In this weekend’s 3D Printing News Briefs, MyMiniFactory is targeting former Etsy sellers with its new Premium Merchant Program.QuesTek added new titanium alloy modeling capabilities to its ICMD software platform, and Massachusetts researchers showed how cold spray AM can help with on-site bridge repair.Finally, a 3D printable filament dryer was launched on Kickstarter, and Virginia Tech researchers developed an evaporative cooling system of 3D printed clay columns.
MyMiniFactory Offers Alternative to Etsy with New Premium Merchant Program Online marketplace Etsy implemented a policy change that requires all 3D printed goods on the site to be original designs.As thousands of merchants look for alternatives, MyMiniFactory has launched its Premium Merchant Program, giving displaced Etsy sellers a place to go.The $25/month verification system allows legitimate makers, or Premium Merchants, to print and sell licensed designs from established creators.
The program has no commitment period, and those interested can apply through MyMiniFactory’s platform, with verification based on demonstrated quality standards and commitment to licensed production.It’s been estimated that unlicensed design theft can cost creators millions of dollars a year, while makers have to compete with sellers who offer expensive, unauthorized copies.The Premium Merchant Program is meant to help control this “wild west” environment, providing official verification to Premium merchants and ensuring automatic royalty payments to designers through transparent licensing.
For just a 10% fee, MyMiniFactory provides verified maker status, automatic licensing, and input into future platform development; Version 2 is already in the works as I type.Users also get a 10% discount on all store products and access to the more than 150,000 licensed designs on MyMiniFactory’s file library.So far, early adoption of the program has been strong.
“For over a decade, we’ve watched talented designers and skilled makers get exploited by platforms that extract value rather than create it.The recent marketplace disruptions have highlighted what we’ve known for years – the infrastructure connecting creators and manufacturers has been fundamentally broken.Premium Merchant fixes that,” explained MyMiniFactory CEO Nebo Nikolic.
“We’re not trying to be a slightly better version of a broken system, we’re building infrastructure designed specifically for the realities of digital-to-physical manufacturing, where everyone in the chain needs to be fairly compensated.” QuesTek Adds Titanium Alloy Modeling Capabilities to ICMD Software Computational materials engineering company QuesTek Innovations has expanded its ICMD (Integrated Computational Materials Design) Software Platform with the addition of new titanium alloy modeling capabilities.QuesTek is constantly updating its cloud-based ICMD platform, and expanding its utility and depth, so it meets the growing and changing needs of materials engineers, and helps them lower risk and speed up development from concept to qualification.The company’s Materials by Design technology and ICMD software help reduce development time and cost for, and increase the performance of, novel materials.
This newest expansion to QuesTek’s ICMD provides more insight into the behavior of titanium (Ti) alloys for multiple industry/application segments, including aerospace, energy, and additive manufacturing.All of the updates give users better control over performance outcomes driven by material microstructures in demanding applications.First, the new ICMD release expands property modeling tools for Ti alloys, with models that estimate important mechanical properties of the alloys, such as yield strength, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, elastic modulus, and ultimate tensile strength.
This enables users to screen and optimize potential alloy candidates earlier in the development process.The update also includes process-structure models that can simulate how heat treatment will affect alpha-phase development, so materials teams can design microstructures with the proper balance of ductility, strength, and fatigue resistance.Finally, the enhanced ICMD offers predictive modeling of dendritic grain morphology under multiple solidification conditions, so engineers can better anticipate whether a material will form equiaxed or columnar grains.
This is especially helpful at enabling process and alloy designs that improve part performance for 3D printed components.MIT & UMass Amherst Lead Case Study on Cold Spray 3D Printing for Bridge Repair Members of the UMass Amherst and MIT research team pose next to the 3D-printed patch.Haden Quinlan (front, kneeling) of the Center for Advanced Production Technologies at MIT, is one of the researchers leading MIT’s efforts on the project.
Photo: Alexia Cota/UMass Amherst According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, over half of the 623,218 bridges in the U.S.are experiencing major deterioration, and it could cost more than $191 billion to restore them.But the results of an in-field case study in western Massachusetts show that cold spray 3D printing could be a minimally disruptive, cost-effective repair solution.
A collaborative team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) worked with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to complete a proof-of-concept repair on a small, corroded section of a bridge in Great Barrington, using cold spray AM to reinforce the beams with newly deposited steel.Repeated sprays create multiple layers of steel, which helps to restore thickness and other structural properties.This method has been successfully used for other large structures like airplanes and submarines, but with a stationary bridge, the printer had to be brought on-site, and repairs made with few traffic disruptions.
But the team was successful in their endeavor, and after the bridge is demolished in a few years, the beams will go to UMass for testing and measurement to see how well the steel powder adhered to a structure in the field.“Anytime you drive, you go under or over a corroded bridge.They are everywhere.
It’s impossible to avoid, and their condition often shows significant deterioration.We know the numbers,” said Simos Gerasimidis, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UMass Amherst and former visiting professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT.“Now that we’ve completed this proof-of-concept repair, we see a clear path to a solution that is much faster, less costly, easier, and less invasive.
To our knowledge, this is a first.Of course, there is some R&D that needs to be developed, but this is a huge milestone to that.” Research reports for this project are available on the MassDOT website.3D Printable Filament Dryer AeroDry 2.0 Available on Kickstarter Creative3dp aims to make 3D printing more accessible, by designing and developing a range of innovative 3D printable projects, like its latest: the AeroDry 2.0, available on Kickstarter.
This modular, fully 3D printable filament dryer and storage system was “built from the ground up for practicality.” Creator Priyank Pal says that every part of the AeroDry 2.0 was designed for simple, efficient filament management.The system is expandable and stackable, so you can dry and store filament spools from the standard 1kg all the way up to industrial 5kg rolls.Once you’ve printed the chambers, use Creative3Dp’s screw-lock system to bolt them together, and use available components, like blower fans or a PTC heater, to ensure a professional-level drying performance for your materials.
Each chamber of the AeroDry 2.0 acts as a sealed drying zone, with fans forcing heated air vertically through the stack to create an even, consistent upward airflow.The system also includes a digital temperature controller and a programmable timer, and each chamber also comes with a direct-feed outlet, so you can dry and print simultaneously.“You can keep it compact for your desktop setup, or build it tall to dry and store up to 12 spools (or more) without using extra floor space,” Pal wrote on the Kickstarter campaign.
“It’s a solution you can grow over time, tailored exactly to your setup — all while keeping your filament dry, protected, and ready to feed directly into your printer through built-in outlets.” The AeroDry 2.0 has already been fully funded, but the Kickstarter campaign goes through this Thursday, July 10th, and there are plenty of rewards still available.3D Printed Partitions Use Ancient Cooling Techniques to Regulate Temperature From drying to cooling this hot Fourth of July weekend—researchers at Virginia Tech turned to ancient techniques for their 3D printed evaporative cooling system, which has been formatted into a wall partition and can cool the surrounding air by up to 10°F.Stefan Al, an architect, urban designer, and affiliate associate professor of architecture at the university, collaborated with industrial designer and fellow faculty member Brook Kennedy to develop the concept, which is a mix between the evaporative muscatese window design and the zeer pot.
The centuries-old principle behind this new system, which is currently undergoing testing, is that water absorbs heat as it evaporates, which lowers the temperature.The Virginia Tech team 3D printed hollow clay columns, which are then filled with sand and water.Warm air passes through them, and water stored in the sand will evaporate, cooling the air that passes through the columns.
Clay has a lower embodied carbon footprint in comparison to cement-based products, and it also stores and releases heat, which makes it a great material for passive thermal regulation.The researchers have 3D printed three prototypes of different column shapes, and used infrared imaging to measure their thermal performance, which changes based on the geometry and surface texture of the cylinder, as well as its material porosity.As opposed to a wall partition, the system could also be formatted into different interior objects.
“In contrast to AC, which is always hidden, this could be beautiful, and could be seen, and raise people’s understanding and appreciation of these old techniques that are much more sustainable in making us feel comfortable,” Al said.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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