mchahar@stratified.in

Korea’s Pusan National University has developed 3D printed elastomeric actuators. In a paper published in Nature, the team used elastomeric liquid crystal filaments. The filaments were printed while changing their molecular orientations, letting them either expand or contract and enabling switchable actuators. The team consisted of Jin-Hyeong Lee, Kyeong Pyo Kim, Lijie Ding, Michael Li,

In addition to its more traditional uses, the centrality of copper to an unusually large number of high-growth industries has led more than a few observers to argue that it could be the key industrial metal of the 21st century. At the same time, supply-side uncertainty has recently driven copper prices to all-time highs. While

This is Part II of our LightForce interview series. While Part I focused on the technology behind the company’s customized 3D printed brackets, Part II looks at what that technology meant for the first patient to receive them. When Katie Doran was a teenager, she spent years in braces, wore headgear, and went through a

In this ongoing series of Killer 3D Printing Applications, we’ve looked at a lot of things, including tools, tool voids, factory automation, aircraft seating, car seats, and more. We’ve been looking for nascent 3D printing applications that could turn into multi billion dollar businesses. Typically, they will use the ability of additive to iterate, be

Earlier in the year, a consortium that includes China’s BLT announced a major breakthrough in using a high-precision, liquid metal UV 3D printing process to upgrade the hinge for Chinese smartphone maker OPPO’s foldable Find N6 phone. Around the same time, another leading Chinese OEM in the metal AM market, Farsoon, announced that it was

US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has approved the PBF process for 17-4PH stainless steel demonstrated by Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Keyport, located in Washington state (one of ten Naval Warfare Centers located across the country). Keyport is the first Warfare Center to have received NAVSEA approval for a metal AM process, making this

Chromatic 3D Materials has inaugurated a test firing site at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota. It’s a 210 square kilometer Minnesota National Guard site used for training service members from many branches of the U.S. military, as well as local police and units from countries like Norway. Chromatic will take a five-year lease for testing

The latest earnings from 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD), Prodways (EPA: ALPWG), and Align Technology (Nasdaq: ALGN) show that the 3D printing market continues to move forward. Some businesses are growing faster than others, but all three companies reported positive developments during the quarter. 3D Systems reported another quarter of improving results as it continues its

Tom Bakker is a talented engineer who has worked in LPBF, custom machine building, and on semiconductor equipment. Now he wants to make LPBF metal printing cheap. With Metal Base, Tom is developing a low-cost system that will make LPBF accessible. He has already sold 6 to beta testers, and the systems are running there.

Many dynamic, interactive objects change their appearance through the use of electronics, like LEDs and screens. But if the object is squished, twisted, or pressed too hard, or exposed to chemicals or water, those electronics won’t work properly anymore. Surface optics can change the appearance of an object without delicate electronics, but their interactivity is