DEVELOP3D October / November 2021

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TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

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THE SMELL OF SUCCESS

How 3D printing is enabling L’Oreal to reach new markets

ADDIT IV SPECI E A EDITIO L N

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WELCOME EDITORIAL Editor Stephen Holmes stephen@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3384 5297 Managing Editor Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7312 Consulting Editor Jessica Twentyman jtwentyman@gmail.com +44 (0)20 7913 0919 Consulting Editor Martyn Day martyn@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 542

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A

utumn means different things to different people. After 13 years at DEVELOP3D, the changing colour of the leaves and the final rays of sunshine are usually a signal that I’m soon to be encased in a starkly lit exhibition hall in some unloved corner of a city, looking at 3D printing technology.

I’ve not set foot in a conference centre since the beginning of this grim pandemic, in part because those close to me aren’t in the most robust health. I figured many of you might have the same issue, and that attending any of the excellent additive manufacturing technology shows on offer represents a step too far in these early days of getting back to normality. That, or you’ve had no petrol in your car’s tank for a while.

This issue is dedicated to additive manufacturing. It’s quite an indulgence to put together an issue entirely focused on a single aspect of all that we typically cover here at DEVELOP3D. Yet, for many of you, 3D printing is becoming an increasingly important part of your workflow – from initial prototyping to a few of you now using additive to produce end-use parts.

The fact that hardware, software and materials in this space are moving at breakneck speed is a key reason for wanting a catch-up.

In this issue, we see how much has been achieved at beauty and cosmetics giant L’Oréal in just three years, mostly by bringing 3D printing in-house. It’s eye-opening to learn how widely AM is being employed across the company’s workflows – both the fabulous and the factory.

We also delve into ceramics 3D printing, one of the most interesting growth sectors, where huge possibilities are emerging for reimagining the design of products. This issue also answers important questions around protecting your designs, simulating additive processes and the balance 3D printing still needs to strike to make prototyping more environmentally friendly.

Plus, you can read all this while sitting outside, surrounded by beautiful autumnal tones and a warm drink that’s been knowingly ruined with cinnamon flavourings. Not every additive is wonderful.

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SOME Engineering PROJECTS WON’T MOVE AHEAD WITHOUT YOU The AMD Radeon™ PRO W6800 GPU offers superior Hardware Raytracing performance of previous AMD professional graphics and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 in Dassault Systèmes’ SOLIDWORKS® Visualize 2021. (It even has twice the dedicated RAM of the RTX 5000.)

Allowing you to focus on those projects that require even more from you. For everything else let AMD Radeon PRO graphics help.

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© 2021 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. SOLIDWORKS are commercial trademarks or registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes, a French “société européenne” (Versailles Commercial Register # B 322 306 440), or its subsidiaries in the United States and/ or other countries.

Source of Nvidia specifications is nvidia.com as of 01 June 2021.

Testing as of March 23, 2021 by AMD Performance Labs on a test system comprised of an AMD Ryzen™ 9 5950X with AMD Radeon™ PRO W5700 / AMD Radeon™ PRO WX 9100 / AMD Radeon™ PRO W6600 (pre-production sample) / AMD Radeon™ PRO W6800 (pre-production sample) / Nvidia® RTX 5000. Benchmark Application: Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS® Visualize 2021 SP3 (time to complete, seconds) measuring rendering test time of the Camaro default angle (ProRender low sample) test. Performance may vary based on factors such as driver version and hardware configuraton. RPW-383

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CONTENTS OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021 ISSUE NO. 130

9

NEWS Autodesk turns up volume for consumer goods sector, Solid Edge 2022 shows focus on automation, and Mayku unveils new Multiplier machine

12 14 18 20 28 31 32 39 40 42 44 46 48 50

FEATURES Comment: William Miles on copyright issues for designers Comment: SJ on repeatability in 3D printers Visual Design Guide: CASE SV Series Backhoe Loader COVER STORY L’Oreal makes 3D printing beautiful Crank it up: SRAM’s use of metals 3D printing Top gear: Rodin Cars builds gearbox for FZero hypercar D3D’s 12 best 3D printers for the design studio A fast clip: Quad Lock’s approach to smartphone mounts Strong stuff: 3D printing with ceramics comes of age Pure gold: Renishaw and the Lotus x Hope HB.T track bike Opinion: Lawrence Marks on AM’s simulation challenge Opinion: Mark Young on prototyping’s plastics problem Lighting up the stage in style at Lamp & Pencil Lockheed’s lunar ambitions for NASA space rover

REVIEWS 60 AMD Radeon Pro W6600 GPU 62 Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium 66 THE LAST WORD 3D printing may occupy a curious place in the public imagination, but its uptake shows no signs of slowing down any time soon, says Stephen Holmes

2022

6 April 2022 The wood used to produce this magazine comes from Forest Stewardship Council certified well-managed forests, controlled sources and/or recycled material

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E N I L E H T N

O S E V LEA

SUSTAINABLE TRACK CLEANING TECHNOLOGY BLASTS THROUGH RAIL DELAYS ‘Leaves on the line’ is a phrase that rail passengers have come to dread. Each Autumn this seemingly innocent act of nature is the cause of severe delays and disruption to our railways. So much so that it costs the industry and wider society around £350 million per year.

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NEWS

AUTODESK TURNS UP VOLUME FOR CONSUMER GOODS WITH NEW FUSION 360 CAPABILITIES » At Autodesk University 2021, announcements of new extensions, tools and certifications for Fusion 360, along with an Ansys partnership, took centre stage

W

ith the latest changes to Fusion 360, software giant Autodesk says it is looking to package its CAD software as a ‘one stop shop’ for designers of electronic and consumer devices.

Two new Fusion 360 extensions, the Product Design Extension and the Simulation Extension, have been added to bring more robust consumer product design, simulation and engineering capabilities to the Fusion 360 platform.

Due for official release early in 2022, the Product Design Extension will provide users with tools to automate the creation of complex features like lattices and algorithm-driven patterns that are too time-consuming for traditional 3D modelling methods.

The Simulation Extension, meanwhile, will provide users with unfettered access to existing simulation capabilities under an ‘all-access’ umbrella.

Previously, simulation capabilities were only available on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Now, users can choose the option that works best for them to explore more ways to reduce weight and materials costs, and to enhance product performance.

The big new addition comes from outside the Autodesk stable, with the news that Ansys simulation technology is to be

integrated into Fusion 360, built on the Autodesk Forge platform, to streamline PCB design.

Autodesk and Ansys previewed plans for a fully integrated PCB design, verification and validation capacity within Fusion 360 that further increases the software’s already solid circuit design capabilities.

Autodesk executives say that this will add the ability to perform enhanced rule-checking of printed circuit board designs, retrieving ‘near real-time insights’ into product electrical performance to meet specifications and certification requirements.

In addition, it should help users identify errors, helping them to make better products faster with fewer mistakes, and making Fusion 360 a one-stop shop for designing and verifying consumer electronics devices.

“Rethinking how businesses plan, design and manufacture products is no small task.

So, while many companies understand the importance of digital transformation, the process of transitioning an entire manufacturing process, and securing the necessary buy-in, is a colossal effort.” said Scott Reese, Autodesk executive vice president for product development and manufacturing solutions.

At the virtual event, attendees heard how Logitech, a leading designer of

consumer electronics, developed its recently released G435 family of lightweight, feature-packed gaming headsets using Fusion 360 in its industrial design processes.

Logitech principal designer Seter Wu described how Fusion 360 delivers additional value to Logitech’ s workflow through rapid prototyping and a common data source that allows changes to be easily communicated throughout the organisation.

The company was able to weave Fusion 360 into its existing design and development infrastructure, he said, without the need to rip and replace, in order to explore the possibilities of this modern toolset.

Elsewhere at Autodesk University, running as a virtual event for the second consecutive year, four new career certifications aligned with Fusion 360 were launched, completing the course series for Machinist and Mechanical Engineering roles.

Building on the Autodesk Certification Program announced last year at AU, company executives say that the new certifications back Autodesk’s commitment to helping manufacturing professionals evolve their skillsets with self-paced learning. autodesk.com

Autodesk customer Logitech, the consumer electronics giant, developed its latest gaming headset using Fusion 360

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NEWS

SOLID EDGE 2022 INCREASES FOCUS ON AUTOMATION

Siemens takes aim at cloud

S

iemens Digital Industries Software has launched Xcelerator as a Service (XaaS), a new cloud-based portfolio for its integrated engineering software, services and application development platform.

Many of the company’s recent acquisitions and in-house developments have been aimed at laying a cloud-native foundation for the move to software-as-aservice (SaaS). Xcelerator as a Service is described as the platform on which that strategy will be delivered, offering ondemand access to its tools and software as and when customers need them. siemens.com

S

iemens Digital Industries Software has released Solid Edge 2022, adding embedded rules-based design automation, greater capabilities to work with point-cloud, mesh and imported data without need for translation.

The bumper new release also adds the ability to work alongside new tools for 2.5axis machining and ultra-efficient upfront fluid flow simulation.

Part of Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio of products, Solid Edge packs in all aspects of product creation, including 3D design, simulation, visualisation, manufacturing and design management.

The new embedded Solid Edge Design Configurator adds rule-based automation and enables quick customisation of products based on design parameters

and rules, saving time and enabling the capture and reuse of intellectual property in intelligent models.

CAM Pro 2.5 Axis milling is now included in Solid Edge Classic, Foundation and Premium for customers with active maintenance. Fully integrated, it maintains full associativity with design data and provides automated toolpath creation combined with machining simulation to help achieve optimised machining operations. New CAD Direct capabilities allow for the insertion of third-party data formats without the need for translation while maintaining associativity.

Solid Edge 2022 is available through Xcelerator as a Service, providing access to Siemens’ next-generation, cloudbased collaboration solution, including Xcelerator Share. siemens.com

Solid Edge 2022 is a bumper new release from Siemens Digital Industries

A

rtec 3D has launched its 3D scanning software, Artec Studio 16, which includes its collaborative cloud platform, with the aim of helping users to access, view, comment on and process 3D scan data online.

Upgrades in Artec Studio 16 include faster scan-to-CAD times, batch CX inspections and the ability to calculate distance mapping measurements on complex CAD models 70% faster than before. The processing of 3D scans can be carried out by users via any browser and from any location. artec3d.com

Mayku unveils its new Multiplier machine

T

he Mayku Multiplier has been launched as the world’s first desktop pressure former for product creation, enabling rapid batch production for injection mould quality parts in minutes, according to the company.

The Mayku Multiplier is capable of putting down the pressure equivalent to that of four tonnes to a single material sheet, taking around four minutes to complete the process. The 400mm forming bed is heated by 1200W heaters, which combined with the onboard internal compressor and high pressure stainless steel air tanks, means it can work with sheet material between 0.25 and 8mm thick.

Formed sheets can then be used as a mould to cast replicas of the original template out of pourable materials like resin, concrete or even chocolate.

Artec Studio 16 introduced

3D Systems to acquire Oqton

3 “Having access to factory-level products on the desktop opens up a world of possibilities for end users, as they can start to scale their business at low-cost with better quality materials,” said Mayku CPO Ben Redford. mayku.me

The Mayku Multiplier brings industrial pressure forming to the desktop

D Systems has announced it is set to acquire Oqton, the software company behind a cloud-based manufacturing operating system (MOS) platform that has been turning heads for the last couple of years.

Oqton enables users to automatically capture expert knowledge and eliminate repetitive tasks in the additive manufacturing workflow; access technologies remotely and across multiple sites; and optimise production planning to improve utilisation and quality.

The company’s AI-driven platform will operate as an independent organisation within 3D Systems.

3dsystems.com

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SOLIDWORKS ADDS HYBRID MODELLING ENHANCEMENTS

D

assault Systèmes has launched Solidworks 2022, with a myriad of new enhancements designed to help designers work smarter by focusing on high-value activities while the system handles more repetitive, routine and timeconsuming tasks.

The company also says it has added much to make the system respond faster. Modern processing power has been harnessed, with Solidworks 2022 handing key updates to its simulation and visualisation units.

As an example, Solidworks Simulation 2022 sees the addition of background enhancements to aid speed, along with a new default curvature-based mesher – which adds to speed, but which can also be made coarser in order to solve even faster.

Demos show a speed increase over the 2021 version of 27%, although up to 30% improvements should be possible.

As Solidworks CEO Gian Paolo Bassi pronounced at the media launch: “Nobody has time anymore. A to B no longer exists!” He also added: “We will never have enough simulation.”

Solidworks Visualise receives improvements via Match Camera and Shadow Catcher, which adds impressive enhancements on its previous abilities through more realistic shadows and lighting.

The modelling side of the software also sees further features added to Solidworks’ Hybrid Modeling, which offer to help designers

work with mesh geometry more efficiently by enabling them to combine BREP geometry – regular native Solidworksdesigned elements – onto mesh data.

Solidworks says this approach combines the speed advantages of using mesh data with the accuracy and parametric features offered by solid modelling.

An impressive list of modelling enhancements have been added to this release, all with the aim of speeding up processes and streamlining workflows.

One that stands out is the inclusion of a new Stud Wizard feature to create external threads quickly and easily, complete with new cosmetic thread graphics.

The Solidworks 2022 release also has plenty on its menu for improving the existing workflows of its customers, including improvements to BOMs, faster imports and greater ability to manage large, complex assemblies. solidworks.com

ROUND UP Markforged has announced Eiger Fleet, a cloudbased software solution designed to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing at scale by giving organisations centralised control over their Markforged printers, users and production processes markforged.com

Solidworks 2022 sees a big uplift in modelling capabilities

Xencelabs has further expanded its brandnew product line with the Pen Tablet Small, a digital sketch pad that is around two-thirds the size of Xencelabs’ Medium version. The more compact version offers greater portability, but the same professionalism, according to the company xencelabs.com

Photocentric launches its fastest printer yet

P

hotocentric has announced the launch of its LC Opus 3D Printer, the company's latest desktop system to utilise LCD light stereolithography for fast curing and low running costs.

Using a 4K 14-inch monochrome LCD screen to cure a wide range of resins, the LC Opus features 310 x 174 x 220mm build volume, and is capable of print layer thickness of 25, 50 and 100 micrometres (resin dependent).

Photocentric has optimised the LC Opus’ light distribution for a repeatable, uniform cure, that when

CAD Exchanger has released CAD Exchanger 3.10.1, which adds Autodesk Inventor import and Solidworks userdefined and validation properties import to its toolset for 3D CAD software developers and end-users, along with IFC Global IDs import cadexchanger.com

coupled with the 3D printer’s aluminium construction, Trinamic motor drivers and new resin vat design (which includes a self-cleaning mode), should allow it to produce accurate parts.

The LC Opus is ready to go ‘out of the box’, with the machine pre-calibrated in the factory and its Photocentric Studio software (which is included) making it suitable for experienced and new users.

“With its fast cure speed, low running costs and impressive build volume, LC Opus is an excellent all-rounder.” said Photocentric sales director Sally Tipping. photocentric group.com

The LC Opus 3D printer is now available from Photocentric

Fabrica Group, formerly Nanofabrica, which was acquired by Nano Dimension in April 2021, has announced the Fabrica 2.0 micro AM system for OEMs that are looking to manufacture small-scale micro plastic parts in areas like micro electronics, micro optics and life sciences nano-fabrica.com

Gen3D has released a new version of its advanced additive manufacturing design software, Sulis, adding new features and improvements to both the flow and lattice modules, as well as support for 3MF import/export needs, including the beam extension gen3d.com

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COMMENT

In a world where it’s never been easier to share a secret with another person, or a CAD file with a 3D printer, product design pros should know their rights when it comes to protecting their designs, writes William Miles

A

s an intellectual property lawyer, I am constantly asked how to protect an idea. My answer involves explaining one of the most fundamental principles of IP law: there are no rights in an idea; instead, the rights only subsist in the expression of an original idea.

For example, I could have the idea to write an article about additive manufacturing and legal rights around file sharing. However, that idea alone will not give me any protectable rights.

Instead, it is only the expression of the idea that is sufficient to qualify as a protectable work; for example, this particular article, containing these particular words.

So, now that we’ve cleared that up, we should next address methods of protection.

As soon as an original idea has been properly thought through, it’s likely to benefit from the concept of confidential information. This normally comes in the form of a trade secret, and ‘secret’ really is the operative word here.

The most famous example is the recipe for Coca-Cola. It’s a secret, and it is only disclosed to third parties under a duty of confidentiality, formalised via a nondisclosure agreement or NDA. What this means in practice is that Pepsi is perfectly entitled to try and guess the recipe. However, Coca-Cola’s actual recipe is proprietary knowledge. So if it was to be disclosed by someone who had actually received that knowledge, Coca-Cola would be able to claim a breach of the NDA. Similarly, if you were developing an idea, even only roughly, and share it with a third party, you would be well advised to ask them to sign an NDA prior to the disclosure.

KEEPING SECRETS An NDA is a relatively simple agreement, and essentially binds the opposing party to secrecy. However, the issue for you (and indeed, Coca-Cola) is that if the agreement

is breached and the information enters into the public domain, it will no longer be treated as confidential information and other parties will be free to exploit.

As a result, NDAs only go so far. You still need to be sure that the person to whom you are disclosing the information has sufficient resources to recompense you, should you need to make a claim under the NDA. It’s for this reason that it’s worth considering other forms of intellectual property (IP) rights in order to protect your original work.

COPYRIGHT MATTERS In the context of additive manufacturing, the most obvious would be copyright.

Copyright is an extremely useful form of IP, because (at least in the UK and EU), it’s free to own.

It’s what is referred to as an ‘unregistered right’, so no fees are required to secure it. Instead, the old adage used to be that copyright subsists as soon as the ink is dry on the paper.

Admittedly, ink is not the most relevant medium these days, but the underlying principle here is still sound. As soon as you have created an electronic file describing your design, you are likely to hold the copyright in it.

However, the design must be original.

What’s more, the ‘you’ in this context will only actually mean you if you are not an employee working in the course of your employment.

However, in all other scenarios (the most common being that the author is a freelancer), the author is the first owner of the copyright, and the ownership can only be transferred with an agreement in writing.

Copyright is also extremely useful because it protects graphic and artistic works, along with text, sound and software code.

So, a CAD file falls squarely within its protection, and that free protection will last till 70 years from the death of the author. That’s much longer than, for



As soon as an original idea has been properly thought through, it’s likely to benefit from the concept of confidential information. This normally comes in the form of a trade secret, and ‘secret’ really is the operative word here

 example, the term of protection for a patent, which is only 20 years.

REGISTERED RIGHTS As to other relevant IP rights, registered rights would be next on your agenda. From a design perspective, these come in two forms: registered designs and patents.

Registered designs protect the shape and service decoration of an article and are very cheap to obtain (at least in the UK and EU), but are less commonly used and more expensive elsewhere. (In China, these are known as design patents, just to confuse things.)

Patents, on the other hand, protect inventions; they are very difficult and expensive to obtain, but offer powerful and well-recognised protection.

The key, however, is to ensure that you get your patent application underway before any aspect of your invention has been publicly disclosed, otherwise the patent will be invalid through lack of novelty.

Which brings me neatly back to the idea of confidential information, where we originally started. On that note, I think I’ll stop there – before I give away any more of my own trade secrets!

William Miles is an intellectual property lawyer and partner at Briffa.

He advises on a broad range of IP matters with a focus on contentious work and specialises in particular on trademarks, design rights, copyright and confidential information. briffa.com

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COMMENT

Repeatability and reliability are sorely lacking in modern 3D printers. Like the proverbial box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get – and that can leave a bitter aftertaste, writes our regular columnist SJ

L

ife is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. A bittersweet analogy that can also be applied to the most common box-shaped things in my life: 3D printers.

Printers are inconsistent, even those bearing the same brand name. In fact, printers from the same original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, are famous for being like children from the same family. Each one has its own unique personality and temperament.

Like chocolates from the same box, each one has its own flavour profile – but since everyone in this industry is still focused on protecting their own interests, rather than the interests of the industry as a whole, no one is sharing the flavours they’re getting.

As a result, it’s easy to assume, naively, that all boxes of chocolate are the same.

FLAVOUR PROFILES If you’re an experienced chocolatier like myself, by contrast, you already know that there are typically two things lacking with the chocolate boxes that we call 3D printers: repeatability and reliability.

No two ‘chocolates’ from these ‘boxes’ give you the exact same flavour. Even if they come with the same coloured wrapper, have the same shape and the same logo pressed into the top of that fragile little chocolate shell, they all taste different.

I experienced this early on in my career when I helped run a fleet of small-sized metal printers. Starting my rotation on the factory floor, I quickly found each printer had its own special type of filling.

Some fillings were easy and smooth and could purge down more consistently than others. Those were my milk chocolate.

Some machines had excellent gas flow – white chocolate. One particular machine kept getting its elevator jammed – that one was my raspberry-filled afternoon delight.

Those machines that produced deceptive, difficult-to-place false errors from bad sensor readings? Definitely hazelnut.

But however you choose to look at it, these were machines costing upwards of a million dollars. So I can hardly be blamed for expressing dismay that they couldn’t even match my $20,000 Toyota for consistency.



No two ‘chocolates’ from these ‘boxes’ give you the same flavour. Even if they come with the same wrapper, the same shape, the same logo – they all taste different.



A BITTER AFTERTASTE

DECISION TIME

Many advocates for 3D printing technology will vehemently disagree with me, insisting that these machines are reliable and repeatable – to a certain degree.

From their perspective, I can see their claim as being technically true. If you only need a machine to be utilised 50% of the year, it’s fine if it’s down for regular maintenance the other 50%.

With that knowledge and realistic expectations, you can factor this into your cost structure and your business model.

The risk mitigation strategy for a machine being serviced so frequently is generally to have higher costs per part, to make up for potential losses while it’s not running.

At the end of the year, you can cook the books, so that it all balances out. But why do all of that peanut-butter accounting, when you could instead create a process that’s more scalable?

Imagine that your million-dollar machine is repeatable and reliable. Let’s say it’s down 5% every quarter for regular maintenance and calibration, which leaves us with a whopping annual utilisation rate of 80%.

Your machine costs a million dollars, it’s running 80% of the time, your production is up and cost per part is down significantly.

And year over year, you can count on that.

It becomes so reliable that you can count on future growth, on future business, on delivering on time more consistently.

You can grow your business with significant margins and all you need are those two things: repeatability and reliability.

As an industry, we must decide if we are going to build our house on rock or if we will build it on sand. Instead, I regularly find myself watching with scepticism and frustration as parts of the industry get distracted from these issues, preferring instead to go chasing off in pursuit of other goals.

For example, we focus on in-process monitoring, when we don’t even have an industry-wide accepted standard for every process or every material.

OEMs pump money into speed and accuracy of lasers, or improving material offerings, or ways to automate our post processing.

Industry leaders spend hours in meetings debating standards or designing the next frontier of digital infrastructure.

I’m not saying this as an attack on any of these discussions. They involve new and innovative topics that will increase AM’s acceptance in mainstream manufacturing.

But what I am asking, sincerely, is that we all work harder to reach the milestones of repeatability and reliability.

Fortune, after all, flavours the brave.

GET IN TOUCH: SJ is a metal additive engineer aka THEE Hot Girl of Metal Printing. She currently works as a metal additive applications engineer providing AM solutions and #3dprinting of metal parts to help create a decarbonised world. Get in touch on Twitter: @inconelle

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Instantly Advance Your Manufacturing Capabilities with Fusion 360 Extensions If you have used Fusion 360, you’re already aware that it’s a very powerful tool. A single cloud program for design, modelling, and manufacturing, Fusion 360 gives you instant access to CAD, CAM, sculpting for complex surfaces, sheet metal functionality, 2D drawing for assemblies, and animation and rendering capabilities. In addition to that there is also simulation, automation, ECAD for PCB boards, and additive manufacturing.

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subscription; how long you commit to using the extension is entirely up to you.

Plus, when you’re looking to get more capability into your business, it’s a lot easier to start with what you already have – using software programs that your team is already familiar with is much faster than retraining your workforce from scratch.

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powerful, according to shop supervisor Patrick Fee. “The Fusion 360 Machining Extension can do some really advanced stuff on the CNCs,” Fee says. “For example, part alignment typically involves a lot of shimming to make the part really flat. It can take hours, and it’s really stressful. With Fusion 360, the probe does all the work. That’s immensely time-saving and valuable to us. For us, the Extension paid for itself in the first job and in a matter of a few weeks.”

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Extension in Fusion 360 (tinyurl.com/FusionNest) Autodesk offers a range of extensions to unlocks advanced capabilities to create optimized serve different needs within your design and and associative multi-sheet layouts for sheet metal manufacture business. Autodesk is constantly and non-sheet metal parts. This extension lets enhancing the functionality within Fusion 360 as the user access automatic nesting with grouping well as adding to the range of available extensions. based on material, thickness, and grain orientation Currently, the following extensions are available to improve the utilization of sheet materials, minimize waste, and increase profitability.

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Enhance Your CAM Capabilities “There is a big gap in the woodworking and with the Machining Extension millwork industry when it comes to nesting,” The Machining Extension (tinyurl.com/Autodesk-ME) Ganas says. “There are a lot of products for boosts the core CAM capabilities of Fusion 360 cabinet libraries, but they are not custom. Fusion with access to advanced 4- and 5-axis strategies, 360 can do nesting directly from the 3D model and toolpath modification, and in-cycle probing cycles that’s invaluable to us.” for process control and automated part setup.

The impact of the Nesting & Fabrication Extension The extension includes advanced capabilities that in Fusion 360 is huge for the shop, reducing were originally only available in more expensive expected scrap from 25% to just 5% of any given products such as PowerMill (multi-axis strategies, sheet. You can read the full Ganas Manufacturing toolpath modifications), FeatureCAM (5-axis case study at (tinyurl.com/ganas-mfg). hole recognition), and PowerInspect (in-cycle surface inspection and automated setup using Take Control of your Data spindle mounted probes). Crucially, the Machining with the Manage Extension Extension allows Fusion 360 users to access these Get additional data management functionality and highly valuable capabilities at a much lower, and manage design changes at any stage of production more affordable price. This extension helps you with the click of a button using pre-built workflows. produce better quality parts by simplifying and Unlock capabilities for engineering change orders, automating your CAM programming, allowing you to release management, automated part numbering, make better use of your CNC machines. and email notifications. The Manage Extension Based in the USA, Conturo Prototyping is one within Fusion 360 (tinyurl.com/fusion-manage) company who have made the extension part of gives you complete visibility and digitally approved their success. The Machining Extension has been records so that you can focus on innovation, not well received and is considered as being extremely administration.

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“As a team, we are able to collaboratively use the cloud to review the current design and discuss even when not physically in the same location” states Annika Klüpfel of Breeze Automation, a company using Fusion 360 to create a new generation of dexterous robots and automation.

Harness the Power of Machine Learning and AI with the Generative Design Extension For many, the idea of AI and machine learning sounds like something from a sci-fi film. In fact, AI is already having a positive impact on designers and manufacturers of the products we’re all using today. The Generative Design Extension (tinyurl.com/Fusion-GD) allows you to rapidly explore new designs that solve some of the biggest challenges we’re facing today - reduce weight, increase structural integrity, improve performance, extend durability and increase productivity.

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your specifications and allow you to explore designs that, quite simply, are beyond the reach of human capacity.

“Generative design algorithms in Fusion 360 iterate thousands of times a minute to the point where after only four hours you can have the most optimized solution possible – saving an unbelievable amount of time in the process” comments Ian Briggs of Briggs Automotive Company (BAC), a high-performance car manufacturer using Autodesk products to embrace digital transformation. Find out more about BAC and their use of Generative Design to build Mono sports car here (tinyurl.com/Autodesk-Bac).

advanced features like automatic orientation and packing to maximise the use of build space. Use powerful simulation capabilities to validate upfront engineering and produce optimized geometry to minimize things like warp.

“Within 10 minutes we see something in 3D and then send it to the 3D printer” commented Ian Redfern, Senior Industrial Designer at Fabric.

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SLICK CONTROL Controls have been redesigned for better operator ease of use and ergonomics, including a relocated parking brake, switches regrouped on the right-hand console and a new joystick roller switch for extending dipping operations

SETTLE IN Operator comfort has been improved, with the cab offering 2 USB ports, mobile device holders, Bluetooth connectivity and four times more storage capacity than the previous series

SPACE TO OPERATE A wider cab provides more space for operator comfort, with additional rearside glasses that improve visibility and can be replaced more cheaply and easily

QUICK CHANGES An integrated quick coupler provides power and quick attachment changeover, achieved from the safety and comfort of the cab

You can find out more about the Backhoe Loader SV Series at casece.com

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THE BEAUTY OF ADDITIVE » With its global presence, L’Oréal is one of the biggest names in cosmetics and oversees some of the most recognisable fragrance lines from the world of fashion. Stephen Holmes learns how the business of beauty is moving faster than ever, and how innovative use of additive manufacturing is helping packaging to reflect the latest trends

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COVER STORY

The limited-edition Haute Couture bottle for Viktor&Rolf’s Flowerbomb was designed to celebrate the perfume’s 15th anniversary

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T

he limited-edition Haute Couture bottle for Viktor&Rolf’s Flowerbomb perfume is encased in a delicate rose gold cage of brambles and the flowers that make up the scent. Designed to celebrate the perfume’s 15th anniversary, it’s also a way for L’Oréal to showcase its recent explorations of additive manufacturing.

This glitzy packaging is an excellent example of the kind of creativity and high-end finish expected of brands within L’Oreal’s portfolio. From luxury labels like Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani, to household names like Maybelline New York and Garnier, the desire for new products in ever more eye-catching packaging puts even greater demands on design processes.

Since 2018, the global beauty and cosmetics giant has had a dedicated team looking to test and accelerate the use of 3D printing in-house, and the pace has been relentless ever since.

Today, all of L’Oréal’s design centres feature 3D printers, the majority of them boasting a full 3D lab onsite. Over half of its 40 factories are equipped with additive technologies. As a result, the company produces

1 1 The rose gold cage ● around 15,000 3D-printed parts each year. depicts brambles Matthew Forrester, head of materials transformation & and flowers that recycling science at L’Oréal, explains that the company contribute to the Flowerbomb has been using external 3D printing services to aid fragrance product development for over 15 years. The more recent decision to bring 3D printing in-house, he says, was driven by increasing need to get products to market faster.

In the past, marketing teams would turn to L’Oréal’s design engineers with an idea for a bottle, who would then build prototypes, sometimes taking up to a week to produce and be shipped from a bureau or model shop.

Today, each onsite 3D lab keeps the technology close to the designers and engineers, “because that’s where we’re gaining time,” says Forrester. “Instead of flipping back and forward by the post, it’s now quickly in their hands.”

Initially, Forrester’s Paris 3D lab set itself a deadline to have a model ready within 24 hours of the design engineer putting the 3D CAD file on the system.

“This year, we’ve moved to 12-hour availability. The idea for next year is that we’ll move it to six hours. We’ve dropped it in half every time,” he says.

RAPID ADVANCES Cutting delivery times in half year-on-year is a huge task, but Forrester points to the rate at which 3D printing technology is rapidly advancing. “The technology

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COVER STORY I think ‘‘ compared

to other industries, we do have a certain threshold where designers won’t accept anything below a certain quality

’’

is getting faster and faster,” he says, “but we don’t necessarily see it, because every time it gets faster, people prefer to double the quality of the part and keep the same print time.”

The 3D printers that he and his team first experimented with four years ago were capable of printing parts within six hours, he says, but the parts looked horrible. Now, he says, parts produced in that same timescale “look amazing”.

L’Oreal’s Paris 3D Lab has acquired a wide range of additive technologies to assess and test. A lot of work is done with desktop FDM technology, as well as some Formlabs Form 3 resin 3D printers. A Carbon M2 printer, meanwhile, provides the team with fast turnarounds and a wider choice of end-use materials.

Forrester admits that the 3D labs at L’Oréal were slow to exploit the speed advantages of additive because of a traditional prototyping mindset, where a mock-up had to be absolutely perfect, looking identical to a real product.

He explains that they offered the designers a new option: they could quickly 3D print them a model, in order to help them make a fast decision about the concept direction, or have three or four different options in front of them, in order to iterate on a design.

At the end of it, if the designers still needed a perfect concept model, they could go through the traditional

2

3

manufacturers, who would machine, hand polish and paint it to create something lifelike.

“But what we’re interested in, really, is the acceleration and the speed. I think that maybe compared to [other industries], we do have a certain threshold where [designers] won’t accept below a certain quality.”

Another area where L’Oreal is making rapid advancement is to be found in more functional prototypes; 3D printing packaging that is either made of the material that will be used in end production, or that will behave in the same way. This way, L’Oréal’s engineers can make a better decision on the wall thickness of a bottle, or how a product behaves when used.

“If we can get new materials that behave like or are really made of the same product that we’ll put onto the market, that’ll be a huge leap for us, because it means that we can start making decisions without having pilot tooling,” says Forrester. “We’re doing a lot of work on that at the moment to accelerate that.”

BEAUTY IN A BOTTLE The idea for Viktor&Rolf was to create an ultra-luxurious, limited edition version of its Flowerbomb perfume, a design that needed to look like “a very precious object”, says Anne Guillou, who was responsible for the project.

“There was a very strong need from the brand to continue to be extremely luxurious, at the same time with the wish to have personalised options for consumers – so how to be able to be very luxurious in very small quantities?”

3D printing was ‘the trigger’ to make the design happen, although because nobody had done something like this before, it took a huge level of research and planning, involving a mix of marketing and technical personnel inside L’Oreal and its trusted external manufacturing partners.

Initial mock-ups lacked the ‘wow factor’ and waft of luxury that was desired, so choosing the right additive technology was critical. The team was tasked with comparing potential 3D printing technologies to get the right surface finish, but also needed to make decisions on how to make it affordable and develop it from a business point of view.

“Carbon’s resin was certainly the best [technology] at the time, and probably is still the best for this type of geometry that we wanted, where we’ve got flowers and movement in a lot of different directions,” says Forrester, comparing the approach to the powder bed fusion and SLA technologies available at the time. He adds that a key factor was that the resin technology also lent itself to having the sumptuous metallic finish applied for the required, jewel-like finish.

With the assistance of French 3D printing experts ERPRO, the Victor&Rolf design was developed for

4

2 Designers at L’Oreal created ●

the CAD model using Rhino 3D 3 A highly decorative item, ●

the bottle needed to remain functional 4 Hand assembly of this ●

limited run ensured the perfect finish

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‘‘ We’re

production 3D printing on Carbon’s system, before parts were post-processed, with the final assembly attaching different flowers to each cage, before the design was electroplated and given a final polishing.

“That’s a real revolution for us - to react quickly to consumer needs or to limited editions, or to celebrate something like a catwalk show or something [brands] want to do a limited edition based on. It means that we are now able to reply within a couple of weeks and get initial products out onto the market.”

switching pretty aggressively towards the additive space for our plants, because we can change ADDITIVE VALUES things over so Presently, L’Oréal’s 3D lab teams are looking into how quickly and they can bring added value to the consumer using 3D we can react printing in end-use products, and whether consumers are willing to pay for that? to market “That’s what we’re trying to move into – added needs value – for better ergonomics, mass customisation,

’’

mass personalisation, maybe new materials that are more respectful for the environment than traditional manufacturing. And local manufacturing is something which I’m very passionate about. But I think supply chains in Europe are not set up in that way at the moment, but it’s something which is slowly, slowly evolving,” says Forrester.

Away from luxury limited editions, the cost of production using 3D printing is still too high for massmarket production, something linked to the necessary post-processing of additive parts.

“We can print parts very cheaply, but the actual price

5

to put them onto the market is not as low as it could be,” says Forrester.

“There are very few fully automatic systems that exist.

You always have a print, then you have a removal, and then you have a post-processing step, or two, or three.

Then we have a finished raw part. And then we need to apply some sort of finish, whether it’s smoothing, painting, metal plating. Every time we add one of these steps at the moment, within the additive space, it’s a guy or girl who’s taking the parts off the plate and putting them somewhere manually.”

He compares this to development injection moulding over the last 50 years, and its fluid, fully automated factory lines. “No one’s touched it, and the part costs 10 cents, which just isn’t possible today in additive.”

Forrester remains positive that additive manufacturing will one day reach that stage of automation, and believes that is when it will truly begin to shine in mass-market use cases, as every part can be unique.

Until then, L’Oréal has already found what it calls its sweet spot for the technology: using it to set up factory lines.

“All of these parts that are going to build a bottle will take time and money and resources to make,” says Forrester. “We’re switching pretty aggressively towards the additive space for our plants, because we can change things over so quickly and we can react to market needs.”

He gives the example of factory lines producing lipstick as Covid-19 hit. Many customers swapped lipstick for facemasks, and demand for hand sanitizer went through the roof. By using 3D-printed parts, L’Oréal was able to quickly repurpose factory lines, achieving around 50% to 80% cost and agility savings.

This ability to change a factory line over at lightning speed plays into changing consumer demands, and how buyers find and use existing products.

“We have this thing at the moment, which is cool; we call it ‘the TikTok effect’,” Forrester explains. Someone on the social media site TikTok might repurpose a mascara – using it on a beard instead of their eyes, for example. “Something that we’ve never imagined,” laughs Forrester, “and then everyone will run to the shops and buy this mascara that’s been running on tiny quantities for the last 10 years.”

6

5 Carbon’s M2 3D printer was ●

used to achieve the required fine detailing 6 The gilded cage wraps ●

around the existing glass Flowerbomb bottle, elevating it to a jewel-like form 7 The design was developed ●

for production with assistance from France-based 3D printing expert ERPRO

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COVER STORY

7 When demand explodes like that, he adds, L’Oréal has to react. “And that’s where additive is really becoming a gamechanger, because we can now change our production lines that quickly.”

‘Quick wins’ are the key to building this speed, and through educating its workforce through its 3D labs, L’Oréal is helping change mindsets about materials, with huge cost and time savings.

Factory line parts that were traditionally machined out of metal, not for particular design or load constraints, but because aluminium and steel were easily available, are now

being 3D printed from polymers.

Forrester says: “Everyone’s very surprised by the fact that we equipped a make-up line the other day with FDM prints! We printed 0.3-layer resolution. Really quick wins that we did in a day, we sent all the parts through to the line and they’re still on there, running at 200 parts per minute, producing what used to be done with stainless steel.”

The factory line might be a long way from the luxury of L’Oréal’s catwalk clientele but, in both, additive manufacturing has found a growing role to play. loreal.com

‘‘ That’s what we’re trying to move into –

added value – for better ergonomics, mass customisation, mass personalisation, and maybe new materials that are more respectful for the environment

’’

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FEATURE

CRANK IT UP! » How SRAM turned to generative design and metals 3D printing to develop a concept bicycle crank arm to help develop faster workflows and inventive ideas for traditional manufacturing methods.

Drew Turney reports

W 2

hat’s the most important part of a bicycle? Unlike automated forms of transport, nothing on a bike is extraneous, and the device as a whole won’t work if you take away any parts.

But spare a thought for the crank arm, the length of material that connects a bike’s pedal to the front chainrings and converts the kinetic energy from pedalling into torque that rotates the chain.

It’s an ideal candidate to be improved using loadingled design tools and new production methods, which is why global bike part manufacturer SRAM implemented Autodesk Fusion 360 to help speed its iterative workflow for a new crank arm concept.

“I see a role for generative design in the very front end of structural components,” says SRAM senior design engineer Will King. “If we start looking at the design process very early, we can use it to better understand load cases and how we can accomplish the look consumers want in the final product.”

In SRAM’s case, the required geometries needed to consider the amount of force a rider could apply to the pedal without the crank arm snapping (which depended very much on the material used), clearance from the bike frame, and clearance to the rider’s heel.

From there, likely candidates for the new form emerged

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‘‘ I see a role for generative design in the

very front end of structural components.

If we start looking at the design process early, we can use it to better understand load cases and how we can accomplish the look that consumers want

’’ that could be fed back into the system for further iterations, depending on how closely they met the minimum performance requirements—anything from how well it would work in digital simulations to adherence with relevant industry standards and regulations.

The leading design ideas were prototyped quickly using additive technologies and various materials, from polymers to aluminium or titanium, depending on the part’s requirements for real-world appraisal and testing.

The first metal crank-arm prototype was made using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing at the MxD lab in Chicago.

SRAM then went to Dutch 3D printing experts Additive Industries, which produced the aluminium and titanium 3D-printed versions at its US facility in Los Angeles.

The aluminium prototype first proved the design; then, the 3D-printed titanium crank arms went through stress testing and on-bike testing. The team then moved on to a die-cast model, followed by 3- and 5-axis CNC prototyping

by CNC machine manufacturer Mazak, which returned titanium crank arms to SRAM for final testing.

SRAM’s design team saved time and money by not prototyping every design candidate selected. Using cheaper and faster technologies such as additive early in the prototyping stage, after generative design had done its work, resulted in only one part to cast and evaluate. And that single

1

1 SRAM used part resulted from far more possible designs, much quicker ● generative design than the designers could achieve through typical means. capabilities in Aesthetically the product is a world away from what SRAM, Autodesk Fusion 360 to help faster iterate and anyone else for that matter, has produced before – a lightweight bike something that might deter some designers initially. crank concept “Sometimes, if it’s not directly related to what we do, it’s 2 ● 3 Several ● hard to see the advantage,” says Dhiraj Madura, the global iterations were 3D director of industrial design from SRAM’s Chicago office. printed in titanium “Whereas being an industrial designer, I have the ability to help feed back the results of physical to kind of see beyond the weird structure and use it in a testing, before the way that helps us think differently.” final design was CNC machined by Mazak Madura continues: “It’s about reducing the friction between design and engineering. It’s about saying, ‘Okay, let’s throw this wild idea out there. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, we’ll find out.’”

Using these technologies, the SRAM design team could produce a part that was twice as strong and 20% lighter, with the divisive nature of its styling likely to be outweighed by its sheer performance in an industry constantly striving for better power to weight ratios.

And while this crank arm project is unlikely to make it into full production, its impact on SRAM’s R&D efforts will be felt for a long time to come, potentially making it their most important part of a bicycle.

sram.com

A version of this article originally appeared on Autodesk’s Redshift

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» Rodin Cars is building the ultimate open-wheel hypercar, using additive technologies to create bespoke gearing components

R

odin Cars, the New Zealand-based track car manufacturer, has raised eyebrows and lowered kerb weight with its FZero hypercar design. Founded by wealthy Australian autosports enthusiast David Dicker, head of Dicker Data Australia, Rodin Cars is intent on creating its own race car technologies to produce machines that can compete with the best that Formula 1 can muster.

The Rodin FZero’s first-of-its-kind, 8-speed sequential gearbox with hydraulically controlled differential is encased in a unique, 3D-printed performance housing. Only additive manufacturing could enable engineers to achieve the strength, necessary fittings and low weight necessary, according to the firm. Building on a previous design developed in partnership with UK motorsports expert Ricardo, this new gearbox features 2mm thick walls and weighs a total of 68kg.

To produce the casings, Rodin Cars first worked with 3D Systems’ application engineers in Colorado, US to optimise the gearbox for additive manufacturing on the 3D Systems DMP Factory 500. This is a large-format metal 3D printer, capable of producing parts as large as 500mm x 500mm x 500mm. Then, the first parts were printed at 3D Systems’ facility in Leuven, Belgium.

Since then, 3D Systems’ Application Innovation Group (AIG) has completed the technology transfer to Rodin

Cars, enabling it to begin full production. The company has installed its own DMP Factory 500 on-site at its newly expanded South Island facility in New Zealand, which will allow it to produce gearboxes (as well as hundreds of other bespoke parts) for the Rodin FZero.

The new gearbox was designed with specific gear ratios and differentials in mind and is produced from titanium – as opposed to more typical approaches such as casting in magnesium or machining from billet metal. The design, which features 3D-printed internal galleries and thin-wall bearing and mount structures, is the result of an 18-month process that saw Rodin cars produce the casings and collaborate with Ricardo on the internals.

“Additive manufacturing is enabling industry leaders to defy limitations and stand apart,” says Kevin Baughey, segment leader for transportation and motorsports at 3D Systems.

“As a high-technology, highperformance car constructor, Rodin Cars delivers unparalleled vehicles to its customers. This is a shining example of how additive manufacturing not only enables parts to be produced that couldn’t be created through conventional methods, but also is delivering a lighter, more durable, beautiful vehicle,” he continues.

“It’s the blending of the art of design with the science of hyper-performance cars and motorsports.” rodin-cars.com

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FEATURE

BEST 3D PRINTERS FOR THE DESIGN STUDIO » DEVELOP3D’s round-up of the companies and devices that are bringing the power of 3D printing direct to the desktops of product design studios

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I

t’s rare nowadays for a product development team not to have access to 3D printing, with much of the additive action now on the desks of designers and freed from the gatekeeper of a dedicated facility or bureau.

Cost effective, hardy, offering a good choice of materials, primarily for prototyping but capable of producing presentable models with the minimum of fuss and set-up, this diverse list of 12 technologies and price points represents some of the best 3D printing options out there.

As ever cost is a huge consideration, and it’s worth noting that hardware vendors bracket the ‘Professional’ market as being anything from £2k to £100k.

Remember to factor in any service plans and peripheral post processing equipment, and keep in mind material costs. Many of these 3D printers are now capable of building incredible parts using composite filaments or specialist resins. However, if you’re producing lots of simple volume models and the occasional fixture, FDM materials like PLA or fast draft resins are far more economical.

1

MARKFORGED MARK TWO

2

ZORTRAX M200 PLUS

3

PHOTOCENTRIC LIQUID CRYSTAL OPUS

While several FDM 3D printers on this list are capable of 3D printing composite filaments, it was Markforged that pushed the ability with the continuous fibre reinforcement technology featured in the Mark Two. Capable of serious end-use parts, this is handled

by Markforged’s Eiger software, which supports the design decision-making, but requires learning to reach its full potential. The Mark Two remains top of many engineers’ wishlists, thanks to its bulletproof build, workhorse output and ability to produce parts capable of replacing machined metals.

Zortrax’s entry-level M200 Plus is billed as a robust, simple-to-operate workhorse. Its Polish creators have simply dubbed it a “basically reliable printer”, and they’re not wrong. That said, each unit still boasts a built-in camera, touchscreen controls, WiFi connectivity and the ability to be quickly set up as part of a print farm.

Meanwhile, peripherals – such as an air filter and part vapour smoother – can be added to the set-up if needed, while costs can be kept down by selecting from among a huge array of third-party filaments.

The newest 3D printer on this list, the Opus eschews lasers and light projectors, opting instead for a 14inch 4k LCD screen to cure the resin.

Photocentric’s UK-based engineers have worked to optimise its light distribution for repeatable, uniform cures that, when coupled with the 3D printer’s aluminium construction, Trinamic motor drivers and new resin vat design, should allow it to produce high-accuracy parts time and time again. A selfcleaning mode, interchangeable build platforms, and a purpose-built, 7-inch display add to its ease of use.

» Technology: FDM

» Technology: FDM

» Technology: SLA

» Max Build Area: 320 x 132 x 154mm

» Max Build Area: 200 x 200 x 180mm

» Max Build Area: 310 x 174 x 220mm

» Price: £££££

» Price: £££££

» Price: £££££

markforged.com

zortrax.com

photocentricgroup.com

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Transform your business With the Ultimaker S5 Pro Bundle

24/7 capacity. Always-on productivity

• Composite-ready dual extrusion • Humidity-controlled storage for 6 spools • Filters up to 95% of Ultrafine particles • Compatible with over 90 materials

What our customers say

Nominated as one of the 12 Best 3D Printers for the Design Studio

“[Using 3D printing], we have actually saved £2,969.26 in our production facilities by increasing the yeild of our products and eliminating a number of safety hazards” ERIKS

FEATURE

4

FORMLABS FORM 3

The Form 3 is Formlabs’ most revered 3D printer to date, and it’s not difficult to see why. The Form 3’s custom light unit allows for pinpoint detail and reduced layer visibility, but also aids things like translucent part clarity.

The Low Force Stereolithography technology used in this model means that you should be able to get away with fewer supports, meaning faster prints and less waste material. The resins developed by Formlabs can tackle pretty much every task, from fast print early concepts to tough testing, and even ceramics. » Technology: SLA » Max Build Area: 145 × 145 × 185mm » Price: £££££ formlabs.com

5

3D SYSTEMS FIGURE 4 STANDALONE

6

BCN3D SIGMAD25

The surface quality of parts from 3D Systems’ entry-level DLP 3D printer is something to behold, especially considering the machine’s speed.

Developed originally as part of an automated factory configuration of 16 print engines, the standalone version is a rapid, office-friendly 3D printer capable of producing high-detail threads and internal structures. Its mass-manufacturing origins means it inherits good repeatability and can handle a wide range of resins, recently adding new Tough and Flame Retardant materials to the list.

Those looking to build bigger parts on their desktop might want to step in the direction of BCN3D and its entry-level model. For this price, you get a lot of ability. As well as the generous print area, you also get IDEX (independent dual extrusion), allowing you to drive the two filament extruders simultaneously. That means two materials can be used (allowing for a support material), or you can effectively split the print area in two, with an extruder working each side, to produce duplicate models in a single build.

» Technology: SLA

» Technology: FDM

» Max Build Area: 124.8 x 70.2 x 196mm

» Max Build Area: 420 x 300 x 200mm

» Price: £££££

» Price: £££££

3dsystems.com

Bcn3d.com

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FEATURE

7

MAKERBOT METHOD X

The Method X is the most advanced option from MakerBot and its catalogue of 3D printers purposebuilt for professional use. It can print in the full range of MakerBot polymers and composites, including ABS and a soluble support material.

With excellent accuracy and part strength, thanks to a 110°C-heated build chamber, as well as 21 different sensors onboard and some nice design touches, the expertise lifted from parent company Stratasys’ industrial FDM machines is packaged up at a tempting price point. » Technology: FDM » Max Build Area: 190 x 190 x 196 mm » Price: £££££ makerbot.com

8

ROBOZE ONE XTREME

9

PRUSA I3 MK3S+

Despite being the bambino of Roboze’s family of advanced polymer 3D printers, the Italian manufacturer has hardly held back on its ability.

While this machine lacks the superhigh-temperature build chamber of the brand’s more expensive options, there’s plenty here for users to love – from its nippy printing speeds to an array of sensors that put it firmly in the ‘professional’ category. Carbon PA, Flex-TPU, PP, Nylon and StrongABS are some of the materials that will push prototyping into the realms of proper end-use parts.

Beloved by makers, the Prusa brand is synonymous with getting surprisingly good results from what is easily one of the most affordable models on the market. Its prosumer background (it’s also available as a DIY kit starting at £577.69 exc VAT) and loyal following mean you’ll never be short of someone to ask for guidance. However, you’ll likely need to spend more hands-on time getting to know your i3 in order to get the best from it. But, for the cost and results achievable, plus the ability to replace/ upgrade parts, it’s an excellent option.

» Technology: FDM

» Technology: FDM

» Max Build Area: 300 × 200 × 200mm

» Max Build Area: 250 x 210 x 210mm

» Price: £££££

» Price: £££££

roboze.com

prusa3d.com

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FEATURE

11

ULTIMAKER S5 PRO BUNDLE

The S5 bundle that adds on a materials handling bay and air filter is a greatvalue option for a solid FDM 3D printer. Designed for serial production of parts, the materials fed through the base means the printer can be left unattended while you continue with design work. A touchscreen display helps with easy operation, while those wanting to tinker with settings can do so easily within the Cura software. As well as removing ultrafine particles, the filtration hood also better controls the environment inside the printer, resulting in more reliable prints. » Technology: FDM » Max Build Area: 330 x 240 x 300mm » Price: £££££ ultimaker.com

10

STRATASYS J55 PRIME

The J55 Prime’s abilities are a step closer to the top end of Stratasys’ J-Series, making it one of the most versatile (and expensive) options here.

With Pantone-graded full-colour printing available, users can print directly from Keyshot renders via the 3MF file export. On top of that, the Prime also adds a version of Stratasys’ digital materials portfolio, allowing users to print a range of shore values by mixing resins. Users can add snap-fit closures, or over-moulded rubber grips, along with colours and graphics, all within the same print.

Bringing SLS technology into an office is a bit of a stretch – the necessary cleanup and powder processing equipment means that this is definitely a workshop device. But the size, price and useability mean that sintering nylon is no longer simply for those with OEM budgets or outsourcing. With Nylon 11 and 12, its materials offer high-strength functional parts while the modular build platform and ability to stack parts keeps throughput high. While the extra upfront costs for the peripheral Fuse Sift powder recovery system jerk the initial price upwards, material reuse rates are reportedly higher than industry averages.

» Technology: Polyjet

» Technology: SLS

» Max Build Area: Circular tray offers 1,174 cm2

» Max Build Area: 165 x 165 x 300mm

» Price: £££££

» Price: £££££

stratasys.com

formlabs.com

12

FORMLABS FUSE

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FEATURE

A FAST CLIP

1

S

martphones are our maps, our music, our connection with friends, family and others and a lot more besides – so being able to safely add your phone to your motorcycle provides an instant travel upgrade.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Quad Lock has been making solutions for smartphone mounting since 2011, building a range of solutions designed for different modes of transport.

Featuring a patented dual-stage locking mechanism, the device securely locks a phone to a motorcycle,while ensuring it remains a quick and easy job to attach and detach it with one hand – gloved or otherwise.

A key requirement for Quad Lock’s design team is to be able to react quickly when a new smartphone model hits the market, requiring particular levels of protection and vibration-dampening from the mount.

Smartphone cameras can be particularly vulnerable to high levels of vibration, with their multiple lenses, image stabilisation technology and AI software that make them capable of rivalling professional cameras.

With this in mind, Quad Lock developed a flexible research, design and development process around iterating on physical prototypes to quickly gather lab and field test feedback almost as quickly as its team can

2

» Quad Lock’s latest design aims to safely mount the latest smartphone to a motorcycle, while protecting its delicate camera technology from vibrations. We learn how multiple design iterations using 3D-printed prototypes helped it roar to the market design and 3D print a new part.

A wide range of concept prototypes and configurations were designed in Solidworks and then built on a number of Ultimaker desktop FDM 3D printers. These models had to be strong enough to withstand hours of testing on a vibration test rig, from which the team gathered valuable data that was then fed back into the CAD model.

“In some instances, it was possible to produce multiple design iterations in a single day, which inspired new levels of creativity and ingenuity in the team,” says Quad Lock CIO Chris Peters.

From the results of this research, a dual-chassis suspension system with silicone grommets was proposed. This would protect the camera by enabling the mount to absorb vibrations from high-level frequencies.

The mount was then subjected to real-world beta tests involving over 500 members of the Quad Lock community.

“Ultimaker’s 3D printing solutions helped us design a unique product with much lower development costs and time. The quick feedback loops and high strength of the 3D printed physical components allowed us to develop a solution that now serves millions of bikers across the globe,” says Peters. quadlockcase.com

1 Quad Lock’s ●

products help motorcyclists (and their smartphones) stay connected 2 3D printing ●

prototypes enables Quad Lock to quickly put new designs through their paces 3 A Quad Lock ●

smartphone mount, ready to receive and secure its cargo

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FEATURE

MADE OF STRONGER STUFF

» DEVELOP3D spoke with three ceramic 3D printing vendors about the rapidly growing sector, the materials that designers need to know about and the industries set to benefit from additive manufacturing’s widening use of ceramic materials

T

he material properties that ceramics can offer have long been desired by designers and engineers, but the complications and costs involved have usually seen them opt for cheaper and more easily available plastics and metals.

Until now, that is – because a new breed of ceramic 3D printing technologies is making previously impossible shapes a reality. At the same time, the prospect of parts capable of withstanding higher temperatures and more resistant to corrosion, wear and pressure, is starting to change how many products are considered by designers.

“When it comes to conventional forming methods, such as milling, pressing and injection moulding, companies are often limited to designing parts that can be produced, instead of parts they want to produce,” says Isabel Potestio, head of sales and marketing at Austrian ceramics 3D printing company Lithoz.

“The design freedom offered by 3D printing is, in this area, simply unparalleled, allowing designers to focus more on functionality when coming up with new concepts.”

Problems are getting solved along the way. In the past, ceramic materials before sintering proved too fragile to machine or mill. After sintering, they became too hard to cut quickly or cheaply.

At XJet, nanoparticle jetting technology is being used to address such issues, explains Dror Danai, the Israelbased company’s chief business officer. XJet’s process, which features an innovative water-soluble support material, is allowing for more complex parts to be produced with ceramic materials.

“The manufacturing process has limited the use of technical ceramics in the past,” says Danai. “With the ability to additively manufacture ceramics, businesses

can enjoy all the acknowledged benefits for applications that weren’t previously possible.”

MATERIAL CHALLENGES Meanwhile, materials are constantly improving, says Trent Allen, CEO of US-based AM ceramic powders manufacturer Tethon 3D. Key materials that designers should know about include what he calls the “bread and butter of the ceramics world”, Alumina, along with materials such as Zirconia for more hard-wearing uses.

“As the aerospace and space industry grows over the next few years, I think you’ll see more ceramic carbides and unique ceramic metal matrixes (Cermets) come into the market,” Allen predicts.

The use of full ceramic resins, he adds, may eventually enable 3D printing to fulfill its promise of becoming an industry more focused on sustainability, moving away from more toxic and harder-to-recycle polymers. “We are printing with dirt, essentially,” he says of the current situation.

It’s not just about the material, of course, but also the density of materials achieved, adds XJet’s Danai. “The ceramic AM industry, and especially XJet, has more recently achieved the right density and mechanical properties that open the doors for large acceptance of the technology,” he says.

1 Increased freedom ●

of design is a key reason why ceramics and 3D printing are an exciting combination 2 XJet’s ●

nanoparticle technology allows for a water-soluble support material 3 New materials ●

such as Zirconia can help deliver more hard-wearing parts

EXCITING APPLICATIONS A key aim for all vendors at present is helping more sectors find new and exciting applications. Executives from all three companies – Lithoz, Tethon and XJet – point to the aerospace, defence and machinery sectors as areas where the most interest is seen, but other sectors are intrigued, too, particularly for electronics applications, such as the manufacture of semiconductors, because of the excellent insulation properties of many ceramics.

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1

‘‘ The ceramic additive manufacturing

2

industry has more recently achieved the right density and mechanical properties that open the doors for large acceptance of the technology

’’

Another potentially huge sector for the technology is the manufacture of custom medical implants, with the bioresorbable properties of some ceramics making them more suitable for implants than current metals.

Lithoz’s Potestio explains that ceramic implants made of materials such as tricalcium phosphate or hydroxyapatite dissolve in the body as the organic bone heals and grows.

“As such, ceramic implants promote bone healing and the need for a second surgery to remove the implant is completely eliminated,” she says.

Education of potential users is the biggest challenge at present, given how rooted design and engineering is in traditional manufacturing methods and materials. “I don’t think a lot of designers and engineers know they can 3D print in ceramics yet,” says Allen.

Tethon introduced its Bison 1000 desktop 3D printer for users to experiment with the various resins and ceramic fills it produces. Despite it being the best-selling purposebuilt ceramics printer, most of its customers seem to come from defence and aerospace materials R&D labs.

Getting this technology into the hands of designers for front-end change is the next step.

Software also has a role to play, says Danai. “Design for AM allows improved geometry, such as savings of weight, overcoming design challenges – solving flow issues for example – and other values that make this a more attractive and more affordable solution for complex applications.”

Potestio agrees and cites rapidly modernising supply chains as a complementary shift, with the increasing digitalisation of industrial part production proving a necessity at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt global supply chains.

She says: “As more and more interconnected production sites are being created all over the world, the entire production chain is rapidly being redesigned.”

3

Lithoz.com | Tethon3d.com | Xjet3d.com

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PROFILE

TURNING TIT INTO GOLD

The design for the Lotus x Hope HB.T track bike was a true team effort

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ITANIUM The development of Great Britain’s track cycle for the Tokyo Olympic Games was a race to achieve the most minute of margins.

We speak to Renishaw about the company’s role in creating the medal-winning Lotus x Hope HB.T

S

even medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games – three gold, three silver and one bronze – is an outstanding track record. The Great Britain cycling team was helped to that victory by the Lotus x Hope HB.T track bike, the design for which saw valuable grams shaved from its weight and drag reduced to a minimum.

That design, too, was a heroic team effort. The HB.T was built by Lotus Engineering, which also designed the iconic 108 and 110 bikes ridden by Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman in the 1990s, in collaboration with cycling component manufacturer Hope Technology.

British engineering company Renishaw joined the bike development team in 2019 and, as an official team supplier, it contributed additive manufacturing (AM) expertise in order to develop lighter, more complex components than would have been possible using traditional manufacturing methods.

“The UCI [Union Cycliste Internationale] rules for international competitions around forks and seat stays allowed this innovative bicycle, but this presented a huge challenge to make the bike light enough to be fit for Olympic competition, so optimising strength to weight was key to success,” explains Ben Collins, a design and development engineer for Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Group, who was involved throughout the project.

“It was exciting to see Renishaw’s additive manufacturing expertise play a pivotal part in Great Britain’s push for Olympic gold medals at Tokyo,” continues Collins. “This was a brilliant achievement for the cyclists and a great showcase for the benefits of additive manufacturing.”

Each rider had a bespoke bike set-up, custom-built to maximise their aerodynamic performance and power output from their ergonomics.

Renishaw initially used its AM expertise to rapidly

produce polymer and metal prototype parts to undertake aerodynamic testing of the new designs and ensure that parts were light, geometrically correct and strong enough to endure the strain from riders.

Two versions of the handlebars were developed, with Renishaw playing a key role in both. The Lotus Sprint drop-bar handlebar was used in group-start events like the Omnium and Madison. The Lotus Pursuit, meanwhile, is for time-trial events like the Team Pursuit, where minimum drag is key.

After proving the concepts, the handlebars were manufactured in titanium on a Renishaw RenAM 500Q AM system, with each detail customised for the individual athlete.

While the frame was built using pre-preg carbon fibre, 3D-printed titanium was used to manufacture further elements around the bike that combined the various elements – from the fork crown to the lug used to join the seat stay to the tube.

British Cycling head of technology Tony Purnell says that the design was new and brave, a move that threw up lots of challenges, to which Renishaw rose with aplomb.

“The Renishaw team has worked with the engineers to do the refinement at breakneck speed,” says Purnell. “In the past it would take months to go from the drawing board to a piece that you could try in the test rig or in the velodrome – and now we can do it in weeks.”

As cutting edge as the HB.T is, UCI regulations state that any Olympic Games track race equipment must be commercially available. And that means that you, too, could be the proud owner of a full spec model for somewhere in the region of a cool £30,000. Handlebar choices alone reportedly cost between £1,550 and £4,050 – but it’s pretty much impossible to put a price on what victory means to the team behind the bike. renishaw.com

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FEATURE

» Additive manufacturing is perhaps the only production process for which simulation capabilities have been readily available right from the start – yet these tools remain niche and often too complex, writes Laurence Marks

Specialist simulation tools for AM add more advanced thermo-mechanical capabilities to create best-performing designs for processes like SLM

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he problem with simulating manufacturing processes is that it’s often properly difficult.

Think about casting. The metal starts off as a very hot liquid that is poured into a mould, cools and turns into a solid. It often distorts, because cooling is an uneven process, leaving us with a part that isn’t the shape we designed, which has variable properties, a lot of internal stresses and comes with a high risk of porosity and internal cracks.

We’ve had about 5,000 years to optimise this process, since somebody in Mesopotamia cast a frog from copper back in 3,200 BCE, and it’s still far from perfect.

While my first 3D print was also a frog, additive manufacturing (AM) is different. The multiphysics, multiscale and scripting technologies necessary to model an AM build are well established. In fact, AM must be one of the few production processes for which, from Day One of its existence, simulation capabilities have been available.

Yet it’s fair to say that adoption has been patchy at best.

Our model needs a way of making material appear at a given position and time, and a way of allowing the new material to lose heat and solidify in a realistic manner.

A technique that achieves this progressively activates the elements used to define a part using the same control inputs that the printer uses. In this manner, material addition and critically, the heat that goes with it, can be added to the model. As the elements that define the model are progressively activated, the way in which heat is lost to the environment has to be updated, too.

Materials generally have very different properties at different temperatures, so any meaningful AM process simulation must take that into account.

We have coupled thermal and structural analyses, which involve a model that is changing throughout the build time, not just in terms of shape but also properties. As I said: not trivial.

It takes some considerable expertise to create models of this complexity and a lot of lab testing and correlation to dial them in. Online materials databases, such as Matweb, aren’t going to provide much of the necessary data, and CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS this may go some way towards explaining the slow uptake Although there are many forms of AM, a great many of these systems. involve locally heating a material to melt it, possibly moving It seems very likely that the future of AM process it from one place to another, and then allowing it to solidify. simulation isn’t as a complex multiphysics simulation set In that respect, simulating AM is a lot like simulating up by an expert analyst. The capture and exploitation of casting, without the troublesome free surface CFD simulation knowledge and know-how for use by non[computational fluid dynamics] needed to model specialists is already a driving force in the industry, for the pouring of the molten metal. It’s also a lot like reasons we probably haven’t got time to get into here. simulating welding.

Yet, given the complexity of AM simulation and the need But before we get into too many technicalities, it’s wise for accurate, specific process parameters and material to think about what the challenge is here, before we start properties, templated and guided workflows must be the evaluating solutions. Nobody needs a solution looking for a way forward. problem. Our industry has a few too many of those already.

Alliances between software companies and machine In terms of our goals, it’s likely that we’ll be interested manufacturers are one obvious path towards building in reducing distortion, minimising internal stresses useful tool sets for people more interested in the process and finding out what sort of material we’ll actually get and resulting product than the nuances of the multiphysics at the end of the process. We’ll want to understand simulations – however fascinating these might be to the differences that lie between ‘as designed’ and ‘as the FEA crowd. It’s also possible that cloud compute manufactured’. We can have all sorts of build parameters capabilities could be transformational in the uptake of and support strategies to achieve these insights. these vertical applications.

But while that’s how it looks from a process angle, the So it looks like the future of this technology – and it simulation viewpoint is decidedly more complex. Here, certainly has one – is about vertical or PLM-integrated we have two physical domains to consider: thermal and applications, where model and simulation process structural. development is packaged for specific machines using But in a true multiphysics sense, these are entwined defined and calibrated materials.

– though possibly not as tightly as they could be. The Without these, it’s difficult to see how AM process thermal picture has a big influence on structure, and the simulation can break out of its analysis niche and become way in which structure develops plainly has a big bearing a part of everyone’s route towards a better printed product. on thermal behaviour. @laurencemarks64

Laurence Marks built his first FEA model in the mid-1980s and his first CFD model in the early 1990s. Since then, he’s worked in the simulation industry, in technical, support and management roles. He is currently a visiting research fellow at Oxford Brookes University, involved in a wide range of simulation projects, some of which are focused on his two main areas of interest: life sciences and motorsports

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FEATURE

PROTOTYPING’S PLASTIC PROBLEM » The problem of plastic waste is all over the headlines and all over the planet. But while the urgent need for more conscientious recycling and clear end-of-life plans for plastic couldn’t be clearer, 3D printing prototypes seemingly get overlooked, writes Mark Young

3

D printers are great, aren’t they? So futuristic.

But what on earth are we making with them?

What we’re making, mostly, is plastic. And what happens to that plastic once it’s printed?

From my experience, I think most designers and 3D printer manufacturers just don’t care.

For 15 months, I was part of a fantastic initiative called GRIP (the Gloucestershire Research & Innovation Programme), based at the University of Gloucestershire’s new business school.

As part of a wide range of support services for local small and medium-sized companies – which also includes advice on IP protection, funding, business planning and more – there was a great perk on offer for clients making physical products: free 3D printing.

GRIP installed a Stratasys F170 FDM printer and its team budgeted to stock every material in every colour, giving clients full-colour-spectrum access to PLA, ABS and ASA, as well as to the mysterious, dissolvable support material, Quick Support Release (QSR).

I first came into contact with GRIP as a client through my own business, Mark Young Design. Later, I joined the team part-time, in order to run the lab and help clients with design and manufacturing. I had two initial thoughts when I first signed up. The first was, “Wow! Free printing, in every colour? This is amazing”. The second: “What on earth is ASA?” ASA was new to me. It’s promoted by Stratasys as the best material to use – it’s like ABS, but is more UV stable and offers better mechanical properties. However, Stratasys offered no advice on how, or where, this material could be recycled. The company does take back and remanufacture some printer consumables (we used this service for filament spools, for example), but not the materials themselves.

determined to run it as responsibly as I could.

One of my first tasks was to write a guide explaining all the technical details of the Stratasys F170 FDM printer, its materials and providing a best-practice section to aid identification and recycling by adding a text tag onto each part – more of which later.

My first thought was to prioritise use of PLA. But despite being theoretically compostable and made from renewable resources, it offered no official compostable certification, so I couldn’t recommend it to clients as a circular solution, and often, the parts produced were of lower quality compared to ABS and ASA. The trays on which parts are built are themselves made of ABS. On my training course, I was advised to use fresh trays every time because, as many of us know, keeping the bed as flat as possible on a 3D printer is critical for reliable builds. It also means new ones must be constantly manufactured and purchased.

The students who previously ran the lab had tried to reuse the trays by dissolving away any QSR support structure.

A great idea, but one that often warped the trays, making them hard to reuse.

So, after each and every build, what you’re left with is a single-use ABS tray. I went through more than 50 of these during my time at the lab, often with 3D-printed parts fused to them, along with other waste, typically a hybrid of ASA/ABS and QSR that results from purging printer nozzles when changing over materials.

In cradle-to-cradle terms, we might call this a ‘monstrous hybrid’ – different synthetic materials, stuck together in a way that’s almost impossible to separate.

The University had recently decided to send zero waste to landfill, meaning that everything that couldn’t be recycled would be incinerated, including these by-products of 3D printing prototypes.

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS

INADEQUATE LABELLING

The University of Gloucestershire has a huge focus on sustainability, coming top in a recent national survey, and it’s a focus that I share. So when I took over the lab, I was

As time went on, I noticed that nobody was adding the prescribed recycle codes to their parts. Over 15 months, I estimate that resulted in nearly 100-plus parts, totalling

A CALL FOR ACTION Creating a more circular system that sees more 3D printing material recycled and reused will be a team effort. Who needs to get involved?

Designers: Add a material code to every part, wherever possible 3D printer owners: Consider what materials you use and think about where they will end up. Ask your material supplier if they recycle what they make – and if not, what’s their plan to do so?

3D printer manufacturers: Your machines make parts that won’t simply disappear, so help users to be more responsible. Talk to waste and recycling professionals before you introduce new materials and have an end-of-life plan for every material that you sell

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some 40kg of plastic, all out there with no code on them to help a human understand what they were. Even if ASA isn’t commonly recycled, it’s important to stop it contaminating the plastics that are.

The problem was the difficulty of adding codes to models.

Legibility depends on layer thickness, print orientation and font type and size, especially on small parts. Also, a client might decide at the last minute to change materials, after their CAD file had been created. So why was it up to me to do this, I kept wondering? Shouldn’t 3D printer manufacturers make this easy to do in their own software?

During my time at GRIP, I also attended the launch of a couple of new 3D printers. I brought up the idea of putting recycling codes on parts, and mentioned how hard this was to do in the software. This brought some blank looks and some interesting comments. A couple of remarks I remember were, “It’s a prototype, why would you throw it away?”, and, “We work with a F1 team that prints 20 tons of composite parts a month.”

BURSTING THE BUBBLE It seems to me that the prototyping process exists in a bubble – and if we aren’t thinking responsibly and sustainably at the design phase, is it any wonder we find it hard to do so when production is scaled up?

Every month, I get excited marketing emails about new 3D printing materials: ABS with Glass Fibre, Carbon Fibre and Nylon, filament with Flame Retardants. The list goes on. But are there any waste collection streams for these?

End of life is simply never mentioned.

Yes, you could argue that prototypes often contain very little material compared to mass production. But this is the stage where we want mistakes to emerge and get tackled, long before parts are reproduced in their millions. So, I’d argue that prototypes are made to be thrown away – not that there is really any such place as ‘away’ on this planet that we all share.

In summary, there’s a huge opportunity here for 3D printer manufacturers to play their part in creating a circular system. But seizing that opportunity will depend on two things: their willingness to help makers mark up parts when they’re printed, giving clear indication of the materials used and how it should be disposed of; and second, their own efforts to promote the return of waste material and handle its recycling.

Mark Young is a Product Designer with a passion for helping clients enhance their sustainability by bringing Circular Economy thinking into their business

If we ‘‘ aren’t

thinking sustainably at the design stage of a product, is it any wonder we find it hard to do so when production is scaled up?

’’

markyoungdesign.co.uk

STRATASYS RESPONDS In reply to this article, Stratasys VP of sustainability Rosa Coblens said: “Stratasys established its Sustainability function this year

and solidified the commitment to leveraging its 3D printing leadership position to further an industry-wide shift towards more sustainable practices, products and innovation.

Our Stratasys ESG activity is supported at the highest levels of our company leadership, pioneered and championed by our CEO, Yoav Zeif.

Mark Young’s article

highlights very important and relevant industry issues that need to be addressed.

As founding members of the Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association, we aim to

lead this effort. We set 4 UN Sustainable Development Goals and are serious about making an impact. Mark’s passion is also ours and we hope to deepen the dialogue.”

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FEATURE

IN THE » Blending creative solutions with technical know-how, Lamp & Pencil is the go-to design firm for some of theatre’s most unique lighting and visual effects. We learn how the company’s use of in-house 3D printing has earned it rave reviews

I 2

2

f you’ve ever sat in the audience of a theatre show in the West End or on Broadway, you’ll understand just how important a role lighting plays in shaping a story’s narrative.

It is critical for conveying the mood of a scene, helps guide the audience through an experience, and highlights the most important elements on the stage.

Although lighting and visual effects have long been an integral part of the entertainment industry, few understand the attention to detail and complex engineering work that goes into producing a first-class stage production.

This is where Lamp & Pencil fits in. The UK-based design and engineering consultancy builds bespoke installations for stage shows like Harry Potter and Les Miserables.

Founded in 2014 by engineer Robin Barton and designer Tamsin Higgins, the duo pooled their skills and love of theatre to form Lamp & Pencil. Barton had previously worked as an electrical engineer with experience in stage lighting from time at London’s Royal Opera House, while Higgins has previously worked as a product, furniture and interiors designer.

The requests they receive from productions can vary wildly. “It could be windows that glow, a chimney that smokes, a handheld prop that needs to light up or do something,” explains Higgins. “We always say it’s the type of thing nobody else wants to do.

We’re the stupid people that say we’ll give it a go!”

Generally, a project will come from the lighting designer’s specs. “The

lighting designer will specify an effect or a thing they want to achieve, and we will need to create the end result.”

If it’s a big West End show, Lamp & Pencil consults the stage designer’s drawings to understand the set and how an element needs to behave in a certain way. “We can’t really draw that up,” says Higgins. “So we tend to play with the technical first.”

Given the bespoke nature of most of what the company does, a lot of the work is research and development. “It isn’t a case of being able to just buy [parts] and they’ll do the job. We have to develop and design it, and I think that’s where a lot of people don’t necessarily understand the amount of work that goes into these projects.”

Critical to this is the team’s blend of creative understanding, married with the technical know-how, and its ability to balance the need to achieve an effect with how best to fit that into a production in a way that can be maintained and moved, all without impeding actors or scene changes.

TIME TO SPARKLE One example of Lamp & Pencil’s recent work: a lighting project for a West End show, where an area of the set built from clear acrylic needed to have lights fitted to it that would twinkle, but with all the fixtures, fittings and cables invisible to the audience.

“They were quite strict on that,” recalls Higgins. “With the size of the LED, they needed to dissipate the heat, so I designed a little heatsink that then slotted into a hole in

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‘‘ The lighting

designer of a show will specify an effect or a thing that they want to achieve, and we will need to create the end result

’’

1 the back, and we used some cable that was clear on the outside and silver, so it disappeared into the acrylic.”

Lamp & Pencil developed a controller for the LED set-up, and things looked promising, until the lighting designer decided the lights needed to have a narrower beam angle.

“We couldn’t change the LED, because of what we were asking it to do, so we had to work out a way to bring that beam angle in,” explains Higgins. The team developed a clear lens cover for the LEDs that would blend with the set and could be produced in-house on its Formlabs Form 3 3D printer using clear resin.

“I sat down, did a bit of research, modelled up a series of lenses, printed prototypes, tested them to decide on the final one and then printed 100,” says Higgins.

“From our point of view, being able to develop that inhouse is amazing!”

She believes that the better your CAD modelling skills are, the better you’ll understand what the 3D printer is doing, and the better the results will be. The team at Lamp & Pencil typically uses Vectorworks, which is widely used in the lighting industry due to Spotlight, a plug-in for stage lighting. As the company has grown, it has added Autodesk Fusion 360 and its Eagle PCB ability to its toolset.

For Lamp & Pencil, the process is less about presenting an idea on screen and more about manufacturing a physical prototype.

“We’d been talking about getting a 3D printer for a long time and I think the biggest thing was deciding what type

to get,” says Higgins. “For me I decided that the resin printer was better than the filament 3D printers for what we needed. Things like the lenses, or specific things we needed to print, needed the quality of the resin.”

After consulting with UK Formlabs reseller Simply Rhino, the team took the plunge during the Covid-19 pandemic to order its Form 3, with lockdown affording the team additional time to learn and test the new 3D printer.

As theatre productions slowly reopen, many with set updates and refreshes, Lamp & Pencil is ready to take on new projects without having to rely on the time schedules of suppliers. After all, the show must go on.

1 London West ●

End theatre shows dazzle audiences with sophisticated lighting effects 2 ● 3 Lamp & Pencil ●

produces custom electronics cases and lenses using its in-house Form 3, blending the technical with the creative

lampandpencil.com

3

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LOCKHEED’S LUNAR AMBITION » At Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, California, engineers are hard at work in the facility’s 3D printing lab on creating custom parts for a new, fully autonomous lunar rover

L

ockheed Martin is on a mission. The company, in alliance with General Motors, is developing a new, fully autonomous lunar rover to be used as part of NASA’s Artemis programme to return astronauts to the Moon’s surface.

Several aspects of the early design and development work for the rover’s autonomy systems are conducted at Lockheed Martin’s state-of-the art R&D facility in Palo Alto, California. The company’s Advanced Technology Center (ATC) includes a full 3D printing lab for in-house production of parts.

Engineers at Lockheed Martin are testing a multitude of applications for the lunar rover, including 3D printing custom parts – including embedded systems housing and sensor mounts – for the prototyping and proof-ofconcept phases.

“We’re in the very early stages of development and the rover we have at ATC is a testbed that we designed and developed in-house,” explains Aaron Christian, senior mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin Space.

“This affordable modular testbed allows us to make quick changes using 3D printing to change the design for other applications, whether it be military, search and rescue, nuclear applications and just extreme environment autonomy needs.”

Christian adds that 3D printing enables the team to test parts affordably, iteratively and modularly.

One of the parts printed for the rover was a mount for a Lidar (light detection and ranging), a technology based on sensors that determine the proximity of other objects and widely used in self-driving vehicles. The mount was designed to sit on the rover, a completely modular robot system and was 3D printed in ABS. It enables engineers to swap out the Lidar with different sensors, including those capable of supporting a stereo camera, direction antenna, RGB camera, or rangefinder, for example.

The embedded electronics housing is designed to

go inside the rover or in other robots at the ATC, with hexagonal wall structures producing the ideal strengthto-weight ratio that can protect the electronics from anything that could potentially fall on them, while also allowing for temperature regulation.

Many of these parts are produced on the ATC’s MakerBot Method X 3D printers. Its ABS material allows for test parts to be built that can withstand desert heat, UV exposure, moisture and other harsh environmental conditions.

In combination with Stratasys SR-30 soluble supports, parts printed with MakerBot ABS are designed to provide a smoother surface finish and allow for more organic shapes.

Christian explains that at the Lockheed Martin ATC, the team has access to multiple MakerBot printers that help with quick turnaround times.

“I will design a part, print it and have it in my hand hours later. This allows me to quickly test the 3D-printed part, identify weak points, adjust the model, send it back to print overnight, and then have the next iteration in the morning,” he says, adding that 3D printing reduces the iterative design wait time for a part from weeks to hours, helping the team get the rover ready for landing.

(Above) The Advanced Technology Center at Lockheed Martin works on projects where accuracy is nonnegotiable (Below) Hexagonal wall structures provide the ideal strength-toweight ratio to protect the electronics that they house on the lunar rover

lockheedmartin.com/space

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CLOUD FOR MANUFACTURING

AMD powered Microsoft Azure virtual desktops for SMBs and enterprises

Increase agility through remote virtual PCs for all workloads Cloud technology has never been more relevant to the design, engineering and manufacturing industry. With today’s unprecedented work environment, Microsoft Azure-powered remote desktop offerings are helping manufacturing firms quickly adapt to the fastchanging global business landscape and can enable greater agility and increased capabilities for success and growth.

The Microsoft Azure Cloud, featuring AMD CPU and GPU technology, enables organizations to deliver access to project data and software applications from any device, anywhere in the world. Employees can work efficiently from home or office, and new partners can be brought on board quickly if supply chains need to be re-calibrated due to factory shutdowns, workforce shortages, delayed shipments or potential changes in international trade agreements and tariffs.

AMD powered Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) can be tailored to any workload or pipeline, from task and knowledge workers in logistics or finance, to managers who require access to 3D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) data, all the way up to engineers who craft complex 3D models in Computer Aided Design (CAD) software.

VMs can also be configured and provisioned to deliver the highest levels of performance and scalability for Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) workload processing (numerical simulation, machine learning, etc.)

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KEY WORKLOADS FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING Design and manufacturing SMBs and enterprises use a diverse set of workloads and applications to help bring products to market faster

PRODUCT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING 2D & 3D CAD, visualization and simulation Computer Aided Design (CAD) is an essential tool for product designers, industrial designers, engineers and many others in the manufacturing sector. It drives the product development process, documenting all aspects of a design and provides the foundation for virtual prototyping through the use of complementary technologies such as visualization, simulation, and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM).

With every detail captured in CAD, 3D models can be exceedingly complex, requiring a high-performance workstation. Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) acceleration is essential in order to move 3D models smoothly in the viewport when performing operations such as pan, zoom and rotate.

CAD typically runs on a physical workstation, but manufacturing firms are increasingly turning to the cloud. A GPU-accelerated virtual machine (VM), delivered through the AMD powered Microsoft Azure NVv4 instance can not only match the performance of a desktop workstation but there are many additional benefits. 3D applications can be accessed from anywhere, on any supported device, and the VM only streams encrypted pixels so Intellectual Property (IP) can be kept secure within the organization and extended supply chain.

SIMULATION Advanced structural analysis and fluids simulation The use of simulation in product development can have a dramatic impact on design cycles, as well as maximizing product performance and minimizing cost. There are many different use cases – for example, to help understand a product’s structural performance and possible causes of failure or to optimize the cooling or reduce the power consumption of an electric motor.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software is increasingly being used on the desktop alongside CAD, early on in the development process – so called performance-driven design.

However, the most complex simulations require powerful servers or High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters with multi-core processors and lots of high-bandwidth memory. Getting results back quickly is essential in the fast-paced world of product development.

AMD powered Microsoft Azure HBv2 Virtual Machines deliver incredible levels of performance, on demand, for a variety of HPC workloads. Both enterprises and startups alike can benefit from the phenomenal compute power without the upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs of an on-premise cluster.

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PLM AND BEYOND Design/review, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and beyond It’s not just users of Computer Aided Design (CAD) or other 3D software that require access to GPUaccelerated machines. Project data is commonly represented with 3D models, which are used throughout the product development process. This could be for design review, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), change management, technical documentation, production planning or inspection - or simply to aid communication, collaboration and alignment between departments, team members and partners.

Example workflows include adding markups and comments to 3D models to communicate change order requests, viewing large assemblies to help author bill of materials (BOMs), creating spare parts catalogues or service manuals, or interrogating 3D models to check geometry, mass properties or clashes.

Depending on the process and the complexity of the models, different workflows demand different levels of 3D performance. AMD powered Microsoft Azure NVv4 Virtual Machines can be tuned to deliver performance on demand for a wide range of workflows, including entry-level, low-intensity GPU workloads, all the way up to those that require full-GPU processing power.

EMERGENT ADMINISTRATIVE WORKLOADS Sales, marketing, finance, logistics, and beyond There are many varied administrative (non-design/engineering) roles in this space - from sales, marketing and project management, to customer relations, logistics, supply chain and finance. Some firms use traditional Office applications to support these roles, but others use a dedicated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, an integrated business process management platform that can be used for purchasing, scheduling, accounting, orders and many other processes.

The desktop/PC resource requirements for these roles are extremely varied. So-called “task workers” (i.e. admins, data entry) tend to have moderate CPU requirements, and little to no need for a GPU, and these can be well served by Microsoft Azure Da/Eav4-Series Virtual Machines. Knowledge workers can also benefit from Da/Eav4-Series instances for office document creation and presentations.

However, for the modern desktop experience, common office productivity tools, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, as well as web browsers, increasingly need GPU acceleration for the best user experience when viewing or authoring 3D content. The GPU-accelerated family of Microsoft Azure NVv4 Virtual Machines can be adapted to GPU workloads with different intensities.

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A CLOUD-FIRST APPROACH How cloud can help businesses stay agile during these uncertain times and quickly adapt to the ever-changing global business environment.

The past year has had a huge impact on the global manufacturing industry. It has prompted an unprecedented increase in home working, and many businesses are re-evaluating their public cloud strategies. Rather than investing in on-premise IT resources, businesses can become more agile through flexible cloud services like Microsoft Azure Cloud means predictable ongoing costs that are typically billed monthly. By prioritizing Operating Expenditure (OpEx) over Capital Expenditure (CapEx) there is no large outlay for server hardware, and no surprise costs in the event of a failure or a required upgrade. Cloud also gives manufacturing firms the flexibility to spin up resources as and when projects demand, then shut them down when no longer required. In contrast, fixed IT resources are often over or underutilized.

With Microsoft Azure, all IT management is centralized so there is reduced admin of individual machines. As all the data is stored in the cloud, securely, large manufacturing datasets don’t need to be moved around, which can take a long time or lead to version control issues. With a huge variety of AMD powered virtual machines, users can be given access to the right processing power at the right time for the right cost. A knowledge worker, for example, may only work with 3D models on occasion, and therefore only need GPU acceleration for a few hours a month.

From a workforce perspective, cloud has many additional benefits. With Microsoft Azure it is possible to work from anywhere on any device, making the transition from office to home seamless. Flexible working also means firms can attract the very best talent and also recruit those that live far from the office, or even in a different country. Contractors can also be brought on board easily, without firms having to provide, configure or secure local hardware. And, should the supply chain be shutdown or interrupted, cloud makes it much easier to bring other suppliers on board.

HYBRID CLOUD FOR ENTERPRISES

Not all manufacturing firms want to move everything to the cloud in one go. Those with existing on-premises datacenters often prefer a hybrid cloud approach where they can protect their IT investment, while also benefitting from increased flexibility.

Core workloads and data can be kept on premises and scalable Microsoft Azure cloud resources can be used to handle more dynamic workloads. Cloud is also well suited to support ‘follow-the-sun’ workflows to reduce time to market or to make PLM data available to global supply chains.

A hybrid cloud approach also means IT resources can be quickly scaled up – even at short notice. A problematic design, for example, could suddenly lead to several new iterations, all of which need to be verified through advanced simulation. With fixed IT resources, this could add days, even weeks to an already tight product development schedule.

Cloud doesn’t have to be the final destination. Pilot cloud projects can also be used to prove out the AMD based Microsoft technology, which can then be moved onpremises if local data is important or firms need to meet regulatory requirements.

HELPING STARTUPS RUN LEAN AND STAY AGILE

Microsoft Azure enables manufacturing startups to run lean and stay agile. With no heavy hardware investment costs, firms can get instant access to flexible IT resources which can scale as they grow. ‘Remote first’ and BYOD/BYOO policies can be introduced from the outset, which can also reduce cost pressures of office premises.

Cloud also offers a big opportunity for startups to access large compute resources which were previously only available to enterprises. Investing in an on-premises cluster for advanced simulation is a huge commitment but getting on-demand access to powerful HPC resources can pay huge dividends for improving quality and reducing time to market.

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AMD POWERED MICROSOFT AZURE VIRTUAL MACHINES Powered by 2nd Gen AMD EPYC Processors, Microsoft offers performance and cloud economics for HPC, general purpose, and virtual desktop environments

Microsoft Azure Dav4/Eav4-Series Virtual machines for general purpose and memory intensive workloads at a competitive price point The Microsoft Azure Dav4-Series virtual machines offer a combination of vCPU, memory, and temporary storage for general purpose workloads at a competitive price point. The Eav4-Series is ideal for memory-intensive applications such as relational databases and in-memory analytics.

Both families of virtual machines feature the latest AMD EPYC 7452 processors and support from 2 up to 96 vCPUs and 2,400 GiBs of SSD-based temporary storage.

Dav4 features up 384 GiBs of RAM and Eav4 up to 672 GiBs of RAM. Dav4 and Eav4 are not GPU-accelerated. For workflows that do require 3D, Microsoft Azure NVv4 is recommended for the best user experience. With Windows 10 Enterprise multi session firms can gain efficiencies by assigning multiple users to a single VM (see page 7).

Microsoft Azure NVv4 Flexible GPU-accelerated virtual machines for 3D workloads The GPU-accelerated Microsoft Azure NVv4 is designed specifically to cater to a variety of 3D workflows. The VMs are powered by 2nd Gen AMD EPYC™ processors and AMD Radeon Instinct™ GPUs. Previous GPU-accelerated Microsoft Azure VMs could only be configured with a full GPU, but this meant customers could end up paying for resources they did not need. While most CAD-centric workflows require some form of 3D graphics acceleration, the requirements for some applications are quite low.

With NVv4 customers can choose from four different VMs, including one with 1/8th of a GPU, which might be suitable for viewing a small CAD assembly, all the way up to one with a full GPU that could handle a rich 3D model for design visualization.

Image courtesy of CGPdesign

Microsoft Azure HBv2 Highly scalable High Performance Computing (HPC) for advanced simulation The Microsoft Azure HBv2 virtual machines are specifically designed for High Performance Computing (HPC) workloads, including engineering simulation. HBv2 VMs feature 120 AMD EPYC 7002 Series CPU cores and 340GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is 45-50 percent more than comparable x86 alternatives1. Memory bandwidth can have a huge influence on performance in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) workflows in particular.

HBv2 offers elastic scaling for all different types of workflows, ranging from 120 to 80,000 cores, with individual nodes brought together with high-speed Mellanox 200 Gigabit/sec HDRInfiniBand™. Manufacturing firms can choose to prioritize performance or increase accuracy by simulating at much higher resolutions. HBv2 has been used to run a 57,000 core “Le Mans” CFD model on Siemens Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

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MANUFACTURING WORKFLOWS MATCHED TO AZURE INSTANCES Image courtesy of CGPdesign

Task worker roles

Knowledge worker roles

Product marketing

Product management

Simple and repetitive tasks that are carried out by administrative ‘task workers’ using a small set of applications. Tasks are usually performed at a stationary computer and the applications are typically not CPUor memory-intensive.

Roles include callcenter analysts, warehouse workers and assembly line workers.

Tasks carried out by most of the workforce, including office productivity, team collaboration, and customer engagement.

The applications used are more CPU- and memory-intensive but can be greatly improved with GPU assistance.

Roles include accountants, sales, supply chain managers, human resources, and research analysts.

Generation of a wide range of assets for product marketing including packaging, advertising and point of sale. Workflows range from graphic design, video editing and web development to generation of real time 3D content or physically-based renders for products configured with different colorways, material options and finishes.

Management and optimization of product data throughout the lifecycle phases, from design and production, through to ultimate disposal of manufactured goods.

Includes management of workflows and processes, bill of materials (BOM), custom metadata, integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and lots more.

⇧

⇧ increasingly important knowledge workloads.

NVv4 important important sessions is recommended important for heavier,important graphicsimportant important intensive workloads.

⇧

Dav4 / NVv4 D4as_v4 and D8as_v4 is NVv4for light recommended

⇧

D4as_v4 NVv4

Recommended instance Azure D-series - “D4as_v4” important forincreasingly individual task workers important important load – if required to scale important users then lookimportant to larger “D” important important series instances.

NVv4 NVv4

Recommended for moderate 3D workloads - maximizing increasingly important user density (more than 8) important important in multi-session or providing important dedicated important CPU+GPU important important resources for up to 8 users

NVv4 NVv4

Recommended for moderate 3D workloads - maximizing increasingly important user density (more than 8) important important in multi-session or providing important dedicated important CPU+GPU important important resources for up to 8 users

When is it best to use Sessions or VDI? With the Microsoft Azure Cloud, firms can choose to either deploy a sessionsbased virtual desktop or a single VDI virtual desktop.

Each has its own advantages.

In the facing table there are some key considerations for IT and CAD managers when moving to the cloud.

1) Need lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Session is best option

2) Need ISV certifications for professional applications

VDI is best option

3) Need maximum control, flexibility, and isolation

VDI is best option

4) Need simpler management

Sessions offers less VMs to manage compared to VDI

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Product design (CAD + viz)

Engineering (CAD / CAM / CAE)

Form and function development of products from concept through to delivery using 3D computer aided design (CAD) software. Can include the integration of mechanical, electrical and electronic design elements. Designs can be used for virtual or physical prototyping with the ultimate goal of delivering production ready 3D models.

Design visualization can be used alongside CAD to help aid decision making throughout the entire product development process.

Real time 3D technology can be used to explore products from any angle, while physically-based rendering shows the true impact of different colors, materials, and finishes with photorealistic results.

Simulation (Computer Aided Engineering) is used alongside CAD to help predict performance and validate and optimize designs.

Simulation is also used in manufacturing to simulate plastic injection molding while Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) creates CNC code for machine tools for the creation of parts, molds and dies for production.

⇧

⇧

⇧

NVv4

Recommended instance NV16as_v4 (16 vCPU, 56GiB, 8GB GPU memory) for applications including DS Solidworks®, Autodesk® Inventor®, PTC® Creo®.

NVv4

NVv4

Recommended instance Recommended instance NV32as_v4 (32 vCPU, 112GiB, NV32as_v4 (32 vCPU, 16GB GPU memory) for 112GiB, 16GB GPU memory) applications including Luxion for applications including KeyShot®, Chaos® Group V-Ray® Siemens® NX™ Manufacturing, and CAD-native renderers.

Vero VISI and Altair Inspire™.

Simulation (HPC) High Performance Computing (HPC) uses highly scalable compute resources to deliver more accurate results in engineering simulation.

Firms can use Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or multiphysics simulations to get results back quicker and gain valuable insight into product performance throughout product development.

⇧

Product design / Engineering (CAD)

HBv2/HBv3

Depending on workload, firms can start with a single HBv2/ HBv3 virtual machine with up to 120 AMD EPYC vCPU cores and scale all the way up to 672 VMs.

Extending access to GPU acceleration With Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, multiple users can share a single GPU-accelerated VM There are many roles within manufacturing, such as 3D design, that require a dedicated virtual machine (VM). However, for some of the less demanding workflows, it is possible to have multiple users on a single VM. This can deliver significant cost savings and, in some cases, performance advantages.

Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session is a Remote Desktop Session Host that allows multiple concurrent interactive sessions.

It can be particularly beneficial for the GPU-accelerated NVv4 VMs to support workers that only require 3D acceleration on occasion, such as a manager who uses PLM software or a knowledge worker that sometimes views 3D content on a website.

The NV32as_v4 instance, for example, with 32 vCPU, 112GB memory and an entire AMD Radeon Instinct MI25 GPU, could be shared by as many as 16 users at any one time. This approach is more cost effective than giving each user a dedicated GPUaccelerated VM, while also offering a better experience with 3D content than a VM without GPU acceleration.

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Azure® Virtual Desktop

AMD powered Microsoft Azure available options Use Type

Size

vCPU

OS

Memory

GPU memory (GPU Partition)

Number of Displays

Max Res Display

Multi

D16a_V4

4

Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

64 GB

N/A

1-2

1080p

Multi

D32a_v4

4

Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

128 GB

N/A

1-2

Target audience profile

Best for use case

Task

Data entry and office productivity

1080p

Type of Applications

Office 365 Web browsing Video calling

Multi

E16a_V4

16

Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

128 GB

N/A

1-2

1080p

Multi

E32a_V4

32

Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

256 GB

N/A

1-2

1080p

Single

NV4as_v4

4

Win10

16 GB

2 GB (1/8)

1

1080p Up to 30Hz

Single

NV8as_v4

8

Win10

28 GB

4 GB (1/4)

1-3

1 Display config: 4K up to 30Hz

Professional

Single/ Multi

NV16as_v4

16

Win10 Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

56 GB

8 GB (1/2)

1-4

1 Display config: 4K up to 30Hz

Workstation

Single/ Multi

NV32as_v4

32

Win10 Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

112 GB

16 GB (1/1)

1-4

1 Display config: 4K up to 30Hz

Full Graphics

High-end Workstation Class workloads

Autodesk Inventor®, 3ds Max®, Siemens NX and PTC Creo, and ESRI ArcGIS

N/A

HBv2/HBv3

16-120

Win10 Win10 EMS, Server19, Server16

up to 448GB

N/A

N/A

N/A

HPC

High performance compute workloads

Autodesk CFD, Siemens Simcenter Star-CCM+, Ansys Fluent, Altair Hyperworks

Knowledge

Office productivity and collaboration Autodesk Revit®, AutoCAD®

General Workstationclass workloads

Autodesk Revit®, AutoCAD® Inventor®, and Siemens NX Autodesk Revit®, AutoCAD®, Inventor®, Siemens NX and PTC Creo

For more information visit www.amd.com/azure ©2021 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon, Radeon Instinct, EPYC and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows® Virtual Desktop and Azure are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Autodesk is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Siemens NX is a trademark or registered trademarks of Siemens Industry Software Inc., or its subsidiaries or affiliates, in the United States and in other countries.

ArcGIS is trademark or registered trademarks of ESRI (Geographic information system company) and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. AVID media center is a trademark or registered trademarks of Avid Technology and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Dassault Systèmes is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries. PTC Creo is a registered trademark of PTC Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and in other. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. Citrix® Cloud is a registered trademark of Citrix Systems, and/or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries. Teradici® Cloud access is a registered trademark of Teradici Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries. Workspot® is a registered trademark of Workspot, Inc. all rights reserved. Other product names used in this publication are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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AMD Radeon Pro W6600 » AMD’s new $649 professional GPU offers users of CAD software a gateway into design viz and VR, now and in the future, writes Greg Corke

I

n recent years, product designers and engineers have been expanding their software armouries. Design visualisation and virtual reality (VR) are increasingly being used to augment bread-and-butter CAD workflows.

The problem is that many product designers don’t have workstation graphics hardware capable of effectively running these demanding software tools.

Most CAD software is CPU-limited, shackled by the frequency of a single CPU core. So, if you only ever design consumer products in Inventor, Solidworks, Creo or similar, there’s little point in buying a highend pro GPU. In such applications, you’ll likely get the same 3D performance from a $200 pro graphics card as you would from one that costs ten times as much.

To cater to CAD users who want to embrace more demanding workflows, AMD recently launched the Radeon Pro W6600, one of two pro GPUs based on the company’s 7nm RDNA 2 architecture.

With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 10.4 Teraflops of Single Precision compute performance, the Radeon Pro W6600 is significantly less powerful than the AMD Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB, 17.83 Teraflops). But it’s much more affordable.

With an estimated street price of $649, it

» Product: Radeon Pro W6600 » Supplier: AMD Price: $649 amd.com/radeonpro

InvMark for Inventor 2022 (by Cadac Group and TFI)

fits within a price bracket that designers are more likely to be comfortable with.

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600 is essentially a replacement for the Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB, 5.35 TFLOPs), but it features enhanced Compute Units (CU), with dedicated ‘Ray Accelerators’ to provide an entry point for hardwareaccelerated ray tracing.

In terms of specs, it’s a full-height, single-slot PCIe 4.0 board. It has a peak power of 100W, so is suitable for entrylevel tower workstations, and needs a 6-pin connector to draw extra power from the PSU. With four DisplayPort outputs, it can drive up to four displays at 4K resolution or up to two displays at 8K resolution. It’s supported by pro drivers and is certified (or in the process of being certified) for many leading professional applications.

HARDWARE RAY TRACING The AMD Radeon Pro W6600 and the W6800 are AMD’s first pro GPUs to feature hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The dedicated ‘Ray Accelerators’ can either be used to bring ray tracing effects to real-time applications like Unreal Engine or accelerate traditional photorealistic ray trace renderers to produce stills and animations quicker.

Solidworks 2021 SP3 (OpenGL 4.5)

Lumion 11.5 (DirectX 12 - real time)

SPECapc benchmark (FSAA) - RealView, shadows & AO

Architectural house @ 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution

1.23 Graphics benchmark score (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

1,359

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

1,341

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

1,356

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

Nvidia Quadro P2200

1,328

300

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

1,417

0

1.23

1.23 Benchmark score (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

Nvidia RTX A4000

900

1200

1.33 2.12

2.77

1.5

18.20

Nvidia Quadro P2200 3.39

1.0

8.93

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

1.52

0.5

9.43

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

1.70

0.0

5.03

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

Nvidia RTX A4000

1500

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

Nvidia Quadro P2200

1,447 600

As AMD’s ‘Ray Accelerators’ are brand new, there aren’t that many applications that can currently take advantage, but this is changing. The list includes applications that support DirectX Raytracing (DXR), such as Unreal Engine. Also, any that feature Radeon ProRender 2.0, the latest version of AMD’s physically-based rendering engine. This comprises Solidworks Visualize, Acca Software, Autodesk Inventor, McNeel Rhino, Autodesk Maya, and Blender.

Looking to the future, it will also extend to any application that supports Vulkan Ray tracing, including those in development at Solidworks (Project Romulan – tinyurl.com/SW-graphics), Autodesk (One Graphics System – tinyurl. com/inventor-GPU) and Enscape.

The Radeon Pro W6600 will not accelerate ray tracing in Nvidia RTXenabled applications such as Luxion KeyShot, Chaos V-Ray, Chaos Vantage, Enscape 3.0 and others.

Of course, the Radeon Pro W6600 can also be used for many other applications that don’t rely on hardware ray tracing.

This includes those that use the OpenGL or DirectX graphics APIs, which is pretty much all CAD and viz tools, GPU renderers that use OpenCL, as well as virtual reality (VR) software.

2.0

2.5

3.0

5.33

Nvidia RTX A4000

3.5

0

15.97 5

10

Solidworks 2021 SP3 (OpenGL 4.5)

Lumion 11.5 (DirectX 12 - real time)

Lumion 11.5 (DirectX 12 - rendering)

SPECapc benchmark (FSAA) - shaded with edges

Architectural house @ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution

Architectural house

1.23

1.23 Benchmark score (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

1.14

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

1.70

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

Nvidia Quadro P2200

Nvidia Quadro P2200

0.0

0.5

2.46 1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

47.83 14.73

Nvidia RTX A4000 0

10

38.48 20

30

503

250

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

146

Nvidia Quadro P2200

40

Render time (secs) (smaller is better)

263

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

1.23

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

25.20

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

1.27

Nvidia RTX A4000

AMD Radeon Pro W5500 24.77

AMD Radeon Pro W6600 2.00

Set of 8 FHD renders (1,920 x 1,080 resolution)

13.53

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

1.32

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

15

Nvidia RTX A4000

407 140

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

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HARDWARE REVIEW

RADEON PRO VIEWPORT BOOST

reduce the number of pixels the GPU needs to process. Then, as soon as that movement stops, it restores the full pixel count. According to AMD, this can increase Frames Per Second (FPS) dramatically, without impacting the visual experience.

AMD Radeon Pro Viewport Boost currently works with Revit, 3ds Max, Twinmotion and Unreal Engine (for packaged projects only, not currently

The AMD Radeon Pro W6600 supports a new pro driver feature called Radeon Pro Viewport Boost, which is designed to reduce latency and boost viewport navigation performance.

The idea behind the technology is quite clever. It detects when a 3D model is moving quickly in the viewport, then automatically drops the resolution to

Unreal Engine Editor). Support for other applications is coming soon.

As one might expect, the technology works best in GPU limited applications, as we found in this in-depth review (tinyurl. com/viewport-AMDGPU), where we tested out the software with the Radeon Pro W6800. It also delivers the biggest benefits at higher resolutions (4K and above) and with larger models.

Enscape 2.6 (OpenGL)

Unreal Engine 4.26 (DirectX 12 - rasterisation)

Solidworks Visualize 2021 SP3 (ProRender)

Museum model @ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution

Audi car configurator model (ray tracing disabled)

Computer model (denoising enabled)

1.23

FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

23 38

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

74

8

Nvidia RTX A4000

Nvidia Quadro P2200

0

20

40

93 60

80

100

99.49 25.25

Nvidia RTX A4000 20

80.64 40

97 74 78

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

52

Nvidia Quadro P2200

0

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

60

80

145

Nvidia RTX A4000 100

Render time (secs) (smaller is better)

1.23

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

51.33

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

100 passes, accurate quality (1,500 x 1,500 resolution)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500 51.94

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

Nvidia Quadro P2200

28.97

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

37

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

1.23

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

52 0

30

60

90

120

Enscape 2.6 (OpenGL)

Unreal Engine 4.26 (DirectX 12 - DXR)

Solidworks Visualize 2021 SP3 (ProRender)

Museum model @ 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution

Audi car configurator model (ray tracing enabled)

Computer model (denoising disabled)

1.23

FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

8

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

14

AMD Radeon Pro W6600

Nvidia Quadro P2200

2

Nvidia RTX A4000

25

AMD Radeon Pro W5500

AMD Radeon Pro W5700 N/A

AMD Radeon Pro W5700

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nvidia RTX A4000

Render time (secs) (smaller is better)

617 380 431

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

236

Nvidia Quadro P2200

0

1.23

AMD Radeon Pro W6600 34.99

Nvidia Quadro P2200 N/A 31

1,000 passes, accurate quality (1,500 x 1,500 resolution)

AMD Radeon Pro W5500 N/A

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

0

Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)

AMD Radeon Pro W6600 17.51

11

AMD Radeon Pro W6800

1.23

10

20

47.98 30

40

150

1,113

Nvidia RTX A4000

240 0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

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‘‘ At $649, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600

represents excellent value for a certified pro GPU for CAD software that can also handle design viz and VR workflows

’’

RADEON PRO W6600 ON TEST We put the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 through a series of real-world application benchmarks, for GPU rendering, real-time visualisation and 3D CAD. For comparison, we used its more powerful sibling, the AMD Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB), as well as the previous generation ‘RDNA’ AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (8 GB) and Radeon Pro W5700 (8 GB). We also tested the Nvidia RTX A4000 (16 GB), which includes Nvidia’s 2nd generation ray tracing (RT) cores and the CAD-focused Nvidia Quadro P2200 (5 GB), which will be replaced later this year by the Nvidia RTX A2000 (6 GB).

All tests were carried out using an Intel Xeon W-2125 workstation at FHD (1,920 x 1,080) and 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution using AMD’s enterprise 21.Q2 and Nvidia’s 471.68 graphics drivers.

The full spec can be seen here: • • • •

Intel Xeon W-2125 (4.0GHz, 4.5GHz Turbo) (4 Cores) CPU 16 GB 2,666 MHz DDR4 ECC memory 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD Windows 10 Pro for Workstation

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN Lumion 11.5 house scene

As mentioned earlier, most CAD software is CPU-limited. So, in some ways, testing with a CPU-limited tool like Autodesk Inventor is less about ranking GPUs by

performance and more about showing that there is no tangible benefit to higher-end GPUs in many CAD workflows.

Results from the Inventor 2022 Invmark benchmark from Cadac Group and TFI placed all GPUs closely together, with the higher-end cards only showing a small performance benefit.

Throughout the test, GPU utilisation on the Radeon Pro W6600 rarely rose above 40% and mostly hovered around 10% to 20%. We would expect similar results in Autodesk Revit, which shares the same core graphics engine.

At this stage, it’s important to note that CAD applications are changing, with new graphics engines that use modern APIs like Vulkan to push more processing onto the GPU and reduce the CPU bottleneck.

This includes future versions of Autodesk Inventor and Revit (and other Autodesk applications) and Solidworks. When these new versions come to fruition, you’ll likely get bigger benefits from higher-end GPUs. This is already starting to be seen in mechanical CAD software Solidworks 2021, which features a more modern graphics engine built around OpenGL 4.5.

The SPECapc for Solidworks 2021 benchmark showed a wider spread of results, and a clear benefit for the higherend cards, especially for the Nvidia RTX A4000.

However, it’s important to put this benchmark score in context. Even with our largest model, the colossal MaunaKea Spectroscopic Explorer telescope (8,000 components, 59M triangles), the Radeon Pro W6600 delivered 24.29 Frames per Second (FPS) in shaded with edges display mode at 4K resolution, more than enough for a fluid viewport experience.

REAL-TIME VISUALISATION Real-time viz is one of the major reasons for buying an AMD Radeon Pro W6600 over a more CAD-focused GPU like the Nvidia Quadro P2200, Nvidia T1000 or AMD Radeon Pro WX 4100.

In the multi-purpose 3D engine Unreal Engine and arch viz tools Enscape and Lumion, the Radeon Pro W6600 showed a clear lead over the Nvidia Quadro P2200, especially at 4K resolution.

However, at 4K the viewport wasn’t that smooth. We recorded 11 FPS in Enscape and 8.93 FPS in Lumion, which is below the recommended 20+ FPS. As a result, for larger design viz models the GPU looks better suited to FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution. And those that take design viz seriously will probably want to look at the $1,000 Nvidia RTX A4000 (16 GB) or $2,250 AMD Radeon Pro W6800 (32 GB).

In saying that, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 does have a trick up its sleeve in the form of AMD Radeon Viewport Boost (see earlier). In Unreal Engine, testing with a Paris interior scene from arch viz artist Benoit Derau, we saw frame rates rise from 34 FPS at 4K to a whopping 88 FPS with Viewport Boost set to max.

You won’t get this degree of boost with all datasets, and AMD still needs to expand the number of applications that Viewport Boost supports, but dynamically reducing the resolution when models are in fast motion could certainly help users get that 4K visual experience without taking a performance hit.

Beyond pure processing power, it is important to talk about GPU memory.

One of the potential reasons that the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 massively outperforms the Quadro P2200 in Enscape at 4K resolution is because it has more memory (8 GB vs 5 GB).

Our museum test model ideally needs more than 8 GB to view at 4K, so this might

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HARDWARE REVIEW

explain why the Quadro P2200 virtually ground to a halt at 2 FPS, as it has to effectively share GPU memory with system memory (RAM).

Of course, not all viz models are this demanding, but it highlights the fact that GPU memory is an important consideration for design viz, much more so than pure CAD, which rarely needs more than 3 GB or 4 GB of GPU memory, even for huge models.

HARDWARE RAY TRACING One of the key features of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 is that is has hardware ray tracing built in. To test this out, we used Unreal Engine’s Audi A5 convertible Automotive Configurator with DirectX Ray tracing (DXR) enabled.

Real-time ray tracing at 4K resolution is really the preserve of super high-end GPUs, so we focused on FHD resolution instead.

Surprisingly, the Radeon Pro W6600 was still able to deliver 17.51 FPS. While this isn’t super-smooth, it’s usable, but dwarfed by the AMD Radeon Pro W6800 and Nvidia RTX A4000.

The Nvidia Quadro P2200, AMD Radeon Pro W5500 and Radeon Pro W5700 don’t get a look in here as they don’t support hardware ray tracing.

In reality, when it comes to ray tracing, the Radeon Pro W6600 is probably bettersuited to applications such as Solidworks Visualize, which uses Radeon ProRender to render out highest quality stills and animations. Our tests showed it to be

streets ahead of the Nvidia Quadro P2200, but significantly behind the Nvidia RTX A4000 and AMD Radeon Pro W6800, with and without denoising enabled. (Denoising is a post-processing technique that filters out noise from unfinished/noisy images to help deliver better looking renders with significantly fewer rendering passes.)

Memory is also important for GPU rendering. When rendering in Solidworks Visualize with no other applications open, a 5,500-component industrial machinery Solidworks model used just over 6 GB of GPU memory.

Meanwhile, a 2,000-component bike model needs just over 8 GB and the 8,000-component MaunaKea Spectroscopic Explorer telescope model needs even more.

CONCLUSION At $649, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 represents excellent value for a certified pro GPU for CAD software that can also handle design viz and VR workflows.

In most tests, it stands shoulder to shoulder with the Radeon Pro W5700, AMD’s previous generation flagship GPU, which is dual-slot and consumes more than double the power (205W). The Radeon Pro W6600 is not only smaller, less power-hungry and cheaper, but also has hardware ray tracing built in.

Pro applications that can take advantage of the W6600’s ‘Ray Accelerators’ might currently be a little thin on the ground, but designers and engineers should look to the future before

Unreal Engine Paris interior scene from arch viz artist Benoit Derau

considering their next workstation GPU. Thanks to developments at Solidworks (Project Romulan) and Autodesk (One Graphics System), it shouldn’t be too long before GPU hardware ray tracing can be used in the viewports of the CAD tools themselves.

And the idea that ray tracing will become just another viewing mode, with users able to ‘instantly’ toggle between ‘shaded with edges’, ‘wireframe’, ‘realistic’ and ‘photorealistic ray trace’, is extremely compelling.

At the moment, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 doesn’t have any real competition at its $649 price point. The Nvidia RTX A4000 costs $350 more and while the Nvidia Quadro P2200 is cheaper, it’s significantly slower and lacks hardware ray tracing. That won’t be the case for too long, however.

Later this year, Nvidia will start to ship the Nvidia RTX A2000, which will bring pro GPU hardware ray tracing to the sub $500 price point.

The Nvidia RTX A2000 consumes less power at peak (70W), offers broader software compatibility and fits Small Form Factor (SFF) workstations as well as standard towers.

However, it comes with 6 GB of GPU memory, 2 GB less than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600. This could limit the size and complexity of the models users can work with comfortably, as we saw with the 5 GB Nvidia Quadro P2200.

It will be very interesting to see how things stack up.

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Xencelabs Media Pen Tablet There’s a new kid on the block when it comes to pen-based design devices, and it could be a credible challenger to the current market leader, as Al Dean found out when he recently got hands-on with one of Xencelabs’ launch offerings » Product: Xencelabs Media Pen Tablet and Quick Keys » Supplier: Xencelabs Price from $199.99 xencelabs.com

● The Xencelabs Pen 1

Tablet Medium with its two pens and the Quick Keys device

I

t’s not often that we get to look at a pen-based input device from a brand-new manufacturer – but recently, I was delighted to be offered exactly that opportunity.

The pen-based input method has been a core part of computing since the inception of computing, particularly in the creative community. Today, available products fall into two broad camps.

First, there are the pen-based devices with which we’re all familiar, such as Windows Surface or the iPad (particularly since the launch of the Apple Pencil).

Second, there are tablet and pen peripherals designed to supplement existing devices, by adding more intuitive methods. Here, Wacom has dominated the professional space for decades, with its Intuos tablet/pens, as well as its Cintiq products with built-in displays.

That said, many new brands have emerged in recent years. One of the most interesting is the newly formed Xencelabs.

Formed as a cooperative venture between a large Chinese electronic manufacturer and some key personnel from other vendors, including Wacom, the company recently unveiled its first offerings.

At present, the Xencelabs product range consists of three key devices. The Xencelabs Pen Tablet is a drawing tablet, looking more or less as you would expect, but offering a few interesting differences.

It’s available in two sizes. The Pen Tablet

Medium, which we tested, is a 320.5mm x 232.5mm x 8mm unit with an active working area of 262mm x 147 mm. It’s effectively a 13” screen with a ratio of 16:9.

With the Pen Tablet Small, the working area is reduced to 262mm x 147mm.

The third device in the line-up is the Quick Keys device, more of which later.

Alongside the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium, you’re going to need a pen. Here, Xencelabs is giving you a good range of options. Inside the nifty storage case, you’ve got two pens. One will be familiar to users of other drawing tablets; it’s pretty much the same chunky tablet pen you’d expect, with three customisable buttons and an eraser on the end. The narrower pen is slimmer, with only two buttons.

Nibs for both are common and replaceable. In the box, you have a selection of six standard plastic nibs, with four felt variants for those who prefer a softer touch and a little more friction on the drawing surface. Also in the box are a selection of cables for connectivity and charging, as well as the omnipresent USB dongle and a handy USB-to-USBC converter.

GETTING SET UP Set-up is a breeze. Download the software, follow the instructions and get the devices connected. The USB dongle makes life much easier without the clutter of cables, but you can just as easily run these devices with a

permanent connection to your workstation.

That will also save you from having to charge them. (A full charge takes 2.5 hours for a 16-hour charge.)

In terms of functionality, the basics are as you would expect. You get pressuresensitive sketching and pen-based input, using a drawing tablet. If you’ve not used this type of device before, it’ll take a little adjustment. If you have, this will all feel very familiar from the start.

If you want to talk about pressure sensing, it’s an industry-standard 8,192 levels of pressure, with a pen tilt range of 60 degrees. Since the pens are based on EMR technology, you’ll never have to charge them, because there aren’t any batteries involved.

Pressure sensitivity won’t make much of a difference if you’re working in combination with 2D or 3D CAD or officetype applications, but if you’re using digital paint or sketching tools, both bitmap- and vector-based, it will certainly give you the creative freedom you need.

When it comes to customising the core device, you don’t have the usual array of options on the tablet. There are three buttons at the top and that’s it. Rather than surrounding your work area with a bunch of buttons for customisation, Xencelabs has offloaded these to its Quick Keys device. This is a separate unit that can be cabled up or run wirelessly through the same dongle and offers all of the customisation options you could desire.

Customisation for all of the various buttons (on the pen, on the tablet and the Quick Keys device) is carried out through the software, on a per-application basis.

While some presets are defined, you have a whole host of options to play with here. While your tablet and pen buttons

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2 will typically be assigned to common functions or keyboard modifiers, undo/ redo and so on, you can take it to another level with Quick Keys.

This device features an array of eight buttons alongside an OLED display. You can assign named functions to each of these buttons and have the system hold up to five different layouts, per application. That’s 40 possible shortcuts for each application. If you’re using a CAD system, you could have one for drafting, another for part modelling, another for rendering, and so on.

While the presets are focused on creative applications such as Photoshop and Illustrator, you can name and define your own as you want. I even had one for Teams set-up, giving me a quick key to exit meetings and avoid that awkward moment of fumbling around for the Leave button.

Alongside the buttons is a dial with a central button. This is intended to help with dialling-in values for your

applications. It doesn’t work yet with most CAD applications, where it would be great for adjusting dimensional values.

But it’s ideal for adjusting brush sizes and pressure in Photoshop et al, or zoom level. Again, you define what you want it to do in your applications and the central button cycles through those options.

IN CONCLUSION Over the years, I’ve tried out all manner of pen-based input devices and have come to the conclusion that you either love them or hate them. Some folks are able to jump onto these things very quickly and it just feels natural to them; some take a little longer to grow accustomed to the disconnect between the screen and the drawing surface; and some find they just don’t like them at all.

While the Xencelabs device set isn’t likely to win converts in that final camp, for others, it presents an excellent

3

alternative to the dominant vendor in this market, and perhaps something a little more professional and robust than cheap alternatives from China. The build quality is excellent, the device is supplied with everything you need. I particularly like the charging/connectivity options and being able to remove cables when needed.

The Quick Keys device, as a standalone unit, is also really useful, particularly if you invest the time to set it up with your commonly used applications and their inherent commands and operations.

Price-wise, the two units are available separately or as a bundle. On its own, the Pen Tablet Medium is $279.99, while the Quick Keys comes in at $89.99, but there’s a bundle that includes both for $359.99.

The Pen Tablet Small tablet is $199.99.

Xencelabs might be a newcomer to this market, but based on this first impressive offering, I can’t wait to see where the company heads next.

2 Xencelabs pen-and●

tablet combos will ally well with other creative applications in your arsenal 3 Configurability to ●

suit the individual user’s needs and preferences is a big advantage

4 Setting up Quick ●

Keys shortcuts for different applications couldn’t be easier using Xencelabs’ software

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LAST WORD

3D printing enjoys a public image built on hype, science fiction and secrecy.

Having come across some relics from the past, Stephen Holmes assesses how far the technology has come and why there’s still no slowdown in sight

M

oving house throws up a lot of long-forgotten items – like the lost spatula that fell down the back of a kitchen drawer or the box of charging cables for longdead devices. During our recent move, an old work bag resurfaced, and in a rush to get to an interview, I grabbed it as I raced for the front door.

Later that day, I was sat at the bar of our local pub and started pulling things out of the satchel. Business cards of long-since vanished executives, from swallowed-up businesses. A note pad, open on a page scrawled with the simple note: “Probably bullshit. Definitely expensive.”

Rattling around at the bottom of the bag was an assortment of plastic and metal bits: 3D-printed samples, given away at whatever trade show the bag had been reluctantly dragged to some seven or so years ago.

Like a shot, the barman was over to examine the pile of curios, asking me, “What’s that?!”

After a brief explanation, he examined the shapes individually and asked if he could keep the Nylon bottle opener he had picked up and was examining.

“Of course you can,” I chuckled, imagining all the times he would explain to colleagues and customers the novelty of his new bar tool.

Despite it being plastic tat, it was 3D-printed plastic tat — and to this day, that still has a magical hold over people.

The ability to build something tangible, without it coming from a factory, workshop or being whittled from a stick is still a sci-fi novelty to most.

There’s a reason that desktop 3D printers always seem to crop up in the futuristic labs of movies where they’d have little actual real-world use.

PUBLIC IMAGE Few manufacturing technologies have a public image. I doubt roto-moulding has been the subject of many column inches in the mainstream press this century. Any news about casting metals is typically accompanied by footage that might as well include stovepipe hats and street urchins.

Yet 3D printing remains fresh in the public consciousness, despite its biggest end uses being found in factories, in people’s ears and mouths, as secretive one-offs, and in sectors where low-volume, low-weight payoff is worth the costs involved.

Part of the reason lies in the school classrooms and maker groups that utilise 3D printing.

Hobbyists can use it to

build their own hardware from home. When 3D printers are combined with low-cost electronics, desktop CNCmachines, sewing machines and online sites selling components and materials, incredible creative projects can be accomplished.

Education is training not only the next designers and engineers to think in 3D and with additive in mind, but also the next generation of consumers savvy to what it can achieve.

It’s fair to say that many people who have graduated high school in the time since my old bag collected its last trinkets are likely to have as good a knowledge of 3D

 printing as many of the people selling the technology at the trade show that day.

ALL TOGETHER NOW In this issue, our contributor Laurence Marks mentions that additive manufacturing is the only production technology that has had simulation capabilities around since its inception (see p44). It’s also the only manufacturing process that has popped up during the age of the internet and social media.

A cursory glance at Twitter or YouTube shows people from all walks of life and nationalities involved in 3D printing.

I don’t just mean the legions of folks building natty figurines on swathes of same-but-different FDM machines – each to their own, I suppose. There’s also some really inspirational stuff done by people who have proper day jobs, who in their spare time produce everything from incredible custom costumes (@sophywong) to giant LEGO go-karts (@mantisrobot).

Questions get asked, advice is offered, interactions are established and collaborations take shape.

None of this changes the fact that other methods of manufacturing are still king, and will remain so for a long time to come. Yet, 3D printing has maintained its allure long after the newspaper headlines stopped rolling.

The hype was overblown, but the technology has never ceased to move forwards, and in the time since, the user base has grown exponentially. It will be interesting to see how 3D printing is thought of in the next seven or so years — though I sadly doubt it will still earn me a free pint in 2028.

3D printing has maintained its allure long after the newspaper headlines stopped rolling



Might 3D-printed sample parts one day be seen on Antiques Roadshow?

GET IN TOUCH: Following his house move, Stephen realised he’d accumulated well over 100 USB sticks from various press launches.

They’re now bagged and heading to flashdrivesforfreedom.org to be repurposed and smuggled into North Korea to help people there learn about the world outside. On Twitter he’s @swearstoomuch

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