In 3D Printing News Briefs today, 3D Systems announced a major milestone in the commercialization of the Oqton Manufacturing OS, the 32nd Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF) announced a record number of exhibitors, and scientists in China used 3D printing to develop compact, multicore fiber tip probes for sensors. The CEO of MX3D and his partner built a house featuring a metal 3D printed façade, and Aectual 3D printed a façade for a storefront and a meeting room for a law firm. Then we’ll finish up with a story about 3D printed interiors for a camping van.

3D Systems Reaches Milestone in Oqton OS Commercialization

Oqton Manufacturing OS enables end-to-end Additive-based workflow management, and real-time monitoring, to deliver a decentralized manufacturing solution.

3D Systems announced a major milestone in commercializing its software business Oqton Manufacturing OS, which the company purchased in 2021. Energy technology company Baker Hughes, which entered into a commercial software agreement with Oqton last year, is now in full production with Oqton Manufacturing OS at its Houston, Texas manufacturing facilities. This highlights the shared vision of the companies to support decentralized manufacturing, as Oqton enables on-demand 3D printing in regulated markets by providing full factory-floor workflow integration, control, automation, and optimization, from initial part design and production all the way to inspection and certification. The solution enables real-time monitoring of key performance indicators, facilitates and expedites the order management process, and offers full traceability. Baker Hughes first started using Oqton Manufacturing OS to scale AM in its manufacturing workflow without causing issues with user experience or quality, and the system integration makes this more efficient.

“We are pleased to achieve deployment of this solution with our strategic partner, Baker Hughes. Oqton Manufacturing OS’ holistic approach to manufacturing, alongside Baker Hughes’ expertise in production for regulated industrial environments, has enabled us to demonstrate the real- world impact of this unique solution,” said Reji Puthenveetil, EVP, additive solutions & chief commercial officer, 3D Systems. “Following this key demonstration of Manufacturing OS’ ability to drive efficiencies, increase automation and achieve savings in complex industrial environments, we are looking forward to its continued adoption.”

JIMTOF 2024 Comes to Tokyo in November with Record Exhibitors

One of the world’s largest machine tool exhibitions, the Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF) will be held at Tokyo Big Sight from November 5-10. Think of it like IMTS, but on a much larger scale. The event, organized by the Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association and Tokyo Big Sight Inc., will have a record number of exhibitors this year, with 1,262 companies and organizations from 19 countries and regions setting up a total of 5,743 booths. With a total exhibition area of 118,540 m2, and an increase of 175 exhibitors and 125 booths since JIMTOF 2022, JIMTOF 2024 will be the largest of its kind in Japan. 53 exhibitors with 192 booths will be in the event’s additive manufacturing area, and there are three different kinds of exhibitors at the event:

• direct exhibitors (representative exhibitors who’ve applied to exhibit)
• co-exhibitors (company other than a representative exhibitor with its own employees in the booth)
• represented exhibitors (company other than a representative exhibitor that does not have its employees in the booth)

The new JIMTOF INSIGHTS YouTube channel, which supports manufacturing in Japan, will be updated before, during, and after the event to, as a press release states, “actively disseminate information on the manufacturing industry.” There are multiple co-located events at JIMTOF 2024, including the Academic Area in South Hall 4 that was established to grow understanding of the machine tool industry. This will feature a “Career Matching Square” for students to interact with human resources and general affairs staff from exhibiting companies, as well as the IMEC Post Session, a Special Exhibits area, and the relaxing Open Café, with beverage service and free WiFi. The event will also have many interesting keynote speeches, lectures, and seminars, including multiple offerings in the JIMTOF additive manufacturing area on the first floor of the South Exhibition Hall. Plus, shuttle buses and jumbo taxi cabs will be available to help visitors efficiently get from one hall to another at the event. 3DPrint.com is a proud media sponsor of JIMTOF 2024! You can register for the event here.

Researchers 3D Print Multicore Fiber-Tip Discriminate Sensors

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the MCF-tip probes for magnetic field and temperature discriminative sensing.

Magnetic field sensing plays an important role in fields like aerospace, medical, and transportation, and optical fiber-based magnetic field sensor processes in particular have excellent characteristics, such as low cost, high sensitivity, compactness, and long-distance interrogation. Unfortunately, these sensors are typically affected by temperature perturbation (deviation from normal state due to outside influences), and while this can be eliminated by integrating multiple sensing elements, it increases the cost; plus, measurement errors can be caused by varying spatial locations of these multiple elements. But researchers from Fudan University, Shanghai University, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University published a paper about their work developing ultracompact multicore fiber (MCF) tip probes for magnetic field and temperature discriminative sensing.

Miniature fiber-optic magnetic field sensors are in demand due to their small size and superior anti-electromagnetic interference. The size of the research team’s whole sensing probes has been majorly reduced, so that it’s smaller than the MCF’s outer diameter, making it very attractive. Two-photon polymerization (2PP) 3D printing was used to manufacture a bowl-shaped microcantilever, and a microfluid-infiltrated microcavity, on two different cores of an MCF, and these 3D printed tip probes can detect multi-signal “multi-signal on a tiny fiber tip through multi-channels within a single fiber.” So when the sensing space is extremely small, these ultracompact, sensitive probes will be very helpful in taking discriminative measurements. Plus, the ability to print them on-demand could help speed up research efforts for MCF-tip printed structures that can be adapted for specialized circumstances.

Hembrug Home with MX3D Printed Façade in Kitchen

Image: Jeroen Musch

For many years, the former military industrial Hembrug site in Zaandam, Holland was abandoned, but in 2011, redevelopment began in the area, and empty warehouses and other buildings are getting new life. Together with 25 other families, architect Julie Fuchs and her partner Gijs van der Velden—the CEO of robotic wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) firm MX3D—purchased part of the site, which lies between a business park and a historical open-air museum. Their enclave of 11 small buildings is in a remote corner near the Plofbos (forest), where explosives were once tested and ammunition was stored. But now, these 26 families will live and work in the area, which is where Fuchs and van der Velden converted an old painting workshop into a home. Of course, the home has a new metal 3D printed feature inside!

The home is 34 meters long and 6 meters wide, and was originally a single room. Fuchs and van der Velden wanted to keep its elongated volume, but added rooms in the middle to separate the living room and Fuchs’s studio. These middle rooms are the bathrooms and bedrooms, and a corridor runs on both sides to preserve what a translated article calls the building’s “long sight lines.” The living room floor is made of concrete, while the kitchen floor features wooden planks made out of nearby chestnut trees, which had to be cut down for soil remediation. They reused as many of the original materials as possible, leaving the building’s original single-glazed windows in the studio and purchasing used doors, sinks, and bathtubs from the Marktplaats classifieds site. van der Velden and his colleagues from MX3D used corten steel, which is found all around Hembrug, to 3D print a wavy façade that runs inside and outside around Fuchs’s innovative extention—a folding door that turns the kitchen from an indoor room to an outdoor one.

Aectual 3D Prints BOSS Store Façade & DLA Piper Meeting Room

Speaking of 3D printed façades, Aectual recently created a striking one for the recently renovated BOSS store at the İstinyePark shopping center in Istanbul. The multidisciplinary Ippolito Fleitz Group approached the Dutch additive design firm with the vision of a graphic, open skin that would cover almost the whole storefront and serve as a sunshade. The process began with Aectual’s Gradient panel series, which acted as a foundation for a custom pattern inspired by the complex designs found in BOSS textiles and garments. Aectual 3D printed several mock-ups first, and the final façade design is made up of 136 unique, 3D printed, interlocking pieces and covers 73 square meters. It’s functional, offering shading and temperature regulation, and also calls on Aectual’s renowned architectural sustainability, as the storefront panels were 3D printed out of recycled post-industrial polypropylene.

Another interesting Aectual project was for global law firm DLA Piper, which wanted a statement piece for the atrium of the Strawinskykouse. The firm reached out to Casper Schwartz Architects, an interior design studio dedicated to creating pieces for working environments, but without a typical corporate feel. The atrium was not originally going to feature a meeting room, but extra space was needed, and as Schwartz explained to Aectual, “a sense of seclusion and a character point for the entire atrium” were achieved by adding the meeting room as a sculptural element. The room features a 3D printed skin design made entirely of Aectual’s custom, 3D printed Origami panels, which, as Schwartz said, “strike a balance between openness and privacy.” Natural light is able to filter through, but the room, with its rounded corners and unique shape, still feels secluded enough for private meetings. Not only are the panels made with Aectual’s natural, eco-friendly materials, the color can also be customized, giving the room the hue of a “champagne coloured bonbon.”

Materialogic 3D Printed Lightweight Camper Van Interiors

Finally, Materialogic, co-founded and helmed by industrial designer Max Cuppens, uses large-format 3D printing to make beautiful, lightweight interiors for camper vans. The company has locations in Berlin, Germany and Fort Collins, Colorado, and customizes its interiors to match their clients’ lifestyle on the road. Available for a variety of vehicles, makes and models, the company handles everything for these 3D printed interior components, from design all the way to installation. According to the Materialogic website, its organic forms are optimized for strength and beauty, and also enable more useable space in the vehicle. The company 3D prints components with many technical geometries, such as electrical runs, insulation, lighting and mounting systems, and air ducts. Plus, they say their fabrication method is a sustainable one, as they use a wood fiber-based material that apparently smells like cookies!

“We designed [our components] with the lifecycle of the interior in mind. If something gets damaged or old we can pull the module out, shred it into pellets, and re-3D print a new module,” Materialogic wrote.