Cool Parts

Materials

Cranial Implant 3D Printed From Hydroxyapatite Ceramic: The Cool Parts Show #76

Cranial implants are typically made from titanium or PEEK; in this episode of The Cool Parts Show, we look at how implants made from a bioceramic can improve osseointegration and healing. 

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Preassembled Turbojet Engine, 3D Printed in One Build: The Cool Parts Show #75

Turbojet engines typically consist of hundreds or thousands of parts, but this engine — 2023 winner of The Cool Parts Showcase for Best Proof of Concept — was 3D printed as just two pieces, with the monolithic rotor embedded inside the stationary engine shell. 

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Consumer Goods

3D Printed Capo for Banjo Made With Binder Jetting not MIM: The Cool Parts Show #74

New market, no mold tooling needed: Additive manufacturing via binder jetting enables a maker of guitar capos to expand to serve banjo players as well.

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Sustainability

How 3D Printing Aids Sustainability for Semiconductor Equipment: The Cool Parts Show Bonus

Hittech worked with its customer to replace fully machined semiconductor trays with trays made via DED by Norsk Titanium. The result is dramatic savings in tool consumption and material waste.

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Metal

3D Printed Seal for Geothermal Power: The Cool Parts Show #73

Plugging a hole is a complex challenge when it’s a well for geothermal power. Additive manufacturing produces a shape-changing stainless steel seal for high-temperature applications deep underground.

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Defense

3D Printed Titanium Replaces Aluminum for Unmanned Aircraft Wing Splice: The Cool Parts Show #72

Rapid Plasma Deposition produces the near-net-shape preform for a newly designed wing splice for remotely piloted aircraft from General Atomics. The Cool Parts Show visits Norsk Titanium, where this part is made.

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Production

3D Printed PEEK Spine Implants in Production: The Cool Parts Show Bonus

Curiteva is using Fused Strand Deposition to produce two different lines of FDA-cleared spine implants. We visited the company’s Huntsville, Alabama, facility to learn more.

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3D Printed NASA Thrust Chamber Assembly Combines Two Metal Processes: The Cool Parts Show #71

Laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition combine for an integrated multi-metal rocket propulsion system that will save cost and time for NASA. The Cool Parts Show visits NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

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Cool Parts

Ultra-Complex 3D Printed Scaffolds Enable Cell Growth: The Cool Parts Show #70

Perhaps the ultimate surface-area challenge is in bioengineering: creating structures that can grow sufficient cells within a compact volume to be effective for leading-edge medical treatments. The Southwest Research Institute develops bioreactor scaffolds that could only be made using 3D printing.

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Supply Chain

Variable Resistance Valve Trim Achieves Lead Time Reduction Through AM: The Cool Parts Show #69

Baker Hughes is realizing shorter lead times and simplified manufacturing through powder bed fusion to produce valve trims previously assembled from many machined metal parts. 

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