The Airbus A350 already has more 3D printed parts than any other civil airliner. And that list of AM components will grow further shortly thanks to German company Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH, who will be manufacturing a complex titanium component for the aircraft. Liebherr has been selected to supply the lower cargo door actuator and valve for the A350 extra wide body passenger aircraft. It is one of many ongoing projects between Liebherr’s center of competence and Airbus. Liebherr specializes in flight control systems, landing gears, gears, gearboxes and electronics, and is collaborating intensively with Airbus in the development of additive layer manufactured components. Vacuuming the dust (Image credit: Liebherr) Liebherr has hardware installed on all Airbus aircraft and has provided AM components for the A350 before. This is great news for us, because we don’t have any photos of the new 3D printed cargo door actuator, so let’s have a… read more
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Researchers from the US and Mexico are looking to better understand the rheological and printability characteristics of nutrient-rich 3D printed foods. While 3D printed food products do make for the occasional playful headline, they also have serious potential to provide target populations with the specific nutrients they need. As such, one of the more promising reasons to advance food additive manufacturing is the prospect of personalized nutrition. However, for individualized nutrition to cover a wide variety of needs based on a balanced diet, printing formulations composed of fruits, vegetables, grains, and perhaps even animal products are needed. Custom food formulations with complex multi-ingredient mixtures have proven difficult to 3D print with extrusion-based methods in the past. This can largely be attributed to a lack of understanding of how food behaves during the printing process, so there’s an ongoing need to delve deeper into the effects of rheology on the printability… read more
A team of students at TU/Eindhoven have utilized 3D printing to build an electric vehicle that, among other ecologically friendly measures, captures more CO2 than it produces. The passenger-carrying EV is named “Zem” and has been designed and constructed by the student’s TU/ecomotive team at the Dutch university. The team used multiple production methods to ensure that CO2 emissions were kept down during manufacturing, contributing to the overall low carbon philosophy behind the design. The “Zem” with printed monocoque and panels. (Image credit: TU Eindhoven) This included 3D printing the body panels and monocoque structure, which were designed and manufactured in collaboration with CEAD and Royal3D. Both companies are based in the Netherlands and focus on large format polymer additive manufacturing. The printed parts have been made with recycled thermoplastics, which can in turn be shredded and recycled again further downstream after the car’s disposal. Utilizing AM has allowed the… read more
America Makes has announced three new project calls intended to boost the use of industrial 3D printing and provide a new method for supply chain companies to work directly with the Institute. Several actionable areas of focus are linked to each call, including materials data, process monitoring, and data management, as well as education and development of the workforce. America Makes is the leading public-private partnership focusing on 3D printing technology and education. America Makes’ members, drawn from academia, industry, government, and workforce and economic development agencies, are working together to speed up the use of additive manufacturing and the USA’s worldwide manufacturing competitiveness. “We are extremely excited about these project calls as they speak to the core of what America Makes does as an Institute – convenes, coordinates, and catalyzes the AM community,” said John Wilczynski, Executive Director of America Makes “We feel that now is a good time… read more
The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $3 million in funding to two companies aiming to decarbonize manufacturing with robust, 3D printed resin tooling. Resin-manufacturer polySpectra and composite material specialist Fortify, along with National Renewable Energy Laboratory, MPI Systems, RePliForm Inc, and ORNL have been funded to develop direct additive automotive tooling with polySpectra’s Cyclic Olefin Resin-based resins. COR Alpha resin. Good for tooling. (Image credit: polySpectra) “Olefin-based thermoset composites have been used for many decades in extremely demanding applications such as wind turbine blades and fuel cell components, because they are among the most durable materials on the planet,” said Raymond Weitekamp, polySpectra founder. “Under this research grant, we will leverage Nobel-winning chemistry to directly 3D-print these robust composite Cyclic Olefin Resins. The goal of the DOE project is to bring unprecedented materials durability to additive manufacturing, which will provide the industry with immense leverage for the decarbonization and… read more
- Shimizu Corporation Develops Spray-Based 3D Concrete Printing System for Large Structural Components
- Cobra Golf Expands 3D Printed Iron Lineup with MB and X Models
- Airtech and Alpha Additive Create 3,000 lb LFAM Structure
- Continuum Powders Launches Copper-Nickel Alloys for High-Performance, Sustainable AM
- MPI Develops XRD System for Industrial and Academic Research
