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A compact desktop modeler based on film transfer imaging (FTI) technology will be introduced in Europe during the first quarter of 2008. Developed by 3D Systems (Rock Hill, SC, USA; www.3Dsystems.com), the V-Flash unit is designed to enable engineers and students to imagine and produce their ideas without leaving their desks.
The system is described as a plug-and-play model maker that expedites part delivery and makes the technology economical enough to entertain the idea of producing 3-D models in small-office, home, or school settings.
In association with Dreve (Unna, Germany; www.dreve.de), which develops and manufactures resins used in hearing aid shells and ear moulds, 3D Systems also intends to launch the V-Flash HA 230 hearing aid manufacturing system, which it demonstrated at the 2007 International Congress of Hearing Aid Acousticians in Nuremberg, Germany, in October. It should be noted that EnvisionTec GmbH (Gladbeck, Germany; www.envisiontec.com), a manufacturer of computer-aided modeling devices, has made a claim that the V-Flash modeler potentially infringes on its German-issued patents. At the time of writing, 3D Systems said that it plans to press ahead with commercialization of its products.
