We have witnessed 3D printing technology being embraced by the aircraft industry. This rapid prototyping technology has, so far, been used to make various integral aircraft components that maybe used for the direct operation of the aircraft. But for the first time SABIC (Abbreviation for Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) attempted to build something keeping in mind the need of the passengers including flight costs.
With revenues reaching more than $50 billion (2014), SABIC now ranks 2nd among the global chemical companies in the world and its primary focus has been producing various kinds of plastics.
The company recently showcased a 3D printed aircraft seat and also other 3D printed applications at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Hamburg, Germany. The company is dedicating their time on developing series of 3D printable thermoplastics and resins that meet all the regulatory needs to be used in the aircraft. FYI some of these thermoplastics will be well-suited for injection molding and thermoforming manufacturing.
The sleek & stylishly designed aircraft seat is made with the ULTEM 9085 resin and chances are that it might be perfect for 3D printing options. The ULTEM 9085 features toxicity compliant as well as low moisture absorption.
“Our customers have told us that they are interested in a total solution that goes beyond providing a material,” Market Direct Kim Choate wrote at www.sabic.com, adding, “Historically, this has been our approach – to look at each customer’s need, and bring our years of global experience – including solutions that have worked for other industries – to the table.”
SABIC, apart from taking care of the needs of its customers, are equally focused at giving an aesthetic beauty to what they are creating.
To build an aircraft interior the manufacturers, designers and engineers have to follow strict regulations. But SABIC’s materials is believed to be pretty apt for next-generation aircraft components. Some of the materials are CLEAR LEXAN XHR2000 sheets(when uncoated), the CLEAR LEXAN XHR2HC1 and LEXAN XHR2HC2 sheets, and few others.
SABIC’s aircraft seat is surely promising enough to enjoy style alongwith comfort while traveling from New Delhi to Dubai, and the best part, as they have claimed, it might save from pocket pinching.
Food, as we know it, is a favourite to the majority of human civilization and one of the strongest desires of a man. But since more than a decade there has been campaigns among organizations and people to ban animal slaughter. This has paved way for 3D printing technology for few years. 3D printing technology had, and is still continuing to have its notable implication in the food manufacting industry. Companies have invested in the food-based 3D printing as it’s apparently one booming area in 3D printing industry currently. Unfortunately not all the companies who’ve invested could continue with the face for much long. Makerbot, one of the ace 3D printing companies contributed to polymer-based 3D printing. Although 3D Systems, another leading 3D printing company, have taken a risk on investing in commercial kitchen although long-term impact of this kind of investment is not known.
However, there’s been a buzz in the 3D printing news when heir of Rockefeller has invested in Modern Meadows, a Brooklyn based company. Modern Meadows is responsible for manufacturing edible animal products without animal-slaughter. They manufacture synthetic meat using 3D printing technology.
Modern Meadows has a vision to introduce 3D printed meat to the masses, that will surely reduce animal slaughter. Their product – steak chip, has particularly got the attention of Justin Rockefeller, great-great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller, Founder of Stand Oil.
Justin Rockefeller says, “I have eaten a steak chip. It tasted like a salty steak chip. It was delicious.” Clearly, earning fandom of Mr. Rockefeller will give an impressive branding edge to Modern Meadows.
Modern Meadows creates animal tissues with the help of 3D printing technology. Using these animal tissues they made their own edible “steak chips”.
Tissue engineer and co-founder of Modern Meadows, Andras Forgacs, states manufacturing one single pound of edible steak chips costs thousands of dollars. However he hopes the price will drop once the production starts picking up. Andras has said that they are also trying their hands on creating artificially made animal leathers, which can be used for making wallets, car seats, etc.
Justin Rockefeller
Rockefeller said, “I would put this in the category of high-risk, high-return, high-impact,” He adds a inspiring thought, saying “Every major idea seems crazy at first. Even mobile telephones used to look like giant bricks and cost $5000 each in the early 90s, but visionary people imagined a world in which every single person on the planet has one of these mobile devices and they fit in your pocket.” True, isn’t it ?
Andras and his father Gabor Forgacs are also the founders of Organovo, which creates human tissues for testing and medical purposes.
A vehement researcher in the field of 3D printing of human tissue, Dr Tim Woodfield from Otago University said, “3D printing is a very exciting space and huge advances are likely in the next 10 or 20 years, however the research community remains somewhat skeptical because of the costs of engineering what may be an expensive or niche product.”
We have clearly been witnessing Stratasys’ growth with its line of productions over a period of time.. It has become the global leader in the developing 3D printers and printing materials, mainly for industrial purposes. And to add on that it had two important releases this week – the Xtend 500 Fortus Plus, 3D filaments that can run upto 400 hours (4 weeks !!!) and, the Objet1000 Plus, which is an upgraded version of the Objet1000 3D printer.
The Objet1000 Plus was released during an industrial tech show at Hannover Messe, Germany. It measures 39 X 31 X 19 inches and promises to offer fine precision to its 3D printing. It claims to print objects 40% times faster than its ancestor, the Objet1000.
The Objet patented Polyjet technology helps the Objet1000 Plus to 3D print 100 different material available at Stratasys.
Stratasys Product Marketing Director, Ron Ellenbogen, says of the PolyJet material portfolio, “The range of materials is quite extensive. From rubber-like materials to Digital ABS to various Shore A levels, up to 14 material properties are possible on a single part. And many parts can be produced with varying properties in a single run.”He continues, adding about the machine, “Today’s designers and engineers at manufacturing companies and service bureaus need an additive manufacturing system that can take on all challenges – large and small. We believe that’s the big advantage of the Objet1000 Plus Production System. It is the first of its kind to combine large print sizes, multiple materials, accelerated print speeds, super fine resolution and a simplified workflow. If you need to create industrial 1:1 scale prototypes, large ergonomic production tools or low volumes of small parts – all with the superior surface finish and fine details engineers expect from Stratasys 3D printing – the Objet1000 Plus is the best choice.”
Clearly Stratasys is taking leaps in the 3D printing industry, with its two best products currently available – the Objet1000 Plus and the Xtend 500 Fortus Plus. They are devoted to find many solutions, industrial usage being one of them. With all the breakthrough developments we at think3D are anticipating that Stratasys will be a one-stop solution for the industryl-level issues relating to 3D printing production.
Two years ago Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos confessed that he does not find 3D printing and scanning technologies a threat to his organization. We have seen that the mammoth organization has opened up his business avenues for 3D printing and its various applications. And now the megacorp is supposedly eyeing a Pittsburg based company which utilizes 3D technology to aid others to find the best fit of footwear.
Recently it’s rumored that Amazon is acquiring Shoefitr, a Pittsburg based company owned by 3 entrepreneurs from Carnegie Mellon University and this is supposed be the 2nd largest acquisition for Amazon. Shoefitr entrepreneurs Matt Wilkinson, Nick End and Breck Fresen were three college athletes and founded their company in the year 2010. They began their venture by providing right fit on running shoes and eventually included all types of shoes in their portfolio, that includes brands like Brooks, New Balance, Puma and Toms, among others.
Also, there are rumors that Shoefitr might shift its base from Pittsburg to Seattle, Washington at the Amazon headquarters.
Shoefitr 3D scans the interior of the shoes, then the scanned data will be used to determine the right size of the client and look for its availability from the already available company’s large database of shoes and shoe styles. For eg., Size of different shoes are not standardized. So, if you need to buy dress shoes then just provide the data of your current running shoes. Then Shoefitr engine will automatically find the right size and fit for you from its enormous database, regardless of the origin or country where the shoes are made, or the brand or even the pre-existing size.
The two companies are yet to confirm the acquisition news. But if it gets confirmed then this will be the second largest acquisition for Amazon, after it acquired Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retail, for $900 Million in 2009.
3D scanning is one of the mind-blowing applications which is making news inside and outside of the 3D printing world, especially with the rumor-acquisition of Amazon. It is seemingly coming in handy and contributing at shaping dreams of many dreamers, enthusiasts, hobbyists, etc. We think that this technology will ease the designing effort of the users. A booming innovation indeed.
3D printing technology has stepped into a new segment when the arrival of 3D scanning technology was announced. But the special thing about this announcement is that this scanning technology is being integrated in smartphones, thanks to the Intel. Now you don’t have to just take a photo and do a 2D printing, if you want to you may get a whole 3D printed bust for yourself. Intel’s 3D depth camera enables you to take images and also 3D scan those images. Chip developers have introduced the RealSense chips which can be fit into a 6″ smartphone.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich introduced the 3D RealSense enabled smartphone at the Intel Developer Forum in Shenzhen, China. Although in the forum it was not shown functioning.
An Intel spokesperson said, “The device which was shown on stage at the Intel Developer Forum was a prototype that was created in collaboration with a Chinese firm, whom we are not naming. The device is meant to show the different types of apps, usage models and form factors that RealSense tech can be integrated into and to encourage innovation.”
Features of a RealSense camera -enabled smartphone helps you in 2 ways: 1) It allows Depth-based gesture control, 2) Capture 3D scans.
However, Google’s Tango Project is also in line as Developer’s Kit, featuring a 3D image sensor from PMD Technologies. Another company developing 3D sensors are Pelican Imaging, USA.
Intel is seemingly among the forerunners to get 3D printing technology into tablets and computers and they are used in laptops such as the Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro notebook, Lenovo B50 desktop computer, the Dell Venue 8 7000 Series table, and the HP Sprout. However, Chris Green from The Davis Murphy’s Group says, “Intel has obviously achieved half of the challenge involved – the miniaturisation – but what is still unclear is whether it has got the power side of things licked. It’s one thing putting this into a laptop where you have a large battery and access to a mains power source, it’s another to put it into a phone that has to last throughout the day.”
Few shortcomings such as the size of the device (being 6 inches in size the device is still considered big enough as a 3D scanning device), the proper functioning of the technology, etc. were detected in the system.
We are seeing such endless innovation is branching out almost everyday at different corners of the world. And, with such interesting ideas being implemented, it won’t be wrong for an enthusiast to anticipate more sorted, stronger and powerful ideas introduced by some of the top-notch competitors like Apple and Microsoft.
So, now you can immediately get your selfie 3D printed with help of your smartphone.
We at think3D are hoping that Intel will considers these constructive criticisms and work on towards improvement of this latest innovation in the block. This will be needed so that can stand upright against any potential threats.
New & enthusiastic group of engineers, developers and 3D designers from around the block are teaming up to create something new and something, what they believe, will optimize efforts of other 3D printer users. These passionate groups usually go for crowd-funding or seed-funding to have a seamless execution of their plans and ideas, starting from showcasing it on a suitable platform (website, exhibitions) to something like managing their supply chain. Organizations like Form 1+ from Formlabs, the Micro from M3D and the FLUX All-in-One 3D printer from FLUX Technology who have started from basic level eventually through crowd-funding campaigns they have turned into big names in the 3D printing world.
Having a similar vision in mind another such company, Drotrix have stepped out on the streets to launch themselves in the market. Engineer, Mariano Ronchi of Drotix, and his team of designers, engineers and developers is all set to launch a fully functional 3D printer, the Gala 3D Printer.
Ronchi says, “During the last years we seen a lot of cheap and small 3D printers reaching the market, none of them caught our eyes, and after track their progress and check users feedback, we confirmed our suspicions, they aren’t for everybody,”. To that he adds, “So with a group of colleagues we started to design a printer that meets the (more considered) requirements.”
Ronchi and his team desired to create a cohesive system, which mean it will aim at enriching the 3D printing experience of all kinds of users, without compromising the output quality. And therefore, in order to do so they have included the following – a fully-enclosed housing that would house all of the wires, cables, mechanical parts and motors, a large build volume of at least 8” x 8” x 8”, balanced speed and quality (20 micron precision at 50-80 mm/s), should be able to use use all kinds of filaments in the market, will have what they call “plug and play/print-ready”, and some outlined features. These extra features are taken from other 3D printers which they have man-handled before, and they think, will make a more friendlier 3D printing experience. Among those claimed features are a WiFi connector, touchscreen controller, on-board video camera, a heated bed, automatic bed leveling system, a fully-enclosed air carbon filter, an included microcomputer to remove computer dependency, an expansion port for additional accessories including a 3D scanner, ability to work with software from any device including mobile phones. It will consist of features that will enable users to connect to the social networking sites where they can share and download their 3D printing projects.
“During past year we invest almost all our time (and money) to create an FDM 3D printer that meets expectations of end and professional users that can’t or don’t want to pay an excessive price for a great machine. After a year of hard work designing, making, testing and starting over again, we (ended up with the) Gala 3D printer.” Ronchi said.
A closer look at a 3D printed object by the Gala 3D Printer
They have five functional prototypes called the Gala Beta model.These prototypes have been used extensively for over 10,000 hours. One of these models has been printing continuously over the last two months, for 24 hours a day for 7 days a week (with pauses only occurring between parts).
Some of the eye-grabbing objects created at Drotix
If they are funded, Ronchi and his team will be producing and assembling their printers in Miami, Florida. Meanwhile they will continue developing their software in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Gala 3D Printer has the following Specifications:
External dimension X Y Z: 41.5 / 41.5 / 46.5 cm
Printer heads: 1
Layer resolution: up to 20 micron
Build volume: 20.5cm x 20.5cm x 21cm (8in x 8in x 8in)
Position precision X Y Z: 10 / 10 / 5 micron
Print speed: 20 mm/s – 100 mm/s (Up to 200 mm/s with heat block change and .6 to 1.2 mm nozzles)
Travel speed: 30 mm/s – 350 mm/s
Filament diameter: 1.75 mm
Nozzle diameter: 0.35 mm (Optional .25 to 1.2 mm nozzles, some of them requires heat block change.)
AC input: 100 – 240 V / ~3.5 AMPS / 50 – 60 HZ / 200 watt max.
Power requirements: 12 V DC @ 10 AMPS
Connectivity: WiFi & RJ45 network support / 2 USB / 1 expansion port
Camera Resolution: 5MP Stills & 1080P Video.
Touch Screen: 2.8″ Resistive touch screen.
Internal Computer: A 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU 1GB RAM
Hardware License: Creative commons BY-NC
Gala 3D Printing Software Specifications:
File types: STL / GCODE
Supported Slicers: Drotix Cloud slicer / Gala internal slicer / Gala suite – (Mac and Win) / Any Gcode generator.
Web UI supported Devices: Android / IOS phone and tablets. Smart TV (Tested with Samsung and LG), Mac, Windows and Linux computers.
Social sharing: Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (G+ & Pinterest are on the way)
Software License: Creative commons BY-NC
Additional Gala 3D Printer Features:
Active exhaust carbon filter
Fully enclosed chamber with hot (print) and cold zones.
Concealed design with no external parts
Additional accessories expansion coming Fall of 2015
3D Scanner (Use the internal Camera, 2 linear lasers and turntable for about $250)
Acetone Chamber (Use the heated bed)
The price of the Gala 3D printer will be $1300 during the time of launching of their campaign. And later on it will become $1500 and then $1800. The team have a goal to start delivering from Sept. 2015.
This surely seems like a very attention-grabbing and ambitious plan. With such intentions clubbed with the confidence of such a dynamic team of 7we at think3D certain hope their campaign turns out to be an immensely successful. I am sure all of you who are reading will get some idea about the developments.
3D printed prosthetics has been surging up as one of the promising developments in the medical field. This very development has brought a sigh of relief to people, both children and elderly ones. In the past we have come across such information where different designers, medical practitioners and scientists in countries like USA have developed prosthetics using the 3D printed technology. This technology has helped the designers not just to manufacture stronger prosthetics but also to sell them at affordable prices. The prosthetics manufactured in traditional ways usually costs around 1000s of dollars, but these 3D printed prosthetics cost much less than these traditional ones, ….. probably just few bucks.
Although certain manufacturing flaws were noted in recent past, like, for eg., the ones which are made from ABS or PLA materials, have been found to be prone to breaking down very easily during children’s physical activity like playing, bicycling or any other adventure sports. This is, needless to say, a halt to the regular lifestyle of these children, especially when they are doing some kind of physical activity that requires their body weight.
Keeping these important facts in mind German industrial designer, Johanna Gieseler came up with a plausible solution. She started 3D printing her own range of prosthetic designs that are claimed to be pretty strong, such that it is capable of withholding a strong punch. So this gives an easy choice for the children (not that they will be prone to getting punched) to use them and can now mingle with the other blokes more confidently.
However, there’s a slight glitch in the design – it does not sport the five fingers like the usual prosthetics. Rather this 3D printed design features a claw-like design that enables it to hold on to anything. The pic below will illustrate clearly the design.
Sample pictures of the 3D printed prosthetics by Johanna
Another great news is that that this unique piece will be showcased at the Milan Design Week, 2015 which is scheduled from 14th to 19th April, 2015 at Milan, Italy. And soon it will be available in different colours, giving it more cooler look for its targeted customers.
It’s the birthright of every child to be able to grow, have fun and learn with the other kids of their age and such tragedies, like having any limb disability, should not be the reason good enough to stop them from doing so. We at think3D, believe that this very thought, along with a heart of doing it, are encouraging many designers and scientists across the globe to design different kinds of prosthetics which are not only appealing for the eyes, but also strong enough to be used comfortably by different patients. Also, with every invention the material of these prosthetics are being carefully chosen, in order to make it stronger, long-lasting and more flexible to be used for all age groups.
Organovo, a San Diego based 3D bioprinting company, have decided to introduce 3D printed skin tissue models. The company has got in to a Research Collaboration Agreement with L’Oreal USA Products, Inc.. The agreement iterates that Organovo and L’Oreal will be responsible for development of skin tissue models and L’Oreal will hold the exclusive rights to utilize the skin tissue models for several R&D purposes such as development, manufacturing, testing and other R&D purposes of its own products. However Organovo has retained the rights to sell its tissue models for its various pharmaceutical & testing purposes.
The agreement, again, has 3 phases – development phase, a validation phase and a commercial supply phase. And L’Oreal has certain set performance criteria, only with the help of which L’Oreal will decide whether to move forward and continue with the next phase or not.
L’Oreal will be giving upfront payments for its development and validation phase and payments for other deliverables from Organovo. The company is yet to negotiate on Organovo’s exclusive commercial supply of the tissue models, including customary licensing and royalty terms.But nothing specific has been disclosed regarding the commercial terms.
Organovo’s initiative will be instrumental in reducing (till nullifying) the use of animal skin for testing. Even L’Oreal claims that it “no longer tests on animals any of its products or any of its ingredients, anywhere in the world. Nor does L’Oréal delegate this task to others.” The company, however, states that “[a]n exception could only be made if regulatory authorities demanded it for safety or regulatory purposes.”
A 3D printed skin tissue modeling is the first step as a benevolent and an eco-friendly alternative to testing on animal. However holding the exclusive rights will limit other companies from having such testings done on the skin tissue!!! We, at think3D hope that soon there should be an appropriate solution to this issue. At the same time we do welcome with open heart this type of innovation. Now from benefiting humans, 3D printing is evidently benefiting animal kingdom too.
Scientists have come out with a very interesting and also a viable solution to aid any recovery during bone fracture, taking the help of 3D printing technology. This material have been created using a biological material from the animal bones. The specialty of this material, which they are calling the “bone cement”, is that once the body starts healing and starts forming the new bones in the fractured area it can dissolve in the human tissue, and it does not even leave any trace after getting dissolved.
Scientists at the Russian National Research Nuclear University, have been dedicated to develop this substance using biological hydroxyapatite, a white powder which transforms into liquid when it is mixed with biological polymer. Therefore it remains soft and automatically hardens when it is placed inside the human body.
Actually this soft material, made from hydroxyapatite, is used during the 3D printing process. While being 3D printed, it turns hard as a bone (like in case of other 3D printing process). Professor Vitaly Guzeev, a member of the research team, explains, “On the basis of hydoxypatite, we prepared a liquid material that we can fill a 3D printer with”. So we know that the hydroxyapatite is being the printing material which is being used to create the “bone cement”. Guzeev gives an example where a man has suffered a craniocerebral injury. He says that the injured part is 3D scanned and sent to a printer, which is where the lost bone part is recreated.
Guzeev adds, “We have created material that the organism takes as original, the bone marrow contains mesenchymal cells that migrate to the damaged tissue areas. They detect our matter as something that can take part in biochemical processes and start processing it to enable [cell] division. Regeneration is cell division itself. As a result, a new bone tissue is produced with its own blood vessels and nerve cells.”
So, this process is basically altering the traditional process where either a titanium would be used and then removed after the damaged part gets repaired automatically in the human body.
But, according to a statement, “bone cement” is not something the doctors at the university were intending to create. They wanted to make a material as hard as titanium, minus the iron impurities, which would aid in speeding up the healing process when it will be applied to the titanium prostheses. However things took its own turn and ‘born cement’ came into existence.
This material can also be used in dentistry or cosmetology.
The next step ?? ‘Bone Cement’ will be passing the clinical tests and get through marketing authorization so that it can be used in medical marketing.
This development is an apt example of how 3D printing technology has not just entered the medical industry but also how doctors are committed in creating materials that would benefit humanity as much as possible and in this article it is proven that the doctors are aiming at creating materials which are natural and perfect for the human body, at the same time can be easily “printed” using 3D printing technology.
