3D Printing News Briefs: June 30, 2017

On this last day of June, we will be covering everything from research to business and 3D software in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs. EarthShift Global and HP recently presented at a conference about the economic, environmental, and social impacts of advanced 3D printing technologies, while a Penn State student finished third in a national manufacturing challenge and the University of Pittsburgh received a grant for collaborative 3D printing research into advancing nuclear technology. KIST researchers published a paper about the use of 3D printing technology in rhinoplasty, and Computer Aided Technology LLC entered a partnership with Desktop Metal. Finally, Sigma Labs has delivered its PrintRite3D software to Honeywell Aerospace.

EarthShift Global and HP Present on 3D Printing Impacts at ISIE/ISSST

At the recent International Society for Industrial Ecology/International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISIE/ISSST) conference, representatives from EarthShift Global and HP Inc. presented on the economic, environmental, and social impacts of advancing 3D printing technologies. The two reported on third-party-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of HP’s Indigo 20000 Digital Press printing system and its Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology.

Lise Laurin, founder and CEO of EarthShift Global, said, “In its product development process, HP has shown a commitment to helping its customers, and customers’ customers, perform better on environmental and social metrics. By the time the Indigo study had been peer-reviewed, HP had already begun implementing some of the recommendations. These efforts will have worldwide impact across thousands of product lines, and exemplify private-sector leadership in sustainability. We’re proud to collaborate with them.”

Presentations included:

• Assessing the Sustainability of 3D Printing of Plastics
• A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion Additive (3D Printing) Manufacturing with Injection Molding
• Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of Flexible Packaging Printed Using Three Different Methods for Short-Run Jobs

Penn State Graduate Student Finishes Third in NIST Challenge

Vittal Prabu (second from left) and Rakshith Badarinath (far right)

Rakshith Badarinath, a native of India and an industrial engineering graduate student at Penn State University, and his advisor, Professor Vittal Prabhu, recently placed third, and won a $500 prize, in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Reusable Abstractions of Manufacturing Processes (RAMP) Challenge. Participants were tasked with giving manufacturers models that will protect the environment, improve operations, and allow information to be shared, while also integrating them into working systems; in their proposals, they also had to use the ASTM Standard Guide for Characterizing Environmental Aspects of Manufacturing Processes. Badarinath and Prabhu addressed the need for process models in additive manufacturing, focusing on fused deposition modeling (FDM), in their entry, titled “Modeling for Fused Filament Fabrication Additive Manufacturing Process.”

Prabhu explained, “Even though FDM is one of the most widely used 3D printing technologies, the process science isn’t well explored yet and that was the motivation (for the RAMP proposal). We looked at the engineering science for the physics of this 3D printing process in our model to make the process smarter in the future.”

Badarinath and Prabhu are also using the technology on a larger project that will allow manufacturing companies to have a robot 3D print parts, instead of buying a commercial printer; they are retrofitting the ABB robots in Penn State’s Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) with hardware, so the robots can hold nozzles and use FDM technology to 3D print parts.

Department of Energy Gives Collaborative Research Grant to University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Kevin Chen

Staying in Pennsylvania for this next story, the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering will receive a $1.275 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DoE) for collaborative research with the MIT Reactor Laboratory, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The grant, from the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) program with the DoE’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), is part of a $66 million DoE award to advance nuclear technologies. The research will center around fabricating optic sensors, using advanced laser fabrication and additive manufacturing techniques, and according to the DoE funding report, the collaborative research group will develop distributed fiber sensors and high-temperature stable point sensors that can be used for high spatial resolution measurements in radiation-hardened silica and sapphire fibers. The university’s Paul E. Lego Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kevin Chen, will lead the study to develop multi-functional, radiation-hard distributed fiber sensors, and sensor-infused components that can be used to improve efficiency and safety after being place in a nuclear reactor core.

“This NEET grant will allow our lab to continue its partnerships with leading technological companies and national laboratories to develop solutions to some of the most pressing issues affecting nuclear energy production,” said Dr. Chen. “Advances in sensor technology can greatly enhance the sensitivity and resolution of data in harsh environments like a nuclear reaction, thereby improving safety operations.”

KIST Paper Researches 3D Technology Usage in Rhinoplasty

Researchers in Korea recently published a paper in Aesthetic Surgery Journal, titled “Patient-Specific Augmentation Rhinoplasty Using a Three-Dimensional Simulation Program and Three-Dimensional Printing,” with the objective of validating the feasibility of a 3D carving simulation and patient-specific implant 3D fabrication system in a clinical trial with reproducibility tests; co-authors include EunSoo Park, MD, PhD and Yim Don Choi, MD, with the Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Bucheon, and Youngjun Kim, PhD, with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

The background for the paper reads, “The convergence of three-dimensional (3D) simulation, tissue engineering, and 3D printing technology is creating a paradigm shift in plastic surgery. In augmentation rhinoplasty, determining the ideal material and design method has been a critical issue for many years. Thus, these technologies are expected to make important contributions to augmentation rhinoplasty.”

The researchers designed patient-specific implants, using an in-house program with preoperative computed tomography (CT), and then 3D printed negative molds of the implants, later injecting silicone into the molds. Ten implants were 3D printed and then compared with implants that had been virtually designed, with a total of seven patients undergoing surgery and a postoperative CT to confirm the position of the implants. The paper concluded that a 3D carving system does help rhinoplasty by allowing for a quicker, more rapid and intuitive fabrication of implants.

Desktop Metal Names Computer Aided Technology LLC a Diamond Partner

Professional product development solutions provider Computer Aided Technology, LLC (CATI) is now a Diamond Partner of Desktop Metal, which can now make metal 3D printing affordable and office-friendly for the first time. CATI’s portfolio includes solutions for other big names in the industry, like SOLIDWORKS, Dassault Systèmes, and Stratasys, and with this new partnership, the company can add Desktop Metal’s Production System and Studio System, both of which are available to reserve; the Production Systems are expected to ship in 2018, while the Studio Systems should begin shipping this September.

“We’ve heard from our clients over the past few years about their interest in Metal 3D Printing. Until now, there wasn’t a solution on the market we could stand behind to meet our client’s needs. Current metal systems require shop floor environments, carry high costs, are slow processes, and use hazardous materials,” said Rich Werneth, President of CATI. “Now, with Desktop Metal, Metal 3D Printing is just as safe, easy, and affordable as our FDM and PolyJet counterparts from Stratasys.”

Sigma Labs Installs PrintRite3D INSPECT Software at Honeywell Aerospace

In connection with its participation in the DARPA-sponsored Period III Open Manufacturing Program, Sigma Labs announced this week that it had installed its quality assurance PrintRite3D INSPECT software Version 2.0 at Honeywell Aerospace‘s Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Center in Phoenix; Honeywell is leading the DARPA program. The software is available as a cloud-based API platform, and offers web-based access to metal 3D printers, so users can monitor the machines and record the build sequence.

“We are delighted to be working with Honeywell Aerospace who continues to be a leader in metal AM space,” said Mark Cola, President and CEO of Sigma Labs. “Honeywell, in particular, has taken a leadership position in developing and furthering the use of in-process monitoring for metal AM through the DARPA-sponsored program.”

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