By  Louis Regnier 

Blackstone Resources AG have announced that their partner ORTEN Electric Trucks will soon present its first commercial vehicle, which will be powered by Blackstone’s new 3D-printed lithium batteries as early as the end of 2022. 

“We are pleased about the strong partnership with ORTEN E-Trucks. This cooperation is very interesting for both sides,” says Serhat Yilmaz, Chief Marketing Officer of Blackstone Technology GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Blackstone Resources AG. “In order to prove that our advanced batteries have reached market maturity and that there is a great demand for them. Their numerous technical advantages play a major role in practical application.”

At the Press Day (07.12.21) of Blackstone Technology in Döbeln, Saxony, Robert E. Orten the Managing Partner of ORTEN E-Trucks, will present a first, operational commercial vehicle. In the first quarter of 2022, a joint pilot project with Blackstone will start, in which the commercial vehicle will be powered by our world first: 3D-printed batteries according to the Blackstone Thick Layer Technology . “With 20% increased energy density, our load carriers also enable 20% more range,” says Ulrich Ernst, founder and CEO of Blackstone Resources AG. “At the same time, we can drastically reduce environmental impacts in production and avoid 50% of the industry’s usual waste materials.

By J. Fingas

Scientists have toyed with printing ear implants for ages, but they’ve usually been more cosmetic than functional. Princeton has just developed a bionic ear that could transcend those mere replacements to offer a full-on upgrade.

Rather than seed hydrogel with cells and call it a day, the researchers 3D printed a blend of calf cells, hydrogel and an integrated, coiled antenna made from silver nanoparticles.

According to the famous MIT professor and father of cybernetics, Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), “intelligent behavior is the result of feedback mechanisms.” From MIT now comes one of its latest projects following in the footsteps of Wiener, which is human prostheses. It intends to combine 3D printing with metamaterials to have capabilities and have a highly specific function. 

MetaSense is a software program developed by a team of researchers from MIT that uses 3D printing for devices that use embedded electrodes in their functioning. The materials are made from repeating and flexible cells that are 3D printed with conductive and non-conductive filament. When compressed, the cells become sensors for a variety of applications. What they are targeting is the field of human prostheses. The focus of the researchers is the concept of feedback.

AICT’s 3D printed park

By HAYLEY EVERETT 

Construction 3D printing firm Advanced Intelligent Construction Technology (AICT) has unveiled what it says is the world’s first 3D printed public park at the Shenzen World Exhibition and Convention Center in China.

Spanning 5,523 square meters and made up of more than 2,000 3D printed concrete pieces, the park was built using AICT’s robotic 3D printing technology, which makes use of a modular six-axis robotic arm system and the firm’s proprietary building material. 

Meanwhile, in other construction-related news, researchers from Tongji Universityhave published the results of a study exploring the viability of using recycled fine aggregates (RFA) in 3D mortar printing. The study sought to achieve a more accurate picture of the buildability of 3D concrete printing, and how the use of recycled and waste material impacts upon the fabricated structures. 

“As a form of intelligent construction, 3D printing concrete construction technology boasts great advantages,” said Xu Weiguo, Professor at the Tsinghua University School of Architecture who lead the technical support team for AICT’s 3D printed park.