3D Printing News Briefs: April 1, 2018

On this first day of April (happy Easter!), we’re starting out 3D Printing News Briefs with a little business, before moving on to education and the results of a competition. The 3D Printing Store is expanding its manufacturing services with Carbon technology, Sintratec has a new reseller in France, and Rapid Shape is launching a new generation of 3D printers for the hearing aid industry. MakerBot confirmed that its 3D printing platform is compatible with the new classroom iPad from Apple, and a study shows that 3D printed models can definitely improve training for medical students. Solvay has announced the winners of its Additive Manufacturing Cup, and finally, 3D Hubs has released a very important reference tool…just in time for April Fool’s Day.

The 3D Printing Store Adds Carbon Technology

Last week, The 3D Printing Store, headquartered in Colorado, announced that it is expanding its production part manufacturing services by adding DLS 3D printing technology from Carbon in the form of the M2 3D printer. Now that the M2 will be available in Colorado and the Mountain States Region through The 3D Printing Store’s flagship location in Centennial, it will now be able to offer real production capabilities to its customers for 3D printing plastic components. The 3D Printing Store is now the only service bureau in the state that offers Carbon’s 3D printing technology.

“We know that there is a need for low- to medium-volume plastic manufacturing, and that using 3D printing that has both speed and valuable  material sets for industry has been needed for some time. Since we started the company, we have been assisting individuals, companies large and small, and industry groups with trusted knowledge and expertise in 3D design and printing,” said Justin Finesilver, Co-Owner and Principal of The 3D Printing Store. “We watched the Carbon DLS technology with great interest and followed the development that brings this additive production manufacturing system to industry across many sectors.”

French 3D Printing Specialist Is Named New Sintratec Reseller

Kallisto Manager Pascal Erschler and Sintratec Head of Marketing and Sales Gabor Koppanyi

Swiss SLS 3D printer manufacturer Sintratec is continuing to expand its distribution network, and has announced that French 3D printing specialist Kallisto is now one of its official sales partners. Kallisto, founded in 1999, provides detailed consultation on a variety of 3D technology solutions, along with implementing, integrating, troubleshooting, and maintaining equipment and software. The new Sintratec reseller will complete its product portfolio by adding the Sintratec Kit and Sintratec S1 desktop 3D printers.

“The Sintratec 3D printers are a great opportunity for our customer to get to know the SLS technology and integrate it into their processes – for example to create small serial parts at an affordable cost,” said Kallisto Manager Pascal Erschler.

Rapid Shape Introducing 3D Printers for Hearing Aid Industry

German technology company Rapid Shape is launching its new generation of 3D printers for the hearing aid industry – the new Studio-Line HA20 II, HA30 II, and HA40 II 3D printers, along with the industrial-scale HA90 speed series of the Heavy-Duty-Line, complete with automatic platform changer. The new Rapid Shape product family has a high manufacturing capacity and achieves excellent times at a low acquisition cost, and the Studio-Line 3D printers come with optional remote maintenance contracts, which will keep maintenance costs low. Rapid Shape’s new 3D printer models were presented for the first time this week at the Congrès des audioprothésistes, a Paris trade fair specialized in hearing acoustics.

Rapid Shape Founder and CEO Andreas Schultheiss said, “The new Hearing printers make it quicker and easier than ever to produce professional and biocompatible hearing aid parts. Rapid Shape has worked closely with our customers and material partners to develop the new generation of 3D printers that meet and exceed current needs. Our optional remote maintenance is a win-win for customer, material partner and system manufacturer. The total costs could be reduced by up to 50% while preserving medical device directive compliant processes.”

My MakerBot Compatible with Apple Classroom iPad

My MakerBot: Monitor and manage your connected printers and accounts

Last week, Apple launched several education initiatives – it introduced a new 9.7″ iPad, with support for Apple Pencil, for classroom use, along with its powerful Schoolwork app for personalizing classroom learning and free Everyone Can Create curriculum. It’s clear that classrooms across the country are going paperless, but while this is great news for the planet, it won’t work if students in today’s STEM education classrooms don’t have access to less expensive iPads and easy, reliable 3D printers. That’s why MakerBot is happy to say that My MakerBot, the cloud-based 3D printing platform it launched last year, is compatible with Apple’s new classroom iPad.

“Computers changed the way we think about classrooms and ultimately changed the way students learn — even the subjects we teach,” MakerBot Education Manager Mair Demarco told 3DPrint.com. “As low-cost tablets push further into schools, helping enabling better 3D design and code learning, it’s critical that we connect those devices to the 3D printers that are already reshaping classrooms and makerspaces. My MakerBot does exactly that, giving students easy access to 3D printers, and making it easier for educators to manage their use.”

3D Printed Models Can Improve Medical Student Training, According to New Study

A mold used to create 3D printed model of blood vessels for training.

According to a study presented at the 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting for the nonprofit Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), a less expensive 3D printed model of a patient’s blood vessels is just as effective for training medical students in interventional radiology vascular access as commercial models currently available on the market. Authors of the study had 32 students practice with either the 3D printed model or the commercial model in a simulation of an ultrasound-guided insertion of a catheter through the femoral artery in the groin. Before the exercise, 73% of the 3D printed model group and 76% of the commercial group did not feel confident performing the procedure, but after, nearly all the students agreed that the models were helpful and easy to use.

Alexander Sheu, MD, an interventional and diagnostic radiology resident at Stanford University School of Medicine and lead author of the study, said, “Now that we know that a 3-D-printed model is just as effective at training medical students in this type of procedure, this simulation experience can be made available to even more trainees and potentially improve procedural skills for residents, fellows, and attendees. We foresee this really making an impact in the world of interventional radiology training.”

Additive Manufacturing Cup Winners Announced by Solvay

In September, specialty polymers supplier Solvay launched the Additive Manufacturing (AM) Cup, a competition that challenged university students from around the world to demonstrate their aptitude for 3D printing by creating complex shapes, including a Solvay logo, with the company’s KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (PEEK) filament. Now, the company has announced the winners of the international AM Cup. Over 30 teams from 13 countries submitted entries, which were evaluated for aesthetic qualities and mechanical stability. The Chloé Devillard team from Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 in France took home third place, the Jugao team from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China won second, and the first place winner was the ePEEK team from Arts et Métiers ParisTech in France.

“The Solvay AM Cup sought to explore the potential of 3D-printable KetaSpire PEEK AM filament by placing it in the hands of creative design and engineering students with a passion for testing the latest technologies. We were thrilled with the results,” said Stéphane Jéol, President of the AM Cup Jury and Technology Manager for Solvay’s global Specialty Polymers business unit. “The winners exemplified the AM Cup challenge by pushing the capabilities of additive manufacturing to produce a 3D-printed PEEK part with a tensile strength rivaling that of an injection molded part.”

The first, second, and third place winners received prizes of ten, five and three thousand euros, respectively, to be used for academic, entrepreneurial or societal purposes. These winning entries will be displayed at Solvay’s booth #1924 at next month’s RAPID + TCT event in Texas, which 3DPrint.com will also be attending.

Banana for Scale: 3D Hubs Releases 3D Design Tool

Just in time for April, online 3D printing service platform 3D Hubs has released what Communications Manager George Fisher-Wilson is calling “the ultimate tool for Engineers and Designers.” The tool, called ISO 84N4N4, uses big data, 3D printing, geometric analysis, and a popular scaling method. The tool lets users of the service platform get a very precise visualization of what the real-world size will look like for the latest project or prototype, thanks to a very accurate banana that you can use for scale. The new ISO 84N4N4 tool is very easy to use – simply upload an STL file and click on the banana icon at the top of the page. To practice using the new tool, take a look at the 3D viewer, with a pre-uploaded file, here.

Happy April Fool’s Day, faithful readers!

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