Help and Learning

3D printing moves towards greater sustainability

● 41% of respondents say additive manufacturing is helping them to achieve their sustainable development goals
● 25% use additive manufacturing to accelerate product development
● 33% believe that budget is the main factor restricting wider adoption of 3D printing
● 84% of respondents are optimistic about the future of additive manufacturing
● 63% of respondents want to identify options for recycling 3D printed parts

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Several years ago, Materialise outlined an ambitious roadmap to evolve its entire software suite to a model that offers customers cloud-based access to a complete platform of software tools. This platform strategy is based on an important trend in the manufacturing industry: the increasing use of 3D printing, not just for prototyping operations isolated from the conventional manufacturing process, but for repeat production of small and mid-sized series and mass customization. In other words, an irreversible move to integrate 3D printing as one of the processes in the overall production of goods.

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Digital twin technology runs at the technological forefront of the Industry 4.0 adoption to assist manufacturers boost productivity while lowering operating costs, optimizing performance, and transforming the way predictive asset maintenance is undertaken. As manufacturing processes grow more digital, the digital twin technology helps companies to spot physical flaws quicker, anticipate outcomes more precisely, and develop better products, finds GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

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The Polypropylene (PP) is a new material for SLS®. This polymer is already used in about 1/3 of all plastic injected parts in the world so it has the potential to become the new standard in Additive Manufacturing (AM) applications as well.

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For more than 30 years, Materialise has used 3D printing to transform manufacturing in industries like aerospace, medical, and automotive. Now, the world of sports is beginning to experience the benefits of personalization like never before, all thanks to additive manufacturing (AM).

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Events where pioneers — medical device companies, clinicians, and researchers — gather to exchange findings, like at the recent Mass Personalization Summit hosted by Materialise, offer important insight into how personalization will drive business in the near and distant future. Eighty-nine percent of event attendees expect personalized care to become sustainable for many more patients in the coming ten years. The following five key takeaways capture the highlights from the event.

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What does China’s leading transcatheter heart valve company need in their toolbox to stay at the top despite stiff competition? After speaking to Venus MedTech, we learn that it is a twofold answer. They need the correct tools for R&D to meet their goal of solving unmet needs in the structural heart space.

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Jigs and fixtures are used in all kinds of manufacturing environments to make repeatable assembly processes more accurate, faster, and safer. Specialized tools like gauges, drill guides, masking templates, and cradles have been traditionally machined from metal. While materials like aluminum provides all the necessary qualities of strength, heat, and chemical resistance, it makes the jigs and fixtures heavy, expensive, and subject to long lead times to design and produce.

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Warning or camouflage? Pigments can send signals, but also protect against sunlight or other dangers. The small, color-giving particles are hardly soluble in water or other application media: pigments are mainly added to paints and coatings, plastics and construction materials. In contrast, dyes, being soluble, are used mainly to color liquids, e.g., for textiles. Ceresana has analyzed the world market for pigments for the seventh time. Worldwide demand for pigments is predicted to rise to about 13.4 million tonnes per year in 2030. The researchers expect the highest growth in the regions Asia Pacific and Africa.

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Collaboration between Civan Lasers and TU Wien yields insights on laser welding of stainless-steel tubes with a gap; future work will target welding and additive manufacturing challenges.

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