The big two stock-based 3D printing companies are of course, 3D Systems and Stratasys/Objet, now known as merely Stratasys. We’ve covered their massive stock price increases over the past few years and investors have been buying because of that rise. It seems that investors now want even more. An article on Seeking Alpha investigates… Continue reading Running Out of 3D Printing Companies to Invest In?
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3D Printed Electronics Demonstration
Optomec and Stratasys are set to demonstrate their hybrid technology that permits a type of 3D printed electronics. We’ve written about this before, but now they intend on demonstrating the process to the public. The process does not involve a mutant plastic-and-metal 3D printer. Instead it simply is a way for the two companies… Continue reading 3D Printed Electronics Demonstration
NASA’s Space Launch System is 3D Printed
Yes, the venerable Space Shuttle is now retired and host to gawking tourists across the United States, but that doesn’t mean NASA is sitting idle. In fact they’ve embarked on the development of a massive new rocket to take on the task of heavy lifting to outer space: The Space Launch System or “SLS”. … Continue reading NASA’s Space Launch System is 3D Printed
Microscopic Metal 3D Printing
Scientists have invented a way to form 3D metallic objects at nanoscale. While it’s not 3D printing, per se, it is quite interesting. The approach was to mimic traditional methods of forming metal: bending, shearing, etc. They’ve found a way to deform portions of a microscopic metal object in a controlled manner. Using… Continue reading Microscopic Metal 3D Printing
High Detailed Stainless Steel Prints at i.Materialise
3D print service i.Materialise now offers “high detailed stainless steel” materials for prints. As you can see in the sample print above, there is indeed a lot of detail visible. i.Materialise says that the new material is “between silver and titanium”. In other words, it’s shiny but still strong. The detail is such… Continue reading High Detailed Stainless Steel Prints at i.Materialise
Transmuting PLA Into Metal
You can’t transmute lead into gold, but these days it is apparently possible to change a part, 3D printed in PLA plastic, into a metal part. The method used by maker Jeshua Lacock of 3DTOPO, emulated the eternal lost-wax casting method. He printed parts in PLA on his Ultimaker 3D printer and then surrounded… Continue reading Transmuting PLA Into Metal
ExOne’s M-FLEX 3D Printing System
ExOne announced a new metal 3D printer, the M-FLEX 3D Printing System. This device is capable of printing metal parts within a rather large build chamber of 400mm x 250mm x 250mm (15.75 x 9.8 x 9.8 inches). The M-FLEX prints in metal, but it appears it will be able to do a lot… Continue reading ExOne’s M-FLEX 3D Printing System
3D Printing Titanium Bike Parts
There’s a detailed story on Road.cc describing the process of producing a metal dropout bike part using DMLS – Direct Metal Laser Sintering. Producing bike parts is much like any other product; prototypes must be tested and final versions become mass produced. The problem is that producing prototypes has been time consuming and wasteful… Continue reading 3D Printing Titanium Bike Parts
NASA Testing 3D Printers For Space Use
NASA is taking their Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF3) technology to the next level, according to a report in The Daily Mail. EBF3 is a type of 3D printing that uses a high-power electron beam to instantaneously melt metallic wire. The fluid metal is then positioned incrementally to build up arbitrary solid metal objects.… Continue reading NASA Testing 3D Printers For Space Use
The Brass at i.Materialise
They’re at it again. i.Materialise has now launched a trial of Brass 3D printing. Shortly after launching Bronze, we now see Brass on their materials sheet. It’s not a permanent thing, however, as i.Materialise terms this a “summer trial”. 3D print service providers often experiment with new materials in this way, as they are… Continue reading The Brass at i.Materialise
Bronzed by i.Materialise
i.Materialise, one of the popular online 3D print services, now offers an experimental Bronze 3D printing capability. This isn’t bronze plating – it seems to be solid bronze. However, during this experimental phase they limit the size of your bronze prints to 5 x 5 x 5 cm. We think that’s quite appropriate as… Continue reading Bronzed by i.Materialise
EOS Teams Up For Metal 3D Printing
3D printer manufacturer EOS has signed an agreement with Cookson Precious Metals to jointly develop a variety of applications related to metal 3D printing. According to the press release, “Under this agreement, both companies will introduce and further develop precious metal-based applications to the jewelry and watch industry”. But what does this mean, exactly?… Continue reading EOS Teams Up For Metal 3D Printing
3D Printing Plastic AND Metal
Whoa – 3D printing plastic AND metal at the same time? There are many kinds of 3D printers in the world these days, most printing only plastic and some able to print metal. But printing both? That’s exactly what a joint initiative between ABS plastic 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys is doing with metal 3D printer… Continue reading 3D Printing Plastic AND Metal
Optomec’s LENS 3D Printers
Is that 3D object you just printed weak? Does it bend, break or snap loudly if you give it a loving squeeze? If so, you might consider 3D printing it in metal instead of wimpy plastic. But how, you say? My printer can’t do metal! If that’s the case, you might want to… Continue reading Optomec’s LENS 3D Printers
A 3D Printed Jaw
This was bound to happen: a person receives a transplant of a major body part made specifically for them by 3D printing technology. In this case the body part was the lower jaw of an 83 year old woman from Europe, which had become infected and required removal. 3D scanning techniques captured the precise… Continue reading A 3D Printed Jaw
i.Materialise Glitters with Gold and Silver
3D print service i.Materialise now offers printing in Gold and Silver metals. They’re not the first service to offer this ability, but it’s wonderful to see another golden service. Specifics: In addition to the sterling silver, there are three colors of 14 kt gold offered, bright yellow, reddish tinge and white gold available. Prints… Continue reading i.Materialise Glitters with Gold and Silver
More Metal Printing Experiments
The RepRap team continue to develop methods of printing electrical conductors. If they succeed, it would be possible for future 3D printers to print objects that include (at least at first) simple electronic circuits embedded directly in their shapes. One can imagine a wide variety of LED lamps or switchboxes emerging quickly once this tech… Continue reading More Metal Printing Experiments
3D Printed Curvilinear Antennae
Researchers at the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at Illinois have achieved something never before accomplished: printing an electronic antenna onto a curved surface. Why would you want to do this? According to electrical and computer engineering professor Jennifer T. Bernhard: These antennas are electrically small relative to a wavelength (typically a twelfth of… Continue reading 3D Printed Curvilinear Antennae
Laser Engineered Net Shaping
Printing metal? There are several ways to do this, mostly involving mixing fine metal powder with a sticky medium, then firing it to fuse the metal together and burn of the sticky stuff. But now we’ve run across a completely different way to print metal. Optomec’s LENS technology (Laser Engineered Net Shaping) focuses a… Continue reading Laser Engineered Net Shaping
Arcam Electron Beam Melting
We’re accustomed to examining home 3D printers or consumer 3D print services, but we’re also fascinated by the larger commercial species. An interesting 3D print approach is employed by Arcan, a Swedish manufacturer of Electron Beam Melting printers. Yes, they use “powerful electron beams” (up to 3000W) to melt metal powered to gradually form complete… Continue reading Arcam Electron Beam Melting
i.Materialise Metalises
“Clank” is a sound you’ll be hearing more often at i.Materialise in the future after this week’s announcement of their new Titanium 3D printing process. No kidding – you can now order a Titanium Whistle! This very advanced process seems unique to i.Materialise, and involves a powder based process. Powedered titanium metal is laid… Continue reading i.Materialise Metalises
Metal and Plastic Materials from EOS
It’s press release season at EuroMold, and here we see that laser sintering equipment manufacturer EOS has released some pretty amazing new materials, as you might notice in the image of a laser sintered automobile engine exhaust manifold made in nickel alloy. Here’s the new materials: A flame-retardant polyamide, PrimePart FR, that is especially… Continue reading Metal and Plastic Materials from EOS
Aluminum Bronze Casting Succeeds
Open3DP’s experimentation with metalcasting molds has paid off: one of their experimental hydroperm molds was used in traditional metalcasting (in this case poured aluminum bronze) at the Port Townsend Foundry and the successful results are apparent in the image above. According to Laura West and Dave Feathers: The mold was placed in a greensand… Continue reading Aluminum Bronze Casting Succeeds
Metalcasting Breakthrough
Those inventive folks at the University of Washington are at it again. This time they’ve been working on a simple formula for cementenous metalcasting. In other words, material with which you can make an effective mold for molten metal casts. At one point, they were using this recipe: 1000 parts VersaBond 250 parts Maltodextrin 250… Continue reading Metalcasting Breakthrough
Shapeways Goes For Gold. And Bronze.
It’s not exactly the Olympics, but Shapeways can now print in Gold and Bronze finishes thanks to their most recent announcement. They’ve added more finishings one can select for stainless steel prints. In addition to the existing Gold Plate Matte finish, you can now choose from: Gold Plated Glossy (on the left above) Antique… Continue reading Shapeways Goes For Gold. And Bronze.
Alumide Examples
Joris of Shapeways posted a video showing off several sample 3D prints using Shapeway’s new Alumide material. The semi-metallic material, while less strong than other build materials offered, seems to convey quite a different character to the printed objects. They no longer look and feel like “plain old plastic”. The video includes several truly… Continue reading Alumide Examples
ProMetal’s Experience
ProMetal is an innovative manufacturing company that uses advanced techniques such as additive manufacturing to get an edge. In a wide-ranging interview and analysis, RapidToday profiles ProMetal and their recent challenges: Identifying the right sales channels to meet the market Enabling customized versions of products Keeping consumer costs low It seems that selling 3D items… Continue reading ProMetal’s Experience
Two Metallic Announcements
In recent days two announcements regarding 3D metal printing have emerged: Shapeways announced a new material and Materialise released new software optimized for metal additive manufacturing. Firsrt, Materialise released the “Magics Metal SG” software package that should make life a little bit easier for 3D designers: Magics Metal SG provides metal AM professionals with a… Continue reading Two Metallic Announcements
Making an Artist’s Living by 3D Printing
There’s a wonderful article by 3D printing artist Bathsheba Grossman over at Say Something, where she describes her journey from student to world-renowned 3D artist. And the best part: She’s now making a living from selling 3D printed art. But it isn’t easy. She spent ten years after completing school to build up the… Continue reading Making an Artist’s Living by 3D Printing
Sciaky’s EBF3
Following on from our previous posts on the promising EBF3 technique (Electron Beam FreeForm Fabrication), we bumped into a video showing a commercial implementation from Sciaky. The video shows the build process as well as highlighting the key benefits: Drastically reduce material costs Dramatically shorten lead times Slash machining time Save over costly forgings or… Continue reading Sciaky’s EBF3
Printing Steel. At Home!
There’s an interesting discussion underway at the RepRap forums, where the idea of Direct Metal Laser Sintering is being pondered. DMLS involves laser-heating metal (or other material) powder, layer by layer, slowly building up a solid object. This is pretty similar to how many 3D printers work, but the interesting bit is that these guys… Continue reading Printing Steel. At Home!
Glossy 3D Printing?
New developments are afoot in color sheen printing. Recently researchers at Adobe Systems and Dartmouth college managed to create an inkjet printer capable of producing reflective surfaces in a variety of colors. Their color thermal printer is “versatile enough to print many metallic inks and foils as well as standard inks.” One issue they’ve encountered… Continue reading Glossy 3D Printing?
The EBF3 Business Case
We wrote a few weeks ago about NASA’s new EBF3 manufacturing process (Electron Beam FreeForm Fabrication), which uses a high-energy electron beam to melt raw metal (typically aluminum) and deposit it on a vacuum-encased rotating platform. Shiny round metal objects soon emerge. Now we learn a bit more about the benefits of EBF3, which originally… Continue reading The EBF3 Business Case
Shapeways Bends Metal… and Thinking
Shapeways offers metal prints with their new stylus generator, and we think they are quite amazing. The level of detail present in the image above, combined with the metallic material evokes a feeling we don’t get too often when examining 3D printed objects: it’s not plastic! It’s metal, obviously, but it just *looks* so… Continue reading Shapeways Bends Metal… and Thinking
More Metal – This Time Saving Lives!
Both ProMetal and Sintef have been working on metal printing processes, quite different from traditional plastics and powders of other 3D print processses. One of the barriers to more common use of 3D printing (aside from cost and print time) is the robustness of the printed objects. If only they could be printed in something… Continue reading More Metal – This Time Saving Lives!
DiMora’s V16 Engine Powered By 3D Printer
Admit it – you need a 1200-HP car, just like us. But now they’re being made much more efficiently due to the use of ProMetal‘s “Rapid Casting Technology”, which can build molds and casting cores of sand directly from 3D models. DiMora Motors is using this new approach to build the startling 1200-HP motor… Continue reading DiMora’s V16 Engine Powered By 3D Printer
ProMetal
Clank! That’s what you will hear when you drop an object printed by the ProMetal 3D print service. Their tagline says, “Functional direct metal parts printed directly from CAD”. According to their website: Using a sophisticated 3-D direct metal printing process, artists are able to produce fully functional metalwork projects from CAD drawings in… Continue reading ProMetal