Now, more than a decade— and several business ventures — later the two companies are reconnecting. Today, S&S Machine is a modern precision machining company serving a select group of customers in pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and defense. And as S&S looks to expand its capabilities and deepen those customer relationships, additive manufacturing is back on the table and powered by Shapeways.

“We always had a strong and trusted relationship with Marleen,” says Tim. “So when we decided to expand into AM again, Shapeways was our first call.”

A new chapter built on trust

S&S isn’t chasing scale for scale’s sake. The team’s philosophy is deliberate: fewer customers, deeper relationships, broader capability.

That’s where Shapeways fits in. The idea isn’t to overhaul how S&S works — it’s to add an invisible layer of capability that helps them say ‘yes’ more often.

“We’ve got the ability to machine and waterjet and assemble,” says Tim. “Now we want to be able to say, ‘Yes, we can do additive too.’”

Their first test jobs with Shapeways are some 3D printed plastic components for a medical device customer. But the opportunity goes further. S&S is exploring ways to integrate additive into its quoting, prototyping and early production offerings.

“Sometimes I just don’t have the capacity to turn a part around next week, so access to AM gives me another lever to pull.”

From prototype to production selectively

While S&S can’t handle high-volume runs in-house, they’re well-positioned to manage the early stages of product development. With Shapeways in the mix, they can offer digital manufacturing from day one — without overstretching their internal resources.

“If we’re specced in to make your prototype, there’s a good chance we can help you build the first hundred parts too. Additive just extends that runway for us and offers flexibility for our clients.”

While the possibilities are almost endless, the current focus is on offering AM as a service to their core customers —many of whom don’t even realize yet that S&S has access to those capabilities.

Sharing histories and futures

The connection between the two companies has evolved with the industry. Back when Tim and Mark sold Figulo to 3D Systems, the landscape was flooded with hype. The positive and negative lessons from that era have shaped how S&S operates today.

“We’ve seen a lot in this industry. Shapeways today feels like it’s being rebuilt the right way — dependable, responsive and built for business.”

It’s early days, but the intent is clear: this isn’t just a vendor relationship. It’s a strategic alignment, built on trust and a shared understanding of where the industry is heading.

“We’re not chasing thousands of customers. We’re building deeper relationships — and additive helps us do that.”

Are you a machine shop or manufacturing service provider looking to say “yes” more often?

Join the growing network of trusted partners integrating Shapeways’ additive capabilities into their offerings quickly and without the overheads. Whether you’re expanding your prototyping services, filling capacity gaps, or building out digital workflows, we can help you add AM where it counts.
Reach out to supplychain@shapeways.com to explore what it means to become a Shapeways reseller.

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“The global 3D printing market size was valued at USD 13.84 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.8% from 2022 to 2030,” states Grand View Research.

“The aggressive research and development in 3D printing and the growing demand for prototyping applications from various industry verticals, particularly healthcare, automotive, and defense, are expected to fuel the growth of the market.”It’s easy to reel off the benefits of additive manufacturing–from the ability to create sophisticated geometries for applications like aerospace or medical to lightweighting designs for extremely strong metal designs. Outside of the utilitarian advantages, however, 3D printing has been the catalyst for transforming manufacturing, disrupting ‘the way it’s always been,’ while still celebrating the merits of traditional production.

Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain Improves Logistics

3D printing was already established in the mainstream by 2020, but few could have predicted how timely the recognition and use of 3D printing power would coincide with serious global supply chain challenges. The ability to manufacture unique products quickly was extremely helpful during the pandemic, and the Shapeways team had the privilege of 3D printing PPEs like face shields, as well as partnering with other designers to 3D print bespoke face masks.

As supply chain issues have only worsened, 3D printing continues to ease the problem, offering a quick solution for many manufacturers worried about delivering orders on time. On-demand 3D printing allows for rapid manufacturing of customized parts, as well as making it possible to set up production in local areas–rather than depending on products from much further away that are stuck in supply chain bottlenecks and delays.

On-Demand 3D Printing Redefines Inventory Management

Supply chains encompass a huge network. Traditionally, an exhaustive amount of work goes on behind the scenes before businesses deliver products into the hands of expectant customers–and even before that, raw materials must be created and processed too. On-demand 3D printing transforms how products are manufactured, how inventory is stored, and how business is transacted. 

Shapeways 3D prints highly customized designs with no machining or tooling, and little to no lead times. Customers in the midst of prototyping can also iterate or make changes as needed. With the ability to maintain 3D designs in a digital library and order parts from Shapeways as desired, progressive manufacturers can whittle down their quantity of inventory–and warehouse space–significantly. This is especially helpful in areas where warehouses are difficult to find, and in some cases where larger businesses with more resources are purchasing them before they are even built.

With on-demand 3D printing, parts are not over-produced and left to sit and gather dust. Improved efficiency also means that Shapeways customers get their products to market faster. Other great features include:

• Security in uploading 3D models and preservation of the digital library.
• Large 3D printed parts with reduced assemblies.
• Strong, lightweight parts that are highly optimized for long-term use.
• Less use of resources, materials, and energy.

Lead times are eliminated, accelerating the prototyping and manufacturing process–resulting in a more agile supply chain. At Shapeways, the process is as easy as uploading a 3D model (up to 20 a once). At that point, an instant quote is activated, along with automated printability analysis. Expedited shipping is available, whether customers need parts shipped to themselves or their own clients.

About Shapeways

Enjoy the benefits of this advanced technology and a wide range of materials from Shapeways for 3D printing your creations with accuracy, complex detail, and no minimum or limits in terms of mass customization or single part orders. Shapeways has worked with over 1 million customers in 160 countries to 3D print over 21 million parts! Read about case studies, find out more about Shapeways additive manufacturing solutions, and get instant quotes here.

The post 3D Printing in Supply Chain Management appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

What would you trust to 3D printing? How about an integral nuclear power plant part? 

In 2017, Siemens AG received a request from the Krško nuclear power plant, located in Slovenia near its border with Croatia, for a replacement part to fit their fire protection pump, which was critical to the plant’s protection system. Normally, replacing a single part would not be an issue. However, the Krško plant, which is the only plant in Slovenia and which provides more than one-quarter of the country’s power plus 15 percent of Croatia’s, became operational in 1981 and had been producing commercial power since 1983; many of its systems were now obsolete and original manufacturers were long out of business. 

When no replacement for the necessary part could be located, Siemens had to consider other options. Traditional manufacturing for the single round disk would have meant a long search for the original 1970s part specifications, then an expensive and long casting and machining process. Instead, Siemens decided to reverse-engineer the part to create a ‘digital twin’ which could then be used as a blueprint to create a new replacement using additive manufacturing. This saved significant time and money. 

The new part is now installed and the plant is expected to be operational until it is decommissioned in 2043. And how is the new part performing? The Krško nuclear plant is one of the most highly rated European nuclear power plants in terms of safety, according to the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group. Vinko Planinc, head of Maintenance at the Krško plant, said “this 3D printed part gave us confidence that we can reach the full life expectancy from our asset.” 

Services like Shapeways that offer additive manufacturing are creating increasingly sophisticated parts like aircraft parts, drones, and car components, as well as designing and fabricating the molds for such parts that can then be produced by a traditional manufacturer. 

3D printing is moving into many manufacturing fields that have traditionally required regulatory oversight and third-party certification. It’s an exciting time when even the jet engines propelling us to and from destinations now rely on 3D printed parts, and our doctors may turn to 3D printing to heal us. Platforms like Shapeways offer high-tech industries the capability to prototype new solutions or to replicate old ones, with the manufacturing agility to integrate changes at a speed traditional manufacturers simply cannot match. One might almost say ‘the sky’s the limit’ on what 3D printing can achieve. But actually, it may be just a little beyond that.

Technology writer Marla Keene works for AXControl.com. In her free time, Marla hikes with her dog Otis or spends time searching for old cameras to add to her ever-growing collection.

The post Repairing a Power Plant With 3D Printing appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

In your shoes, in your car

It’s everywhere! Mass-manufactured 3D printed products are finally getting into customer hands… or onto their feet and into their garages. That’s because adidas’ long-anticipated Futurecraft 4D shoes with 3D printed midsoles finally dropped this week. And MINI announced that in 2018, customers can personalize their rides through the new MINI Yours Customized program. Hopefully, this will show everyone what we already know: that 3D printing CAN MAKE (almost) ANYTHING.

Carbon tech, adidas hype

The Greatest Show on Earth (but not the only show in town)

CES is paradise for geeks, futurists, audiophiles, 3D designers — basically, anyone who is really into any technologies available to consumers. That’s why it’s a good place to spot the kind of 3D technology that could one day (soonish) be in your house. There were a couple of standouts at this year’s CES, which ended last Friday: Ethereal Machines’ “5D printing,” a 5-axis 3D printer with a rotating build plate, and the HP Z 3D Camera, which turns an easily-mountable camera into a scanner and facial-recognition tool. Some very cool news also came from outside the consumersphere: Another rotating 3D printer part, this time the printhead, was demonstrated by Harvard researchers to increase the strength, stiffness, and resistance of 3D printed parts. And in another leap forward for really, really big 3D printers, a new printer from CEAD is already contracted to print ships. We’ll see that one in action at CES 2030.

The HP Z 3D Camera (source)

Breathe easy and break a leg

It might not solve all our problems, but I mean, 3D printing can now print structures that could regrow lung and brain tissue, plus titanium bone replacement meshes that are often better than bone grafts. It’s not a license to live dangerously, but it might just be there for us when we inevitably do.

3D Print Your Medical Needs

Learn how you can utilize 3D printing for medical use. Contact us today to let us know how we can help.

The post The Week in 3D Printing: Kicks and Cars, New Tech Alert, and Medical Miracles appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Florida Man’s Best Tale Yet

We’ve all had some fun with the Florida Man meme from time to time. But just as the only reason that that meme exists is Florida’s amazing open records law, not all Florida Man reports have unhappy (or weird) stories behind them. St. Petersburg, Florida man Francisco Piedra fell onto some hard luck when a side effect of a medication used during heart surgery left him a quadruple amputee. Unable to afford the prosthetics he needed, Piedra relied on the help of the Hanger Clinic for his legs and the volunteers of e-NABLE for 3D printed prosthetic hands. Read more of the heartwarming tale here. And never laugh at another Florida Man story again (unless it involves alligators).

Want to 3D Print Your Medical Needs? We can help.

A simple model like this one can be used to create 3D printed prosthetics for patients like Francisco Piedra (Photo by IntelFreePress on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-SA)

Blowing Up Your Feed

Ok, this story might not go viral, but a printer that can print layers of explosives’ components, eliminating the need for humans to touch each of those components or the final, explosive mixture — well, that’s actually a very big deal. A group of researchers at Purdue University developed a specialized printer with a mobile print bed (rather than a moveable nozzle), which builds an ignitable nanothermite material out of layers of other nanomaterials. Discover the explosive final feat of the research at Interesting Engineering.

Like a FitBit for Your Fiddle-Leaf Fig

The Internet of Things has now extended to plants: Iowa State University has developed “tattoo sensors” that attach to leaves. These “wearables” can measure the transpiration from plants, so scientists can develop plants with greater drought-resistance. The sensors are also cheap — costing, ultimately, cents. Learn all the details here, and remember: one day your plants will be able to tell you when you’ve been neglecting them.

Photo courtesy Iowa State University

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

The more a 3D print differs from its original file, the more compromised its ability to do the job it’s being printed for. It’s a problem that will only get bigger as everything from cars to spaceships get 3D printed parts. Fortunately a group of North Dakota researchers has made progress in solving it. Using sensor data from digital imaging, their just-patented system either compares the print with a reference print or with its CAD model in real time, as the print progresses. Learn how routine printer maintenance birthed this brilliance here.

Sick Burn

This year’s Burning Man will feature a digitally fabricated Temple (a central feature of Black Rock City, which you can learn more about here). The design, called Galaxia, will center around a 3D printed mandala. Somewhat sadly, the structure will be built, only to be destroyed. In Silicon Valley, this is considered profound. See more gorgeous photos of the planned structure here.

Photo courtesy Mamou-Mani

The post The Week in 3D Printing: Florida Man Wins, Explosive Prints, Wearables for Plants, Safer AM, and a 3D Printed Burn appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

While the overall 3D printing industry largely focuses on enterprises and industrial uses, Shapeways exists to take the power of that innovation and put it in the hands of people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to it. Unlike the early consumer 3D printing industry that focused on desktop printers, we created a service business model that enables creators to access the best and most innovative technologies without constantly buying new machines themselves.

EOS has been a key partner, providing the most innovative technology for selective laser sintering (SLS), or powder bed infusion. The company is the leading machine manufacturer and materials supplier for SLS industrial 3D printing, which is known for having the best repeatable quality result — key to serving our million-strong community of creators. EOS also gives Shapeways a competitive advantage beyond quality and consistency: access to material parameters unavailable from other technologies — in any color, size, or repeatable dimensional accuracy. The powder bed acts as a natural support structure for parts, enabling geometries that are difficult to print with stereolithography and fused filament fabrication. And quite simply, it is one of the most forgiving materials processes as the world of 3D creators rapidly expands – with versatility for tech accessories, jewelry, eyewear, scaled models, fixture, mechanical parts, and more.

Our factories house 19 industrial-sized EOS 3D systems that print thousands of products at once, running 24/7. With roughly 200,000 unique designs uploaded each month, we’re pioneering high-mix, high volume production.

As Adam Penna, EOS Sales and Marketing Lead put it, “We have supported Shapeways since its early days and we’re listening closely to them as a customer and to their community for improvement of processes involved in the digital value chain related to industrialized production as well as innovation on what’s next.” At 5 million products printed, we and EOS are celebrating the milestone — and then getting back to work building the accessible 3D printing service of the future.

The post Our Community Makes History: Congrats on 5 Million Strong & Flexible Prints! appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Software

Stratysys is debuting the J750 3D Printing Solution software, which allows users to design for printing in specific materials, while Sigma Labs is releasing web-based quality assurance software PrintRite3D INSPECT, and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence is tackling improving print quality with a stable of software tools like Simufact Additive, a simulation tool for predicting and reducing distortion in powder-bed printing.

Machines and Manufacturing

EOS is going after mass additive manufacturing in plastics with its new EOS P 500 polymer printer, while Mimaki and Verashape are both bringing promising innovations to the show. Mimaki’s 3DUJ-553 will be the first full-color 3D printer that can print up to 10 million color combinations, and Verashape’s VSHAPER has a 5-axis kinematics system and a rotating working platform, allowing users to print in multiple materials and on top of what was previously printed. And EnvisionTEC will premiere a set of upsized printers, including the Perfactory 4 LED XXL, which features the largest build area on the market for DLP 3D printing.

Metal and Multi-Material Printing

Do four lasers equal 4x print speeds? That’s the promise of Renishaw’s RenAM 500Q metal 3D printing system. Meanwhile, XJet, Optomec, and ACEO are all releasing multi-material 3D printers at the conference. XJet’s Carmel printers rely on NanoParticle Jetting Technology that layers nanoparticles of either metal or ceramics, Optomec’s LENS 3D Hybrid Machine Tool can mix aluminum, titanium and other reactive metals, and ACEO’s “drop on demand” technology is a multi-material silicone 3D printing process.

There will be so much more to see and do at formnext, but these are the booths we’re starting with. If you’re at formnext this week, stop by and learn more about how Shapeways brings additive manufacturing to all at Hall 3.0 Booth H73. We’ll see you in Frankfurt!

The post The Week in 3D Printing: formnext 2017 Edition appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

Gemert, the Netherlands’ 3D printed cycling bridge

3D printed construction and infrastructure projects have been executed and teased for years. Last year, the first fully 3D printed office was erected in Dubai. And now, Winsun is collaborating with Saudi Arabia to print over 1.5 million houses over the next five years.

Bridges, however, seem to be a transitional kind of object, allowing for experimentation with 3D printing materials and designs in a challenging, but ultimately limited construction project. To see this in action, let’s take a look at how 3D printed bridges are being developed and how they are changing the scene for 3D printed construction and the construction industry at large.

Just to get one thing clear, we are starting out small with these bridges. They’re essentially prototypes to help us identify and solve a lot of engineering challenges inherent in 3D printed construction. In Spain, we have a 12-meter long pedestrian bridge. In Amsterdam and Gemert, the Netherlands, bridges that stand at about 8 meters long. In Japan, Obayashi Corporation’s bridge is so small a child can step across in two strides.

Gemert, the Netherlands’ 3D printed cycling bridge during installation

In terms of materials, bridges are a great place to start because they really only require one material — concrete. Of course, there are many ways to print out concrete. In Spain, the pedestrian bridge was made from concrete powder that is micro-reinforced with thermoplastic polypropylene. In Gemert, the recent cycle bridge boasts being the first bridge to be printed with steel-reinforced concrete, allowing it to support the weight of 40 trucks at a time.

By applying parametric design to the pedestrian bridge in Spain, concrete was printed only where necessary, reducing the waste, cost, and time required by traditional concrete pouring.

If you’ve seen desktop 3D printers, you know that they can be as small as a proverbial bread box. One of the obstacles with 3D printed construction is the size of the printers themselves, since standard models — whether desktop or industrial — have a set bounding box that limits the size of prints. For construction companies, one solution is to enlarge the entire machine, which is what Eindhoven University of Technology did when creating their concrete printing machine. It can print sections up to 11 meters long, 5 meters wide and 4 meters high.

The other direction to go is to implement a six-axis robotic arm that is not restricted by surface area but rather will print wherever you program it to. This is the approach Holland’s MX3D has taken to enable more creative design and unrestricted sizes. With these free-moving robots, onsite construction is indeed a possibility.

Speaking of robots, 3D printing construction dramatically reduces labor costs. Along with that comes reduction of labor-related injuries as well as need for and production of tools. For construction workers worried about the future of their employment, Theo Salet, a professor from Eindhoven University of Technology, says these jobs will not disappear. Rather they will adjust to these new processes of manufacturing, mainly to “build and maintain the robots.”

Bridges serve a mostly straightforward purpose — to support enough weight to provide transportation grounds over two pieces of land or over a body of water. But Eindhoven University of Technology believes these are a starting point to exploring how to integrate smart components to control temperature, lighting, and security, while taking advantage of additive manufacturing to add “strengthening agents, insulation, and even dirt repellants” into walls.

When can we expect to see these innovations in action? MX3D‘s smart steel bridge will be completed in Amsterdam by 2018. It will be printed with a sensor network that will continuously update engineers on the health status of the bridge through a 3D computer model.

Clearly, 3D printed bridges’ time has come, generating innovations that will pave the way for more sophisticated building construction on a much grander scale. For a full overview of current 3D printing construction projects, bridges and beyond, check out this comprehensive rundown. Today, 3D printed construction is an industry full of promise. What do you think? Will we end up living in vast 3D printed cities, or will the technology remain limited to high-profile vanity projects? Let us know your thoughts on the future of 3D printed construction and infrastructure in the comments below.

The post Why 3D Printed Bridges? Why Now? appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

#DutchPride, Part Deux

The Netherlands is really making this Dutch-born company feel all warm and fuzzy lately. First, the world’s first 3D printed cycling bridge opened in Gemert, and now, Amsterdam is on the verge of welcoming 3D printed floors and an even cooler 3D printed bridge to its historic environs. Yes, we’re bragging. Learn more at FastCoDesign and Slash Gear.

Beating Cancer, One 3D Print at a Time

Last week we encountered a 3D printed sternum. Now, the BBC brings us the story of a woman saved with a 3D printed titanium jawbone. The implant represents a vast improvement over the old take-some-fibula-and-make-it-work method. Heck, 3D printing has even improved that old-fashioned fibula jaw implant method by providing a 3D model of the patient’s jawbone that can be used to cut precisely fitting pieces of the fibula. These latest successes could mean a future where no bone is unrepairable.

Interested in 3D printing for your medical needs? We can help.

3D printed jaw implant recipient Debbie Hawkins and her medical team (image via ABM Health Board)

Multi-Material Magic

Silicone 3D printing has been a somewhat elusive goal, but German 3D printer company ACEO has reached it, and then some. As TCT reported, the company will debut multi-material silicone 3D printing at Form Next in Frankfurt next month. “Silicones of different colors, hardness or even chemical or physical properties can now be placed independent from each other at any given point throughout the process,” explained Dr. Bernd Pachaly, the project lead. This could have all kinds of applications in medical modeling, product development, and mass manufacturing of silicone 3D prints. And, it’s a big step toward printing multi-material machines and biomimicking models. That means we’re just a little bit closer to the “Star Trek replicator” dream.

A piece of multi-material 3D printed silicone (Photo: ACEO®; Wacker Chemie AG)

Threat…itunity!

What’s a threatitunity? I’m so glad you asked. It’s that combination of a clearly foreseeable challenge (threat) and the time needed to develop the tools to face it (opportunity). And that is what we have on our hands with 3D printing cybersecurity. As the Harvard Business Review discussed this week, hacks could lead to the physical instability of printed parts, which can pose incredible dangers, obviously, but also the kind of product recall nightmares that keep employees, CEOs, and shareholders up at night. If we can’t solve this, the era of mass manufacturing with 3D printing is threatened. Thankfully, as the technology develops, novel solutions are coming to light. Challenges + brains = innovations. And that’s a threatitunity.

The post The Week in 3D Printing: Dutch Much?, No Bones About It, Innovations — and Threatitunities appeared first on Shapeways Blog.

But, what about the moon?

Thanks to NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, we’ve been hearing a lot about building habitats on Mars. But what about Earth’s moon, our first love, in terms of extraplanetary travel? The last time it got some attention was 2013, when Yutu, a Chinese rover, took a spin on its dusty face. Well, the Google Lunar XPRIZE is reviving the moonshot, awarding prizes from five to $30 million for successful unmanned lunar rover landings. One team in the competition, SpaceIL, is planning to use 3D printing to build their lunar lander’s legs, as reported by Industry Week. The lofty goals of the competition include habitats on the moon’s surface, so keep an eye out for future 3D printed lunar applications — far sooner than on that red planet that gets all the attention.

Learn the (pretty darn inspiring) story of SpaceIL here:

Implanting the future

An Australian team has successfully implanted its second 3D printed sternum. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Melbourne-based medical implant company Anatomics created the implant out of titanium and Anatomics’ PoreStar porous polyethylene material. The patient, Penelope Heller, is the first American to receive such an implant, and this is the first surgery of its kind on U.S. soil. The possibilities of medical 3D printing are becoming more obvious every day, but this is one of the first concrete realizations of that incredible potential. After covering Form Prosthetics this week, I’m beginning to think that the Aussies are in the lead when it comes to turning us all bionic. But I’m not whinging about it.

Do do that Voodoo that you do so well

PLA-only 3D printing shop Voodoo is jumping into the fourth industrial revolution with both feet, incorporating advanced robotics into its 3D printing factory. As ZDNet reported, Voodoo is making use of cobots, or collaborative robots, which are both easier to program and safer when it comes to working around people. The bots harvest prints from build plates, 24 hours a day. That means more printers in use, more money for Voodoo, and faster turnaround times. Win-win-win.

See the cobot in action here:

So proud!

As anyone familiar with Shapeways knows, we’re a Dutch company that just happens to have its HQ in NYC. So, we felt a twinge of pride this week when the first (successfully completed) 3D printed bridge debuted in the Netherlands. Led by a team from the Eindhoven University of Technology and BAM Infra, the bridge is the first 3D printed concrete structure to be put into use. But we know it won’t be the last.

See how the BAM printer works here (audio is in Dutch):

YOU WERE SO CLOSE

Bill Masters filed a patent for 3D printing technology in 1984, before Chuck Hull, the “father of 3D printing” launched his first machine. And the idea had struck him eight years earlier. So, why isn’t Bill credited rightly as our forefather? Limitations in computing power had a lot to do with it, as this Ozy feature makes clear — but also, Masters had other things to worry about. Namely, running the most successful whitewater boating business of the 1980s, Perception Kayaks. Now, we think Masters deserves his due. We’re revising the family tree, Bill.

Bill Masters in a Perception Kayak (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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