Dec 3, 2016 | By Tess

At the end of what has been a very busy week for the 3D printing world, here are some more notable stories for you to catch up on:

1. Stratasys to advance 3D printing in medical field

3D printing giant Stratasys recently announced a series of new industry collaborations which will help accelerate and advance additive manufacturing within the medical and healthcare fields. The collaborations, which were announced at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) will be geared towards advancing 3D printed medical models, pushing forwards enhanced education and training, and more.

Notable amongst the partnerships is Minneapolis-based Vital Images, Inc., which specializes in medical imaging and informatics. Together, the companies will seek to strengthen their bond and further develop 3D printing applications within the medical sector. The RSNA also hosted the first ever meeting of the new 3D printing special interest group (SIG), which will be “an important resource for 3D printing and radiology”.

“Advancements in 3D printing technology for healthcare make it possible for doctors to transform their approaches to surgical pre-planning and patient care. Time and again, the technology is used by physicians to plan, practice and determine appropriate care plans, while minimizing surgical risks and streamlining costs,” said Scott Crump, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Stratasys. “This new Special Interest Group will create a forum for the collaboration the market demands at this time.”

2. Nano Dimension delivers DragonFly 2020 3D printer to PHYTEC

Israeli 3D printed electronics company Nano Dimension announced this week that it has sold and delivered its DragonFly 2020 3D printer to German company PHYTEC Messtechnik. PHYTEC, which has offices in Germany, France, the U.S., India, and China, specializes in microprocessor-based solutions and will use the new 3D printer as a beta client.

The delivery to PHYTEC marks the third DragonFly 2020 3D printer to be shipped out from Nano Dimension for beta use. According to the companies, the innovative 3D printer—capable of 3D printing PCBs—will be installed in PHYTEC’s headquarters in Mainz, Germany and will be used primarily for exploring faster development turnover for “critical electronics systems”.

Amit Dror, CEO of Nano Dimension, commented: “Nano Dimension receives a high level of interest from potential customers with hundreds of inquiries by companies that are interested in testing the DragonFly 2020 3D Printer. As a part of our go-to-market strategy, we are currently focused on supplying printers for evaluation to leading companies around the world, and across key technology sectors. We believe that this will help bolster the adoption of our cutting-edge technology with many prospective customers.”

Nano Dimension has also supplied its PCB 3D printer to an Israeli defense company and to U.S. based advanced manufacturing solutions company FATHOM.

3. 3D printed device to help cheerleaders with balance training

Soon cheerleaders will be cheering for something other than sports, namely, 3D printing. American Athletic, Inc., an Iowa-based sport equipment manufacturer has unveiled a new product that is aimed specifically to helping cheerleaders strengthen their legs and master their balance. After all, it doesn’t take a cheerleader to know that balancing on a person’s hands is not a walk in the park.

The new product, called the EliteTM Cheer Stand, is essentially a specially designed 3D printed stand that will allow cheerleaders to train in a “safer, closer-to-the-floor” way. 3D printing was imperative to the development process for the stand, as it was used to prototype molds for the product. The 3D printing itself is being done by Angstrom Precision Molding, an Iowa based manufacturing company, and the parts have been printed on a CIRAS metal 3D printer.

As Jim Johnson, chief operating officer at Angstrom, commented: “It’s early. This is the first mold like this we’ve completed. We’ll know more from design to design and part to part than we do now. But it looks very promising.” According to a press release, the innovative EliteTIM Cheer Stand could be available to cheerleaders as soon as next fall.

4. 3D scanned scrotum sculpture

Seeing the potential of 3D printing technologies day in, day out, there is not much that can surprise me anymore. This latest art project, however, has surprised me, and frankly has left me in a fit of giggles. Artist Brian Sloan, the person behind the Vagina contest, the Anus contest, and the Balls contest, has just launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for his latest piece: a 3D scanned sculpture of a scrotum.

The sculpture, called “Walls Balls”, is based off of a 3D scan of the third place winner of the “Balls contest”. If you’re wondering why the sculpture is based off of the third place winner, Sloan has quite the anecdote. As he explains, no local 3D scanning companies were willing to scan the scrotum of the first two winners, though thankfully the third place winner, located in Ohio, was able to have his junk professionally scanned. According to Sloan, the 3D scanning was completed using an Artec Spider 3D scanner (with an accuracy range of 0.01mm).

Made from electroplated fiberglass, the bulging and shiny sculpture is meant to hang on your wall. In terms of dimensions, the scrotum sculpture measures 12” (H) x 5.5” (D) x 8” (W) and weighs about 6 lbs. Through the Indiegogo campaign, backers can receive their very own scrotum wall hanging for the reasonable price of $59. According to the artist, he needs at least 100 backers to bring his 3D scanned ball art to life.

5. GOM 3D scanning education award

On a slightly different note (but one still related to 3D scanning), Metrology systems company GOM has launched a student contest that is geared towards developing innovative 3D scanning experiments. The GOM Education Award is essentially inviting students from all over the world to develop and present new and innovative 3D scanning experiments that are focused on 3D metrology. As GOM states, “Your lab experiment should arouse interest in 3D metrology, explain the technology and show the application. Inspire peer students to learn about new aspects of optical 3D metrology and to use the knowledge in new applications.”

Interested parties should be sure to register for the contest before June 15, 2017 and submit their proposals before June 20, 2017. The winner, who will be announced by September 1, 2017, will receive a €3,000 cash prize and will be given access to a network of industry professionals at the GOM 3D Metrology Conference 2017.

In order for your experiment to comply with requirements, you must use an ATOS 3D scanner. There does not seem to be an age requirement for the contest, only that participants must be students or student groups from schools, vocational schools, universities, and universities of applied sciences.

6. Starburst Accelerator to invest $200M in aerospace startups

Starburst Venture, which was formed in partnership with Singapore-based Leonie Hill Capital, has raised a total of $200 million which it is set to be invested into aviation and aerospace startups. Selected startups will not only be given a portion of the funds, but will also be set up with the Starburst Accelerator’s big-wig partners, which include Boeing, Airbus Group, General Electric, Raytheon, and Northrop-Grumman.

According to the accelerator’s co-founder and COO, Van Espahbodi, the $200M in funding will be invested in up to 35 aerospace startups by 2020.

Unsurprisingly, many of the shortlisted startups to be invested in are geared towards or integrate 3D printing technologies. As the Starburst Accelerator states, its portfolio includes such frontier technologies as additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, new materials, and data analytics.

At an event this past week, a number of Seattle-based startups were given the chance to pitch their platforms and innovations to the accelerator for the chance to receive investment funds. Among them were MatterFab, a metal 3D printer manufacturer that focuses on training and education within the 3D printing field; Aerostrat Software, a developer of maintenance software for airlines; and RBC Signals, a global satellite communication service.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer Company

 

 

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