TCT Europe 23.3 by TCT Magazine

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

CAST AWAY ASIGA CREATES TRUE WAX RESIN FOR INVESTMENT CASTING

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

JUNE 2015

ISSN 1751-0333

EDITORIAL HEAD OF CONTENT

James Woodcock james@rapidnews.com GROUP EDITOR

Daniel O’Connor daniel.oconnor@rapidnews.com ASSISTANT EDITOR

Laura Griffiths laura.griffiths@rapidnews.com NEWSDESK

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Todd Grimm tgrimm@tagrimm.com

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Carol Hardy carol@rapidnews.com

PRODUCTION Sam Hamlyn Tracey Roberts

MANAGEMENT C.O.O. / PUBLISHER

Duncan Wood C.E.O.

Mark Blezard

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All change

ince assuming the role of editor on TCT back in 2010, the industry we cover — and count ourselves a part of — has developed at a pace and in directions that could hardly have been predicted. In terms of the industry itself numerous startups, mergers and acquisitions have conspired to change the face of TCT. More than half of the projects, companies and even processes covered in this issue were nowhere to be seen ‘way back then’. TCT itself has developed from what was predominantly a print magazine, website and show to a portfolio of three magazines (well, almost, TCT China Edition and TCT North America Editions are imminent), multiple digital products and events and conferences in the UK, Germany, China and US. I’d love to say this was all down to my excellent stewardship but in truth 3D printing has been the rising tide that has raised all ships. Well, most of them. With this in mind we’ve been expanding behind the scenes too, with Naomi Chadwick joining the events team and Daniel O’Connor and Laura Griffiths stepping into editorial shoes. I am delighted to announce that Dan is now Group Editor for the Europe, North America and China magazines with Laura moving up to Assistant Editor across the same. I will be taking the lead on our conferences and scouting out yet more areas where we can make a difference. So, as you will see from the following pages, you’ll be seeing less of my name and more from Dan and Laura — and I think you’ll agree that the magazines are in safer hands than ever. As always I would love to hear from you with your thoughts and opinions about TCT’s output, whatever the medium — or if you’d simply like to chat about 3D technologies, their development and applications.

s I scoured the incomprehensible maze that is my personal Gmail account seeking my passport details for the very trip I’m writing this note from, I stumbled on my application for my first role at TCT. Attached to the email was a 300-word article on how and why 3D printing would shape our future. Despite Jim and Duncan being impressed enough to put me forward to the interview stage, reading back over the piece does make one’s toes cringe for sheer density of layman clichés including 3D printing getting us to Mars, Jay Leno’s 3D printed car parts and, horrendously, the 3D printer in every home trope. It has been a steep learning curve since the start of 2013; one I thank everyone I’ve spoken to for dragging me up it. Todd Grimm bookends this magazine with a piece on the impossibility of knowing everything in an industry that has gone into hyperdrive in the past five years. What TCT aims to do is give you the fuel for thought in order for you to further accelerate this industry of ours. In my first issue as Group Editor you’ll see a review of the whole team’s trip to RAPID, my first experience of AMUG, Laura delve into the bureau business, an interview with new MakerBot CEO Jonathan Jaglom, a feature on the 3D printed state of the aerospace industry, a look at the big news since the last issue — that new file format — and much more. What I am keen to understand is what you, our readers, want to see in the magazine. Is there a technology you think we should be taking a closer look at? Somebody we really ought to interview? An application that has blown your socks off? All you have to do is email Laura or myself on my work email which is a heck of a lot more organised than that personal one. Make all the things...

Keep on creating,

Jim Woodcock Head of Content

Daniel O’Connor Group Editor

For a new era of manufacturing Applying over 40 years of cross-sector engineering Renishaw’s new metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system for industrial production features increased emphasis on automation and reduced operator interaction. Find out more at www.renishaw.com/additive

www.renishaw.com Renishaw's EVO project Strip ad TCT 0515.indd 1

19/05/2015 09:48:44 JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com 05

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

FROM THE EDITOR

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

CONTENTS

TCT | JUNE 2015 EDITION

LEAD NEWS

Sponsored by

A MATERIAL WORLD

Asiga on how true wax stereolithography resins are providing a pathway to real-world applications and materials with investment casting.

HOW TO BUILD A BUREAU

Laura speaks to some of the UK’s leading 3D printing service providers to find out what it takes to set up a successful bureau.

FEATURES

NEWS

A roundup of all the latest news from the last month, for more on each of the stories visit www.tctmagazine.com

AMUG REVIEW

Joining over 400 first-time attendees for the annual Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, Dan reviews his experience at one of the industry’s favourite events.

ON THE BRINK OF A BREAKTHROUGH

Dan speaks to one of the first companies in the world to mass manufacture a product using desktop 3D printers.

MACHINING UPDATE

As subtractive tech turns to additive we bring you the latest news from the machining world.

RAPID REVIEW

A look at the highlights from the 25th annual RAPID Conference and Expo in Long Beach, California.

LATTICE STRUCTURES – SIMPLIFIED

FORMAT WARS

As the STL file format prepares to battle it out with its biggest competitor to date, we bring you a report from Dassault Systèmes and take an in depth look at 3MF

TCT brings you the best bits from the Belgian company’s event celebrating 25 years of meaningful innovations.

TCT NORTH AMERICA

PERSONALIZE PRINTING PRESS

A pick of some of the best 3D prints we’ve spotted on our travels.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Spending a week in MakerBot’s hometown, Dan speaks to new CEO Jonathan Jaglom as he takes the helm of one of the industry’s most recognisable brands.

THE EVOLUTION OF ROBOHAND

It’s one of the industry’s most inspirational stories, TCT takes a look at the history of the iconic 3D printed prosthetic.

1000 3D PRINTED PARTS ON AN AEROPLANE We bring you an update on the latest AM developments from the aerospace industry.

MATERIALISE WORLD CONFERENCE REVIEW

Introducing TCT North America edition, a new print and digital magazine for the North American market.

We take a look at how lattice structures are inspiring new design freedoms for metal additive manufacturing.

HOT-WIRING 3D PRINTING

Voxel8 reveals more about its ambitions for 3D printing electronics on an industrial scale.

REGULARS

05 17 66

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK GUEST COLUMN TODD GRIMM COLUMN

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

LEAD NEWS: ASIGA

A Material World TRUE WAX STEREOLITHOGRAPHY RESINS CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT CASTING.



FROM FAR LEFT: Parts built in Asiga SuperWAX liquefy above 50 degrees Celcius making them suitable for investment casting applications.

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

WOR DS : A s iga

hen the mainstream

press talks of 3D printing we’re often greeted with the Star Trek Replicator analogy. This fictional machine rearranges subatomic particles, which are abundant everywhere in the universe, to form molecules and arranges those molecules to form any object in any material. Unfortunately, current 3D printing technology falls short of this sci-fi fantasy. There are presently only a handful of processes and materials available. A new development in this arena is a stereolithography resin, which behaves like wax. Why might such a material property be useful? Asiga’s CEO Ray Ericsson explains: “Stereolithography is the gold standard for 3D printing. It offers the highest resolution available today and is affordable. However, stereolithography resins are extremely limited in their properties. Real-world applications require metals, ceramics and durable plastics. True wax stereolithography resins provide a pathway to these materials via investment casting.” Investment casting is recognised as a powerful way of turning 3D printed parts into a variety of useful engineering materials provided they are compatible with the investment casting process. Traditional stereolithography materials have had limited success in investment casting because they don’t melt like wax. Their thermal expansion and combustion byproducts can damage the plaster, resulting in a rough orange-peel like surface on the cast parts. This precludes their use in high fidelity applications such as jewellery production. In fact, casting stereolithography parts in platinum has been considered near impossible until now because platinum investment casting plasters are particularly sensitive to thermal expansion and chemical attack. True wax stereolithography resin eliminates these problems.

This is the first instance we know of where true wax parts are being built using stereolithography.

The front cover of this magazine features a platinum jewellery ring with a hollow mesh structure that would be challenging to make by traditional methods. The design was printed on an Asiga Pico2 3D printer in SuperWAX thermoplastic resin. The 3D printed pattern was sprued on a wax tree and set in a flask. Platinum investment powder and binder were mixed to form a smooth slurry that was poured down the side of the flask to completely cover the pattern. The flask was placed in a vacuum chamber for 2 minutes to remove air bubbles and set aside for 90 minutes to harden. The flask was then placed in an oven overnight to remove the SuperWAX pattern and further cure the investment. Molten platinum was centrifugally cast into the flask under inert argon gas. The raw casting was polished to the result shown in the photographs. Investment casting techniques are not limited to jewellery applications. Dental laboratories routinely use investment casting to produce dental restorations, both in metal alloys and ceramics such as lithium disilicate. Elastomeric polyurethane denture gums can be cast in place around artificial teeth using investment casting methods. Many industrial and aerospace applications employ investment casting to produce components from pipefittings to jet engine parts. In every case, the process starts with a wax pattern. “This is the first instance we know of where true wax parts are being built using stereolithography,” explains Asiga’s Ericsson. “The parts can be used for investment casting challenging materials like platinum, stainless steel and titanium with the ease of wax. We see this as a significant advance in our objective of enabling affordable direct manufacturing.”  For more information visit www.asiga.com

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

GOOGLE AWARDS E-NABLE WITH $600,000 GRANT TO DEVELOP 3D PRINTED PROSTHETICS 

As part of the $20 million Google Impact Challenge focused on disabilities, e-NABLE Community Foundation has been awarded $600,000 Google.org Grant Funding to support development of the e-NABLE community’s 3D-printed prosthetics. The funding will accelerate R&D through strategic partnerships, global design challenges, free and open source self-service software to empower individuals and groups to use and develop, e-NABLE’s inexpensive prosthetic solutions. 

EnvisionTEC has unveiled a new 3D printer for the jewellery industry. The first-of-its-kind WaxEra machine is capable of printing highly intricate designs using wax paste. The industry first, E-Wax material, is a paste material with a polymer binder built for a wide range of applications across the jewellery sector and can be investment cast regardless of wall thickness in traditional wax patterns in silver, white gold and platinum. 

NEWS

Whilst the TCT team has spent the last few months jetting off across the U.S. and Europe in search of 3D printing intelligence, developments on the ground have continued to flourish with new partnerships, launches and investment.

FOR THESE STORIES IN FULL CLICK TO WWW.TCTMAGAZINE.COM

SOLIDSCAPE TEAMS WITH KANGSHUO TO LAUNCH CHINA’S LARGEST 3D PRINTING BUREAU  Solidscape has struck a major partnership with Kangshuo Group Co. Ltd to create the largest jewellery 3D printing service bureau in China. Kangshuo group will install several hundred Solidscape machines, designed specifically for the needs of custom jewellers, across four new 3D printing service facilities that will support the region’s fast growing custom jewellery industry. The first facility is set to open in Shenzhen next month followed by Guangzhou in October. 

UL AND UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE TO LAUNCH AM TRAINING CENTRE  Global safety science organisation, UL and the University of Louisville have partnered up to launch a new 3D printing training facility, the UL Additive Manufacturing Competency Centre. Set to open later this year, the facility will be a hub for advancing manufacturing knowledge and workforce expertise designed to cater to established additive manufacturing professionals and will offer hands-on training in additive manufacturing for metals. 

MATERIALISE AND TRIMBLE’S SKETCH-UP TEAM UP ON WORLD’S BIGGEST 3D PRINTING REPOSITORY



Materialise is working with Trimble to enhance its 3D printing repository and software. The collaboration sees the integration between 3D Warehouse and Materialise’s Cloud Services - capable of analysing and fixing models to ensure printability - giving 3D Warehouse users the ability to flag uploaded SketchUp models as ‘Printable’. These files are then processed by Materialise’s Cloud Services to generate high-quality, printable STL files available to be downloaded from 3D Warehouse. 

AUTODESK RELEASES MECHANICAL FILES FOR EMBER 3D PRINTER  Sticking with its promise to produce a 3D printing platform that is completely opensource, the team at Autodesk have taken the ultimate step in that mission by making Ember’s mechanical design files available in Fusion 360. The full design of the Ember 3D printer is now available to freely view, download and modify, giving engineers and tinkerers the opportunity to experiment and take the technology to a whole new level. 

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

ENVISIONTEC LAUNCHES NEW WAXERA 3D PRINTER FOR JEWELLERY 

AMUG

Dan O’Connor was champing at the bit to get to Jacksonville, Florida for the 27th annual Additive Manufacturing Users Group Education and Training Conference if only to get the “You’ve never been to AMUG?” monkey off his back. So we put him on a plane…

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

AMUG Review I f you’re familiar

with the television series How I Met Your Mother you may be familiar with the term “Curse of the Blitz” - a longrunning trope describing the phenomenon that occurs when somebody repeatedly misses out on something ‘unbelievably awesome’. The Curse of the Blitz is strongly linked to the social angst known as FoMO – Fear of Missing Out. Dear readers, I, Daniel O’Connor have been suffering from FoMO every single time Jim Woodcock, Graham Tromans, Duncan Wood, Todd Grimm and just about anybody else in this industry discusses AMUG. It’s one of those things, AMUG, you just wouldn’t understand it unless you’ve been and this year I was amongst 436 first-time attendees as the overall turnout increased by a huge 44% on 2014’s figure to 756. Despite AMUG now being a mass pilgrimage the volunteers who organise the event have done everything in their power to maintain the ethos that sets AMUG apart; conviviality. From the networking lunches, in which you select a table number out of a hat, to the evening exposition peppered with open bars and an abundance of food, attendees are encouraged to meet new people, share ideas, ask questions and impart their knowledge to the benefit of the industry as a whole.

STOPPING THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION There was a catchphrase the AMUG team was keen to promote throughout the event, a phrase inspired by Todd Grimm’s opening keynote. Attendees were encouraged to share the message: “IDK but I am learning at AMUG 2015” on social media in declaration, not of ignorance, but of the implausibility of knowing everything about an industry that changes on an almost hourly basis. Todd goes further into detail in his column on page 66 on how stopping the spread of misinformation is key to allowing this industry to grow and an event like AMUG has to be at the forefront of that learning. By liberating the ability to not know, AMUG encouraged conversation; at the opening networking lunch the first question asked on the table elicited the IDK response and relaxed the group as a whole. The social side of AMUG helps but suggesting that this is one big industry jolly would do it an incredible disservice. The breadth of the conference programme is almost staggering. With over 200 papers spread over the three-day conference whatever it is you want to take away from AMUG you will find by going to a talk, visiting an exhibition, participating in a workshop or just speaking to a fellow user. After Todd’s exceptional keynote, which set the mood and rounded up the industry’s innovations since AMUG 2014, it was the turn of Joe Allison, CEO of the newly formed Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, to take to the stage and blast everybody away with an almost evangelical talk littered with a few choice words as well as pearls of wisdom. ››



LEFT: Technical Competition Winner Advanced Finishing

RIGHT: Technical Competition Winner Advanced Concept

ABOVE: The world’s only two Double DINOs

Graham Tromans and Joe Allison

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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AMUG ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

From the moment double DINO Joe took to the stage to the sound of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man he had the audience enthralled with tales of 3D printed guns, prosthetics for children and he left us with one of the quotes of the event: “We used to think 3D printing Yoda busts were cool, now we think production parts on aircrafts are cooler.” Todd and Joe’s opening addresses were the agenda’s pacesetters what followed was a throng of fervent talks from speakers like Jason Lopes of Legacy Effects, an interview with industry legend Chuck Hull, panels including Dr. Lonnie Love of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory debating direct manufacturing with Harold Sears of the Ford Motor Company as well as workshops showcasing the latest technologies, materials and software by a raft of exhibitors such as Stratasys, Renishaw and Materialise. DECORATION DAYS AMUG serves not only to shape the upcoming years of 3D printing and additive manufacturing but also to recognise the achievements of years gone by. Their awards banquet is stuff of legend as members are bussed out to a secret location to enjoy yet more drink, food, entertainment and networking. This year’s banquet was at a private airfield in Jacksonville, filled with super cars, private aircraft and for one night only some Vegasesque gambling tables. The highlight for many is the announcement of the next raft of DINOs (Distinguished INnovator Operator). Each year the AMUG board deliberate users they feel have made outstanding contributions to the industry and then present them with an SLA printed dinosaur. This year the eight gentlemen bestowed with the honour were: ⊲ ⊲ ⊲ ⊲

Vince Anewenter, Milwaukee School of Engineering Derek Ellis, Computer Aided Technology, Inc. Andrew Graves, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing Steven Kossett, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota

ABOVE: New DINO Stefan Ritt, Father of 3D Printing

Chuck Hull and Double Dino Graham Tromans

⊲ Stephan Ritt, SLM Solutions ⊲ Harold Sears, Ford Motor Company

We used to think 3D printing Yoda busts were cool, now we think production parts on aircrafts are cooler

Mark Barfoot, AMUG president, commented; “This year’s DINO recipients have an average of nearly 20 years of experience in the additive manufacturing industry, but experience is only part of the criteria for this coveted award. To be a DINO, one must also give back to the industry, and these eight men have done that in a big way.” Further congratulations went to the winners of the prestigious technical competition. Mike Hascher of Eagle Engineered Solutions scooped the top prize in the Advanced Concepts category and Todd Reese of Realize, Inc, for the second time in three years, won top prize in the Advanced Finishing category. A panel of five judges commented that they liked the creative combination of additive technologies for mould-ready investment casting patterns in Mike’s “Tomorrow’s Turbine Blade” entry. Mike combined Eagle’s Direct Print Ceramic (DPC) Core technology for the internal channels of a turbine blade with printed patterns for the balance of the part. Todd’s piece, titled “The Hunting Trophy,” brought an SLA Orc to life. The judges noted: “The skill and artistry of Todd’s team with paint and airbrushes was obvious in this grotesque, but oddly beautiful, piece.” Thank you to everyone we met at AMUG and thanks to the organisers I’ve now shifted the Curse of the Blitz to TCT Show’s John Jones. 

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

015

BARNATT COLUMN

WOR D S : C hris t op h e r B a r n at t

oon most 3D prints will be production tools or end-use components. Exactly when rapid prototyping will become a minority additive manufacturing application is inevitably difficult to predict. This said, many people I’ve spoken to put the date around 2020. A chasm clearly exists between current additive manufacturing technologies and ‘local digital manufacturing’ (LDM) hardware capable of replicating many products on demand. Yet given the potential environmental and economic benefits, we should not dismiss the prospect of LDM outright. We hence need to keep abreast of those technologies that may be involved. 3D printers are not the only mechanisms for transforming digital models into physical things. Not least, life itself additively turns digital data into complex 3D forms. In 2010, a new pointand-click science called synthetic biology was used to create the first synthetic bacterium, and since that time the programming of microorganisms as productive mechanisms has proceeded apace. For example, at KAIST in Korea, synthetic biology has been used to directly produce the bioplastic PLA from a starch feedstock. One day soon, it may therefore be possible to ferment 3D printing filament from a locally grown raw material like algae. More fundamentally, synthetic biology could transform 3D printing processes. Already bioprinters like Organovo’s Novogen MMX output cell aggregates that naturally rearrange and fuse together after printout. At present, bioprinting involves the creation of living tissue for medical purposes, but future hardware could output an aggregate of synthetic cells that would fuse and die into a material akin to wood, coral or human bone. Nanotechnology will also increasingly converge with 3D printing, with nanocomposite filaments already on the market. These mix carbon nanotubes or graphene with a

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

The rise of local digital manufacturing

We’re delighted to introduce Christopher Barnatt to TCT readers, Christopher is a futurist, keynote speaker and the author of 10 books, including 3D Printing: Second Edition. His ExplainingTheFuture.com website and YouTube Channel are increasingly popular resources to those seeking information on future technologies. Christopher Barnatt

One day soon, it may therefore be possible to ferment 3D printing filament from a locally grown raw material like algae.



LEFT: Synthetic bacteria

@ChrisBarnatt

conventional polymer, and in time could allow the printout of complex working electronic devices. Nanoscale 3D printing processes, such as two-photon polymerisation (2PP) are additionally being developed, and in common with synthetic biology may in future control not just the form, but also the material composition of those objects we locally fabricate. Pioneer Eric Drexler has long predicted the emergence of atomically precise manufacturing (APM) hardware able to assemble complex products from basic feedstocks. While today nanotech mainly involves ‘top down’ processes for making microchips or nanocomposites, developments in areas including protein engineering do suggest that we may one day routinely manufacture on the nanoscale. Though I believe that this will only become practical when 3D printing, synthetic biology and nanotechnology fully converge. In the last 30 years we have built a new economy based on machines called microprocessors that manipulate information. In the next three decades, the possibility exists to build a new economy based on microfabricators that will combine 3D printing with synthetic biology and nanotechnology in order to manipulate the physical world. In comparison to future microfabricators, today’s 3D printers are more akin to vacuum tubes than microprocessors. But that does not mean they cannot and will not be created.  For more information visit www.explainingthefuture.com

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

017

Daniel O’Connor takes a look at SnowShoe, one of the first companies in the world to mass manufacture a product for some stellar clients on desktop 3D printers.

ON THE BRINK OF A

BREAKTHROUGH WOR D S : DANIEL O’ c on nor

his piece began life as a run of the mill article for the website on an innovative product made with sub $5,000 desktop 3D printers. Scratching the surface of an already interesting piece revealed a thoroughly fascinating insight into the attempts of a startup to mass manufacture a future everyday product using desktop 3D printing. An attempt that came painstakingly close to being realised. The company is SnowShoe and their product is so genius in its simplicity that it has the power to revolutionise digital to physical B2C transactions. Current interactions between the likes of retail outlets and smartphones are, at best, clunky; few really like or use QR codes, NFC is only built into some devices and Google Goggles never hit the ground running. The SnowShoe Stamp contains no circuitry, no need for batteries, no Bluetooth, no NFC, it is just a piece of plastic that when tapped with a smartphone can open up hidden items in games, verify digital coupons in store, turn your smartphone into a loyalty card, turn event goers into instant subscribers and just about any physical to digital action you could imagine. Each Stamp contains a different fingerprint that, when touched on a screen, acts as a gesture, a gesture that is recognised by SnowShoe’s browser-based API which then unlocks a specific piece of content.

We realised that the plastic stamps required less than $1 of filament per stamp, we decided to try to scale the additive manufacturing processs



RIGHT: The 3D Printed SnowShoe Stamp

ABOVE: SnowShoe

CEO Claus Moberg

018

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THE RUBBER STAMP With over $3.5m of funding in the bank, companies like Disney and Red Bull already repeat customers and over 3,000 developers working on SnowShoe’s API the Stamps are in demand. The way the company goes about producing the allimportant physical bridge is not your usual mass manufactured plastic product, each piece in the wild so far has been 3D printed on a MakerBot. It wasn’t always intended to be this way as CEO, Claus Moberg explains: “We had been manufacturing Stamps out of aluminium, at a per-item cost of ~$25. We won a MakerBot Replicator in the 2012 TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon, and decided to see if we could manufacture Stamps out of conductive plastics. We bought some conductive filament from China, plugged it into the MakerBot, and printed a stamp that worked really well on our iOS test devices. When we realised that the plastic stamps required less than $1 of filament per stamp, we decided to try to scale the additive manufacturing process.” For those of us that understand the technology the SnowShoe Stamp perfectly fits the

SNOW SHOE STAMP

ABOVE:

SnowShoe Orignal Prototype

STUCK IN THE SNOW I know what you’re thinking ‘why haven’t I seen this product in every single outlet in the world?’ There’s a ‘but’ to this story, a but that means SnowShoe can only guarantee that the Stamp currently works on iOS devices (about 30% of the overall smartphone market) a but that means 3D printing might not be the answer to its prayers after all. Despite testing on all touchscreen devices initially, and being very satisfied with the results, customers started reporting catastrophic failures on Android devices. Following a series of dead-end assessments SnowShoe discovered that it was the consistency in the filament causing the problem. The conductive ABS is barely conductive enough to register on Android devices and seeing as the resistance of magnitude can vary by three orders in a single spool it explains why some Stamps from the same batch would work and others wouldn’t. “It is very frustrating to be so tantalisingly close to mass manufacture,” noted Moberg. “Our company would be moving forward at an incredible pace if we could find an ABS filament that was both hard enough to print consistently at .2mm layer height and conductive enough (<10,000 ohms resistance per linear foot) to function successfully.”

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Our company would be moving forward at an incredible pace if we could find an ABS filament that was both hard enough to print consistently at .2mm layer height and conductive enough (<10,000 ohms resistance per linear foot) to function successfully.

criteria for a 3D printable product; not only is it a small item that is made of plastic but each design is different from the next. There are five points on each SnowShoe Stamp that are placed in such a way that when tapped to the smartphone act as the signature to unlock the specific piece of content. The five points are printed with the conductive ABS and the rest is printed with regular ABS, which masks the unique pattern and protects the Stamp from being spoofed. Because every Stamp is unique, injection moulding doesn’t offer the economy of scale it usually does to a mass manufactured plastic part and batch industrial printing that services like Sculpteo offer, can’t produce the subtle material changes required. Instead, SnowShoe is currently using a farm of desktop 3D printers producing 5,000 Stamps a month. “We have 16 MakerBot Replicator 2Xs running out of University Research Park in Madison, Wisconsin.” Explains the entrepreneurial Moberg, who left his PhD studies at that very university to launch SnowShoe. “The printers are actually quite reliable when well maintained - we make sure to grease the works and tighten all the belts regularly.”

ABOVE:

SnowShoe BotFarm

RIGHT:

SnowShoe’s unique points act as a fingerprint

PLOUGHING FORWARD Though the solution would appear to be within earshot Claus doesn’t think 3D printing remains a viable option for manufacture. “We have looked into developing our own filament, and we have tried everything on the market to-date.” He said. “The issue seems to be that once you dope the ABS with enough graphite to make it sufficiently conductive, it becomes too soft to print consistently. We have, for the most-part, suspended our engineering efforts around 3D printing, as the volumes (>500,000 pieces) and price point (<$.50/ Stamp) we are trying to supply over the next six months would likely strain additive manufacturing processes even without feedstock issues.” Because of this scale and those problems SnowShoe is currently in the design for manufacturing stage of a process that would pair traditional injection moulding with a CNC process to impart the unique capacitive signatures. Though desktop 3D printing did not entirely solve the manufacturing process in this instance, its involvement in the growth of this particular startup is significant. The path set forth by this Wisconsin startup shows how desktop 3D printing can be used to mass manufacture products. It is a trail that could see other companies set up basecamp and begin to use the technology for more than just the trinkets and toys prevalent in most desktop 3D printing marketing material. SnowShoe’s travails also serve as a reminder for the need to push forward with material science in order to unlock more applications.  JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

019

Job Title: Location: Salary: Cooksongold is a leading global supplier of precious metal products. As part of our business we have formed a unique strategic partnership with Electro Optical Systems (EOS GmbH) in order to provide a complete additive manufacturing solution to the jewellery and watch making industries. The Precious M080 is the only metal 3D printer that has been specifically developed for the jewellery and watchmaking industries. Cooksongold provides a complete and unique additive manufacturing solution by coupling the Precious M080 with our optimised process parameters and gas atomised Advanced Metal Powders.

We have an exciting opportunity for an individual to join and lead our Additive Manufacturing team. The main responsibilities of the role will be: 1. The development and creation of optimised parameter sets for new materials on the Precious MO80. 2. To establish, develop and implement a formal trial programme including analysis of all process variables. 3. To analyse and interpret results in order to achieve continuous process improvement. 4. To develop the Precious M080 to its full potential, become the operating expert and cascade competence to the required team members. 5. Support development and production of gas atomised powders for direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) and other industrial applications.

020

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Additive Manufacturing Manager Birmingham, West Midlands Negotiable applications

Overseas travel will play a large part in this role. The successful candidate will work closely with EOS who are based in Germany, to ensure that all available best practice is transferred and incorporated into our product offering. In addition, the successful candidate will be required to attend events and exhibitions, deliver training and provide technical advice to customers and other project stakeholders. The successful candidate will have an engineering degree and expertise in additive manufacturing and/or powder metallurgy. You will be passionate, have a strong attention to detail and offer an enthusiastic can do attitude. In return we can offer a competitive salary, up to 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, a Company pension scheme; with employer contributions matched up to 8%, private medical insurance, a bonus scheme, life assurance and Company car parking space.

To apply please send a CV and covering letter to: humanresources@cooksongold.com

MACHINING

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

HERMLE INTRODUCES HYBRID 5-AXIS ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MACHINE

Giant German machine tool manufacturer, Hermle, is integrating additive manufacturing capability into a 5-axis machining centre marking a significant leap in complex metal component production. In contrast to the metal powder based laser melting process, Hermle’s metal powder application (MPA) generative manufacturing technology is a thermal spray process based on lower energy kinetic compacting, or micro-forging. The result marks seven years of development at the company’s R&D centre in Ottobrunn, near Munich and a significant level of investment. The hybrid machine, known as an MPA 40, has a powder application nozzle mounted alongside the vertical milling spindle and a heater built into the 4th / 5th axis rotary table.  www.hermlemachine.com

HURCO MAKES ROOM FOR 3D PRINTING IN ITS CNC MACHINES

With over 300 machines sold in the UK every year, Hurco are considered one of the most prominent machine manufacturers on the globe. In 2014 the company filed a patent for a hybrid CNC machining 3D printing technology using the company’s existing machining tools. The company’s president, Gregory Volovic, explained: “We designed an additive manufacturing adapter that, in combination with proprietary Hurco control software, effectively turns a CNC milling machine into a 3D printer. Hurco has a long history of inventing technology that allows our customers to be more productive and profitable. This is yet another Hurco innovation making advanced technology accessible to a broad range of customers. With this new additive manufacturing capability, users may go from print to plastic prototype to finished metal part on one machine without repeated set-ups and without multiple prototyping utilising costly metals and raw material.”  www.hurco.com

MACHINING

UPDATE Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is the technology du jour; it dominates mainstream press when it comes to manufacturing news despite it being dwarfed by its subtractive cousin not only in terms of the size of machines but also an install base of millions of machines across the globe. The two technologies are not mutually exclusive and as this update shows many of the companies who’ve made billions from subtractive tech are turning to additive in order to keep the share of the market 3D printing is attempting to steal.

MUNCASTER TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES MUNCASTER 3 FOR ADVANCED CNC MACHINING

Muncaster Technologies, a CNC machining hardware startup, is about to lead the subtractive machining technology industry into a new stage of its evolution with some serious competition for the high-end professional market. The Muncaster S3 will be a catalyst in bringing about a new wave in rapid and efficient production of sophisticated parts and prototypes says the company. The machine delivers a compact solution to designers and engineers wanting clean, quiet, economic and most of all, faster capabilities from a CNC machine. Unlike many traditional CNC machines, the Muncaster S3 will sit cleanly and comfortably in an office or studio just as well as it would in the workshop or on the shop floor, with the ability to model high fidelity parts in metals, woods and polymers.  www.muncastertechnologies.com

BOXZY RAPID-CHANGE FABLAB: MILL, LASER ENGRAVER, 3D PRINTER SMASHES KICKSTARTER TARGET

In March 2015 an unknown startup launched a campaign on Kickstarter for $50,000 to fund their fully equipped CNC milling, laser engraving and 3D printing machine housed inside a single aluminium frame. 30 days later Pittsburgh brothers, Joel and Justin Johnson had over 500 machine orders and $1,193,255 in the bank. With a complete kit early bird price of $2,499 backers and partners were keen to snap up BoXZY. The brothers say the machine was inspired by their own access to the many machining options available at maker spaces across the globe. Each of the machine’s three heads is rapidly interchangeable and it is capable of shaping materials from metals to hardwoods and plastics. The team have also designed a clean easy-touse single interface for each of the making technologies.  www.boxzy.com JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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RAPID REVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

RAPID 2015 Review Glorious sun, beautiful harbour views and a cross-fit omelette for breakfast – oh yes, TCT had arrived in LA.

ess sun, sea and California dreaming, more 3D printing, software and 3D scanning was on the agenda, as the big names from the industry descended on the Long Beach Convention Centre for the 25th annual RAPID event. Boasting its biggest show to date, RAPID 2015 featured over 150 exhibitors, many of which had brought along brand-new innovations and never-before-seen prints. TCT of course had some big news of our own to shout about with the launch of the North America edition of the magazine but there were plenty of other developments happening across the show floor to keep us busy throughout the three day event. Also marking its 25th year, Materialise launched the latest edition of its Mimics Innovation Suite and the Additive Manufacturing Engine that Bryan Crutchfield, Managing Director at Materialise, U.S., said will allow new machine manufacturers to “come up to speed much faster.” Paper-based colour 3D printing pioneers, Mcor Technologies, introduced Mcor IRIS HD, complete with new algorithms and carbide cutting tip capable of providing 360° high-definition colour, sharper details and reducing operating costs by 20 percent. ››

BELOW: FORECAST3D’s 3D printed car

BELOW: The Long Beach Convention Centre

W O R D S : l a u r a g r i f f i t hs

Boasting its biggest show to date, RAPID 2015 featured over 150 exhibitors, many of which had brought along brand-new innovations and never-beforeseen prints.

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RAPID REVIEW

LEFT: Jason

Lopes and his creation Bodock & Ja’naar

Bob Swatrtz of Impossible Objects discussed a new composite-based additive manufacturing technology, CBAM, which uses fabrics of Carbon Fiber, Kevlar and Fiberglass. Bob demonstrated an industrial part that took just 40 minutes to print using the technology but he believes this could be reduced to just 4 minutes. Zach Simkin and Annie Wang of Senvol talked about the importance of choosing the right location for cost effective manufacturing using the Senvol Database, a free tool that provides searchable access to more than 350 machines and 400 materials in the industrial sector. Paul Bates of UL, presented on why the AM industry needs training. Paul said “dispelling the hype is really important” and suggested that training needs to go beyond the basics with tiers of information delivered in front of the machine. Sigma Labs expanded on its cooperation with Honeywell on geometric compliance for aerospace production. Donald Godfrey, Engineering Fellow at Honeywell, said: “If you really knew what Honeywell were doing in our labs you’d be amazed.” Elena Polyakova, COO of Graphene 3D Lab provided insight on implementing graphene to increase strength and add conductivity to 3D printed end-products and the challenge of using 3D printing to realise ideas that don’t currently exist. Stealing the attention away from metals and plastics was Jason Lopes’ gargantuan 3D printed monster. Bodock & Ja’naar took an unbelievable 34 hours to create on six different machines and requires the muscle of four people to operate. Other highlights on the show floor included German RepRap’s newly launched X350 Printer, HP’s Colour Multi-Jet Fusion prints, Iron Man by CIDEAS, a 1:1 recreation of John Merrick’s Skull, Formlabs’ fully printed speaker, Nervous System’s Kinematics dress and TCT favourite, the RAPID Puzzle Challenge.  It was a week of updates, thoughtful talks and a successful first outing for word of our North America edition magazine. Next year’s RAPID event takes place between the 17th and 19th of May at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida.

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Newcomers Cosine Additive unveiled their industrial grade, ultra large format AM1 3D printer. The completely open source machine features a build volume of 109x86x93cm and aims to dramatically change the industrial sector and polymer additive manufacturing technology. Remember an intriguing, large empty wooden box on the showfloor at last year’s Euromold? Well that mystery is no more when Additive Industries announced details of their MetalFab1, industrial grade additive manufacturing solution expected to launch in Q4. CEO Daan A.J. Kersten, said: “When we started in 2012 the first thing we did is speak to some experienced users and asked them ‘What would you like if you could spec a machine?’ and this machine is the product of those discussions.” 3D Systems’ Tom Charron was keen to talk injection moulding and showcase some metal 3D printed parts with Layerwise and Harris Kenny at Aleph Objects spoke about the company’s new partnership with taulman3D. Airwolf 3D showed off their huge range of material capabilities and teased of their exciting machine news expected to be revealed very soon. There are no names to speak of just yet but Co-founder Erick Wolf told us that it promises to completely change the industry. Watch this space. Mississippi-based clean technology company, Algix showed how they’re helping 3D printing live up to its super-green moniker by teaming up with 3D Fuel to offer a range of sustainable plastics that utilise algae and other aquaculture to accelerate the biodegradable properties of PLA. The guys at Voxel8 brought some interesting developments to the show floor with their $9,000 developer kit for 3D printing electronics. Co-founder Michael Bell revealed the Harvard University startup has set its ambitions on industrial scale machines. Bell commented: “In our research centre we have industrial scaled machines that can do pick-and-place, we have technology like mixing nozzles where we can mix conductive ink and resistive inks to generate a specified resistance and actually print it.” RAPID’s conference programme offered valuable insight from some of the industry’s leading speakers. Graham Tromans led the proceedings with his latest briefings on Additive Layer Technologies. Graham provided his thoughts on what attendees should be looking at on the show floor and remarked, “The principles of additive layer technologies have been around forever, the pyramids were built additively.”

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3MF FORMAT WARS

A look into the newly launchED 3MF 3D printing file format WOR D S : DA N IE L O’ C ON NOR WOR D S : DA NIE L O’ c on nor

2015 Awards Banquet the gathered users gave the founding father of 3D Printing, Chuck Hull, an enduring and heartfelt standing ovation. Chuck is recognised as not only the inventor of the hardware that has turned this industry into a billion dollar one, but perhaps his most enduring legacy to those in the know, those giving the applause, was the file format that has stood up to three decades worth of hardware innovation. The STL file has seen off many challengers but it is about to do battle once more with perhaps its most fierce ever challenger in the shape of 3MF - a file format launched by a consortium of the same name consisting, so far, of Dassault Systèmes S.A.; FIT AG/netfabb GmbH; Microsoft Corporation; HP; Shapeways, Inc.; SLM Solutions Group AG; and Autodesk Inc. The 3MF Consortium suggests that the STL file format has been out-dated by advances in 3D Printing hardware and software. The 3MF file format will be more information rich with details on manufacturing data like texture, colour and materials all built into its data. ⊲ during the amug

TCT spoke to Justin Kidder, Director of Graphics and Software Architecture at Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS Corporation about the CAD conglomerate’s involvement in the new file format:

How and why did Dassault become involved in this venture?

In Solidworks 2015 we released some functionality that was supported in Windows 8.1 that allowed direct 3D printing. Microsoft used a driver model whereby printer manufacturers would write drivers and then software packages like ourselves were able to send data through the drivers straight to the printer. That’s how we initiated a relationship with Microsoft around 3D Printing, when they later decided to use what they’d learnt from this native printing and spin that off into a file format we were one of the first companies that they approached to help turn 3MF into the consortium is it today.

What are the real benefits of using 3MF as opposed to another format?

It is a very complete file format; as well as containing data about geometry it contains data about colours, textures and other manufacturing information that is required for 3D printing. The fact that it is industry backed and is an open format – it is freely available for everyone to use now - makes it a huge step up from the previous de facto standard that is STL.

The information from the consortium is that 3MF is an answer to hardware and software developments that STL can’t handle, could you give us a specific example?

The HP machine is a good example of a hardware moving beyond the current file formats and there are plenty of other machines that are able to print in colour. Colour is a very simple example of a 3D printing property that STL can’t handle; it was never built to handle colour. Hardware capabilities are a large part of what is driving the 3MF standard. In addition to what has already been published the consortium is also looking at upcoming developments and talking to other consortium members in looking to see what other kinds of data is required to have a full manufacturing description in the 3MF file.

What will be the benefits FOR a SOLIDWORKS user IN implementing the file format?

When it comes to 3MF we tend to think of it in terms of producers and consumers; the 3D printer companies are consumers of 3MF data and the CAD companies are the producers of the data. We take our CAD models and associated manufacturing information and produce a 3MF file from that. What we foresee going forward is that we will be able to save a CAD model along with its colours, textures, material information, print job ordering, different metadata etc. to a single 3MF file that is to be consumed by a 3D printer without having to have a lot of back-andforth between the designers, software engineers and operators of the 3D printer.

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Format Wars

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3MF Insider Report ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES



BELOW: 3MF is capable of detailing specific colours

As an exclusive to TCT the 3MF Consortium CEO, Adrian Lannin and netfabb CEO Alexander Oster have produced a report on how the 3MF file format can be used to improve the 3D printing process.

3MF:

THE LINGUA FRANCA OF 3D PRINTING

WORD S : A d r i a n L a n n i n , a n d A l e x a n d e r O s t e r

are at a pivotal moment in the history of manufacturing. Modern additive manufacturing has the ability to create amazing things, to manufacture objects that would have been difficult or even impossible to fabricate just a few years ago. We can now manufacture items of unprecedented complexity - and the industry continues to innovate at a rapid pace. Concurrently, there has been an extraordinary level of popular interest in 3D printing. New 3D printers are common on crowdfuning platforms, and some Kickstarter/Indiegogo projects have funded companies that now build successful products, such as Printrbot. These devices are aimed at either consumers and hobbyists seeking to build replacement parts at home, or parents and teachers who want to stimulate children’s interest in science and technology. Unfortunately, a large portion of these newly-launched devices are hard to use and produce inconsistent results. At retail, disappointment rates are high, as are product returns. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as new, innovative, and easy to use consumer printers come to market. For consumers, we see some interest in mail-order 3D printed parts. The ability to order 3D models online from a 3D printing service gives people access to e

Images courtesy of Multistation



BELOW: Material data can also be stored in 3MF like this ceramic print

parts with much greater accuracy and strength. It enables them to select from a wide range of materials, such as metal, ceramic, and plastics with various finishes and material properties. However, today’s printing services still have to accept and fix poorly-described 3D models in a range of file formats that were never designed to support the needs of modern 3D printing, and which lack the capability to accurately describe the 3D model in full fidelity. In the world of commercial 3D printing, we’re lost in translation. We have the ability to create incredibly complex objects, but lack the language to describe them efficiently. When we use microstructures to describe the internal design of objects, existing object formats cannot fully describe the complexity of the design. Simply describing a model can result in a file terabytes in size that still lacks critical information about colour or texture. For software developers to create applications that truly make full use of 3D printing hardware, they need a way to accurately and fully describe the printed model so that printers and print services can print the model reliably. Without it, the pace of innovation in 3D printing is bound to slow down. 3MF PROVIDES A WAY FORWARD With better integration among printing devices, applications, services and operating systems, it’s easier for developers to create

››

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

029

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The Wright Brothers took seven years

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3MF Insider Report using the 3MF format

great applications that can maximize the potential of the printing device. Advanced applications that can understand how to really use materials available on a modern printer could revolutionise the design process. Imagine a 3D design application that is driven by requirements rather than by drawing the object. A user could specify that they want a support of a particular size, able to support a particular weight, and the application could generate the optimal design based on the materials available and the user’s requirements. In Windows 10, Microsoft has partnered with additive manufacturing solutions provider FIT AG/netfabb GmbH to deliver 3D capabilities that will enable the next generation of 3D design and printing applications. 3MF FILE FORMAT Because current model interchange formats are not adequate, Microsoft, FIT and other industry leaders have joined forces to develop a new model format that meets the needs of modern additive manufacturing. This group, the 3MF Consortium is delivering a format – 3MF – that is open and available for anyone to use. This format is:

By working with the industry to standardise on 3MF, we believe that we can remove barriers to success in this industry, and enable companies and individuals to realise the full potential of this technology. FIT has been building its business around 3D printing technologies for 20 years, and in this time has learned a great deal about

the insufficient processes and instabilities that even high-end commercial printers exhibit. That experience has shown that the digital data handling and preparation is the key factor for obtaining repeatable, reliable results. The reason for this is the inherent and unfortunate vulnerability of 3D printing to minor defects in the input description of the model data. While repeating similar processes layer-by-layer, each minor deviation leads to a failure of the whole print, and ultimately, a waste of material, machine time, and revenue. In a commercial environment, stability of 95% is not enough, because it is the remaining 5% that determines the final economic success of a 3D printing operation. With the design and implementation of 3MF, all inherent data handling issues have been broadly addressed, and Windows 10 offers state-of-the-art functionality for developers to address these issues clearly, non-ambiguously, and easily. Just as DirectX provided a comprehensive solution for the multimedia and graphics world, the Windows 3D Printing stack enables the whole toolchain – app developers, web services and printing operations, as well as printer manufacturers – to overcome the basic issues of data handling in 3D printing and concentrate on their core business. The open nature of the 3MF file specification and the open source code used to create and import 3MF files make it very easy for developers to integrate it into every 3D printing application and driver – and offer a ready-to-use drop-in replacement for the ancient data handling formats currently in use.  For more information visit www.3mf.io

 Rich enough to fully describe a model, retaining internal information, colour, and other characteristics;  Extensible so that it supports new innovations in 3D printing;  Open and interoperable;  Practical, simple to understand, and easy to implement; and  Free of the issues inherent in other widely used file formats.

RIGHT: All manufacturing data can be written onto the one file format

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

BELOW: Implant printed

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PART OF THE

N. AMERICA LAUNCH ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

NORTH AMERICAN EDITION OF

TCT MAGAZINE

COMING 2015 TCT 22_4 QUARK8_Layout 1 16/07/2014 10:08 Page 1

TCT 22-3_TCT 22-3 23/05/2014 08:31 Page 1

MAY 14

JULY 14

FEBRUARY 2015

3D PRINTING | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING | PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

NOVEMBER 2014

3D PRINTING | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING | PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

ASIGA MAKES

DIRECT STRATASYS GOES MANUFACTURING BIGGER & BOLDER

WHAT HAS 3D PRINTING GOT TO DO WITH DAIRY COWS?

LET SOMOS EXPLAIN

AN AFFORDABLE REALITY

AT EUROMOLD

“TODAY’S DIY IS TOMORROW’S MADE IN AMERICA.” BARACK OBAMA

1992, TCT magazine is the oldest product in our portfolio of print magazines, digital channels, conferences and exhibitions that help the TCT community assess and adopt 3D technologies. Responding to a growing market and increasing demand, Rapid News Publications Ltd has announced the imminent launch of TCT North America Edition, with the existing magazine to become TCT Europe Edition. Subscription to the North America Edition will be free in print across the continent, as well as being available for free to the global market through the iOS and Android apps. The first TCT North America Edition will be mailed in December 2015. Jim Woodcock, Head of Content at TCT commented: “The continued expansion of the 3D technologies market provides us with opportunities to serve new global communities across our portfolio. The successes of the TCT + Personalize Asia event and TCT at International CES conference have demonstrated that there are markets which are active and engaged with 3D technologies, but under represented in terms of media and community. We are delighted to be able to bring our decades of expertise to bear for the North American audience and look forward to continuing to develop our global community.”  stablished in

The successes of the TCT + Personalize Asia event and TCT at International CES conference have demonstrated that there are markets which are active and engaged with 3D technologies, but under represented in terms of media and community.

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MAKERBOT

Brooklyn H 

ABOVE: Makerbot CEO, Jonathan Jaglom

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aving just spent the three previous days vacationing amongst the ridiculous meticulous beards, the craft beers, the fixie bikes, the cold brews, the handcrafted burgers and achingly ironic bands of Brooklyn, New York, I felt like a fully-fledged MakerBot employee as I prepared to interview their new CEO. Instead of finding that too cool for school attitude MakerBot became synonymous with under the stewardship of founder Bre Pettis I was greeted by the superprofessional handshake of Jonathan Jaglom, a handshake that could only belong to a man who has fought his way to the top of the executive ladder with business nous and a ruthless streak. That ruthless streak was evident as 24 hours after our meeting MakerBot cut 20% of its workforce when it closed its three brick-and-mortar retail outlets in Manhattan, Boston and Greenwich. A statement from David Reis, CEO of MakerBot’s parent company, Stratasys, read: “These organizational moves are part of the continued scaling of MakerBot.”

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Bridge WO RDS : DANIEL O’C O N NOR

It’s a dream come true to be part of a team like this. It is my first role as CEO and for that to be part of such an amazing company is like topping two things in one shot

Despite many doom merchants predicting that this may be the final nail in the coffin for desktop 3D printing it is to be expected that any company that grows 600% in two years would have some significant flabbiness that could deal with trimming. In the five years of MakerBot’s existence Google alone have discontinued over 50 services. In Jaglom, a man who has been around Stratasys management for a good decade, it has got a trusted surgeon to operate on the company that it took a $100 million impairment charge on last year. Despite the role of CEO at MakerBot appearing from the outside something of a poisoned chalice Jaglom is up for the fight: “It’s a dream come true to be part of a team like this. It is my first role as CEO and for that to be part of such an amazing company is like topping two things in one shot,” enthused Jaglom. That’s not just clichéd sportsperson speak on joining a new side. This is a chance for an incredibly ambitious young businessman to harness one of 3D printing’s most recognisable brands and wake them from

their financial slumber. Added to that drive Jaglom is also a MakerBot user with a passion for the desktop technology. “It was approaching Hanukah and a lot of the guys in the Stratasys Hong Kong office are Israeli ex-pats, we didn’t have any of the decorations and sourcing them within the day was proving difficult so we headed to Thingiverse, downloaded a candlestick and were able to print one off there and then.” GOOD FIT Unlike the previous two CEOs, Bre Pettis and Jennifer Lawton, Jaglom comes from Stratasys management having left the post of General Manager, Asia Pacific & Japan, which he held for two years, to helm the Brooklyn-based manufacturer. His rapid rise through the ranks of Stratasys mirrors that of MakerBot’s meteoric progress in the industry and the similarities don’t end there; Jaglom describes himself as always being known to the Stratasys board as “That guy with the weird ideas, who was always pushing for them to go through.” MakerBot too have been described as “crazy” having

››

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MAKERBOT ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

ABOVE: Prints on the MakerBot booth at TCT Asia launched nine pieces of hardware in less than a decade. One of MakerBot’s most popular offshoots (and some say one of the major factors in the 2013 acquisition by Stratasys) is that of Thingiverse - the repository and community for printable models – may not have been so popular had Jaglom got his way: “In 2008 we submitted a business case to the Stratasys board (then Objet) to try to create a community along the same lines of Thingiverse, we never did it. The board decided not to go that route but the fact that we thought about it was pretty cool,” noted Jaglom. “Ultimately Thingiverse did it for us. Thinking of an idea and succeeding with that idea are two different things, any entrepreneur will tell you that having an idea is just 50% of the equation.” In short this is Jaglom asserting his admiration for the path Bre Pettis and Jenny Lawton set MakerBot on, one that has seen the company go from a wooden box built by three guys that printed rough plastic parts, slowly to an entire range of printers sitting on desks at GE, Lockheed Martin and countless education establishments across the globe. REVERSING THE FORTUNE The problem with MakerBot has been poor financial results, the $400 million investment has, as of yet, failed to show any return. Enter Jaglom. His mission is to turn that brand positivity into cold hard cash. He doesn’t see that being a problem under the MakerBot umbrella. “The MakerBot brand today is extremely powerful and very strong,” said Jaglom. “I definitely want to preserve the brand and maintain its identity. MakerBot is very different from Stratasys in many ways in terms of its DNA, its culture, its can do attitude, its fearlessness… as long as I mange to contain that we’re

great. The challenge for me is; how can I enjoy the resources from Stratasys whilst preserving this MakerBot culture?” Though the closing of the stores may indicate that MakerBot is struggling to preserve that culture, it actually just confirms what some have seen coming for some time. MakerBot’s market is not yet in the printer in every home - one that Bre dreamed of - it is the printer on every designer, every engineer’s desk market. There are over two million engineers in the US alone, this is no small market, and if MakerBot succeed in the path already set by Martha Stewart, Hoover and Lockheed Martin it could be exponentially lucrative.

This year’s CES was a prime example of that shifting focus within MakerBot, which though before Jaglom’s time, was a clearly a Stratasys approach to a tradeshow. As opposed to the previous year where MakerBot made a huge bang by launching three new machines, at the 2015 International CES the company showcased its ecosystem of partnerships and some interesting R&D in materials science. “I come from the world of professional platforms, and in that world materials

are key. Stratasys has always been at the forefront of material science and MakerBot is heading that way. Materials are key to our offering, if we want to tap into a more professional audience - and that’s what is happening at MakerBot right now there are more and more professionals stepping into this space and thinking about how they can use these printers – then materials becomes more and more important. Composite materials are just one example of what we’re doing behind the scenes and there is plenty more to come, exactly like Stratasys.” It would be churlish to suggest that MakerBot is stepping away from the consumer market all together, despite the closing of the retail stores its printers are still available in the likes of Home Depot, Amazon stores and Microsoft Stores and its printer-plus-software combination is still considered by many to be the easiest and best to use. Jaglom was speaking to me directly after they had launched Shape Maker on the Print Shop app – an application that allows children of all ages to take a 2D drawing and make it 3D within seconds. “Our challenge is to understand the needs of tomorrow, as long as we maintain close relationships with our customers and partners we have a better understanding of to where to take the technology. Staying in touch with our community is key; tapping into their knowhow, understanding where they’re at, where they’re going and what they need from us is very important.” For Stratasys Jaglom is just like one of New York’s most famous landmarks – a bridge that connects Brooklyn’s fixie bikes and handlebar moustaches to Lower Manhattan’s buttoned up financial district.  For more information visit www.MAKERBOT.com

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ROBOHAND

#1 THE IDEA THAT SPAWNED IT ALL When South African carpenter Richard Van As lost two fingers in a work-related accident he sought out cheaper alternatives to traditional prosthetics to allow him to continue to work. He designed this iteration without 3D printers. 

ENTER THE PRINTER After MakerBot donated two Replicator 2s the speed of iteration was increased ten-fold. Ivan Owens, a mechanical engineer based on the other side of the globe to South African-based Richard was able to quickly iterate designs to send back-and-forth from Washington. Less than two weeks after receiving the printer, files for a fully functioning fully 3D printed (save for some fishing wire and a couple of screws) prosthetic were up on Thingiverse. 

#4 E-NABLING THE FUTURE On the back of Richard’s success the E-Nable project launched an interactive map for those with 3D printers wanting to volunteer their services to the printing of prosthesis. A trend quickly grew for children printing their own Robohand. Every iteration with incremental improvements. This truly was becoming a crowdsourced design. Google have recently awarded the project a $600,000 grant. 

EVOLUTION OF ROBOHAND During the interview Jonathan Jaglom was very keen to point out how iconic the printable prosthetic has become:

THE DESIGN THAT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE Richard had become inundated with requests from parents whose children were born with a limb defect. The majority of children in touch were born with Amniotic Band Syndrome (Coincidentally abbreviated to ABS) - a condition that occurs in roughly 1 in 1,200 births. Expensive prosthetics are usually saved until these children are fully grown but Robohand was able to make a functioning hand designed specifically to fit each child. 

PROJECT DANIEL Just before Thanksgiving 2013 the team at Not Impossible Labs decided to take a 3D printer to war torn Sudan to see if they could start printing prostheses on-demand for casualties of war. Project Daniel, started with Mick Ebeling wanting to print an arm for a 14-year-old boy whose arm had been taken by an IED, it is still on-going with locals printing an arm a week for victims of this war. 

What’s cool about the Robohand is how much it has evolved since its inception in South Africa. If you go into Thingiverse today you can see the evolution of Robohand’s design. There isn’t another product I can think of that has evolved as quickly as RoboHand has.

THE SUPER HERO In a talk recently E-Nable founder John Schull retold the heart warming story of a young man yet to receive his 3D printing prosthetic, not only was his physical life set to be improved but he was now able to ward off the monsters in his dreams and in his mind thanks to the thought of receiving the prosthetic. The reason this little boy was so convinced his arm was set to turn him into a super hero? It was designed just as such. From the crude but functional prototypes to arms Iron Man would be proud of in less than three years. The Robohand story is 3D printing’s most inspirational yet. JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

We thought we’d take a look at just a sliver of the story so far:

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AEROSPACE ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

WOR D S : lau r a g r iffit h s

1000 3D PRINTED PARTS

ON AN AEROPLANE

manufacturing is the ability to create objects we wouldn’t have previously thought possible. We’ve heard a lot about these ‘impossible objects’, sometimes it’s the AM experts that are offering these breakthrough ideas to various industries and other times it’s the clients themselves, major industrial companies, asking ‘is this even possible?’ The aerospace industry has provided some major headline grabbing developments over the last few years and that’s been even more evident in just the last few months. Talk to anyone about 3D printing and chances are they’ve heard one of the more famous examples like the one about the plane that’s being flown with 1,000 3D printed parts or the one with the huge 3D printed turbine. The radical fact about aerospace is we’re not just talking about prototypes but real functional parts that are being used in aircraft, some of which have been on commercial vehicles for the last year without the need for a huge parade and ceremony to back them up. Airbus was the name behind the recent sexy “1,000 3D printed parts on board an aircraft” story that saw Stratasys FDM 3D Production Systems used in place of traditionally manufactured metal parts. Stratasys, Aerospace & Defense Business Development Manager, Scott Sevcik, explained: “With Airbus they identified a risk within the supply chain and with bringing parts to the aircraft in time so they looked at 3D printing as an alternate means of production. They spent about a year qualifying the material and the process so they could have high confidence in putting these parts on aircraft and meeting certification requirements. Once they reached that threshold of having the specifications in place and being able to meet them that opened up a world of opportunity aramount to additive

GKN Aerospace recently launched a three-year project to develop a new titanium powder for aerospace components



ABOVE: ESC duct from ULA made with ULTEM 9085

for them and they took advantage of it and in the A350 case, printing a large number of parts for the first few aircraft.” Delivered in 2014, the parts were 3D printed using Airbus certified ULTEM 9085 resin which provides high strength to weight ratio and is flame, smoke and toxicity (FST) compliant for interior aircraft applications. “With aerospace everything takes time,” Scott commented. “The relevant materials have now been on the market for a few years so companies can get that testing under their belt to understand material properties better and build that confidence”. With a company like Airbus that’s very significant.” Materials are high on the agenda in the sector with developers working on new, high-strength resistant materials that are tailored towards aerospace applications. GKN Aerospace recently launched a three-year project to develop a new titanium powder for aerospace components. The Titanium Powder for net-shape component manufacture (or TiPOW) program is a £3.1 million collaborative research project that will investigate and define suitable development, JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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BELOW: production and reusability GE T25 3D printed sensor of titanium alloys and housing powders for aerospace. Demonstrating the RIGHT: Fortus 3D force of these dedicated Production materials, rocket systems manufacturer, United Launch Alliance is set to fire a 3D printed component on board the Atlas V launch vehicle next year. Also using ULTEM 9085, the Environmental Control System duct was printed on a Stratasys Fortus 900mc 3D production system, consolidating its previous 140-part count to just 16. “With United Launch Alliance they kind of take it a step further,” explained Scott. “They’re actually looking at applications on their vehicles and redesigning them to reduce part count, weight and cost and really take advantage of not just an alternative faster production method but a method that can produce a part that couldn’t have been produced before.” Redesigning the launch component significantly reduced the installation time and was able to lower part production costs by a huge 57%. The component has undergone extreme environmental tests to ensure its capability, which proved the part was able to withstand the same intense stress and pressures faced by the traditionally manufactured, original part. Scott added: “With the design freedom you can consolidate parts which simplifies the supply chain and reduces costs and risk. There are a lot of benefits to being able to redesign. You can take that a step further in applications where you can actually replace metal components with plastic components and have a pretty dramatic weight reduction.”

Certification is a major part of the development process for AM in the aerospace sector with parts and materials having to undergo rigorous testing and certification examinations to ensure they reach industry standards of functionality, quality and safety. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recently approved the first 3D printed part to fly in a commercial jet engine developed by GE Aviation, which took flight in April. Greg Morris, General Manager, Additive Development Center, GE Aviation, explained: “Using additive manufacturing, we cut the design process by a year: we could test prototypes quickly and move the best design to production much faster than conventional manufacturing techniques. Once in production, the part can also be made in a fraction of the time.” The new T25 3D printed sensor housing made from cobalt-chrome alloy took one year less to manufacture than the original part. Powering Boeing’s 777 planes, the GE90 engine series is the world’s most powerful engine and GE Aviation is currently working with the aerospace giant to retrofit more than 400 GE90-94B jet engines with the 3D printed part. Greg, added: “In contrast to traditional machining methods, additive manufacturing enables us to build parts from the ground up. This advanced technique means less material waste and more complex parts that can be built precisely to optimise how they work inside a machine. Additive manufacturing will change the game forever by freeing engineers to design parts without the traditional limitations imposed by conventional manufacturing. ›› JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

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AEROSPACE ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Aerospace is proving itself as the ultimate model for that predestined shift from prototyping towards manufacturing

GE Aviation is currently working on several next-generation engines that benefit from advance manufacturing techniques. On the LEAP engine for narrowbody aircraft and the GE9X for the Boeing 777X aircraft, GE Aviation will produce part of the fuel nozzles with additive manufacturing, a project that has already received more than 8,500 orders. Effective design for AM requires sophisticated software and UK-based Additive Design Consultancy (ADC) has been assisting the aerospace industry with AM components and assemblies using specialist software that allows efficient design and testing of components. Most recently, ADC has been conducting research into the potential of AM in RF antenna design by looking at a range of different technologies that allow the design freedom to create perfect geometries to bring new levels of efficiency and performance. ADC director, Adam Arnold, explained: “We are particularly looking at aluminium as it has the electrical properties and great strength to weight ratio. However there are further weight improvements to be gained from looking at electroplated polymer based printed materials. This is of great interest in aerospace and particularly UAV platforms for performance reasons.” The key requirement from customers in the aerospace sector is weight reduction but in order to achieve that CAD designs must meet all the formal standards of aerospace engineering to produce quality parts capable of withstanding intense environments and performance targets. Adam, added: “Being such an open-ended design process, designing to get the most out of AM for weight reduction is challenging many engineers, who do not have the tools, training or experience to produce geometrically very complex designs. Adam believes the importance of this knowledge and expertise is vital to highlighting advanced manufacturing methods as a competitive form of production. “Large companies, like airframe manufacturers, have teams of people looking into the problem, and big budgets to throw at it. However, the majority of the market, being made up of tier 1 and 2 suppliers to the likes of Airbus, do not. In the future, the higher management of these suppliers will need to buy into the idea that making their products using well designed AM parts will give them a significant competitive edge in terms of performance and weight, thus invest internally or buy in expertise.” With more companies looking at the possibilities of advanced manufacturing and implementing these technologies into real end-use parts, aerospace is proving itself as the ultimate model for that predestined shift from prototyping towards manufacturing. Stratasys’ Scott Sevcik added: “When someone does something like print 1,000 parts and put them on aeroplanes – I don’t want that to be a story, I want that to be commonplace and I think it will be very, very soon.”  For more information visit www.tctmagazine.com/topics/aerospace

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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consumer-based projects like the infamous Iron Man masks which most 3D printing bureaux are bombarded with Google. There are so many companies starting with very on a daily basis – but it’s still ‘in the now’ phrases that in five years time are going to about managing people’s look stupid. If you’re going to call yourself a name, call it something timeless. I think just trust behind you and your expectations. “Most phone calls start with clients is the best thing and being friendly. Don’t always “I’ve got a bit of an odd one be so formal, we’re not a university accounting service, here”. If it’s normal then it’s we’re people who make stuff for people who want stuff odd,” Nick explained. “Now made so people are genuinely excited about 3D prints so people know a lot more keep that excitement going.” Gary says flexibility is key to providing a good service. about 3D printing, people are generally happier with parts. The bureau is no nine-to-five job, clients can become When we first started, people’s friends and heading into the office on a Saturday comparison was comparing afternoon so they can get their part by Monday is not 3D printing with manufacturing uncommon. “When I left school I didn’t know what I wanted to do but as opposed to comparing 3D printing with 3D printing I knew I wanted variety,” Gary commented. “I was colour and trying to get people to blind so I couldn’t join the police service and I guess I found my own industry where no two days are the same. understand that is a long and slow process.” As 3D printing finds its place on the manufacturing Every single day is different with different challenges.” Ultimately, choosing the right partners and filling that landscape, the capacity for this technology has never been blank canvas with inmore prominent demand technology signalling good that works well is news for 3D printing vital to providing bureaux which have valuable service and been around since staying ahead of the the start. 3D Print competition. Bureau is one of “Reliability is key,” the newest names Gary explained. “I to the scene and have always had though you may fantastic support not have heard the and help from Triname, you might be ABOVE: 3D printed scale coal mill model - 3DPRINTUK tech and these are familiar with one of the faces behind the company, Gary Miller. Proving you the people that I have bought some of the equipment can, in fact, stick an old head on young shoulders, the through. Your machines have to work all day, your former IPF man is now using his 20 years of experience clients are not going to sit and wait for you to fix your machine, because as much as they might like you, if the to head up the new Cambridge-based bureau. “You start with a blank canvas,” Gary explained. “We’ve service isn’t working and they need their model, they’ll been able to invest in the technology that we know works go elsewhere.” Reliability, a good support network, a name you can for a bureau. I’m not restricted. It means we can grow it in other directions with scanning and multiple models. We Google and a toolbox full of possibilities – just some of want to push digital manufacturing so we actually want to the factors you need to consider before registering that be producing real life items for everyday use. It’s all about domain and investing in a your dream machine. Whether options really. You’ve got to have a toolbox and that it’s a multi-skilled workshop or a desktop solo operation toolbox has got to be filled with a variety of machines, from your shed, the shift towards manufacturing means the demand for these technologies is on the rise and with you can’t just put yourself in a box.” So what is the recipe for success? If you’ve got it, the success of the bureau industry. Gary commented: “When I first got a printer, we had the startup capital, the right machines and can learn business skills on Google, what else do you need for a one material to print with but now those materials are probably in their thousands. I’ve seen in the last couple of successful business? Nick says trust is number one and 3DPRINTUK years a move towards manufacturing. Before, everything maintains that by ensuring they tell customers to seek was prototyping and one-offs and now we’re printing out the competition first, a somewhat unconventional but runs of 4,000 little rubber bunds or hundreds of casings.” Nick added: “Every month this year’s been a record effective method when the company was starting out. “Don’t try and sell something for the sake of selling month so it’s pretty good. We’re going to be going into it,” Nick explained. “What brought our business up to its a new facility hopefully at the end of the year – a much success is the fact that we called it something people bigger one so it should be very exciting. 

Reliability, a good support network, a name you can Google and a toolbox full of possibilities

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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SIMPLEWARe

FAR

LEFT: Rear wheel brake calliper hanger made with DMLS



LEFT: Internal lattice placed within a part

LATTICE STRUCTURES –

or industrial sectors, one of the most definitive benefits of additive manufacturing is the ability to reduce weight whilst maintaining mechanical performance. The advantages here are crucial and can result in lower material costs, significant reductions in production time and for industries such as aerospace and automotive, increased design flexibility. In order to achieve this, lattice structures must be added to parts before manufacturing. However, adding lattice structures using traditional CAD techniques for AM can be difficult. It can be a particular challenge to produce the appropriate algorithms to generate triangulated surfaces for export to AM processes. For example, traditional CAD-based lattice techniques can obstruct the design fluidity that advanced manufacturing technologies allow, particularly when trying to reproduce complex ideal micro-architectures. UK-based 3D image visualisation, analysis and model generation software and solutions provider Simpleware has a different approach to generating lattices for additive manufacturing. Implementing a process that converts a CAD object into an image, known as voxelisation, the company uses an image-based method which allows designers to generate implicitly defined periodic lattice structures suitable for additive manufacturing applications and finite element analysis (FEA).

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W O R D S : l a u r a g r i f f i t hs

Simpleware’s patented method for generating robust lattice structures can overcome the problems faced with hollowing out a part to reduce weight and optimise designs prior to 3D printing. Cellular lattice structures can be used to replace the volume of CAD and image-based parts, reducing weight whilst maintaining optimal performance. Lattices can be integrated with CAD parts within Simpleware software to create hollow watertight models that maintain exterior geometries to a specified wall thickness. The image-based approach makes it possible to manipulate the lattice and the final mechanical properties of a part before it is exported as an STL. “Our image-based method has many benefits, as by allowing the user to work in image-space as well as CAD, many operations can be performed robustly without the risk of compromising the original geometry of a part,” Dr David Raymont, software developer at Simpleware, explained. “The method helps overcome some common challenges in creating lattices from CAD in terms of easily changing features such as part wall thickness and volume fractions to achieve custom properties.”

Simpleware’s patented method for generating robust lattice structures can overcome the problems faced with hollowing out a part to reduce weight and optimise designs prior to 3D printing.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

ABOVE: Example of a Schoen Gyroid lattice structure

MIDDLE: Finite Element Analysis of a part

RIGHT: Lattice within brake calliper

SIMPLIFIED RACING AHEAD A recent case study that set out to reduce the weight of a racing bike with Direct Metal Laser Sintering showed how additive technology can significantly reduce the weight of a part by designing for a specific process. Modifying the design of the bike’s rear wheel brake calliper hanger, Simpleware’s internal lattice structure approach was employed to generate a structural lattice inside the hollow void of the part, allowing the part to be built without support structures. Support structures are typically required to build unsupported geometric features on metal DMLS parts, but these supports can comprise up to 50% of the build mass and affect the unique design freedom that AM offers. Using Simpleware’s lattice structures in this case led to a 51% volume reduction over the original machined component. FEA was then performed to compare the performance of the component, manufactured in titanium, with the initial aluminium design. This proved that, though 18% lighter, the new titanium part demonstrated the exact same strength and stiffness as the original. INNOVATION THROUGH COLLABORATION Simpleware has offered its hand to several projects over the last few years which have shown how lattices can inspire new design freedoms for metal additive manufacturing. One of those is the ongoing LIGHT project, which is supported by funding body

Lattices can now inspire new design freedoms for metal additive manufacturing to create lightweight structures and products. Innovate UK, to accelerate and implement CAD/CAM solutions for lightweight product development. As part of the project’s seven-strong UK consortium, the company’s self-supporting low-density lattice structures are being used to explore the potential of metal additive manufacturing, particularly in the aerospace and automotive sectors. David commented: “Our involvement in different industry projects on light-weighting has shown there to be a high demand for flexible and robust lattice techniques in the aerospace and automotive industries, particularly for increasing design options for parts. The hybrid techniques we use also mean that parts manufacturers can maintain accuracy to an original geometry while still robustly introducing lightweight lattice structures.” Earlier this year, Simpleware joined UKbased AM specialist 3T RPD in the Innovate UK-supported GOSSAM project (Generation of Optimal Support Structure in Additive Manufacturing). The mission was set up in 2013 to develop innovative and advanced intelligent metal additive manufacturing support structures. Through this unique partnership, software solutions are being developed to automate the orientation of parts for AM and then

generate support structures for them. Simpleware has offered its expertise to the project to further the automatic generation of support structures in a bid to reduce costs and time and ultimately streamline the process across the 3D design to manufacturing ecosystem. Image-based lattice generation techniques developed for commercial software applications provide engineers and researchers with multiple options for customising a lattice and a surrounding part without affecting its exterior geometry. Using these proprietary techniques, image-based files can be worked on and meshed to produce watertight export files for AM. Developments in advanced techniques for designing mechanical structures are significant in continuing to showcase the value of additive manufacturing as a mass manufacturing technique. The demand for lightweight structures and flexible lattice techniques in core industries like aerospace and automotive along with investigation into new materials shows just how pivotal this technique could be for the continued development of the industry.  For more information visit www.simpleware.com JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

TOYOTA MOTORSPORT GmbH

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www.toyota-motorsport.com +49 2234 1823 0 | contact@toyota-motorsport.com 056

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MATERIALISE REVIEW

W O R D S : l a u r a g r i f f i t hs

ABOVE:

Anouk Wipprecht 3D printed dress

RIGHT:

The show floor

Set in the cool and contemporary SQUARE in Brussels, the space provided the perfect setting for what was set to be a packed four summit line-up covering everything 3D technology from automotive to biomedical and consumer applications. Addressing over 1,000 guests, the conference kicked off with an introduction from Materialise CEO, Fried Vancraen who spoke of how the company’s vision for the industry has remained unchanged since 1992 - not following the crowd and no “innovation just for the sake of innovation.” Fried revealed that on a yearly basis, Materialise produces enough unique 3D printed products to fill six football pitches – and as the conference went on, we certainly saw how that is made possible. Hod Lipson, Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, used his keynote to look towards the next 25 years of 3D printing, summarising the industry in three terms faster, cheaper better. Hod said that right now, our manufacturing and technological capabilities are not the barrier but simply our imagination and we got to witness that imagination in full force across the two day event.

Jo Stenuit, Senior Design Manager at Mazda Motor Europe hinted towards some top secret developments going on behind the scenes and Adam Lowe, Director at Factum Arte, talked about de-materialising, archiving and re-materialising to record historical archives like Tutankhamun’s tomb. On the medical side, Senior Product development engineer, Øystein Herwig Gomo, demonstrated how Laerdal Medical plans to save 400,000 lives every year by 2020 with the help of new medical initiatives in poorer countries and Maurice Yves Mommaerts, Head of European Face Centre, University Hospital Brussels, talked new frontiers in 3D printed facial implants. Renowned interactive-couture designer, Anouk Wipprecht brought along her incredible Spider Dress equipped with sensors that react to the changing environment and invasion of personal space. Joining the fashion-tech parade were TCT Asia show stealers Xuberance who revealed a new 2.7 m 3D printed wedding dress. Custom eyewear companies, BAWSOME and Hoet also presented new concepts in custom-fit spectacles. With real-life applications you also need real guidelines and business plans. We heard from experts such as Prof. Thierry Rayna on the economics of 3D printing and Stratasys Consulting Division Vice President, Dr. Philip Reeves, who spoke about 3D printing business strategy. Melissa Albrecht, UL, also took to the stage, joined by Onno Ponfoort, Berenschot, to talk about the components of new business in AM and the launch of UL’s first AM training facility. Other highlights included a presentation on 3D printed dynamic insoles from Dennis Vadenbussche, CEO of RS Print, a talk from Jean-Pierre Fabrizo of Airbus Helicopter on AM for helicopters, and insight from HP on “breaking the wall” between design and 3D printing with the HP Open Software Platform.

Topping off the conference was the grand opening of the “MAKING A DIFFERENCE / A DIFFERENCE IN MAKING” exhibit at the BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, a collection of art and technology instalments that exemplify the way Materialise continues to influence and support countless sectors from eco-friendly design to engineering. Highlights included Nervous System’s 4D printed Kinematics Dress no. 3 designed by Jessica Rosenkrantz and The Gate, a small architectural structure formed from a combination of 3D printing and the natural behaviour of bees. The exhibition is free to attend and open until June 23rd. Two days of inspirational talks, a wealth of knowledge, infinite Belgian waffles and even a bit of sunshine – this is what more conferences should look like. Here’s to the next 25 years, Materialise. 

OPPOSITE: Fried Vancraen

t’s hard to believe that Materialise has been around for a quarter of a century, quietly topping ‘most influential’ lists and accelerating 3D solutions across the globe, but that’s exactly what the 3D printing pioneers were out to celebrate at the Materialise World Conference – 25 years of meaningful innovations.

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Materialise World Conference Review

PERSONALIZE

We, here at TCT, go to a lot of trade shows and we gather a great deal of news about products that were either 3D printed or had additive technology used at some stage in the manufacturing process. Hereby is a curated selection of exceptional 3D prints and quotes from their creators we’ve eyed since the last issue…

PRINTING PRESS MAKIE Dolls #ToyLikeMe Campaign The first CE –certified 3D printed toys responded to a social media campaign to encourage toy manufacturers to be more inclusive in their ranges with a glorious selection of accessories and features. MakieLab CTO Matthew Wiggins said, “It’s fantastic that our supercharged design and manufacturing process means we can respond to a need that’s not met by traditional toy companies. We’re hoping to make some kids - and their parents! - really happy with these inclusive accessories.” 

Replica of Joseph Merrick

aka. The Elephant Man’s Skull by Thomas Most “I’m fascinated with the texture of bone/skeletons and Merrick was an amazing individual, who, despite the ravages of Proteus Syndrome wasn’t bitter towards the rest of humanity. He was also an artist in his own right, having constructed a replica of a church with only his right hand. The model was printed in SLA Accura white not only for the colour, but for the accuracy and crispness of detail it provides. White allowed me to layer the colours on top of it in translucent passes. I used Midwest Prototyping for the actual build because of their reliability both in terms of build time and delivery.” 

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Screw It Dog by David Graas

Spotted by Laura at the Materialise World Conference the Screw It concept turns used PET bottles into works of art. “Screw It shows that design does not necessarily mean starting from scratch. There is new meaning and new value to be found in the rubble of the discarded, transforming the seemingly worthless into something unexpectedly precious.” 

Sir Bradley Wiggins Hour Record Handlebars by the Mercury Centre of the

University of Sheffield

Not so much for their beauty but as an example of how 3D printing helps produce perfectly tailored products to improve performance. The Mercury Centre was enlisted by Bradley Wiggins’ design team, Pinarello Lab, to design the most aerodynamic handlebars possible to help him break the One Hour Record. James Hunt, research associate at the Mercury Centre, says: “The key is to manage the airflow around the bike so the different components of the bike disrupt that flow as little as possible. Because the handlebars hit the airflow first it’s absolutely critical to perfect that part of the design – 3D printing allows us to make shapes that optimise this aspect that would be very hard to achieve using other manufacturing techniques.” 

Nostalgia Necklace by Francesca Paolin

Italian jewellery designer Francesca Paolin’s Fall/ Winter 15/16 collection of 3D printed jewellery has been turning heads recently. Taking inspiration from Asian cultures, African tribes, memories and dreams the collection was designed with CAD and printed by i.materialise. “The brand reflects Francesca’s journeys, dreams and joyful playfulness reminiscent of her family memories, where form plays with colour, tastes, ages, materials and new cultural contaminations combine.” 

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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International tool making and additive technologies exhibition and conference

Frankfurt am Main, 17– 20 November 2015 formnext.com

Think global. Act Frankfurt. Representatives from the tool/form-making and additive technologies/3D printing sectors as well as their suppliers and partners will be showcasing their expertise to trade visitors from around the world at formnext in Frankfurt from 17 – 20 November 2015. Benefit from this fascinating new exhibition concept in one of the world’s most spectacular halls. Register as an exhibitor at formnext 2015!

Where ideas take shape.

For further information, call +49 711 61946-825 or write to formnext@mesago.com

VOXEL8 ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

HOT-WIRING 3D PRINTING VOXEL8: sparking innovation with their 3D printed electronics

ABOVE:

Voxel8’s Developer’s Kit

sponsored International CES 3D Printing Marketplace back in January, Voxel8 caused quite a stir as it launched the Voxel8 Developer’s Kit - capable of printing circuitry directly into FDM 3D printed parts. The desktop machine was just the start of a clearly mapped out path for Professor Jenny Lewis’s company spun-out of Harvard University, we spoke to co-founder Michael Bell who revealed more of those ambitions: “To generate the interest in 3D printing electronics there’s nothing that beats a $9,000 developer kit that you can prototype a PCB on in five minutes” explained Bell. “But in our research centre we have industrial scaled machines that can do pick-and-place, we have technology like mixing nozzles that can mix conductive and resistive inks to generate a specified resistance and actually print it. We have all this technology that can go into our industrial machines but the plans are yet to be finalised.” Unlike the Developer’s Kit, which starts shipping in November, the industrial scale machines are expected to cost hundreds of thousands depending on the needs of specific customers. To ensure the highest quality, Voxel8 are sticking to what they know best and drawing in partners to make the ultimate high-end product. t



ABOVE: Body and internal circuitry of quadcopter built as one

To generate the interest in 3D printing electronics there’s nothing that beats a $9,000 developer kit that you can prototype a PCB on in five minutes” explained Bell. “But in our research centre we have industrial scaled machines that can do pick-and-place, we have technology like mixing nozzles that can mix conductive and resistive inks to generate a specified resistance and actually print it. We have all this technology that can go into our industrial machines but the plans are yet to be finalised.

the

tct

“Our founder Professor Jenny Lewis is an expert in 3D printing materials, we are really a materials company but nobody had the hardware to dispense the materials, nobody had the software to be able to design parts let

W O R D S : DA N I E L O ’C O N N OR

alone print them – Autodesk work on the design and we work out how to print them – so we built our own machines. “We won’t be doing the motion stages internally we’ll be outsourcing that to a very large motion stages company in our partners Aerotech” Bell added. “The customer will select what size builder they want and we’ll apply our machine to it. We’ll build our print engines onto it, bundle in our software expertise and materials science.” Though the Developer’s Kit initially ships with a print head containing cartridges that print the matrix FDM materials and the internally developed conductive inks, this is just the beginning for the adaptable technology and FDM is not the printing technology of choice. “We love epoxies, the epoxies are thermoset, as soon as you print with them they begin to set, that process can be accelerated with UV curing. Epoxies have amazing mechanical properties and have a lot better dielectrics than FDM materials, there’s really no other epoxy printer available. In our research facility we have developed epoxies that are carbon fibre reinforced and ones with chopped fibre that have amazing dielectric strengths.” With the likes of Autodesk sending two employees to work on the Wire software specifically designed for Voxel8, the likes of John Kawola on the board and venture capital backing from the CIA’s investment arm it is safe to say that Voxel8 is going to be a major player in this ever changing industry. 

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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MORE THAN A MAGAZINE – TCT for the latest news, reviews and industry technologies

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Crucible www.crucibledesign.co.uk + 44(0) 1235 833785 - 20 years’ experience of additive layer processes - Design for cost-effective nylon & metal sintering - Specific expertise in the design of production parts

BUREAU SERVICE & PRODUCT SALES Breuckmann 3D scanners Geomagic software Reverse engineering & inspection Best accuracy & resolution

Tel: 01420 88645 www.reveng.co.uk

3D Scanning 3D Printing 3D Inspection 3D Sales 3D Services

Europac3D are resellers for many of the world’s leading suppliers of 3D equipment, including the full range of 3DSystems printers and 3D scanning equipment from Artec and Solutionix. We also offer a competitive full scanning and printing service to suit your project needs.

Sales & Services Tel: +44 (0)1270 216000 | Email:sales@europac3d.com | www.europac3d.com

TO ADVERTISE HERE

CONTACT CAROL HARDY ON 01244 680222 or email carol@rapidnews.com JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

063

THE DIRECTORY more than a magazine For the latest news, reviews and industry technologies

www.tctmagazine.com

Technology Metals | Advanced Ceramics

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JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

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CONTACT CAROL HARDY ON 01244 680222 or email carol@rapidnews.com JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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GRIMM COLUMN

WOR D S : TODD G R IM M

SPEAKING THE TRUTH

b r a h a m

Additive manufacturing is broad in technologies, materials, processes and applications. It is also evolving, rapidly changing and quickly expanding.

Todd Grimm

is a stalwart of the additive manufacturing industry, having held positions across sales and marketing in some of the industries biggest names. Todd is currently the AM Industry advisor with AMUG

tgrimm@tagrimm.com

066

Lincoln is attributed as saying, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Those words are true and somewhat difficult to live by, but there is a catch when it comes to additive manufacturing. If someone speaks a mistruth, he may be viewed as an expert rather than a fool. If accepted as fact, those words can mislead and misdirect those with plans to progress further into the technology. The bottom line: Those words can cause harm because they can lead others to make a misinformed decision or come to an incorrect conclusion. The harm may be imposed by those that intentionally embellish, deceive and opine for fame, glory and gain. I can’t change them, and don’t want to try. Instead, I hope to persuade individuals that may pass on half-truths and fiction unknowingly and those that do the same to protect their perceived value. I hope to persuade them to consider the response “I don’t know” when uncertain. I would also like to persuade those people to vet and validate information before passing it on as fact. Additive manufacturing is broad in technologies, materials, processes and applications. It is also evolving, rapidly changing and quickly expanding. This means that there are few definitive “facts” that apply in all conditions and that truths are a moving target. The information void is why it is difficult to judge someone as expert or fool. Make any statement with enough conviction, and it can be readily accepted as fact. Hungry for any information that can be used to direct additive manufacturing decisions and roadmaps, decision makers may be inclined to accept whatever they hear. Information overload further complicates matters. Because additive manufacturing is dynamic and expanding, there is simply too

JUNE 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

much information for one person to know it all. There is no one, including myself, that knows everything. Yet, as Lincoln implied, people tend to fill an information void even if they have no idea of the facts. In my opinion, there is a lot of that going on when discussing additive manufacturing. Another barrier to the truth is that the news we read may be incorrect or incomplete. So to state something you read in a published article or post as fact, in order to prove that you are up to date, may be yet another offence against reality that can mislead others. I know it is hard to appear ignorant by not having an answer to an additive manufacturing question. As a consultant whose value is based on having a finger on the pulse of the industry, I face the dilemma of not knowing every week. Although it makes me appear uninformed, I choose to state “I don’t know” if I don’t have the answer. Rather than misguiding someone, I opt to put myself in a position of possibly being viewed as ignorant. And that is what I am asking you to do. If you don’t know the answer, tell them so, and maybe offer to research the answer. Now, I am not saying that you should avoid offering your opinions. Those are valid and should be considered. But when you state your views, simply clarify that it is a possibility and not a fact. To further protect the quality of the information stream, also avoid definitive statements and specify in what cases the “facts” are true. And finally, do your best to validate the “facts” that others are stating before passing them on. We can’t eradicate the flow of misinformation, but each of us can play a positive role by not adding to the falsehoods. Altruistically, you may choose to do this for the good of all in the additive manufacturing industry. Realistically, you want to do this to help your employer, associates and peers. 

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.

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For a new era of manufacturing

Renishaw’s new metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system for industrial production, provisionally titled ‘EVO Project’, features increased emphasis on automation and reduced operator interaction. The system is the first to be designed and manufactured in-house by Renishaw, applying over 40 years of cross-sector engineering excellence that spans electrical, mechanical and optical technologies. Highlights include: • Renishaw RESOLUTE™ linear encoder on Z-axis for precision and accuracy • Renishaw designed and engineered optical system with 500 W laser • Automated powder sieving and recirculation • Class leading high capacity filtration system

Find out more at www.renishaw.com/additive

Renishaw plc Brooms Road, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire ST15 0SH T +44 (0)1785 285000 F +44 (0)1785 285001 E additive@renishaw.com