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It’s all about business and materials in today’s 3D Printing News Briefs! First up, GBC Advanced Materials selected XJet’s ceramic solution to scale up its production, and the XSPEE3D metal 3D printer can successfully operate in sub-zero temperatures. A Georgia Southern University researcher developed a bio-based resin for SLA 3D printing out of acrylated vegetable oil, and NTU Singapore researchers came up with a construction 3D printing method that captures carbon dioxide in concrete.

GBC Advanced Materials Acquires XJet 1400 Ceramic Solution

GBC Advanced Materials will install a Carmel 1400 Ceramic AM solution in early 2025

Pennsylvania-based GBC Advanced Materials, a leader in precision ceramic manufacturing, has acquired an XJet Carmel 1400 Ceramic 3D printing solution to scale up its production of high-quality ceramic parts in North America. The Carmel 1400C solution, to be installed early this year, consists of the ceramic AM system, the SMART support removal station, inkjet materials, and water soluble support materials, which will enable the creation of complex, intricate parts that would otherwise be very difficult to fabricate. This solution allows GBC to bring ceramic AM in-house to complement its other technologies, thus strengthening its position in the precision manufacturing market. Using the Carmel 1400C, with its superior performance and functionality, the company will now be able to produce complex ceramic parts at the industrial level for the aerospace, defense, medical, and semiconductor industries at a much shorter production-to-delivery cycle.

“We are delighted to partner with XJet as we look to elevate our production capabilities and reap the benefits of ceramic additive manufacturing. The precision and scalability of XJet’s technology will complement our existing manufacturing methods, enabling us to meet the growing demands of the different industries we operate in,” said Christopher Azarko, Sales Manager at GBC Advanced Materials.

XSPEE3D Metal Printer Successfully Operates in Sub-Zero Environments

SPEE3D’s containerized XSPEE3D platform.

Last year, Australian metal AM company SPEE3D was one of six winners of the Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology (DoD ManTech) Point of Need (PON) Challenge, hosted by the US Army’s Cold Region’s Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) and managed by LIFT, the Detroit-based Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The PON program was meant to showcase technologies that can keep service members combat-effective in extreme temperatures, as well as systems that can be deployed in cold weather for battle damage repair and large metal component production. The project, which SPEE3D completed with partners from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) COMET Project and Phillips Federal, has now concluded that the containerized XSPEE3D Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) system can successfully operate in a sub-zero environment, printing parts with material properties comparable to those found in the same parts fabricated in a laboratory environment.

“The positive results of the Point of Need Challenge demonstrate that the XSPEE3D can print metal parts from anywhere – and in any weather conditions – with the same successful outcomes. Previously, we partnered with the Australian Army and showed that our technology can print parts in the extremely hot, rugged Australian bush. Now, we’re proving that we can also successfully print parts in the coldest of environments, helping to support the DOD’s goal of expanding manufacturing capabilities in austere environments,” concluded Byron Kennedy, CEO of SPEE3D.

Researcher Develops Bio-Based Resin from Acrylated Vegetable Oil

Image provided by Julius Adeyera, Georgia Southern University

For his Master of Applied Engineering thesis at Georgia Southern University, researcher Julius Adeyera took on sustainability through the “Development and Characterization of Vegetable Oil Based, Acrylated Resins for Stereolithography 3D Printing.” According to his paper, more renewable materials are needed for 3D printing due to increased demand for 3D printed parts and “the drive towards a sustainable economy with less environmental pollution.” The use of bio-based resins could potentially reduce the negative effects of petroleum-based products used in SLA 3D printing. Adeyera developed his bio-based photopolymers using two different types of vegetable oil—acrylated linseed oil and acrylated soybean oil, as well as one 50% – 50% blend. He investigated the curing time, mechanical properties and chemical composition of the 3D printed acrylated vegetable oils, characterizing the photopolymer and studying mechanical performance according to ASTM standards, and used used an Elegoo Saturn 2 3D printer to fabricate samples.

“There was a significant difference between acrylated linseed oil (AELO) and acrylated soybean oil (AESO) when applied in stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing. FTIR analysis of the printed resin showed that AESO and its blend with AELO resulted in a near-complete polymerization, whereas AELO contained some unreacted acrylate groups which may be due to its higher crosslinking density. This higher cross-linked density also played a role in the mechanical and thermal performance of the printed photopolymers as demonstrated in the DSC and DMA analyses,” Adeyera concluded.

Future work for this project includes further optimizing the acrylation process to potentially improve the performance of the 3D printed specimens, especially AELO, as well as looking into other post-processing treatments and crosslinking agents to hopefully improve “the degree of polymerization without affecting the mechanical properties negatively.”

NTU Singapore’s Carbon-Capturing Concrete 3D Printing Method

Speaking of sustainability, a research team from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore has developed a unique concrete 3D printing method that reduces the material’s carbon footprint, while at the same time increasing its strength and efficiency for better 3D printed buildings. According to the World Economic Forum, the cement industry accounts for about 8% of global CO2 emissions. NTU Singapore’s process could revolutionize the additive construction (AC) sector, as it reduces the environmental impact of the concrete by capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) inside the material. Steam and CO2 are sourced as by-products from industrial processes, and during 3D printing, are integrated into the concrete mix via steam jets and CO2 pumps in a novel way to repurpose emissions. This material captures 38% more carbon, and is 50% more efficient, 45.3% more flexible, and 36.8% stronger in comparison to standard 3D printed concrete. The team has filed a U.S. patent application for their carbon-capturing AC method.

Tan Ming Jen, principal investigator of the study and professor at NTU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, said, “The building and construction sector causes a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Our newly developed 3D concrete printing system offers a carbon-reducing alternative by not only improving the mechanical properties of concrete but also contributing to reducing the sector’s environmental impact.

“It demonstrates the possibility of using CO2 produced by power plants or other industries for 3D concrete printing. Since traditional cement emits a lot of carbon, our method offers a way to plough back CO2 through 3D concrete printing.”