Direct Digital Manufacturing Tech Group Presents a Free Rapid Manufacturing Webinar

Join presenters Chris Huskamp of The Boeing Company & Pat Warner from the Renault F1 Team for an SME Direct Digital Manufacturing Tech Group sponsored Webinar titled:

The Rapid Manufacturing Revolution: Keys to Unlocking its Full Potential

Thursday, March 18, 2010 11:00 am
Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)

These two industry experts will be discussing the requirements of transitioning Rapid Manufacturing from a niche process to a mainstream production method.  Topics will include:

• Identification of system needs
• Evaluation of material advancements required to span the "applications gap"
• Industry shortcomings and a base level of standardization for reported properties (and definitions)
• Design communities and parts without design for manufacturing and assembly  (DFMA) requirements

Click here to register.  It's Free!

3Dproparts to Manufacture Parts for Leading Helicopter Manufacturer

The folks at 3D Systems announced they have received a multi-year contract with a leading helicopter manufacturer to produce Selective Laser Sintered parts.  Production of the in-flight components will take place at a AS9100 certified aerospace manufacturing facility operated by the 3Dproparts Aerospace and Defense Division.

Read the full news release here.

Source: CNN Money

Shapeways | blog: Shapeways interviews Bre Pettis of Makerbot Industries

Shapeways | blog: Shapeways interviews Bre Pettis of Makerbot Industries

Posted using ShareThis

Wired Looks into The Next Industrial Revolution

Tech magazine Wired recently posted this nice little video on their website as part of an article discussing how Open Source, the Online Global Marketplace and Do-It-Yourself attitudes are changing the rules of manufacturing.  Check out the full article here.

Burton Snowboards Utilizes Additive Manufactured Parts for The Board Of Beers

Customization is one of the biggest advantages Additive Manufacturing technologies have to offer.  Burton Snowboards recently utilized the durability of Selective Laser Sintering to create some unique items for a local brew pub at the request of Founder & Chairman, Jake Burton.  

The Shed Brewery in Stowe, VT is a favorite post Mountain destination for locals and tourists alike.  One of hottest items on the menu is the Sample Ski, a mini ski with 6 samples of The Shed's tasty nectar.  After years of irritation that there wasn't a Sample Snowboard, Jake asked the R&D crew to make some custom sample holders based on the Original hand-shaped boards he made back in the day.

Check out the full evolution of The Board of Beers here.

HP Plans Line of 3-D Printers

After a few years of rumors and speculation, Hewlett Packard has announced the launch of HP branded 3D Printers that will be manufactured by Stratasys, an established 3D Printer Manufacurer.  This could be a big step forward in bringing 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing closer to the mainstream with HP's presence in the personal and business printer market in addition to a speculated $15,000 price point.

Several sites and blogs have covered the announcement including Wired, PC World and The Wall Street Journal.  We'll keep you posted on further announcements and info.

3D Printed iPhone Cases Available From FOC and FreshFiber

Freedom of Creation has been pioneering the utilization of Additive Manufacturing technologies to create unique lighting, furniture and fashion accessories for several years now.  And they are breaking into new territory once again by teaming up with European design brand FreshFiber to create these cool 3D Printed iPhone Cases

The cases were launched at GITEX in October, check out the launch video here.

Sources: FOC, FreshFiber, Sufflegazine

uPrint Personal 3D Printer on Gizmag

Dimension's uPrint Personal 3D Printer was highlighted on technology watch site Gizmag for it's affordability to create and manufacture parts in the comforts of your home or small business.  The article includes a nice summary of the 3D printing process including a couple of videos of the printer at work and parts made on the uPrint.  Check out the full story here.

Objet Connex Receives Honorable Mention Award

Material ConneXion has named their MEDIUM Award for Material winners and the Objet Connex systems have received the Material of the Year Award Honorable Mention along with 10 other ground breaking technologies and materials.

Get the full press release here.

3D Bio Printer Developed

After 8 months of development, collaborative partners Invetech and Organovo have announced they will be shipping 3D Bio Printers to research institutions globally in 2010 and 2011.  Utilizing 2 print heads, the printer has been used to grow arteries that could be utilized in surgery.  Head on over to Gizmag to read the full article on this exciting technology.

First Full-Scale Turbo-Prop Aircraft Engine Model with 3D Printing

Check out this video from Stratasys and Autodesk.  It features the first full scale turbo-prop engine to be built with 3D Printing.  The 10ft x 10ft concept model contains 188 components produced with FDM technology.

Laser Sintering and Materialise Showcased on Fast Company

Fast Company recently posted a blog article that included this nice video of setting up a Laser Sintered lamp designed by Studio Dror for Materialise's .MGX Design Collection.


Collapsing Volume.MGX from Studio Dror on Vimeo.

Source: Gizmodo

3D Systems News

3D Systems has made several announcements recently including a 5 Year Warranty for their ProJet(TM) 3000 Series 3D Printer Heads, the acquisition of AdvaTech Manufacturing and the availability of 3Dproparts in Europe.

Keep up to date on 3D Systems news by visiting their Blog.

Upcoming SME Webinars - Free Registration!

The RTAM Community has some upcoming Webinars we'd like you to know about:  

Nanotechnology Developments in the UK & China 

December 14, 2009, 10:00 a.m. EST
Hosted by: Nanomanufacturing Tech Group 


Social, Economic & Enviromental Benefits of Additive Manufacturing   
January 21, 2010, 11:00 a.m. EST
Hosted by: Direct Digital Manufacturing Tech Group

  

Material Interfaces within the human body (Working title)

February 10, 2010, 1:00 p.m. EST
Hosted by: Medical Applications Tech Group 

Head on over to the SME's Webinar Central to get your FREE registration started!

Magics 14 - Lastest Software Released

The folks at Materialise have announced the latest version of their Magics pre-processing software.  Magics 14 boasts several new features including the availability of 24 hour customer service.  Visit their site to learn more by clicking the link above.

 

Source: Time Compression

MakerBot Video Via Business Insider

Speaking of the MakerBot, we came across this nice little video that gives some insight to the Do-It-Yourself 3D Printer and the folks behind it.

Makerbot2 from Preethi Dumpala on Vimeo.

Source: Business Insider

Bright Minds Program Inspires Programs Abroad

RP Industry consultant and promoter, Terry Wohlers recently blogged about a trip to South Africa that included a program he attended with high school students to promote awareness of Additive Manufacturing.  Influenced by SME's Bright Minds Mentor Program, the one day event included 160 students and sounds like it was a great event.  

Head on over to Terry's Blog to get the whole story.

Desktop Manufacturing of Tomorrow - Apple iMake Concept

Make editor-in-chief Mark Frauenfelder recently came up with a cool concept for an Apple branded desktop 3D printer while working on a Mac|Life Magazine project.  Based on the MakerBot, the 3D printer would be open source based and could be fed files purchased and downloaded from the iTunes store.  Are personal RP machines closer than we think?

Source: BoingoBoingo

Dimension uPrint 3D Printer Recieves SEMA Awards

Stratasys recently received two awards at the SEMA Show for it's uPrint 3D Printer line.  uPrint was awarded the Global Media Award in addition to the Popular Mechanics Award during the annual automotive aftermarket tradeshow. 

The $15,000 desktop machine also won a Golden Mousetrap Award from Design News earlier this year and has been on the market for 9 months.

Source: Business Wire

Do-It-Yourself 3D Printer Makes the List of GeekDad Holday Gifts

Wired Magazine recently released it's GeekDad Holiday Gift Guide for 2009 online.  Included on the list were the digital design sharing site Thingiverse and the MakerBot do-it-yourself open source 3D Printer.  Yet another example of Rapid Technologies making their way into the mainstream. 
Source: Wired.com