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MAG N.AMERICA EDITION

Blue Car Hinge designed by Dassault Systèmes and manufactured by Renishaw

OPENING THE DOOR TO METAL AM

RENISHAW’S GROWING NETWORK OF SOLUTIONS CENTERS

ACCELERATING 3D technologies

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©2016 by 3D Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. 3D Systems and ProJet are registered trademarks and the 3D Systems logo is a trademark of 3D Systems, Inc.

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4

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EDITORIAL HEAD OF CONTENT

James Woodcock james@rapidnews.com GROUP EDITOR

Daniel O’Connor daniel.oconnor@rapidnews.com DEPUTY GROUP EDITOR

Laura Griffiths laura.griffiths@rapidnews.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Samuel Davies samuel.davies@rapidnews.com NEWSDESK

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Carol Hardy carol@rapidnews.com SENIOR SALES EXECUTIVE

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PRODUCTION Sam Hamlyn Tracey Roberts

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PAUL CASCONE Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Argen

Argen is the world’s largest dental alloy manufacturer and relies on Concept Laser as their 3D metal printing machine solution. As a global leader in the design and manufacture of powder-bed metal additive manufacturing systems, we have the right solution for every industry. Freely innovate, with greater speed, efficiency, and better quality of parts.

Concept Laser Inc (USA) info@conceptlaserinc.com T: + 1 (817) 328-6500 www.conceptlaserinc.com

Concept Laser GmbH info@concept-laser.de T. +49 (0) 9571 1679-0 www.concept-laser.de

TCT at IMTS

Cover Story

06

OPENING THE DOOR TO METAL AM

Renishaw Inc. discuss how metal additive manufacturing is breaking down barriers for brand-new ways of designing parts.

41

13

NEWS

Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griffiths, takes an in-depth look at some of the most fascinating developments in the world of 3D printing dentistry.

19

3D PRINTING BLOOMS IN JEWELRY COLLECTION

Laura speaks to UK-based designer Rebecca Wilkes about exploiting the benefits of SLS to create a customizable 3D printed floral jewelry collection.

31

BUILDING BRAINIACS

Editorial Assistant, Samuel Davies, takes a look at an educational project in Nigeria, which aims to help the adoption of 3D printing in the developing world.

RISE OF THE ROBOTS

Dan goes to IMTS 2016 to discover how robotics could change the way we manufacture forever.

THE BIG INTERVIEW: VYOMESH JOSHI, CEO OF 3D SYSTEMS

Dan sat down with 3D Systems’ new man in charge VJ at IMTS to see about the new direction he intends to take the company in.

formnext powered by tct over in Frankfurt, Germany was something of a runaway train this year, Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griffiths rounds up the news live from the show floor.

3D PRINTING CUTS ITS TEETH

33

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09 13

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

CONTENTS

TCT | VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4

42

MATERIALS

21

41

SPROUTING OUT

Laura takes a look at the development of a computing hardware that HP launched at the same press conference as Multi Jet Fusion in 2014.

42

POLYMIDE 11: THE HIGH PERFORMANCE MATERIAL OF CHOICE FOR PRODUCTION PARTS IN LASER SINTERING.

CES PREVIEW

Yes somehow this is already the last issue of the year and that means we have CES in Las Vegas approaching fast. Take a look at our incredible line up of speakers we’ve got for the 3D Printing Conference at CES 2017.

It’s the material that has changed the game in terms of functionality and durability of laser sintered parts. Arnaud Lemaitre discusses its beneficial properties.

44

27

A STITCH INSIDE

IN CONTROL

Group Editor, Daniel O’Connor finds out how Verbatim’s highperformance filaments are quality-controlled thanks to Mitsubishi Chemical.

44

The healthcare innovation company, Sutrue, used TCT Show to showcase the development of its automated endoscopic stitching device. Dan delves a little deeper.

REGULARS

05 11 48

EDITOR’S letter GUEST COLUMN

TODD GRIMM COLUMN

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

03

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

FROM THE EDITOR Non-Disclosure Argument “We’re doing something absolutely fantastic for a very high-profile client… … but we’ve signed an NDA and can’t tell you about it.”

A

ny technology editor will tell you this is a fairly common annoyance but to an industry that is very much trying to prove its worth in the world of manufacturing (as additive technologies are) it can be strangling. Case studies are the oxygen that sparks the flicker for the implementation of 3D printing into workflows in businesses across the globe.

NDAs are a frustration for machine manufacturers too, they desperately want to share how their customers are using the technology in order to sell more machines.

At IMTS 2016 one OEM president told me the following anecdote: “We’ve got two neighboring businesses using our 3D printers to create molds, I went to visit them and when they first showed me how they were using the technology I asked if we could use it as a case study.

They responded, ‘Heck no! I don’t want the guy up the road copying me.’ So off I went to see that second guy, lo and behold he’s using the exact same process so I asked him the same question, ‘Heck no, I don’t want the guy down the road knowing what I’m up to!’”

It brings to mind the curious case of Dennis the Menace – the comic strip character that first appeared on 12 March 1951. You’re reading this in North America so immediately what springs to mind is a blonde haired boy that terrorized his neighbor and was turned into a 90s movie starring Walter Matthau. But in the UK Dennis the Menace is a different comic-book character entirely, he has a mess of black hair, a red and black striped jumper, a dog called Gnasher and his victim is a boy from school called Walter the Softy.

The two comic creations appeared on exactly the same day, there was no collaboration and equally, there was no plagiarism. There was no way either creator knew what the other was up to, there was no lawsuit, each just agreed to allow the other to prosper in their prospective territories.

Protecting ones IP is essential for product innovation, we understand that, but more often than not the application is simply common sense.

Your competitor is probably already doing it or if not you’ll be so far ahead with that process that they cannot catch you.

Despite those NDAs, there are plenty of case studies to be had in this issue of TCT Magazine.

The next time you’ve got something you’re in two minds about sharing, share it with us, our contact details are on page three, we don’t bite.

You may notice a subtle change to the TCT branding on the front of this issue. With an evergrowing range of products including an expanding conference portfolio and alternative language magazines, TCT is consistently lowering the barriers to information to truly accelerate 3D technologies. To do this the branding requires consistency, you can find out about all our products over at www.thetctgroup.com

Druck On

Daniel O’Connor Group Editor

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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LEAD NEWS: RENISHAW

2016 is turning out to be quite a landmark year for all sorts of interesting reasons. Putting aside several very notable global political events, I can say with a high degree of confidence that from Renishaw Inc’s perspective, 2016 is a significant year for us as we are close to consolidating our US business in a brand new stateof-the-art facility, in West Dundee, to the west of Chicago.

OPENING THE DOOR TO METAL AM

I

WOR DS : De nis Zay ia – V P o f S a l e s a n d M a r k e t i n g at R e n i s haw I n c .

T’S ALSO TURNING out to be an exciting year for the Additive Manufacturing (AM) industry with high profile companies positioning themselves for increased use of AM technologies in mainstream manufacturing.

What is clear is that manufacturing companies are increasing their commitment to using AM technologies and with that they become dependent on the future development and success of AM. It is becoming increasingly clear that to be competitive, the viability of some products is completely dependent on AM to deliver the required performance improvements.

The dominant factors are also changing; we are moving from questions about the possibilities for AM to concerns about a secure and dependable supply chain and manufacturing processes that are capable and stable. Some companies are now reaping the rewards of adopting metal AM technologies early; some already have experience going back ten years or more. However, for new users who recognise that AM must play a strategic role for their businesses to compete, it can be quite a daunting prospect.

At Renishaw we have been working with industry for over 40 years, helping companies use our measurement technologies to control their manufacturing processes and operate efficiently. If we look at the way machine tools use our probing products and how sophisticated CMM measurement technologies deliver valuable data into today’s manufacturing processes, and then compare it to the way things were done 20 or 30 years ago, the differences are startling.

Yet, this level of progress was only delivered with strong collaborations and specialist applications knowledge.

Renishaw has always invested around 13 to 18% of its revenues in research, engineering and technology to support our product development,

06

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

but importantly we have also invested for the long-term in our infrastructure and global support network. Many of our larger customers operate globally across multiple manufacturing sites and having a partner who is both local and global (we have over 70 offices in 35 countries) is a deciding factor when they do business with us.

What’s this got to do with your AM technologies, I hear you ask? Good question. Up until recently many of the companies using AM technologies have been prepared to make their own way, often seeing the relative immaturity of the technology as something they can exploit to their advantage, by developing specialist expertise to use as a differentiator. Clearly this does not help the new user and neither does it help the technology become more widespread and accepted by manufacturing engineers. One key step that we are taking, besides our commitment to making robust, productive factory floor machines, is to significantly enhance and further simplify the preproduction design and file preparation activities.

In our QuantAM build preparation software, from its next release in January 2017, users will be able to import and use native CAD data as well as STL data to drive the AM print process. We are also working closely with software vendors to integrate QuantAM capabilities into their design, optimisation and simulation packages. This open approach is already well under way with specialist applications and partners to ensure right first time build preparation and we are focussed on expanding our partner network to help mature AM as a manufacturing technology.

Together these key building blocks allow engineers access to all the data-driven processes that manufacturing is dependent on. This is very familiar territory for Renishaw, where we have a long history of both developing and using technologies that transform the way data is used to drive high quality manufacturing.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

MAIN lEFT: Metal AM Bleu car hinge part.

lEFT: Bleu car QuantAM ABOVE: Solution Center Canada.

 ABOVE rIGHT:

Solutions Center customer induction.

RIGHT: Solutions Center software training.

Even with the development of better software tools there is still a major challenge for companies who want to become educated on the use of AM, particularly as much of the knowledge and experience lies with a relatively small group of early adopters. It’s certainly not impossible to learn how to get the best out of AM and many of our applications team and process specialists have grown up with conventional subtractive technologies. Far from being a hindrance, this experience positively enhances their suitability when implementing AM into production because they already understand how to implement and maintain process capability. Getting regular, wellsupported access to the technology is by far the best way to gain experience on what works and what doesn’t. The ability of your existing engineering teams to rapidly adopt AM with the right guidance will probably surprise you, although initially it makes sense to start with smaller groups of enthusiasts before scaling up.

So just as those pioneering the use of Renishaw machine tool probing in the 1980s helped some companies gain an advantage, the widespread adoption depended on applications support to bring the benefits of probing to more companies.

Over the years Renishaw has worked with users and machine tool suppliers to develop and deliver applications support to a much wider audience.

To become equally widespread, AM technology will require just as much support.

To deliver this support Renishaw is developing a global network of Additive Manufacturing

The Solutions Centres provide a space for users to spend time in a private AM incubator cell with the full support of dedicated applications engineers and technicians to understand the capabilities that AM might offer, all without the substantial initial outlay for a machine and peripherals.

Solutions Centres where interested companies can spend time getting to know AM technology and its capabilities and relevance to them. Our aim is to share our experiences of AM and how we are helping others to successfully integrate it with other manufacturing processes. The Solutions Centres provide a space for users to spend time in a private AM incubator cell, with the full support of dedicated applications engineers and technicians. This provides the opportunity to understand the capabilities that AM might offer, all without the substantial initial outlay for a machine and peripherals. This way customers can develop their product design, the AM process and the business case in a cost-controlled manner, before integrating AM into their own factories.

When operational in early 2017, our new facility in Chicago will host our main US Solutions Centre alongside our other manufacturing technologies, providing a flagship environment to present our technologies. In total we have 133,000 sq ft with permission to develop another 117,000 sq ft as required. The Solutions Centre will initially comprise 4,000 sq ft, enough for up to 16 AM machines to support the needs of our customers.

The development of the new site in West Dundee has given us an insight into what challenges our customers will face when bringing AM technologies into their facilities - from dealing with the correct storage of materials and satisfying the local environmental and fire service regulations, to creating a professional factory layout and considering the integration with other technologies. All of this gives us an abundance of knowledge and expertise that we are ready to share with our customers. The bottom line is we are ready, willing and able. 

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

07

NEWS

Concept Laser debuted the core technology in its AM Factory of Tomorrow concept, the M Line Factory.

Designed for serial production, the system consists of two independent units, the M Line Factory PRD for production, and the M Line Factory PCG for processing. This enables processes to run in parallel meaning downtimes are reduced and availability and output are increased. The M Line Factory PRD features a build envelope of 400 x 400 x 425 mm and is optionally equipped with one to four laser sources, each delivering 400 W or 1,000 W of laser power. At the core of the unit are three independent modules: a dose module, build module and overflow module, which travel between machines on an automated transfer unit.

METALS MARKET DOMINATES FORMNEXT FLOOR  In an interview with TCT, industry analyst Terry Wohlers said, “Metals are smoking hot right now” and that was evident in the volume of new metal technologies on the floor each serving a different portion of the industry’s fastest growing market.

We saw Additive Industries present its huge MetalFAB1 machine for the first time, OR Laser unveiled its ORLAS Creator, a compact, SLMbased machine developed with SME’s in mind, whilst Fraunhofer showcased a low-cost SLM system available for less than 30,000 Euros.

Another machine you couldn’t miss was the Formup 350, a direct multi-laser melting system developed by Fives and Michelin, plus we caught a glimpse of new machines from Trumpf including the TruPrint 3000 and a demo of the upcoming TruPrint 5000.

NEWS formnext powered by tct Special

The numbers are in for the second edition of formnext powered by tct, which stormed the Frankfurt Messe on 15-18th November. Official figures show a phenomenal 49% increase in visitors with 13,384 people piling through the doors across the four-day exhibition. The boosted footfall had plenty more ground to cover this year due to a massive 33% increase in space and 51% more exhibitors presenting the latest and greatest in 3D technologies. Here’s just a snapshot of what some exhibitors had to shout about …

FOR MORE FORMNEXT HIGHLIGHTS HEAD OVER TO WWW.TCTMAGAZINE.COM

INTRODUCING GE ADDITIVE 

GE has dominated the AM headlines in recent weeks, after announcing plans to acquire two metal 3D printing companies, Arcam and Concept Laser, signalling somewhat of a seal of approval for the additive industry. The story continued at formnext as the company announced a new venture, GE Additive, completely dedicated to AM. Vice President & General Manager, Mohammad Ehteshami spoke to TCT about the company’s grand vision to install 10,000 3D printers over the next decade for customers across the globe as well as 1,000 internally. Speaking about the potential for speed, size and ability to change the game, Mohammad said he believes “additive manufacturing is transformational.” On top of this, GE Additive has announced plans to invest $10 million in two education programmes in the next five years aimed at developing future talent in AM.

CALL FOR 3D PRINTED CERAMICS IS ANSWERED AT FORMNEXT Ceramics took up a sizable chunk of the formnext floor with several companies demonstrating new machines and capabilities. Established player, Roland DG showcased its new 3D Ceramic binderjetting printer, a machine it claims the dental industry has been craving for some time. Further down the hall, Vienna-based Lithoz demonstrated its ceramic 3D printing technology it has been perfecting since 2006 whilst Dutch manufacturer, Admatec exhibited its new ADMAFLEX 130 3D printer that was recently launched at TCT Show in the UK and French company 3DCeram showcased its Ceramaker machine for the first time.

Along with the European debut of its Nanoparticle Jetting technology, Xjet showed off its new ceramic 3D printing technology inspired by demand from the dental market.

STRATASYS STRENGTHENS COLLABORATIONS WITH SIEMENS AND SAP Building on recent alliances for both the Stratasys Robotic Composite 3D Demonstrator and GrabCAD Print designto-3D print platform, Stratasys announced a formal partnership to integrate Siemens’ Digital Factory into its AM solutions to expand the benefits of 3D printing in the manufacturing value chain.

In addition, the company also announced plans to establish a global network of 3D printing co-innovation labs with SAP to educate customers on the adoption of AM technologies. Digital manufacturing and coinnovation sites are currently being rolled out across France, South Africa, Germany and the US. 

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

CONCEPT LASER LAUNCHES THE M LINE FACTORY SYSTEM 

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DENTAL FOCUS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

At AMUG 2016 Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griffiths saw a talk by Perry E. Jones, DDS, MAGD on dentistry that she was so enamored with she asked him to write a column.

3D PRINTING IN EVERYDAY DENTAL PRACTICE W O R D S : P E R R Y. E . J o n e s

A The milling times are now reduced such that we are able to produce a crown in an hour, from prep start to design to mill to final delivery.

DVANCES IN DENTAL technology continue to improve patient comfort, shorten treatment times, and improve the efficiency and accuracy of the restorative process. The messy, unpleasant experience associated with taking impressions is no longer a given. Today, intraoral scanners can take a full spectrum of digital impressions ranging from single unit cases, to multiunit restoration to full arch scans to implants.

In 2005, after searching for a solution to eliminate the “goo” and mess of impression taking, I was the first dentist to fully integrate iTero digital scanning into everyday dental practice.

The “digital” impressions captured by intraoral scanners have been used for years to create the models used by dental labs but producing models to support traditional laboratory processes does not fully leverage the possibilities of digital dental impressions. Creating restorations completely without physical models was a next logical step.

The principle was simple enough, but producing the full range of restorations without a physical model, required a dental laboratory partner adept at spatial data processing, CAD/CAM additive manufacturing (AM) and design verification.

Advances with in-house milling technology now allow intraoral digital scan data to be sent directly to my CAD software, and design a crown in minutes. The digital data in STL format is then sent to a milling unit capable of milling lithium silicate, lithium di-silicate and even pre-sintered zirconia.

The milling times are now reduced such that we are able to produce a crown in an hour, from prep start to design to mill to final delivery.

AM is a key component of the digital restorative process. It provides a bridge between the physical and the digital representation of patient data.

Once the digital impression has been taken, it can be used anywhere in the restorative process in a variety of applications, such as production of surgical guides, investment patterns, try-in prostheses, temporary/provisional prostheses, denture molds, and laboratory working models.

3D printed models have many applications in dentistry particularly in the world of thermoplastic appliances made via vacuum forming or direct press down of heated thermoformed materials such as bleaching trays, retainers, athletic mouth

guards, orthodontic appliances and so on. These appliances were made in the past on gypsum models that were very fragile, only single use and inaccurate. We have left the ”Stone Ages” of gypsum for highly accurate, virtually unbreakable, multiple-use, 3D printed models.

Some four years ago I began using a Stratasys Objet 30 printer in my office for everyday modeling using MED 690 polymer and MED 610, an FDA approved material to manufacture surgical guides.

The world of surgical guides has undergone tremendous advances.

Our surgical guide workflow is as follows: We take a Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) using Mobile Imaging Solutions, a service I developed that provides onsite imaging using the latest lowest radiation dose mobile system to produce the DICOM data that will be file merged with highly accurate STL files from an iTero Element intraoral scan. That data is merged using 3shape Implant Studio 2016 software. This creates a virtual planning platform to design the location of the implant restorations as well as precise location of the implant in bone. Further, we can design the immediate screw retained premade provisional restoration that will be placed at the time of implant placement with the surgical guide. AM is used to produce the highly accurate surgical guide in a 100% digital workflow.

AM extends into everyday dentistry with orthodontics where mass customization allows products such as Invisalign to manufacture aligners.

We are now able to replicate the process in our office. Tooth movement can be easily performed virtually using in-house software to segment a series of stages, STL files are used to 3D print a physical model of each stage and on this physical model a thermoplastic appliance is created. These sequential clear plastic aligners are then used to create precise tooth movements.

The future is bright for AM in everyday dentistry.

The efficiencies and improved dental care afforded by technological advancements can only continue to improve the speed and quality of dental treatment. 3D printing enabled by intraoral digital scanning is the next paradigm shift, offering dentists, the opportunity to move beyond traditional methods into a new world of digital dentistry. 

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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DENTAL FOCUS

Teeth

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

3D Printing Cuts its

It’s an accepted notion that nobody enjoys going to the dentist, even when you leave with that fresh, just cleaned, Colgate smile, it’s overshadowed by the perception of the dreaded dentist chair and all of the scary, shiny tools that come with it. While there may be no magic solution to cure a fear of the dentist, dental professionals are changing things up to take the pain out of other parts of the practice with the adoption of technologies that improve the experience for doctor and patient.

WOR D S : L A U R A G R IFFITH S

T

O MANUFACTURE A common appliance like a retainer, for years dentists have been using the tried and tested method of pressing a green paste onto a patient’s teeth which is then left to set for an uncomfortable amount of time to create an accurate mould that can be used to manufacture a patient-specific retainer. For anyone who has experienced the joy of braces, you will know this is not a tidy process, it’s unpleasant and messy but remains the most common way to create a dental impression.

The good news is that intra-oral scanning and 3D printed moulds are taking the “goo” (as Dr. Perry E. Jones describes in his column on page 11) out of the process and replacing it with a clean digital method that implements both 3D scanning and 3D printing. As is the case with any new process in a traditional sector, adoption hasn’t happened over night but as accessibility and materials continue to improve, the uptake is ascending rapidly.

Currently 3D printers are more commonly found in larger dental labs rather than day-today dental practices but for a growing number of smaller businesses, particularly across the U.S., digital workflows are providing a competitive edge and a certain wow factor – for dentists, the buzz around 3D printing is definitely a positive, almost trendy coup that is attracting more patients to their businesses. The introduction of compact and affordable machines means that “mom and pop” style labs are able to bring advanced technologies in house that offer their patients faster and more efficient services allowing dentists to make their own appliance on site, such as patient-specific surgical guides or retainers.

“My vision for 3D printing within dentistry is to make our every day tasks simpler, potentially faster and equally more and more accurate so temporaries, surgical guides, bite guards, potentially even being able to print aligners for moving teeth,” Dr. Michael Scherer (DMD, MS, FACP), a practicing prosthodontics and dental implant surgeon in California told TCT. “If you were to ask me two or three years ago who was leading the dental market I would tell you it’s the



ABOVE: EnvisionTec E-Guard

My vision for 3D printing within dentistry is to make our every day tasks simpler, potentially faster and equally more and more accurate Dr. Michael Scherer

dental laboratories but that’s shifted. 3D printing is important in my every day workflow, I can’t do what I do now without my printer, it’s almost become dependent on everything but what I didn’t realise at the time was that my patients and potential patients love the fact that I use 3D printing. They say “wow this dentist is really with it” who really wants to go to their dentist that still looks like their office is out of medieval times?”.

Though we’re just starting to hear more about 3D printing being used in daily dentistry, 3D technologies are no novelty to the dental lab. For years dental professionals have been using intraoral 3D scanners, a wand-like optical imaging tool that goes into a patient’s mouth to collect accurate oral data. Adoption of these devices is now growing so quickly that a recent study by 3Shape revealed that 39% of all practices are considering buying a digital impression system within the next three years.

On the fabrication side, 3D printing isn’t the only digital method of manufacture that dentists have at their disposal. Milling techniques have been in use for the last three decades whereby appliances such as crowns are cut away from a block of porcelain but like many 3D printers, these machines have been typically very expensive to purchase, pricing out smaller dental labs and practices. In the case of 3D printing,

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MEDICAL

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DENTAL FOCUS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Formlabs’ dental expert, Gideon Balloch says adoption is currently much higher in dental labs than in dental practices due to the substantial investment a high-quality machine requires but with machine prices lowering, that investment is becoming a no-brainer.

“There is actually a lot of adoption of 3D technologies by dental labs whether that’s by CNC milling, dental treatment software or 3D printing,” Gideon commented. “So it is having a day to day impact, some clinics might not know that 3D technology was used to make their stuff but now what we’re seeing is the software itself is getting less expensive, companies like Formlabs are dropping the price of equipment whilst increasing quality to the point where not only is there adoption in dental labs but we’re actually starting to see adoption in dental clinics which is really exciting.”

Take for example Dr. Scherer, after outsourcing all of his printing requirements to larger dental labs when starting out, he decided he wanted to bring it in house and set out to find a technology that would fit into his office without breaking the bank. He came across a Kickstarter campaign for the then little known startup Formlabs and its Form 1 3D printer, a compact desktop stereolithography system that would offer high level resolution for a fraction of the cost of comparative machines. It was a total experiment but one that has paid off both in Dr. Scherer’s practice and in the wider industry as this unexpected interest from early dental adopters caused Formlabs to take a closer look at this niche user base.

“Before January this year we hadn’t really taken a look at the dental industry, we hadn’t put a single tooth on the website and yet somehow we had hundreds of dental professionals buying Form 1s and doing some really amazing things.” Gideon commented. “Since

ABOVE: Formlabs’ dental surgical guide in

surgery

LEFT: Formlabs Dental SG

we’ve launched it’s grown significantly and that’s super exciting but I think we can be more than that over the next 12 months.”

MATERIAL DEVELOPMENTS

3D printing has numerous applications in the dental space both directly and indirectly and one of the biggest benefits is in surgical planning. Dr. Scherer has been using 3D printing to create surgical guides, something he has been teaching to students at the University of Nevada School of Dental Medicine and in a series of workshops for dental professionals looking to take the digital plunge.

Earlier this year Formlabs released its first resin developed solely for 3D printing surgical guides. Developed with materials manufacturer Vertex Dental, Dental SG is its first biocompatible resin, a Class 1 material that allows dentists to directly print guides that can be put into the patient’s mouth to improve outcomes and make implant surgery faster and more precise.

“Dental SG for us is a couple of different things,” Gideon added. “It’s not just about the dental industry it’s more of a message that we’re going into the dental industry and it’s our first product that specializes

in a specific dental application.”

This year EnvisionTEC also expanded its dental material selection with two new products, E-Guard for bite guards and E-Gum for flexible gingiva masks that are integrated into 3D models. E-Guard, a material used to produce night guards has just received FDA classification as a Class 1 device that can be worn in the mouth for as long as needed and is currently shipping in Europe. The material prints particularly well on EnvisionTEC’s Perfactory Vida DLP 3D printer which allows technicians to print around five appliances on the same build plate in just 30 minutes, saving dentists at least one hour per appliance. With over 15 years of experience in DLP technology, medical represents more than one-third of EnvisionTEC’s business and is its fastest growing category by far. Within that field, dental is number one with dental professionals and orthodontists both fans of its growing materials library and superior precision and surface finish.

“The dental industry has been one of the first industries to fully adapt to digital workflows whether that’s scanning or 3D printing and now we’re getting intricate enough and more advanced to where we can directly 3D print these appliances which is a really exciting step forward,” Chris Kabot, Dental Applications Specialist at EnvisionTEC commented.

The classification of these materials indicates a growing confidence from federations like the FDA in 3D printed products but it still remains a challenge to get these materials into day-to-day practice with different organisations across the globe requiring varying standards. However companies ››

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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DENTAL FOCUS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES



LEFT: Dr. Michael Scherer delivers his 3D printing in dentistry workshop

LEFT:

Renishaw DS30 scanning tooth model



RIGHT: EnvisionTEC Perfactory Vida 3D printer

like EnvisionTEC are working with them to establish guidelines that can smooth out the process for future materials and appliances. Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to both companies, adoption is actually growing much faster in Europe under CE certification than in the U.S. “The FDA has really just started to understand additive processes and one of the first things we’re trying to do is establish some standards,” Chris added. “I think as we start to get more advanced with the technology and as we go into this next evolution of machines, standards around accuracy and resolution are going to be much more important for us as a 3D printing company and the same goes for the FDA, they care about how long this material is going to hold its shape, are any of the chemicals going to leak out and actually affect the patient?”

IN-HOUSE OR OUTSOURCE?

Of course additive developments are happening elsewhere in the dental sector away from resin. Metals is the AM industry’s fastest growing sector and dental is playing its part in that growth with companies like EOS, Sisma and Concept Laser targeting the industry with dental specific machines and certified materials.

Global engineering firm, Renishaw is one company that has strengthened its emphasis on dental with the recent launch of its new Healthcare Centre of Excellence near Cardiff.

In keeping with the mission of its Innovation Centre initiative launched last year, the aim is to provide a place for the manufacture of custom medical devices, including dental applications, along with education and training for the life sciences community.

Even for the biggest dental labs, investment in a current metal printing system is much higher than that of any resin based technology on the market and that results in most work being outsourced either before or in place of a machine purchase.

Through these centres, Renishaw is providing a familiar environment for professionals to oversee the manufacture of custom devices on its metal AM systems for the likes of LaserAbutments or LaserPFM frameworks, and even practice using the latest technology before implementing it in their own labs.

Renishaw provides a complete turnkey system, which comprises a range of scanners such as the blue light DS30 dental scanner and Renishaw Dental Studio software, along with dental frameworks and

metal 3D printing. A recent example shared by Renishaw was of UK-based CBC, an award winning restorative laboratory, which has improved efficiency and freed up its staff for more profitable lab work since subcontracting its metal framework manufacture to the company. Though outsourced, these complete additive solutions which incorporate multiple forms of advanced equipment are just another way today’s dentists are able to implement 3D technologies into their day-to-day work.

For an active dentist and someone who is passionate about teaching the next wave of dental professionals, Dr. Scherer believes we will see a surge in adoption in the near future and hopes that soon we will be able to directly manufacture fillings, restorations or even final crowns using 3D printing.

“Those going through school right now, every single one of them has expressed an interest in this technology,” Dr. Scherer added. “For dentists, any time you do something for the first time it’s going to be difficult but let them get it in their hands and I can assure you it’s going to be astronomical. The excitement level is palpable.” 

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JEWELRY

O

NE OF THE biggest advantages of 3D printing is the freedom it affords today’s designers and one industry that has benefited enormously from those unique capabilities is jewelry. From resin casts to direct metal printed pendants, 3D technologies have transformed the jeweler’s workbench into a multi-media workspace that combines traditional craft with digital skills.

For up and coming jewelry designers, drawing in CAD or iterating with 3D printing, means that delivering a finished product, whether printed or not is no longer as cost prohibitive. UK-based Birmingham School of Jewelry (BSOJ) graduate, Rebecca Wilkes has been experimenting with exploiting the unique properties of selective laser sintering (SLS) in her most recent collection of jewelry called “Floral Focus”, an assortment of interchangeable, nylon flowers that can be worn to suit the mood or style of the wearer.

In the same way the popularity of charm bracelets is based on customization, Rebecca has adapted that into a collection of interchangeable floral pieces that can be snapped together in a variety of formations.

“The idea of having interchangeable parts really came from the trend and popularity of having interchangeable jewelry in which you can buy a base and then collect variations to change the look of a piece very easily,” Rebecca explained. “I also wanted to incorporate an element of fun into the collection which has definitely come across when I have interacted with people at exhibitions and showing them that the flowers and rings are magnetic: I’ve learned that people love magnets!”

Rebecca’s use of SLS was inspired by a visit to design and 3D printing service Digits2Widgets, which later went on to print all of the designer’s test and final pieces including an intricate presentation box.

WO R D S : L a u r a G r i f f i t hs

“I chose 3D printing for this collection because I wanted to exploit the potential of 3D printing technology that is impacting the jewelry industry today,” Rebecca commented. “I only found out about laser sintering a few months into the course, the process just clicked with me and I became passionate about finding new ways to exploit the printing process. I also think that many people design jewelry for 3D printing and expect it to just work; I wanted to change that and design for the process instead and find new ways of being creative with it.”

SLS is particularly well suited to jewelry because you can make extremely delicate and detailed parts without the need for the amount support structures you find in many other 3D printing technologies.

It is possible to make robust interlocking parts without the need for assembly, which means that jewelers can create links and chain structures in one single design. Having worked with other printing methods already, Rebecca said it took some time to get used to working with this new medium.

“I had many, many test pieces… I have a box full of them to prove it! My main issue was tolerances because they are different to the other 3D printers we had at the School so I needed to find out how thin I could go for the flowers to still work and look pretty without losing the surface details.”

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

3D Printing Blooms in Jewelry Collection

The BSOJ has been flying the flag for 3D printing in the jewelry industry for several years, laying the foundations for young designers to get to grips with CAD and the various 3D printing technologies available to today’s jewelers through cuttingedge design courses and industry collaborations. Rebecca’s course, “Design for Industry: Jewelry and Related Products” focused on the use and development of cutting edge technologies that are being applied in the jewelry sector today.

Following six months of training, from initial sketches to designing in CAD, 3D printing, testing, hand dying the parts and presenting the final collection, Rebecca’s entire project took around three months.

“There was most definitely a learning curve with this process,” Rebecca explained. “I learn best from mistakes though, sometimes a bit costly, but you don’t know what you can achieve with Nylon SLS printing without a bit of experimentation. When it came to dyeing the Nylon SLS parts there was endless experimentation and tests in order to find the best way of achieving the unique ombre effect each bloom has.”

The collection includes a ring and neck collar, both of which allow the wearer to attach their favourite floral pieces via embedded magnets. The concept is that the wearer buys a silver ring and then chooses their flowers from a selection of 10 designs and colours. Thanks to the detail made possible with SLS, the interlocking collar was printed in a single piece and the result is a beautiful chain mail-like statement necklace, which can be customized by the wearer.

“I like to think that this collection exploits so many of the joys that Nylon SLS has to offer. I’m quite passionate about this type of 3D printing and I want more people to share that passion because if used creatively, the possibilities are endless.” 

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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ARKEMA ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

POLYAMIDE 11: the high-performance material of choice for production parts in Laser Sintering WOR DS : A r na u d Le m a i t r e , A R K E M A F r a n c e (C e r dat o )

L

aser Sintering (LS) is the most developed Additive Manufacturing technology for the production of industrial parts thus far. It is best suited to carry the industry beyond prototyping due to the mechanical properties attainable by sintering.

ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYAMIDE 11 Polyamide 11, also known as Nylon 11, was launched as a commercial product in 1947 as an alternative to the Polyamide 6.6 developed for textile applications.

Polyamides are semi-crystalline polymers obtained by a polycondensation process from monomers; for example amino-11-undecanoic acid for Polyamide 11, and lauryllactam for Polyamide 12. The major difference resides in the number of carbon atoms in the polymer chain (11 carbons for Polyamide 11), which leads to highly different crystalline structure and hydrogen bonding resulting in superior mechanical properties to Polyamide 12.

Polyamide 11 is derived from castor oil while Polyamide 12 is derived from fossil oil. According to ISO 14040, the Eco Profile of Polyamide 11 shows a -41% CO2 emission and a –44% fossil energy use compared to Polyamide 12 (1).

POLYAMIDE 11 AND LASER SINTERING Having been used since the 1990s, Polyamide 11 was qualified for flying LS parts in aerospace in the 2000s. With the development of new powders specially designed for this demanding technology, Polyamide 11 is now broadly used either neat or filled (carbon fibers, glass beads or fibers, fire-retardant) in industries such as aeronautics and racing (2), automotive, sport, and medical.

Processing Polyamide 11 has been dramatically improved (3) over the last five years with the development of optimised LS grades. The processing window for neat Polyamide 11 is larger than that of neat Polyamide 12 resulting in greater choice of processing parameters to obtain reproducible mechanical properties (4). ››

LEFT: Printed in Arkema Polyamide 11

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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ARKEMA ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

BENEFITS OF POLYAMIDE 11 IN LASER SINTERING All LS test specimens described herein have been manufactured using an EOS Formiga P100 machine, and the parts have been conditioned two weeks @ 23°C under 50% Relative Humidity.

ELONGATION AT BREAK Thanks to its more ductile crystalline structure (5), Polyamide 11 exhibits superior tensile properties such as elongation at break, especially in the Z direction (usually the weakest direction of AM technologies). (See figure 1) IMPACT RESISTANCE Low temperature has a very negative effect on the resistance to impact of Polyamide 12, 6, and 6.6, however this has no influence on the excellent resistance of Polyamide 11 (See figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

FATIGUE TESTING Regarding fatigue, the superiority of Polyamide 11 is particularly evident in the Z direction, with a +60% performance at high number of cycles vs. Polyamide 12 (See figure 3).

ELASTIC MEMORY One of the key characteristics of Polyamide 11 is the excellent elastic memory due to the higher ductility before irreversible plastic deformation: figure 4 shows that when submitted to a 20% distortion, the part made from Polyamide 11 can fully recover its initial dimension, whereas the part in Polyamide 12 keeps a minimum 5.6% distortion.

AESTHETICAL AND FUNCTIONAL PARTS MADE FROM 100% RENEWABLE ORIGIN Parts manufactured in LS using Polyamide 11 have a very distinguished look and can be either natural or deep black for excellent finish with little required post-treatment.

On top of this, Polyamide 11 is the only LS material that is manufactured industrially from castor plants, a non-GMO, non-edible crop growing on poor soil in semi-arid areas and using very few pesticides. As a result, the manufactured LS parts are using 100% renewable carbon resources.

SUMMARY The use of Polyamide 11 in Laser Sintering is the best existing, commercial answer to deliver functional parts that exhibit excellent mechanical properties (elongation at break, impact resistance, fatigue behavior, elastic memory), while being the only current solution to delivering parts made from 100% renewable origin.

It is particularly exciting that Polyamide 11 is exhibiting fairly isotropic mechanical properties, as opposed to most of the materials used in Additive Manufacturing technologies. The excellent performance of the parts made with Polyamide 11, in all directions, and especially in the Z direction, is the current solution to the manufacturing challenges of the Industry 4.0.

Figure 3

Figure 4

SOURCES (1) Arkema internal data (2) TCT Show UK 2015, Brett Lyons, Patrick Warner, Rick Booth, Developing Materials for Aerospace and Motorsports (3) SFF 2012, Ben Fulcher, David K. Leigh (Harvest Technologies), Effect of Segregated First and Second Melt Point on Laser Sintered Part Quality and Processing (4) iCAT 2014, Andreas Wegner (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany), Influence of Process Parameters on the Part Properties of Laser Sintered Polyamide 11 (5) 2008, Patrick Dang, Sylvie TenceGirault, Polyamide 11 and Polyamide 12 : So close but so different, Why PA11 is the best! 

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DESKTOP MATERIALS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

IN CONTROL Editor, Daniel O’Connor takes a look at how Verbatim keep tight control of its filament thanks to a gargantuan parent company.

M

ATERIALS CHOICE FOR the desktop these days goes way beyond the ABS and PLA offerings that spawned the millions of now discarded Eiffel Tower prints; we have materials that are magnetic, that glow in the dark, that are heat resistant, we have flexible elastomers, we have materials that smell, materials that look and feel like wood; the list goes on.

So in a veritable bottomless pit of choice how do you pick which filament you need? In a survey conducted to the Google Plus 3D Printing Community’s some 300,000 users (fig.1), it appears that brand loyalty totally trumps affordability. With experimentation beating the cheapest option by a solitary vote (at the time of writing).

BELOW: Figure 1

Just last week I experimented with a polycarbonate sample I was handed at a trade show to make some sturdy legs for an old cabinet that I was upcycling. Using an old UP! Plus, printed using the ABS settings, it worked.

Sure, there were imperfections on the surface but the fact that it was pretty monolithic and designed to be hidden from vision meant aesthetics weren’t of utmost importance. The problem is I don’t recall the brand name and it was on a generic spool, so I can’t really go about recommending it.

But even if I were to write a rave review of this particular material the problem many encounter is variability. You might get a great spool of filament, go back to order the same one and find your next batch of prints are

In a survey conducted to the Google Plus 3D Printing Community’s some 300,000 users (fig.1), it appears that brand loyalty totally trumps affordability.

inconsistent, which is why when users find a good 3D printing filament that works you stick to it. Reliability is key…

Reliability and accuracy is, according to Verbatim, largely down to diameter control and the Mitshubishi Chemical owned company says that its diameter control is unmatchable in the current 3D printing market. (fig 2)

BELOW: We asked what the main factors in

buying filament were.

“Our filament process is much tighter,” says Business Development Manager, Shigeyuki Furomoto “It is made in Japan, which guarantees a certain quality and when we have ran a comparison with competitors’ filament our diameter control is much better, tests show that we can control within 20 micron.”

One of the reasons Verbatim is able to offer such impressive results is the sheer scope of the partners it is able to call on from under the umbrella of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group - one of the world’s largest chemical companies.

One such partnership is with Mitsubishi’s fibre division, Mitsubishi Rayon, who help with a filtration system for the mass-production of filament. ››

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

027

DESKTOP MATERIALS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

BELOW: Figure 2

“Rayon use water filters made with ultrafine polyethylene, these very fine tubes allow water to go through the walls and filter out the very fine microbes,” explains Furomoto. “This process has been developed by Rayon for over 40 years and the cross-pollination within Mitsubishi allows us to maintain high quality.”

That Rayon development is actually used in another of Verbatim’s consumer products, Cleansui Water Filters, you know ones you fill up with tap water and store it in the fridge to purify it and keep it chilled. Verbatim’s cash cow is consumer goods, in particular optical storage, and it has identified 3D printing materials as a market it has the tools to exploit. Over the last three years the company has developed and released a range of materials, starting with high-quality PLA and ABS offerings as well as a flexible material called Primalloy.

“Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings develops millions of polymer products from consumer to engineering plastics,” says Furomoto. “Our basic strategy is cherry picking these plastics and adapt them for 3D printing because they have all been through regulatory tests and are already certified by government. If a customer wants to modify something, of course, we can design a tailor-made polymer, we have the ability to do formulas and compounding very quickly.”

Take the Verbatim PLA for instance, the company identified that some of the problems with regularly PLA filament include brittleness and a lack of transparency, “we were able to put in some special additives into the filament so that we can reinforce it for functional applications, our PLA is not brittle.”

ABOVE: BVOH and PLA object THE NEXT STEP Furomoto and his team showcased those tightly controlled filaments as well as a host of new samples of materials at TCT Show in September.

Before launching any material Verbatim, study the market and its competitors before calling on the material science might that is behind them.

“This month, Verbatim will launch a PET material,” says Furomoto.

“PET is very well-known in the food packaging industry and Mitshubishi Chemical are one the leading suppliers. We cherry picked from the best pellets, so our PET is already certified and very safe. Compared to other PET materials on the filament market, which are mostly PETG, our PET filament is much more transparent because it is made from the same raw material as PET bottles where transparency is very important.”

After PET the next material the company are tackling is a soluble material that Verbatim

say is far superior to other materials on the market like PVA. Verbatim’s recipe, BVOH, dissolves three times faster than other soluble support materials and it has been able to make the filament much more resistant to moisture when not stored correctly - a problem anyone who has printed using PVA knows all too well.

After some time in the market it is clear that Verbatim understand what its customer-base needs, but with Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group’s far-reaching tentacles does Verbatim just see it sticking to the usual consumer customer or does it see an opportunity to collaborate on more industrial scale projects?

Perhaps a tailor-made material to specific a specific application?

“We have developed five materials so far,” says the Furomoto. “But Mitsubishi Chemical has lots of opportunities to develop more engineering plastics. In the near future we will be going towards engineering plastics like polycarbonate and nylon. We sell a lot of pellets to injection moulding companies. If a customer has already used our materials and wants to use it for 3D printing, they will only need to make some small modifications. I think we will see our (3D printing) materials used for mass production.”  For more information visit www.verbatim.com

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EDUCATION

Brainiacs WO R DS : S A M U E L DAV IE S

T

HIS MONTH GE Additive announced a $10 million investment in two additive manufacturing (AM) educational programs aimed at developing future 3D printing talent.

In the western, more developed world, such an injection of capital in an emerging industry like AM is, if not expected, certainly not surprising.

The investment is all about building on the progress made in the industry over the last few years. It’s about making sure tech-savvy students have the necessary technology to innovate.

It’s an investment from people who know how big a deal it is to put $10m into such a scheme for children who, won’t necessarily take the technology for granted, but have grown up not knowing a world without intelligence like it.

In less developed lands, say Nigeria, 3D printing technology is met with a sincere, earnest amazement by school children of similar age.

3D printing was introduced to children in Plateau, Kaduna and Lagos - three Nigerian states - by Braniacs Robotics within non-resident STEM Camps. STEM, the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, has become a point of focus in African countries over recent years to advance underdeveloped countries.

With AM growing faster than ever, 3D printing has emerged as a tool within these STEM workshops set up in the earth’s second largest continent.

Braniacs, based in Nigeria, is a firm believer in 3D printing, describing it as the future of technology and low-cost manufacturing. And the enthusiasm for 3D printing didn’t stop with the solutions provider.

The technology was a hit with the kids too.

“Campers were introduced to 3D modeling using the XYZ printer. Although the younger learners struggle with the tool, they were thrilled when the final print came out,” Braniacs commented.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Building

Developing countries skipped investing in landline infrastructure and adopted mobile phones faster than some of the developed world. Thanks to a new education project, Editorial Assistant, Samuel Davies, ponders whether the same might happen with additive manufacturing.

“Learners could see what they modeled on the computer coming out as a printed physical object they could touch.

“This is certainly the future of technology and low-cost manufacturing.”

The process of transferring the idea brewing in their minds onto a computer, for it then to be manufactured right before their very eyes, enticed the children. An element of fun and change, different from traditional teaching methods in term time, engaged the children and kept their attention. They particularly enjoyed being able to physically hold models which were a few hours earlier simply figments of their imagination.

“It was a really exciting six weeks and we look forward to another summer vacation for another engaging STEM camp,” Braniacs continued.

“We have seen young learners demonstrating skills in areas that would help Nigeria towards a ‘knowledge-based’ economy.”

Braniacs plans to expand its coverage to other areas of Nigeria, partnering with organizations both government and non-governmental. It wants to give as many Nigerian children the opportunity to learn basic fundamentals of creativity and innovation using the latest tools, including those of 3D technology, enjoyed by the rest of the world.

While Braniacs Robotics cannot inject millions of dollars into the Nigerian education system, setting children up with state-of-the-art technology to develop the next generation of innovators, it can at least introduce these children to the rudimentary concepts and abilities of 3D printing.

If the children continue to connect with it like they appear to have done so far, who knows? There might be a Nigerian GE Additive in the not too distant future.

This is certainly the future of technology and low-cost manufacturing.

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IMTS REVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

RISE OF THE

ROBOTS Daniel O’Connor takes a look at the proliferation of robotics entering the additive manufacturing (AM) industry.

A

COLLEAGUE WHO had just returned from K Show in Dusseldorf said to me, “There were robots everywhere, they even had robots playing basketball!” This reminded me of the Kuka stand at IMTS 2016 in Chicago where one robot was making coffee for the attendees. Not necessarily the most useful technology to the wider world but it was one effective marketing tool.

Kuka is one of the most recognisable brands in the robotic industry. The German company has been in existence since 1898 and has continued to expand its automation capabilities with every advance in technology.

At IMTS AM was proving to be a logical and fruitful nextstep for Kuka.

I headed to the stand originally hoping to learn about the company’s recent foray into AM through a partnership with Stratasys on its Robotic-Composite 3D Demonstrator.

What was clear from the moment I quaffed my robotically made coffee was that the Stratasys application was just the tip of the iceberg.

Over on the Stratasys booth the team were previewing the 3D Demonstrators to the public for the first time and Steve Mickelson, Principal Automation and Controls Engineer talked me through the potential for 3D printing with robots: “We first started working with robots about a year ago, and what you see on the Robotic-Composite 3D Demonstrator is eight axis of motion, we have six on the robot and two on the table plus an extra one if you count the extruder. Any time you try to extrude you need something to extrude against but because we can turn the tool or turn the head you don’t need support. This means faster build times.

The other benefit is that weakness with traditional 3D printing is the z-axis. If the part fails it is almost always between the layers. The way this part (fig 1) was built, the dome itself is a spiral so it is one continuous tool path. As this technology evolves the parts will get very strong and they won’t have that z-axis weakness.”

THE APPLICATIONS ARE ENDLESS It isn’t just Stratays that Kuka is using to showcase its technology benefits for AM, there were two robotic arms either side of the coffee maker both showcasing 3D applications thanks to strategic partnerships.

To the west was Faro using a Kuka robotic arm to automate inspection. Four Cobalt Array Imagers – the metrology-grade non-contact scanner using blue light technology - are attached to an arm to rapidly scan and inspect an object. Coincidentally, the part that was being inspected at IMTS was from Stratasys’ other 3D Demonstrator, the Infinite Build one.

A member of the Faro team explained that the technology came in particularly useful when it comes to large 3D printed moulds for composite layups. The system will immediately flag up any imperfections in the print before the expensive layup process begins.

On the opposite side of the gargantuan booth was a huge enclosed chamber with the sign “Additive+” dangling from the ceiling. The gathered crowd peered through the tinted windows to see another Kuka robot using metal wire to build up components. This is a partnership with Midwest Engineered Systems Inc. (MWES), a manufacturing company that has been innovating manufacturing solutions for a quarter of a century.

That experience, according to Senior Sales Engineer, Peter Gratschmayr, meant MWES could move very quickly once they spotted an opportunity: ››

LEFT: Figure 1 - built by the

Stratasys Robotic-Composite 3D Demonstrator

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“We only had our first conversation with Kuka in December 2015, we were working on some large format projects with one of our suppliers that was doing a welding application. It was strictly welding but the precision of the welding application was some of the best we’ve ever seen and we’re welding experts.

We saw this capability and thought it would be really neat if we could turn this into an additive manufacturing format because the weld profile, the wire and the laser is so excellent and the quality is so controllable that we’re able to create awesome components.

What we’ve decided to do is put together a combination of sensory feedback so that we get a closed loop system with the robot and we’re using laser to do very precise temperature control. The bottom line is that we’re able to construct parts that wouldn’t be made before that you consider possible when you’re working with a wire-based system.”

The process is not unique to MWES, we have seen MX3D use an industrial robot to additive weld in metal and is currently working on a project to build an entire bridge in Amsterdam.

But this enclosed, monitored process is less about conceptual pieces and more about functional parts with strong metallurgic properties.

“Let’s say you’re on an off-shore oil rig and you’re components fail from wear down,” says Peter. “You’re losing $100,000 a day because your oil rig is down.

If you have a machine on the rig we can take that component, scan it, get the existing condition, take the nominal to determine the difference between the current and original component to generate the product back up, finish machining and now you can re-use this component.”

More to the point this process offers an extremely cheap metal additive process. Not



ABOVE: Clockwise from top left: Faro Inspection; Parts made with the MWS-system; Video monitor of inside the MWES chamber; Stratasys-Robotic-Composite-3D-Demonstrator.

The system will immediately flag up any imperfections in the print before the expensive layup process begins.

only is wire more readily available in exotic metals like iridium, cobalt and titanium, it is a magnitude more affordable compared to powdered metals used for many other metal AM processes, “Powder costs somewhere between $12-$25 an ounce especially when you start getting into exotics, the price of wire is $3-$12 a pound,” exclaims Peter.

Just as Stratasys is not the only 3D printing company embracing robotics, Kuka is not the only robotics brand being used by the additive manufacturing industry. 3D Systems have been developing what it now calls Figure 4 Technology for over a year using a Denso Robtoics arm. Applications Engineer at 3D Systems, Patrick Dunne, was quick to stress how important it is for 3D printing to harness the power of automation. The engineer who switched the Figure 4 on for the first time came running upstairs and said, “I’ve run out of gloves!”, he’d depleted his entire cupboard of gloves in an hour.

As technology gets faster the humans become the bottleneck. Why reinvent the wheel? If you go to any production line at a major factory there’s extensive installations of robotics. Take an industrial ruggedised, off-theshelf robot and address the bottleneck.

What with the 3D Systems Figure 4 technology, Stratasys’s Robotic-Composite 3D Demonstrator, MWES metal machine, Faro’s inspection and the likes of 3D Platform intending to implement the technology as a finishing process, it is safe to say that the robots have well and truly risen. 

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IMTS REVIEW

The BIG Inter

3D Systems’ CEO, Vyom While team TCT were just getting stuck into the expo area at AMUG 2016, news broke that 3D Systems (3DS) had appointed a new CEO almost six months to the day after Avi Reichental had departed. Vyomesh Joshi (VJ) was the man stepping up to the plate and a quick glance of his C.V. confirms the direction the board decided VJ was the man to push them in.

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MASTER’S DEGREE IN electrical engineering from Ohio State University saw VJ join Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 1980. 32 years at HP saw VJ rise to executive vice president of the company’s Imaging and Printing Group overseeing a period of phenomenal change towards the, now omnipresent, digital press. When it comes to states of flux VJ has been there, done that, and printed the t-shirt.

BELOW: Figure 1 HP and 3D Systems Share Price History.

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W O R D S : DA N I E L O ’C O N N O R

HP was a company that had struggled to integrate a large number of acquisitions and struggled to keep a grip of markets it traditionally thrived in. Sound familiar? Take a look at HP’s share prices and compare the peaks and troughs of the early 2000s to what happened to 3DS a decade later, it is eerily similar.

Whilst Avi Reichental helped put 3DS on the mainstream map, the direction he was trying to force the company in simply wasn’t reflective of the market. Avi pushed hard on the consumer brand, Cubify, and the manufacturing solutions of which 3DS

has an impressive portfolio, suffered.

Avi loved CES choosing the consumer orientated show to launch a host of ill-fated technologies like three generations of the Cube, the CubeJet, the CubePro C and the CeraJet. It became clear that 3D Systems were not making the most of their portfolio by trying to flog desktop machinery.

It was therefore apt that I caught up with VJ for the first time at IMTS 2016 – a show dedicated to manufacturing technology – where his direction for 3DS was evident. It’s safe to say that Cubify won’t be being resurrected any time soon…

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

rview

mesh Joshi

ABOVE: Vyomesh Joshi at IMTS

Daniel O’Connor (DOC): Do you ever see a future for consumer 3D printing?

Vyomesh Joshi (VJ): I am very direct about this; I don’t want to be into the consumer arm. You can’t just say, “everybody in their garage is going to have a 3D printer...”

If they buy a 3D printer how much usage are they going to have out of it? Will they use it once a week? Once in a month? Once in a year? The more interesting thing is how we make 3D production real? I will focus the company on that. I will bet on that and that is the right bet. You’ve just seen how GE validates the market.

DOC: You have kept Chuck Hull very close, how has he helped with your 3D printing education?

VJ: Once you talk to Chuck you really get the understanding of what it (3D printing) means, what 3D Systems is all about and the portfolio that we have.

The first phase for me was listening and learning, going around with Chuck and Chuck’s people, our teams in Rock Hill, in Denver, in Leuven, in Israel, in Korea. I got to understand this fantastic portfolio but the problem was execution, it’s as simple as that.

All of our problems are internal, it’s not the market, it’s the technology, it’s not the portfolio. With 36 years in the industry it is something I know how to do, know when to commercialize and how to get to operational excellence. I think that’s why I get so excited.

I also noticed that all these companies that we acquired weren’t integrated properly, we never really told the story the way I felt the story needed to be told.

It is all about hardware, software AND materials, it’s all about application engineering. Materials is the core and software is the glue. Partnership is fundamental; you need to ride the shoulders of giants. The story’s not about me; it is about our people, our partners and our customers.

I think that is really what you are seeing, and now I feel I have the right team augmented with the good people we have, now we just need to execute. It is not more complex than that. An organisation structure requires three basic principles; simplicity, accountability and a focus on cost so that we can invest back into the business with innovation.

››

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IMTS REVIEW

DOC: 3D printing is big news here at IMTS, do you think the manufacturing industry is finally waking up?

VJ: I had a great conversation with our partners who basically said, ‘you know VJ the thing I’m really amazed about at this show is the job shop community is talking about how they have to be in additive manufacturing.’ I remember Drupa (the 2D printing industry’s Mecca) in the 90s was all about idle book press, go today and it is all about Heidelberg press. I think that same thing is going to happen to this show, it is not subtractive, it is not additive, it’s a mixed environment and we need to be in that environment. We think that we have a unique opportunity to be part of.

DOC: On the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion the first thing you see on 3D Systems’ booth is the Figure 4 technology the first prototype of which we saw at CES 2016, how good was it to have an innovation like that to come into?

VJ: I know where I need to put my resource, when I saw Figure 4 I said ‘That’s it!’

I really believe that we have a multi-cavity digital mold machine. It is integrated with all our inspection and material technologies and it is just the beginning. There is a big revolution coming.

I believe that when you have a phenomenal team and you augment the team and you focus them on where the value creation is going to happen you will see meaningful results.

What we are saying (with the Figure 4 Technology) is that if you have a 3D printer, that architecture has a lot of limitations, first of all the cost structure point of view, you have all of these skins you don’t need and you’ve got to do post-processing anyway, why can’t you just make this into a linear approach with multiple engines? With pick-and-place so that you will be able to really enhance productivity, which is the ultimate goal.

DOC: How do you see Figure 4 Technology transforming the speeds at which we manufacture?

VJ: A lot of people talk about print speed but when I speak to our customers they all say. “It is all about productivity, not print speed.” It has to be about productivity, repeatability and durability of parts.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES



INSEt: Figure 4 Technology in action at IMTS

ABOVE: VJ on stage with Chuck Hull

I believe that when you have a phenomenal team and you augment the team and you focus them on where the value creation is going to happen you will see meaningful results.

When you really think about the total cost of operation, it is not just about materials cost. It is the line, the line layout, the productivity uptime, how you’re going to integrate the software for automation, it is integrating into you manufacturing system.

As an engineer I know; I’ve got to think about how I’m going to get through the whole process, compress the time and make it so my manufacturing manager sees it as a no-brainer and says, “Well, of course I’m going to integrate.” I’m not just going to think about a 3D printing factory, I’m going to integrate it into a workflow, which could include subtractive and additive.

DOC: Is the prototyping market still unvalued in this industry?

VJ: Prototyping is very important because the value proposition is so clear - you can have a 50-70 percent time and cost reduction, it is a no brainer.

The problem is that people don’t understand that this technology has evolved. The manufacturing industry is very conservative, if I’m a manufacturing manager I’m not going to take risks because if you take a risk and there’s an issue, my CEO is going to be all over me and say, “What is this stuff? Why are you experimenting?”

This is a mega-industry you can’t transform that unless you build the entire infrastructure.

At HP we used to generally have a three-year development cycle; you go from investigation phase to lab phase and I make one lab prototype, then I go from lab to production prototype phase, I’ll make twenty, from production prototype to manufacturing I’ll make a thousand. That whole three years can now be done in six months. People think 3D printing needs to be geared just towards production, no, no, no! It is about the whole process, the innovation process, going from lab prototype, to production prototype to production.

Prototyping is just the initial part of going to production so I don’t think those are separate processes. They are a continuum of the innovation process. The needs of production are different to prototyping but the path to production is through prototyping. If you drive and focus on the needs of production, prototyping is included, that’s the beauty of it; they’re not distinct. 

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COMPUTING HARDWARE ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Sprouting out W O R D S : L A U R A G R I F F I T HS

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t’s fair to surmise that for the additive manufacturing industry, these last few months have been all about HP. Cast your mind back to 2014 when, after years of speculation and a short-lived partnership with Stratasys, the company finally announced solid plans for its entry in the 3D printing market with what we now know as Jet Fusion technology, you’ll remember 3D printing wasn’t the only advanced technology to be introduced to the table.

The peculiarly named, Sprout was the second piece of hardware unveiled that day, targeting the creative crowd and opening the tech giant up to an entirely new market in Immersive Computing.

This desktop all-in-one workstation, which incorporates a pc, projector, touch screen monitor and intuitive touch mat, is designed for everyone from young makers to design professionals and integrates multiple cutting-edge tools into one sleek device. Given HP’s recent action, the most significant of these integrated features is a scanner and 3D camera.

To further this technology and advance its stake in the predicted $7 billion Immersive Computing market, in July HP announced the acquisition Germany-based 3D hardware and software company David Vision Systems GmbH and David 3D Solutions in what it describes as an “essential enabler for Sprout”.

The David companies have been developing hardware and software solutions for optical 3D surface acquisition since it was founded as a spinoff company from the Institute for Robotics and Process Control at TU-Braunschweig in 2009. Its product portfolio includes 3D scanners, cameras, projectors and software.

The acquisition will enable HP to advance its Sprout 3D technology and forms part of a wider 3D ecosystem, which includes the HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution that was unveiled to ample fanfare back in May. Sprout is another piece of HP’s ‘blended reality’ focus, which brings both the physical and digital words together to deliver a

hands-on experience for creators at the desktop.

For example, designers can scan a physical object using the internal camera and within seconds, have it appear on screen or on the touch mat where they can move and manipulate it with their hands. Those parts can then be brought back into the physical world with 3D printing.

“Adding the David companies’ technology and capability strengthens our ability to create the world’s only end-to-end 3D ecosystem, from creation, to 3D on-ramp, to 3D print off-ramp via HP’s Jet Fusion Solution,” Louis Kim, Global Head & General Manager, Immersive Computing, HP, explained in a blog announcing the acquisition.

“The acquisition adds a robust, stable and production-ready solution, along with a rich software development platform to HP’s portfolio of technologies.”

As part of the DAVID company’s integration into the HP Inc. family, the household tech giant has acquired David’s 3D scanning, stitching and fusing solution that result in radical improvements in scan quality. The plan is to use the technology to boost the Sprout 3D Capture and Immersive Computing portfolio and incorporate David’s preeminent 3D scanning solutions as an enabling component for 3D printing.

HP’s interest in the Immersive Computing market was solidified in the formation of a new corporate venture arm, HP Tech Venture Group earlier this year, which is targeted at early stage companies in the sector along with other disruptive technology areas including 3D transformation, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and smart machines, with strategic investment and partnerships.

This year the creation of HP Labs celebrated “50 years of innovation” and the company is putting a lot of investment into the belief that 3D transformation is going to channel the next industrial revolution. Sprout and Jet Fusion are key enablers of that focus and by making bold acquisitions like this it’s clear that HP are thinking very seriously about the pivotal role these 3D technologies will have in the near future. 

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CES PREVIEW

CES 2017 There’s nothing quite like a business trip to Las Vegas to throw yourself straight back into work during the post-Christmas slump, but that’s exactly what team TCT will be doing when we head to CES 2017 on 5-8th January.

PREVIEW

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owever glamorous that may sound, it’s all work (and maybe a little play, it is Las Vegas after all) as for the fourth year running the TCT Group will be sponsoring the popular 3D Printing Marketplace, which brings together the latest machines and technologies in the consumer 3D printing space at the world’s largest gathering for consumer technologies. Artec3D, LulzBot manufacturer Aleph Objects, Beijing Tiertime, CRP USA, Dassault Systemes, Formlabs and MarkForged, to name just a few, will be amongst nearly 50 companies exhibiting their latest innovations on the show floor.

Alongside the marketplace, TCT will once again be organising the 3D Printing Conference track, a full day of insight from today’s leading developers and users of 3D technologies which till take place on Friday 6th January.

The theme of this year’s conference is “3D Printing: Evaluating the Evolution” and aims to explore the reality of how consumers will be affected by 3D printing in the following areas:

 3D printing for health and fitness: How 3D printing will impact our physical wellbeing  3D printing for transport: How 3D printing will help evolve how we move both locally and globally  3D printing and the IOT: How 3D Printing will enable a new class of connected devices This year’s line-up truly is one of the finest ever assembled by the TCT Conference team, with talks from the likes of Local Motors, the automotive manufacturing company famed for producing the world’s first 3D printed car, and Oscar-nominated animation studio Laika which released its fourth feature, Kubo and the Two Strings this Summer. Groundbreaking metal 3D printing company XJet will also take to the stage to showcase its new NanoParticle Jetting technology, whilst leading additive manufacturing consultant and TCT’s only re-occurring speaker, Todd Grimm will deliver his inimitable commentary on the current state of the 3D printing industry. In addition to more high-profile talks from Shashi Jain at Intel and Greg Morris at GE, the conference agenda will conclude with a lively panel session with opportunity for the audience to pose questions to the day’s speakers.

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TECH SESSION 09:00-09:30 CURRENT PERSPECTIVES AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES OF AM WITHIN GE GREG MORRIS, Additive Technologies Leader, GE Aviation Over the past few years, GE has built a tremendous network of teams and facilities that are advancing AM every day.

As GE has increased the use of additively produced parts and systems across the company, they really understand the value additive can bring. Greg Morris will show examples where GE has benefitted from using AM. With additive making such a strong impact to their existing businesses, GE is now in the process of setting up a dedicated business to additive. They’re planning to offer a full line of additive machine products, materials and engineering services. Greg will provide an update of their future vision and plans in the additive industry.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

CES 2017

3D Printing Conference Highlights TECH SESSION 11:30-12:00

TECH SESSION 09:30-10:00 NANOPARTICLE JETTING TECHNOLOGY FROM XJET – REDEFINING METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. DROR DANAI, Chief Business Operator, XJET XJet, founded by industry veteran Hanan Gothait, may be a new name to the 3D printing industry but with a team made up of industry-experts who were instrumental in the creation of several groundbreaking print technologies, it already boasts an enviable track record of experience in the market.

Dror Danai, CBO at XJet, will introduce 3D Metal Jetting and its associated NanoParticle Jetting technology, a new and revolutionary approach to metal additive manufacturing. This presentation will look at this unparalleled technology’s “3-dimensions of innovation” which focus on details, dispersion and design freedom.company sees CES as the perfect place to demo its full HD colour printing systems.

HEALTH AND FITNESS 10:15-10:45 DIGITAL FABRICATION FOR THE HUMAN BODY DEREK MATHERS, Director, Advanced Applications Development, Worrell Derek Mathers is a Director of R&D at Worrell, a design and strategic consulting firm that creates technologies for the improvement of the human condition, and focuses on applying new technology platforms to medicine. Derek has presented 3D printing trends and case studies to a host of leading trade shows and publications and is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota, teaching the Big 10’s first dedicated course in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Join Derek to find out how Worrell is applying digital fabrication to change the game for healthcare.

DÁVID LAKATOS, Chief Product Officer, Formlabs What’s new for 3D printing in manufacturing, fabrication and design? From prototype to production, how will desktop 3D printers be used in 2017? Hear from Dávid Lakatos, Chief Product Officer at desktop stereolithography leader, Formlabs, as he takes a look back and to the year ahead on desktop 3D printing.

TRANSPORT 13:00-13:30 FROM ECONOMY OF SCALE TO ECONOMY OF SCOPE: HOW 3D PRINTING WILL BRING VEHICLE CUSTOMISATION TO THE MASSES ALEX FIECHTER, Head of Product Development, Local Motors For more than a century, vehicle manufacturing has been a one-size-fits-all game. Traditionally, OEMs reduce costs by producing vehicles that will appeal to the widest audience possible. Minimal customisation options are reserved for the luxury market. 3D printing is unlocking the economic advantage of high levels of customisation by vastly reducing factory tooling costs. As the performance of 3D printers improves and printing itself becomes a more practical technology for production, Alex will present how consumers can expect that vehicles tailored to their preferences, and even their geographic locations, will become the norm.

This year’s line-up truly is one of the finest ever assembled by the TCT Conference team

TECH SESSION 13:30-14:00 DIGITAL FABRICATION FOR THE HUMAN BODY BRIAN MCLEAN, Director of Rapid Prototype, LAIKA With the technology ever evolving, LAIKA sits at the forefront of 3D printing and this year was recognised with a Scientific and Engineering Award Academy Plaque for its innovation in the use of rapid prototyping for facial animation. Join Brian McLean for this session, which will highlight the studio’s unparalleled dedication to science and ingenuity through its four award-winning feature films. Celebrating 10 years of bold filmmaking, LAIKA specialises in animated features and to date has produced three Oscar-nominated animated films: The Boxtrolls (2014), ParaNorman (2012) and Coraline (2009) as well as the CG short Moongirl (2005).

INTERNET OF THINGS 14:45-15:15 3D PRINTING IN THE HOME: MYTH OR TRUTH? NOAH FRAM SCHWARTZ Since the Star Trek replicator first mesmerised the public in the 70’s, we’ve been obsessed with the idea of bringing such a magical machine into the home.

3D printing as it’s known today however, has failed to deliver. What barriers must be overcome for 3D printing to penetrate into the homes of hundreds of millions around the world? When will the disruptive qualities of 3D printing finally be brought to the masses? Join Noah, former leader of Google’s 3D manufacturing and design lab and now heading up strategy at NYC’s fastest growing hardware company, to find out how these technologies will really affect the consumer space.

Registration for the conference is now open, be sure to book your pass soon to make sure you don’t miss out!

For full details on ticketing and timings head over to: HTTP://MYTCT.CO/CES_2017 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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SUTRUE

A Stitch Inside WORD S : DA N I E L O ’C O N N O R

Alex Berry founder of Sutrue and Mr. Richard Trimlett, Consultant Adult Cardiac Surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital opened TCT Show 2016 with an astonishing keynote.

Daniel O’Connor discusses their findings...

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BELOW: Cross section of endoscopic version of Sutrue device

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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

This wasn’t some hat-inhand, charity drive this was the talk of a man, who has seen how rapidly additive manufacturing (AM) technology can improve healthcare thanks, in no small part, to the developments of Alex Berry.

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MONGST ALL THE insight and innovation served up at the plethora of 3D printing conferences I have attended in the past four years, never have I seen a presentation that is a direct call to action for the designers and engineers of the audience to stand up and be counted… until the 28th September 2016.

The opening keynote of TCT Show 2016 from Founder and Creator of Sutrue, Alex Berry and his on-stage companion Mr. Richard Trimlett, a Consultant Adult Cardiac Surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital saw the latter end the talk by saying, “this is a cry for help from the medical community”.

This wasn’t some hat-in-hand, charity drive this was the talk of a man, who has seen how rapidly additive manufacturing (AM) technology can improve healthcare thanks, in no small part, to the developments of Alex Berry.

The Jan/Feb 2015 issue of TCT Magazine featured an in-depth piece on Alex Berry’s medical device that had been prototyped using a Formlabs desktop machine. What had amazed Alex was that suturing (stitching) had pretty much remained the same since Ancient Egypt in a world where robotic surgery is a norm. Alex discovered that around 240,000 healthcare workers a year have suffered needle-stick injuries as a direct result of suturing and set about changing this trend by developing a device that would automatically pass a swaged (rounded) needle through a patient’s skin.

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After being one of the first surgeons to develop the device, Richard Trimlett then threw down a gauntlet to team Sutrue, “For robotics, we cannot get the dexterity of the instruments without force feedback, to the point where we can suture in anything like the speed of an open procedure. My challenge to Alex was, now that we have the tools could we make this small enough to adapt to the robotic equipment so that we could do the stitching as neatly as the machine does?”

When Richard says “small”, we’re not talking half the size, for keyhole robotic surgery the device would have to be small enough to pass through a tube only just wider than your average drinking straw. Once passed through the other end it would have to be able to rotate and be angled to stitch on a beating heart.

Alex was unsure whether there existed a technology capable of printing gears small enough with the required surgical precision until he spoke to ES Technology on the 2015 TCT Show floor.

ES Technology was demonstrating a raft of Concept Laser technology and believed that by using the Mlab machine they could print the gears that have teeth

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Before Alex discovered 3D printing, his first milled prototype took six months to make, cost $2,000 and simply wasn’t fit for purpose. The Form 1 machine exponentially increased the speed in which Alex and his team could prototype and develop. Come TCT Show 2015 he was able to demonstrate a working device that could generate ABOVE: twice the force of doing it by Inside the head of the Sutrue device hand and be produced in less than a week for just a few pounds. And 3D printing is no longer just used for prototyping; in fact, all of the components of the current Sutrue device are 3D printed bar one.

just 0.4 mm long. Concept’s LaserCusing process on its smallest machine enables the Sutrue team to put 600 components on a single build plate. After removal from the bed, the gears require no postprocessing such is the accuracy of the metal powder-based process.

“Part of the TCT story is about meeting people here and collaborating.” - Alex Berry A year on from the conversation and the endoscopic version of the Sutrue device was being used during an actual keyhole surgery.

A STABLE CONDITION

After seeing how quickly 3D printing has been able to iterate a product, Mr. Richard Trimlett wondered if it could be used to create another device that would help him with robotic surgery.

“We’re doing a beating heart operation so the heart is in use by the body but we need to hold the small area that we’re working on still. With the chest open we can put a big suction device in but when we’re doing keyhole surgery we need very small parts that we can pass in and out. What we don’t want to do is disadvantage the patient by offering them an inferior stability of the heart so that the quality of the operation isn’t as good when you do it as a keyhole. I said to Alex, ‘could you make something that comes apart in pieces, pass through a very small incision that we can use to hold the heart stable? Could we make it to throw it away and even customize it to the different shapes and sizes?’”

Alex took the task on, knowing that with additive technologies this was achievable. He knew that they could make a device using metal 3D printing technology for the top and use a bio-compatible plastic 3D print as the disposable part that would clamp onto the patient’s part. Although Alex designed most of the device he struggled to finalize the mechanism for fitting the two parts together securely.

Part of the TCT story is about meeting people here and collaborating.

Alex Berry VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 www.tctmagazine.com

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SUTRUE



ABOVE: Endoscopic Device has 600 components on single plate



ABOVE RIGHT: Richard Trimett and Professor Pepper test the device



RIGHT: The full Sutrue device, including battery within the main body, in front of the team’s Form 1

He called on the help of design innovation agency, Minima who were able to finish what Sutrue had started.

Remarkably, in what we believe must be a first at any trade show, Alex enlisted the help of two exhibitors to print a cardiac stabilizer that will be used on a patient directly on the show floor. ES Technology used Concept’s metal 3D printing to print the top and Tri-Tech 3D printed the disposable part on a Stratasys’ Objet 30 Prime using the biocompatible, medically approved MED610 material.

From finalizing the design to being used on a patient’s heart during surgery, the process took just three months and that includes jumping through the certification hoops, “We haven’t cut any corners with regulations we’re going through all the proper channels,” said Mr. Trimlett.

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD

There are over half a million people living with heart failure in the UK alone and the best drug-based treatment in the world offers very little improvement to the condition.

“Those people are on home oxygen, they have their bed downstairs, they can’t drive a car, they can’t work, they don’t feel part of society,” said Richard in his closing plea.

For years conventional engineering has looked at the workings of the heart and thought of it merely as a traditional mechanical pump. Countless solutions have been tested…



RIGHT: The design journey included a number of iterations and some major changes

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“When they work they transform the lives of the people but the technology is not good enough,” said Richard. “Hydraulic engineers look at the heart and think ‘it’s a pump, it needs to pump five liters a minute, great I’ve got one on the shelf,’ but it doesn’t work like that,” added Alex Berry.

The speed of innovation for both endoscopic devices demonstrated at TCT has brought hope to Richard - one of the most experienced heart surgeons in the world - that the future of medical care for cardiac problems could be about to change exponentially.

Could we have smaller pumps placed at various points in the body?

Could we have smaller pumps like this placed at various points in the body?

Richard and Alex believe that we need to think outside the box; one big pump hasn’t worked so could we theoretically print smaller points to be implemented at various intersections of the human body? 3D printing is revolutionizing the way we design many of the things around us, could it be about to revolutionize the things inside us?  Head over to tctmagazine.com to watch the keynote in full or download the audio version with TCT podcast.

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GRIMM COLUMN

FIND YOUR SHERPA WORDS : TODD GRIMM

S

elusive and difficult to achieve even when the goal is clear and the path is obvious. Neither may be true for additive manufacturing, which makes success even more challenging.

We are in a dynamic period where we are still discovering the real potential and value; when the possibilities are numerous; and when the landscape is everchanging.

The opportunities are there, but they are often vague and nebulous. Compounded by the constant stream of new technologies, new players and new machines, it can become overwhelming, perplexing and bewildering when attempting to map out the goals and plans for your additive manufacturing efforts.

Last month, both in the TCT Magazine and from the stage at the TCT Show, I recommended that we focus on use cases, rather than broad-based application concepts, to address the challenge. While the idea was well received, many asked how to go about identifying use cases that will yield real benefits and how to select the right technology to achieve success.

In these dynamic times, companies are seeking direction and guidance. They need sage advice and wise council, not hope, hyperbole and speculation. They need to seek out a navigator, a sherpa, that can lead them onward and upward.

Your additive manufacturing sherpa can take many forms but must be skilled, knowledgeable and dedicated. While a full-time sherpa may not be possible, or even advisable, he/she must be allowed to dedicate time to investigate the additive manufacturing landscape on a weekly basis, at a minimum. As a guide, they would be ineffective if all other job responsibilities take precedence. There is simply too much to absorb for a casual observer to be effective in charting the course.

The time allotted to additive manufacturing endeavors will also be used to uncover real applications with real benefits within your operations. But to do so, your sherpa should be observant, inquisitive and vigilant. Throughout uccess is often

This is a time when strategic plans supersede reactionary responses.

Todd Grimm

is a stalwart of the additive manufacturing industry, having held positions across sales and marketing in some of the industry’s biggest names.

Todd is currently the AM Industry advisor with AMUG

tgrimm@tagrimm.com

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the day, he/she should be pondering if a task, project or plan could be improved through additive manufacturing. When those opportunities appear, they should then question the value to the company.

Your sherpa should also have a blend of optimism and pragmatism. A personality that easily justifies the status quo is just as harmful as one that chases unrealistic dreams. Innovation is at the core of unleashing the full potential of additive manufacturing, but it must be balanced with a heavy dose of realism. That balance can be achieved through those that possess capabilities that span technology, operations, business and finance. He/she does not need to be experienced in all these areas, just capable of learning and appreciating the fundamentals of each.

Experience in additive manufacturing and in your industry are also optional. Those can be learned. In some cases, it may even prove advantageous to follow the lead of a sherpa who does not start with preconceived notions about what works, what doesn’t and what is possible. The critical element is finding the right personality, the right blend of skills and the right outlook.

Without a sherpa, additive manufacturing machines may sit idle and opportunities may pass by. Without a sherpa, companies are left to act on instinct and supposition rather than insight and awareness. In many ways, additive manufacturing is a solution looking for problems to solve. With the right sherpa, you will reverse that and attack the challenges, as well as the opportunities, with additive manufacturing as a tool for consideration.

If you believe that a sherpa is in order, start by looking within your company. Your sherpa may already be an employee that just needs grooming and a revision to his/her job responsibilities. The sherpa may also be you. If a candidate cannot be found, then seek to hire the sage advice and wise council of someone that can lead your additive manufacturing efforts and adapt to the everchanging landscape. 

In these dynamic times, companies are seeking direction and guidance.

They need sage advice and wise council, not hope, hyperbole and speculation. They need to seek out a navigator, a sherpa, that can lead them onward and upward.

Bring your ideas to life and reduce your time to market.

Hyphen is the most comprehensive additive manufacturing and environmental testing facility open to the public in North America. www.hyphenservices.com sales@hyphenservices.com