3D Printing Ready For Its Next Big Sprint – Metal

What Israeli 3D pioneer Objet – now integrated with Minnesota-based 3D printing company Stratasys – did for plastic, Israeli start-up Xjet plans to do for metal.

By David Shamah, The Times of Israel

“The layered inkjet printing technology that is used to make medical devices, dental implants, single-run samples for manufacturing, and much more is all based on plastic,” said Xjet CEO Dror Danai. “In the same way that Objet helped create an industry for 3D printing using plastic materials, we intend to create an industry that will allow the same kind of custom printing for metal.”

The reference to the Israeli 3D printing company that was one of the creators of the 3D printing industry, is not coincidental; Danai and many of the 62 people working at the Rehovot- based

company are veterans of Objet. Danai left before the company merged with Stratasys to create the world’s biggest 3D printing firm.

“Objet’s big innovation was inkjet 3D printing, using plastic materials like PLC,” said Danai. “At Xjet, we are developing an inkjet printing tech for liquid metal, the first time this is being done anywhere.”

The technology, said Danai, could revolutionize manufacturing.

 “Right now, the only way to manufacture a piece of metal is by using a mold to fit liquid metal, which then solidifies,” said Danai. It’s the way everything metallic – from a pipe to a coin to a gold ring – is made. “To make an odd-sized piece, you first have to make up a new mold and measure it to ensure it has the right specifications for the machines that are going to produce it commercially. Manufacturing a single, one-time item is a very drawn out and expensive proposition that makes many metal parts very expensive.”

Such parts are used in rockets, spaceships, military jets, and other unique items, but for everyday use, such customized manufacturing is far too expensive and involved.

Enter Xjet, which, said Denai, uses nanotechnology to create special metal liquids that, using its 3D metal printing technology, can create unique, one of a kind items on the fly.

“We allow manufacturers to skip the mold stage, saving them huge amounts of time and money,” said Denai. “All the specifications are made in the software, and when it’s time to print, our nano-based metals are created according to those specifications.”

Server market shrinks in Brazil

Revenues drop by 17 percent in the second quarter of 2015.

By Angelica Mari for Brazil Tech  

The server market in Brazil has seen a 17 percent drop in revenue in the second quarter of 2015, according to a report by analyst house IDC.

According to the report, the months between April and June saw very few purchasing deals, a consequence of the current instability in the local economy.

"The market performance was impacted by economic and political issues that the country has been facing since the end of last year," says IDC analyst Luis Altamirano.

"These factors, combined with the dollar hike, caused investments to decrease given all the uncertainty in the Brazilian business scenario," he added.

Despite the drop in revenues, the local market saw growth of 2 percent in server sales during the second quarter. By comparison, the first quarter saw a drop of 12 percent in revenue and 5 percent in sales volumes.

The predictions for the rest of the year are more upbeat - and the main reason for it is the various government tenders for acquisition of datacenter equipment that have been launched recently.

Based on those upcoming purchases, IDC forecasts an overall 22 percent drop in server revenues and a 7 percent decrease in sales volumes for 2015.