👋 Welcome to The Filament Feed!

Today’s top stories: Multi-Plate Automation for Printing Multiple Plates of a Project in a Row with Your A1 Mini, 3D printed titanium parts in an Airbus A350, and a startup turning recycled hospital trays into surfboards

🤩 Hobbyist 3D Printing

Multi-Plate Automation for Your A1 Mini - Link

A community-developed add-on for the Bambu Lab A1 Mini 3D printer is coming soon. This "multi-plate automation" kit allows users to print on multiple build plates at once, automatically loading and unloading them. This is ideal for printing large objects or running print farms.

The kit is expected to be “as affordable as a few rolls of fillament” and will come with printable files so it can be printed on an A1 Mini itself. The exact release date and pricing are not yet available, but you can follow the forum thread for updates. Click the Link above for the forum post announcing this project or check out the YouTube video below.

🏭 3D Printing Industry

Liebherr & Airbus Achieve 3D Printing Milestone with EASA Approved Flex Shaft (2 minute read) - Link

Liebherr, an Airbus parts supplier, successfully created a complex, 3D-printed flex shaft for the A350 airplane. This single component replaces a previous assembly of seven parts, reducing weight and improving reliability. The 3D-printed shaft integrates with the flap system and transmits rotary motion to a sensor, compensating for misalignment.

This achievement represents a significant step forward for 3D printing in complex aerospace applications. It follows Liebherr's previous success with a 3D-printed proximity sensor bracket for the A350.

Santa Cruz Startup 3D Prints Surfboards From Recycled Hospital Trays (6 minute read) - Link

A Santa Cruz startup, Swellcycle, is making surfboards out of recycled hospital trays using 3D printing. This method is more environmentally friendly than traditional surfboard manufacturing which uses non-biodegradable foam cores.

The 3D-printed surfboards are hollow and translucent, and they are then shaped and finished by local surfboard shapers. Initial testers, including a big wave surfer, liked the performance and the sustainable aspects of these boards.

Local surf legend Bob Pearson is also impressed by this new technology, comparing it to the introduction of CNC machines in the past. He believes there's a place in the market for 3D-printed surfboards.

The Swellcycle team is now looking for more surfers to try out their boards and provide feedback. This will be a key test to see if the surfing community is ready to adopt this new technology.

🔦 3D Print Spotlight

Wine Bottle Holder - EngGraph on MakerWorld.com - Link

We say it a lot here: simplicity is best. And simplicity makes this wine holder a winner. While simple it will take around 30 hours to print the “strength” version if you are worried about it holding up to four full wine bottles but as you can see from the picture below, the wait is worth it!

🔗 Quick Links

Deal of the Week

🛠️ Snapmaker 8th Anniversary Deals, Ending June 18th - Link

Great deals through the 18th of June!

Snapmaker is about 10 days into their 8th anniversary sale and has about 10 days left to snag some of their awesome deals! With savings reaching up to $900, you don’t want to miss out on this one. While Snapmaker isn’t priced at exactly an entry level, hobbyist price, there are still some great deals to be had

Here are some highlights of sale:

• Snapmaker Artisan 3-in-1 3D Printer (Premium) - $500 off

• Snapmaker 2.0 3-in-1 3D Printer A350T - $200 off

• Snapmaker Ray Laser Engraver and Cutter with Air Assist
  (40W with Enclosure) - $500 off

🤩 Recent Slicer Updates

• OrcaSlicer - 2.1.0 Beta - 5/31/2024 -(GitHub)

• Cura - 5.7.2 - 6/03/2024 (GitHub)

• PrusaSlicer - 2.7.5-rc1 - 6/7/2024 (GitHub)

• Bambu Studio - 1.9.1 Public Official- 5/12/24 (GitHub)

📢We love your feedback!

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You can always send an email to me, Alex, at [email protected]

Until tomorrow!