Silver and 3D Printing: A New Source of Demand?

At the end of July, The Silver Institute released a report called The Outlook for New Electrical and Electronic Uses of Silver. Prepared by Metals Focus, it looks at three potential areas of growth for the white metal: flexible electronics, light-emitting diodes and interposers.

Artificial Muscles to be 3D Printed

Industrial 3D printer manufacturer Optomec will be delivering an Aerosol Jet Quad Print Engine to the Factory Automation and Production Systems (FAPS) Institute at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg to print artificial muscles. 

“Green” 3D Printer Filament?

We’re looking at a new proprietary 3D printer filament from Avante Technology that could qualify as “Green”. And we’re not talking about the color. 

ColorFabb’s Metal Filament: bronzeFill

ColorFabb has made a habit of introducing new and unusual plastic filaments for personal 3D printers, and now they’ve made a breakthrough with a metal filament: bronzeFill. 

NASA Research Aims to Print Wood in Space

In a completely new twist for the world of 3D printing, two researchers are working to create a new bioprinting methodology that would see clumps of cells spawn custom engineered, non-living biomaterials.

Metal Powder Gets Cheaper

Metal producer Metalysis has invented a much more efficient method to make fine metal powder. Currently the price of titanium powder ranges from USD$200-400 per kg as it is made through a complex multi-step process. Metalysis’ new process involves a single step and should reduce the price accordingly.    While this is quite important for… Continue reading Metal Powder Gets Cheaper

MakerBot’s Colorful Plastics

MakerBot is making a big deal out of their plastic selection, and they should. It’s a far cry from their initial selection of plain old colors years ago. Today you’ll find it includes a really terrific set of colors that they’ve grouped into: true colors, translucents and specialties. They offer ABS, PLA, dissolvable and flexible… Continue reading MakerBot’s Colorful Plastics

The Scoop on ABS and PLA

Most personal 3D printers use PLA or ABS plastic, but how much do you actually know about these materials? Aside from the fact that ABS’s melting temperature is somewhat higher than PLA, and that ABS is somewhat stronger than PLA, most 3D printer owners could be challenged to say more.    Don’t fear: there is… Continue reading The Scoop on ABS and PLA

t-glase: A Clear Plastic for your 3D Printer

As the market for personal 3D printers expands, so do your options for plastic filaments. Along with the standard ABS and PLA filaments that have been available for many years, we’ve seen a number of fascinating experiments with different filaments, including some involving wood and ceramics. Now Taulman offers another unique filament: t-glase. What makes… Continue reading t-glase: A Clear Plastic for your 3D Printer

FilaFlex is indeed Flexible

Another filament innovation has emerged from Recreus: Filaflex, a flexible filament. Using this material, your personal 3D printer might be able to 3D objects that are quite flexible, yet durable at the same time. How durable? Well, it seems that Recreus believes you can print usable footwear with this material as shown above.    There’s… Continue reading FilaFlex is indeed Flexible