Oct 15, 2016 | By Benedict
Everyone may be talking about Clinton vs Trump, but our 3D printing news roundup sees two graphene-based 3D printing filaments vying for your vote. In other news: Airbus and Stratasys strike a deal, Nano Dimension expands into 3D bioprinting, and the Boy Scouts of America get 3D printing.
Shares in major 3D printing companies may be falling, but Monday’s opening bell at New York City’s NASDAQ Stock Market was rung loud and true by the cofounders of 3D printing startup TriFusion Devices, winner of the 2016 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC). Cofounders Blake Teipel and Brandon Sweeney took part in the ceremony after their 3D printing venture impressed judges at the global startup contest. According to its creators, the young company offers breakthrough 3D printing products and services aimed at revolutionizing the healthcare and sports equipment industries, meeting the needs of both amputees and prosthetists.
Prior to its competition prize and NASDAQ escapades, TriFusion Devices was brought onto the scene by Startup Aggieland, an award-winning business incubator and accelerator program at Texas A&M University. With the help of Startup Aggieland, as well as other university initiatives,such as the National Science Foundation I-Corps program, TriFusion was able to perfect its medical 3D printing solution, which creates custom-fit prosthetic devices within 48 hours, and eventually received a $400,000 cheque from RBPC.
“Be on the lookout for this company,” said Don Lewis, the 3D printing company’s mentor and coach at Startup Aggieland. “They are a team to watch because of what they do. They’ve created a revolutionary way to 3D print plastics that are extremely durable and strong, and they are crafting them into very useful objects, like the prosthetics.”
Next time you take a flight, just think how many parts of your aircraft will be 3D printed in just a few decades time. On Thursday, Airbus and Stratasys shook hands on what could be a significant deal in the aerospace additive manufacturing world, with the aircraft manufacturer standardizing on Stratasys’ ULTEM 9085 3D printing material for the production of flight parts for the A350 XWB aircraft.
ULTEM 9085, a resin 3D printing material used in FDM 3D printers, is certified to an Airbus material specification, and combines a high strength-to-weight ratio with FST (flame, smoke, and toxicity) compliance for aircraft flight parts. According to Stratasys, the material enables the production of strong yet lighter parts while lowering manufacturing costs and production time. Use of additive manufacturing with the resin material will enable Airbus to produce parts on demand and at locations optimized for delivery to final assembly lines. “In 2014 Airbus produced a significant amount of parts on its Stratasys FDM-based 3D Printers for use in new A350 XWB aircraft, enabling Airbus to meet delivery commitments on-time,” commented Andy Middleton, President, Stratasys EMEA.
Israeli 3D printer manufacturer Nano Dimension, which recently began shipping its DragonFly 20 20 PCB 3D printer, confirmed on Monday that it will conduct R&D in the field of 3D biopri...
SOURCE: 3ders.org ( go on reading...)
