Rapid Prototyping

Smart fabrics from Eeonyx Corporation

IDTechEx recently visited Eeonyx, a company making smart fabrics. The Company's customers include leading members of the defense, aerospace, apparel, medical and electronics industries.

What's New in 3D Printing?

IDTechEx Research recently attended a 3D Printing Materials Conference in Maastricht. Here we share what we learned.

Fraunhofer Additive Manufacturing Alliance

Background on contract research into industrial applications of additive manufacturing undertaken by the 13 institutes in the Fraunhofer Additive Manufacturing Alliance.

Review of 3D Printing in 2014 and the outlook for 2015

2014 has been a big year for 3D printing. Even established 3D printing companies have been posting huge growth. Both Stratasys and Arcam, with their vastly different technologies, are expected to report year-on-year growth of 57% this year. This steep upward trend in 3D printer sales is reflected in IDTechEx forecasts in 3D Printing 2015-2025: Technologies, Markets, Players. This article review all the major events and developments in 2014 and will give the IDTechEx view on the outlook for 2015.

IDTechEx: structural electronics - never heard of it!

Structural electronics is one of the most important developments this century yet most people have never heard of it.

3D printing materials market will increase ten-fold to $8bn by 2025

A massive increase in the use and applications of 3D printers is encouraging huge growth in the market for 3D printing materials. The total consumable market in in 2013 was $800m and is expected to reach $8bn by 2025, according to IDTechEx's new report 3D Printing Materials 2015-2025, Status, Opportunities, Market Forecasts.

3D Printing material's market set for rapid growth

This new interest inspired developments in many technologies to 3D print a wider variety of materials. Each material has different advantages and disadvantages, gives different properties of the 3D printed object, and allows different applications. The properties of 3D printed materials often differ from their traditionally manufactured analogue. The seven key materials (photopolymers, thermoplastic filaments, thermoplastic powders, metal powders, sand and binder, welding wire, and plaster) have a total market of $800M which is expected to grow by 18% to over $8B by 2025.

Beijing Tiertime Technology Co Ltd

Tiertime was formerly known as Beijing Yinhua Laser Rapid Prototyping and Mould Technology Co., Ltd., a company created by a Tsinghua Professor Yan Yongnian, who is recognized as the first person to explore 3D printing in China. Tiertime is currently the single largest manufacturer of 3D printers in China,

Power-conserving chip may increase smartphone battery life

New technology could help a phone's battery last perhaps twice as long, and help to conserve energy in cell towers.

3D printing industry will reach over $14B by 2025

The latest forecasts by IDTechEx, including ten key markets, show the 3D Printing Industry will reach over $14B by 2025.

RepRep Professional Limited

Most low-cost 3D printers are based on the RepRap design that was conceived by Adrian Bowyer's team at the University of Bath. RepRap Professional is a spin-off by that team that commercialises their latest design.

Energica

Energica is an Italian company that designs and manufactures electric motorbikes.

The market for 3D printing materials

This article summarizes the main trends that will be shaping the market for 3D printing materials in the next decade, a market that has been highly visible in recent years and which is expected to see stable growth for the sets of materials that are best positioned to support it.

Inkjet-based circuits at fraction of time and cost

Researchers from Georgia Tech, the University of Tokyo and Microsoft Research have developed a novel method to rapidly and cheaply make electrical circuits by printing them with commodity inkjet printers and off-the-shelf materials.

Project aims to mass-produce nanopetals for sensors, batteries

Research findings indicate the material shows promise as a sensor for detecting glucose in the saliva or tears and for "supercapacitors" that could make possible fast-charging, high-performance batteries.

3D Printing Live!

3D Printing Live!, hosted by IDTechEx and taking place in Santa Clara CA during 20-21 Nov 2013 will bring an entirely new audience to the 3D printing arena.

Promethean Particles

Promethean Particles design, develop and manufacture inorganic nanoparticle dispersions to customer's specifications. The company uses continuous hydrothermal synthesis to make the desired product for each application and backs this up with large scale manufacturing capability (currently up to 10 tonnes per year with a 1000 TPA plant build underway).

Rahn AG

Rahn Group manufacturers photopolymer ingredients which it supplies directly to 3D printer manufacturers.

Pigments used to prototype light-harvesting antennas

A ring of protein and pigments, half synthetic and half natural, can be used to quickly prototype light-harvesting antennas that absorb more sunlight than fully natural ones.

Printing microbatteries the size of a grain of sand

3D printing can now be used to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand.