TCT’s top 3D printing stories of 2017

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From breakthrough technologies to innovative applications, it has been another packed 12 months in additive manufacturing (AM). With so many launches and major events to take in, it is extremely easy to get swept up in the whirlwind that this industry can very often become. So as the year draws to a close on a quieter note, we look back on the most-read stories of 2017 from the TCT Magazine website. 

A first look at BLACKBELT 3D

The story of this Dutch 3D printer manufacturer was spotted by our Editor, Dan over on Twitter where materials company, ColorFabb posted an image of a 1 metre long automotive part printed using its HT filament. Unveiled as the BLACKBELT 3D printer, this extrusion-based machine employs a conveyer belt and new Z-Axis and print substrate to facilitate continuous 3D printing. Successfully funded on Kickstarter, the start-up began shipping its first machines this month. Read the full story here.

Materialise says co-creation is key to success

There are many AM events across the globe but a bi-annual favourite on the TCT calendar is the Materialise World Summit which the Belgian company hosted this year to celebrate its many achievements over its 20 year history. As is becoming increasingly evident throughout the wider industry, collaboration was a huge part of this celebration and highlighted in an elaborate “unveiling” of the mysterious "Materialise 0.1". Read our review here. 

Behind the scenes at Desktop Metal

Affordable metal printing has been a major trend this year, and this Boston-based start-up has gone big in its first year on the market, launching its office-friendly, affordable metal 3D printing in May. Dan went along to the Desktop Metal's HQ to get the scoop for our North American edition magazine cover where he met the dream team behind this paradigm shifting technology. Read Dan’s feature here.

HP moves into metal 3D printing

One of the biggest 3D printing stories of 2016 was the launch of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. This year, the company has piqued interest once more by announcing it is now looking into metal printing to “transform the 3D metal industry into more mainstream high volume production”. It plans to launch its first metal product onto the market in 2018. Full story here.

Stratasys launches F123 series

The AM giant launched its F123 series at the beginning of the year aimed at delivering productive prototyping to professional users. Stratasys has since reported that is has sold in excess of 1,000 of these compact, office-friendly FDM machines. We took a closer look at the new machines at launch.

Super fast 3D printing invented by renowned service bureau

Still relatively little is known about the specifics of this technology from Paxis LLC (a company spun out of 3D printing bureau CIDEAS) but the company is so confident in this WAV (Wave Applied Voxel) breakthrough that the development urged founder Mike Littrell say “Stop! We are starting a new company, we’re developing this, here’s my credit card, go out and buy what you need”. Watch our video interview with Mike from RAPID + TCT to find out why.

JEOL debuts metal AM technology 

TCT ventured to Japan for the first time this year to 3D Printing Tokyo where Dan reported that 3D printing innovation in the country is “very much alive and kicking”. One of the companies to catch our attention was JEOL which has applied its expertise with electron beam microscopy to an electron beam melting (EBM) AM machine as part of a TRAFAM (Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing) research project. See it in action here.

Raco's high-precision, affordable FDM 3D printer

At TCT Asia, metals was the big trend but it’s a plastic extrusion-based machine from Chinese manufacturer, Raco that was one of our most read stories from this year. The FDM+ is a high-precision system capable of printing at a layer height of 0.02 mm thanks to a precise nozzle and lead screw structure axis and mechanical guide rails that do away with the more traditional belt-based system. See the machine and parts here.

Surgeons perform complete facial reconstruction with help of 3D printing

Major medical stories can open up even the most cynical mind to the benefits of 3D printing and this story of Mayo Clinic surgeons performing a complete facial reconstruction with the technology is just one inspiring example of that put into action. Read about Andy Sandness’ amazing story here.

GE Additive launches first machine from A.T.L.A.S project

The fruits of another of last year’s biggest stories came to a head this year at formnext powered by tct where GE Additive officially launched the first machine from its A.T.L.A.S ( Additive Technology Large Area System) project. Developed with Concept Laser, the new metal 3D printer features a Z-axis of 0.3 metres which is scalable to beyond 1 metre. Read the full launch story here. 

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