April was broadly a month of change for 3D printing, with the introduction of new technologies, ever-larger and more ambitious prints and fresh takes on everything from supply chain security to cultured meat dominating the headlines.
Read on for the standout developments in April from BEAMIT, Materialise, UpNano, EOS, Xometry, Shapeways, SLM Solutions, Ingersoll Machine Tools, In-Vision, Covestro, Weber Beamix, MeaTech and more.
The Ever Given continues to disrupt
Following the mishaps of a certain container ship called the Ever Given in late-March, which caused massivedisruption to global supply chains，4月初是许多制造商的反思时期。特别是，受运输危机影响的一些人开始重新考虑他们如何采购和运输货物，许多3D印刷公司将其视为机会。
Speaking to 3D Printing Industry,Xometry’s应用工程总监Greg Paulsen表示：“能够从网络中的多个供应商中无缝地采购相同零件，既具有平行容量的优势，又提供地理灵活性”，并且3D打印在此方面起着至关重要的作用。
根据3D打印服务提供商的Ward Ripmeester的说法Shapeways, however, “AM is hard with a high barrier to entry, especially for companies that have been slow to adopt digital manufacturing.” As a result, he explained how the firm has set out to “simplify these complexities by helping enterprises worldwide make the shift to digital manufacturing,” via its purpose-built software platform.
气候倡议进展
In tandem with other disruptive goings-on, such as Brexit and the ongoing pandemic, the Ever Given shipping crisis also caused many to consider whether it was worth going back to the old way of doing things. With this in mind, 3D printer manufacturerEOS我同意参加n the50 Sustainability and Climate Leaders initiative在4月中旬，为了制定减少行业排放的计划。
At the time, the company’s CEO Marie Langer said that “sustainable thinking has always been in its DNA” and that “it has the innovative power and mindset to make a difference.” To help bring about this fundamental change, Langer, therefore, called on the firm’s “partners and customers to join it on its journey, and support its goal of establishing responsible manufacturing as the new normal.”
同样，本月晚些时候美国能源部(DOE) revealed that it would be pouring $6 million into projects investigating the potential ofturning coal into 3D printable materials。The funding awardees have since started working with theNational Energy Technology Laboratoryto progress their technologies, which were earmarked at the time for deployment in ‘economically-distressed’ areas.
2021: year of the cultured meat
April also saw the continuation of another disruptive trend in the 3D printing industry: the ongoing growth in the commercial viability of cultured meat products. During the month, Israel-basedMeatechrevealed that it had completed itsacquisition of Peace of Meat，在一项允许其开始发展的协议中cultured avian-based fat products。
Alongside the publication of its FY 2020 financial results, the company disclosed that it had raised a total of $28 million via its Nasdaq listing as well, generating funding it would go on to plow into fleshing out its marketable product lineup throughout the year.
“We are pleased with our execution throughout 2020,” the firm’s CEO Sharon Fima explained back in April. “The world is looking for more sustainable agriculture practices, and we believe cultured meats – created without slaughtering livestock – can be a significant advancement towards that goal.”
窒息是尺度再次
3D printing’s more conventional technologies also began to scale new heights in April 2021, with several novel large-format metal prints and concrete structures being unveiled over the course of the month. One such project sawSLM解决方案work withSafran着陆系统到3D打印一件新颖的文章轻巧的商务喷气起落架。
在另一个，Ingersoll Machine Toolspartnered with aviation firmBellto3D打印22英尺长的真空装饰工具设计用于直升机转子叶片的成型。使用Ingersoll的基于龙门MasterPrint3D打印机，具有5轴铣削功能，据说该项目具有与以前相同的完整性和弹性的零件，同时产生了大量的销售时间储蓄。
Ingersoll CEO Chip Storie described the MasterPrint’s progress as “relentless” at the time, while suggesting that its short-term aims for the machine were to “3D print molds for aerospace that preserve the geometrical properties and tolerances, vacuum integrity and autoclave resilience normally obtained with traditional technology, but with the cost and time reduction only AM can offer.”
Lastly, in 3D printing’s construction segment,BAMandWeber Beamixannounced that they too intended to stretch the limits of their technologies, by building the世界上最长的印刷行人桥。Five months later, the firms confirmed that they had completed the 29.5 meter-long structure, which reportedly broke the old record held byTsinghua大学, and its 86-foot concrete bridge in Shanghai.
视觉和UPNANO揭开新技术
在其他地方，4月的杰出技术发射之一来自奥地利光学设备开发人员视频, which unveiled itsfirst 4K UV light projectorfor use with resin-based DLP 3D printers. Known simply as ‘凤凰,’ the firm’s new light engine was specifically built to address the needs of industrial OEMs that require their machines to have higher light intensities and be capable of more rapid cure times.
In-Vision首席执行官Florian Zangerl当时解释说：“我们一直在努力改善投影仪的光学元件，尤其是光线传输，因为光强度对我们的客户至关重要。”“我必须承认，我为凤凰城取得的成就感到自豪。”
That month, Two-Photon Polymerization (2PP) 3D printer manufacturerUpNanoalso announced a dramatic change of direction, with therelease of its first 3D bioprinter： 这NanoOne Bio。The machine was not only said to be capable of producing 3D tissue structures at a nanoscale, but it launched alongside a customXpect INXbio-ink, which allowed users to deposit cells directly into it.
“UpNano综合能力的发展3D printing devices and Xpect INX in designing innovative materials for 3D bioprinting gelled well together,” UpNano Co-founder Peter Gruber said of the new launches. “We co-developed X Hydrobio INX U200, a highly biocompatible hydrogel, and at the same time we offer a Two-Photon 3D printing device that provides the largest range of printed dimensions on the market.”
3D printing consolidation continues
Finally, in our April round-up, 3D printing’s acquisition-loaded business year continued with several major moves being announced. One of the first to be finalized wasCovestro购买了DSM的3D打印部门, in a deal that the acquired additive manufacturing arm’s Equipment Partnership Manager, Andrew Graves, claimed at the time would help “bring the benefits of SLA to DLP” users.
Belgian 3D printing software and service providerMaterialise也揭示了它acquired the right to buy Link3D。最初，预测将有助于实现其云平台，并扩大其在北美，欧洲和亚洲太平洋市场的用户基础，该交易最终在11月后五个月完成了。
Similarly, on the service bureau front, theBEAMIT Groupannounced the purchase of 3T Additive Manufacturingfrom parent companyAM GLOBAL在四月。BEAMIT’s President Mauro Antolotti hailed the move, saying that it opened up “new ways for it to leverage synergies,” while the firm itself described it as a first step on its expansion roadmap, that allowed its capacity to rise to over 10,000 parts per year.
Antolotti added: “We are now more well equipped than ever, having consolidated and strengthened our AM service offering, established a footprint in the UK, and prepared for further expansion and growth with our customers in the coming years.”
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Featured image shows the Ever Given container ship that got trapped in the Suez Canal during late-March 2021. Image via Freightwaves.
