The Alaris30 on Japanese TV

Objet has played a blinder here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6oqQNTSy4I


[Hat-tip to G Sachs via the RP-ML]


I have to say, in my opinion Objet has dominated the additive sector in terms of marketing strategy, coordination and synchronicity.


And you just have to admire the enthusiasm of the Japanese! The negativity and procrastination that prevails in Western cultures is perhaps one of our most serious limitations. 

Increasing Competition — Never a Bad Thing

Things are really starting to heat up at the lower end of the 3D printer market. Another sub-£1000 model has just been launched on to the market. It's rather bizarre name is Cube.ly — I kind of get it, but I am not convinced the name tells the world what it is and what it is trying to do. Vague noises about this one have been creeping around since February and I've been trying to find out a little more, but it's not forthcoming.

When I say vague noises, the various blogs and tweets that I have seen have all been saying the same thing, virtually word for word, ie regarding its being a derivative of RepRap, the way it is to be built, cost, and the rather startling ambition of a sales target volume of 10,000 by the 1st January 2013. Despite lengthy searches and a few phone calls, I am struggling to find out more. Nothing on building parts, materials, accuracy, speed. All the key parameters that people need to know to build parts or to compare on a like for like basis with alternate machines in the same price bracket.

So, where are we at today with 3D printers under 5k?  RapMan, Makerbot, Fab@Home, RepRap and now Cube.ly.  At times like this I REALLY wish I had a crystal ball ......


In truth, all these systems can probably find a place and get good market share, but when this (widespread 3D printing) takes off, as it surely will some time soon, I can't wait to see how it plays out.

The BBC Has Seen & Tweeted

Regarding my post a week ago, the BBC seem to prefer tweeting to blogging .....

http://twitter.com/BBCAmos/status/10044219130

The net is spreading wider and it is so gratifying to see the responses and watch people get hooked on the technology.

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BFB RapMan is Manufacturing Parts

Commissioned to find and write a compelling case study on the BFB RapMan, I knew it would not be a hard brief, in that uptake is pretty rapid at the moment. However, what I was not expecting, was to come across a user that is employing the kit form of the RapMan machine to manufacture end-use components! I was staggered, I have to say. This is immense. An additive technology, under £1,000, is producing plastic components for a finished product. Granted, the volumes are not huge — yet. But, the potential is there.

I am currently waiting for approval to get this story out there into the public domain, but just as soon as I do, I will be posting it here, as well as sending it as far and wide as possible.

I love it when this happens ....

..... when the light suddenly goes on for someone! 

Edward Machin from 'The Manufacturer' recently visited GKN and EADS on the same day. He blogged soon after. What he saw at EADS seems to have blown his mind. The following is just a snippet of what he wrote, but the full post can be viewed here: http://www.themanufacturer.com/uk/content/10276/We_are_the_dreamers_of_dreams

"Additive layer manufacturing (ALM) effectively ‘grows’ components layer by layer from a powdered material, be it plastics or metal....

Very simply, this stuff shifts the shifts that paradigms shift. Yes, these terms get tossed about like cheap orange frisbees at the first sign of a British summer, but genuinely, people, and to co-opt Lincoln Steffens, “I’ve seen the future, and it works.” Moreover, with its genesis in Rapid Prototyping’s underlying technology ALM appears to have found a soulmate in the direct manufacture of net-shape and high performance aerospace components.

The ALM project at Innovation Works, EADS’ research and technology production facility, is headed up by Dan Johns. A charmingly infectious chatterbox, he wastes little time in introducing me to a selection of structurally superior, ultra-efficient (with a percentage of raw materials reniserted into the stock in powder form) and aesthetically beautiful structures — in a way that carbon fiber-reinforced polymer seldom is. Did I mention drastically reduced lead times, to boot?

His team of technological merry pranksters, with breakdancing ecological evangelists and ex-national table tennis champions among their number, are perhaps more remarkable still. Now, I’ve never been one for sentimental blubbering, but the guys and dolls at Innovation Works truly live and breathe this stuff, and it shows. Heck, I’ll just say it; tis a beautiful thang." 

Following on from the recent article in the Telegraph covering EADS Innovation Works, I also happen to know that the BBC are interested in what is going on at EADS too. In terms of proving the reality and not just the hype — EADS really is leading the way and taking it much wider than it has EVER been before. 

The Transition Period

As a long term advocate of additive technologies I have been through the peaks and troughs associated with an emerging sector. However, I have never before been witness to the growing momentum behind these technologies that exists today.

It is not possible to point to one single factor, which is probably why there is strength behind the momentum as opposed to 'hype'. Rather, it is now possible to identify a cumulative range of events and circumstances that are contributing to this escalating energy behind both 3D printing and additive manufacturing.

As the world tentatively heads out of recession, albeit teetering on the brink with economic commentators uncertain about which way the cards will fall as of yet, the vendors of additive technology platforms have fared pretty well. Some better than others, as would be expected, but what it very telling is that none have gone into administration. All of them have managed to keep their heads above water. Stratasys recently released its end of year results for 2009, and the general pattern is probably similar across the board, in that unit sales were down on the previous year, but still healthy enough. Cost cutting and belt tightening helped to buoy up the figures some, and overall the rhetoric was positive. An industry that can demonstrate positive results after a devastating year — economically speaking — only points to further significant growth at a faster rate as global circumstances improve.

Awareness is another significant factor in this building momentum. It's been a slow process (akin to wading through treacle at times) but it is now spreading at an exciting rate. There is much more talk, debate and understanding of the additive manufacturing concept. From a personal perspective, I am finding that I rarely have to explain the concept itself anymore, as most people that I speak to have heard about it and grasp the basic idea. Rather it is a case of explaining the different processes and the range of capabilities. This is progress!

A further significant pointer that I became aware of yesterday is that a large retail outlet that has picked up on the technology. PC World posted an article on its website: http://www.pcworld.com/article/189880/affordable_3d_printers.html. It refers directly to HP's interest in 3D printers and I imagine this is what brought it to the company's attention. Also, the article talks about 3DP and AM as a technology of the future, but it is talking, and more to the point, it is taking the message wider. Just think of the number of people that would never come across a manufacturing or technology website but will visit the PC World website. There could be many more 'Eureka' moments as a result!

Many of the blogs relating to 3DP and AM are also becoming much, much more prolific with their posts. A great many of them distinguish between the industrial strength processes (Stratasys, 3D Systems, Objet, ZCorp et al) and the 'hobbyist' platforms (RepRap, Fab@Home, Makerbot and BfB RapMan etc). The hobbyist platforms being those 3D printers that come in kit form. I am not sure if the 'hobbyist' label works for me, I don't think it conveys the full potential of these machines, but I get the point and the differentiation.

As of today, I think the sector is mid transition — somewhere between niche and mainstream — and moving faster than it ever has before!