Hospital in Italy turns to 3D printing to save lives of Coronavirus patients

 

 

The hospital used 3D printing to produce the valves. Photo via Isinnova.

With Italy now at the center of active Coronavirus cases, the country is in lockdown to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19. The large number of cases means that, inevitably, a huge strain has been placed on Italy’s healthcare system, and its supply chain.

Reports provide details of a hospital in Brescia with 250 Coronavirus patients in intensive care connected to breathing machines. Soon however, the hospital had run out of respiratory valves which are needed to connect the patients to the breathing machines. The original supplier of the valves was unable to supply the new ones in the time required.

In response, Cristian Fracassi, CEO of Isinnova, a Brescia-based engineering firm, used 3D printing to meet the hospital’s demands and, in the process, save some of the patients’ lives. Working with local machining manufacturer Lonati, they were able to produce 100 respirator valves in 24 hours. 

3D printed valves

Once the Brescia hospital realised its regular valve supplier could not produce the valves on time, it was forced to think of alternative solutions as it had run out of breathing tubes for the intensive care machine. In its search for different methods to produce the valves, the hospital was helped by Italian journalist Nunzia Vallini. Vallini is responsible for putting the hospital in touch with Cristian Fracassi. 

Fracassi’s company Isinnova specializes in product development – the firm helps turn innovative ideas into finished products, often using 3D printing. As such, Fracassi’s expertise and skills were suited to the task at hand. He immediately visited the hospital alongside mechanical engineer Alessandro Romaioli to see the valve themselves, upon learning about the situation. Afterward, the pair set about creating a prototype of the valve to test on the patients. Speaking to BBC News, Romaioli explained: “They tested it on a patient and they told us that it worked well and so we ran again back to our office and we started to print new valves.”

 

The 3D printed valves. Photo via Cristian Fracassi.

Having completed production of the successful prototype, Fracassi and Romaioli then joined forces with Lonati to use the company’s SLS 3D printer to meet the demand of the valves, combined with Isinnova’s six 3D printers. Each of the devices takes around an hour to 3D print, and cost less than €1 each to produce. 10 confirmed patients have been connected to a breathing machine via a 3D printed valve.

Although Fracassi is working for free, he explains that he does not plan to release the design publicly, despite additional hospitals requesting more valves. There have been reports that the original manufacturers of the valves could potentially sue for copyright breaches, since it did not authorize the reproduction of their product, and that it will not share the blueprint for the valve consequently. However, talking to the BBC, Fracassi states that printing the valve would be difficult for most users, and that it should be done in clinical environments regardless: “The valve has very thin holes and tubes, smaller than 0.8m – it’s not easy to print the pieces,” he said. “Plus you have to respect not [contaminating] the product – really it should be produced in a clinical way.”

3D printing in times of need

The advantages offered by 3D printing means that when the supply chains of critical products are strained, like medical supplies, it can play a pivotal role in producing such vital equipment when they are hard to source. We have seen this now amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, however, these advantages of the technology have always been apparent. For example, amid the ongoing Syrian civil war and refugee crisis, sourcing prostheses via traditional manufacturing means has proved difficult due to the complications of delivering items into a warzone. As such, it can take a while for these medical devices to reach those in need of them, as well as proving costly. In response, various organizations have turned to 3D printing to produce prostheses, which significantly reduces the cost of manufacturing, and allows the devices to reach patients faster.

Importantly, Fracassi raised concerns regarding the clinical aspects of the valve, as many have begun to request the file of the part to produce it themselves. Although 3D printing can be useful in circumstances where medical devices are hard to source, especially as the technology is so accessible, these devices need to be cleared for clinical use. This applies to the design, material and technology leveraged to produce the part; it needs to be tested and approved. As the coronavirus continues to cause a strain on hospitals around the world, 3D printing can play an important role in keeping patients alive, however, certain practices should be adhered to to ensure the safety of the patients as well.

Read More

Lino3D partners with Manetco, in Belgium to expand its European network

Athens, Greece, March 2020. Lino3D Lab, the No 1 fully equipped Lab for 3D printing applications of a wide variety of materials in Greece, has expanded its network of Sales Partners in projects and services with the signing with Manetco in Belgium.

Manetco’s team of experts design, manufacture and integrate parts to create new laboratory equipment or production prototypes for (bio) chemical industries and research labs. Manetco provides cutting-edge technologies to design and prototype the parts you need for your future processes. These parts can be integrated within an automated equipment with real-time inline analysis. “We co-create with our customers the labs of the future.” as Dr. Tanguy Van Regemorter, CEO and founder, mentions.

Lino3D Lab and Manetco collaboration can be demonstrated in the following application video. It’s a tailor-made micro-mixer designed and simulated by Manetco, printed and tested by Lino3D Lab.

Lino3D Lab is more than excited for this collaboration, as a valuable period for widening its applications, projects and performance has just began.

More photos and videos are to be posted.

Learn more about or contact Manetco at: https://www.manetco.be/

Read More

EnvisionONE, the ONE and only 3D printer for Dental Labs.

Two examples of Dental Labs which chose EnvisionONE by EnvisionTEC for their guaranteed success in the Dental Market:  

Learn why Dr. Ryan Dunlop choose the #EnvisionOne for their #3Dprinting needs in their #DentalLab.
#digitaldentistry #3dprinting #additivemanufacturing #innovation #technology

“We incorporate 3D printing in nearly every single case that we do here at Oral Arts”. Watch Matt Winstead and his team discuss the crucial role their EnvisionOne 3Dprinters play in their successful DentalLab. digitaldentistry oralartsdental 3dprinting additivemanufacturing technology innovation

Learn more about EnvisionONE and EnvisionTEC at: https://envisiontec.com/

Read More

PostProcess Grows Partner Network With Signing of TriMech & GoEngineer in the US, Lino in Europe

Addition of Leading Distributors of Additive Manufacturing Technology Expands PostProcess’ Coverage Coast to Coast in the US

Buffalo, NY, February 18, 2020 – PostProcess Technologies Inc., the first and only provider of automated and intelligent post-printing solutions for industrial 3D printing, has expanded its Channel Partner network with the signings of TriMech and GoEngineer in the US and Lino Integrated Printing Solutions in Europe. In their positions as recognized leaders in driving access to and adoption of 3D printing technologies, they will offer PostProcess’ data-driven post-printing solutions to enable transformative benefits for their customers.

TriMech is a one-stop-shop for engineering solutions, including the entire SOLIDWORKS portfolio, complete Stratasys and Desktop Metal 3D printer line up, Artec 3D scanners, Rapid Prototyping Services, Staffing, and other technology solutions. With over 25 offices covering the East Coast from Maine to Arkansas to Florida, TriMech services 16,000+ clients.

“Partnering with PostProcess was a no brainer when it came to providing our customers with the most advanced technology for 3D post-printing. Their innovative solutions deliver unparalleled consistency and reduce time-to-market for 3D printed parts,” said Marcel Matte, President and CEO of TriMech. “We carefully choose our partnerships, and this one ties all of our additive manufacturing together and offers a solution for all of our North American clients.”

GoEngineer delivers software, technology, and expertise that enable companies to unlock design innovation and make better products faster. With more than 30 years of experience and thousands of customers in high tech, medical, machine design, energy, and other industries, GoEngineer provides best-in-class design solutions from SOLIDWORKS, Stratasys, Desktop Metal, CAMWorks, and PLM.

“Our latest signings of TriMech and GoEngineer will help us serve the burgeoning demand for our intelligent post-printing solutions across the US, now totaling eight partners,” said Nate Harris, Vice President of Sales, North America, PostProcess. “Both have unparalleled reputations and similar drives to deliver cutting-edge technology with an exceptional commitment to customer service, the same as our own.”

Additionally, PostProcess has signed Lino Integrated Printing Solutions, representing the company’s technology in Greece, Bulgaria, and additional countries in Southeast Europe. Their additive manufacturing portfolio includes Desktop Metal, EnvisionTEC, Prodways, Massivit 3D, and X-Jet print technologies. The addition of automated post-printing will help Lino fulfill its mission to offer customers the highest value of printing solutions for their business. “As a systems integrator, we are always supporting complete technological solutions. After an intensive search in the market, we believe that we have chosen the most appropriate partner,” said Christos Anastasiou, President and BOD of LinoGroup.

In alignment with the PostProcess offering, the new partners represent polymer and metal 3D printing systems across a range of industries. Their established frameworks to educate and support customers in the field are also key factors in their selection as a PostProcess partner.

About PostProcess Technologies:
PostProcess Technologies is the only provider of automated and intelligent post-printing solutions for 3D printed parts. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Buffalo, NY, USA, with international operations in Sophia-Antipolis, France, PostProcess removes the bottleneck in the third step of 3D printing – post-printing – through patent-pending software, hardware, and chemistry technologies. PostProcess’ solutions automate additive manufacturing’s most common post-printing processes with a software-based approach, including support, resin, and powder removal, as well as surface finishing, resulting in “customer-ready” 3D printed parts. Its technology delivers transformative results in decreased manual labor, reduced cycle time, improved consistency and repeatability, and lower scrap/re-print rates. The PostProcess portfolio has been proven across all major industrial 3D printing technologies and is in use daily in every imaginable manufacturing sector.

Read More

Open Materials Program by EnvisionTEC

EnvisionTEC is working with the best to offer an unparalleled 3D Printing materials portfolio. 

 

BRINGING YOU ONLY THE BEST

EnvisionTEC has always been a leader in 3D printing materials, with one of the most versatile materials portfolios available.  To further drive the adoption of 3D Printing technologies beyond prototyping to final parts production, EnvisionTEC is now partnering with the best in 3D printing materials manufacturers in our Open Materials Program.

Through this Open Materials Program, EnvisionTEC is working with select materials experts to certify the best of the best for use on our 3D printers in order to expand our selection of high-quality materials.Do you have 3D printing materials you would be interested in having certified for use on EnvisionTEC 3D printers?  Click on the “Tell Me More” button below to get in touch with us for consideration.
 
Do you have a favorite 3D printing material you’ve always wanted to use on EnvisionTEC’s professional-grade 3D printers?  Look below to see if it has been certified or is in the process.  Click on “Tell Me More” button below to get more information about our world-class solutions and how we can help YOU find the right printer and material combination for your particular application.
 
Learn more about EnvisionTEC’s full materials selection here

Learn how 3D printing giant Shapeways is benefitting from the collaboration between EnvisionTEC and Henkel in this video.

Some of EnvisionTEC’s Current Material Partners

Read More

Prodways announces sales to BASF and DSM

Prodways Group, a French 3D printer producer and service provider, has announced a series of 3D printer sales to major chemical companies for R&D and manufacturing applications. The company has sold a selection of its selective laser sintering machines to DSM, BASF and an unnamed French chemical company, including its ProMaker P1000 and ProMaker P2000 ST 3D printers. 

The chemical companies have acquired 3D printers from Prodways for the purpose of research and development, parts production and material testing. By bolstering its relationships with longtime material suppliers, Prodways states in a press release that the sales are indicative of “the growing importance of 3D printing for advanced applications at industrial scale.”

ProMaker P1000 3D printer. Image via Prodways.

High-temperature SLS 3D printing

Germany-based BASF, the largest chemical producer in the world, and already an owner of the ProMaker P1000 printer, has been a strategic partner of Prodways since 2016. In that year Prodways began distributing its new ProMaker P4500 series with a high-temperature configuration to process BASF’s Ultrasint PA6 – X028. BASF has now purchased for new plastic SLS 3D printers to aid the company’s R&D output and parts production. Recently, BASF extended its hold within the 3D printing industry with its acquisition of  3D printing service bureau Sculpteo.

DSM is also a longtime partner of Prodways, having acted as the company’s material supplier. Additionally, DSM has used Prodways’ ProMaker P4500 3D printer to print its new PBT powder Arnite AM1210 for selective laser sintering, a material suited to the electronics and electrical industries thanks to its electrical, mechanical and flame-retardant properties. Prodways sold two of its ProMaker P2000 ST 3D printers to DSM, allowing the company to test its powders for high-temperature SLS 3D printing. 

3D printed products from Prodways. Image via Prodways

Finally, Prodways has also sold one of its ProMaker P1000 3D printers to the unnamed French chemical company, which will use the system to develop and test its products. Prodways explains that the acquisition of its 3D printers by leading firms in the chemical industry allows for the mutual exchange of expertise between their respective domains.

Prodways 3D printer developments 

The ProMaker P1000 3D printer was released by Prodways in 2016. Equipped with a 300 x 300 x 300 mm build platform, the system is geared towards the production of plastic parts using SLS 3D printing technology. Last year, the French Army integrated two ProMaker P1000 3D printers into its operations, in order to validate the advantages of 3D printing for manufacturing spare parts in real conditions

The ProMaker P2000 ST is a system geared towards high temperature (up to 280°C) SLS 3D printing. This makes it capable of processing materials like PA66 or PPS, for direct use applications and advanced research.

In 2019, Prodways also released two additional 3D printers: the P1000 X, and DLP system, named the SolidscapeDL. The P1000 X improves upon the formula of the ProMaker P1000 with increased size and speed. The SoldiscapeDL on the other hand, developed through Prodways subsidiary Solidscape, is the first system within the company’s range using DLP technology and is aimed towards the jewelry market.

Read original post at https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/prodways-announces-sales-to-basf-dsm-167022/

Read More
Desktop Metal Shop System

Desktop Metal Shop™ System

3D Print end use metal parts with unparalleled speed and productivity

The Shop System is the world’s first metal binder jetting system designed specifically for machine shops—enabling shops to easily produce parts with exceptional surface finish and resolution at scale.

 

Easy to use and operate

Designed with the modern machine shop in mind, the Shop System is built to fit seamlessly into your workflow. Produce parts with superior surface finish and resolution versus laser-based systems at a fraction of the cost.

Affordable turnkey solution

A Complete Shop System

The Shop System contains all pieces of equipment your machine shop needs to begin binder jetting — from print through sintering. And with a range of build volume configurations (4L, 8L, 12L, and 16L), the Shop System is designed to scale to your shop’s throughput.

Simplified Post Processing

Parts on the Shop System print fully supported in their powder bed, and feature hand-removable sintering setters. Avoid hours of labor machining off support structures typical to laser-based systems and instead achieve customer-ready, near-net-shape parts right out of the furnace.

 

Optimized powders & parameters

Get started quickly with a turnkey, end-to-end solution. Shop System features Desktop Metal engineered powders and processing parameters, optimized to deliver exceptional part quality, and ensure part-to-part repeatability.

Unparalleled Productivity

Amplify your shop’s output. Effortlessly print end-use metal parts with with the quality, surface finish and tolerances required to co-exist with machining.

10x faster

With a high-speed, single-pass print engine, the Shop System produces high-quality metal parts up to 10x faster than laser powder bed fusion—producing up to 70kg of metal parts per day.

Print a build per shift

Average cycle times of 6-12 hours enable a new build every shift. Print tens to hundreds of near-net shape parts each day and reserve machinist hours for refining critical features.

Flexible Batch Jobs

The Shop System is a tooling-free manufacturing process. Change over to a new job at the press of a button and process multiple complex jobs without the need for custom setups.

Superior Print Quality


High-resolution printing


Print customer-ready, high-resolution parts with incredibly fine feature detail. Achieve surface finishes as low as 4µm Ra out of the furnace, and <0.1µm Ra with mass finishing. The Shop System produces fully dense, solid parts, no debind or infill required.

The Shop System features the highest resolution single-pass binder jetting system in the market. With 1600×1600 DPI native (33% higher resolution than comparable systems), and over 670M drops per second, the Shop System delivers high-speed, high-resolution printing.


Adaptive print engine

Users don’t have to sacrifice feature detail or resolution for speed. Employing a ~1 pL droplet size and automated drop multiplexing up to 6 pL, the Shop System achieves superior surface finish, bleed control and rich feature detail at high speed.


5x print redundancy

Avoid jet-outs and print issues with the Shop System’s five rows totaling over 70,000 nozzles. The printhead features 25% higher nozzle redundancy than the comparable systems, resulting in enhanced print quality and reliability.

How it works

The Shop System™ is an end-to-end, single-pass binder jetting solution delivering high-resolution parts at a fraction of the time and cost. Metal parts are created with the following 3 step process:

01 PRINT

For each layer, the printer spreads metal powder across the build bed, and precisely jets a binding agent to bond loose powder and define part geometry. Layer by layer, metal powder and binder is deposited until the entire build volume is packed with bound parts and surrounding loose powder.

02 DEPOWDER

Once an entire build is complete, the build box is removed and placed in a powder station for bulk and fine depowdering — with the help of a hand-held air pick. Loose powder is removed from the parts and recovered via a built-in powder recycling system with powder sieving.

03 SINTER

Depowdered parts are placed onto trays in a shop-safe, high-throughput furnace for batch sintering. With an external gas hookup and temperatures reaching 1400ºC, the Shop System furnace is able to deliver quality and reliable sintering in a shop-friendly format.

Shop Printer

The Shop System printer features the highest resolution printhead on the market with over 70,000 nozzles jetting 1pL droplets at nearly 10 kHZ to achieve high resolution parts at a fraction of the cost and speed of laser-based systems.

Shop Powder Station

With easy access portholes, a hand-held air pick, built-in powder sieving and recycling, and a vacuum port for easy powder maintenance, the powder station provides closed-loop powder management and recycling.

Shop Furnace

The Shop System furnace is a shop-safe high-temp sintering oven built for cost-effective high throughput. Featuring external gas hookup and adjustable shelving, the furnace easily and affordably scales to mid-volume manufacturing.

System specifications

With production rates up to 70kg of metal parts per day, the Shop System™ produces parts up to 10x faster than laser powder bed fusion. Employing a ~1pL droplet size and automated drop multiplexing up to 6pL, the Shop System achieves superior surface finish, bleed control and rich feature detail at high speed. Review the specifications below:

TECHNOLOGY

Print technologies

Binder Jetting

 

Print direction

Unidirectional

PERFORMANCE

Layer height

40-100 μm

 

DPI

1600 dpi

1 pL drop size

 

Dimensional tolerance of parts

+/- 3.0%

 

Binder jetting module

70k nozzles

5x redundancy

 

Printhead configuration

1 easily replaceable printhead

EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS

Printer

199.4 x 76.2 x 162.6 cm

78.5 x 30 x 64 in

 

Powder station

101.6 x 68.6 x 162.6 cm

40 x 27 x 64 in

 

Drying oven

66 x 62.2 x 90.2 cm

26 x 24.5 x 35.5 in

 

Blender

76.2 x 39.4 x 80 cm

30 x 15.5 x 31.5 in

 

Powder kegs

Height : 280 mm

Diameter : 250 mm

Maximum Volume : 10.6 L

 

Furnace

138.0 x 75.4 x 161.8 cm

54.3 x 29.7 x 63.7 in

BUILD ENVELOPES

4L

35 x 22.2 x 5 cm

13.8 x 8.7 x 2 in

 

8L

35 x 22.2 x 10 cm

13.8 x 8.7 x 3.9 in

 

12L

35 x 22.2 x 15 cm

13.8 x 8.7 x 5.9 in

 

16L

35 x 22.2 x 20 cm

13.8 x 8.7 x 7.9 in

POWER REQUIREMENTS

Power requirements

(excluding furnace and oven)

110/220 V, 50/60 Hz

 

Power requirements

(drying oven)

220 V, 50/60 Hz

 

Power requirements

(furnace)

08 – 220 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 30 A, 3-phase dedicated circuit

380 – 400 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 16 A, 3-phase dedicated circuit

Shop System Example Parts

Shop System applications span a variety of industries including industrial equipment, tooling, automotive, consumer, high tech, and oil & gas.

Bulb nozzle
Stop ring
Tool slip
Razor clipper
Connector
Spline taper lock

Please contact us for any questions and quotes.

See original post at https://www.javelin-tech.com/3d/desktop-metal-shop-system/

Read More

Lino3D Lab is awarded with the Authorized Distributor Certificate by XJet Ltd.

Such a great honour for Lino3D Lab to be awarded with the Authorized Distributor Cerfiticate by XJet Ltd. in Formnext 2019!
NonoParticle Jetting (NPJ) Technology is here and we are an official part of it!

 

About XJet
XJet is a provider of ground-breaking metal and ceramic additive manufacturing technologies and solutions with customers spanning three continents. Founded in 2005, XJet developed and introduced the revolutionary NanoParticle Jetting™ technology. With over a decade of research behind it, XJet NPJ technology enables the production of metal or ceramic parts with the same ease and versatility of inkjet printing without compromising throughput or quality. XJet’s world-class team of skilled industry veterans and dynamic R&D specialists holds over 80 registered and pending patents. Leveraging its proprietary technology and proven expertise, XJet is redefining the metal and ceramic AM industries.

For more information, visit: http://xjet3d.com

Read More

New signing and a focus on production for XJet at Formnext

Making the impossible possible

Rehovot, Israel – November 20th, 2019 – On its largest stand to-date, XJet Ltd., the additive manufacturing company, is showcasing a new high volume application at Formnext this week and has signed a new customer for its alumina material. Israeli based business, Tuvia Sharon, shook hands on the deal on the opening of the exhibition in Frankfurt.

XJet’s newest ceramic material will also be beta tested by an unnamed customer in the USA, who is already successfully producing parts in zirconia with an XJet Carmel 1400.

CEO Yair Sharon, son of the founder of Tuvia Sharon, says, “Delivering extremely high mechanical and compressive strength, together with high hardness and excellent electrical insulation, the addition of alumina to our AM portfolio will bring exciting new parts to our offering. The Additive Manufacturing accuracy and fine detail made possible by XJet’s NanoParticle Jetting technology provides the user with geometric freedom that makes the difference! We are extremely enthusiastic about adding this new material to our manufacturing facility and offer our customers a wider variety and high level AM production.”

XJet is also focussed on the production capability of its technology at Formnext, unveiling new parts as a homage to a real-life application that will be on the shelves this Christmas according to XJet CBO Dror Danai, “Our zirconia earpieces are a highlight on the stand at Formnext this year. Whilst we can’t divulge details of the brand we were inspired by, we can confirm an XJet customer is now using XJet Carmel AM Systems for the production of 2500 units of this end-use part.”

 

With excellent density, fine details and smooth surfaces, NPJ technology can manufacture the ceramic parts with complex internal channels needed for delivering beautifully resonance-free, clean sound.

XJet also showcased its reformed product line-up at the show, now comprising of the Carmel 1400C devoted to ceramics and the Carmel 1400M dedicated to metals. “The reaction to the dedicated systems has been excellent, and visitors have been very interested to see our new metal sample parts,” comments Danai.

With the announcements of the appointment of Nobel Laureate (Chemistry 2011) Professor Shechtman to lead XJet’s scientific advisory board, developing XJet’s application and product roadmap, and the installation of a Carmel 1400C at KU Leuven in Belgium, just prior to Formnext, XJet is having a very successful November.

“XJet continues to make rapid progress and support its customers in making the impossible possible! With new applications that offer not just small improvements, but whole new possibilities for manufacturing parts that simply were not possible to produce before. It’s very exciting times in the world of metal and ceramic additive manufacturing!” concludes Danai.

About XJet
XJet is a provider of ground-breaking metal and ceramic additive manufacturing technologies and solutions with customers spanning three continents. Founded in 2005, XJet developed and introduced the revolutionary NanoParticle Jetting™ technology. With over a decade of research behind it, XJet NPJ technology enables the production of metal or ceramic parts with the same ease and versatility of inkjet printing without compromising throughput or quality. XJet’s world-class team of skilled industry veterans and dynamic R&D specialists holds over 80 registered and pending patents. Leveraging its proprietary technology and proven expertise, XJet is redefining the metal and ceramic AM industries.

 For more information, visit: http://xjet3d.com

Read More