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...
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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,...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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 . ...
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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_outlineAs a “born digital” technology, additive manufacturing intrinsically relies on data, more so than any other manufacturing process. That data reliance potentially exposes AM users to data security and cybersecurity issues; efforts are underway to help these users protect designs, print parameters, machines and even 3D printed parts. But beyond the dark side of data, figuring out secure ways of storing and sharing data also opens the door to more freely distributing manufacturing, sharing material and print profiles, and flexible, secure supply chains. Stephanie Hendrixson and Dr. Tim Simpson discuss all things AM data on AM Radio.
This episode of AM Radio is brought to you by Formnext Forum: Austin.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Episode 37 on sustainability
- CyManII and its efforts to protect an additive manufacturing company
- NIST introduces a new “dictionary” for data definitions in AM
- VeriTX’s Fortis platform for data assurance
- Senvol industrial AM machine and material database
- TRACEam program from Mike Vasquez
- 3DOS decentralized manufacturing marketplace model
- Xometry distributed manufacturing network | episode from sister podcast Made in the USA featuring Randy Altschuler, CEO
- Dr0wned hacked drone video
- Chris Williams and the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems (DREAMS) Lab at Virginia Tech (VT is now also a managing member of CyManII)
- ANSI manufacturing standards for anticounterfeiting
- Work with InfraTrac and Sharon Flank to embed different materials via DED for authentication
- Shape Matrix system created by Shape Operating Systems
- The Cool Parts Showcase 2021 featuring a 3D printed barcode in the Bespoke category (Meet the 2023 finalists and VOTE)
- Subscribe to The BuildUp, Additive Manufacturing Media’s newsletter on 3D printing for industrial production