3D Printing News Roundup: BASF, 3D Bio Pen, metal 3D printing market, 3Dmate design mat, Dassault Systemes

Jul 28, 2017 | By David

For those of you who don’t want to miss a single 3D printing development, here’s another quick roundup of recent stories. There have been plenty of goings-on in the industry, with IDTechEx publishing a report analyzing market trends in metal 3D printing, a handheld 3D bio-printer being nominated for a major award in Australia, and much more besides.

Metal 3D printing market expected to be worth $12 billion by 2028

An analysis of market trends that was recently published by IDTechEx suggests that some significant growth is expected to take place in the 3D printed metals market over the next 10 years. By 2028, the market is expected to be worth $12 billion, according to the report which profiled over 30 company including EOS, Concept Laser GmbH and Arcam AB. Direct Metal Laser sintering is currently the pre-eminent metal 3D printing technology, with an 84 percent share of the market. This might not stay the case though, as liquid metal deposition, metal + polymer filament extrusion, and electroplating are all predicted to take significant market share over the longer term.

According to the report, The expiration of several key powder bed fusion patents in 2016 will probably result in the reduction printer prices, and this, combined with market consolidation in the form of a number of high profile acquisitions, could suggest that this emerging technology is now showing signs of maturity. In 2017, however, several companies launched new printer technologies with the promise of overcoming some of the existing barriers to adoption, such as lower printer prices, faster build speeds, cheaper materials, and more. Increasing throughput and streamlining production efficiencies will drive demand growth for printers and materials substantially.

BASF establishes new Group company, BASF 3D Printing Solutions, to pursue 3D printing opportunities

Major chemicals firm BASF SE has announced plans to establish a new Group company, BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, as of September 1, 2017. This wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH will be headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, at the site of InnovationLab GmbH. Its primary focus will be the establishment and expansion of the business with materials, system solutions, components and services in the field of 3D printing.

The new company's customers will mainly be firms that want to use 3D printing for industrial production. Typical industries will include, for example, automotive, aerospace and consumer goods. In order to be able to develop and test a variety of solutions, BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH will take over and expand the 3D printing application technology center in Heidelberg belonging to Deutsche Nanoschicht GmbH, a subsidiary of BASF New Business. The new company will initially employ around 30 experts, many of whom were already working for BASF in the field of 3D printing.

According to Volker Hammes, Managing Director at BASF New Business and future Managing Director of BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, “The field of 3D printing for industrial applications is highly dynamic and still emerging. This means there is a need for agile, startup-like structures with interdisciplinary teams and quick decision-making processes. Combining the customer-focused 3D printing activities in one location at a dedicated business is an important success factor”

New 3Dmate design mat will change the way people use 3D printing pens

Engineer Kaz Bigus has found a new design solution to improve the precision and accuracy of the 3D printing pen process. 3Dmate is a revolutionary design mat that allows for an enhanced design experience, enabling more stability and creative flexibility for the user. The grooved, transparent 18” x 12” mat comes with a combination of basic geometric figures of various compatible sizes. All the 3D pen user needs to do is to draw within the grooves. These grooves keep the hot filament in place and prevent warping.

Bigus researched user reviews of many 3D printing pens, and found that many people were complaining about how hard the freehand drawing process was. Users found it hard to truly shape their creations with precision, and sometimes struggled to draw anything beyond rudimentary doodles. Although there were many amazing creations on social media sites, it was still a challenge for the average person to draw even a decent cube.

3Dmate will make this creation process much more enjoyable and rewarding, offering improved pen stabilization. The mat is heat resistant up to 260° C (500° F), is non-stick and works with all types of filament and 3D pens currently on the market. A Kickstarter campaign was launched, and the product should be on the market by October 2017.

Dassault Systemes SA announces quarterly earnings results, meets expectations

France-based Dassault Systemes SA (OTCMKTS:DASTY) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The firm had revenue of $810.6 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.89 million.

Summary Second Quarter and First Half 2017 Highlights

Q2 results well aligned with Dassault Systèmes guidance: software revenue up 7%, new licenses revenue up 8%, operating margin of 30.1% and EPS at €0.62, up 9%
Q2 SOLIDWORKS software revenue up 14% on multiple global demand drivers
Strong cash-flow from operations, up 32% at €592 million in H1
2017 non-IFRS financial objectives updated: Confirming revenue growth constant currency objective, updating reported revenue range and EPS in euros for currency weakness
Boeing will expand its deployment of Dassault Systèmes' products across its commercial aviation, space and defense programs to include DS' 3DEXPERIENCE platform

Innovative 3D BioPen product reaches finals of Australian Museum Eureka competition

The team behind the 3D BioPen has recently been named as a finalist in the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes. The Bio Pen allows surgeons to repair damaged cartilage tissue more easily and effectively, and it was nominated for the Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Prize category. The BioPen team is made up of researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) at the University of Wollongong, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery.

According to team leader Professor Gordon Wallace, the idea for a handheld 3D bio-printer was suggested to push towards a ‘’translatable clinical application’’ for regenerating cartilages. As a big sporting nation, Australia has a lot of cartilage issues that need to be deal with by its medical professionals, and a time-saving surgical device for knee surgery would have a lot of potential applications.

‘’Our team got the challenge of designing that hand held 3D bio-printer and also adding other features to it,’’ said Wallace. ‘’And, those features actually enabled us to create a pen where we could not only deliver scaffold, we could deliver the scaffold plus the patient's own stem cells in a simple device directly into that defect where we want to repair the cartilage. We’ve been working on this basic project for probably five or six years and in the last year or so it has really come together to have that practical, usable device to be trialled on sheep...that work was published and benefits of using that handheld 3D BioPen have been clearly demonstrated.’’

Posted in 3D Printer Company

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