2023 AWARD WINNERS
The winners of this year's TCT Awards were announced on 7th June 2023 at the TCT Awards ceremony in Birmingham, UK. Each of the submissions went through a rigorous two stage judging process; Stage 1 to produce the shortlist of finalists, and stage 2 a more in-depth judging round based on a robust set of judging criteria. Our awards judges are experts in the field, and the results led to the following outstanding projects being heralded as our 2023 Winners and Highly Commended Finalists!
The aerospace and defence industries are renowned for leading the way in innovation. From developing new and ground-breaking materials, to advanced electronics and automation, technologies incubated by these industries such as structural composites and GPS quickly became popular in many commercial applications. It is therefore unsurprising that these industries have been key adopters of 3D printing and additive manufacturing, and we are excited to see what pioneering applications have been released this year.
WINNER
The i-DAMP Suppressor
Entrant - Hyphen Innovation
Partners - United States Air Force; Perceptive Engineering Analytics A vibration suppression method called inherent Damping via Additive Manufacturing Processes (i-DAMP) has been developed to allow the suppression of vibration stresses by up to 95% in critical turbine engine parts. Use of this method can reduce manufacturing time of advanced small compressor suites by more than 90%.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Printed biotech space platform
Entrant - Yuri
Partners - EmtroniX
As one of the first industries to see the benefits of rapid prototyping, the automotive world has embraced additive technologies at all stages of design, development and manufacturing. More recently the rail industry have seen a real growth in the use of additive manufacturing, benefiting from the low volume production and spare part supply. But what are the industries' best applications of AM today?
WINNER
Custom drag race steering wheel
Entrant - Markforged
Partners - Larsen Motorsports
Larsen Motorsports, who build jet engine drag racing vehicles that race at speeds of over 280mph, have used Markforged Simulation to design and print a custom Continuous Carbon Fiber reinforced Onyx™ steering wheel. The design was customized to the driver’s hand shape to maximise safety, and took the lead-time from 8 days to 2 days.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Series production of automotive cold plate
Entrant - Enable Manufacturing
Partners - Continental Engineering Services
We use consumer products every day, often taking for granted their impact on our daily lives. Behind each of those products is a product designer – designing the look, feel, function and production route of these products. The use of 3D printing and additive manufacturing in the life of a product designer has increased 10-fold over the past few years, and as the adoption increases, so do the innovations.
SPONSORED BY
WINNER
Microsoft Adaptive Accessories
Entrant - Shapeways
Partner - Microsoft
Microsoft Adaptive Accessories consist of an Adaptive Mouse, Adaptive Hub, and three Adaptive Buttons, designed to empower users who may have difficulty using a traditional mouse and keyboard to increase their PC productivity and create their ideal setup. Users can customize adaptive accessories with 3D printed add-ons like mouse tails and button toppers to fit their unique needs using the Shapeways Configurator.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
AMbelievable™ Tennis Racket Dampener
Entrant - Additive Appliances
Partners - Optimad Engineering
The film, theatre, art, architecture and jewellery industries all have one thing in common – they take a creative vision and turn it into a physical realisation. As such it is one of the most fascinating areas of innovation in 3D printing and additive manufacturing. We are excited to see where this industry can push the boundaries in using the technologies in the creative arena.
SPONSORED BY
WINNER
Guillermo del Toro’s 'Pinocchio' Puppet Armature
Entrant - Mackinnon and Saunders
Partners - Laser Prototypes Europe; Netflix; Shadow Machine; Southern GFX
Pinocchio is the world’s first stop motion puppet in a major movie to be animated with an armature created with 3D metal printed technology. The most significant innovation was the ability to combine and print the organic detailing with the armature itself. This allowed the creation of stronger, more durable puppets, which retained a delicacy of design seen in traditional techniques.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Crystal Lamellas
Entrant - Julia Koerner Design
Partners - Swarovski
The Hardware awards celebrate the very best of the enabling technologies themselves, and are split into two distinct areas, the first of which is non-polymer systems. This could include metals, ceramics, composites, biomaterials or any other material that is not solely a polymer. We are looking for innovations which push the boundaries of current established systems.
SPONSORED BY
WINNER
TrueShape technology
Entrant - Mantle
Partners - Westminster Tool
Mantle’s TrueShape system prints precision injection mould tooling components at a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods. Integrating extrusion 3D printing of Mantle’s metal pastes with precision CNC machining, it produces parts with the accuracy and surface finish required for tooling. Parts are then sintered in Mantle’s F-200 furnace resulting in durable tool steel components.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
NXG XII 600E
Entrant - SLM Solutions
Partners - Concurrent Technologies Corporation
The Hardware awards celebrate the very best of the enabling technologies themselves, and are split into two distinct areas, the second of which is polymer systems. We are looking for 3D printing or additive manufacturing technologies which push the boundaries of polymer processing, bringing innovative improvements or entirely new technologies to the table.
WINNER
Automation Ecosystem
Entrant - Formlabs
Formlabs Automation Ecosystem enables a scalable fleet of- multi-user, multi-material 3D printers. Using a combination of Form Auto part removal, Fleet Control software management, and High Volume Resin, the Automation Ecosystem reduces the amount of operator labour and minimizes idle printer time so users can efficiently produce end-use parts at a lower cost-per-unit.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Magnum
Entrant - The Industry
Healthcare is one of the most rewarding industries to be involved with, and the use of 3D technologies in this arena couldn’t be more fitting. The ability to create bespoke, one-off parts from scanned data is perhaps more suited to this industry than any other. With the ever-evolving development of new materials, software and hardware, it is no wonder that this industry grasps the benefits of these technologies – and we can’t wait to see what innovative applications have been launched this year.
SPONSORED BY
WINNER
MED® Pharmaceutical 3D Printing
Entrant - Triastek
Partners - Eli Lilly; Merck KgA; Siemens; Boehringer Ingelheim
Triastek has independently developed Melt-Extrusion Deposition (MED®), a pharmaceutical 3D printing technology which ensures more effective drug delivery, controlling when, where and how much API is released. Thought to be the world’s first continuous manufacturing line for 3D printing pharmaceuticals, the current commercial MED production line has a production rate of approximately 50 million tablets per year.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Tourniquets for Ukrainian Soldiers
Entrant - Sygnis
Industrial products work behind the scenes to keep our industries working. Whether it be factory automation equipment, farming tools or material handling machines, there is little that is not touched by an industrial designer. 3D technologies are being increasingly adopted by this sector to drive unique developments, and we look forward to discovering the industries best applications over the past year.
SPONSORED BY
WINNER
Refinery Pressure Components
Entrant - Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions
Partners - Chevron; Stress Engineering Services
Chevron and Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions collaborated to qualify and manufacture pressure components that were installed in a hydrogen furnace of a Chevron refinery. The large-scale components weighed 225kg and were printed with nickel 617 wire using gas metal/wire arc AM (WAAM). In less than a month, Lincoln Electric delivered production parts totalling over 2,500 kg of deposited wire.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Freshwater pump Impeller
Entrant - MX3D
Partners - Engie
3D printing and additive manufacturing processes would not succeed but for the development of appropriate materials for the job. Though often under appreciated, the amount of science and innovation which goes into the development of materials for these processes can be astounding. We would like to celebrate advancements in materials for additive manufacturing from polymers to metals, ceramics to composites, biomaterials and any other advanced material.
WINNER
LCA-backed Ni718
Entrant - 6K
A collaboration of world-leading organizations analyzed real-world data to capture the holistic impacts of AM part production. The outcome shows that in combination, 6K’s UniMelt plasma production process and Ni718 high-quality metal AM powder produced from scrap, was shown to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions compared to conventional atomization processes.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
EPU 44
Entrant - Carbon
The post processing award aims to celebrate the technologies which turn the printed part into a functional, aesthetic product, and add the final touches to the 3D printing/additive manufacturing process chain. The often essential processes which impart material properties and surface finishes to a 3D printed or additively manufactured part. We are excited to commend new innovations in post processing technology.
WINNER
Powerfuse S PP
Entrant - DyeMansion
DyeMansion launched the brand-new Powerfuse S PP, the first ever green vapor polishing solution for polypropylene (PP). The process uses a 100% bio-based non-toxic fluid in a closed loop system to smooth 3D-printed PP. The part benefits go far beyond aesthetics, including scratch resistance, impermeability to liquids, washable, and eliminates bacteria formation.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
RD1-TT
Entrant - Theta Technologies
Software is the glue that binds together the various processes involved in turning an idea into a tangible product. From the ideation and design phase, through development, testing and validation, all the way to manufacture, end-use and end of life management, software is running the show. This award celebrates the most impactful innovations in any software which impacts product development using 3D printing and additive manufacturing.
SPONSORED BY
WINNER
Ai Sync
Entrant - Ai Build
AiSync’s advanced software platform supports a broad range of toolpath generation capabilities. Through integration with OpenAi’s natural language model GPT, “Talk to AiSync” makes that process intuitive by using basic text commands to generate production ready 3D print files. AiSync Defect Detection Capability validates end part integrity and immediately alerts users to 3D print defects.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Guidelines
Entrant - Authentise
Partners - ASTM; MPI; TWI; Photocentric; Innovate UK