ICYMI: Bigger and faster machines, extension of quality systems, and demonstrations for rockets and bioabsorbable materials moved additive manufacturing forward. Software collaboration (Sigma Additive and Novanto) and acquisitions (Stratsys and Riven) support the additive manufacturing process for production. GE Additive provided details on the Series 3 of their binder jet systems. KraussMaffei announced their entry into additive manufacturing with a material extrusion system that can print polymers up to 10m3. Relativity Space announced the Stargate 4th Generation metal 3D printers as well as a new agreement with NASA to operate one of the largest rocket engine test facilities in the United States. Carbon announced its developmental bioabsorbable elastomer platform has demonstrated biocompatibility in vivo.
Here’s a quick look at these stories and more.
Rady Children’s Develops Industry-First 3D Model DICOM Conversion Software: Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego announced the availability of Media2DICOM, its cutting-edge Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standardization software. Created in-house at the Hospital’s Helen and Will Webster Foundation 3D Innovations (3DI) Lab, this freely available software is the first ever tool of its kind. READ MORE
UltiMaker Launches New MakerBot SKETCH Large 3D Printer for the Classroom: UltiMaker announced the new MakerBot SKETCH® Large 3D printer, the newest addition to the popular MakerBot SKETCH platform. The SKETCH platform is one of the most comprehensive 3D printing solutions for education, expanding students’ access to 3D printing, enabling them to bring their ideas to life, and setting educators up for success in the classroom. READ MORE
New Agreement with NASA Puts Relativity Space on Path to Operate One of America’s Largest Rocket Engine Test Facilities: Relativity Space, the first company to 3D print rockets detailed plans to operate one of the largest rocket engine test facilities in the United States. Through an agreement with NASA, Relativity is significantly expanding its facilities and infrastructure at NASA’s historic Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi. The new facilities will support testing of Relativity’s entirely 3D printed Aeon R engines for its fully reusable 3D printed rocket, Terran R. READ MORE
TURN UP: Larger, Lighter Additive Parts: The EU’s European Green Deal sets out the need to reduce transport emissions by 90% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels, with the aviation sector playing its part. Policy actions and industry efforts since 2005 have led to greater fuel efficiency per passenger. Priorities going forward include financial and regulatory measures to drive low-emissions aviation and the urgent development of clean sheet frames, new aircraft engines and propulsion systems and Sustainable Aviation Fuel. READ MORE
Introducing GE Additive’s Binder Jet Line and Series 3: GE Additive released more details of its Binder Jet Line and the Series 3 printer. With production deliveries expected to begin in the second half of 2023, the release of the system follows a four-year phase of customer discovery, collaboration and testing to ensure the system is ready and relevant for modern, high-volume, serial production environments. READ MORE
World premiere: KraussMaffei presents Additive Manufacturing: Additive manufacturing (3D printing) for industrial use is one of the key innovations from KraussMaffei. The powerPrint and precisionPrint open up new fields of application along the value chain of plastic components for additive manufacturing with plastic granules or resin-based 3D printing materials. This opens up new market opportunities for modern plastics processors, but also for users from other sectors such as medical technology, the construction industry and the foundry industry. READ MORE
6K Awarded Prestigious Department of Energy Grant to Fund $107M UniMelt Plasma Processing Plant for Domestic Battery Material Production: 6K announced it has been selected as a recipient of the first set of projects funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries. The $107 million project, of which $50 million will be funded through federal share from the Department of Energy, to accelerate deployment costs for battery material production associated with 6K’s investment in a full-scale battery material manufacturing plant to be built in the southeast United States. READ MORE
Velo3D Appoints Jessie Lockhart as Chief People Officer: Velo3D, Inc. announced it has appointed Jessie Lockhart as Chief People Officer. Lockhart brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources and people operations to the company. She holds a Ph.D. in Global Leadership and Change from Pepperdine University and most recently oversaw global talent management at Lam Research, a Fortune 300 supplier of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment. READ MORE
3DPrinterOS is Bringing Full Cloud Support to Formlabs 3D Printers: 3DPrinterOS‘ cloud solution is now available with the new Formlabs integration for print farms of any size to help scale your additive manufacturing operations. READ MORE
SprintRay Announces Launch of Next Generation OnX Tough for Dental Prosthetics: SprintRay Inc. announced the commercial launch of OnX Tough, a next generation hybrid ceramic resin designed for 3D printing dental prosthetics. Leveraging SprintRay’s proprietary NanoFusion™ technology, this new resin delivers unparalleled durability and lifelike translucency for high-quality, same-day smiles. READ MORE
UN METALON, Startup Company Developing Revolutionary Ultra-fast Metal 3D Printer, Raises US$5.6 Million from Japanese and U.S. Investors: SUN METALON Inc., a startup company developing an ultra-fast metal 3D printer, has announced the procurement of US$5.6 million in its pre-series A funding round. The funds were raised from new investor GLOBIS CAPITAL PARTNERS & Co., along with existing investors UTEC (The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co., Ltd.), D4V (Design for Ventures), and Berkeley SkyDeck Fund (associated with the University of California, Berkeley). This new round of fundraising brings the total investment in SUN METALON to US$7.7 million. READ MORE
Relativity Space Maps Path to Terran R Production at Scale With Unveil of Stargate 4th Generation Metal 3D Printers: Relativity Space unveiled the latest iteration of its first-of-its-kind proprietary manufacturing platform, Stargate 4th Generation metal 3D printers. These printers will underpin both the development and rate production of Terran R, Relativity’s fully reusable, 3D printed rocket that will be capable of launching 20,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO). READ MORE
Quality Assurance: Sigma Additive Solutions and Novanta Pioneer First Fully Integrated Scan Head: Sigma Additive Solutions has partnered with Novanta to create an integrated hardware/software solution to make quality assurance a standard part of the optical train. READ MORE
Quality Assurance for Production-Scale Additive Manufacturing: Stratasys Acquires Software Company Riven: Stratasys announced the acquisition of quality assurance software company Riven. The Berkeley, Calif.,-based start-up has been a Stratasys connectivity software partner and its cloud-based software solution will now be fully integrated into Stratasys’ GrabCAD® Additive Manufacturing Platform, benefiting customers using any Stratasys 3D printer running GrabCAD Print software. READ MORE
Carbon’s Developmental Bioabsorbable Elastomer Platform has Demonstrated Biocompatibility in Vivo: Carbon announced that its developmental bioabsorbable elastomer platform has demonstrated biocompatibility in vivo, with all samples being designated as non-toxic and exhibiting tunable times for full absorption. This latest milestone indicates the elastomer’s potential future development in biomedical lattice applications such as soft tissue repair, wound dressings, and nerve conduits. READ MORE
Replique Appoints Nick Dinges as Chief Technology Officer: Replique announced that Nikolas “Nick” Dinges has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer. As the new CTO of Replique, Dinges will be responsible for developing their technology platform which enables OEMs to provide parts on demand to their customers through a fully encrypted, global, and decentralised 3D printing network. READ MORE
Desktop Metal Names Jason Cole Chief Financial Officer: Desktop Metal, Inc. announced Jason Cole will join the Company as Chief Financial Officer, effective November 10. He will report to Desktop Metal Founder and CEO Ric Fulop. Cole, 47, joins the Company after 18 years at Analog Devices, a world leader in high performance signal processing technology used in virtually all types of electronic equipment. READ MOREThe Army Educational Outreach Program and Future Engineers Announce Second National 3D Pin Design Challenge to Celebrate Veterans: The “We (Heart) Veterans Pin Design” challenge is back for its second year, inviting 4-12th grade students to put their 3D design skills to the test to show their appreciation for U.S. veterans. The Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP), will again sponsor the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) challenge in partnership with Future Engineers, an organization that administers free, online STEM competitions for students. READ MORE