News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
The new, $14K Bianchi Oltre RC hyperbike is the flagship of the Aerovolution collection from leading Italian bicycle brand Bianchi. Among its state-of-the-art features, the bike has one that has now become kind of a must for top-level bikes: the RC 139 Carbon Air 3D printed saddle.
Mass customization, consumer 3D printing, on-demand, local, digital manufacturing. These are no longer just far away goals of 3D printing: for some people, they are already a reality. According to 3dpbm’s newest Polymer AM market report, there were 4.17 million units of entry-level desktop 3D printers installed globally. If we factor in prosumer-level 3D printers – such as those from Ultimaker and Prusa – the total grows to about 4.75. million units. There are those, an increasingly large number of people, that use farms of these 3D printers to build new businesses. That’s certainly the case of Tesla enthusiast Matthew Budraitis and his SnapPlate 3D printed accessories sold on the EveryAmp website.
As Esports continue to grow, custom gaming components and accessories are becoming a major business opportunity for 3D printing service providers. Canadian start-up Formify has developed a personalized gaming mouse designed to enhance gaming performance. The company used MJF 3D printing technology and teamed up with 3D printing experts at Hubs (part of global AM service provider Proto Labs) to bring this idea to life.
Stases is a range of cork stoppers made for luxury spirits that celebrates the essence of the liquids contained within. The cork stoppers were created when WertelOberfell, a design studio based in Berlin and Munich, was tasked by Stratasys to design objects for the company’s J55 PolyJet printer, within the realms of packaging and retail.
Cloud Factory, one of the world’s first companies to use direct metal 3D printing to scalably manufacture fine jewelry, cost-effectively and sustainably, has raised a €2M ($2.1M) seed round, led by Change Ventures, one of the leading early-stage funds in the Baltics.
Filippo Ganna, the 26-year-old cycling champion from Team Ineos, set a new hour speed world record, after covering 56.792 Km of track in 60 minutes at the Grenchen velodrome. The world record holder, Dan Bigham, set the previous record just last August 19th at 55.548 Km. How did Ganna do it? For sure his amazing talent and a lot of work but also thanks to a largely 3D printed Pinarello bike: the BOLIDE F HR 3D.
According to Tetra Pak, almost 200 billion beverage cartons were produced in 2021, and there are an estimated 5 billion buildings in the world. Therefore, it only makes sense to explore turning these cartons into high-value architectural materials, and decreasing humanity’s reliance on virgin materials used for building and furnishing our daily living and working spaces. This is exactly what Dutch interior design brand, Aectual, is doing – using PolyAl (polymers and aluminum from recycled cartons).
Award-winning Austrian Designer and Creative Director of JK3D, Julia Koerner, presented her 3D printed Crystal Lamellas installation at The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Venice. The installation formed part of the Italian Glass Weeks within the emblematic setting of the Explorer’s Library in one of the most historic and iconic spaces overlooking the Grand Canal.
Signify, previously known as Philips Lighting, and Philips MyCreation have used recycled fishing net filament, made by Fishy Filaments, in Cornwall, UK, to 3D print lamps – known as the Philips MyCreation Dropli Fishnet Lamps.
Print4Taste first debuted their mycusini 3D chocolate printer on Kickstarter in 2019. A few months ago, the company released the mycusini 2.0 – an upgraded version of the original. Prior to the Kickstarter campaign, the mycusini 3D chocolate printer was completely unknown, but is now a feature in many private kitchens around Europe.