3D Printing News ICYMI: 3D Systems, 3DExperience Center, 333D shares rise, 3D printed guns, more

Apr 29, 2017 | By David

Here's a roundup of some stories that may have passed you by recently. Another busy week in the non-stop world of 3D printing technology has seen a new 3D printing research center being set up for Airbus in Wichita, an Australian lobby group responding to the rising threat of 3D printed guns, and much more besides.

3D Systems announces new Quickparts e-commerce service for fast 3D printed prototypes

3D Systems has made a name for itself in the 3D printing world with its extensive manufacturing service, including advanced prototyping, small-volume production and appearance models. Now it has launched a new online service that will allow customers to get a fast quote on a 3D printing project, or consultation on their design from an expert. After uploading a 3D CAD file on the site, customers can have a 3D printed plastic or metal prototype delivered, sometimes as quick as 24 hours later.

Quickparts fast-turn prototyping is part of 3D Systems' comprehensive set of one stop shop On Demand Manufacturing services which also includes advanced prototyping, low volume production, and appearance models.

According to Phil Schultz, Senior Vice President, On Demand Solutions, 3D Systems, ''Many of our customers need instantaneous help with design challenges, materials, and processes, while others need a simple way to validate their design. This new customer experience allows our customers to quickly and easily bring their designs to life by creating and building parts from prototyping to production." The Quickparts 3D printing service is able now in the U.S, and will be rolled out in several other countries later in the year.

New 3DExperience Center established by Airbus and Dassault Systemes at Wichita State University to advance 3D printing in manufacturing

A partnership between Wichita State’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), Airbus and Dassault Systèmes has seen the establishment of a new 3D printing research and development hub, the 3DExperience Center.

Dassault Systemes is a world leader in 3D design software and product development solutions, and its work at the center will be primarily focused on the aerospace industry. Key capabilities of the new 3DExperience Center include engineered new materials development, multi-scale simulation and optimization, and Multi-Robotic Advanced Manufacturing (MRAM).

Wichita State President John Bardo said, “This is the beginning of a new era at Wichita State University – an opportunity for students to work alongside experienced professionals, gaining knowledge about the tools and processes used by industry. We see these partnerships as a model for future partnerships in areas such as business, education, health professions, arts and sciences.”

As WSU Innovation Campus partners, Airbus Engineering and Dassault Systèmes have access to campus support infrastructure, including research labs, meeting facilities, education/training opportunities and boundless collaboration with faculty, staff, students and business entities on campus.

Michael Tellier, vice president of Dassault Systemes aerospace division, said “Our new 3DEXPERIENCE Center is going to help businesses solve today’s problems while training the workforce of tomorrow. The advanced manufacturing techniques, new materials research and 3D simulation innovations that are unveiled in this new facility will have an immediate impact on the aerospace industry, and will also be applicable to countless other industries across the world.”

The center will be located at Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus, which has also recently become the home of a new engineering center for aviation giant Airbus America. Airbus’ two-story, 90,000-square-foot building houses 300 employees working on all Airbus commercial aircraft products, including significant design work on the next-generation A350 XWB.

Airbus also collaborates with Wichita State to take full advantage of the university's applied learning model, which engages students in real-world engineering projects, helps develop critical engineering skills, and provides students with experience, while also boosting Airbus' competitiveness.

Dassault Systèmes and Sogeti High Tech to Partner in Accelerating Industry Adoption of Additive Manufacturing

Dassault Systemes also partnered recently with Sogeti High Tech, an industrial engineering company. The partnership will allow Sogeti to take advantage of Dassault's disruptive 3D printing innovations.

The prospective alliance partnership will provide companies in aerospace and defense, energy, transportation and other industries with integrated solutions to explore and implement the use of additive manufacturing in industrial applications.

Sogeti High Tech would leverage Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform for additive manufacturing to deliver consulting, engineering services, integration and deployment services to customers worldwide.

"Our forthcoming alliance partnership with Dassault Systèmes will bring a disruptive offering of technologies, knowledge, methods, processes, support, services and workforce training to business needs in the digital manufacturing era," said Jean-Pierre Petit, CEO, Sogeti High Tech. "By leveraging each company's core capabilities, we can help customers to integrate the necessary manufacturing requirements from the early stages of design and make additive manufacturing accessible at an industrial level."

Owners of disabled dog appealing for funds for set of 3D printed prosthetic legs

A British couple is trying to raise money so that they can afford a pair of prosthetic legs to help their adopted dog walk again. 3D printing has been used in similar situations in the past, modelling the animal’s anatomy in order to make prosthetic legs or ‘rockers’ that are comfortably fitted and enable it to move freely.

The couple found their dog, Sally, whilst on holiday in Tunisia. Local police had shot the dog, leaving it with serious head and leg injuries. Emergency surgery was carried out to remove bullet fragments and repair the head wound, but the legs were so badly damaged that any restorative procedure was impossible. Sally does still have a lot of movement in her shoulder joints, but her front elbows are completely ruined and won’t straighten, so she is currently using a pair of wheels to move around. A pair of 3D printed prosthetics would give Sally the best possible mobility, according to owner Tania. "I have seen a set of 3D printed legs (or rockers) on a dog with a similar condition where the elbows are fused’’, she says."The mobility and freedom they provide is truly life changing.’’

333D share price rises after new 3D printing deal with TLA Worldwide

The 3D scanning and printing systems offered by 333D are set to be used by globally renowned sports talent management agency TLA Worldwide. TLA is looking to produce replica figurines of the famous sports stars that it represents using 3D printing technology, as well as other types of merchandise and memorabilia with its clients’ likenesses. The products will be available to passionate and loyal sports fans on-demand.

TLA Worldwide has an impressive roster of clients from around the sporting world, with over 900 professional athletes, including baseball greats Alcides Escobar and Justin Turner as well as golfers, tennis players and many more. Since this new deal with TLA was announced, 333D’s shares are trading 10 percent higher intra-day.

Rise of 3D printed guns in Tasmania brings calls for law reforms

Political lobby group Gun Control Australia is calling for the state of Tasmania to ban the ownership of 3D CAD files that could be used to produce 3D printed guns. This was recently put into law by the state of New South Wales, as 3D printed firearms are perceived as a growing threat.

According to GCA co-chair Roland Browne, "At the moment. people could conceivably manufacture guns in their backyards with lathes and other metal working tools, but it takes a lot of skill and it takes a lot of time’’. However, 3D printing technology drastically simplifies the process, and makes the possession of firearms a lot easier. He believes that possession of a 3D virtual model for a gun on a computer should be policed in the same way as possession of banned pornographic images and other illegal content. Since the law was introduced in New South Wales, just one person has been charged for intent to 3D print a firearm, and a caution was given in Tasmania to an individual who 3D printed a gun as a movie prop. Nevertheless, Browne thinks that it’s only a matter of time before it becomes much more prevalent nationwide.

Roboze’s 3D printed techno-polymer technology currently under evaluation for aerospace industry by Airbus subsidiary CTC GMbH

Roboze’s latest line of 3D printers is specifically designed for the printing of high-performance engineering plastics. The company is working together with Airbus subsidiary CTC GMbH to evaluate the technology’s suitability for the aviation industry. CTC specializes in the testing of next generation industrial 3D printing technology and materials, and is a leading center for the research and development of carbon fiber reinforced polymers. This testing process is one step towards the industrial-scale 3D printing of high-performance thermoplastics, which has been a major goal for aerospace for many years.

According to Johannes Born, project manager leading the Additive Layer Manufacturing topics at CTC, “We were looking for an ideal solution to support our needs in terms of precision, technology and materials that offer high performance and high temperatures. By acquiring the new Roboze One + 400, CTC will assess its capabilities in order to accelerate the design and production of small series using advanced materials such as PEEK and PEI, thus enabling functional testing of real parts that might go into production in the coming years.” The Roboze One +400 3D printer has been revolutionizing the industry since its release, with the new possibilities it offers to customers who want to test parts made from high-performance materials before mass production, or just to manufacture in smaller quantities.

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Ghostling wrote at 5/4/2017 6:53:50 PM:

efforts to ban 3d printed guns are futile. there is no shortage of people with the necessary skills to make CAD models of guns or gun parts. any law to ban such designs are unenforceable.

www.3ders.org

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