.webp)
We’re back. The Week in Review took an Hiatus but we’re back for more. Send us any news you have.
Loads of funding news this time. 3D Hubs landed $7m from Europeans, Formlabs closed on $35m mostly from Foundry (congrats to both teams, so well deserved. Amazing mgt and product!). Siemens Oil and Gas bought what it didn’t already own of a print bureau in the UK (see below).
Formlabs was called out for moving towards the industrial, but there’s a world between Formlabs’ definition of industrial and Siemens’s. 3D Hubs also called out more professional focus in a sign of the times but as Authentise learned the hard way its tough to swing from consumer completely the other way in this industry. They are ostensibly different markets. What do you think the secret ingredients to an industrial transition are?
More news:
Siemens Acquires Rest of UK Print Breau
Siemens has recently acquired the majority stake (85%) in AM materials manufacturer Materials Solutions. The UK based company specializes in selective laser melting (SLM) materials and the investment is part of a growing interest by Siemens in advanced manufacturing technologies. “With the acquisition of Materials Solutions, we are able to secure world-leading expertise in materials and AM process development with focus on high-temperature super alloys,” said Willi Meixner, CEO of Siemens Power and Gas Division. “The company’s strength is to turn models into high quality components in record time. Clearly Materials Solutions fits perfectly within our vision for growth and application of advanced technologies within our Power & Gas portfolio.”
Keep reading about it at 3Ders.
Vibration Absorption Through Lattice Structures.
Vibration absorption materials can offer good properties at the cost of stiffness and strength: now 3D printing can help solve this issue. Rigid vibration absorption lattice structures, created through 3D printing lattice of 3.5mm spacing and embedding steel cubes as resonators, provide efficient traps for vibration as well as high structural strength and optimal weight. Plastic and lightweight metals can be used, as long as the lattice structure and the resonators mass density ratio is preserved.
Read more here.
Raytheon Scaling up AM Deployments with $523m Missile Contract
Arizona based Raytheon Missile Systems Co. got a $523 million contract from the Department of Defense for the manufacturing, test and delivery of 47 SM-3 Block IB missiles by the end of fiscal 2016. The contract could be replicated for a total of three option years and a yield of 52 missiles per option year. The contract is all based upon the company’s missile designs which incorporated 3D printing in many if not all aspects of manufacturing, including rocket engines, guidance and control systems and fins. Looking ahead, engineers at Raytheon are looking for effective ways to print electronic circuits and microwave components. “You could potentially have these in the field,” said Jeremy Danforth, a Raytheon engineer who has printed working rocket motors. “Machines making machines. The user could [print on demand]. That’s the vision.”
Read more at 3D Printing Industry.