MT Aerospace to 3D Print Large Metal Structures with BeAM Tech DED

Directed energy deposition (DED) technology is increasingly demonstrating the potential for use in 3D printing large-scale metal parts, particularly for the aerospace sector. Now, Germany’s MT Aerospace wants to further standardize DED 3D printing through the establishment of a European competence center for 3D printing large structures. To accomplish this goal, the company has acquired a system from BeAM.

The first system in its arsenal is the BeAM Modulo 400, which features blown-powder deposition using a 5-axis architecture relying on Siemens’ Sinumerik for control. To test the possibilities of reactive materials, such as titanium alloys, the system includes a sealed internal enclosure with antechamber. Beginning with medium-sized parts, the company will qualify the technology using a variety of materials and across the entire process chain, from preparing print data to finishing the printed part to certifying parts for aerospace applications.

The BeAM Modulo 400 3D printer.

MT Aerospace has already exhibited confidence in the technology for its ability to 3D print thin-walled geometries without support structures. Other benefits of its DED, according to BeAM, include the ability to print multiple materials, sandwiching a soft metal within a hard, wear-resistant metal. Building off of this latter capability, BeAM believes that it will be possible to eventually 3D print graded materials, as opposed to the currently discrete sandwiching technique.

Spacecraft propellant tanks made by MT Aerospace undergoing drying procedures. Image courtesy of MT Aerospace.

Through its competence center, MT Aerospace will apply DED printing to its own products, as well as those associated with its parent company, the OHB Group. Whereas MT Aerospace is focused on the construction of lightweight metal and composite parts for space and aerospace applications, OHB’s dedication goes beyond metal to encompass on all things related to space travel, satellites, rocket travel and associated technologies. In addition to manufacturing parts for OHB Group, MT Aerospace will ultimately become a service provider for 3D printing DED parts.

Though this may be a first major step in becoming a service provider for DED 3D printing, this is not MT Aerospace’s first entry into AM more generally. The company has worked with several European partners—including Deutsche Bahn AG, MT Aerospace AG, Siemens Mobility GmbH and TÜV SÜD—to develop the DIN SPEC 17071 standard as a precursor for an ISO/ASTM standard for AM quality assurance. The company then partnered with Oerlikon, which offers metal AM powders and services, to accelerate the adoption of AM in aerospace and military applications.

Outside of MT Aerospace itself, OHB Group has been involved in developing 3D printing technology for use in space. At the core of this effort was a European Space Agency project to send a 3D printer to the International Space Station (ISS). As a part of a consortium that included Sonaca Space, Active Space Technologies SA and BEEVERYCREATIVE, OHB was tasked with selecting and testing parts to be printed on the ISS and making changes to the printer so that it would meet the safety requirements of a manned space environment. This came after an OHB-led project to determine the feasibility of 3D printing a moon base and a project dedicated to 3D printing stem cells in space.

BeAM, a subsidiary of AddUp, has already established itself in the aerospace sector, alongside other industrial verticals. The purchase from MT Solutions will not only further expand its customer base there, but also introduce it to the space applications of the larger OHB Group.

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Is 3D Printing a Threat to Forging?

If you close your eyes and meditate hard enough, plunging yourself into a deep transtemporal trance, you may be able to conjure up your ancient ancestors wielding a mighty hammer to smash and shape a hot piece of iron against an anvil. The world’s oldest recorded metalworking process, forging still exists today, albeit in a form somewhat removed from its inception over 6,000 years ago.

Forging processes apply force to shape metal. Most often, modern forging is associated with high temperatures heating metal workpieces to the point that they can be formed by machine-driven hammers or presses, sometimes using a die to smash the material into a specific geometry. However, there are other forging techniques that use warm or cold temperatures that ensure that metal parts don’t expand as a result of high heat and then shrink, thus resulting in better tolerances.

In the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, we love to talk about the various traditional manufacturing processes that are already being disrupted by 3D printing and forging is no different. Exactly how AM will disrupt the world of forging, however, is different from how it is impacting, say, casting and machining.

Forging has its major advantage in the physical strength of forged parts, which, due to the fact the internal grain structure deforms to follow the general shape of the part, are stronger than cast or machined parts. The cost of materials for forging processes is usually cheaper, but forging presses and dies can be costly, and parts usually require secondary processes, such as CNC machining, to achieve final tolerances.

Therefore, forging is usually reserved for less geometrically complex parts that need to be manufactured in a highly repeatable way from less expensive metals, such as iron and steel. This might mean wheel spindles, kingpins, axle beams and shafts for automotive parts; valves and fittings in oil and gas; pliers, hammers, sledges and wrenches in hardware and tools; connecting rods, cylinders, discs in general industry; shells, triggers, and other artillery parts; and bulkheads, spars, hinges, engine mounts, brackets, and beams in aerospace. Obviously, some of these parts can crossover from one vertical to another (e.g., brackets and hinges)

Those familiar with AM technologies may start to get a feel for where AM is best situated for impacting the forging market: low-geometric complexity, yet high strength material properties. If you’re thinking like we are, you are starting to consider the possibility of directed energy deposition (DED) for the fabrication of near-net-shape parts.

DED offers many of the same benefits and fits many of the same applications as forging, while providing some additional advantages. Using blown powder or a metal wire, DED can rapidly form a medium-to-large sized part to near-net-shape. Often referred to as “blanks”, these components are then finished using CNC machining.

Blanks 3D printed using Norsk Titanium’s Rapid Plasma Deposition process. Image courtesy of Norsk Titanium.

DED can create a metal part closer to the final desired shape than forging, without the need for tooling. And, when it comes to more expensive materials like titanium, DED can potentially be more cost effective. For forged parts that would typically require dies, DED can be significantly faster. In turn, DED has the potential to reduce die, material and machining costs for certain components.

That same Norsk blank machine finished to final shape. Image courtesy of Norsk Titanium.

Specifically, those components will be low in number, when mass manufacturing doesn’t make sense and AM will actually be cheaper than forging. This means short runs of specialty components and prototypes. In other words, aerospace is the primary sector for DED as an alternative to forging at the moment. There are numerous DED companies targeting the aerospace industry, with aircraft manufacturers qualifying the processes and parts for installation on aircraft.

When it comes to part strength, DED components experience large thermal gradients during the deposition process that result in residual stresses that can lead to distortion and negatively affect the overall strength of the part. In some cases, heat treatment may even need to be implemented during the actual production of a part in order to relieve stress.

Naturally, systems manufacturers are working to overcome these issues, including closed-loop quality control and monitoring, as well as simulation software capable of compensating for stresses that will be experienced in a printed part.

Due to the issues discussed here, forging is not likely to be threatened by AM, but complemented by it. Forging is still the go-to choice for mass manufacturing sturdy, geometrically simple components, while DED can be used for small numbers of (often medium-to-large) specialty parts that would otherwise require tooling or must be made from high-performance, expensive metals. This might include structural components for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner or titanium brackets for the A350 XWB.

Once a DED system is brought in for such projects, auxiliary applications can then be found for the technology. For instance, DED machines can be used to repair dies for forging or to deposit additional features onto forged parts. Arconic actually developed a novel additive process called Ampliforge in which DED parts are first manufactured and then finished with forging to ensure the proper material properties of the components.

[Feature image courtesy of AMETEK.]

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Hybrid 3D Printing Profile: DMG Mori

DMG Mori is one of the largest machine builders worldwide, generating about $3 billion in revenue each from its Japanese and German divisions. Though its position in the 3D printing industry is comparatively limited, it is growing, which is why we thought we’d take a look at DMG Mori its role in additive manufacturing (AM).

A 1960’s era Mori Seiki MH 1500 lathe. Image courtesy of HASUDAI MACHINERY CO.,LTD.

DMG Mori began as textile manufacturing equipment maker Mori Seiki Co. in 1948, which ultimately led to the production of machine tools by 1958, from which it has not since diverted.  Early machines included manually controlled lathes before the introduction of numerically controlled lathes, then vertical and horizontal machining centers. These various machine tools continued to improve up to the present day.

An important component of DMG Mori’s current operations is its German division, DMG Mori AG, which first became a partner of the Japanese company in 2009. The largest manufacturer of cutting machine tools in Germany, DMG Mori AG was founded as GILDEMEISTER by Friedrich Gildemeister in 1870 and, by 1910, was a mass manufacturer of turret lathes, multi-spindle automatic lathes, milling machines, and vertical and horizontal milling machines.

While new automation features and orders from a quickly industrializing Soviet Union allowed the German company to succeed during the depression of the 1920s, the two World Wars saw Gildemeister nearly shut down by Allied forces twice. After World War Two, the company began to boom as the German economy recovered, with Gildemeister ultimately releasing numerically controlled machine tools in the 70s. From the 60s through the 90s, the company made important acquisitions. By the time of the 1995 acquisition of Deckel Maho AG, it was an established European powerhouse in manufacturing machine tools.

As Mori Seiki’s partnership Gildemeister, deepened and the Japanese company increased its ownership shares in the German manufacturer, it changed its name to Deckel Maho Gildemeister (DMG) Mori in 2013. By 2016, the Japanese and German divisions were officially integrated into a single conglomerate.

It wasn’t until 2015 that DMG Mori entered the AM market with its first hybrid manufacturing system, the LASERTEC 65 3D, which incorporated a directed energy deposition (DED) head into a five-axis milling machine. The system features a 2.5-kW diode laser for DED at rates of up to 1 kg/h. Since then, the company continued to release hybrid machines. In 2016, the LASERTEC 4300 3D was added to its portfolio, which included DED, 5-axis milling and turning functionality. Its most recent hybrid system is the LASERTEC 125 3D Hybrid, unveiled at Formnext in 2019.

The new LASERTEC 125 3D hybrid from DMG Mori.

In 2017, DMG Mori acquired a majority stake in early metal powder bed fusion (PBF) company Realizer and released its first PBF 3D printer, the LASERTEC 30 SLM, to the market. This was followed up by the LASERTEC 12 SLM, which is smaller and designed specifically for thin-walled components.

Printed metal parts typically require heat treatment, which hardens the metal, before other post-processing operations can be performed, meaning that hybrid machines can’t necessarily move directly from printing to machining without heat treatment in between. However, the newest LASERTEC 125 3D hybrid can deposit material with a hardness of up to 63 HRC, DMG Mori suggests allows users to skip the heat treatment step when harder metals are used.

DMG Mori bills all of these systems as part of a larger collection of four process chains. While the hybrid systems are able to perform all of the additive and subtractive functions necessary for 3D printing, the SLM machines and the LASERTEC 65 3D (a pure DED system) can be complemented with CNC machines offered by the company. Workpieces 3D printed with these systems can be finished to proper tolerances and surface quality on a milling machine or previously milled base plats and bases can be have objects printed onto them without the need for support structures.

Now that the Japanese conglomerate is firmly settled in the additive space, it has begun offering AM consulting services. This includes verifying the printability of parts, redesigning parts for AM, engineering new components and product categories, simulation and topology optimization, 3D printing of prototypes and small series, courses and training, and consultations dedicated to overall strategy.

Because DMG Mori has developed laser PBF, DED and hybrid machines, it would appear to be an important contender in the AM space. Perhaps, in the near future, we’ll see the company release a hybrid PBF system, like Matsuura offers, or laser-based machining, like Trumpf. As impressive as hybrid 3D printing technology appears to be from the outside, we will have to see more success stories coming from industry before we can truly assess its place in the larger AM and manufacturing markets.

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Optomec updates LENS system to 3D print in copper

New Mexico’s Optomec has reached what it is calling a “major milestone” for its Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) direct energy deposition (DED) process. Catering to the popular heat exchanger market and other high-conductivity applications, the company has developed process parameters for the production of pure copper parts. Incredibly challenging for laser-based processes due to the […]

3D Printing News Briefs: November 25, 2019

We’re finishing the week out with some more formnext news for 3D Printing News Briefs: Poly-Shape presented a metal 3D printed Francis Turbine at the event. Moving on, Etihad Engineering opened a 3D printing lab for aircraft parts with EOS and BigRep, and Y Soft launched an online collection of 3D lessons for educators.

Poly-Shape’s 3D Printed Francis Turbine

At formnext 2019 last week, French company Poly-Shape presented something rather unique: a 72 kg Francis Turbine made with its Directed Energy Deposition-powder (DED-P) metal 3D printing technology. Turbine components are often used in the aerospace and energy industries, and DED-P printing can be used to fabricate the raw part, with its complex geometry, in less than 3 days; in fact, the Francis Turbine was printed in just 55 hours.

“The DED-P process is operated within a 5-axis CNC machine thanks to a material depositing system,” a Poly-Shape press release stated.

“By minimizing the needed allowance (typically < 1,5 mm), the part machining is reduced to finishing operation. In case of hard to access areas, the DED and the machining production can be sequenced such as the tool accessibility would be released.”

Etihad’s 3D Printing Lab for Aircraft Parts

Bernhard Randerath, VP Design, Engineering & Innovation, Etihad Engineering; Abdul Khaliq Saeed, CEO, Etihad Engineering; Markus Glasser, SVP EOS; H.E. Ernst Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE; Marie Langer, CEO EOS; Tony Douglas, Group CEO Etihad Aviation Group; Martin Black, CEO BigRep.

Etihad Engineering, a division of the Etihad Aviation Group, partnered with EOS and BigRep to open a 3D printing lab. It’s one of the first airline MROs in the Middle East that’s received approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for designing, producing, and certifying cabin parts made with powder bed fusion technology, two years after receiving approval for filament 3D printing. The laboratory is located at the Etihad Engineering facility, adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport, and houses two industrial 3D printers – the EOS P 396 and the BigRep ONE. It was opened officially in a ceremony last week, and in recognition of the relationships between Etihad, EOS, and BigRep, was attended by His Excellency Ernst Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE.

“The launch of the new facility is in line with Etihad Engineering’s position as a leading global player in aircraft engineering as well as a pioneer in innovation and technology,” said Bernhard Randerath, VP Design, Engineering and Innovation for Etihad Engineering. “We are extremely proud to collaborate with EOS and BigRep to expand our capability and support the UAE’s strategy to increase production technology and cement its position as a global aerospace hub.”

Y Soft Launches be3D Academy for Educators

The Y Soft Corporation has launched its be3D Academy, available as part of its YSoft be3D eDee 3D printing solution for education. There are many benefits to using classroom 3D printing as a tool for learning, and adoption in schools is growing fast, but developing lesson plans that incorporate the technology can be difficult, due to lack of knowledge or access. The company’s new online collection of teacher-tested 3D lesson plans in STEAM subjects make it easy for educators to teach in 3D. The be3D Academy lesson plans provide tools like student worksheets, presentations, video tutorials, and 3D model files, all of which can be made on the YSoft be3D eDee printer with its certified filaments.

“3D printing is particularly valuable in the classroom to convey complex subjects. When students can touch and adjust physical objects they have created, understanding increases. Comprehension of STEAM subjects can be difficult, and be3D Academy’s lessons make concepts interesting and fun. be3D Academy lesson plans range from creating castles to understanding geometric shapes and volumes to creating a Da Vinci bridge as a science learning project,” said Elke Heiss, the Y Soft Chief Marketing Officer.

The be3D Academy is open to all educators looking to add 3D printing to their classrooms.

Discuss these stories and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below. 

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3D Printing Will Power the New Space Race

Whereas the last space race was powered by ideology and meant to declare the superiority of one economic system over the other; this one is powered by 3D printing and will pit firms against one another for untold riches. The opportunities for satellite networks, planetary colonization, in-space manufacturing, mining and space tourism seem incredible. Incredibly optimistic, most of all.

Personally, space exploration and travel seems fantastic to me. The business models and long term profitability of these businesses seem tenuous, however. Yes, the opportunities are huge but if we look at investments in space the generally come from communications companies through television internet and phone communications, science projects such as ISS and defense. With the space companies themselves venturing into satellite networks it seems likely that there will be a few integrated satellite, tv, movies and music alliances that will win big, and a lot of losers. Science seems to be under threat in our modern world so I don’t see huge ISS-like projects getting started now unless they are prestige projects being done by China. This leaves investor optimism or defense spending to underpin the new space race. If we look at investments in space, launch vehicles, launch assignments and infrastructure then the space race really starts to look like a defense business with the occasional smiling space tourist. If investor optimism is available for the long term then this may make the new space race a reality. Barring this most of the money seems to be emanating from the defense community specifically parts of the US government such as the NRO and DOD.

Boeing’s reusable space plane demonstrator the X37 could function as a reusable satellite. This would be bad for dragons.

Beneath the PR space race with Virgin and SpaceX, there is jockeying for temporary satellites and new kinds of taskable satellites, offensive space systems and perhaps even systems capable of disruption or targeting of ground targets. At the same time, space junk risk and a constant need to replace satellite systems props up demand for launches, vehicles, and programs. Another way to describe the current space race is a desire by the broader US defense establishment to diversify its supplier base away from a select few companies to many more. Elon is not in the driving seat. Some committee at the NRO is. Rather than an ever-expanding universe of opportunities, therefore, I see the current space race as a defense business. These types of businesses are often very dependent on government initiatives and grand plans (Star Wars, the Moon in ten years, Total Information Awareness). Government spending strategies and procurement will further muddy the waters. With the US exhibiting greater arbitrary decisionmaking over the past years this may be a path fraught with difficulty. Also currently other countries are bit players in the funding of new space initiatives so this is a race with fewer competitors than it could have.

If we see the US government as laying the groundwork for the New Space Race everything makes more sense. Sandia and ORNL labs have been commercializing 3D printing technologies for many years now. Many of the Directed Energy Deposition, Laser cladding, EBM initiatives got huge boosts from the shuttle program. Under the radar, many billions have gone to funding materials, processes, machines, and technologies for a spy satellite race that has been a bit of a solo challenge with the US racing to beat its personal best. Space for the US was never about Tang or photo ops but a real effort to dominate the final high ground, the area around our planet. The NRO has a budget of, the has a budget of. These agencies you’ve never heard of are the main architects of the current space race.

A large scale EBM system at NASA.

In the middle between them and publicly available information and technology sits NASA. NASA has been working tirelessly to bring EBM to in-space manufacturing for years now. Many tests and NASA programs have worked out the technology kinks of 3D printing in space. A lot of attention goes to the MARS habitat challenge but NASA has done so much more. Currently, it is helping to develop bioprinting, circuit printing, plastics recycling, metal printing, polymer printing, printing of rocket engines, new 3D printing metals, magnetic 3D printing, printing of large scale space components in space and much more. If one single organization is responsible for the current 3D printed space race then it is NASA.   

Important work by NASA on the baby bantam and other rocket propulsion systems spread knowledge on the advantages of 3D printing for spacecraft, especially in propulsion. NASA showed that reducing part count works through 3D printing. NASA showed us that you could get significant weight savings through metal 3D printed propulsion units. NASA also showed us how 3D printed propulsion systems could be developed at lower cost and faster through 3D Printing.

A NASA and Virgin Orbit 3D printed combustion chamber test.

Due to NASA sharing their knowledge and findings it became public knowledge in the space community that 3D Printing was the best technology to make new rocket engines out of. With 3D Printing, you could cut development times in half, at the same time you could reduce costs by 40% or more. With the same process and technology, you could then reduce part count. In some cases, you could go from 80 parts to 3. This reduces your mold and tooling costs and means you have fewer parts to keep and keep on making as you go forward. The same development lets you iterate more quickly. Based on testing you can now make more parts and try more parts and do this more quickly. Also, at the same time, you can save weight which is supremely important in space exploration. It is NASA that time and time showed everyone that the built parts could be on par with or outperform conventionally manufactured parts.

Through sharing data NASA clued on a new generation of space companies to 3D printing. In propulsion, all of the major players are using metal 3D printing to create and power the next generation of spacecraft. 3D Printed propulsion systems are less expensive, quicker to make and lighter than previous propulsion systems. Through more iterations and weight-saving, it will be 3D printing that will power the new space race and push humanity further for a select few. 

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3DPOD Episode 12: Formalloy’s Melanie Lang: LMD Metal 3D Printing

This time we have a lively and fun discussion with Melanie Lang the Founder of Formalloy. Formalloy is a start up in the DED arena, a metal 3D printing technology that can be used to make large metal structures of a few meters or more. We spoke about how DED is being used, what the emerging applications are, Fuctionally graded materials, bimetallics, titanium, nickel superalloys and many more things. We hope you enjoy this episode.

Our episode about 3D Printing in space is here. The first podcast on going beyond PLA is here, our interview with Direct Dimensions CEO Michael Raphael is here, while our interview with design pioneer Janne Kyttanen is here. Our episode on bioprinting is here3D printing in medicine is here3D printed guns is here. Finally, here is the fourth industrial revolution episode, and all of them are here. You can find them on Spotify here.

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Inside ADDere’s 30 hour 3D printed turbine blade

Wisconsin technology developer ADDere has demonstrated its large scale additive manufacturing capabilities with the production of a 5ft 11in stainless steel turbine blade. Produced in the course of one single 30 hour run, the blade’s height maintains a tolerance within 0.5mm of its designed height, an outstanding achievement for the technology. “While the complex shape was made […]

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Company Commercializes New Metal 3D Printer

[Image: TRAFAM]

A new metal 3D printer developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co., Ltd. – a group company of the Japanese industrial firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) – has just been commercialized. Recently, the first commercial unit of the LAMDA 200 system, developed through a research project between the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing (TRAFAM), was delivered to the Industrial Research Center of Shiga Prefecture in Ritto.

The commercial metal system uses a proprietary Directed Energy Deposition (DED) method – metal powder is fed continuously by nozzles to the laser fusing point. By altering the composition of the materials, the LAMDA 200 is able to laminate metals with precision and at high speeds.

A few years ago, TRAFAM began utilizing MHI Machine Tool’s accumulated laser and positioning control technologies in order to develop a next-generation prototype metal DED 3D printer. This unit was finished in the fall of 2017, at which point the organization began an advertising campaign that targeted full-scale marketing. Now, the commercial entry model of this metal DED 3D printer has been officially launched.

The commercial LAMDA 200 3D printer is dedicated to fabricating small part prototypes. The system uses laser beams, which are emitted through dual nozzles, to pass through metal powder and cause fusion at the focal point. The movement of the two nozzles causes the printer’s progressive additive manufacturing. According to MHI, the 3D printer’s molding speed is over ten times faster when extracting a formed object than powder bed fusion printing is, which helps suppress metal powder waste.

MHI Machine Tool and the Industrial Research Center of Shiga Prefecture will work together to create metal additive manufacturing innovations. Just this month, the Centre established on its grounds an Advanced Monozukuri Prototype Development Center, which is where the new LAMDA 200 metal DED 3D printer will be installed. Here, it will be used to support new product and technology development of companies working in the traditional Japanese concept of craftsmanship known as monozukuri. Together, the Centre and MHI Machine Tool will work to increase proposal-based sales routes, as well as gain further recognition of the commercial LAMDA 200 in the manufacturing industry and develop new user applications.

According to an MHI press release, “Because it is possible to perform additive manufacturing to a part’s surface by way of repair, to double-laminate different metal powders, and to manufacture large parts, significant expansion of applications is anticipated through innovations during the processing phase and combined use with other machine tools.”

Inevitably, maintenance issues and complaints about quality management of metal materials regarding the new DED metal 3D printing system will come up as the LAMDA 200 is increasingly adopted. That’s why MHI Machine Tool is also working to create feedback monitoring capability that will monitor and stabilize the system’s status automatically, in addition to a shielding function that will be needed when manufacturing titanium alloys and other metals that will be used in aviation applications.

What do you think? Discuss this story and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts in the Facebook comments below.

3D Printing News Briefs: March 23, 2019

We’ve got plenty of business news to share in this week’s 3D Printing News Briefs, but first we’ll start off with something fun – the winners have been announced for this year’s Additive World DfAM Challenge. Moving right along, BeAM is now a Tier 2 member of the ARTC, and PostProcess Technologies has announced improved processing times for SLA resin removal. Protolabs is offering new anodizing services, in addition to teaming up with Wohlers Associates, and Arkema will soon open a new PEKK plant in the US. Continuing with new things, a new AM digital career growth platform just launched, and there’s a new open project call for the European AMable project. Finally, GoPrint3D is the new UK distributor for Mayku and its desktop vacuum casting unit.

Winners Announces for Additive World DfAM Challenge 2019

This week during an awards dinner at the Additive World Conference in Eindhoven, Ultimaker’s Steven van de Staak, Chairman of the 5-member jury for this year’s Additive Industries’ Design for Additive Manufacturing Challenge, announced the two winners and their “inspiring use cases of industrial 3D metal printing.”

Obasogie Okpamen from The Landmark University in Nigeria won first place, and an Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer, in the student category for his Twin Spark Engine Connection Rod. While the connection rod that he redesigned for an Alfa Romeo 75 Twin Spark Turbo engine has not yet been fully tested, he won “because of the example it sets” for distributed localized manufacturing of spare parts with 3D printing. Dutch company K3D took home first place, and an Ultimaker 3, in the professional category for the Dough Cutting Knife it developed for Kaak Group, a leader in the bakery equipment world. The team integrated mechanical parts into the design, which can be 3D printed without any support structures and has improved functionality. The knife sits in a dough extrusion line and due to its light weight less knives and robot arms can do the same amount of cutting. This means that the extrusion line itself is cheaper. Furthermore the knife has been optimized for a cleaner cut with less knife sticking to the dough.

BeAM Joins Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre

Membership agreement signing ceremony held in ARTC

France-based BeAM, which has subsidiaries in the US and Singapore and was acquired by AddUp this summer, is now partnering with the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) as a Tier 2 member in an effort to expand its research activities in southeast Asia. The center provides a collaborative platform, which will help BeAM as it continues developing its Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology with companies from the aerospace, consumer goods, marine, and oil & goods sectors.

This summer, BeAM, which also became a member of the Aachen Centre for Additive Manufacturing earlier this month, will install its Modulo 400, featuring a controlled atmosphere system, at ARTC, so other members can safely develop non-reactive and reactive materials. The two will also work to develop process monitoring systems that can expand DED’s range of applications.

PostProcess Technologies Announces New Solution for SLA Resin Removal

A new and improved solution for SLA resin removal by PostProcess Technologies vastly improves process times by 5-10 minutes – quite possibly the fastest on the market. The system can clean up to five times as many parts before detergent saturation when compared to solvent resin removal, and is part of the company’s automated AM post-print offering. The patent-pending solution, which also reduces environmental hazards and preserves fine feature details, was validated with eight different resin materials in several production environments, and uses the company’s proprietary AUTOMAT3D software and SVC (Submersed Vortex Cavitation) technology in the DEMI and CENTI machines.

“PostProcess’ latest innovation of the most advanced SLA resin removal solution in the world reinforces our commitment to providing the AM industry with transformative post- printing solutions enabling the market to scale. SLA is one of the most popular 3D printing technologies in the world. No matter what volume of printing, any SLA user can benefit from the remarkable efficiencies of our solution’s decreased processing time, increased throughput, increased detergent longevity, and improved safety,” said PostProcess Technologies CEO Jeff Mize. “PostProcess has designed the world’s first complete SLA resin removal system, available only from the pioneers in forward-thinking 3D post-printing.”

The new SLA Resin Removal technology will be on display at PostProcess booth P21 at the upcoming AMUG Conference in Chicago. You can also read about it in the company’s new whitepaper.

Protolabs Offering Aluminum Anodizing; Partners with Wohlers Associates

As part of its on-demand production service, digital manufacturer Protolabs is now offering aluminium anodizing in response to demand from customers in need of a single-source solution. Anodizing forms a protective oxide layer by applying a thin, protective coat to the part, which increases abrasion resistance and creates a barrier against corrosion. The company will be offering two levels of this service for Aluminum 6082 and 7075: hard anodizing to ISI 10074 for parts requiring protection from harsh environments, and decorative anodizing to ISO 7599 for parts that need an aesthetic finish. All parts will be sealed, unless they need to be painted post-anodizing.

“Talking to our clients, we realised that if they needed to anodise an aluminium part it was often difficult for them to source and then manage a supplier. They not only have to do all the research and then raise a separate purchase order, but often find that the supplier only accepts large quantities of parts in an order, which isn’t great for low volume runs,” explained Stephen Dyson, Special Operations Manager at Protolabs.

“Keeping the entire production process with a single supplier makes perfect sense for manufacturers. It means they can get their finished parts shipped in a matter of days and our technical team can advise them through the entire process, right from the initial design of the part to the best approach for the final anodising finish.”

In other Protolabs news, the company is partnering up with AM consultants Wohlers Associates to jointly hold an immersive course on DfAM. The class, which is invitation-only, will take place over the course of three days near Raleigh, North Carolina, and will end at Protolabs’ 77,000 sq. ft. 3D printing facility. Olaf Diefel, Associate Consultant at Wohlers Associates, and Principle Consultant and President Terry Wohlers will lead the discussion, in addition to being joined by several Protolabs engineers who are skilled in polymer and metal 3D printing.

“Designing for AM offers unique challenges and opportunities not found in traditional design methods. Protolabs brings tremendous depth of expertise and leadership in 3D printing. We’re thrilled to work together to equip attendees with technical skills and manufacturing knowledge needed to unlock the full potential of additive manufacturing,” said Wohlers.

Arkema Opening New PEKK Plant

Arkema, one of the largest specialty chemical and advanced materials developers, has been busily producing polyetherketoneketone, or PEKK, in France. But this coming Monday, March 24th, it is celebrating its new Kepstan PEKK plant near Mobile, Alabama with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The durability and customizable abilities of PEKK make it a good material for a variety of 3D printing purposes. Monday’s event will take place from 10:30 am to 1:30, and will also include VIP comments and lunch. The increased volume of this PEAK material will shake up the high-performance polymer market making PEKK a viable alternative to PEEK and PEI.

New AM Digital Career Growth Platform Launched

A free interactive platform to help AM professionals enhance their skills and fulfill career opportunities is now launching. i-AMdigital, which counts HP as one of its backing partners, is a joint venture between AM industry recruiter Alexander Daniels Global, digital venture company TES Network, and web and UX design company De Wortel van Drie. The platform was created to develop a growing AM talent pool, and uses smart matching and AI to offer customized career advice, courses, training, and job opportunities.

“There just isn’t enough talent out there. At the same time the learning and development landscape for additive manufacturing is very fragmented. This makes it difficult for individuals and organisations alike to access courses that can help them upskill. i-AMdigital solves both problems through our digital career growth platform,” said CEO and Co-Founder Nick Pearce of Alexander Daniels Global.

“It is an essential tool for the AM industry that will allow talent to grow their career and make an impact in additive manufacturing. It will provide organisations access to a growing and educated talent force to address their hiring needs and a marketplace for learning and development that can help them upskill their existing workforce in the latest technologies.”

AMable Launches Second Open Project Call

The AMable project, which receives funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, has just launched its second project call for proposals and ideas that can be applied to AM. The project is continuing to look for new ways to innovate on services for mid-caps and SMEs in the EU, and chosen teams will receive support from the AMable unit.

AMable is a Factories of the Future (FoF) project participating in I4MS (ICT for Manufacturing SMEs), and is working to increase adoption of AM technologies through the EU. The project will build a digital model that will provide unbiased access to the best AM knowledge in Europe in an effort to support this adoption. For more details on the call, visit the AMable site.

Express Group Appointed New UK Distributor for Mayku

GoPrint3D, a division of Express Group Ltd, has just been named the new UK distributor for London startup Mayku. The startup created a desktop vacuum casting unit called the FormBox, which is a handy partner for your 3D printer. Once you create a 3D printed mold, you can put it inside the compact FormBox, which is powered by any vacuum cleaner and works with many materials like wax and concrete, to cast a series from it – putting the power of making in your own hands.

An architect forming a dome template on the FormBox.

 

“We are thrilled to have partnered with Express Group on our UK and Ireland distribution, building on our existing servicing and repair relationship,” said Alex Smilansky, Mayku Co-Founder and CEO. “When we founded Mayku, our goal was to bring the power of making to as wide an audience as possible. The partnership with Express Group will allow us to deliver a first-class making experience to more people than ever before.”

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