3D printing news Roundup: 3D printed submarine wins award, Creaform gets ISO accreditation, more

Jul 26, 2017 | By David

Another 3D printing news summary, just in case anything has passed you by recently. The latest developments in the 3D printing world include Creaform's lab getting ISO accreditation, a major award for a 3D printed submarine, and more besides.

COSM Advanced Manufacturing Systems gets NASA funding for 3D printing project

COSM Advanced Manufacturing Systems LLC, based in Ipswich, UK, has been involved in the research and development of metal 3D printing technology and other advanced manufacturing techniques since 2011. The company was recently chosen to start work on the design of an electron beam system for an in-space autonomous assembly program. The work will be funded by a contract from NASA’s Langley Research Center, in partnership with Orbital ATK, NASA’s Glenn Research Center and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

As part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, COSM will join a team of companies in what is becoming a significant public-private partnership. It intends to establish a “Commercial Infrastructure for Robotic Assembly and Services” (CIRAS) in space. The CIRAS program will advance key technologies for in-orbit manufacturing and assembly of large space structures that will help the agency meet its goals for robotic and human exploration of the solar system.

“The assembly and fabrication of structures in space under autonomous robotic control is, of course, extremely challenging,” said Richard Comunale, founder and president of COSM. “Our effort focuses on development of the electron gun and optics and beam control and metrology systems for this application. We are excited and proud of the opportunity to bring our unique expertise to this project.”

Creaform’s 3D metrology lab gets ISO accreditation from A2LA

Leading experts in 3D measurement solutions Creaform has recently received a major accreditation for its lab facilities. The company’s Canadian head office was ISO accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

The ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation is an internationally recognized standard for testing and calibration. Laboratories accredited as per the ISO/IEC 17025 standard have demonstrated their technical competencies related to the calibration of its technologies.

“This designation means that Creaform uses the highest calibration laboratory management standards and has the technical competencies to guarantee that its 3D measurement products meet their technical specifications,” said Karl Chabot, Creaform’s Quality and Regulatory Affairs Manager. “This certification for the HandyPROBE Next™ optical portable CMM product line-up serves as a recognized warranty of consistency in the delivery of high quality and traceable products.”

3D printing company Post Process brings in new talent

Post Process Technologies, based in Buffalo, is the first and only company so far to have successfully automated post-printing processes for 3D printing technology. The company has announced today four senior leadership appointments which are aimed at driving expansion and scalability of Operations, Engineering, Marketing and Sales. The addition of these experienced leaders will further accelerate company growth in the booming additive manufacturing (AM) market.

These appointments follow some serious investment in the company. In April, PostProcess completed a $4 million seed round, including a $1 million investment from New York Ventures. New Vice President of Operations Bob Bosinski spent 24 years with AirSep Corporation from its start-up stage through post-acquisition, managing multiple departments with increasing levels of responsibilities. His extensive experience in designing and deploying robust processes and systems will hopefully enable rapid expansion.

Michael Frauens is the new Principal Process Development Engineer, and he joins PostProcess with decades of industrial engineering experience, including with 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys and Eastman Kodak, where he was awarded several patents. Frauens' material science background and system implementation expertise should allow the advancement of the company's FINISH3D lab. Over 500,000 parts have been benchmarked in the FINISH3D lab.

Diana Robbins takes over as Director of Marketing, and Lynda DePetris will be leading West Coast sales efforts. DePetris is bringing 25 years of demonstrated success in both small and large multinational organizations including IBM, Microsoft, and most recently with a start-up acquired by Dow Chemical Company.

"Today's announcement is another building block in PostProcess' rapid and transformational journey," said Jeff Mize, Chief Executive Officer, PostProcess Technologies. "We are excited to add this impressive bench strength to our team, with deep knowledge and skills to further accelerate our mission of unlocking scalable industrial 3D printing. The entire team is extraordinarily passionate and dedicated to delivering exceptional customer satisfaction and in turn revolutionizing the additive manufacturing market."

3D printed submarine wins award at International Submarine Races

There was a surprising success story at this year’s International Submarine Races, which is held in Washington, D.C. Jim Prater, his sons, and several other Mosley High School students showed up with a $350 submarine they built out of pieces they printed on a 3-D printer. They were racing against submarines assembled by high school and college teams from across the world that generally cost several thousand dollars at least to put together, but still managed to perform relatively well.

Their craft was modeled after the local boxfish species, with the scientific name lactophrys trigonus, hence the name Team Trigonus. Inside the submarine, in a space barely enough for Prater’s youngest son Alex to squeeze in, the driver stretches lengthwise, operating the fins and rudders with their hands and propelling the submarine forward with pedals at their feet.

Among the 15 teams with propeller-driven submarines, Team Trigonus came in ninth place, with some of the more high-profile competitors not even able to complete the race. They also picked up an honorable mention prize for innovation design, beating out schools like Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.

“We were such underdogs at the event,” Prater said. “It’s crazy how much money people spent, and when we showed up, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go or how well we would be received with this thing put together with stuff from Home Depot. But they were super supportive.”

Posted in 3D Printer Company

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