This edition of Rapid 3D Printing News brings you 3D printing news from Markforged & Desktop Metal Lawsuit, Arkema’s Centre of Excellence, Multi-State Lawsuit against 3D Printed Guns & Amazon launches its own 3D Printer Filament
Markforged cleared of Patent Infringement claims by Jury; Five violations are still pending
In a recent jury verdict, Markforged, a Massachusetts-based metal 3D printer manufacturing company, has been cleared of the Patent Infringement claims made by its competitor Desktop Metal earlier this year. Desktop Metal had filed a lawsuit against Markforged in March this year citing a series of patent infringements and trade and contract violations.
The allegations are centered on two brothers Abraham Parangi & Matiu Parangi. While Abraham Parangi is the Director, Technology & Creative at Markforged, his brother Matiu Parangi, worked as a print lab technician with Desktop Metal for a very brief period of time. The allegations implicate the brothers of theft conspiracy. The case went further in stating that Matiu downloaded information pertaining to IP and processes and sent it illegally to Abraham. This was an alleged violation of Matiu’s signed Non-Disclosure Agreement from 2016.
After the verdict, Markforged representatives commented, “Markforged printers have changed the way businesses produce strong parts while dramatically impacting the delivery times, cost, and supply chain logistics,” commented Greg Mark, CEO or Markforged. “We feel gratified that the jury found we do not infringe, and confirmed that the Metal X, our latest extension of the Markforged printing platform, is based on our own proprietary Markforged technology.”
Desktop Metal representatives replied on the verdict, “Desktop Metal is pleased that the jury agreed with the validity of all claims in both of Desktop Metal’s patents asserted against Markforged. Desktop Metal has additional claims pending alleging trade secret misappropriation by Markforged. The Federal District Court has bifurcated those counts and will try them at a later date. At Desktop Metal, we remain committed to building on our leadership in the metal 3D printing sector and continuing to provide innovative products and solutions to our hundreds of customers across industries. We are currently reviewing legal options concerning the infringement issue.”
Also Read: Rapid 3D Printing News: Formlabs, INTAMSYS, Xometry, World’s First Inhabitants of a 3D Printed House
Arkema to Launch 3D Printing Centre of Excellence to Advance Resin Technology
Arkema is set to launch its 3D printing Centre of Excellence at its Sartomer Exton, PA facility. The R&D centre will develop advanced 3D printing resins through innovative material research and collaboration. This new centre will complete the Arkema’s worldwide R&D network dedicated to the development of advanced material for additive manufacturing.
Sartomer, a Business Line of Arkema, is a pioneer in designing engineered resins for UV-curable additive manufacturing marketed under its N3xtDimension® brand. These photo-cure 3D printing materials yield products with thermoplastic-like mechanical properties for applications such as dental, sports and electronics.
The Centre will be home to most of the popular UV based 3D printing technologies like stereolithography (SLA), Digital Light Processing (DLP), and MultiJet Printing (MJP). It aims to provide a collaborative space for chemical and application engineers to develop customised resins for specific customer needs.
Speaking about the launch of the 3D printing centre, Sumeet Jain, Global director 3D printing at Sartomer said, “Sartomer is a historic partner for 3D printing pioneers. We’re launching the 3D Printing Center of Excellence to deepen our support of the visionaries working to develop innovative 3D printed materials.”
As per Guillaume de Crevoisier, the Global business director 3D printing at Arkema, “3D printing will further expand into mass manufacturing through innovative advanced material technologies and partnerships with market leaders.”
Multiple States to Sue the U.S. Government for Legalising 3D-Printed Gun Plans
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced yesterday that he will be leading a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump-led U.S government’s recent verdict which permitted gun-rights activist Cody Wilson to legally put his instructional materials back on the internet. The lawsuit is filed in federal court in Seattle by eight US states, namely Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia joined Washington’s lawsuit.
He feels it gives criminals and terrorists access to downloadable, untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed weapons.
In 2015, Defense Distributed was forced to remove the instruction manuals from the internet by the U.S. State Department. In retaliation, Defense Distributed sued the federal government. The United States Supreme Court then declined to hear the case. But in an abrupt reversal, the federal government settled the case on June 29, 2018, and allowed the publishing of downloadable gun instruction for unlimited public distribution in any form.
The verdict was seen as ‘potentially dangerous’ by many speakers who believe it will only escalate the tension and fear among people. The US is seeing a growing amount of shootouts in schools and the general fear will only grow if such downloadable and undetectable guns are allowed.
Bob Ferguson also asks the court for a nationwide temporary restraining order, both to bar the federal government from lifting export controls for these tutorials and to prevent Defense Distributed from posting the downloadable guns online.
Cody Wilson’s company Defense Distributed, filed its own suit in Texas on Sunday, asserting that it’s the victim of an “ideologically-fuelled program of intimidation and harassment” that violates its First Amendment rights.
E-Commerce Giant Amazon Now Sells Own-Brand 3D Printing Filaments
The world’s largest e-commerce platform, Amazon, recently launched its own brand for selling 3D printing filament. The filaments will be available for global delivery and will be available in a couple of months.
The filament will be sold under its AmazonBasics brand. With its credibility, resources and existing distribution infrastructure spread across the globe, it aims to capture a sizeable business volume from this new move.
Amazon had launched its 3D printing and supplies store in 2013 and since then it is selling 3D printers, filaments, and accessories from popular brands like eSun, Hatchbox, Dremel, FlashForge, Monoprice, etc. It made headlines in January this year when it acquired a patent for innovative Mobile 3D printing delivery trucks which experts believe will be a future project by Amazon.
Amazon will now sell its own brand of 3D printer filament under AmazonBasics. Currently, AmazonBasics is offering only ABS, PLA and PETG filaments but it is no doubt that the range will certainly increase once the orders start flowing. The filaments are valued at $79.99, excluding the shipping costs. The filament has a diameter of 1.75 mm and will be a multicolor pack of 5 spools of 1 Kg each. So, a single spool costs the buyer around $16. But if the buyer only wants a single spool then he will have to pay $19.99 for the same. It is also backed by an AmazonBasics one-year limited warranty.
Reactions from India
With the global presence and especially the current push in the Indian market we talked with two of the prominent Indian filament manufacturers to understand the impact of this new development in India and the world over.
While speaking with Manufactur3D, Suyog Vispute, Partner at Rever Industries, said, “I think Amazon developing its own 3D printing filament brand is great news! I think they can do well in B2C markets but we (Indian manufacturers) are very strong in B2B markets as we offer great bulk order discounts. I don’t see it as a competition for the Indian filament manufacturers.”
Similar sort of view was echoed by Sourabh Joshi, Co-founder of Solidspace Technologies LLP, Sourabh Joshi, “Amazon launching its own brand of filaments was a predictable move. We do not feel we have a problem even if Amazon enters the India market today. They are not a threat to us. However it may affect the traders, and even the resellers, who have a large share of their sales dependency on Amazon and other online platforms.”
About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Global News page for more updates on 3D Printing Technology News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on Google+
