It was earnings season in the 3D printing industry and we covered the financials of ExOne, SLM Solutions, Stratasys, Nano Dimension and Sigma Labs. It will be interesting to see how the projections made halfway through 2017 weigh up to end of year reports due for release in January.
Small steps, big impact
Perhaps the most popular article in this period was a study from University of California San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital discovering that, on average, 3D printing can help save up to $2,700 per operation.
A co-operative project from the University of Oxford and University of Bristol developed a new and well-needed high resolution 3D bioprinting method operating at a scale below 200 microns.
In another microscopic 3D printing project, Brigham Young University (BYU) researchers made a first-of-its-kind microfluidic chip with features as small as 18 μm × 20 μm.
© BYU PHOTO 2017
Music to our ears: More lasers
In an important step for metal additive manufacturing, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) published a comprehensive study of the spatter effect occurring in metal particles of powder bed fusion (PBF) 3D printers.
GE Global Research, Senior Additive Technology Platform Leader Waseem Faidi advocated a strategy for development of faster metal 3D printers.
And to overcome the challenges of 3D printing copper, the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) launched the “SLM in Green” project, replacing typically red SLM lasers with a viridescent equivalent.
Nominate the best of 2017 now in the 2018 3D Printing Industry Awards.
Don’t miss out on another story – subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.
Featured image shows advanced imaging of melt pool metrology in metal powder bed fusion has been captured at LLNL. Photo via Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
