Tag Archives: Materialise
Profiling the Five Heavyweights Driving the 3D Printing Industry
The Financial Times published a feature profiling the five industry heavyweights in 3D printing.
Abe Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems
Mr Reichental regards 3D printing as a “disruptive technology” with the power to revitalise the global manufacturing industry. In the past three years he has spent about $230m on acquisitions to make 3D Systems the fastest expanding large 3D printing equipment producer.
Hans Langer, CEO of EOS
The sparkling-eyed German physicist has turned EOS into one of Europe’s most promising high-tech mid-sized businesses and one of the world’s biggest makers of 3D printing hardware.
Wilfried Vancraen, Managing Director of Materialise
He has expanded his Leuven, Belgium-based company’s range of services to make parts using 3D printing for a large group of customers in fields from interior design to the medical equipment industry. Materialise also makes its own range of personalised jewellery using the technology.
Scott Crump, CEO of Stratasys
He has built up Stratasys into one of the world’s biggest makers of 3D printing systems and is keen to stress the links between 3D printing and other forms of “digital manufacturing” in which computer codes are used to instruct factory machinery to make objects, often on a customised basis, relatively cheaply and to high precision.
Sir David McMurty, Chairman and CEO of Renishaw
Sir David regards 3D printing as a “unique business opportunity” with “plenty of scope for development” and became interested in the technology prior to Renishaw’s acquisition last year of MTT Technologies, a small Staffordshire-maker of 3D printing machines.
Read the full executive bios in the feature at FT.com.
3D Printing and the Runway: Fashion Gets Printed in Belgium
We’ve written before about fashion and 3D printing, but that story was about a single designer making a line of 3D printed shoes. This past week at the Materialise World Conference, a fashion show was held in which runway models showcased an entire collection of 3D printed haute couture accessories.
Here is a summary form Materialise:
Following a day featuring speakers such as Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, Prof. Dr. Vermeersch, member of the surgical team responsible for Belgium’s first face transplant, and Iris van Herpen, rising star in the world of Haute Couture, the Materialise World Conference put on a fashion show with a 3D printed twist. Making their runway debut were four hats from Brussels’ master milliner Elvis Pompilio, clutch purses and necklaces by renowned designer Daniel Widrig, and a collection of stunning pieces that redefine how accessories can be worn by Niccolo Casas. Also on the catwalk were the top 20 designs of a hat and hair accessory competition, the “Hat’s Off to 3D Printing Challenge,” which was put together by Materialise’s consumer division i.materialise. All of the designs were produced by Materialise at their Headquarters in Leuven, Belgium.
Via Materialise.
View full photo album on Facebook.
Futuristic Shopping Experiences: 3D Printing Transforms Retail [Video]
As 3D printing technology enters the mainstream market, retail shopping experiences will be transformed dramatically. Physical products can be printed on demand in a similar manner that consumers print out digital photos today.
Below is a video from Materialise that shows a large part for a car being printed out and prepped for assembly. While today this technology is in the lab, tomorrow it could be in your local pharmacy or copy shop.
