The fundamental objectives of manufacturing — improve quality, decrease cycle time and reduce costs — are the primary reasons that jigs and fixtures are so abundant. By Joe Hiemenz from Stratasys

Siemens and the Fraunhofer Institute have developed a faster production process based on selective laser melting (SLM). By Dipl-Ing Jeroen Risse, Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT

Arizona, USA: A report from Semico Research forecasts that revenues for the 3D printing industry (including printers, services, and materials) will eclipse US$6.5 billion in 2016. That figure is set to almost triple by 2021.

Singapore: UPS has announced that its partner Fast Radius, will open a 3D printing factory in a UPS facility in Singapore by the end of 2016, expanding the on-demand 3D printing network to Asia. The facility will enable customers to increase their supply chain efficiency with additive manufacturing.

Singapore to serve as newest location for Fast Radius 3D printing factory.

Minneapolis, US and Rehovot , Israel : Stratasys, the 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions company has named IBM veteran Tim Bohling as its chief marketing officer. Mr Bohling joins the company’s leadership team and will lead Stratasys worldwide marketing strategies to drive growth and deliver the company’s value promise to its customers.

Mr Bohling has served as vice president and head of North America marketing at HCL Technologies, an IT global ser vice provider, where he was charged with both formulation and execution of a marketing strategy designed to strengthen existing client relationships, fuel new signings, and elevate the HCL brand. He has also spent more than 10 years at IBM, engineering successful digital marketing and demand generation efforts as vice president of worldwide performance marketing at IBM Global Technology Services and as vice president of marketing at IBM Global Technology Services, Growth Markets.

A frequent guest speaker at industry conferences and whose research has been published in several scholarly journals including Marketing Science and the Journal of Marketing Research, Mr Bohling’s experience extends from helping organisations make and shape markets and transition from being produc t-or iented companies to integrated solutions focused companies to developing tested methodologies across a range of disciplines such as branding, digital marketing, end-to-end demand generation and market insight.

“Tim is a transformational market leader whose experience fits perfectly into our long-term strategy. A respected voice in the IT industry with a strong track-record, Tim will play a critical role as we accelerate Stratasys’ position as the driving force and dominant player in 3D printing,” said Joshua Claman, chief business officer of Stratasys.

Commenting on his new appointment and role, Mr Bohling said: “Stratasys has been at the forefront of the 3D printing industry since its inception and I believe it has tremendous future growth potential. This is an exciting time to be in the market, and I look forward to helping elevate the Stratasys brand to even greater heights and contributing to the company’s growth and market leadership.”

The Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC) at The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz) has opened an additive manufacturing superlab. The superlab, which is defined as employing high-end 3D printers of both PolyJet and FDM technologies, has received a designation by 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions company Stratasys as a “SMART lab”, that is, a Stratasys MakerBot Additive Research and Teaching laboratory.

Disruptive technologies today look to change the landscape of manufacturing because it demands an entirely new mind set towards procurement strategies an eventually the overall business framework. By Guo Tao, NX Product Marketing Manager of Asia Pacific, Siemens PLM Software

Lightweight metals manufacturer Alcoa has opened a 3D printing metal powder production facility at its Alcoa Technology Centre, a research centre for light metals. The New York City-headquartered company will produce titanium, nickel and aluminium powders for 3D printed aerospace parts. Alcoa has also invested in a range of technologies to further develop additive processes, product design and qualification.

In a bid to revive the brand in the face of stagnating sales, the tech giant has recently unveiled two new 3D printers targeted at businesses, who HP hopes will have a bigger appetite for these expensive 3D printing equipment.