3D Printing News Briefs: July 11, 2017

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We’re talking a lot of business here in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs – everything from an important new hire and ISO certification to a partnership and a webinar series, and then some aerospace materials and metal 3D printing to round things out. Markforged has hired a new Chief Revenue Officer, while Midwest Prototyping has received an important ISO standard and the 3D Printing Business Directory platform has grown to over 3,500 companies. Dremel has partnered with Workbench to inspire project sharing, and the International Aircraft Engine Association will be hosting a webinar series on additive manufacturing of aircraft engines. Western Tool & Mold will be using Stratasys’ FAA-certified 3D printing solution to manufacture aircraft interior parts, Made in Space is demonstrating its third 3D printing material aboard the International Space Station, and Formalloy has released a new deposition head for metal 3D printing.

Markforged Hires New Chief Revenue Officer to Support Company Growth and Expansion

Today, Markforged announced that it has appointed Jason Eubanks, previously the Global VP of Sales, Services and Alliances at cloud communications platform Twilio, as its new Chief Revenue Officer. After introducing the Metal X 3D printer to the market, Markforged has experienced a revenue growth of over 300% year over year and is continuing its global expansion, so Eubanks’ experience scaling high growth, disruptive companies will be very helpful. He was part of the senior leadership team that helped Twilio on its way to becoming a $2.2 billion public company, and built a sales team at cloud networking startup Meraki, purchased by Cisco Systems, Inc. in 2012, that enjoyed record growth in revenue over four years.

“The team at Markforged has done a fantastic job building a great business delivering real value to customers,” Eubanks said. “The company is changing the way people bring products to market with 3D printed strong parts across materials from carbon fiber, kevlar, fiberglass, and a wide range of metals. Markforged customers are getting to market with 90% efficiency gains and an ROI in weeks.

“I grew up in a small town built around the manufacturing industry. My mother worked for a large food equipment company for 42 years where I completed a college internship. Operations like that facility have struggled to compete in a global market with cost pressures and rapidly changing customer demands while using decades old manufacturing technology and processes. A company like Markforged has the power to change all this. When researching the company, I asked my mother if she would have purchased a Markforged printer. Her response was that the technology would have saved countless pushed projects from going over budget and time. I am thrilled to be joining the team at Markforged and look forward to delivering breakthrough value for our customers.”

Midwest Prototyping Announces ISO 9001 Certification

Wisconsin-based Midwest Prototyping, LLC, one of the largest independent additive manufacturing service bureaus in the US, announced that, after nearly 18 months of hard work to make sure that its quality management system was up to snuff, its operations have officially been certified compliant with the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Not only has it been certified against the standards of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization), but Midwest Prototyping is also the first independent service bureau to achieve this certification standard, which is about continuous improvement and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Steve Grundahl, the founder and President of Midwest Prototyping, said, “For us, obtaining ISO certification is a natural next step. As our operations and the additive manufacturing industry have continued to grow, we’ve seen an increasing number of production and end-use orders for printed parts. This [ISO 9001 certification] is a critical step to create a manufacturing facility for 3D printed, end-use products. If we are going to compete with traditional manufacturing processes, we need to meet them at their level.”

3D Printing Business Directory Has Over 3,500 3D Printing-Related Businesses

The 3D Printing Business Directory, a platform for 3D printing-related companies to increase their global online visibility, now has over 3,500 companies listed, which makes it the largest 3D printing business directory in the world. Since the global additive manufacturing market is valued between $6 and $7 billion per year, and there are thousands of companies around the world that work directly and indirectly with the technology, it makes sense to join the directory for strategic SEO purposes. Luckily, in order to celebrate this milestone achievement, subscriptions to the Basic Plan are now free, making the platform even more accessible.

Once users sign up, they can either create a company page or claim an existing link and edit it; currently, pages include the logo, social media links and portfolio pages, contact information and a geo-located map, and a company introduction, but more features will be coming soon. The companies in the 3D Printing Business Directory are grouped into 15 different industry verticals, including 3D printer manufacturers, software developers, 3D printing services, and industrial adopters of additive manufacturing; these verticals are then divided into over 75 sub-categories for easy searching.

Dremel and Workbench Partner to Share Teaching and Learning Tools

To help inspire project sharing and propel the K-12 education maker movement forward, Dremel has partnered with Workbench, the comprehensive online sharing platform for project-based learning. This allows the two to share new methods for teaching and learning, and connects students and educators to the Workbench community, which will now enjoy access to Dremel’s suite of digital learning tools and professional resources. This collaboration will also allow users of the Dremel DigiLab 3D printer to enrich STEAM learning by searching for and sharing project-based curriculum and 3D printing projects, and build an online portfolio by accessing Workbench. Typically, Workbench partners with maker companies in fields like robotics and computer science, and Dremel is the only 3D printing provider that’s introduced its user community to the platform.

“Dremel has a proven track record of innovation, with educational offerings that have continually evolved. Our platform opens up even more opportunity as we partner to bring project-based learning together with 3D printing and rapid prototyping,” said Chris Sleat, CEO of Workbench. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Dremel to offer school districts, libraries, and other makers, not only an amazing 3D printer product, but also lessons and curriculum to take learning into the 21st century and beyond.”

International Aircraft Engine Association Hosting Additive Manufacturing Webinar Series

The International Aircraft Engine Association, which has a total of 9,200 members around the world, is hosting a free webinar series on additive manufacturing for aerospace engines with Michigan State University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. EOS will launch the series on July 20th – the first webinar, called Current State and Future Trends of Metal 3D Printing in the Aerospace, will take place from 2-3:30 pm, EST. You are required to register for the webinar, which will discuss additive manufacturing technologies, applications, and the impact 3D printing has on the design and manufacturing of components for aerospace.

The description for the first webinar reads, “Aerospace is a leading industry in the adoption of 3D printing with an emphasis on powder bed fusion for metal applications. Why? Because applications like aircraft engines, by nature, already stretch the boundaries of technology due to higher temperatures and speed, the need for exotic materials, tolerances, and strict industry regulations. AM can meet those requirements while freeing design engineers to create what was previously unproducible.”

Western Tool & Mold Purchases Stratasys’ Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution

L-R: Scott Sevcik, Head of Aerospace, Defense and Automotive Solutions, Stratasys, and Collin Wilkerson, Managing Director, Western Tool & Mold [Image: Business Wire]

Hong Kong-based parts supplier Western Tool & Mold (WTM) has adopted Stratasys‘ recently launched Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution, which is certified by both the FAA and the EASA. WTM serves the aerospace interiors market, and will use the Stratasys solution to 3D print aircraft cabin components. The solution consists of strong, lightweight ULTEM 9085 resin, which meets aerospace flame, smoke, and toxicity (FST) regulations, and the new edition of the the Stratasys 900mc Production 3D Printer, which comes with specialized hardware and software that will support highly repeatable manufacturing of mechanical properties to produce consistently high-quality aerospace parts. WTM will be using Stratasys technology 3D print aircraft cabin parts, like lavatory components and first-class overhead bin locks, with complex geometries and low quantity demand.

Collin Wilkerson, the Managing Director of Western Tool & Mold, said, “Adding the Stratasys Fortus 900mc Aircraft Interiors Certification edition to our extensive arsenal of Stratasys FDM and PolyJet-based 3D Printing Solutions not only gives us the opportunity to provide repeatable, certified aircraft parts to tier 1 and tier 2 aircraft parts suppliers but also the accompanying documentation process is now automated – making it easier to meet evolving industry quality standards while freeing up more time to invest in production. The Stratasys Aircraft Interiors Certification Solution will allow us to work with our customers early in their design and development process and help be more agile than our competition in responding to customer requests.”

Made In Space Using Third New 3D Printing Material on International Space Station

ULTEM print

Made In Space announced that it has demonstrated a third material, high-performance polymer PEI/PC (polyetherimide/polycarbonate), for 3D printing in its Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) on the International Space Station (ISS). The aerospace-grade polymer will be used to print feedstock in space, just like the AMF’s ABS and Green PE materials. On Earth, PEI/PC is used in the medical industry and to manufacture aircraft cabins – it has nearly triple the tensile strength of ABS, and blends of the polymer, like ULTEM 9085, are used for 3D printing in the commercial aerospace industry. In space, the material has been used on satellites and external hardware, and it will also benefit the Archinaut Development Program, which the company is contracted with NASA on.

Andrew Rush, the president and CEO of Made In Space, said, “Manufacturing in PEI/PC really expands the value of in-space manufacturing for human spaceflight. PEI/PC is a truly space-capable material. With it, extravehicular activity (EVA) tools and repairs, stronger and more capable intravehicular activity (IVA) tools, spares, and repairs, and even satellite structure can be created on site, on demand. That enables safer, less mass-intensive missions and scientific experiments.”

Formalloy Releases Metal Deposition Head

Additive manufacturing technology company Formalloy has launched the first new product in its series of summer releases: the Formax Metal Deposition Head, which leverages the latest in Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) technology. The Formax head can be integrated onto an existing robot or machine, and can be used to repair, clad, and 3D print metal parts. Formax uses open standards for powder supply, so the user is able to provide their own powders and feeder, and the head was designed and tested with advanced Computational Fluid Dynamic models and Formalloy’s own LMD machines. It features a reliable design, so down-time and maintenance is limited, and integrating the head with production or robotic lines is much less expensive than buying a whole LMD system.

The release of the Formax Metal Deposition Head sets the company up as a full-suite provider of LMD components, machines, and services, and is currently available for purchase, with a lead time of about four weeks.

Discuss these stories in the News Briefs forum at 3DPB.com.

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