All articles Manufacturing Medical Software
Pushing boundaries by ‘normalizing new’: 3DP has become business as usual for Labman Automation

Pushing boundaries by ‘normalizing new’: 3DP has become business as usual for Labman Automation

Solutions: Certified Additive Manufacturing, Metal 3D Printing, Rapid Prototyping

Labman has been at the forefront of designing custom laboratory automation products and solutions for almost 30 years – its robots can be found in over 42 countries, in locations ranging from prestigious research institutions to the development rooms of major manufacturers. With a focus on innovation and a ‘can do’, curious approach, the business is frequently called in to solve automated process puzzles thought insurmountable. And increasingly it’s using 3D printing to do it. 

3D Printing at Samsonite

10 Years of 3D Printing at Samsonite: Innovation from Design to the Production Line

Solutions: Additive Manufacturing, Grippers, Rapid Prototyping

From concept to mass production, innovation is wired into Samsonite’s manufacturing DNA. Over the last ten years, 3D printing has helped the design team find original solutions to complex challenges as they move new projects forward.

Lipstick Gripper

94% Lighter, 50% Cheaper, and More Performant – Optimizing a Suction Gripper Design for Metal 3D Printing

Solutions: Magics, Metal Production

Production tools are one of the applications where additive manufacturing truly shines. By optimizing the design of this suction gripper for 3D printing, Materialise reduced the manufacturing costs per gripper by half.

Röchling Automotive is Shifting Gears to Make an Engine 35% Lighter

Röchling Automotive Is Shifting Gears to Make an Engine 35% Lighter

Solutions: Metal Production

Engineering and manufacturing company Röchling Automotive was given an ambitious target by one of their automobile OEM customers: to reduce the weight of an engine by 35%. After partnering with Materialise to optimize, design, cast an aluminum inlet and print in plastic around the metal core, they are on their way to meeting this goal.

Materialise Prints Life-Size Mammoth Skeleton

3D Printing Meets Prehistoric Preservation: Materialise Prints Life-Size Mammoth Skeleton

Solutions: 3-matic, Mammoth Stereolithography, RapidFit+, Stereolithography

When it comes to producing an exact replica of a mammoth, one thing is clear. Size matters. Recreating over 300 bones, some of which are over 2 meters in length (bigger than a fully grown adult!), is no small feat. Coupled with the need to avoid any invasive or potentially damaging work on the original bones, this project presented a unique challenge.

Smart glasses using 3D Printing, designed by Achilles for Iristick

A Smart Way to Deliver Smart Glasses: 3D Printing Helps Achilles Design and Iristick Get Market-Ready

Solutions: Certified Additive Manufacturing

Iristick’s smart safety glasses are at the cutting edge of design and electronic engineering. Working with Materialise, Achilles Design was able to get Iristick into small-series manufacturing at least 6 months ahead of schedule, reduce initial investment costs, and go to market with an agile offering tailorable to customer requirements.

FMHofmann 3D-printed eyewear

Fmhofmann Powers Eyewear Creativity with 3D Printing

Solutions: Certified Additive Manufacturing

Inspired by the design freedom that 3D Printing presents and armed with a creative concept unlike any other, leading designer Fabián Hofmann presented Materialise with a challenge. To partner with him in creating the industry’s first eyewear range with complex moving parts created entirely from additive technologies. With a re-imagined titanium ‘VOID’ hinge, a lightweight open core frame design, and an entirely new surface finish, ‘Cosmos’ was born.

Airbus Gets on Board with 3D Printing

Airbus Gets on Board with 3D Printing

Solutions: Certified Additive Manufacturing

When it comes to retrofitting aircraft cabins, time is of the essence. By partnering with Materialise, Airbus was able to produce small-batch custom parts faster, meeting tight retrofit timeframes, stringent quality requirements, and exacting aesthetic standards.

Shell scale model robot

Shell Brings Robotic Inspection to the Global Energy Industry

Solutions: Laser Sintering, Stereolithography

Employing robots to conduct equipment inspections is a longstanding focus for Shell – one with potentially huge safety and efficiency benefits. To avoid transporting its large and valuable robots to promotional events, Shell asked Materialise to create smaller models to serve as demonstrators. Through a bespoke combination of 3D Printing technologies, materials and finishing techniques, Materialise produced two precise replicas that look exactly like the original machines.

QualiCal’s METRO puts 3D Printing in the Limelight

QualiCal’s METRO puts 3D Printing in the Limelight

Solutions: Certified Additive Manufacturing, Laser Sintering

Italian engineering company QualiCal saw an opportunity for innovation in lime production, and asked — could 3D printing help eliminate the single biggest cause of production downtime? It could and it has. Partnering with us, QualiCal developed a shaft level indicator that offers the potential for increased revenue of up to €1,400,000.

3D-printed drones by Soleon

Reimagining Agricultural Pest Control with Soleon’s 3D-Printed Drones

Solutions: Certified Additive Manufacturing, Laser Sintering, Polyamide

Italian drone company Soleon has diverse projects, from aerial photography to thermal mapping drones. For years now, Soleon has been working with Materialise to adapt their products quickly to the needs of their customers, shorten lead times and reduce the weight of the drone parts compared to expensive and time-consuming milled parts.

Philips adopts 3D Printing

Philips’ Lightbulb Moment: 3D Printing Becomes Essential Production Thinking

Solutions: Additive Manufacturing, Metal 3D Printing

Working together Materialise and Philips Lighting explored the benefits 3D Printing could offer for components in a production environment. The first two parts we developed; a lamp holder bracket, previously prone to part failure and a redesigned suction gripper; are together realizing cost savings of around €89,000 a year.