It is no secret that COVID has put a strain on medical device production. Items ranging from PPE equipment to nasal swabs to medical ventilators have all been affected…and in many cases, additive manufacturing has offered easing of pressure on these supply lines. In the early days of COVID, we saw a rash of 3D […]

Surface finish for metal additive manufacturing really is the key to its usefulness. Nobody wants a rough, wavy part, especially if it is to mate with another component or seal some kind of pressure vessel. These needs are often the case in high end engineering such as aerospace or automotive. So what are the options […]

Last week we covered a new additive manufacturing method for printing multiple materials into a single part. But whereas the Fraunhofer Institute printer from our previous article used a micro-dosing jet for printing its slurries, this one uses microstereolithography. The researchers from Yokohama National University (Japan) have published a paper, titled: “Multi-material microstereolithography using a […]

We are seeing more and more stories at the intersection of 3D printing and Digital Twin / VR technology recently, especially it seems in the domain of aerospace engineering. In this previous article we looked at how an academic institute in France was loaning aircraft from manufacturers, and digitizing them into 3D models for their […]

There are countless examples of 3D printers capable of printing one or two polymers. But what if you want to print more than just thermoplastics? How about a 3D printer that can print entirely different materials such as metals, polymers and ceramics in one go? You could combine the heatproof elements of a ceramic while […]

A couple of months ago we took a look at a range of 3D printing materials with various electrical and thermal properties. The articles focused on the use of conductive, and static-dissipative additive manufacturing feedstocks for a variety of different 3D printing technologies (but mostly filaments). It turns out that it’s quite easy to add […]

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are great. As long as they are made with continuous fibers. When you start chopping these carbon fibers up and mixing them with a thermoplastic base, most of the benefits of a CFRP structure are lost. In the case of chopped fiber filament, the fiber is no longer carrying […]

Remember the early days, when 3D printing was just becoming mainstream? “It’s like a Star Trek replicator!” they said. “Everyone can make anything! It’s like a factory in your house!”. A decade of crappy plastic novelties later, and desktop printing finally began its crawl up to the plateau of productivity. In terms of science fiction, […]

Are you concerned that your torpedos and other weapons of naval warfare are sinking to the bottom of the ocean and turning into pollution?. Well worry no more, as researchers in the US Navy have been granted a patent for a 3D printable material that biodegrades in salt water! Of course, we jest. The patent […]

We have covered the 3D printing ambitions of Oak Ridge National Laboratory a couple of times before. And they are indeed HUGE ambitions. Take a look at their 3D printed nuclear thimble gizmo and their 3D printed nuclear reactor here. But ORNL does not exclusively deal with nuclear power. They still have a hand in […]