In this edition of Sliced, 3D Printing Industry look at a 3D printing project from KLM airlines, research at Japan’s Waseda University, a partnership for Milacron Holdings, and behind the scenes 3D printing at New Zealand’s Weta Workshop.
100 plus hours of 3D printing go into Ghost in the Shell’s robot skeleton
In the latest behind-the-scenes preview of 3D printed special effects from Weta Workshop, Tested’s Adam Savage speaks to technician Jared Haley about a one off 3D printed robot for 2017’s live action Ghost in the Shell remake.
The skeleton is made out of a number of 3D printed components including clear resin, black resin, nylon and stainless steel. It fits inside another 3D printed ballistic gel that Haley explains is “effectively a silhouette” of the live actress who plays the character in the film.
Cool metal additive partnership between Milacron Holdings and Linear AMS
Plastic manufacturing and processing company Milacron Holdings (NYSE:MCRN), headquartered in Blue Ash, Ohio, has announced a partnership between its DME product brand and Linear AMS, based in Michigan. The partnership with Linear AMS is to provide 3D printed metal parts for cooling systems used in plastic molding.
David Baucus, DME product manager, comments,
We build the unmachineable! The conformal cooling solution places cooling channels at the optimal distance from the mould surface, consistently following the geometric shape of any mould insert for any customer part, allowing the mould to maintain a targeted, consistent temperature that allows for complete thermal control with cooling times reduced up to 100%. This technology also allows for conformal venting solutions for those hard to reach areas of trapped gases.
3D printing gives KLM passengers a home from home
For over 65 years, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have given iconic miniature houses as gifts to its business class customers. In 2017, and for a more personal touch, the company collaborated with Local Makers, a specialist retailer of desktop 3D printers based in Amsterdam.
In the collaboration, Local Makers 3D printed custom replicas of each business passenger’s own house. The white prints were then hand painted with traditional Delft Blue details, and coated to make them appear shiny, like porcelain.
Smoothing 3D printed grooves with a pen
In an article published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal, researchers from Waseda University in Japan demonstrate a method for improving the surface of FFF 3D printed objects. Kensuke Takagishi and Shinjiro Umezu of the university’s Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering have developed a pen-style device that deposits chemicals capable of dissolving ABS and PLA plastics.
The full paper is open access and available to read online here.
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Featured image shows the Sliced logo over Weta Workshop’s 3D printed robot skeleton for Ghost in the Shell 2017. Original screenshot via Tested on YouTube
