3D Printing News Briefs: January 26, 2018

January 26, 2018 by Sarah Saunders 3D Design 3D Printing 3D Printing Materials 3D Scanning Business Medical 3D Printing Metal 3D Printing

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We’ll get the business out of the way first in today’s edition of 3D Printing News Briefs, then move on to some award news and a new 3D design challenge. SLM Solutions welcomes a new board member and Titomic has appointed a new executive, while BigRep is partnering with Trideus. A Shapeways employee explains why her new business is centered around 3D scanning people, and Sharebot has opened a third store in Italy. The founder of Ambionics is a finalist for the coveted Inventor Prize, and Sika wins an international award for its concrete 3D printing. Finally, MyMiniFactory is collaborating with petroleum company ESSO on a new 3D design challenge.

SLM Solutions Announces New Board Member

The Supervisory Board of German metal additive manufacturing technology supplier SLM Solutions Group announced that Dr. Axel Schulz, previously the CEO of Putzmeister in Germany, will be the newest member of its Management Board. Effective on February 1st, 2018, Dr. Schulz will join the board as its Chief Sales Officer, taking over responsibilities for the Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Service, and Business Unit 3D Metals departments, in addition to the company’s After Sales Business. He has signed a contract for the position through December 31st, 2020.

“We are happy that Dr. Schulz will join our team,” said Hans-Joachim Ihde, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of SLM Solutions. “He has a lot of experience in Sales and Business development as well as in After Sales Business and supplements the Management Board around Uwe Bögershausen and Henner Schöneborn.”

Titomic Names Accomplished Metallurgist as New Executive

Australian metal 3D printing company Titomic has appointed Trent Mackenzie, a leading executive and metallurgist with 40 years of global industry experience, as the General Manager of Business Development for its Aerospace & Resources Division, starting February 1st, 2018. Mackenzie, who focuses on metals such as titanium and nickel and cobalt alloys in the aerospace, chemical, oil & gas, and power generation sectors, is a former Managing Director of two global regions of leading metals company Allegheny Technologies International (ATI). At Titomic, he will lead the integration of new Aerospace clients, as well as continue developing the company’s profile in target industry sectors.

“We are delighted to welcome Trent to the team. Trent brings a wealth of technical knowledge, business development experience, and an exceptional network of industry leading relationships, which will assist Titomic to develop a market-leading position in the aerospace & resources sectors,” said Titomic CEO and CTO Jeffrey Lang. “His global expertise in metals engineering and applications will greatly benefit Titomic and our customers.”

BigRep and Trideus Announce Partnership for Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing Solutions

German technology startup BigRep, which manufactures professional large-scale 3D printing solutions, has reached an official reseller agreement with Belgium-based Trideus. Per the new partnership, Trideus, a leading Benelux supplier of additive manufacturing solutions, products, and services, will resell BigRep products in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which make up the Benelux region and economic union.

“We are very excited to be partnering with BigRep. With BigRep as a partner, we can offer our customers the opportunity to print large, high quality yet affordable 3D printed parts,” said Trideus CEO Jesse Buteneers. “This type of capability perfectly meets the demand of progressive companies in our region.”

Why Shapeways Employee Kat Kinkead Chose 3D Scanning People as Her Business

Former Shapeways Community Manager Kat Kinkead recently launched her own business, called Beheld, for 3D scanning and 3D portraiture. Kinkead shared in a blog post why she chose to focus on the 3D scanning of people, discussing how, even though we’ve been saying for years that 3D printing technology is going to change the world, it has failed to become a significant part of daily living, then asks why we should care.

“Because 3D does have the ability to change the world. It allows for localized manufacturing, reduces waste, has amazing applications for prosthetics and rocket engines. While that’s all amazing, these are only the innovations that have been identified by niche audiences — literal rocket scientists.
Imagine how many other amazing use cases and applications there are for 3D? There may be millions of ideas and innovations that are waiting to be explored and uncovered — but those ideas will continue to be locked away until we open up the floodgates and create a point for 3D that is accessible to anyone and everyone.”

Photography was once a technology only accessible to the wealthy, until family portraits changed the game. Kinkead said that the ability to easily share our stories with the world has resulted in all sorts of innovations that will affect us for generations, which is why Beheld is 3D scanning people.

“And the very moment you get 3D scanned; you begin to ask yourself; what else can I 3D scan? What more can I do with this?”

Sharebot Opens Third 3D Store in Italy

3D printer manufacturer Sharebot has been focused on growth this year, and the company has just announced the launch of its third Sharebot 3D Store in Italy. The Sharebot 3D Store Monza, located in Via Amati 12 in Monza, will be dedicated to 3D design and modeling projects, along with offering rapid prototyping capabilities for companies and professionals interested in adding 3D printing technologies to their workflows. The new store came about from a partnership between Sharebot and three young 3D printing entrepreneurs.

Sharebot 3D Store Monza was founded after the success of the company’s first two stores: Sharebot 3D Store Padova, in partnership with Help3D, and Sharebot 3D Store Firenze, together with Italy’s first franchise store monobrand, Paleos. Each store will be a keystone to building a wider 3D printing culture throughout Italy, as 3D printing technology will be very important for Factory 4.0. The new store’s opening event will be announced soon.

Founder of Ambionics is Inventor Prize Finalist

Inventor Ben Ryan with son Sol

When 41-year-old psychology lecturer Ben Ryan’s son Sol had his lower left arm amputated 10 days after he was born due to a blood clot, NHS doctors said that he would have to wait a year before receiving a prosthetic, which seemed too long for Ryan. So he designed and 3D printed a unique hydraulic prosthetic arm for Sol himself, using parts from an Xbox and CAD software from Autodesk. Shortly after, the newly minted inventor founded Ambionics, a company that designs and 3D prints hydraulic prosthetics for infants. His hard work has really paid off, as Ryan was just named one of 10 UK finalists for the country’s Inventor Prize. As a finalist, Ryan will receive £5,000 to develop his idea and receive mentoring, equipment, and facilities from Barclays Eagle Labs. The winner, who will be announced in September, will receive £50,000 to help get their product to market.

“At the start of this journey, I knew nothing about prosthetics or engineering,” said Ryan, who is currently trialing remote 3D scanning with families in several countries. “I started out by making a sponge arm for Sol when he was five weeks old. This allowed him to understand the length, reach and feel that his future arms would have and also encouraged hand eye coordination and helped him to support himself when learning to sit up. I added Velcro to the end of the sponge and to some of his toys, so Sol understood he could use the sponge arm to reach and pick up items around him. Then I taught myself how to use computer design software and began making digital prosthetics and testing hydraulic systems to control the grip. I’m really looking forward to working with Barclays Eagle Labs to refine the design for low volume manufacturing and certification.”

Sika Wins International Award for Concrete 3D Printing

At this month’s INTERMAT Innovation Awards, an international trade show for construction and infrastructure in Paris, specialty chemicals company Sika was awarded the special “World of Concrete Europe” prize for its achievements in 3D concrete printing for the construction industry. The company developed a high-precision 3D concrete printing process that allows for the creation of customized concrete elements in varying forms and designs. The most important part of the process is the patented, high-performance print extruder head, which adds several admixes to finish the mortar before it quickly solidifies and binds with the previous layer. The process, which features a print speed of 1 meter per second, is capable of producing objects up to 10 meters high.

According to a company release, the INTERMAT jury was impressed by Sika’s ability to “innovate and accommodate market expectations in terms of cost-effectiveness, design, operation, use, speed, security and environmental compatibility in the field of 3D concrete printing.”

MyMiniFactory Launches New 3D Design Challenge with ESSO

3D printable object-sharing platform MyMiniFactory is holding another 3D design challenge, teaming up with petroleum giant ESSO as a sponsor. The #FuelingInnovation design challenge, with a theme of upcycling, gives designers the chance to win a new BCN3D Sigmax 3D printer, worth over $5,000. The contest challenges designers to find new uses, with the help of 3D printing technology, for the familiar 250 ml aluminum can. There are two themes: create practical accessories that complement or add to the user experience of the can, or upcycle the can and give it a second life.

“We sell a lot of drinks at Esso stations, we also believe at Esso that every details matters and that if upcycling can help reuse cans for the benefit of our customer, we should help. Objects proposed could end up being offered to our customers in a promotion,” said Christophe Fay, Esso EAME Marketing Communications Manager.

This opportunity Fay mentions is the first time for the MyMiniFactory community that design entries could end up being used in a promotion. The competition is open until Valentine’s Day, for residents of Australia, Europe and the US over the age of 18. Participants should share their uploaded designs to Twitter, with #FuelingInnovation, and tag @MyMiniFactory and @Esso_GB @bcn3dtech. Winners will be announced at 18:00 GMT on February 22nd; the runner-up will receive a STARTT 3D printer.

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