleration of the AM industry as a whole.