In this issue of 3D printing industry news digest Slice, we cover the latest business developments, partnerships and acquisitions in the field of additive manufacturing.

Today's edition showcases the latest 3D printing hardware, software and materials released by Formnext 2021, as well as new additive manufacturing partnerships, sustainability announcements and business updates announced during the show.

Read on for the latest updates from Essentium, Digital Metal, Safran Group, Hexagon, 6K Additive, Rapid Shape, Additive Industries, Prusa Research and more. 

New 3D printing partnerships for Hexagon, 3DGBIRE, 6K Additive, Stratasys, TRUMPF, Covestro, GE and iMakr

A large number of 3D printing partnerships were announced during Formnext 2021 last week. 

First, Hexagon, a global technology company headquartered in Sweden, has partnered with Directed Energy Deposition (DED) 3D printer OEM Sciaky to enable its customers to optimize how they use Sciaky’s Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) process to make G-pre-deposition of high-value parts Encoding, with accurate high-speed simulation and analysis. 

On Formnext, Hexagon also revealed plans to establish the industry's "most flexible and open" additive manufacturing ecosystem to help overcome the complexity of the 3D printing process. The company announced several new members in the ecosystem, including Sciaky, Meltio, CADS Additive, AMcubator and Additive Center, and more members are expected to join. Formnext also witnessed the launch of Probeam's new PB WEBAM 100 machine powered by Hexagon technology, which can 3D print high-quality parts with challenging materials such as pure copper and titanium.

Elsewhere, the long-established Irish printing services company IPS has partnered with service provider 3DGBIRE to expand its technology portfolio to include 3D printing equipment and applications. The two companies established a distributor partnership based on providing Raise3D products to the Irish market for manufacturing parts and prototype applications.

6K Additive, an industrial material manufacturer in the 3D printing industry, announced a strategic partnership with 3D printer manufacturer Freemelt to develop new materials for the company's electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF) printer platform and bring them to market. The partnership will provide customers in the aerospace, hypersonic and medical fields with new material options for applications that require high-performance material properties. 

At the same time, 3D printer OEM Stratasys has cooperated with Danish footwear manufacturer ECCO to innovate in the field of footwear manufacturing. ECCO will use Stratasys' Origin One 3D printing technology to accelerate its product development and use 3D printing molds and Henkel Loctite resin materials to review concept samples early in the development cycle. Compared with CNC machined aluminum, the production speed of 3D printed molds is faster and the cost is greatly reduced.

German machine tool manufacturer TRUMPF announced that it is working with 3D printing powder manufacturer Equispheres to certify powders for its 3D printers.

"The engineering team at TRUMPF is working hard to determine the best parameters for the faster production of aluminum parts using Equispheres powder," said Thomas Bloor, Equispheres Global Business Development Director. "This will enable customers to reduce the production costs of 3D printed parts and open the door to wider adoption of additive manufacturing in global manufacturing."

Polymer 3D printing expert Covestro and German 3D printer manufacturer voxeljet announced that they are collaborating to develop a material-machine combination for more economical large-scale 3D printing. The two companies have previously developed and validated thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powders for voxeljet's HSS process and are now expanding their partnership to provide material process products using voxeljet's large format VX1000HSS printer platform and Covestro's functional materials expertise .

Elsewhere, the U.S. Air Force and General Electric have entered the third phase of their Metal Additive Manufacturing Pathfinder as part of the Pacer Edge program to solve the Air Force’s "cold start" problem-an engine that takes more than 300 days to purchase part. In the next five years, partners will create at least five technical data packages on the Air Force’s support platform.

Alexa Polites of the US Air Force Pacer Edge said: “The top priority of the US Air Force and the General Electric team is to create a digital 3D technology data package for obsolete'cold start' parts that are difficult to purchase, and to deliver four airworthy, near-net castings. GE Additives project manager. 

"These TDPs will ultimately mean that some obsolescence will be a thing of the past."

3D printer, scanner and service distributor iMakr and additive manufacturing composites company AREVO have joined forces to provide large-scale continuous carbon fiber additive manufacturing. AERVO's machine can print accurate, lightweight and super strong parts up to 1 cubic meter in size, and it is reported that it can expand the production scale to tens of thousands.

Formnext 2021 Partner News is an agreement between German 3D printer manufacturer Rapid Shape and BASF's 3D printing division Forward AM to provide workflows for their material machine systems. Rapid Shape will provide a proven workflow for printing Forward AM's high-performance materials on its digital light processing (DLP) driven 3D printer. 

Formnext 2021 new 3D printer from industrial supply, additive industry and Optomec

The 3D printing industry has reported many new 3D printers launched during Formnext 2021, including new machines from companies such as 3D Systems, BigRep, Zaxe, WASP, LOOP 3D, Shining 3D, Axtra3D, etc.

Also announcing the new hardware at the exhibition is Industrial Supplies, a part of Smart International Group, which has launched a new macro production module for flexible, on-demand small-batch production. The module has four independent printing rooms, which can be used for standard or high temperature, and can be used with various high-performance materials, such as PEEK and ULTEM. These chambers can be used for specific projects individually or together to increase production capacity. 

At the same time, Additive Industries, a metal 3D printer manufacturer based in the Netherlands, showcased many new products at the show last week, including its new MetalFAB G2. Available in three versions-core, automation and continuous production-the next generation machine has more than 150 updates, with optimized airflow and thermal management, updated process parameters and automatic beam quality measurement.

Additive Industries also introduced a new MF Calibrate multi-beam identification tool to ensure repeatable and predictable output, as well as its Additive Studios products for application services, DfAM, and optimization of construction strategies and process parameters. The company announced the establishment of an additional partnership with Sigma Labs through the integration of the software developer’s PrintRite3D molten pool monitoring analysis and monitoring tool.

In addition to launching its first desktop 3D printer on Formnext, Nexa3D, a high-speed resin 3D printer developer, also announced the pre-release of its QLS 350 SLS system at the exhibition. The machine originally appeared on RAPID TCT 2019 as the NXT Factory QLS 350, separating the printing and cooling processes to maximize uptime, achieving a speed of 8 liters per hour and a job density of 20%. The design speed and throughput of the machine are in a leading position, equipped with four 100W CO2 lasers, enabling users to achieve up to four times the printing speed of traditional laser sintering technology. 

Also on display at the @Nexa_3D booth is the QLS350 SLS machine, which is expected to be available next year. As part of the end-to-end system, QLS350 claims to be the fastest in its market segment and is designed for high-volume production with a removable building unit #formnext pic.twitter.com/8j422f9rlb

Finally, industrial 3D printer manufacturer Optomec announced two new 3D printers at the trade show last week, designed for mass production. The first is HC-TBR, an all-in-one metal 3D printer supported by the company's LENS DED technology for building or repairing metal 3D printed parts. The machine can process active metal alloys such as titanium and aluminum in large quantities in an anaerobic chamber, and aims to provide a low-cost method of producing and repairing titanium parts.

The second machine launched by Optomec is the Aerosol Jet HD2 3D electronic printer, designed for 3D semiconductor packaging and assembly. The printer uses Optomec's patented Aerosol Jet process to produce high-resolution circuits with features as small as 10 microns, and can distribute conformal 3D interconnections between chips, chips, components, and substrates. The machine is suitable for emerging fields such as 5G communications, automotive radar and defense applications.

Formnext 2021 new materials from Essentium, Stratasys, Digital Metal, EOS, Wematter, Oerlikon and BASF

In addition to the 3D printing partnership and hardware announcements, Formnext 2021 also released a variety of new materials.

Essentium, the manufacturer behind the high-speed extrusion (HSE) 3D printer series, introduced Essentium PPS-CF, a 15% carbon fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) filament made of LUVOCOM 3F resin from the LEHVOSS Group. PPS-CF has excellent cost performance and ideal strength, stiffness, temperature, chemical and wear resistance. It is the main mold material for injection, blow molding and thermoforming processes. 

Essentium also introduced a 5 kg spool on Formnext. By minimizing the number of spool exchanges required and wasted consumables, users can continuously print large parts and tools. A new mobile app launched by the company will help manufacturers remotely monitor the production of their 3D printed parts and provide greater transparency in their processes. 

Essentium's final Formnext announcement involves the results of its independent global research on the current and future use of industrial 3D printing. Research shows that 86% of manufacturing companies have more than doubled their use of large-scale additive manufacturing in the past year, and the technology has evolved from prototype design to an "essential component" for the mass production of functional components. 

In addition to its partnership with ECCO, Stratasys also announced a new third-party material open layer for FDM 3D printers through an annual open materials license. The company has provided open material availability for its Neo SLA, Origin One and H350 3D printers, and is now expanding this material ecosystem approach to its FDM technology. 

The Stratasys materials ecosystem includes: Stratasys First Choice-designed to provide the best combination of materials and printer performance, Stratasys Verified Materials-Basic reliability testing validated by Stratasys, and Open-Unverified materials accessible through open materials licenses . Starting with Fortus 450mc, Stratasys verification materials will be available to customers in the second half of 2022.

Swedish metal 3D printer manufacturer Digital Metal has added DM 4140, a low-alloy steel powder, to its adhesive jet printing system to provide greater design freedom for components exposed to high loads. The company developed and certified DM 4140 in cooperation with Hyundai Motor, which is used by Hyundai Motor to manufacture gearbox control fingers through adhesive injection. The material is very suitable for the production of parts for automobiles, consumer products, and industrial applications that are subject to high loads.

Digital Metal has also added another high-temperature alloy to its adhesive injection system DM 718, which is equivalent to Inconel 718 and can withstand extreme temperatures and corrosive environments. The material can be used in applications such as gas turbines, jet engines, rocket engines, turbo pumps, and pressure tanks.

On Formnext 2021, 3D printer manufacturer EOS released a new high-strength, lightweight 3D printed aluminum alloy Al2139 AM, which can significantly reduce the weight of parts without compromising strength. Al2139 AM aluminum has excellent performance at temperatures as high as 200ºC. It is EOS's strongest additive manufacturing alloy with a yield strength and tensile strength of approximately 500 MPa. According to reports, the company can save up to 88% of active heat treatment time due to the single-step heat treatment process.

Al2139 AM is ideal for a range of high-performance applications in aviation, transportation, racing and aerospace. The materials and processes of EOS M 290 are scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2022, and other EOS DMLS systems are also in preparation.

Elsewhere, Swedish 3D printer manufacturer Wematter introduced Aurora PA6 AM, a material designed to withstand higher temperatures without affecting its mechanical properties. After cooling, the stiffness and mechanical strength of the material will increase, and its base material polyamide 6 is highly sought after in the aerospace and automotive industries.

Robert Kniola, Founder and CEO of Wematter, said: “It is very important and exciting for us to develop new materials and therefore expand the use of SLS 3D printer Gravity.” “Of course, we want Gravity to serve as many people as possible. Service, and because plastics are used in so many different components, we need materials suitable for different applications."

Swiss technology group Oerlikon has introduced a new high-entropy alloy that can rival the strength and corrosion resistance of Super Duplex Steel (DSS). The alloy has a nano-scale dual-phase microstructure, which can realize complex geometric shapes and crack-free parts through LPBF, so it is suitable for printing structural parts such as centrifugal pump impellers.

The material news from Formnext 2021 is several Ultrafuse engineering filaments from BASF, which are now available for Zortrax's M300 Dual 3D printer. Ultrafuse PP GF30 is composed of polypropylene reinforced material with 30% glass fiber and Ultrafuse PAHT CF15 (a polyamide reinforced with 15% carbon fiber), and is widely used in various components in the automotive industry.

Zortrax customers can now use these materials to 3D print positioning fixtures, assembly tools, and different seals and covers in automotive manufacturing plants. 

Formnext 2021 software update from Stratasys, MachineWorks, Authentise and Materialise

Another update of Stratasys is that the company introduced GrabCAD Print software for its SAF-driven H350 3D printer to enable users to achieve the scale of production of 3D printed parts. GrabCAD Print for H350 ensures that the end-to-end workflow of the entire machine is simple, easy to access, affordable, and interconnected.

The software has been upgraded to provide advanced printing capabilities, and because it is built on the company's GrabCAD additive manufacturing platform, users of the H350 can also access other Stratasys core applications, including GrabCAD Print Mobile, GrabCAD Shop, reporting and analysis, and machine connectivity .

3D printing developer MachineWorks announced the launch of the Polygonica 3.1 SDK software tool for polygon mesh modeling. Major improvements in the latest version include a new .NET wrapper that supports programming in C# and other .NET languages, curve recognition, non-manifold geometry, thread recognition, and mesh export optimization.

"In Polygonica 30, we have added important new functional areas," said Dr. Lin Fenqiang, Managing Director of MachineWorks. "During the 3.1 release cycle, we worked hard to further improve existing functions in response to customer feedback and developed interesting new technologies that we believe have great potential." 

At the same time, a consortium led by 3D printing software developer Authentise has received a multi-million pound grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to develop new digital tools to extend process control from material production to delivery. In the £1.7 million Scalable AM ​​Rules Creation and Dissemination (SAMRCD) project, Authentise and its partners will identify, create and enforce rules to reduce direct and indirect energy consumption and improve material efficiency in ceramic and metal 3D printing .

Together with Authentise, Photocentric, ICD, Material Processing Institute and TWI, it will help create data-driven 3D printing workflow tools that will enable users to ensure that their future production is more efficient and produce repeatable products.

The final software update comes from Belgian software and 3D printing service provider Materialise, which helps the company optimize and expand its 3D printing business by embedding CAD workflows into its Magics software. The latest version of the company's software platform, Magics 26, will be launched in the spring of 2022. Formnext attendees will be the first to preview last week's latest update.

Some notable improvements to the company's flagship data and build preparation software include CAD-Kernel integration to advance end-to-end workflows, and new grid-based operations for platform and build preparation.

"For many years, the 3D printing industry has been discussing whether CAD or mesh is the preferred workflow for file preparation," said Stefaan Motte, vice president of Materialise Software. "We believe that both provide unique advantages, and the seamless integration of the two formats will provide users with the best workflow."

As expected, many business updates were announced on Formnext last week, and we introduced most of them during the show. 

In addition, model making and prototyping company Ogle purchased an EOS P 770 SLS machine as part of the company's ongoing commitment to invest in the latest and most advanced machines. 

"Ogle's investment in EOS P 770 reflects the company's ambition to use the latest technology to improve the services we provide to our customers and adapt to changes in their needs," said Ogle Director Phil Martin. "This machine will help us increase production capacity, reduce customer turnaround time and provide prototypes of the highest quality. This ever-increasing efficiency and ever-improving quality are the reasons why customers come back to us time and time again."

At the same time, the American Banknote Corporation (ABCorp) expanded its center of excellence in Boston, using Desktop Metal's adhesive jet technology to introduce mass production and enterprise-scale production into the region. By installing a desktop metal shop system in its 125,000-square-foot facility, ABCorp will be able to 3D print end-use metal parts with greatly increased speed and productivity under one roof for flexible batch operations and mass production. 

Open source 3D printer manufacturer Prusa Research has acquired 80% of the Czech 3D printer OEM Trilab, seeking to expand into other areas of the 3D printer market. In addition to providing Prusa Research with access to the enterprise 3D printing field, the two companies will also cooperate in other areas by sharing development, business and marketing experience.

Josef Průša, CEO of Prusa Research, said: “Trilab produces high-quality 3D printers for the corporate sector, and their brand is very well-known in the field. “Our machines are more for hobbyists, and they are open source. This method may be restricted in the corporate and industrial sectors. "

In addition to the material release, EOS has also updated its newly introduced overall sustainability approach. The company discussed the recent life cycle analysis (LCA) for 3D printed polymer glasses with customers YOU MAWO and Fraunhofer EMI, and the new inductor manufactured for EOS company AMCM on the AMCM M 290 1kW system using EOS Copper CuCP design. 

EOS also provided the latest information on its Additive Minds Academy, its subsidiary Advanced Laser Materials (ALM)’s new carbon-neutral polymer materials, and a new carbon calculator to evaluate the carbon footprint of the final 3D printed part. According to reports, ALM’s carbon-neutral materials are the first in the additive manufacturing industry, starting with PA 820 MF CN, a mineral-filled bio-circular polyamide 11 material, and PA 802 CF CN, a carbon fiber-filled bio-circular material.形polyamide 11.

After obtaining the option to buy software developer Link3D earlier this year, Materialize has now agreed to exercise this option for $33.5 million. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year and is expected to strengthen and accelerate the creation of the Materialise software platform, especially for companies that expand their 3D printing business to mass production. Materialise will integrate Link3D's MES into its Magics software suite to form a unified, cloud-based software platform.

Materialise CEO Fried Vancraen said: "Materialise continues to lead the development of the additive manufacturing industry, and this acquisition strengthens our position in the high-growth manufacturing market." "As the company accelerates its adoption of additive manufacturing in an increasingly digital production environment , They need a powerful and unified AM software platform.

"Today's announcement created a fusion of power and laid the foundation for this scalable and sustainable platform."

In addition to launching a new 3D printer, Nexa3D also announced several business-related announcements at the exhibition last week. The company has partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) software company Oqton to meet the growing global demand for 3D printed patient-specific dental appliances and aligners. Through cooperation, the two companies will launch a new dental software that utilizes Nexa3D's NXD 200 dental production 3D printer, certified dental materials and automated post-processing to increase productivity throughout the dental manufacturing workflow. 

Nexa3D also announced some key members of its leadership team, welcoming Nina Swienton as Chief Marketing Officer, Melissa Hanson as Vice President of Product and Marketing Management, Mahdi Mojdeh as Vice President of Engineering, Michael Currie as Vice President, and General Manager of Desktop Business Unit.

At the same time, 3D printer manufacturer 3D Systems has priced a $400 million debt offering, which ends on November 16. The net income from this move is expected to be approximately US$388 million, which will be used for general corporate purposes, which "may include" potential acquisitions, investments and strategic transactions. 

Finally, the aerospace and defense company Safran successfully deployed the MetalFAB1 industrial 3D printer from Additive Industries, marking a successful conclusion to this week's Formnext Sliced ​​prints. The company installed the printer for testing in June 2021, and has since used the system to manufacture highly complex parts for its aerospace, defense, and aerospace businesses.

"We are proud to admit that with the support of their first MetalFAB1, the Safran Additive Manufacturing Center has been able to produce their first aerospace component in their new plant," said Stephane Escalier, Director of Business Development for Additive Industries France . "We look forward to expanding the range of applications and materials in this intense and powerful cooperation."

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The featured image shows the Formnext 2021 trade show with the Sliced ​​logo.

Hayley is a 3DPI technical reporter with a background in B2B publications covering manufacturing, tools, and bicycles. She writes news and features, and has a keen interest in emerging technologies that affect the world in which we live.

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