3D Printing News ICYMI: CollPlant, Paxis LLC's new WAV 3D printing system, ADAPT, Magicfirm's ZYYX Pro 3D printer, more

May 12, 2017 | By David

3D printing developments continue to happen almost as fast as we can report them, and recently we saw CollPlant establish a new 3D bioprinting division, research agency ADAPT acquire significant funding from the Department of Defense, and many other events besides. Here's a round-up of everything that might have passed you by:

1. Paxis LLC announces launch of new WAV 3D printing system

Paxis LLC has announced its latest 3D printing system and will be demonstrating its capabilities at the Rapid + TCT trade show in Pittsburgh. Known as WAV (Wave Applied Voxel), it’s an entirely new, scalable industrial 3D printing process. The company says the patent pending WAV process is capable of producing parts much larger than traditional AM systems sold today, but requires a smaller footprint (per cubic inch of volume) than laser, jetting or digital light processing (DLP) based process. It was designed in collaboration with CIDEAS, Inc, and has projected build speeds that are 4x, 8x, 24x+ faster than the fastest large vat systems on the market.

According to Mike Littrell, founder of Paxis LLC and co-inventor of WAV, “WAV’s large build area and truly unique production method is ideal for large investment casting masters, large parts and large batch builds of smaller parts built on one platform. The attributes of the WAV process will allow resin developers to re-think material development which was hindered by the limitations of previous technologies. ’’

2. Russian university develops 3D printing kit for schoolchildren

A team of scientists at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University have developed a new kit that will help get young children involved with technology, including making their first 3D printed prototype. Known as a DFKit, it is intended to be distributed all over Russia to encourage scientific and technical creativity in schools. It includes a 3D scanner, 3D printer, and laser and milling machines, and there is also a set of additional information materials on how to use this equipment in the educational process for laboratories and classrooms.

The DFKit project was carried out in a collaboration between the university’s FabLab Polytech and LLC "Photomechanics", and was funded by the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology in Russia. According to Polina Dyatlova, director of the Center for Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth, ‘’ "This idea came up as we started 3D modeling and prototyping intensive courses for schoolchildren, where participants get the task, a set of tools and materials for its implementation... we decided to create educational equipment that will bring more children into engineering, allowing them to manage the whole production cycle from a draft to the final product by themselves."

3. CollPlant establishes new division focused on 3D bio-printing

Regenerative medicine company CollPlant has been making major inroads into the world of 3D bio-printing recently, and has now made the decision to establish a separate division solely focused on the development of a bio-ink. Its collagen-based ink has been used to 3D print new organs and tissues in the past, and further formulations of it will see it used for a number of new applications.

CEO of CollPlant, Yehiel Tal, is enthusiastic about the direction the company was heading in: ''Over the last several months, we have substantially ramped up our activities in the 3D printing field leveraging biological ink that we are developing based on our rhCollagen technology... We are currently developing a number of formulations of biological ink for various indications, and are working with several large international companies, with the aim of collaborating in the development of organs and tissues printing."

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of people in the United States waiting for a transplant of a critical, life-saving organ such as a kidney, liver or pancreas, is approximately 118,000, and the organ transplant waiting list grows every year. BioInk is a significant component of the burgeoning 3D bioprinting market, which is expected to grow to approximately USD 1.8 billion by 2022, and to increase substantially as the printing technology, and all its components, continue to mature.

4. 3D printing research organization ADAPT gets funding from Department of Defense

The Alliance for the Development of Additive Processing Technologies (ADAPT) is a research consortium that was set up with the aim of advancing 3D printing technology and its applications in industry. It operates in partnership with the University of Utah and its particular focus is on metal 3D printing. A new program initiated by the Department of Defense will be awarding ADAPT and Colorado School of Mines with $1.5 million. The approximately $2.7 million program is known as Mountain West Advanced Manufacturer’s Network (MWAMN), and it is intended to improve economic and workforce resilience in response to changes in national defense spending.

“This program creates a new manufacturing platform to advance economic and workforce resilience in response to changes in defense spending,” said ADAPT Technical Director Aaron Stebner. “Enabling manufacturers to efficiently deploy additive manufacturing processes helps diversify their product offerings, expand into non-defense markets, and provide resilient employment and value to their communities and the economy independent of defense spending.”

The MWAMN leverages ADAPT’s existing data infrastructure built with funding from a State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Advanced Industries Accelerator grant and funds from founding member companies. This data infrastructure will help inform product and material change-overs; create new innovations and diversification; accelerate product development; and reduce reliance on the defense industry while improving the ability respond to new Department of Defense requirements.

Other network members include Citrine Informatics; Carnegie Mellon’s NextManufacturing Center; and the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership organizations from Colorado and Utah, Manufacturer’s Edge and the MEP Center at The University of Utah.

“Additive manufacturing holds the promise of enabling manufacturers to quickly adapt to changing market needs,” said Heidi Hostetter, ADAPT industry board chair. “Today, building new parts or switching materials with this technology takes too long. MWAMN is focused on radically shortening that time, lowering costs, and reducing the negative economic impact on companies and communities when defense programs and spending changes.” Other members of the network include Citrine Informatics and Carnegie Mellon’s NextManufacturing Center, and they will be pooling their resources and intelligence to allow defense-based companies to update their methods with 3D printing and expand into non-defense markets.

Together, members will network past, present, and future defense-supported metals manufacturers directly with advanced manufacturing research and development centers via a centralized, artificially intelligent database. This platform will enable defense manufacturing contractors to efficiently use AM processes to shorten product development cycles, expand product mix, enter new non-defense markets, increasing economic diversification of their businesses along with economic and workforce resilience.

5. Magicfirm Europe AB releases new ZYYX Pro 3D printer

Swedish 3D printer manufacturer Magicfirm Europe AB is hoping to expand on the success of its recent ZYYX + machine with the latest update, the ZYYX Pro 3D printer. It’s a desktop 3D printer that will produce high strength customized objects, at a relatively affordable price point. The company’s ZYYX line of filaments will also see 3 new additions, specifically designed to work with this new 3D printer- ZYYX Pro Carbon, ZYYX ProNylon, and ZYYX ProKev.

A new feature of the ZYYX Pro is the SwiftTool, which will allow users to change the print head in under a minute. This will improve the uptime even further from the ZYYX +, which already boasted automatic levelling and a heated chamber. The 3D printer can be ordered now, with filament and a multi-material extension kit included, for 3,500 Euros (or a regular retail price of 4,500 Euros when this offer ends). Delivery time is eight weeks.

6. Hawk 3D Proto supplies a Delta WASP 4070 industrial 3D printer to UK police’s forensic unit

UK-based 3D printing company Hawk 3D Proto has provided West Yorkshire Police with a 3D printer that it can make use of in the court recreation of crime scenes. The company resells machines from various manufacturers as well as providing bespoke training in how to use them. It installed a Delta WASP 4070 industrial 3D printer, one of the largest machines in the WASP range, at the police force’s Scientific Support Unit (SSU) headquarters in Wakefield.

As one of the UK's leading Police Forensic Units, Yorkshire and the Humber's Imaging Unit is at the forefront of Imaging and 3D technology for use at crime scenes, and post crime scene analysis. Models produced using the 3D printer will be used in crime scene analysis as well as for providing evidence in court.

The Delta WASP 4070 offers a build volume of 400 mm x 400 mm x 700 mm (X, Y, Z). With precision engineering built in the 4070 is constructed from metal parts, with a fully enclosed heated build chamber and enhanced, reliable mechanics that allow for 3D printing larger volume parts with technical materials.

According to Daniel Sharp, Crime Scene Surveying Supervisor at West Yorkshire Police, “3D laser scan technology has been used by Y.A.T.H Imaging Unit since 2008, producing 3D animations and plans for court use. It was a natural progression therefore to be able to recreate the crime scenes in solid 3D. This would enable judge and jury to hold the crime scene in their hands. A large scale 3D printer was required to meet these needs, and also to produce an innovative prototype and subsequent product for one of our close government partners. We are already using the 3D printer for the project and looking forward to using it to support investigations and court use.”

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