Despite the ongoing impact of the global semiconductor shortage, Brexit and COVID-19 on the wider economy, February was still a month of progress in 3D printing, with defense applications, R&D innovation and new system launches all taking major steps forward.
请继续阅读Exone，Markforged，Xerox，Renishaw，Stratasys，3D Systems，台式金属，美国制造的杰出发展。
全球湍流继续
在2020年的大部分时间里，Covid-19阻止了3D印刷行业举行面对面的贸易展览，并且这种趋势一直持续到2021年2月。RAPID+TCTbecame the latest industry event to be moved, with a缩放的节目重新预订在9月，其组织者希望将其固定在“最安全的环境”中。
2月还看到拜登总统解决了美国的增长pandemic-induced shortages，通过对该国供应链依赖性的审查。由于缺乏半导体而建立新推出的PS5和Xbox One Games游戏机所需的水晶，但在美国经济的其他领域也很明显，这种稀缺性引发了一项审查，重点是潜在的外源机会。
当时，美国Executive Director John Wilczynski hailed the initiative, saying that the group “applauded President Biden’s critical executive action to secure and strengthen supply chains vital to America’s continued progress,” while adding that COVID-19 had revealed its “untenable overdependence on imports, and the need for the capacity to respond quickly in the face of challenges.”
同时，在英国海岸上雷尼沙rolled-out araft of new measures, designed to insulate its EU-based business from the impact of Brexit. Having carried out internal risk analyses, the firm opted to expand its facilities and stock levels at its EU offices, while making some of them independent subsidiaries, with the aim of easing any Brexit-related disruption caused to its supply chain.
雷尼沙’s Chief Executive William Lee said the move would allow it to “meet the challenges posed by the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union,” and given that the firm reported a FYpre-tax profit of £120 million, it appears to have been justified.
Patent expiry opens opportunities?
不过，二月份并不是所有的厄运和忧郁，作为创新的潜在窗口Stratasys’heated build chamber patent已到期。鉴于Stratasys拥有2000 - 2021年的FDM设计专有权，因此在此期间，那些试图在高温市场中反对它的人被迫找到新颖的解决方法。
However, the final patents covering this area of the firm’s machines went on to expire later in the month, and though Stratasys sought to play down the development, saying that it had already come up with new heated oven technologies and protected them from replication, some sources saw it as anopportunity for 3D printer manufacturersto innovate.
INTAMSYSCEO Charles Han, for instance, said the patents’ expiry could make industrial FFF systems “more popular and more competitive,” adding that they would now be able to replace “even more traditional manufacturing methods.” On the flipside, Davide Ardizzoia of3ntr.net该专利的到期“不会发生太大的变化”，其新打印机只会受到“边缘影响”。
国防部制定了3D打印计划
On the military front, the美国国防部(DoD) also kicked off a year of experimental 3D printing applications by unveiling its第一添加制造雷电竞充值策略。Drafted by theOSD壁技术ProgramOffice alongside the US’ military services and other defense agencies, the document saw the DoD outline five key goals, through which it aimed to broaden its adoption of the technology.
During the month, there were already clear signs of this strategy being put into action, with binder jet 3D printer manufacturerExOnecommissioned by the DoD to develop a便携式3D打印工厂。该系统旨在包含在田间制造备件所需的一切（无论是在陆地，空中还是海上）中所需的一切。
这美国海军研究生院（NPS）还在2月份透露已安装施乐的长期以来Elemx液体金属3D打印机at its university campus. Using the system, NPS researchers are currently exploring ways in which the technology can help reduce the US Navy’s spare part production costs, as well as its dependency on the US military’s complex global supply chains.
Markforged总结IPO
本月底还看到了工业3D打印机制造商Markforged完成与特殊目的采购公司（SPAC）的合并一。下列的桌面金属’s $580 million deal去年，Markforged的交易使该行业中的第二个以这种方式公开，筹集了大约4.25亿美元进行中。
当时，Markforged President and CEO Shai Terem said: “We’ve been at the forefront of the AM industry, and this transaction will enable us to build on our incredible momentum and provide capital and flexibility to grow our brand, accelerate product innovation and drive expanded adoption among customers across key verticals.”
随着年的进行，事实证明，Markforged将成为第二个备受瞩目的SPAC合并关于3D印刷公司，在2021年底之前达成了数十亿美元的类似交易。
3D Systems, Stratasys and ExOne launch new 3D printers
2月也被证明是3D打印机版本的碰碰化月，并且Stratasyskicked things off early on, with its newJ850 Pro PolyJet 3D printer。Featuring a 255 x 252 x 200mm build capacity and multi-material processing capabilities, the system has been built to address low-cost prototyping applications in the automotive, medical, and consumer sectors.
Stratasys的发射紧随其后的是Exone的新产品金属DesignLab 3D打印机and X1F furnace. Powered byRapidia’s“两步”的技术,该公司生产的联合国it works with ‘HydroFuse’ alloys, which can be used to fabricate highly-complex support-free parts. The systems’ launch also coincided with a deal between the firms that saw ExOne gain first refusal over any acquisition of Rapidia.
3D Systemsmade a splash in February as well, by making its first foray into FFF, with its new“ Roadrunner” 3D打印机。Developed alongside贾比尔，据说该系统能够快速打印高温丝，有可能使其非常适合航空航天和汽车制造商，并将其直接与Essentium的高速挤压(HSE) platform.
3D Systems总裁兼首席执行官杰弗里·格雷夫斯（Jeffrey Graves）博士说，当时推出其高速融合灯丝打印机，将使该公司“建立在2020年在2020年采用的组织重点上”，此外还将允许“扩展”它在需求高可靠性产品的不断增长的市场中的存在。”
“我们对该解决方案的投资以及与Jabil的合作将使我们的客户提高生产力和绩效。”
A month of dope new R&D
Away from high-profile launches, business deals and shifts in macroeconomic trends, February also saw several innovative 3D printing research projects come to fruition. One of the most eye-catching of these was anopen-source lung simulator，开发麦克马斯特大学和滑铁卢大学, that proved capable of replicating the impact of smoking cannabis on the human lung.
在丹麦技术大学, on the other hand, gaming readers will be happy to hear that researchers managed to turn part of aMicrosoft Xbox 360into ananoscale medical 3D printer。该团队使用控制台的光学拾取单元（OPU），发现他们能够以一种可以将其生产成本降低数千美元的方式替换普通SLA机器的光学系统。
DTU副教授En Te Hwu在2月份解释说：“开发我们自己的3D打印机的最初目标是能够用微/纳米级分辨率打印我们的基于微型企业的药物递送开发，”“我们在市场上找不到3D打印系统可以做到这一点，因此我们必须自己制作。”
“我们认为，这项技术会影响卫生技术的不同领域。”
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特色图像显示了Tacom下的M1 Abrams坦克。通过美国陆军的照片。
