We made our annual visit to the TCT Show at NEC in Birmingham which is the five times the size RDS and the event is like an Aladdin’s Cave of all things to do with 3D Printing.
EOS were displaying their new SLS printers costing between €150,000 and €250,000. Any takers? SLS is the best 3D printing technology but the price is prohibitive. Norge Ltd. were also showing off their low cost ICE 9 SLS printer but unfortunately it was only a prototype so we will have to wait until next year to see how good it is.
I attended a talk from Reebok in which they detailed the use of SLS printers to prototype and launch a new device called the Checklight for monitoring head impacts during contact sports in order to monitor concussion injuries. The device is worn around the forehead like a cap and a coloured light situated at the back of the head illuminate whenever the player takes a heavy hit, yellow for minor and red for dangerous. The referee then removes the player from the pitch and allow the player to rest (up to 3 weeks). A revolutionary device which would be useful for Irish contact sports.
For those of you who complain that the Ultimaker build platform is too small, I have just the printer for you. Check out the Big Red One from aBerlin startup which can print 5 ft square and costs €60,000.
