Engineers create 3D printer which ‘creates’ bones

A 3D printer is being used to create bone like material which will repair injuries.

Engineers believe the substance can act as a support to allow new cell growth meaning that an injury will heal. The material then dissolves with “no apparent ill effects.”

Research shows that this process will allow doctors to custom order bone tissue replacement within a few years.

Prof Susmita Bose, Washington State University said ”You can use the bone-like ceramic powder as a feed material and it can make whatever you draw on the computer.”

Prof Bose also added her team were trying to develop the material to degrade as the cell renewal occurs.

The team have spent four years developing the material which is created using a 3D printer originally designed for making 3D metal objects.

The process sees plastic binder sprayed over ceramic powder. This process is carried out layer by layer until the desired mould is created, the material is then baked at 1250C .

Xeikon unveils heat transfer applications at Labelexpo

Xeikon unveiled its new solution for industrial heat transfer applications at Labelexpo Europe 2011, taking place at the Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium from 28 September to 1 October. Delivering 1200dpi image quality and just-in-time delivery, the new heat transfer solution offers the perfect alternative to direct printing and in-mould label technologies - traditionally used for decorating plastic containers of industrial goods. The solution works with the Xeikon 3000 Series of digital presses opening up new business opportunities for label printers.

Developed in conjunction with their partners, Xeikon's new industrial heat transfer solution meets the growing demand from brand owners for higher quality decoration and wider versioning capabilities. Containers made from a range of plastics including polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) can now be decorated with high impact graphics and crisp sharp text to deliver maximum shelf impact. Recent advances in light fastness of the QA-I toner, used on all the Xeikon 3000 series, ensures colours don't fade and remain in perfect condition for their whole shelf life. And because it's digital technology, there are no costly plates to be produced and set-up time is minimal - making it the perfect solution for short runs. Brand owners now have the flexibility to revise the decoration in line with customer demand for specific product variants.

‘Traditional decoration techniques used for industrial goods such as direct printing are now struggling to meet the image quality levels demanded by the market,’ said Filip Weymans, marketing & business development manager, Labels & Packaging at Xeikon. ‘In-mould label technology scores well on the quality front, but because the decoration has to be applied when the containers are moulded, it's better suited to more high volume production with longer lead time,’ explains Weymans. ‘Xeikon's new digital heat transfer solution now enables printers to offer their clients the best of both worlds - superior image quality for greater shelf impact and flexibility to decorate containers on a just-in-time basis. This opens up further business opportunities for label printers to start converting business away from the direct printing market into the label market.’

The technique of heat transfer is a two-step process. First, the Xeikon digital press prints the exact number of heat-transfer labels. The roll of printed transfers is then fed into an applicator which applies the label onto the container using heat and / or pressure. Today, Xeikon supports four transfer processes: industrial transfers, promotional transfers, textile transfers and waterslide transfers.

Industrial transfers are used primarily for the decoration of consumer goods packed in plastic containers such as seamless tubes, buckets, cartridges, etc. Up until now, these have mainly been decorated using direct screen, direct offset, SA-labels or in-mould label (IML) techniques. Being older technologies, the direct printing techniques do not offer the print resolution needed to create high quality graphics. Set-up and change-over times can also take several hours so they don't offer the flexibility being demanded by the market today. SA-labels provide a great flexibility but represent a higher cost in decoration based on the label material. IML does deliver very high image quality, but the decoration has to be applied when the container is created. Labels need to be produced beforehand and stored making the time to market relatively long.

4 gold traders owe P4.7B, says BIR

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed tax evasion charges against four gold traders who allegedly owe the government about P4.76 billion in taxes from sales of the precious metal between 2005 and 2009.

Charged were Sylvia Chua Cantoria of Caloocan City, Diomedita Canonigo of Parañaque City, and Ronald Castro and Felonila Caluag, both of Meycauayan, Bulacan.

Castro and Caluag have gold trading businesses based in Marilao, Bulacan; Cantoria in Trece Martires, Cavite; and Canonigo in Talisay, Cebu.

BIR deputy commissioner Estela Sales, head of the agency’s legal and inspection group, said the four traders had engaged in gold transactions with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), but failed to file income tax returns for their businesses as well as personal income tax returns.

The BIR based the charges against the four gold traders on the letters of delivery and sales obtained from the BSP that detailed the number of pieces and the weight of the gold that they had sold to the central bank.

Cantoria sold refined gold amounting to P1.04 billion from 2006 to 2008; Canonigo sold P2.55 billion from 2005 and 2009; Caluag, P1.27 billion, also from 2005 to 2009; and Castro, P2.35 billion, also from 2005 to 2009.

72 returns unfiled

According to Sales, Castro, Caluag and Canonigo failed to file 20 tax returns each, and Cantoria 12.

Canonigo’s income tax deficiency, including surcharges and interest, was assessed at P1.65 billion for five taxable years, broken down as follows: P205.28 million in 2005, P353.41 million in 2006, P298.81 million in 2007, P371.95 million in 2008 and P419.66 million in 2009.

Castro allegedly failed to pay P1.56 billion in income taxes for the same period, broken down as follows: P48.70 million in 2005, P359.89 million in 2006, P544 million in 2007, P595.7 million in 2008 and P12.29 million in 2009.

Caluag was assessed P865.15 million from 2005 to 2009, and Cantoria for P683.41 million from 2006 to 2008.

Violations of Tax Code

Canonigo and Castro will each be charged with five counts of attempting to evade or defeat taxes, 15 counts of failure to file quarterly income tax returns (QITRs) and five counts of failure to file annual income tax returns (AITRs)—all violations of Sections 254 and 255 of the Tax Code.

Caluag will be charged with five counts of attempting to evade or defeat taxes, 15 counts of failure to file QITRs, and five counts of failure to file AITRs.

Cantoria will be charged with three counts of attempting to evade or defeat taxes; nine counts of failure to file QITRs, and three counts of failure to file AITRs.

The charges against the four bring to 42 the number of cases filed under the BIR’s Run After Tax Evaders (Rate) program during the incumbency of Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs Thursday said it had seized a molding machine and a shipment of tiles and accessories that were allegedly undervalued by their consignees.

Horacio Suansing, deputy customs commissioner for enforcement, said he ordered the confiscation of a plastic injection molding machine that its importer, Columbia Plastic Manufacturing, had allegedly underdeclared as being worth only $16,000, or P720,000.
The BoC valuation and classification division, however, placed its value at between $27,500 and $42,000, Suansing said.