Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

3d printing

5 Reasons Why Prototypes Are Important for Robotics

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No matter whether you’re a university student hoping to gain funding for your project or a robotics project manager, you need to use a prototype.

You’ve already outlined your concept, your drawings, and all of your requirements. You know exactly how to pitch your ideas, but how do you seal the deal? You guessed it: prototypes.

The reality is that it’s impossible to fully visualize a product without seeing it physically. Drawings and 3D models help fill these gaps in the imagination, but it’s still not yet existing in the physical space.  [Read more…] about 5 Reasons Why Prototypes Are Important for Robotics

Markforged raises $82 million to bring industrial 3D printing to mass production

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Markforged, a manufacturer of industrial 3D printers, has closed an $82 million Series D round of funding.

The round was led by Summit Partners with participation from existing strategic and financial partners, including Matrix Partners; M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund; Next47; and Porsche SE.

Markforged says it will use the additional capital to help accelerate its product roadmap, including the introduction of mass production printers and new materials.  [Read more…] about Markforged raises $82 million to bring industrial 3D printing to mass production

Industrial 3D printing poised to shift from prototyping to full-scale production runs, says survey

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Industrial 3D printing is poised to move from prototyping to full-scale production runs, according to a survey by Essentium, a provider of 3D printing technology and materials for additive manufacturing.

Essentium says the findings of its survey, 3D Printing At Scale, conducted by Dimensional Research, reveal that confidence in, and deployment of, industrial-scale 3D printing is at a tipping point amongst 3D production manufacturing stakeholders and decision makers.

Over half of the respondents report to be preparing for full-scale 3D printing production runs, 21 percent now use 3D printing for full-scale production part runs, and 88 percent believe the economic advantage to manufacturing industries from production scale 3D printing will be in the billions of dollars.  [Read more…] about Industrial 3D printing poised to shift from prototyping to full-scale production runs, says survey

Andretti Autosport applies Stratasys 3D printing to components development

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Andretti Autosport is partnering with Stratasys to apply 3D printing systems into its development of new components for its racing cars. 

The multi-year collaboration agreement between Andretti and Stratasys builds on decades of experience in additive manufacturing technology.

Stratasys says its 3D printing machines enable leaders across professional racing to gain a competitive edge.  [Read more…] about Andretti Autosport applies Stratasys 3D printing to components development

Essentium closes $22.2 million in Series A funding

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Essentium, a provider of 3D printing solutions for industrial additive manufacturing, has closed $22.2 million in Series A funding.

The round was led by BASF Venture Capital with participation from Materialise, Genesis Park, and previous seed round investors.

BASF Venture Capital Investment Manager, Sven Thate, will join the Essentium board.  [Read more…] about Essentium closes $22.2 million in Series A funding

Mercedes-Benz uses 3D printing for ‘classic’ replacement parts

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Mercedes-Benz has been offering 3D printed replacement commercial vehicle parts since 2016, now further replacement parts have passed quality assurance and are coming onto the market.

The inside mirror base for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé (W 198 model series), the spark plug holder from the tool kit of this iconic sports car as well as the sliding sunroof rollers for the W 110, W 111, W 112 and W 123 model series: these are important replacement parts for faithfully maintaining this classic of the brand.

Mercedes-Benz Classic has them newly produced in a 3D print. The process is particularly well-suited to smaller quantities, which allows gaps in the replacement part supply of classic vehicles to be closed.

[Read more…] about Mercedes-Benz uses 3D printing for ‘classic’ replacement parts

Canon develops ceramic material for 3D printing

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Canon Inc. has developed a manufacturing technology for the highly accurate 3D printing of ceramic parts with complex geometries using a proprietary ceramic material for 3D printers.

The 3D printed ceramic parts feature such properties of conventional ceramics as heat and corrosion resistance as well as insulating properties, and are expected to be used in a variety of different fields, including industrial equipment.

3D printers that use such materials as metal and resin, which enable easy prototyping and the production of a variety of parts in small lots, have started to become more common.

[Read more…] about Canon develops ceramic material for 3D printing

HP accelerates 3D printing mass production

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At formnext 2018, HP announced new and expanded installations of its HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solutions to meet the growing worldwide demand for production-grade 3D manufactured parts.

HP showcased the explosion of new applications across the transportation, industrial, medical, and consumer sectors, including new PA-11 applications, and initial customers of its new award-winning HP Jet Fusion 3D 300 / 500 solutions.

HP also announced a design-to-print workflow with Autodesk to enable generative design capabilities across the entire HP Multi Jet Fusion portfolio, as well as new online resources to accelerate the journey to mass production for customers and resellers.

[Read more…] about HP accelerates 3D printing mass production

BMW Group makes a million 3D-printed components in 10 years

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At the BMW Group, the use of 3D-printed components is on the rise.

Over the last decade alone, the company produced a million parts by this innovative method, and this year output from the BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Center is expected to reach over 200,000 components — a 42 percent increase on last year’s total.

Dr. Jens Ertel, Director of the BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Center: “The use of components made by additive manufacturing in series production of vehicles is increasing particularly strongly at the moment.

[Read more…] about BMW Group makes a million 3D-printed components in 10 years

Siemens launches additive manufacturing process simulation solution

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Siemens has announced a new additive manufacturing (AM) process simulation solution for predicting distortion during 3D printing.

The product is fully integrated into Siemens’ end-to-end AM solution, which assists manufacturers in designing and printing parts at scale.

Building on Siemens’ comprehensive digital innovation platform and the Simcenter portfolio, the AM Process Simulation solution uses a digital twin to simulate the build process prior to printing, anticipating distortion within the printing process and automatically generating the corrected geometry to compensate for these distortions.

[Read more…] about Siemens launches additive manufacturing process simulation solution