Armando V, Author at KNOWLEDGE

Oct

04

2021

3D Printing Brings Earth’s Fossil History To Life

SCIENCE

While collecting shellfish for dinner, archaeologist Marie Wood spotted a dinosaur footprint in the Yorkshire cliffside. The footprint is all that remains of a Megalosaurus that trod across Britain 300 million years ago. But the fragile fossil won’t survive long - if erosion doesn’t destroy it, collectors could take it. A local scientist captured images of the footprint hoping to create a 3D model should the fossil disappear - a small example of how 3D printing enhances paleontological research, preserves collections, and makes fossils more accessible to the general public. Figuring Out How Extinct Animals Worked Many paleontologists are using…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

3D Printers in Every Port as Maritime Industry Adopts Additive Manufacturing

INDUSTRIAL

Maritime economics depends on keeping ships at sea. Delaying a ship, its crew, and its cargo while waiting for a replacement part can cost a shipping company millions. That is why the industry has taken a keen interest in additive manufacturing’s potential to print parts on demand. To help make this happen, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) released its Guide for Additive Manufacturing, a certification process for the process of design and manufacturing of metal parts. Parts availability is a constant issue for shipowners. Nearly two-thirds of US-flagged ships are more than 25 years old which impacts the state…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

3D Printing Innovator Josef Průša Named Entrepreneur of the Year

SCIENCE

The global professional services firm EY has picked Josef Průša as the Czech Republic’s Entrepreneur of the Year, setting the founder of Prusa Research on the path towards EY’s global entrepreneurship award. “My company will only be as good as my people. So we're probably pretty good. And we are moving on,” Průša said when accepting the award. Průša dove into 3D printing in 2009 while studying economics at university. Rather than getting a job upon graduation in 2012, Průša borrowed 200,000 Koruna from his father to found Prusa Research. This was the classic startup operation with Průša boxing up…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

TÜV SÜD Certifications Advance Additive Manufacturing Proficiency

INDUSTRIAL

To expand the additive manufacturing workforce, the European technical testing company TÜV SÜD announced a new series of additive manufacturing training courses. The skilled professionals working in all levels of manufacturing have had little exposure to the unique capabilities — and limitations — of 3D printers. TÜV SÜD’s courses, offered virtually due to the ongoing pandemic, addresses this skills gap. “As industrialisation advances in additive manufacturing, the need for specialist expertise is becoming increasingly urgent”, said Gregor Reischle, TÜV SÜD’s additive manufacturing chief. The eight courses TÜV SÜD offers include: Fundamentals of Additive ManufacturingQuality and Production Management in Additive ManufacturingSpecification…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

University of Texas Opens Additive Manufacturing Center

EDUCATION

The University of Texas at Austin unveiled its new Center for Additive Manufacturing and Design Innovation (CAMDI), a 3,000 square foot facility that will support the university’s research and education missions. “As the birthplace for selective laser sintering, the [Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering] assumed an early leadership role,” Cockrell School Dean Sharon L. Wood said at the virtual launch event. “Since we have this strong tie to SLS… the faculty has led research efforts that really expand the field from material innovations to process innovations and control. This newly renovated and modernized facility represents the next step in our…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

Has 3D Printed Housing Finally Arrived?

SUSTAINABILITY

Ever since the mid-1990s, the 3D printing hype machine has promised to revolutionize housing. Why waste time and money with inefficient, manually-constructed building techniques? With the push of a button, concrete-extruding 3D printers could do it automatically for a fraction of the time and cost. Yet real-world examples of 3D printed architecture are thin on the ground. New developments in 3D-printed housing, however, could mean things are about to change. Printing Suburbia for Early Adopters In early March, real estate developer Palari Group and structural 3D printing company Mighty Building announced plans to print a California subdivision. Mighty Building’s concrete…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

3 Advances in Aluminum Additive Manufacturing

INDUSTRIAL

Metal 3D printing moved additive manufacturing out of the prototype lab and put it front and center on the factory floor. Three recent announcements highlight how the industry is finding even better ways to print high-strength and temperature-resistant aluminum objects. How Metals Are 3D Printed The technologies these companies work with are different from the filament-based fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers most people are familiar with: powder bed fusion and binder jet printing. Powder bed fusion printing works by depositing a layer of fine, metallic powder and then melting the particles together with a laser. Some printers use selective laser…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

Rapid Stereolithography Printing Opens View to 3D Printed Organs

MEDICAL

Scientists at the University of Buffalo are one step closer to 3D printing human organs. The new development uses stereolithography printers and hydrogels to create biological structures. Although nobody is going to be downloading new spleens from Thingiverse anytime soon, their technique overcomes some of the obstacles to making human replacement parts a reality. Speeding Up Biological Printing Stereolithography, or SLA, printing uses ultraviolet light to turn a photo-sensitive liquid resin into a solid plastic object. 3D bioprinting does the same thing using hydrogels to create a soft, hydrophilic lattice structure. This lattice acts as a scaffold for the cells,…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

World’s Largest Rocket-Making 3D Printer Will Churn Out 35 Rocket Engines a Year

AEROSPACE

European startup Orbex’s new rocket printer is the latest example of how 3D printing revolutionizes the space launch industry. The company’s rocket will launch small, polar-orbiting satellites from its home spaceport in Scotland. But doing this reliably while keeping costs low can only happen by 3D-printing Orbex’s rocket engines, turbopumps and other components. That’s why they commissioned “the largest industrial 3D printer in Europe” from Additive Manufacturing Customized Machines (AMCM). “A large-scale in-house 3D printing system like this gives us far greater speed and agility as we ramp up production," Orbex CEO Chris Larmour said. “Longer term, as we get…

Oct

04

2021

By Armando V

Headphones Just for You with 3D Printing

TECHNOLOGY

Your ear’s unique shape makes finding quality, in-ear headphones — that don’t cost a lot — an exercise in frustration. 3D printing and mass customization could make affordable headphones just for you. At least that’s the hope driving a team-up between 3D printing company Formlabs and headphone maker Sennheiser. Inexpensive, mass-produced headphones and earbuds use one-size-fits-all designs that are more like one-size-fits-none. They never really fit so they fall out easily. They’re uncomfortable when you wear them too long. And they don’t block ambient sounds so you have to crank up the volume. Manufacturers are stuck. No two people’s ear…