USA — Titanium has been a challenging material for bound metal 3D printing because it is both extremely reactive in powder form and difficult to sinter. Desktop Metal has now qualified Titanium for manufacturing with the Studio System 2, becoming the first company to commercialise the material for additive manufacturing.

Successful experiments show for the first time that additive manufacturing with special processes also works under lunar and Martian gravitational conditions. Thus, 3D printing could also find its way into space travel in the future.

Italy — Bologna based company Vetimec supplies the international automotive industry and foundries with moulds, including injection moulds. Since die-sinking EDM dominates the production of these moulds, efficiency depends on the production of the graphite electrodes. With the changeover to special milling tools from Hufschmied, Vetimec can now machine graphite 30 percent faster and 20 percent more economically.

Germany — At EMO metalworking exhibition being held from 4 to 9 October 2021 in Milan, Italy, Open Mind will present its Version 2021.2, the most recent release of the Hypermill CAD/CAM suite.

Zeiss came up with a unique quality assurance process to manufacture 3D printed pistons for the high-performance engine of Porsche's 911 model – the GT2 RS. Numerous solutions were used by the company to analyse the quality of the powder, identify defects and examine the final quality of the components.

UK — In order to boost supply chain capacity in the UK and help customers manage costs, Protolabs launched a new CNC Flexible Lead Time option.

UK — Stratasys announced the installation of a Neo450s 3D printer at Belfast-based service bureau LPE, bolstering its range of stereolithography 3D printing solutions for its UK and Ireland client base.

Germany — The organisers of Formnext announce that the trade fair for Additive Manufacturing will take place as a physical on-site event in Frankfurt from 16 to 19 November 2021. 450 companies have already registered.

UK — A subcontractor from Northern Ireland worked with HBO Studios and Tourism Ireland in the creation of beech wood doors for the sixth series of Game of Thrones TV. Cutting machines from ITC were integral to this project.

Mould making specialist Braunform, in cooperation with Moldino Tool Engineering Europe, has reviewed its electrode milling processes, developed alternatives and tapped into new potential. The solution had such a striking result that the entire graphite machining process at the plastics specialist in Baden switched to tools from Moldino.