3D Printing News Briefs: May 18, 2018

May 18, 2018 by Sarah Saunders 3D Printers 3D Printing 3D Printing Materials Business Medical 3D Printing Metal 3D Printing

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We’re starting with some exciting news in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, then moving right along into business, events, and research. In Melbourne this week, Titomic has introduced its new metal 3D printer, said to be the largest and fastest in the world. Nano Dimension and voxeljet have released their financials for Q1 2018, a new Amazon fulfillment center in Arizona will include 3D printing services, and colorFabb is launching a new color service soon. Materialise is hosting a summit in Detroit, while the TU/e 3D Concrete Printing research group is holding a symposium, and Protolabs has published a white paper on 3D printing for end-use production.

Titomic Introduces World’s Largest, Fastest Metal 3D Printer

[Image: Titomic via Facebook]

This week at its new Melbourne facility, Australian metal 3D printing company Titomic held a launch, attended by representatives from new partner Fincantieri Australia, for its new metal 3D printer, which is said to be the fastest and largest (9 x 3 x 1.5 m) in the world. The company co-developed its new industrial-scale metal 3D printer, and patented Titomic Kinetic Fusion process, together with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The 3D printer will revolutionize advanced manufacturing, as it overcomes speed and size constraints that plague other metal 3D printers.

“As a Company, we look forward to realising the potential of advanced manufacturing at industrial scale, both nationally and globally. The capabilities of Australian ingenuity coupled with Titomic’s unique technology is pioneering the pathways for sustainable global manufacturing that is only limited by imagination,” said Titomic CEO and CTO Jeff Lang. “We’re proud to be an Australian Company who has successfully co-developed with CSIRO a new way of manufacturing which can utilise the abundant Titanium mineral sand resources of Australia. We will challenge the traditional methods as to how products are designed and made for aviation, space, defence, marine, infrastructure, transportation, consumer goods and as well as other key industries around the world.”

To celebrate its new 3D printer, Titomic is also launching a completion for young Australian students, called Cre8 the Future, that invites kids to draw out their idea of the future of transportation. The student with the most creative design will see their drawing 3D printed by Titomic and turned into playground equipment for their school.

Cre8 The Future
We're excited to announce that with the launch of the world's largest metal 3D printer, we're also going to print one lucky child's vision for the future of transport. Join the Cre8 The Future competition here: www.cre8thefuture.orgWhether it's a spaceship or a submarine, if you can dream it, we can print it!
Posted by Titomic on Wednesday, 16 May 2018

Nano Dimension Releases Financials for Q1 2018

Like several other 3D printing companies earlier this month, additive electronics provider Nano Dimension has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2018, which ended on March 31st. Revenues were reported for Q1 2018 of $635,000, which is an increase from Q4 2017 – this is attributed to commercial sales of the company’s DragonFly 2020 Pro 3D printer. Nano Dimension reports a total loss of $4,123,000 in the first quarter, and ended it with $14,767,000 in cash.

“Having begun commercial sales in the fourth quarter of 2017, we are now seeing early signs of growth driven by the strength of our expanding infrastructure and reseller network. As we continue to execute our strategic plan, we expect our growth to increase steadily quarter over quarter. To demonstrate my confidence in the strength of our company and its future growth, I will be committing the entirety of my salary for the next six months to purchasing Nano Dimension stock, in compliance with all applicable securities laws,” said Nano Dimension CEO Amit Dror.
“Commercial sales of our Dragonfly 2020 Pro 3D printers are currently supported by ten global resellers including two U.S. industry leaders. Additionally, we recently opened our third Customer Experience Center in Santa Clara, California, co-located with our U.S. headquarters. As we work to realize our long-term strategy, we are prepared to expand our global sales and marketing efforts. We will continue to build on our solid channel foundation as we increase our sales presence throughout the world.”

Q1 2018 Financials Reported for voxeljet

German large-format 3D printer provider voxeljet AG is also reporting its consolidated Q1 2018 financial results. Revenues for this quarter were up to kEUR 5,052 – an 11.5% increase from the Q1 2017 results of kEUR 4,530. The gross profit margin has improved from 34.9% to 44.9%, and service revenues are up 29.6% to kEUR 3,677. However, systems revenues are down 18.8% from kEUR 1,693 to kEUR 1,375, but the company has reaffirmed its guidance for the remainder of the year.

“2018 is off to an excellent start with the best quarter in both Services revenue and gross profit in our company’s history. We see these metrics as leading indicators of the ongoing strength of our industrial 3D printing technology,” said Dr. Ingo Ederer, voxeljet CEO. “Our goal of becoming a critical supply chain partner and solutions provider is gaining traction. As downstream processes become more automated, we are very confident this will in medium term translate into significantly improved Systems revenue.”

New Amazon Fulfillment Center Offering 3D Printing

Amazon currently employs more than 7,000 people at four different fulfillment centers in Arizona alone. But the company just announced that it plans to open an additional facility in the state, and will be hiring more than 1,500 people to work in the giant industrial warehouse in Tucson. Upon receipt of a certificate of occupancy for the one story, 855,000-square-foot facility, Amazon, which did not ask for any incentives in the deal, will annex more than 94 acres into the city. This new fulfillment center will have nearly 2,900 parking spaces and 64 loading docks, and will handle light assembly, customer returns, direct product pickup from nearby automated kiosks, and will also provide 3D printing services.

Mark Stewart, the Vice President of Amazon’s North American operations, said, “We’re excited to open a new state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Tucson and to continue innovating in a state committed to providing great opportunities for jobs and customer experience.”

colorFabb Launching Color on Demand Service

Netherlands-based 3D printing material company colorFabb will soon be introducing a new service, called Color on Demand, that matches the preferred color of users. Then, the filament will be made specifically for them, thanks to the company’s innovative new production method.

“This allows us to offer more colors than ever, whenever they are needed,” colorFabb wrote.

This new service, which will be available starting next month, will begin with RAL color references in PLA; over 60 colors, with more to come, have already been matched to make sure that the proof of concept works. Users can order 2 kg spools of filament for €75, and colorFabb will also offer the new service in pellets. Customers will also have the option of ordering a color plaque to approve their preferred color first, before purchasing the full spool. For existing colors, lead times will be 5-8 business days, and increases to 2-3 weeks for new color matches.

Materialise Hosting Summit in Detroit

On June 7th and 8th in Detroit, Materialise is hosting a summit called The Materialise Experience: Transforming 3D Printing at Cobo, which will shine a light on current innovations, as well as the future of the technology in the manufacturing healthcare fields. There will be events and speakers sharing their expertise from three industry tracks – additive manufacturing, medical devices, and hospital – as well as keynote speakers and networking opportunities; you can take a look at the full conference agenda here. Attendees are also invited to come a day early to tour the company’s North American headquarters in Plymouth, and participate in a hands-on training program about Materialise software.

“With companies from automakers to major hospitals adopting 3D printing, the industry has come a long way since our founder bought his first printer and began writing software for manufacturing nearly 30 years ago. With The Materialise Experience, we are bringing together professionals at the forefront of 3D printing technology to show how their organizations are collaborating, innovating and pushing the boundaries of 3D printing across industries,” said Bryan Crutchfield, Vice President and General Manager of Materialise North America.

You can register for “The Materialise Experience: Transforming 3D Printing” here.

TU/e 3D Concrete Printing Research Group Symposium

Another 3D printing event taking place next month is a symposium, organized and hosted by the 3D Concrete Printing research group from TU/e, which developed and operates its own 3D concrete printer at the university. The “Symposium 3D Concrete Printing – Developments in the Netherlands” event, presented in English, will be held in the university’s auditorium from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM on Friday, June 22nd. Several short presentations will be given on concrete 3D printing developments in the country from 3D printing construction pioneers like CyBe, Siemens, and Concr3de, along with more in-depth lectures and a panel discussion.

According to the symposium page, “The 3D printing of concrete is developing at a mind blowing pace. Some years ago, only a few had even heard of the phenomenon. Now, young enterprises and established names are eager to start using the technology and give the concrete construction industry an innovation boost. Dutch companies are leaders in this development that is now also evolving rapidly across the globe.”

You can register for the event here.

Protolabs Publishes 3D Printing White Paper

3D printed impeller, made with SLS technology.

Protolabs manufactures custom prototypes and on-demand production parts. The company offers multiple services, from various 3D printing technologies to manufacturing methods like insert molding, CNC machining, and injection molding. This week, Protolabs posted a new white paper, called “3D Printing for End-Use Production,” that compares and analyzes the various additive methods that are helping to redefine 3D printing as a viable manufacturing method for end-use parts.

“Over the past three decades, 3D printing has developed a reputation as an essential manufacturing process for prototype parts. Create a CAD model of your design, send it to your company’s printer, and a 3D replica will be ready in hours. Yet these parts are often little more than conceptual show-and-tell models, not durable enough for long-term use, and in some cases prone to degradation by sunlight,” the paper reads.
“The winds of manufacturing are beginning to shift, however, and industrial-grade 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is now encroaching on machining, injection molding, and other conventional manufacturing processes. This white paper explores the new and existing technology leaders in this area, and assesses the capabilities of production for each 3D printing process.”

You can read the full white paper here.

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