FORBES – Malta 3D Printing

Production Equation 1

3D Printing And The New Economics Of Manufacturing

3D printing production is just scratching the surface of the multi-trillion dollar global manufacturing industry. But its dominance is already pre-determined.

This is because modern manufacturing, despite numerous technological and process advances over the last century, is still a very inefficient global system. Today’s world of mass production is based on one simple rule: the more things you make, the lower the cost of each of those things. We have literally pushed this equation to its extreme limits.

This approach was dramatically accelerated by Henry Ford, arguably the most impactful character in the industrial revolution. For starters, Ford proved out the model of mass production. He wasn’t the first to create the assembly line, but he was the first of his time to perfect it. He built massive factories, and greatly standardized his product and processes. He once famously stated, “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, so long as it is black.” The quote may be familiar, but do you know why only black? It wasn’t due to Ford’s forward-thinking design sense, but rather because black was the only color that could dry fast enough to keep up with his assembly lines.

By 1915 he had reduced the time it took to build an automobile by 90%. By 1916, an astounding 55% of the automobiles on the road in America were Model Ts.

Ford mastered mass production and created the world’s first mass consumer product. But there is another reason why Ford is such an important figure historically. Henry Ford literally punctuated the industrial revolution. We have all been taught about the industrial revolution as if it were a binary switch. There was a before and an after. We all believe we live safely in the after. This IS the future.

But what if that’s wrong? What if mass production is not the end of this story, but rather just a stop along the way to something completely different? What if a technology came along that could turn everything upside down all over again?

3D printing is a technology that allows you to create things differently, from the ground up, layer by layer until you have a fully formed 3 dimensional object. Just like you now send a computer file of a document to a printer in your home or office, you can now send a computer file of an object to a 3D printer, and out comes that physical object. Eventually, you will be able to print almost anything you can imagine.

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by Rick Smith | JUN 22, 2015 @ 5:11 PM

3D printing is about to change the world forever

Posted on 24/08/201508/09/2015 by aneczka2307

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricksmith/2015/06/15/3d-printing-is-about-to-change-the-world-forever/

3D Printing Is About To Change The World Forever

I believe, along with a growing number of leaders around the world, that 3D printing will change the way things are produced more in this century than the industrial revolution did over the last 300 years.

Consider these two recent events:

A little over a year ago, a young Indonesian man named Arie Kurniawan participated in an open innovation challenge hosted by the global industrial company GE. The goal was to redesign the bracket that attaches a jet engine to an airplane wing. Arie’s design beat out over 1,000 other submissions, which was surprising to almost everyone. For one, Arie had absolutely no experience whatsoever with industrial manufacturing. None. Secondly, he had used a completely new design technique enabled by industrial 3D printing technology. But Aries’s bracket worked perfectly. It passed every one of the rigorous end use industrial tests for durability, stress and reliability.

And it weighed 83% less than the part it replaced.

At about the same time, halfway around the world, GE’s radical new fuel injection system for a jet engine first emerged from a industrial 3D metal printer. The previous system had 21 separate parts, which needed to be produced, shipped to the same location, and then assembled. The new 3D printed system had only one. It was five times stronger, and contributed to an increase in fuel efficiency of an astonishing 15%! That a savings of over $1 million dollars per year on fuel. On every single airplane that uses the new system.

Reports of these two startling events quickly spread throughout GE and beyond. While certainly no one expected these single parts to have an immediate impact on the company’s overall financial performance, the implications of these two events were disarmingly clear.

If 3D printing enabled individual parts to be redesigned with such massive improvements in efficiency, what possibilities existed for the companies’ other millions of parts?
If someone with no training in industrial production could so impact a company stocked with top engineers, what were the implications for the current global workforce?
If the new technology could reduce 21 component parts to one, what did this mean for the future of GE’s longstanding parts producers?
If these parts could now be cost effectively produced in the United States, what did this mean for the global supply chain?

Even bigger, what if these new technologies could be used to redesign not only a few parts, but an entire airplane? Could we envision reducing the entire weight of a plane by 5%, 10%, even 20%? An outcome like this would not simply result in a financial uplift for companies like GE—it would change the economics of an entire industry!

In fact, it would change every industry.

forbes.com

by Rick Smith | JUN 15, 2015 @ 2:05 PM

Globally accelerating of 3D printing

Posted on 24/08/201507/09/2015 by aneczka2307

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/05/13/why-3d-printing-adoption-is-accelerating-globally/

Gear Graphic

Why 3D Printing Adoption Is Accelerating Globally

Prototyping (63%), proof of concept (27%) and production (26%) are the three most dominant uses of 3D printing in Europe today. The same priorities apply to America (prototyping (56%); proof of concept (43%); production (27%) and marketing samples (17%).

68% of respondents are forecasting their spending on additive manufacturing will increase in 2015.

Accelerating new product development and the ability to offer customized or limited-run products are the leading 3D printing priorities today.

These and other insights are from an extensive survey of 3D printing adoption published today by Sculpteo titled The State of 3D Printing (26 pp., opt-in). 1,118 respondents were contacted in sixteen vertical markets, with 91% being located in America (27%) and Europe (64%). Overall, the sample is comprised of companies and individuals in 50 countries working in 16 different industries. Please see page 3 of the study for an expanded description of their methodology. Sculpteo is based in Paris and San Francisco, offering 3D manufacturing on demand and of scale to start-ups, SMEs and design studios.

Key take-aways of the study include the following:

44% reported they will increase their spending on additive manufacturing by 50% or more this year. Overall, 68% of respondents are forecasting their spending on additive manufacturing will increase in 2015.
Accelerating product development (32%), offering customized products and limited series (28%) and increasing production efficiency/buying a 3D printer (13% each) are the top three priorities related to 3D printing in 2015. The following graphic compares the top priorities related to 3D printing in 2015 versus 2020.

top priorities 3D printing

Determining factors in the adoption of 3D printing globally that are most important center on machine consistency & capabilities and material & supply costs. The five most important factors include machine consistency & capabilities (60%), material and supply costs (53%), understanding customer needs (28%), clear legal framework (24%), reverse engineering (21%) and training teams (20%). The following graphic compares adoption factors by level of importance.

determining factors

When respondents were asked if there are any trends that they anticipate having a major impact on 3D printing, materials (21.5%), new markets (17.2%) and easy 3D modeling (17%) emerged as most significant. The following graphic is based on textual analysis and multi-categorical semantic analysis of the responses. In all, twelve major themes recurred across all responses.

Semantic Analysis

European 3D printing early adopters are more focused on attaining scale, while their Americas-based counterparts are focused on pragmatic factors of co-creation and buying a 3D printer. Europeans are more focused on offering customized products and limited series (21% in 2015 growing to 43% in 2020) and increasing production flexibility (9% in 2015 growing to 14% in 2020). The following graphic compares America and Europe along the dimensions of 3D printing priorities.

Europe Americas 3D Printing Comparison

26% of European respondents consider themselves advanced or professional at 3D printing techniques compared to 23% of Americas-based respondents. Europeans see 3D printing as the defined domain of trained specialists. Americans perceive 3D printing can be used for everything and is accessible to everyone in the company. The following comparison provides insights into how each geographic group of respondents classify themselves in terms of 3D printing expertise.

3D printing experience

3D printing power users have significant competitive advantages over their peers in accelerating product development and offering customized products and limited series today through 2020. Power users have a 19% advantage versus their peers in accelerating product development in 2015 (32% versus 51%), and a 15% in 2020 (31% versus 46%). The following graphic compares power users versus peers on 3D printing strategies.

Power Users Production2 3

50% of 3D printing power users are relying on these technologies, systems and processes to support production today. Power users dominate proof of concept (59%), prototyping (83%), and in the Americas the development of marketing samples (31%). The following graphic compares the total respondent base and power users.

Power Users Production

forbes.com

by Louis Columbus | MAY 13, 2015 @ 6:28 AM

Mini Jet Engine

Posted on 24/08/201507/09/2015 by aneczka2307

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2015/05/11/ge-engineers-3d-printed-a-working-mini-jet-engine/

GE Engineers 3D Printed A Working, Mini Jet Engine

As a tech demonstration, researchers at GE recently built a miniature, backpack-sized jet engine that they made entirely from 3D-printed parts. And not just for looks, either. They were able to fire it up and get it moving to 33,000 rpms.

The engine was built over the course of several years, using a 3D printing technique that melted thin layers of metal powder one on top of each other to build each individual part of the engine. Once all the parts were manufactured, the engine was then assembled. The final product was about eight inches tall and a foot long.

Once the engine was completed, the engine was placed into a test cell that would be used for any other jet engine and fired up.

The engine before assembly. (Credit: GE Reports)

It’s worth noting that this isn’t just a cool thing that GE has put together. It goes to demonstrate just how far 3D printing has come in the aerospace industry.

“This is much more that a stunt,” said Terry Wohlers, a 3D-printing analyst for Wohlers Associates. “It shows what’s possible with additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing technology, especially for very demanding applications. GE Aviation will be producing tens of thousands of fuel nozzles by AM for its new-generation LEAP engine in the coming months and years. Airbus has also produced complex metal AM parts that have flown on the new A350.”

forbes.com

by Alex Knapp | MAY 12, 2015 @ 12:14 AM

First bionic man

Posted on 23/03/201518/08/2015 by Malta 3D Printing

Science-Fiction Turned Into Reality: 3D Printing Bionic Body Parts

http://goo.gl/cDH4AO

shutterstock_146597273

3D Printing Could Create World’s First Bionic Man

3D printing has captured a lot of attention thanks to its science fiction connotations. In reality, 3D printing is anything but fiction since it’s available in many households – even as a sophisticated toy for kids.

Clearly, 3D printing is more than a passing curiosity, and with researchers from Princeton now able to create “bionic” body parts using 3D printing techniques, the world’s first bionic man may be here sooner than you think.

As part of a project demonstrating new 3D printing techniques, Princeton researchers embedded tiny light-emitting diodes into a standard contact lens, allowing the device to project beams of colored light. The researchers have not developed this lens for human use in the eye, but it is part of an ongoing effort to use 3D printing to assemble diverse, and often hard-to-combine, materials into functioning devices. Princeton professors also created a bionic ear made from living cells with an embedded antenna that could receive radio signals. Thus, restoring a person’s hearing for the first time.

This sends me back to my childhood to Steve Austin and the TV series “The Six Million Dollar Man” where a former test pilot is rebuilt with nuclear powered limbs and implants that make him faster, stronger and better than normal.

Bionic strength of 3D printing

Traditional manufacturing methods depend on cutting and molding technologies to create a limited number of structures and shapes, with more intricate hollow ones formed from a number of parts and assembled together. However, 3D printing technology transforms this process—the nozzle of the 3D printer can create many complex figures, being confined only by a person’s imagination. The use of 3D printing technology takes virtual designs from animation modeling software or computer-aided design (CAD), converts them into thin, virtual, flat cross-sections and then produces successive layers until the complete model is produced.

For the Princeton researchers, one of 3D printing’s greatest strengths is its ability to create electronics in complex forms. Unlike traditional electronics manufacturing, which builds circuits in flat assemblies and then stacks them into three dimensions, 3D printers can create vertical structures as easily as horizontal ones.

Will 3D printing replace traditional manufacturing?

Manufacturing experts do not envision 3D printing replacing traditional manufacturing in electronics any time soon. Instead, 3D is seen as a complementary technology. Traditional manufacturing is a fast and efficient way to make multiple copies with high reliability. Manufacturers use 3D printing, which is slower when it comes to higher numbers of copies, but easy to change and customize, to create molds and patterns for rapid prototyping.

Blinking contact lenses and bionic ears are two perfect examples that may sound weird in the beginning, but show that the work of interdisciplinary R&D teams using latest technology can result in true innovation – and generate new use cases that one has not even dreamt of before.

With all the talk in the press about enhanced robotics, the internet of things and systems engineering, I think we can soon rebuild Steve Austin.

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by Nadine Huelsen, Director, Product Lifecycle Management, SAP and also SAP guest | JAN 23, 2015 @ 3:29 PM

The first 3D printed vertebrae

Posted on 23/03/201513/08/2015 by Malta 3D Printing

The first 3D printed vertabra has successfully been implanted in 12 year old boy! Follow the link to read more!

http://www.forbes.com/…/peking-university-implants-first-3…/

Liu Zhongiun, Director of Orthopedics at Peking University, holding the 3D printed vertebra.

Peking University Implants First 3D Printed Vertebra

Doctors at Peking University have successfully implanted the first 3D printed vertebrae in a young patient.

The patient, a 12 year old boy, had a malignant tumour in his spinal cord. After hours of specialized spinal cord surgery, doctors replaced a section of cancerous vertebra in his neck with the 3D printed piece.

3D printing creates layer upon layer of material in specific patterns or shapes to make a 3D object from a digital model. Materials in 3D printing are usually polymers and metals, and in this case, a titanium powder which is a traditional orthopedic implant material.

As far as tradition goes, that’s where the similarities end. Because of the limitations of traditional orthopedic implant manufacturing – normally in geometric-type shapes with less realistic shaping or conformity to the bones, implants typically don’t attach to the bone without orthopedic cement or screws.

The worldwide orthopedic market had global revenues of more than $36b in 2008. According to a new report by Freedonia, the demand for implantable medical devices in the United States alone is projected to increase 7.7 percent annually to $52 billion in 2015. The study reported that orthopedic implants will be one of the fastest growing and nanotechnology and biotechnology will fuel growth and demand to the market. With the Silver Economy coming of age, orthopedics is a high growth market.

Because 3D printing is flexible, based on and created from a digital model, 3D printing enables orthopedic implants to be printed in any shape. This opens the door to hundreds of possibilities that weren’t available before. Now, instead of cement or screws, the implant is more in line or matches the bone around it.

In the case of the boy’s 3D implant, the doctor’s took this one step further and made tiny pores in the implant so the bones can grow into the implants which secures the device and eliminates cement and screws.

“Although the probability is very low, it is possible that under long-term pressure from inside the body, traditional implants might plug into bones gradually, or become detached from bones. But there will be no such problems for 3-D printed implants,” said Liu Zhongjun, Director, Orthopedics Department, Peking University.

Liu’s team began the program in 2009 and provided designs based on their clinical experience and understanding of surgical needs. A medical device company digitalized their designs for 3D printing. In 2010, they moved to animal trials with sheep and after trials proved the 3D implants were safe, they applied for human clinical trials in 2012.

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by Jennifer Hicks, Contributor | 8/19/2014 2:48PM