Amazon has received a lot of attention for its plans to use robotic drones to deliver packages, but there are other, potentially more economically feasible, uses for autonomous drones in the supply chain. Sabrewing Aircraft Co., for example, has developed a pair of cargo carrier drones designed for large payloads (up to 800 lbs.) that could be used to move goods in transportation hubs (like shipping yards or airports). The company recently received more than $2 million in funding from the Drone Fund, Idaten Ventures, and other investors to complete construction of a full-sized, pre-production prototype of its Rhaegal air…
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has teamed up with bioprinting firm Aether to advance 3D bioprinting with machine learning and in situ print monitoring, while also developing the next-generation Aether printer. The companies announced a two-year joint development in agreement in February. The companies will use the Aether 1 multi-material printer to develop hardware and software capabilities that can automate and improve product research applications for P&G. “Aether is working with P&G to completely redefine 3D printing. It’s no longer going to be just about depositing a material or two in a specific pattern,” said Aether CEO and founder…
As urban centers become more congested with traffic, a number of companies are designing small, autonomous air taxis that could ferry passengers across a city. Bruchsal, Germany-based Volocopter is currently working with Fraport AG, the entity that acts as airport manager for the Frankfurt Airport, to develop concepts for ground infrastructure and operations that would enable the use of Volocopter’s vehicles at the airport. The plan is to establish Volocopter Ports that could link urban transportation junctions with each other, and with the airport. Fraport has already tested the use of drones for operational applications via its FraDrones program. “Autonomous…
Additive manufacturing is rapidly being adopted in the healthcare sector. A Fact.MR report predicts that the global market for 3D printed medical devices could reach revenues of more than $1.7 billion by 2022. QY Research puts the global 3D printed dental market alone at $260 million in 2018, reaching $930 million by 2025. In 2018, printer giant HP announced new and expanded installation of its HP Jet Fusion 3D printing solutions, and has specifically targeted medical (along with other verticals) in an its efforts to grow its additive manufacturing business. Digital Engineering spoke with Lee Dockstader, director of HP 3DP,…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a common part of the technology landscape, in hardware and software, including the use of machine learning and deep learning. Design engineers will be challenged to use both deep learning and machine learning in their own design processes to more quickly explore the design space and optimize final designs, as well as incorporate deep learning capabilities into their product designs for self-driving cars, smart medical devices and other goods. Deep learning, in particular, is taking hold in the engineering space in various ways. The algorithms use mathematical models in a neural network to identify patterns…
A new light-based 3D printing technique developed at the University of California at Berkeley can create objects from a viscous liquid in just a few minutes. The technique avoids layering, and can create flexible object as well as encasing existing objects in the material. “I think this is a route to being able to mass-customize objects even more, whether they are prosthetics or running shoes,” said Hayden Taylor, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley and senior author of a paper describing the printer, which appeared in the journal Science. “The fact that you could take a metallic component…
Kijenzi, a start-up formed at Penn State’s University Park campus, is helping medical facilities in Kenya access CAD files and manufacture medical devices and replacement parts for medical equipment using 3D printing. Kijenzi was originally formed to create a mobile 3D printer that could be used to quickly produce equipment like braces, clamps and vacuum pumps at remote hospitals in Kenya. The founders learned, however, that a bigger pain point was the lack of access to CAD files, so they have developed a cloud-based system that provides hospitals with access to files along with training on how to 3D print…
Researchers at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering have developed 3D-printed rubber material that can repair itself, potentially increasing the longevity of items like tires, shoes, and other items that are frequently fractured or punctured, while decreasing manufacturing time. Assistant Professor Qiming Wang led the research team. The new material is manufactured with a 3D printing method that uses photopolymerization, a process that uses light to solidify a liquid resin. The self-healing aspect of the material was achieved by adding an oxidizer to the chemical group (thiols) used in the photopolymerization process, transforming them into disulfides. “When…
Developing and certifying new materials are ongoing challenges in the additive manufacturing (AM) space. The same material may perform differently depending on which 3D printing process is used, and different applications may require unique material properties. In January, St. Petersburg, FL-based Jabil announced it was offering a new solution for creating and validating custom engineered materials for AM, and opened a new Materials Innovation Center in Minnesota to provide these 3D printing services in an end-to-end environment. “Materials is the elephant in the room,” says John Dulchinos, vice president of digital manufacturing at Jabil. “From a cost standpoint and availability…
MIT has long been a source of important 3D printing research and advancements, with scientists there working on everything from printing in glass to developing new 3D printheads. MIT also offers well-regarded coursework for students and professionals related to additive manufacturing. Last year, MIT announced it was forming a new industry consortium to focus on additive manufacturing—the Center for Additive and Digital Advanced Production Technologies (ADAPT)—to focus on expanding the use of AM in industry through new research, education platforms, and more academic-industry partnerships. According to ADAPT’s program manager, Haden Quinlan, the idea for the consortium was first floated back…
Portugese and Norwegian scientists have created a 6-axis 3D printer that can produce large metal parts for automotive, aerospace and other applications. According to the scientists, the device can print parts from any angle and plane. The Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s research/development partner SINTEF collaborated on the project. Tata Steel in India has already expressed interest in using the printer. Robotic Arm Responds to Simulation Predictions The printer uses a dexterous robotic arm and leverages a simultaneous simulation solution that predicts variables like temperatures and…
Projects that leverage additive manufacturing and 3D printing to create really big objects have gotten a lot of attention. Massive robotic printing systems have been developed to create everything from cars to entire buildings. Those big 3D printers are impressive, but printing very small objects is actually a lot harder. Getting high resolution at smaller scales is difficult, and there are limits to just how detailed you can get once you move into nanoscale territory. Researchers at MIT appear to have found a way around this problem by printing small objects and then shrinking them to even tinier sizes after…