3D Printing News Briefs: November 28, 2017

We’re starting out with some health and business news in today’s edition of 3D Printing News Briefs, then moving on to 3D modeling and some commercial 3D printed shoes. The University of Utah’s health system is increasing access to 3D printing for its physicians, while Medicrea acquires three patents and CELLINK is awarded project funding from Horizon 2020 for a new bioink. A UK startup opens a 3D printing factory in London, and the Nano Dimension board of directors has a new co-chairman. Finally, Vectary has started a new campaign so its 3D modelers can use their work commercially, and a new 3D printed look is revealed for Adidas running shoes.

University of Utah Health Launches TeraRecon 3D Print Pack Portal

Last year, WhiteClouds and advanced visualization solution provider TeraRecon partnered up to develop 3D Print Packs – high resolution 3D models that medical professionals can 3D print from patient data, which were introduced at last year’s RSNA Annual Meeting. Now, the University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics health system has launched TeraRecon’s 3D Print Pack Portal, in order to give all of its physicians 3D printing access. The 3D Print Pack Portal is an extension of TeraRecon’s iNtuition advanced visualization solution, which the University of Utah already uses in its medical imaging workflow, and allows 3D prints to keep their full color and image detail exactly the same as they appear in TeraRecon’s advanced visualization system.

“We are excited to offer the TeraRecon 3D printing technology to our physicians across the health system,” Dr. Edward P. Quigley III, MD, PhD, Clinical Neuro Radiologist and Associate Professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at University of Utah, said. “The multicolor models are high quality and incredibly life-like. They provide patient specific representation of anatomy and pathology.  They are a useful tool in the education of trainees and patient education. Patients really like seeing their model. 3D Prints help patients grasp their anatomy and treatment choices. It can help de-mystify the often complex conventional CT and MR imaging.  We see this service as a great compliment to patient centered imaging and look forward to our growing partnership with TeraRecon to expand printing and visualization to new modalities and better patient care.”

You can take a look at the TeraRecon 3D Print Pack Portal, and its new complementary Augmented Reality HoloPortal, at this week’s 2017 RSNA Annual Meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago at booth #1332.

Medicrea Acquires Three Patents to Enhance Surgical Planning

Medicrea announced that it has acquired three patents, which cover the intellectual property surrounding a novel method for measuring and planning the height of spinal surgery interbody devices based on patient anatomy. The company acquired the patents from Dr. Paul McAfee with the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, in order to enhance surgical planning for the 3D printed titanium interbody devices in its own UNiD ASI (Adaptive Spine Intelligence) platform.

“We are focused on fully integrating the important work done by Dr. McAfee into our proprietary UNiD HUB surgical planning software. Combining data-driven planning techniques with the ability to deliver personalized implants will significantly reduce the inventory required for each case while ensuring the optimal implant is provided for the patient at each level operated,” explained Denys Sournac, Medicrea’s President and CEO. “Acquiring new planning methodologies, as we have done with Dr. McAfee, will allow Medicrea to further provide healthcare shareholders with scientific evidence supporting the surgical strategy and promoting a cost-effective care continuum in line with our Adaptive Spine Intelligence technology.”

Horizon 2020 Awards Project Funding to CELLINK

3D bioprinting startup CELLINK, which introduced its first universal bioink for 3D printing living tissue back in 2015, announced that it has been awarded project funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework for a new project, titled “SilkFUSION – Genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells, functionalized silk-fibroin platforms and bio-inks: a novel solution for large-scale ex-vivo platelet production, transfusion and drug research.”

CELLINK is scheduled to work on the project with six partners over the next 48 months, and received funding for 100% of its share – €350,000 – for the project, which is estimated to cost approximately €3 million. The company will not incur any costs for the project, which centers around developing new bioinks for specific, unnamed applications.

Prodpoint Opens 3D Printing Factory in London

UK-based startup Prodpoint, short for Production Point, was founded by the Fried brothers – Felix, a design engineer, and Charles, a software developer, both of whom are interested in digital manufacturing. Prodpoint uses software to automate a fleet of 24 of its proprietary FDM 3D printers, in an effort to help customers speed up projects and save on costs. The startup fits right between prototyping and mass-manufacturing with its ability to produce up to 10,000 parts, and is now opening up a 3D printing factory, funded by private investors, right outside London.

“In an increasingly digitised world, we believe manufacturing has fallen behind. Tooling costs are high, making low volume production expensive and rigid. Our automated factory offers a highly responsive production system allowing our customers to validate and modify their products at any point with no overhead costs. Much of our R&D budget is channelled into further optimising our automation workflow which creates savings we can pass on to our customers,” Charles told 3DPrint.com.

“First, is our printers which were developed in-house with reliability and modularity in mind. This allows us to frequently upgrade them to keep up with the rapid technological developments. Each machine is fine-tuned for dimensional accuracy and is able to print a wide range of materials based on our client requirements.

Secondly, our software which is currently in beta phase synchronises all our machines into a single interface allowing to allocate different orders to various machines. We’re also working on some neat features for print failure detection using computer vision.”

Avi Reichental Named Nano Dimension Co-Chairman

Avi Reichental

3D printed electronics leader Nano Dimension announced that its board member, additive manufacturing pioneer and former 3D Systems president and CEO Avi Reichental, has accepted the board of directors’ invitation to lead the company as Co-Chairman, pending the shareholders’ approval of an amendment to the articles of association. Reichental is also General Partner at Israeli early-stage venture fund OurCrowd First, the CEO of Techniplas Digital, and helped establish NXT Factory as part of his California-based XponentialWorks venture investment, advisory, and product development company.

“We are delighted that Avi Reichental accepted our invitation to co-lead the Nano Dimension board and look forward to working with him in his capacity as co-chairman,” said Itzhak Shrem, the board chairman of Nano Dimension. “As we firmly transition into full commercial activities with first customer orders for our DragonFly 2020 Pro, I am confident that Avi’s deep industry knowledge and extensive leadership experience, will enhance our strategic direction, strengthen our go-to-market plans and bolster our purpose to disrupt and reshape how electronics are designed and made.”

Vectary Introduces New Commercial Campaign 

Free browser-based 3D modeling tool VECTARY has announced a new feature and campaign, titled “Pay with a share,” in order to open the platform up to even more people by helping them get commercial use for their own designs and 3D models. The campaign, which ties in with the VECTARY mission of democratizing 3D printing, will offer commercial use for one exported 3D model at a time. Any VECTARY user who is 3D modeling in the platform will be able to start making money for their designs, simply by sharing a Facebook post or a Tweet that recommends the tool with their social media followers.

“It’s a rewarding experience which will benefit both parties,” said VECTARY CEO and Co-founder Michal Koor. “Our users will be able to not just create beautiful 3D models in VECTARY, but actually sell their designs and 3D printed products on platforms like Etsy or Shapeways. I couldn’t be happier to see them get their design, VR and game projects going.”

VECTARY is also working to develop a plan that will extend the services of its platform to larger audiences.

Adidas Adding New Running Silhouette to 3D Printed Shoe

As we move closer to 2018, it’s time to acknowledge that 2017 has given us many gifts, including the partially 3D printed Futurecraft 4D shoe from Adidas, which features a lattice-printed sole and was released this spring. The shoe, manufactured using the Digital Light Synthesis process behind Carbon’s now-famous CLIP technology, was even named one of the year’s 25 best inventions by TIME Magazine. Now, Adidas has revealed that the 3D printing technology behind the Futurecraft 4D is being put to use in a new running silhouette.

The new design is called the AlphaEdge 4D, and while a specific release date has not yet been made public, limited quantities are rumored to be available at select retailers in May of 2018. As with the Futurecraft 4D, the main focal point of the AlphaEdge design is its 3D printed sole, which features pressure point compression to offer the wearer “unmatched comfort and support.”

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