We have a lot of news to share with you in this week’s second edition of 3D Printing News Briefs, ranging from 3D printers and spinal implants to new filaments and facilities. Ultimaker is sharing the files for its most recent 3D printers, while NuVasive launches its 3D printed titanium spinal implants. LPW will be showcasing its new range of clean metal powders at formnext next month, and Philament is introducing a new glass fiber reinforced filament. Y Soft is expanding its facilities, a new AM company opens its first office, and cosmetics company Lush plans to use 3D printing technology at its new facility.
Ultimaker Sharing Files for Ultimaker 3 and Ultimaker 3 Extended
A year after the Ultimaker 3 series was released, the company is sharing the files on its GitHub repository for both the Ultimaker 3 and the Ultimaker 3 Extended, just as it did for several of its other printers. Ultimaker makes its research, development, and knowledge accessible to its users, so they can benefit from a deeper understanding of the technology and even modify it, in order to contribute to its development, as company executives have explained that their open source roots remain important to the Ultimaker identity. The mechanical files will be released in a .step format, recognized by many CAD software packages, under the CC-BY-NC license, while the electronics will be shared under the GPL2 license; a complete bill of materials can be found on GitHub.
“The Ultimaker 3 is our most advanced 3D printer to date, and all the research and development we put in there was significantly higher than anything in the past. We wanted the period of time until we release the files to match the development period that went into creating the product,” the Ultimaker team said when asked why the files were released a year after the printers. “For the Ultimaker 2 it was 6 months and for the Ultimaker 3 it was 12 months. This way we felt comfortable about ensuring our investment into the product, and allowing our users to benefit from our research as well after this period of time.”
NuVasive Expands Advanced Materials Science Portfolio with 3D Printed Titanium Implants
Medical device company NuVasive has announced the launch of its Modulus XLIF titanium implants, which are 3D printed to create a fully porous, organic architecture that mimics real bone’s stiffness and porosity for reduced stress shielding. The implants offer enhanced imaging characteristics, as well as a good bone in-growth environment, when compared to traditional Ti interbody implants, and represent continued growth and advancement in the expanding market for titanium interbodies.
“We’ve seen an increase in surgeon preference to use titanium interbody options in spine surgeries, and we were confident we could develop a titanium option that delivers the porous properties surgeons need. Modulus XLIF maximizes the potential of 3D-printed spinal implants through the application of unique and advanced software optimization processes,” said Matt Link, Executive VP of Strategy, Technology and Corporate Development for NuVasive. “This product launch further represents our continued commitment to advancing surgical materials, and delivering best-in-class implants that provide superior osseointegration and biomechanics.”
At next week’s North American Spine Society Annual (NASS) Meeting in Florida, NuVasive will showcase its technologies, including the new Modulus XLIF, at Booth #713.
LPW Showcasing New Metal 3D Printing Powders at formnext
At next month’s formnext 2017 in Frankfurt, LPW Technology will be introducing its new ranges of clean 3D printing metal powders, manufactured at its £20 million ‘factory of the future’ in the UK. The powder manufacturing facility was designed to control contamination, and will operate under intense cleanroom conditions. It has cells segregated for specific material production, and atomizers that can make small to medium volumes of clean powders out of various metals, including nickel, aluminum, cobalt, and titanium.
Dr. Phil Caroll, the Founder and CEO of LPW, said, “At LPW we view AM from the perspective of the powder. At formnext we'll be showcasing our new production capability, assuring manufacturers operating in safety-critical sectors that our atomisation equipment has been designed to engineer out the risk of contamination in our AM metal powders.”
LPW’s PowderRange series of AM metal powders and its PowderLife AM lifecycle management system will be exhibited in Stand D48, Hall 3.1 at formnext, and company applications engineers and R&D teams will be there to give free 30-minute consultations.
Philament Introducing New Glass Fiber Reinforced Filament