3deinc

[3deinc]

3-D Printing Is Making Gains in Unexpected Places, Like Cars and Artificial Knees

3-D printing—or additive manufacturing—is making gains in some unusual places, aided by artificial intelligence and the explosion of low-cost computing power to help the technology compete with traditional production methods such as casting or forging.

This isn’t a call to invest in consumer-focused 3-D printing stocks, which rocketed higher in 2014 and fell back to earth in subsequent years. Most of the gains are being made are on the enterprise—or business side—of the 3-D printing market. And the big developments are happening inside big companies like Volkswagen (VOW.Germany) and Airbus (AIR.France).

“In effect you make a giant welded part,” Sigma Labs (ticker: SGLB) CEO John Rice tells Barron’s. He’s referring to 3-D metal printing that joins metal powder with a laser. Material is heated precisely by powerful, focused light to build complex shapes microscopic layer by layer. The laser darts around rapidly, giving it the effect of a miniature light show.

It’s impressive and expensive. That’s one reason 3-D metal technology penetration has been slower than the most bullish investors hoped for years ago. It’s still far easier to cast metal parts in a traditional foundry. That’s limited 3-D metal printing gains to the aerospace industry where low volumes along with high costs and complexity are considered standard operating procedure.

General Electric (ticker: GE), for instance, wants to generate $1 billion in sales from 3-D printed parts in its aerospace division by 2020. That goal was set in 2017. But GE is making progress. Today, the company’s new, huge GE9X jet engine combines more than 300 engine parts into seven 3-D printed parts. The GE9X is the engine powering the new Boeing (BA) 777X jet. The plane had its maiden flight in January is due to be delivered in 2021.

“One of the most important problems is qualifying the production of parts,” Claus Emmelmann, head of Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute tells Barron’s. His institute is dedicated to expanding the use of metal-based additive manufacturing in industry. He says the development process for designing and qualifying satisfactory parts is expensive and time consuming. “We are bashing our way to calibrating and qualifying parts through repeated failures.”

That’s where Rice’s Sigma comes in. The small New Mexico-based company sells products to improve quality and validate parts. They are the quality control of the 3-D printing world.

“You can overheat or under melt parts,” says Rice, explaining all the other things that can go wrong while a laser melts metal powder. Variability is the enemy of production. Manufacturers want consistent parts fast. “3-D printers have personality,” adds Rice.

His company uses software and artificial intelligence to scan and adjust welding characteristics in real time. “Sigma truncates the part [validation] process significantly,” says Emmelmann.

The more advanced, computer-aided quality control techniques help reduce development lead times and drive down costs. The machines themselves are getting more productive too. The first versions were single lasers, welding one part at a time. Now machines can be bought with four lasers.

3-D metal printing, as a result of the improvements, is making headway into more industries. Artificial hips and knees can be printed. Health care is another industry characterized by low volume, highly technical products. “It’s worth noting that demand for our 3D printed cementless knees continues to climb, exiting the year at over 36% of our U.S. knee procedures,” said Stryker (SYK) vice president Katherine Owen on the company’s earnings conference call.

But 3-D metal printing is starting to make inroads into the automotive business. That’s a market will far higher part volumes. Boeing and Airbus make less than 2,000 commercial jets each year. The global auto industry cranks out about 100 million cars.

Volkswagen has 3-D printed brake calipers for its Bugatti hypercars. That’s not a great example of wide spread automotive penetration. Those vehicles cost millions each. But other manufacturers, including Ford Motor (F) and BMW (BMW.Germany), are investing in 3-D printed parts.

So how big can the market for 3-D metal printed parts get? That’s the million, or billion, dollar question.

“We have a market $1 or $2 billion in parts today,” says Emmelmann. That accounts for less than 1% of his definition for the overall market of metal parts. But Emmelmann believes the market will grow about 35% a year for a long time. 3-D metal printing can be a $50 billion business by the end of the decade.

For investors it’s hard to find a direct investment. Sigma is very small. Germany company SLM Solutions (AM3D.Germany) makes machines. After a big run, the stock recently sold off when a large holder sold a block of shares.

For now, most of the 3-D metal printing benefits accrue to the industries adopting 3-D printing. Aerospace costs fall and quality improves. Aerospace aftermarket businesses, at the margin, become more profitable. 3-D printing makes it easier to stock low volume, jet engine parts.

But the space still bears watching. Markets growing at 35% a year are hard to find.

By Al Root

[3deinc]

Da Vinci bridge design holds up even after 500 years, MIT proves

By Rae Hodge

It's 1502 A.D. and Sultan Bayezid II sends out a request for bids: He wants someone to build an enormous bridge, spanning the Golden Horn and connecting Istanbul to neighboring Galata. If you're Leonardo da Vinci, you don't have modern rebar or asphalt to rely on. Forgoing wood planks and even mortar joints, your design uses only three geometrically daring principles: the pressed-bow, the parabolic curve and the keystone arch. With these, you design what at the time would have been the world's longest bridge, with an unprecedented single span of 790 feet.

And after the sultan's rejection, you would have to wait more than 500 years for your bridge design to be tested by a team of ambitious MIT engineers and their handy 3D printer.

"It was time-consuming, but 3D printing allowed us to accurately recreate this very complex geometry," MIT graduate student Karly Bast said in a release on Thursday.

Bast worked with a team of engineering academics to finally bring to life a faithful 1-to-500 scale model of da Vinci's famously rejected bridge design, putting the Renaissance man's long-questioned geometry to the test by slicing the complex shapes into 126 individual blocks, then assembling them with only the force of gravity. The group, which presented its work this week in Barcelona, relied on the sketches and descriptions found in da Vinci's letter bidding for the job, along with their own analysis of the era's construction methods.

The structure is held together only by compression -- the MIT team wanted to show that the forces were all being transferred within the structure, said Bast. "When we put it in, we had to squeeze it in."

Bast said she had her doubts, but when she put the keystone in, she realized it was going to work. When the group took the scaffolding out, the bridge stayed up.

"It's the power of geometry," she said.

[3deinc]

How Additive Manufacturing Complements Conventional Plastics Production

Injection molding, as a process for mass-producing plastic parts, has been refined over multiple decades and is a massively efficient way to produce high volumes of identical plastic parts. In the age of mass-produced goods, this was ideal.

Today, with the advent of digital manufacturing, the demand is rising for customized products tailored to the individual. It’s not enough to offer a customized product. Manufacturing processes must now also be flexible enough to accommodate custom work at mass production speed.                                     

In response to this demand for “mass customization,” production of high-value and low-volume parts has started to shift to industrialized 3D printing, known as additive manufacturing (AM). However, most high-volume parts continue to be made with traditional injection molding (IM) techniques because the cost of engineering and moldmaking is amortized across many parts. So, these two options accommodate both low-volume custom orders and high-volume, mass-production orders. But what about manufacturers that need to produce custom parts at scale—is this a new growth area?

According to EOS, the solution lies in the industrial additive manufacturing ecosystem. This includes not just the additive machines, but also the design, materials, process and software which can be optimized to support flexible production of custom parts at a global scale. Solution engineering is fundamental for deploying AM effectively in serial production. This means rethinking and reengineering the material, process and system of the product design in order to take full advantage of the capabilities of AM.

In this way, AM  and traditional molding complement each other, serving each type and scale of need for plastic production.

Taking Advantage of AM Capabilities

With industrial polymer 3D printers, powder-based technology, such as selective laser sintering (SLS), is most suitable. Parts can be arrayed in the build chamber in three dimensions, supported by the unfused powder, allowing the relatively long cycle time (10+ hours in many cases) to be offset by the high productivity per print cycle.

“Today’s SLS processes are competitive with precision injection molding on parameters such as repeatability and cost, at least at low-medium volumes,” explained Fabian Krauss, global business development manager for polymers at EOS. “Without tooling time or tooling cost, AM is much more cost effective than injection molding.”

This graph from Jabil shows how the cost of injection molding, including mold cost, compares with AM. Jabil actively uses EOS, HP and Ultimaker printers in their production operations for consumer goods, automotive parts, jigs and fixtures, and medical device manufacturing.

This basic cost comparison does not capture the full story, however. Comparing AM and IM directly ignores the opportunities to redesign, customize and optimize products at the product lifecycle level.

Solution Engineering: Going Beyond Deposition Differences

The ‘tip of the iceberg’ is a tired analogy, but in this case it’s fitting. The fact that AM allows for production of plastic parts without a mold is the 5 percent of the iceberg above the waterline. The other 95 percent is below the surface. This is where solution engineering comes in.

When designing a 3D printing solution for a polymer part, engineers have the opportunity to step back and reexamine the part from a system level, considering the entire lifecycle of the part. In additive manufacturing, your part’s digital twin is not just a static model of what will be manufactured—it’s a dynamic part of the manufacturing process.

3D printed custom orthotics from Aetrex technology is another ideal use case that illustrates the concept of solution engineering. Without 3D printing, most orthotic insoles use layers of foam and plastic to provide the desired properties. Instead, Aetrex uses generative design and optimization technology to design “digital foam,” which uses a variety of lattice structures to create different elasticity and compression properties across the insole. This allows digital scan data of any foot to be translated to an insole using one material and printed in one part. This process was incubated at EOS’ technical center near Austin, Texas.

Here are a few examples of disruptive opportunities for additive manufacturing in plastic production:

A part made of an expensive material could be optimized using generative design, creating a lattice-structured part which uses less material and has less weight

A metal part could be replaced by a polymer part with the same characteristics

A one-size-fits-all product could be replaced with personalized, custom products which provide greater value to a wider set of customers

An assembly of several parts could be printed as one piece

A product supported by an inventory of spare parts could use a digital inventory and print spare parts on demand at local facilities

An assembly jig could be designed, printed and in use on the line the same day

Mass Customization: The Disruptive Potential of Polymer AM in Production

Mass customization is a fascinating application for AM. Today’s consumer is already familiar with customization in products such as custom insoles, hearing aids or mouthguards. In these applications, AM simply reduces the high cost of custom manufacturing. For example, Aetrex technology uses foot scan data to generate an accurate custom orthotic using different structures, called ‘digital foam,’ in one layer. This allows the company to produce a customized product on demand and locally, with no inventory cost.

However, when it comes to purely cosmetic customization, the concept may at first seem foreign. As consumers in today’s mass-production world, we understand the concept of economies of scale and may see customization as an unnecessary, extravagant feature. Some may ask, “why would I need my car customized?” It’s difficult to break free of this way of thinking, but with digital manufacturing enabled by additive processes, it’s feasible for a run of unique parts to cost the same as a run of identical parts. So, the question is not “why customize?” but rather “why not customize?”

The British carmaker Mini is owned by BMW, a company which has embraced AM in production. Mini Yours Customized allows customers to design and order customized parts, such as rocker panels and trim, online. Parts are produced on-demand and shipped directly to the customer.

What’s the Future of Polymer AM in Production?

Given the disruptive capabilities of plastic 3D printing across the manufacturing sector, the question is: will AM replace injection molding? “No,” said Krauss.  “AM technology opens up new avenues for design and manufacturing of plastic parts, but this doesn’t necessarily mean AM needs to outperform IM on mass production. It simply gives manufacturers alternatives when working in areas where IM isn’t optimal.”

As AM gains adoption in various manufacturing industries, it’s unlikely to directly replace injection molded parts in production. Rather, established paradigms of mass production will begin to share market space with new approaches, which are enabled by the capabilities of AM. This is exciting not only for product designers and manufacturers, but also for consumers.

According to EOS, next steps for getting started with AM begin with identifying an application. This could be prototyping, low-volume production, or jigs and fixtures, for example. Next, develop your application solution, considering not just the process but also the design and lifecycle of the part. From there, certification and ramp-up pave the way to establishing full-scale digital manufacturing facilities.

[3deinc]

3D bioprinting of collagen to rebuild components of the human heart

For biofabrication, the goal is to engineer tissue scaffolds to treat diseases for which there are limited options, such as end-stage organ failure. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has achieved important milestones including microphysiological devices (1), patterned tissues (2), perfusable vascular-like networks (3–5), and implantable scaffolds (6). However, direct printing of living cells and soft biomaterials such as extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins has proved difficult (7). A key obstacle is the problem of supporting these soft and dynamic biological materials during the printing process to achieve the resolution and fidelity required to recreate complex 3D structure and function. Recently, Dvir and colleagues 3D-printed a decellularized ECM hydrogel into a heart-like model and showed that human cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells could be integrated into the print and were present as spherical nonaligned cells after 1 day in culture (8). However, no further structural or functional analysis was performed.

We report the ability to directly 3D-bioprint collagen with precise control of composition and microstructure to engineer tissue components of the human heart at multiple length scales. Collagen is an ideal material for biofabrication because of its critical role in the ECM, where it provides mechanical strength, enables structural organization of cell and tissue compartments, and serves as a depot for cell adhesion and signaling molecules (9). However, it is difficult to 3D-bioprint complex scaffolds using collagen in its native unmodified form because gelation is typically achieved using thermally driven self-assembly, which is difficult to control. Researchers have used approaches including chemically modifying collagen into an ultraviolet (UV)–cross-linkable form (10), adjusting pH, temperature, and collagen concentration to control gelation and print fidelity (11, 12), and/or denaturing it into gelatin (13) to make it thermoreversible. However, these hydrogels are typically soft and tend to sag, and they are difficult to print with high fidelity beyond a few layers in height. Instead, we developed an approach that uses rapid pH change to drive collagen self-assembly within a buffered support material, enabling us to (i) use chemically unmodified collagen as a bio-ink, (ii) enhance mechanical properties by using high collagen concentrations of 12 to 24 mg/ml, and (iii) create complex structural and functional tissue architectures. To accomplish this, we developed a substantially improved second generation of the freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels (FRESH v2.0) 3D-bioprinting technique used in combination with our custom-designed open-source hardware platforms (fig. S1) (14, 15). FRESH works by extruding bio-inks within a thermoreversible support bath composed of a gelatin microparticle slurry that provides support during printing and is subsequently melted away at 37°C (Fig. 1, A and B, and movie S1) (16).

The original version of the FRESH support bath, termed FRESH v1.0, consisted of irregularly shaped microparticles with a mean diameter of ~65 μm created by mechanical blending of a large gelatin block (Fig. 1C) (16). In FRESH v2.0, we developed a coacervation approach to generate gelatin microparticles with (i) uniform spherical morphology (Fig. 1D), (ii) reduced polydispersity (Fig. 1E), (iii) decreased particle diameter of ~25 μm (Fig. 1F), and (iv) tunable storage modulus and yield stress (Fig. 1G and fig. S2). FRESH v2.0 improves resolution with the ability to precisely generate collagen filaments and accurately reproduce complex G-code, as shown with a window-frame calibration print (Fig. 1H). Using FRESH v1.0, the smallest collagen filament reliably printed was ~250 μm in mean diameter, with highly variable morphology due to the relatively large and polydisperse gelatin microparticles (Fig. 1I). In contrast, FRESH v2.0 improves the resolution by an order of magnitude, with collagen filaments reliably printed from 200 μm down to 20 μm in diameter (Fig. 1, I and J). Filament morphology from solid-like to highly porous was controlled by tuning the collagen gelation rate using salt concentration and buffering capacity of the gelatin support bath (fig. S3). A pH 7.4 support bath with 50 mM HEPES was the optimal balance between individual strand resolution and strand-to-strand adhesion and was versatile, enabling FRESH printing of multiple bio-inks with orthogonal gelation mechanisms including collagen-based inks, alginate, fibrinogen, and methacrylated hyaluronic acid in the same print by adding CaCl2, thrombin, and UV light exposure (fig. S4) (15).

We first focused on FRESH-printing a simplified model of a small coronary artery–scale linear tube from collagen type I for perfusion with a custom-designed pulsatile perfusion system (Fig. 2A and fig. S5). The linear tube had an inner diameter of 1.4 mm (fig. S6A) and a wall thickness of ~300 μm (fig. S6B), and was patent and manifold as determined by dextran perfusion (fig. S6, C to E, and movie S2) (15). C2C12 cells within a collagen gel were cast around the printed collagen tube to evaluate the ability to support a volumetric tissue. The static nonperfused controls showed minimal compaction over 5 days (Fig. 2B), and a cross section revealed dead cells throughout the interior volume with a layer of viable cells only at the surface (Fig. 2C). In contrast, after active perfusion for 5 days, C2C12 cells compacted the collagen gel around the collagen tube (Fig. 2D), demonstrating viability and active remodeling of the gel through cell-driven compaction. The cross section showed cells alive throughout the entire volume (Fig. 2E), and quantitative analysis using LIVE/DEAD staining confirmed high viability within the perfused vascular construct (Fig. 2F). Others have 3D-bioprinted vasculature by casting cell-laden hydrogels around fugitive filaments, which become the vessel lumens (4, 5). In comparison, we directly print collagen to form the walls of a functional vascular channel, serving as the foundation for engineering more complex architectures.

Engineering smaller-scale vasculature, especially on the order of capillaries (5 to 10 μm in diameter), has been a challenge for extrusion-based 3D bioprinting because this is far below common needle diameters. However, at this length scale, endothelial and perivascular cells can self-assemble vascular networks through angiogenesis (17). We reasoned that the gelatin microparticles in the FRESH v2.0 support bath could be incorporated into the 3D-bioprinted collagen to create a porous microstructure, specifically because pores on the order of 30 μm in diameter have been shown to promote cell infiltration and microvascularization (18). FRESH v2.0–printed constructs contained micropores ~25 μm in diameter resulting from the melting and removal of the gelatin microparticles purposely entrapped during the printing process (Fig. 2G and movie S3). Collagen disks 5 mm thick and 10 mm in diameter were cast in a mold or printed and implanted in an in vivo murine subcutaneous vascularization model (Fig. 2, H and I, and fig. S7, A and B) to observe cellular infiltration. After implantation for 3 and 7 days, collagen disks were extracted and assessed for gross morphology, cellularization, and collagen structure (fig. S7, C to E). The solid-cast collagen showed minimal cell infiltration (Fig. 2J), whereas the printed collagen had extensive cell infiltration and collagen remodeling (Fig. 2K). Quantitative analysis revealed that cells infiltrated throughout the printed collagen disk within 3 days (Fig. 2L and fig. S8) and that the number of cells in the constructs was significantly greater for the printed collagen at 3 and 7 days compared to cast control [N = 6, P < 0.0001, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)] (15).

To promote vascularization, we incorporated fibronectin and the proangiogenic molecule recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) into our collagen bio-ink (19). Collagen disks that were FRESH-printed with VEGF and extracted after 10 days in vivo showed enhanced vascularization relative to cast controls (Fig. 2, M and N). By histology, the addition of VEGF to the cast collagen increased cell infiltration without promoting microvascularization (Fig. 2O and fig. S9). In contrast, the addition of VEGF to the printed collagen resulted in widespread vascularization, with CD31-positive vessels and red blood cells visible within the lumens (Fig. 2P). Tail vein injection of fluorescent lectin confirmed an extensive host-derived vascular network with vessels ranging from 8 to 50 μm in diameter throughout the printed collagen disk (Fig. 2Q, fig. S10, and movie S4). Multiphoton microscopy enabled deeper imaging into the printed constructs and showed vessels containing red blood cells at depths of at least 200 μm (Fig. 2R and movie S5).

We next FRESH-printed a model of the left ventricle of the heart using human stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes. We used a dual-material printing strategy with collagen bio-ink as the structural component in combination with a high-density cell bio-ink (Fig. 3A) (15). A test print design (fig. S11A) verified that the collagen pH was neutralized quickly enough to maintain ~96% post-printing viability by LIVE/DEAD staining (fig. S11B). The ventricle was designed as an ellipsoidal shell (Fig. 3B) with inner and outer walls of collagen and a central core region containing human embryonic stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) and 2% cardiac fibroblasts (fig. S11, C to H). Ventricles were printed and cultured for up to 28 days, during which the collagen inner and outer walls provided sufficient structural integrity to maintain their intended geometry (Fig. 3C). After 4 days, the ventricles visibly contracted, and after 7 days they became synchronous with a dense layer of interconnected and striated hESC-CMs, as confirmed by immunofluorescent staining of sarcomeric α-actinin–positive myofibrils (fig. S11, I to K). Calcium imaging revealed contracting hESC-CMs throughout the entire printed ventricles, with directional wave propagation in the direction of the printed hESC-CMs observed from the side (Fig. 3, D and E) and top (Fig. 3, F and G) during spontaneous contractions in multiple ventricles (N = 3) (movie S6). Point stimulation enabled visualization of anisotropic calcium wave propagation with longitudinal conduction velocity of ~2 cm/s and a longitudinal-to-transverse anisotropy ratio of ~1.5 (Fig. 3, H and I). The ventricles had a baseline spontaneous beat rate of ~0.5 Hz and could be captured and paced at 1 and 2 Hz by means of field stimulation (Fig. 3J). We imaged the ventricles top-down to quantify motion of the inner and outer walls (Fig. 3K). Wall thickening is a hallmark of normal ventricular contraction. The printed ventricle expanded both inward and outward during a contraction, as determined by particle tracking to map the deformation field (Fig. 3L). The decrease in cross-sectional area of the interior chamber during peak systole showed a maximum of ~5% at 1-Hz pacing (N = 4) (Fig. 3M and movie S6). We also observed electrophysiologic behavior associated with arrhythmogenic disease states, including multiple propagating waves (fig. S12, A and B) and pinned rotors (fig. S12, C and D).

To demonstrate the mechanical integrity and function of collagen constructs at adult human scale, we printed a tri-leaflet heart valve 28 mm in diameter (Fig. 4A). We first prototyped the valve using alginate, a material previously used to build valve models (20), and then printed a collagen valve and improved the mechanical properties by adapting published fixation protocols for decellularized porcine heart valves (fig. S13A) (15, 21). The collagen valve had well-separated leaflets, was robust enough to be handled in air (Fig. 4, B and C, and movie S7), and was imaged by micro–computed tomography (μCT) (Fig. 4, D and E, and movie S8). Print fidelity was quantified using gauging to overlay the μCT data on the 3D model (fig. S13B), showing average overprinting of +0.55 mm and underprinting of –0.80 mm (Fig. 4F and fig. S13, C and D). Mechanical function was demonstrated by mounting the valve in a flow system with a pulsatile pump to simulate physiologic pressures, and we observed cyclical opening and closing of the valve leaflets (Fig. 4G and movie S7). We quantified flow through the valves (Fig. 4H) and demonstrated <15% regurgitation (Fig. 4I) with a maximum area opening of 19.5% (Fig. 4G). Additionally, the maximum transvalvular pressure was greater than 40 mmHg for the collagen and alginate valves (Fig. 4J), exceeding standard physiologic pressures for the tricuspid and pulmonary valves but less than the aortic and mitral valves (22). Further, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) cultured on unfixed collagen leaflets formed a confluent monolayer (fig. S13E).

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–derived computer-aided design (CAD) model of an adult human heart was created, complete with internal structures such as valves, trabeculae, large veins, and arteries, but lacking smaller-scale vessels. To address this, we developed a computational method that uses the coronary arteries as the template to generate multiscale vasculature (fig. S14 and movie S9). We created a space-filling branching network based on a 3D Voronoi lattice, where vessels further from the left coronary arteries (red to blue) have a denser network and smaller diameters, down to ~100 μm (Fig. 4K). A subregion of the generated vasculature containing the left anterior descending artery (LAD) was selected, rendered, and printed from collagen at adult human scale (Fig. 4, L to N). Patency of large vessels was demonstrated by perfusing the multiscale vasculature through the root of the LAD (Fig. 4O). We confirmed the patency of vessels ~100 μm in diameter by optically clearing and reperfusing the multiscale vasculature (Fig. 4P, fig. S14, N to P, and movie S9).

Finally, to demonstrate organ-scale FRESH v2.0 printing capabilities and the potential to engineer larger scaffolds, we printed a neonatal-scale human heart from collagen (Fig. 4, Q and R, and fig. S15, A to C). To highlight the microscale internal structure, we printed half the heart (Fig. 4S). Structures such as trabeculae were printed from collagen with the same architecture as defined in the G-code file (Fig. 4, T and U). The square-lattice infill pattern within the ventricular walls was similarly well defined (Fig. 4, V and W). We used μCT imaging to confirm reproduction of all the anatomical structures contained within the 3D model of the heart, including the atrial and ventricular chambers, trabeculae, and pulmonary and aortic valves (fig. S15, D to I, and movie S10).

We have used the human heart for proof of concept; however, FRESH v2.0 printing of collagen is a platform that can build advanced tissue scaffolds for a wide range of organ systems. There are still many challenges to overcome, such as generating the billions of cells required to 3D-bioprint large tissues, achieving manufacturing scale, and creating a regulatory process for clinical translation (23). Although the 3D bioprinting of a fully functional organ is yet to be achieved, we now have the ability to build constructs that start to recapitulate the structural, mechanical, and biological properties of native tissues.

[3deinc]

Return to the moon? 3D printing with moondust could be the key to future lunar living

The entire Apollo 11 mission to the moon took just eight days. If we ever want to build permanent bases on the moon, or perhaps even Mars or beyond, then future astronauts will have to spend many more days, months and maybe even years in space without a constant lifeline to Earth. The question is how would they get hold of everything they needed. Using rockets to send all the equipment and supplies for building and maintaining long-term settlements on the moon would be hugely expensive.

This is where 3-D printing could come in, allowing astronauts to construct whatever their lunar colony needed from raw materials. Much of the excitement around 3-D printing in space has focused on using it to construct buildings from lunar rock. But my research suggests it may actually be more practical to use this moondust to supply lunar manufacturing labs turning out replacement components for all sorts of equipment.

Technically known as additive manufacturing, 3-D printing comprises a sophisticated group of technologies that can produce physical products of almost any shape or geometrical complexity from digital designs. The technology can already make things from a huge palette of materials including metals, ceramics and plastics, some of which can be used to make space-grade equipment.

3-D printing also has the added benefit of working with minimal human involvement. You can just set it to print and wait for the finished product. This means it can even be operated remotely. In theory, you could send a 3-D printer to the moon (or any other space destination) ahead of a human crew and it could start manufacturing structures before the astronauts even arrived.

There are, of course, significant challenges. 3-D printing has primarily been developed for use on Earth, relying on certain consistent levels of gravity and temperature to operate as designed. So far it uses materials significantly less complex than those found on the surface of the moon or Mars.

Printing with moondust

The moon is covered in regolith, a loose, powdery material formed from millions of years of meteors bombarding the moon's surface. This has slowly transformed the top layers of bedrock into a soil-like material made from grains less than a few millimetres across. While you could in theory use regolith for additive manufacturin, for 3-D-printed houses or even more basic components such as bricks and cement you would need additional materials from Earth to mix with the regolith such as liquid binders.

My colleagues and I have been looking into ways you could 3-D print a range of engineering components using only regolith. Our technique involves using a laser to turn a very small amount of energy into heat that can melt and fuse together grains of regolith to form a thin but solid slice of the material. By repeating this process multiple times and adding more layers in sequence, we can eventually build a three-dimensional object.

Each layer is than 1mm in thickness and so building large structures such as walls or complete shelters would take an impractical amount of time. Instead, it's much better for producing smaller, precisely designed highly detailed objects such as dust or water filters, which typically need holes of less than a micron (0.001 mm). 3-D printing would be particularly useful for replicating vital components if they were to become damaged or worn, and needed replacing faster than it would take a supply ship to bring a new one from Earth.

To figure out how to get this 3-D printing to work in space, we've carried out in-depth investigations into both the material and the processes, and tried to understand how the conditions on the moon would likely impact them. Without a ready supply of real regolith, we used a material that imitates its bulk chemical and mineral composition. This was formed under very different conditions to a meteor bombardment, but it's complex enough for us to study its interaction with the laser and use that knowledge to estimate how real regolith would react.

We still need to better understand the material and its interaction with the 3-D printing process, and engineer novel technical solutions to overcome any limitations. At this stage, it's even hard for us to know what kinds of things might go wrong. But a good next step would be to test 3-D printing with real regolith. Existing samples on Earth are very limited, but with humanity poised to enter a new era of lunar activity, perhaps a ready supply could soon become available.

by Thanos Goulas

[3deinc]

Roscosmos confirms plans to 3D print Lunar shelters from Moon dust

                                                                                                                                           Russian space corporation Roscosmos has confirmed plans to support long-term lunar missions by 3D printing structures made from on-site material. Seemingly the best option for such directives, the declaration adds to plans made by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) that also intend to use Lunar or Martian regolith as source material for 3D printers on the Moon and Mars.

Currently, according to Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin, Russian cosmonauts will land on the Moon for the first time in 2030. By that time, the corporation should also be expected to share company with NASA which is currently targeting a Moon landing by 2024 as part of its Moon to Mars approach. Numerous 3D printing technologies are expected to help the administration achieve this goal.

                                                                                                                                 3D printing to Mars

Practically every business in space exploration currently has its sights set on Mars. Doing so will extend humanity’s physical reach into the solar system further than ever before, furthering our search for life beyond plant Earth and potentially adding to our understanding of how it all started billions of years ago. To get there, and to stay there for extended periods of research, the parties involved in the exploration will however need a more substantial infrastructure than they have now.

One of the first steps in this plan if for humans to return to the Moon. Here, parties intend to build a base that will then facilitate travel to further afield, i.e. Mars and beyond.

3D printing has great potential in in-space construction as it facilitates the fabrication of virtually anything using limited feedstock, locally-sourced materials, or even waste. The first experimentation of the technology in space has been done through Made In Space’s Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As partners of the ISS Roscosmos, alongside NASA, ESA,  JAXA, and CSA, will share in the knowledge gained from AMF experimentation. At present, it has only been used to make small tools using plastic that was part of a payload. More development has since been undertaken to expand 3D printing to other materials, including high performance thermoplastics, ceramics and metals.

                                                                                                                                 Zero-gravity construction

Roscosmos’ future plans for its domestic lunar program will reportedly see “the launch of construction of large-scale structures with the use of additive technologies and local resources.” Exactly how this will be done though is still subject to speculation. Russia’s Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association, which has a number of space-related contracts with the International Science and Technology Center, has previously suggested that construction on the Moon could be undertaken by a solar-powered, regolith sourcing 3D printer.

At ESA, and other research institutes, similar rudimentary efforts using regolith simulant materials have been undertaken to prove their 3D printability. Speaking with Dr. Advenit Makaya, ESA Advanced Manufacturing Engineer in Materials and Processes, current efforts in on-site space fabrication may be more conservative than the agencies would have us believe. “In the distant future, I’m not as optimistic as Elon Musk,” Dr. Makaya comments, “[…] But a foot on Mars, I think so, I hope so […] having a colony on Mars, honestly no.”

In addition, he believes that autonomy will be key to 3D printing’s success in space. “One thing about printing on a planet, is you are not going to have an [astronaut] standing next to machine pressing the buttons […],” said Dr. Makaya, “Most probably we will send the machines before we send the humans so they can print the ground for us.”

[3deinc]

VELO3D to 3D Print Parts For Supersonic Test Plane

Boom Supersonic has selected VELO3D to 3D print the flight hardware for its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft.

The XB-1 is a testing platform for many of the technologies that will form part of Boom’s potential successor to the Concorde. It features some of the most advanced aerospace technologies available: advanced carbon fiber composites, a refined delta wing platform, and a variable-geometry propulsion system.

As a supersonic aircraft, the XB-1 has unique design and performance requirements—which requires the highest level of quality in the 3D printing of its components. But conventional additive manufacturing solutions are too design restrictive for Boom’s purposes, and could result in parts that are poor quality or develop inconsistencies during manufacturing.

VELO3D’s Intelligent Fusion technology promises to overcome those limitations. The technology provides heightened design freedom when developing the part, and a high degree of control and quality assurance during production. Boom intends to rely on VELO3D’s expertise and technology to support further development of the XB-1 with its metal additive manufacturing solutions.

“High-speed air travel relies on technology that is proven to be safe, reliable, and efficient, and by partnering with VELO3D we’re aligning ourselves with a leader in additive manufacturing,” said Mike Jagemann, Head of XB-1 Production for Boom Supersonic. “VELO3D helped us understand the capabilities and limitations of metal additive manufacturing and the positive impact it would potentially have on our supersonic aircraft.”

The companies have already conducted validation trials of parts produced for the XB-1 and the results were promising. VELO3D created 3D-printed “mice” that were installed in the exhausts of the prototype to facilitate line testing for the engine during operation. The “mice” facilitated this testing by reducing the engine’s nozzle area to simulate an engine stall. The test also simulated inlet flow distortion.

“Certification and the required quality assurance are a considerable challenge with today’s metal AM systems,” said Boom manufacturing engineer Ryan Bocook. “VELO3D Intelligent Fusion technology should be a significant step forward in terms of process control and metrology.”

VELO3D is now developing two titanium flight hardware parts for the prototype’s environmental control system—which would help enhance aircraft safety in a variety of conditions. The parts will be installed in the XB-1 early next year.

Boom’s ambition is to create 55-seat airplanes that fly at twice the speed of sound, with seats that are comparable in price to today’s business-class fares—and eventually, competitive with economy fares. VELO3D’s additive manufacturing technology should help the company reach those goals.

[3deinc]

NASA is using 3D printing to develop soft robots for space exploration

A pair of researchers at NASA are using 3D printing to help bring soft robotics to space.

Chuck Sullivan and Jack Fitzpatrick, interns at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, are investigating the viability of using soft robotics for space exploration and assembly. Soft robots are constructed from highly flexible materials, allowing for new robot movements similar to living organisms that traditional robots can’t replicate, therefore presenting new possible applications for robots in space.

Although in its early stages, 3D printing has played a key role in the research, with the two interns using the technology to develop the soft robotic actuator, which is key for animating and controlling a robot’s moving parts. “When you actuate the soft robot, it changes how you use the material properties,” explained Fitzpatrick.

“A PIECE OF RUBBER GOING FROM FLAT TO THE SHAPE OF A FINGER, IT CHANGES THE MATERIAL INTO SOMETHING ELSE.”

3D printing enables life-like movements of soft robot actuator

Sullivan and Fitzpatrick selected 3D printing to develop the actuator in order to understand and explore how the integral soft robotic components can be built and used in space. Currently, their process revolves around 3D printing an actuator mold, then pouring in silicone, a flexible substance, in order to create the soft robotic actuator.

Using 3D printing, the actuator features a design utilizing chambers (or air bladders) with tubes within them, which allows control of the soft robot’s movements. The chambers expand and compress depending on the level of air within them; by using the tubes, the NASA researchers can adjust the amount of air in the chamber of the soft robotic actuator, allowing the robot to flex and relax, mimicking human muscles.

Infinite potential for soft robots in space

Both the research interns are new to the field of soft robotics, but have worked with NASA before. They were invited by NASA to work on the intern project as the organization is keen on investigating the viability of soft robots in space. As such, Sullivan and Fitzpatrick are “starting at ground zero” for investigating how soft robotics can be used in space assembly and exploration, and have therefore devised a series of experiments to test, gather data and develop their actuator designs.

Their experiments are based on testing four properties of soft robotic actuators, and with the results, the NASA interns plan on determining the potential uses and limitations of soft robotics in space exploration and assembly. The four properties consists of mobility, joining, leveling, and strengthening: “We are trying to see the basic capabilities of soft robots through these four properties,” commented Sullivan. “That way when someone down the road says maybe soft robotics is useful in a different application they can look at our work as a baseline.”

Mobility tests will focus on how the soft robotic actuator is able to move in the conditions of outer-space. The second property, joining, will focus on understanding how soft robots could interlock and link together, which could have various uses, like producing a large temporary shelter. Leveling indicates the ability of the actuators to create or adjust a desired surface, and lastly, strengthening will look at building the robustness of a material through pressurizing by using the air bladders in the soft robotic actuator. Fitzpatrick hopes, with these tests, they can develop soft robots to be used in space where they can help keep astronauts safe and productive. Sullivan added:

“WE SEE THESE FOUR THINGS AS THE CRUX OF THE PROBLEM. ONCE WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THOSE IN INDIVIDUAL UNIT TESTS, WE WOULD LIKE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO COMBINE THEM, SO MAYBE WE COMBINE MOBILITY AND JOINING.”

The intern project at NASA was initially developed by Computer Engineer and Principal Investigator James Neillan, along with Co-Principal Investigator Matt Mahlin. Experts will visit Langley to provide feedback on Fitzpatrick’s and Sullivan’s designs and research so far, with the project then set to continue through the summer.

Soft robots of the future

With the NASA interns using 3D printing to investigate the potential of soft robotics in space, the field of 3D printing and soft robotics continues to develop. Previously, North Carolina State University (NCSU) had conducted early-stage experiments to develop a new class of 3D printed smart material that is magnetically-reactive and mesh-like by design. The material has a significant potential for use with smart robotics: “This new class of magnetoactive actuators enabled by this 3D printing technique enables […] potential applications spanning active tissue scaffolds for cell cultures and various types of soft robots mimicking creatures that live on the surface of water,” commented NCSU Professor Orlin Velev.

Other developments in the field include a moving 3D printed gel from Rutgers University–New Brunswick that demonstrates the lifelike possibilities of soft robotics, and a robot with 3D printed soft-robotic legs at UC San Diego’s Bioinspired Robotics and Design Lab that allows it to walk over uneven surfaces.

[3deinc]

Additive Manufacturing: The new revolution in manufacturing

Driven by cutting-edge technology and breakthrough innovations, Additive Manufacturing is reimagining production processes and redefining sustainable manufacturing

When the entire Manufacturing process - from design to delivery - takes 90% lesser time and consumes 80% lesser energy, it's a huge departure from convention. Add to this the advantages of environment-friendly processes and the savings on sustainable operations, and you have a true revolution. Welcome to the world of Additive Manufacturing (AM), which is transforming industrial processes and ushering in a new future for factories.

The forward-looking technologies and innovations involved in Additive Manufacturing are opening up new pathways for economic, technical and logistical advantages in the manufacturing domain. Industry leaders are at the forefront of this revolution, providing hardware & software solutions to OEMs of Additive Manufacturing machines & integrating AM technologies into mainstream manufacturing for themselves at the same time.

HDFC net profit slips to Rs 9,632 crore in FY19; recommends dividend of Rs 17.50

The Additive Manufacturing era

While conventional and subtractive manufacturing produces 3D objects by machining out matter from the foundational raw material, AM or popularly known as 3D-Printing adds layer-upon-layer of the material to build the product - be it a minute machinery component or mega-sized industrial equipment.

Though it's early days yet, AM is projected to touch a market of $20-billion by 2020, and McKinsey predicts that the impact of the AM industry could accelerate to a potential  $250-billion by 2025, you can imagine the growth curve. The Indian 3D-printing market alone is expected to be worth $79 million (approx. Rs 585-crore) by 2021.

While increased domestic production, low manufacturing costs and an increased utilisation across industries and application will power this growth, the partnership of key AM players with the Government's 'Make in India' initiative will further boost its expanding footprint.

On its part, Siemens is committed to driving this growth through our integrated hardware and software solutions using our digital enterprise approach for the Additive Manufacturing value chain. We are already supplying our integrated AM solutions to many of the leading OEMs across the world.

Application of AM

Rapid prototyping helps print parts faster, significantly reducing time-to-market, thus speeding up the overall innovation and production cycles. AM also yields huge benefits in sustainability and resource consumption - cutting gas emissions by about 30%, using 65% fewer resources and creating components with greater durability and lifespan.

AM printers reproduce industrial spare-parts from 3D-datasets, doing away with the need for plants to physically store them for future use thereby enabling faster repairs, improving processes and facilitating easier upgradation to the latest designs.

Today, Additive Manufacturing is making rapid inroads in sectors as diverse as automotive, energy, medicine and aerospace. NASA is known to have successfully printed and tested a rocket injector, while Formula1 race cars are increasingly using 3D printed parts for increased efficiency. AM allows increased customisation and makes highly complex solutions available for power utilities and manufacturing plants.

A wide range of powdered materials can be used to manufacture industrial spare parts with AM. Right from the inception of AM, Siemens has been investing in the technology, emerging as a pioneer in using it for rapid prototyping, advanced repair solutions and manufacturing.

Just recently, Siemens achieved an innovation milestone by manufacturing the first 3D-printed oil sealing rings used in keeping oil separated from steam inside industrial steam turbines. The rings have been installed on SST-300 power generating steam turbines operating at the JSW Steel plant in Salem, Tamil Nadu.

Former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, husband Deepak Kochhar appear before ED

Adoption of AM in manufacturing

Waking up to the advantages of rapid manufacturing and rapid repairs, a good 34% of manufacturers in the US have already implemented AM technology in their production processes.

As the investments required for the implementation of AM will shrink in the coming years and skilled workforce is developed to work with new technologies, Additive Manufacturing will make rapid strides in its journey to transform modern manufacturing and reshape the future of factories.

Of course, industrial printers and software are not the whole story. Companies have to think carefully about how to integrate Additive Manufacturing into their production processes in the future.

The present global environment is conducive to the continued growth and adoption of AM technologies in production for increased speed, reliability and efficiency. It is imperative for global and domestic players to resolve to prepare, explore and embrace the challenges while making bold moves towards the future of AM technology.

[3deinc]

First metal additively manufactured part to land on the moon

The first metal additively manufactured part is set to land on the moon today, April 11, 2019. Developed by RUAG Space, Zurich, Switzerland, the aluminium engine mount is fitted on the main engine of the ‘Beresheet’ lunar lander, developed by non-profit organisation SpaceIL, Israel.

“Our 3D part will support landing and lift off of the spacecraft on the moon,” explained Peter Guggenbach, RUAG Space CEO. Since 2014, the company has developed a number of space components by AM. For the production of this part, it contracted Morf3D, El Segundo, California, USA, a provider of Additive Manufacturing solutions with a focus on the aerospace industry.

“With 3D printing, our customers profit from a quicker and more cost-efficient production,” stated Guggenbach, adding that “weight reduction is a decisive factor in the space industry. The lighter the satellite, the lower the costs. Every kilogram less saves money, since less energy is needed for sending the satellite into orbit.”

SpaceIL’s mission represents the first non-governmental landing on the moon. Its total budget is estimated at $95 million, provided mainly by philanthropists and the Israel Space Agency (ISA). Today, Beresheet will land on the lunar surface and begin sending photos and videos back to Earth, as well as data about the moon’s magnetic field.

[3deinc]

Company Creates Indestructible 3D-Printed Guitar, Challenges Yngwie Malmsteen to Smash It

A Swedish company called Sandvik has unveiled what was described as "the world's first smash-proof 3D printed guitar."

The electric six-string utilizes a 3D-printed titanium body, along with a neck supported by the company's hyper-duplex steel technology.

To test their smash-proof claims, Sandvik handed the guitar to Yngwie Malmsteen, challenging the guitarist to smash it.

Yngwie said (transcribed by UG):

"When I was seven, I saw Jimi Hendrix smash a guitar on TV. So I started playing guitar so I could smash it - probably smashed over 100 guitars."

After what he described as a 12-round boxing match, Yngwie failed to smash the instrument. He said (via 3D Printing Industry):

"This guitar is a beast! Sandvik is obviously on top of their game. They put the work in, they do their hours, I can relate to that. ... The result is amazing. I gave everything I had, but it was impossible to smash."

The guitar's body was manufactured with titanium powder using a Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) machine.

According to the source, "this provided the body with a mechanically strong and complex structure, featuring microscopically thin layers of titanium powder fused together using lasers."

Furthermore, the guitar's volume knobs and tailpiece were also crafted through 3D printing. As for the neck and the fretboard, they were machined from a single solid block of stainless steel.

Amelie Norrby, the company's additive manufacturing engineer, stated:

"Additive manufacturing allows us to build highly complex designs in small production runs. It lets us create lighter, stronger and more flexible components with internal structures that would be impossible to mill traditionally. And it is more sustainable because you only use the material you need for the component, minimizing waste."

You can check out Yngwie's smashing attempt in the embedded player below.

[3deinc]

There will soon be a whole community of ultra-low-cost 3D-printed homes

The latest iteration of New Story’s home can be printed in a single day–and is being designed by Yves Behar’s Fuseproject. Soon, they’ll start going up in Latin America.

Over the past year, in a lab in Austin, a team of engineers and materials scientists tweaked and tested the design of the “Vulcan II,” a massive, 33-by-11-foot machine that can 3D print the frame of a small house in less than a day. Later this year, it will begin printing a neighborhood of more than 50 homes.

The new neighborhood–the first of its kind in the world–will be built in a semi-rural part of Latin America for families who earn less than $200 a month. “We’re bringing very futuristic technology to the families that need it most first,” says Brett Hagler, CEO and cofounder of New Story, a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit that is working with Icon, the Austin-based construction tech company that developed the new machine.

New Story, a startup founded in 2014, works on the problem of how to quickly build housing for those living in extreme poverty. In Haiti, where progress to rebuild after the 2010 earthquake was painfully slow, the nonprofit developed a new process to build more efficiently. But it realized that the pace of traditional construction would always hamper its ability to address the global need for better housing. After analyzing various options to speed up construction and decrease costs–including prefab homes–the team realized that 3D printing could be a viable solution. In late 2017, they began working with Icon, funding the R&D work necessary to develop the machine.

The Vulcan II builds walls and floors by squirting layers of concrete, and can finish a house in a day or less. Adding a conventional roof, windows, and utilities can be completed a day later. After printing an initial test home in a backyard in Austin in 2018, the team kept refining the design of both the house and the equipment. One addition was a simple interface so that it would be easier to operate. “Something that’s really important to us as an international development organization is the ability for the machine to be operated by local talent,” says Alexandria Lafci, cofounder and head of operations of New Story. (Though the construction process provides fewer jobs per home than traditional building, it offers the chance to learn new technical skills.) Most of the process is automated, including mixing materials. “There was a moment [last week] where our staff was in the lab printing, and we all just sat around for hours–no one did anything–as walls were getting built,” says Jason Ballard, cofounder and CEO of Icon. The printer is designed to be durable enough to be transported to remote locations and to be used outside, continuously, for months or even years.

New Story initially planned to build homes in a community in El Salvador, where it is building hundreds of traditionally constructed homes this year. But as it considered proposals from various local partners and factors such as access to land and the timeline to get permits and install utilities onsite, it ultimately chose to use the technology first in another part of Latin America.

The nonprofit won’t reveal the location yet because, it claims, the intense interest that the technology generates could undermine completion of the project. But the homes, built in a few different floor plans, will help house families who currently get substandard, shack-like housing through their jobs at a local factory. “They work incredibly long hours in pretty dangerous, semi-toxic conditions, and part of their very little compensation is the shelters that they are given,” says Lafci. “Our local partners describe it as almost like modern-day slavery or indentured servitude.” Because housing is part of the job, employees often feel like they can’t leave; the new homes will open up the potential to find new work.

New Story partnered with the design firm Fuseproject on the homes because it believed that high-quality architecture was important. “Very often we as a society are willing to accept ‘less than’ for this type of population: ‘less than’ in quality, ‘less than’ for innovation, ‘less than’ great design, ‘less than’ for the input that families are able to have in their solution,” says Lafci. “Even when populations are seemingly vulnerable, or seemingly will accept whatever is given, that’s not an excuse to not really push to have the highest quality of whoever you’re working with.” In a design workshop a week ago, the families who will live in the homes shared feedback and helped iterate on the plans, chanting, at one point, “Todos somos arquitectos,” or “We are all architects.”

Because the design is currently evolving, the nonprofit is choosing to wait to share renderings publicly. The final cost of the homes is not yet known, though New Story says that it will be substantially cheaper than its low-cost traditional homes, which cost around $7,000 to build. While New Story will fund the houses, the new homeowners will pay for them via a no-interest loan that the new home owners pay back with a monthly fee based on income. The money will go into a community fund for more community improvements over time

Fuseproject, best known for industrial design, has started taking on larger-scale projects, and also recently worked on the design of prefab backyard homes. Founder Yves Behar says that his belief in the potential of 3D printing has grown over time. “I think it’s going to have a fast evolution from novelty to reality,” he says. “There’s a real opportunity for low-cost housing really anywhere. New Story’s focus, obviously, is the developing world. But I can’t stop thinking about Northern California and the tremendous need we have for housing. From a speed standpoint, and from a cost standpoint, I think 3D printed building is going to be a reality.”

In Austin, Icon is partnering with Cielo, a developer, to dedicate one of its printers to the city to be used to build housing for the homeless or other affordable housing. 3Strands, another organization, also plans to use the equipment to build sustainable, affordable homes in the United States. The government mortgage loan company Fannie Mae, which has explored the potential of modular construction to provide affordable housing, is also interested in the potential of 3D printing, Ballard says. But the neighborhood in Latin America will be the first project to build a community of the homes.

“When you print an entire community, and it’s a community that people are living in, it takes it out of the realm of novel and into an actual solution for communities globally,” says Lafci. New Story considers itself the “R&D arm” for the social housing sector; when the first community is constructed and proven, it plans to begin to share its learnings for governments and other nonprofits to use. “This next stage will be getting these machines into the hands of as many other organizations that can help end global homelessness as possible,” says Hagler.

BY ADELE PETERS

[3deinc]

NASA develops new copper alloy for 3D printing rocket components

Researchers from NASA have developed and 3D printed a new copper-based alloy for use in rocket propulsion components.

GRCop-42, a high strength, high conductivity copper-based alloy, was created by a team from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama and the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Ohio.

The result metal powder used to produce near-fully-dense 3D printed parts such as combustion chamber liners and fuel injector faceplates with a Concept Laser M2 3D printer, a Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) AM system.

Developing aerospace-grade alloys

As detailed in the review published in the NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), in 2014, NASA engineers commenced the development of GRCop-84, the predecessor of GRCop-42, to establish more readily available powder suppliers for combustion chamber based hardware.

Following hot-fire tests of 3D printed GRCop-84 components at MSFC in 2016 and 2017, the team began developing GRCop-42 for higher thermal conductivity at similar strength; this would also allow for components within propulsion enginesthat “exceed their traditionally manufactured predecessors”, stated the researchers.

Throughout 2018, the NASA team conducted tests of the metal power, proving its processability through metal additive manufacturing. The researchers explain, “The rationale for choosing this machine is primarily that it was used in the GRCop-84 development and had proven itself ‘copper friendly’. With its inert glovebox and build chamber, and the 400 W laser [it] could readily achieve the high-energy density needed to fully melt the 42.”

3D printed rocket components

25 small blocks were 3D printed using GRCop-42 with 50% thicker layers (0.045mm) from the GRCop-84. The researchers observed that this allowed the components to cool faster. These parts were then put through MSFC’s hot isostatic press (HIP), a manufacturing process used to reduce the porosity of metals, and then shipped to GRC for additional post-processing and room temperature tensile testing.

It was found that the 3D printed metal components made from GRCop-42 demonstrated high thermal conductivity, excellent creep (deformation) resistance, and strength at elevated temperatures.

The NASA team now intends to validate its parameter set of GRCop-42 by running several extensive tests with larger builds.

“Three-Dimensional Printing GRCop-42” is co-authored by K.G. Cooper, J.L. Lydon, M.D. LeCorre, Z.C. Jones, D.S. Scannapieco, D.L. Ellis, and B.A. Lerch.

Voting for the 2019 3D Printing Industry Awards is now open. To see if your nominations made the shortlist, and to help decide this year’s winners, cast your votes now.

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Looking for a career in additive manufacturing? Visit 3D Printing Jobs for a selection of roles in the industry.

Featured image shows hot test firing of an Aerojet Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Photo by Aaron Cunningham/NASA

Tia Vialva

[3deinc]

U.S. Army acquires Rize One 3D printer for spare parts on-demand

The Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) of the U.S. Army in New Jersey has acquired a Rize One 3D printer for the on-demand manufacturing of spare parts and tools.

Rize One was commercially introduced by RIZE, a Massachusetts-based 3D printer manufacturer, in 2017. It uses the company’s proprietary APD technology which combines extrusion and ink jetting simultaneously to build 3D parts.

James Zunino, Materials Engineer at ARDEC, said, “A system can go down because of one missing part and something like 3D printing can get you back in the fight. That’s a huge benefit to the Army.”

“IF A HANDLE IS BROKEN ON PURGE PUMP OR WHEEL IS DAMAGED ON AN EOD ROBOT, YOU CAN PRINT A NEW ONE.”

ARDEC manufacturing laboratories

ARDEC is the primary munitions and armament research hub of the U.S. military. Its various branches include CNC, laser machining, and additive manufacturing operations. Part of ARDEC’s Benet laboratories is the Additive Manufacturing Facility which operates the Optomec‘s 850 R LENS System and the Rapid Prototyping Facility, housing Viper Si2, SLA 3500 by 3D Systems, Dimension Elite and Objet500 Connex3 PolyJet by Stratasys.

In addition to manufacturing machinery, ARDEC’s Advanced Composites Lab is responsible for manufacturing and analyzing materials such as polymers, metals, ceramics, and carbon composites.

The Rize One printer was acquired by the Advanced Materials Technology Branch (AMTB) of ARDEC. This facility already has twenty-five 3D printers ranging between $500 and $500k.

Rize One Augmented Polymer Deposition

Rize One has impressed soldiers with its minimal post-processing requirements. The support structure 3D printed by Rize One is easy to remove and a part does not need to be soaked in a solvent for hours. Before acquiring Rize One the ARDEC units were using FDM/FFF printers, whose 3D printed parts needed to be submerged in a solvent for 4-6 hours to remove the dissolvable supports.

On the simple post-processing abilities of the Rize One, AMTB Scientist Matthew Brauer said, “It’s easy to peel away supports from intricate geometries, and that provides a faster part in the soldier’s hand.”

At the ARDEC base, some of the practical application of the Rize One 3D printer include manufacturing of spare parts such as window knobs of Humvees, openers for chemical drums, and generator wrench.

Accelerating additive

In recent years, the U.S. Army and U.S Air Force (USAF) have made efforts to accelerate the adoption of 3D printing technology into their wider manufacturing operations. USAF’s MAMLS project is a good example in this regards.

The Rize One furthers the goal of U.S Army. With Rize One’s ink-jetting system, serial number and QR codes can be printed onto the spare parts. A QR code can generate a digital thread back to the original design with detailed information on the part.

Zunino commented, “I think having accountability and provenance of a part is huge in the general acceptance of AM parts […] A lot of it is trust in the new technology and this really helps build some of that trust.”

Nominations for 2019 3D Printing Awards are open. You can name the best applications of 3D printing.

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Featured image shows a barrel opener and a wrench 3D printed with Rize One. Image via RIZE.

[3deinc]

ESA completes first test fire of ArianeGroup 3D printed rocket engine

The European Space Agency (ESA) has completed the first hot fire testing of a full scale, 3D printed rocket engine demonstrator named BERTA (Biergoler Raumttransportaengine/Biergoler space transport drive). Fired at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Lampoldshausen, the additive manufacturing process used to produce this engine is part of the development pipeline of the Ariane 6launch vehicle – a project valued at €3.6 billion ($4 billion USD).

Lysan Pfützenreuter, project manager at DLR Space Management, comments, “Additive manufacturing opens up new ways for Europe to manufacture engines,”

“THE SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF EUROPEAN LAUNCHER SYSTEMS.”

3D printed rocket engines

As a relatively cost effective production method for such complex parts, additive manufacturing is finding widespread use across R&D efforts in the aerospace industry. This is particularly evident in the development of engines that use storable liquid propellants, e.g. liquid oxygen (LOX) methane, which are reusable, and much simpler than those that require an ignition system. Launcher’s E-2 is one example of a 3D printed LOX engine, which made headlines last week for its record-breaking single-piece attempt. The Orbex Prime engine is another, which was produced in collaboration with SLM Solutions.

The BERTA engine, developed by ArianeGroup at ESA, was produced using selective laser melting (SLM), from a nickel-based alloy (for the injection head) and stainless steel (the combustion chamber). A demonstration at present, this engine is a step toward the agency’s ultimate goal of producing 3D printed engines that can propel rockets to the moon (384,000 km above Earth) and beyond.

A European first

One of the advantages of 3D printing BERTA, was the engineers’ ability to add more complex cooling channels to the engine’s interior. Eventually, this integration will lead to more compact engines, a positive for material economy. In the first test of a month-long series on the BERTA, DLR engineers successfully fired the engine for 560 seconds, at a reference thrust of 2.45 kN (550.78 lbf). Gerd Brümmer, DLR engineer and head of BERTA Test Stand P8, comments, “The aim of the current tests is to investigate the flow behaviour and heat transfer of printed surfaces.”

In addition, Brümmer says:

“THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY CAN CURRENTLY ONLY BE TESTED AT TEST STAND P8 IN LAMPOLDSHAUSEN, EUROPE-WIDE.”

Remaining competitive in aerospace

BERTA’s continued testing is part of the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) first launched in 2003 “to respond to Europe’s future institutional needs and to continue at the forefront of new developments in space.” Now in Period 3, the FLPP is seeking “New Economic Opportunities” to cut the time-to-market and price of the continent’s aerospace systems. The agency is also developing other additive manufacturing processes for application in larger engine demonstrators.

In relation to the BERTA’s first firing Wenzel Schoroth, propulsion engineer at ESA, comments, “3D printing and qualifying parts for hot-firing and ultimately flight is a challenge, especially when dealing with fine, complicated structures, like the cooling channels of our demonstrator.”

“THIS HOT-FIRE TEST IS A WAY OF DEMONSTRATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR PROCESSES, AS WELL AS LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE FLOW PHENOMENA WITHIN ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED ROCKET ENGINES.”

[3deinc]

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[3deinc]

Forget everything you know about 3D printing — the ‘replicator’ is here

Rather than building objects layer by layer, the printer creates whole structures by projecting light into a resin that solidifies.

Researchers have unveiled a 3D printer that creates an entire object at once, rather than building it layer by layer as typical additive-manufacturing devices do — bringing science-fiction a step closer to reality.

“This is an exciting advancement to rapidly prototype fairly small and transparent parts,” says Joseph DeSimone, a chemist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The device, described on 31 January in Science1, works like a computed tomography (CT) scan in reverse, explains Hayden Taylor, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley.

In CT machines, an X-ray tube rotates around the patient, taking multiple images of the body’s innards. Then, a computer uses the projections to reconstruct a 3D picture.

Stop the press

The team realized that the process could be reversed: given a computer model of a 3D object, the researchers calculated what it would look like from many different angles, and then fed the resulting 2D images into a ordinary slide projector. The projector cast the images into a cylindrical container filled with an acrylate, a type of synthetic resin.

As the projector cycled through the images, which covered all 360 degrees, the container rotated by a corresponding angle. “As the volume rotates, the amount of light received by any point can be independently controlled,” says Taylor. “Where the total amount exceeds a certain value, the liquid will become solid.”

This is because a chemical in the resin absorbs photons and, once it reaches a certain threshold, the acrylate undergoes polymerization — the resin molecules link together into chains to make a solid plastic.

The exposure process takes about two minutes for an object a few centimetres across; the team recreated a version of Auguste Rodin’s sculpture ‘The Thinker’ a few centimetres tall.

The remaining liquid is then removed, leaving behind the solid 3D object.

The process is more flexible than conventional 3D printing, Taylor says; for example, it can create objects that enclose existing ones. The resulting structures also have smoother surfaces than can be achieved with typical 3D printers, which could be helpful for manufacturing optical components.

The scientists suggest the method could be used for printing medical components.