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On this version of Sliced, the 3D Printing Business information digest, we cowl the most recent enterprise developments, partnerships, and acquisitions within the additive manufacturing sector.
Immediately’s version options the most recent 3D printing {hardware}, software program and materials launches from Formnext 2021, alongside new additive manufacturing partnerships, sustainability bulletins, and enterprise updates introduced in the course of the present.
Learn on for the latest updates from Essentium, Digital Metallic, Safran Group, Hexagon, 6K Additive, Speedy Form, Additive Industries, Prusa Analysis, and extra.
New 3D printing partnerships from Hexagon, 3DGBIRE, 6K Additive, Stratasys, TRUMPF, Covestro, GE, and iMakr
A plethora of 3D printing partnerships had been introduced final week throughout Formnext 2021.
Kicking issues off, Sweden-based world expertise firm Hexagon has partnered with Directed Vitality Deposition (DED) 3D printer OEM Sciaky to allow its clients to optimize how they use Sciaky’s Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) course of for high-value components in G-code earlier than deposition, with correct high-speed simulation and evaluation.
At Formnext, Hexagon additionally revealed plans to construct the business’s “most versatile and open” additive manufacturing ecosystem to assist overcome complexities in 3D printing processes. The agency introduced a number of new additions to the ecosystem, together with Sciaky, Meltio, CADS Additive, AMcubator, and Additive Heart, with extra anticipated to observe. Formnext additionally noticed Probeam launch its new PB WEBAM 100 machine powered by Hexagon’s applied sciences that may 3D print prime quality components from difficult supplies like pure copper and titanium.
Elsewhere, long-standing Irish Print Companies firm IPS has partnered with service supplier 3DGBIRE to develop its expertise portfolio to incorporate 3D printing gadgets and purposes. The 2 firms have shaped a reseller partnership based mostly on the availability of Raise3D merchandise to the Irish marketplace for manufacturing components and prototyping purposes.
6K Additive, a producer of business supplies for the 3D printing sector, has introduced a strategic partnership with 3D printer producer Freemelt to develop and convey to market new supplies for the corporate’s Electron Beam Powder Mattress Fusion (E-PBF) printer platform. The partnership will allow new materials choices for patrons throughout the aerospace, hypersonic, and medical sectors for purposes demanding high-performance materials properties.
In the meantime, 3D printer OEM Stratasys has teamed up with Danish shoe producer ECCO to innovate the footwear manufacturing sector. ECCO will leverage Stratasys’ Origin One 3D printing expertise to speed up its product growth and overview conceptual samples earlier within the growth cycle utilizing 3D printed molds with resin supplies from Henkel Loctite. The 3D printed molds are sooner to supply and price considerably lower than CNC machining aluminum.
German machine instrument producer TRUMPF introduced it’s working with 3D printing powder producer Equispheres to qualify the companies powders on its 3D printers.
“TRUMPF’s engineering workforce is working to find out the optimum parameters for sooner manufacturing of aluminum components with Equispheres’ powders,” stated Thomas Bloor, Head of International Enterprise Growth for Equispheres. “It will permit clients to cut back manufacturing prices for 3D printed components and opens the door for extra broad adoption of additive manufacturing in world manufacturing.”
Polymer 3D printing specialist Covestro and German 3D printer producer voxeljet introduced they’re working collectively to develop a material-machine mixture for extra financial large-series 3D printing. Having beforehand developed and certified a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powder for voxeljet’s HSS course of, the businesses are actually increasing their partnership to supply a material-process providing utilizing voxeljet’s massive format VX1000HSS printer platform and Covestro’s practical materials experience.
Elsewhere, the US Air Power and GE have entered Section III of their steel additive manufacturing pathfinder, as a part of the Pacer Edge Program to sort out the Air Power’s ‘chilly begins’ subject – engine elements that take greater than 300 days to obtain. Over the following 5 years, the companions will create at the very least 5 technical information packages throughout the Air Power’s sustainment platforms.
“The primary precedence for the USAF and GE workforce has been to create digital 3D technical information packages for laborious to obtain, out of date ‘chilly begin’ components and ship 4 airworthy, near-net castings,” stated Alexa Polites, US Air Power Pacer Edge Program Supervisor, GE Additive.
“These TDPs will finally imply that half obsolescence will probably be a factor of the previous.”
3D printer, scanner, and providers reseller iMakr and additive manufacturing composites agency AREVO have joined forces to supply large-scale steady carbon fibre additive manufacturing. AERVO’s machines are able to printing exact, light-weight and ultra-strong components as much as 1 cubic meter in measurement, and might reportedly scale manufacturing as much as tens of hundreds of items.
Rounding off the Formnext 2021 partnership information is the settlement between German 3D printer producer Speedy Form and Ahead AM, the 3D printing arm of BASF, to supply workflows for his or her material-machine methods. Speedy Form will provide validated workflows for printing Ahead AM’s high-performance supplies on its Digital Mild Processing (DLP)-powered 3D printers.
New 3D printers at Formnext 2021 from Industrial Provides, Additive Industries and Optomec
3D Printing Business has already lined numerous the brand new 3D printer launches throughout Formnext 2021, together with new machines from the likes of 3D Techniques, BigRep, Zaxe, WASP, LOOP 3D, Shining 3D, Axtra3D and others.
Additionally saying new {hardware} on the present was Industrial Provides, a part of the Sensible Worldwide Group, which launched its new Macro Manufacturing Module for versatile, on-demand low-volume manufacturing. That includes 4 particular person print chambers which may come as customary or high-temperature, the module works with a variety of high-performance supplies like PEEK and ULTEM. The chambers can both be used individually for particular initiatives or collectively to extend manufacturing capabilities.
In the meantime, Netherlands-based steel 3D printer producer Additive Industries introduced numerous new merchandise ultimately week’s present, together with its new MetalFAB G2. Out there in three variations – Core, Automation and Steady Manufacturing – the next-generation machine has greater than 150 updates and options optimized gasoline circulate and warmth administration, up to date course of parameters and automatic beam high quality measurements.
Additive Industries additionally unveiled a brand new MF Calibrate multi-beam qualification instrument to make sure repeatable and predictable output, and its Additive Studios providing for providers within the discipline of purposes, DfAM and optimizing construct methods and course of parameters. The corporate introduced an extra partnership with Sigma Labs by means of integrating the software program developer’s PrintRite3D soften pool monitoring analytics and monitoring instrument.
Alongside launching its first desktop 3D printer at Formnext, high-speed resin 3D printer developer Nexa3D additionally introduced the pre-launch of its QLS 350 SLS system on the present. Initially popping up at RAPID+TCT 2019 because the NXT Manufacturing facility QLS 350, the machine decouples the printing and cooling processes so as to maximize uptime, attaining a pace of eight liters per hour and 20 % job density. The machine is designed with pace and throughput on the forefront, that includes 4 100W CO2 lasers that allow customers to realize as much as 4 instances the print pace of conventional laser sintering applied sciences.
Lastly, industrial 3D printer producer Optomec introduced two new 3D printers ultimately week’s commerce present designed for high-volume manufacturing. The primary, the HC-TBR, is an all-in-one steel 3D printer powered by the agency’s LENS DED expertise for the constructing or repairing of steel 3D printed components. The machine can course of reactive steel alloys like titanium and aluminum at excessive quantity in an oxygen-free chamber and is designed to supply lower-cost strategies of manufacturing and repairing titanium elements.
The second machine launched by Optomec is the Aerosol Jet HD2 3D Electronics Printer, designed for 3D semiconductor packaging and meeting. The printer leverages Optomec’s patented Aerosol Jet course of to supply high-resolution circuitry with options as small as 10 microns and might dispense conformal 3D interconnects between die, chips, elements, and substrates. The machine is suited to rising segments resembling 5G communications, automotive radar, and protection purposes.
New Supplies at Formnext 2021 from Essentium, Stratasys, Digital Metallic, EOS, Wematter, Oerlikon, and BASF
Along with 3D printing partnership and {hardware} bulletins, Formnext 2021 noticed a number of new materials launches.
Essentium, the producer behind the Excessive Velocity Extrusion (HSE) 3D printer sequence, launched Essentium PPS-CF, a 15 % carbon fiber-reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) filament made with LUVOCOM 3F resin from LEHVOSS Group. With a wonderful price-to-performance ratio and fascinating power, stiffness, temperature, chemical and put on resistance properties, PPS-CF is the first tooling materials for injection molding, blow molding and thermoforming processes.
Essentium additionally launched a 5kg spool at Formnext that permits customers to constantly print massive components and instruments by means of minimizing the variety of spool swaps required and wasted filament. A brand new cellular app unveiled by the agency will assist producers to remotely monitor their 3D printed components manufacturing and supply higher transparency inside their processes.
The ultimate Formnext announcement from Essentium considerations the findings of its unbiased world analysis on the present and future use of business 3D printing. The analysis reveals that the usage of large-scale additive manufacturing has greater than doubled previously 12 months for 86 % of producing firms, and the expertise has developed from prototyping to turning into an “important element” within the large-scale manufacturing of practical components.
Along with its partnership with ECCO, Stratasys introduced a brand new open tier of third-party supplies for FDM 3D printers through an annual Open Materials License. The corporate already gives open materials availability for its Neo SLA, Origin One, and H350 3D printers, and is now extending this materials ecosystem strategy to its FDM expertise.
The Stratasys Materials Ecosystem contains: Stratasys Most well-liked – designed to supply the very best mixture of fabric and printer efficiency, Stratasys Validated -materials validated by Stratasys with fundamental reliability testing, and Open – unvalidated supplies accessed through an Open Materials License. Stratasys-Validated supplies will probably be out there to clients in the course of the second half of 2022, beginning with the Fortus 450mc.
Swedish steel 3D printer producer Digital Metallic has added DM 4140, a low-alloy metal powder, to its binder jetting printing system so as to present higher design freedom for elements uncovered to excessive hundreds. The corporate developed and licensed DM 4140 in partnership with Hyundai Motors, which used the fabric to fabricate gearbox management fingers through binder jetting. The fabric is well-suited for the manufacturing of elements for automotive, client items, and industrial purposes uncovered to excessive hundreds.
Digital Metallic has additionally added one other superalloy to its binder jetting system, DM 718, an equal to Inconel 718, which is engineered to face up to excessive temperatures and corrosive environments. The fabric can be utilized for purposes resembling gasoline generators, jet engines, rocket engines, turbopumps, and stress tanks.
Formnext 2021 noticed 3D printer producer EOS launch a brand new high-strength, light-weight 3D printing aluminum alloy, Al2139 AM, to considerably cut back half weight with out compromising on power. Delivering wonderful efficiency in temperatures as much as 200ºC, Aluminum Al2139 AM is EOS’ highest power additive manufacturing alloy, attaining a yield and tensile power of round 500 MPa. Because of a single-step warmth remedy process, companies can reportedly save as much as 88 % in energetic warmth remedy time.
Al2139 AM is good for a variety of high-performance purposes throughout the aviation, transportation, racing, and house sectors. The fabric and course of for the EOS M 290 is deliberate to be launched in Q1 2022, with different EOS DMLS methods within the pipeline.
Elsewhere, Swedish 3D printer producer Wematter has launched Aurora PA6 AM, a cloth engineered to face up to increased temperatures with out compromising its mechanical properties. As soon as cooled, the fabric’s stiffness and mechanical power are elevated and its base, Polyamide 6, has extremely wanted properties throughout the aerospace and automotive industries.
“Growing new supplies and thus having the ability to broaden the scope of use of the SLS 3D printer Gravity is extremely vital and thrilling for us,” stated Robert Kniola, Founder, and CEO of Wematter. “In fact, we would like Gravity to work for as many individuals as doable, and, since plastics are utilized in so many various elements, we have to have supplies for various purposes.”
Swiss expertise group Oerlikon introduced a brand new excessive entropy alloy able to matching the power and corrosion resistance of tremendous duplex steels (DSS). That includes a nanoscale duplex microstructure, the alloy is appropriate for the printing of structural elements like centrifugal pump impellers because of enabling complicated geometries and crack-free components through LPBF.
Rounding off the fabric information from Formnext 2021 is a few Ultrafuse engineering filaments from BASF, which have now been made out there for Zortrax’s M300 Twin 3D printer. Ultrafuse PP GF30, made up of polypropylene strengthened with 30 % addition of glass fiber, and Ultrafuse PAHT CF15, a polyamide strengthened with 15 % carbon fiber, are closely used within the automotive sector for a variety of elements.
The supplies can now be utilized by Zortrax clients to 3D print positioning jigs, meeting instruments, and completely different seals and covers inside automotive manufacturing crops.
Software program updates from Formnext 2021 from Stratasys, MachineWorks, Authentise, and Materialise
One other replace from Stratasys sees the agency introduce its GrabCAD Print software program for its SAF-powered H350 3D printer so as to allow customers to realize production-scale portions of 3D printed components. GrabCAD Print for the H350 ensures that the end-to-end workflow throughout the machine is straightforward, accessible, reasonably priced, and related.
The software program has been upgraded to supply superior print capabilities, and because of being constructed on the agency’s GrabCAD Additive Manufacturing Platform, customers of the H350 will even have entry to Stratasys’ different core purposes, together with GrabCAD Print Cellular, GrabCAD Store, reporting, and analytics, and machine connectivity.
3D printing developer MachineWorks has introduced the provision of its Polygonica 3.1 SDK software program instrument for polygon mesh modeling. The headline enhancements to the latest model embrace new .NET wrappers supporting programming with C# and different .NET languages, identification of curves, non-manifold geometry gealing, screw thread recognition, and optimization of mesh export.
“In Polygonica 30 we added vital new areas of performance,” stated Dr. Fenqiang Lin, Managing Director of MachineWorks. “The three.1 launch cycle has seen nice efforts to additional enhance current performance in response to buyer suggestions, and in addition growth of attention-grabbing new methods we imagine have plenty of potential.”
In the meantime, a consortium led by 3D printing software program developer Authentise has obtained a multi-million-pound grant from UK Analysis and Innovation (UKRI) to develop new digital instruments to increase in-process management from materials manufacturing to supply. All through the £1.7 million Scalable AM Rule Creation & Dissemination (SAMRCD) challenge, Authentise and its companions will establish, create, and implement guidelines that cut back direct and oblique vitality consumption and improve materials effectivity inside ceramic and steel 3D printing.
Alongside Authentise, Photocentric, ICD, the Supplies Processing Institute, and TWI will probably be serving to to create data-driven workflow instruments for 3D printing that may allow customers to make sure their future manufacturing is extra environment friendly and produces repeatable merchandise.
The final of the software program updates come from Belgian software program and 3D printing service supplier Materialise, which helps firms to optimize and develop their 3D printing operations by means of embedding a CAD workflow into its Magics software program. The most recent iteration of the agency’s software program platform, Magics 26, is because of arrive in Spring 2022, with Formnext attendees among the many first to preview the latest updates final week.
A number of the notable enhancements to the agency’s flagship information and construct preparation software program embrace a CAD-Kernel integration to advance end-to-end workflows, and new mesh-based operations for platform and construct preparation.
“For years, the 3D printing business has mentioned whether or not CAD or mesh is the popular workflow for file preparation,” stated Stefaan Motte, Vice President Software program for Materialise. “We imagine each provide distinctive advantages and a seamless integration of each codecs will present customers with the optimum workflow.”
Formnext 2021 enterprise updates
As was to be anticipated, quite a few enterprise updates had been introduced at Formnext final week, a lot of which we lined in the course of the present.
As well as, mannequin making and prototyping agency Ogle has bought an EOS P 770 SLS machine as a part of the agency’s ongoing dedication to investing within the newest state-of-the-art equipment.
“Ogle’s funding within the EOS P 770 displays the corporate’s ambition to harness the most recent applied sciences to enhance our provide to purchasers and adapt as their necessities change,” stated Phil Martin, Ogle Director. “The machine will assist us to extend capability, cut back turnaround instances for purchasers and ship the highest-quality prototypes. This growing effectivity and continuous enchancment in high quality is why purchasers return to us time and time once more.”
The American Banknote Company (ABCorp), in the meantime, has expanded its Boston-based Heart of Excellence to introduce each batch manufacturing and enterprise-scale manufacturing to the area, leveraging binder jet expertise from Desktop Metallic. By putting in the Desktop Metallic Store System at its 125,000 sq. foot facility, ABCorp will be capable to 3D print end-use steel components with significantly elevated pace and productiveness below one roof for each versatile batch jobs and quantity manufacturing.
Open-source 3D printer producer Prusa Analysis has acquired an 80 % stake in Czech 3D printer OEM Trilab in its quest to develop into different areas of the 3D printer market. In addition to offering Prusa Analysis with entry to the company 3D printing sector, the 2 firms will cooperate in different areas by means of the sharing of growth, enterprise, and advertising and marketing expertise.
“Trilab produces high-quality 3D printers for the company sector and their model could be very effectively established on this space,” stated Josef Průša, Prusa Analysis CEO. “Our machines are aimed extra in the direction of hobbyists and they’re open-source. This strategy could also be limiting in company and industrial sectors.”
Along with its materials launch, EOS additionally gave an replace on its newly launched holistic sustainability strategy. The corporate mentioned its current Life Cycle Evaluation (LCA) performed with its buyer YOU MAWO and Fraunhofer EMI for 3D printed polymer eyewear, and a brand new inductor design manufactured with EOS Copper CuCP on an AMCM M 290 1kW system for AMCM, an EOS firm.
EOS additionally supplied updates on its Additive Minds Academy, new carbon-neutral polymer supplies from its subsidiary Superior Laser Supplies (ALM), and a brand new Carbon Calculator that assesses a last 3D printed half’s carbon footprint. ALM’s carbon-neutral supplies are reportedly a primary for the additive manufacturing business, starting with PA 820 MF CN, a mineral-filled bio-circular polyamide 11 materials, and PA 802 CF CN, a carbon fiber-filled bio-circular polyamide 11.
After gaining the choice to purchase fellow software program developer Link3D earlier this 12 months, Materialise has now agreed to train this feature for $33.5 million. The transaction is predicted to shut by the top of the 12 months, and is predicted to strengthen and speed up the creation of Materialise’s software program platform, significantly for firms which can be scaling up their 3D printing operations to quantity manufacturing. Materialise will combine Link3D’s MES into its Magics software program suite right into a unified, cloud-based software program platform.
“Materialise continues to prepared the ground in advancing the AM business and this acquisition strengthens our place within the high-growth manufacturing market,” stated Fried Vancraen, CEO of Materialise. “As firms speed up the adoption of additive manufacturing into more and more digital manufacturing environments, they require a powerful and unified AM software program platform.
“Immediately’s announcement creates a merger of forces that serves as the inspiration for such a scalable and sustainable platform.”
Alongside its new 3D printer launches, Nexa3D additionally unveiled a number of business-related bulletins ultimately week’s present. The corporate has partnered with synthetic intelligence (AI) software program agency Oqton to satisfy rising world demand for 3D printed patient-specific dental equipment and aligners. The partnership will see the companies unveil a brand new dental software program that delivers productiveness features throughout your complete dental manufacturing workflow, leveraging Nexa3D’s NXD 200 dental manufacturing 3D printer, licensed dental supplies, and automatic post-processing.
Nexa3D additionally introduced numerous key hires to its management workforce, welcoming Nina Swienton as Chief Advertising and marketing Officer, Melissa Hanson as Vice President, Product and Advertising and marketing Administration, Mahdi Mojdeh as Vice President of Engineering, and Michael Currie as Vice President, Basic Supervisor Desktop Enterprise Unit.
In the meantime, 3D printer producer 3D Techniques has priced an upsized $400 million debt providing, which closed on sixteenth November. The online proceeds of the transfer are anticipated to quantity to round $388 million, and will probably be used for basic company functions, which “might embrace” potential acquisitions, investments, and strategic transactions.
Lastly, aerospace and protection agency Safran Group rounds off this week’s bumper Formnext Sliced version with the profitable deployment of a MetalFAB1 industrial 3D printer from Additive Industries. Having put in the printer in June 2021 for testing, the corporate has since used the system to fabricate extremely complicated components for its aviation, protection and house enterprise.
“We’re proud to acknowledge that, with the help of their first MetalFAB1, the Safran Additive Manufacturing Centre has been capable of produce their first aeronautical components at their new web site,” stated Stephane Escalier, Director Enterprise Growth France at Additive Industries. “We’re wanting ahead to increasing the vary of the purposes and supplies on this intense and robust collaboration.”
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Featured picture reveals the Formnext 2021 commerce present with the Sliced emblem.
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