38 - Additive Wins on Cost, Plus Process Monitoring and More from RAPID + TCT 2023
Release Date: 05/15/2023
AM Radio
Formnext 2024 lived up to its reputation as additive manufacturing’s largest trade show, attracting more than 34,000 attendees to 54,000 m2 of exhibit space. It was also large in the sense of showcasing just how big 3D printing can go, with plenty of showpieces and demos running to illustrate the current scale of large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) technology. But beneath the robotic arms and towering prints, there were also plenty of new machine introductions, software advances and application examples. Over the course of their time at the show, AM Radio cohosts Peter Zelinski and...
info_outline 55 - How 3D Printing Aids Automation, and How Additive Will Reach Farther With RobotsAM Radio
Additive manufacturing and robots are parallel technologies, both digitally enabled tools for manufacturing that are advancing in adoption. But they also enable each other. 3D printing can provide the grippers, end effectors and other specialized tooling that robots require to serve production. And robots are driving AM forward as well. Collaborative robots or cobots are being used to tend 3D printer farms, sometimes mounted on autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) for a fully mobile, as well as automated, solution. And robots are opening opportunities for larger and more complex part production,...
info_outline 54 - New Equipment, Additive Manufacturing for Casting Replacement, and AM's Next Phase at IMTS 2024AM Radio
The 2024 edition of IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show welcomed more than 89,000 attendees to Chicago last week. While only a portion of the show’s 1,500 exhibitors were offering additive manufacturing equipment or services, AM nevertheless had a significant footprint at this show. Conversations with speakers, exhibitors and attendees revealed insights about where additive is finding traction now, and where it is heading next. In this episode of AM Radio, I talk with Pete Zelinski about equipment launches during the show, advances in usability and accessibility,...
info_outline 53 - Steel Mills and Spatter: AM and Advanced Manufacturing Research at Carnegie Mellon UniversityAM Radio
Stephanie Hendrixson shares observations from her visit to learn more about two different manufacturing institutes under the umbrella of Carnegie Mellon University. First, she visited the lab facilities at Mill 19, a refurbished steel mill site, used by the Manufacturing Futures Institute. The MFI aims to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing, through work that includes things like robotics, digital twins and generative design as well as AM. She also learned about the Next Manufacturing Center, CMU's additive-focused research institute seeking to solve increasingly specific...
info_outline 52 - Additive Manufacturing at NASA (PART 2)AM Radio
In this follow-up to episode #51 of AM Radio, Dr. Tim Simpson joins Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski in the studio to talk more about how NASA is implementing and shaping additive manufacturing. As part of an intergovernmental personnel act (IPA) assignment, Dr. Simpson has spent the last two years deployed within NASA helping to advance additive use cases and connect AM users within the organization. In this episode, he shares insights from this work including NASA's collaborative relationship with commercial space; its role in studying AM fundamentals and providing testing...
info_outline 51 - Additive Manufacturing at NASA (PART 1)AM Radio
Additive Manufacturing Media editors have had the chance to visit three different NASA facilities: the Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Marshall Space Flight Center. Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson learned and reported on how 3D printing is being used to fulfill NASA missions through parts like a generatively designed bracket, lightweight titanium lattices and a multimaterial thrust chamber made with two different processes. But where do these parts fit within NASA's broader mission, and what is the role of additive manufacturing at NASA? In this episode, part...
info_outline 50 - How Model No. Manufactures Sustainable Furniture with 3D Printed PolymersAM Radio
When we first covered Model No. in 2020, the company was manufacturing furniture on its own large-format 3D printers, built to designs directly manipulated by customers through parametric options available on its website. Four years later, production looks a bit different. Gone is the user-facing design tool, as the company has discovered that conversation with customers is the more effective way to arrive at the right designs for its clients. More colors and materials are offered today, in part because of a circular economy-focused project that Model No. completed with several partners. And...
info_outline 49 - Trip Report from Innovative 3D ManufacturingAM Radio
We are trying something new on the podcast! Whenever one of us on Additive Manufacturing Media pays a visit to a manufacturer for the first time, we want to talk about the trip as soon as we return. Why keep this recap to ourselves? In this episode of AM Radio, here is Stephanie Hendrixson getting the full download just after I paid a visit to Innovative 3D Manufacturing in Franklin, Indiana. Innovative does contract production using 12 laser powder bed fusion machines, all from Renishaw. Just part of what struck me is this company’s connection to foundry work — not just in terms of...
info_outline 48 - Making Sense of Qualification, Certification and Standards in Additive ManufacturingAM Radio
What is qualification, and what does it entail for additive manufacturing applications? In this episode of AM Radio, Dr. Tim Simpson joins Additive Manufacturing Media editors Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson to talk about various issues around qualification in AM, including: the difference between qualification and certification; the expense of qualification activities; how standards are developed; and the opportunities additive can realize with qualified procedures. Find related links and the transcript for this episode . This episode is brought to you by . ...
info_outline 47 - The Rise of AM Factories, Metal 3D Printing, Machining Synergy and Our Favorite Stories from 2023AM Radio
In the last episode of AM Radio for 2023, hosts Pete Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Fiona Lawler look back on Additive Manufacturing Media's top 10 stories by pageviews for the year. The list reveals some interesting trends including the ramp up in additive manufacturing "factories," additive adoption that necessitates more sophisticated downstream processing, and a heavy emphasis on metal 3D printing. In the second half of the show, the hosts share their favorite stories, regardless of ranking, written by someone else. This episode is brought to you by Additive...
info_outlineAt the 2023 edition of RAPID + TCT held in Chicago, Additive Manufacturing Media editors noticed evidence of AM’s maturation both in terms of technical capability and utility for end-use applications. Stephanie Hendrixson, Peter Zelinski and Fiona Lawler discuss themes discovered at the event, including more precise DED, new tools for process monitoring, more sophisticated understanding of AM and sustainability, AM winning on cost and much more. Find photos and video from the show in this blog post on our website.
This episode is brought to you by Formnext Forum: Austin.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Sustainability
- Caracol robot-based DED used to 3D print wind turbines from old wind turbines
- Thermwood's LSAM 510 3D printer used to print chairs live at the show
- SABIC's LNP ELCRIN WF006NiQ resin made with post-consumer PET
- An impeller 3D printed with Uniformity Labs' Ti64 Grade 23, with scan time reduced by 1.5×
- Uniformity labs: aluminum powder for LPBF
- Uniformity Labs: cut off stock/metal material options
- Xtellar's recently launched flexible EVA derived from sugarcane
- Thermoform dental aligner tool made with Jabil's PLA3110P powder for SLS 3D printing
- NatureWorks' Ingeo for 3D printing
- Sustainability episode with Tim Simpson
- EOS's PA 12 and PA 11 materials precertified for environmental impact
- EOS Cost & Carbon Calculator
- Cost as a driver of AM production
- Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) for cost-effective 3D printed vehicle chassis components
- Wurth Additive Group's automotive body clip now made additively
- DMG MORI's Lasertec 30 SLM US developed and manufactured in Davis, California
- Fabrisonic's SonicLayer 1600 hybrid ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) machine
- Formlabs' Form3B+ for healthcare professionals and medical devices
- 3D printed titanium mountain bike brake lever produced by Trumpf as an affordable alternative to machined aluminum and carbon fiber
- Process monitoring
- DED getting more precise
- Mitsubishi AZ600 wire-laser metal 3D printer
- InssTek multi-material rocket nozzle produced with powder-fed DED
- New Infrared Technology's Clamir system for controlling DED through meltpool width
- Meltio's CNC machine tool integration from IMTS
- Meltio integration with machine tool as seen at IMTS
- Formalloy's introduction of DEDSMart for wire DED
- DEDSmart system from Formalloy seen at IMTS
- Acquisitions as a means of diversification
- Collaboration
- Flavor of the Show