Birmingham-based tool manufacturer Guhring UK has introduced two additive manufacturing systems from the US-based composite and metal 3D printer provider Markforged into its custom cutting tool line. Guhring UK opted to purchase the Metal X system, as well as a Markforged continuous fiber 3D printer, from Markforged’s UK distributor Mark3D. The 3D printers have allowed […]
State of the Art: Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Five
In the first part of our series on carbon fiber 3D printing, we discussed how the material is used in the larger world of manufacturing. As we’ve learned throughout this series, carbon fiber (along with other reinforcement materials) is typically used as a low-cost alternative to metal, given its high strength-to-weight ratio. Though the material is found most frequently in the aerospace industry, it is increasingly used in other sectors, such as automotive, sports and construction.
What’s we’ve focused on a bit less in this report so far is how it has been and will be used in 3D printing.
The Benefits of 3D Printing + Carbon Fiber
All of the additive technologies we’ve explored have their unique benefits and drawbacks, with some processes more limited in geometric complexity and others unable to deliver the same strength and stiffness as the rest. However, the advantage that they all have in common is a high degree of automation.
Traditionally, applying carbon fiber reinforcement is a manual and time-consuming process, which can be expensive in terms of labor hours. When it’s performed using industrial automation technology, as found in large aerospace facilities, it is extremely expensive. The highest of high-end automated fiber placement (AFP) machines can cost millions of dollars.
In contrast, 3D printing is a relatively automatic process. Once a CAD model has been finalized and is appropriately set up for fabrication by a given 3D printer, the additive manufacturing (AM) system itself will do most of the work (except for post-processing, loading up materials, configuring the printer, etc.).
With some desktop continuous carbon fiber 3D printers from Markforged, Desktop Metal and Anisoprint priced between $4,000 and $20,000, small businesses and workshops can have access to an automated method for producing carbon fiber-reinforced parts. For much larger firms, emerging systems, like those from Impossible Objects and Arevo, could make batch production much possible. And in either case, the technology will likely be less expensive than AFP.
Applications
Markforged has been on the market the longest and, therefore, has the most case studies demonstrating the range of uses for continuous carbon fiber 3D printing. That has also given it plenty of time to find use cases running the gamut from prototyping and tooling to end part manufacturing.
For example, Brooks, a publicly-traded automation equipment manufacturer, uses 3D printing to prototype end effectors meant to handle fragile goods like products like semiconductor wafers. The company claimed that its previous 3D printer was not capable of printing robust prototypes, but that carbon-fiber-reinforced designs were thin enough and stiff enough for the application.
A 3D-printed lifting tool, made using Markforged carbon fiber 3D printing. Can lift 960 kg. Image courtesy of Markfoged.
Tooling is a popular application for many Markforged customers, given the strength and durability of reinforced polymer parts. These can vary, including small jigs and fixtures to “the world’s first 3D-printed CE-Certified lifting tool”.
Using the X7 3D printer, Wärtsilä 3D printed a lifting tool for moving heavy ship engine parts, such as pistons. The marine and energy firm believed its typical steel machining process to be too expensive and opted for 3D printing a polymer lifting tool reinforced with carbon fiber. The resulting part was 75 percent lighter while capable of lifting 960kg. Wärtsilä believes that it saved €100,000 in tooling alone by printing the part.
In another case, a Canadian energy services company used Kevlar, high-strength, high-temperature fiberglass, and carbon fiber to reinforce tooling on its manufacturing equipment. Using Markforged’s lowest-cost option, the Mark Two, the firm printed 53 different parts for its pad handling machine, such as fuse covers, motor mounts, end effector laser mounts and more. The company estimated a total of CAD$27,000 in savings.
Robotic arm 3D printed with continuous carbon fiber. Image courtesy of Markforged.
The Boston-based startup has also seen its technology deployed for production of end parts. Haddington Dynamics is an engineering startup that uses 3D printing to manufacture parts for a 7-axis robotic arm for such customers as NASA, GoogleX and Toshiba. 3D printing allowed the company to reduce part count on the design from 800 to under 70, including custom swappable 3D printed gripper fingers. To produce parts that are more robust, Haddington reinforces a chopped carbon fiber-filled nylon with continuous carbon fiber.
Though still newer to the market, Arevo has also been making a name for itself in mass production. The Silicon Valley firm is partnering with Franco Bicycles to 3D print continuous carbon fiber single-piece unibody frames for a new line of e-Bikes.
Arevo will be 3D printing a unibody bike frame for Franco Bicycles. Image courtesy of Arevo.
Fortify has devoted an entire business line to a very interesting application for its magnetic approach to composites. The startup has a service for the additive fabrication of tooling for the injection molding industry, though Fortify is relying on a proprietary ceramic material for this application. The material is durable enough that mold could last hundreds to thousands of shots, according to the company. Yet, unlike traditional molds, these parts are delivered in just three days and can be much more geometrically complex.
Other firms are a bit too young to go public with how their early customers are using their technologies, but demonstrator parts have been showcased. Desktop Metal, for instance, displays a variety of tooling, jigs and fixtures on its Fiber-dedicated page. Anisoprint has just three case studies up, but one is a research project that demonstrates the firm’s unique approach to reinforcing only the areas of a part that require added strength, reducing the weight of the part even further than traditional composites or other carbon fiber 3D printing approaches have executed.
As the technology begins to make its way into the marketplace, we will definitely see more applications of carbon fiber 3D printing. One area where it should continue to have a big impact is through the production of tooling and, a bit further along in the technology’s development, end parts. In the next part in our series, we’ll take a look at large-scale carbon fiber 3D printing.
The post State of the Art: Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Five appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
3D Printing Industry News Sliced: VELO3D, Renishaw, EOS, Victrex, Titomic
In this week’s first edition of Sliced, the 3D Printing Industry news digest, we cover the latest business developments, partnerships, and acquisitions across our industry. Additionally, you’ll find out what the MACH 2020 show has to offer in 3D printing, investment in additive manufacturing in Scotland, and a 24k gold-plated titanium bike. Read on for […]
State of the Art: Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Two
In the first part of our series on carbon fiber 3D printing, we really only just got started by providing a background on the material, some of its properties, and how it’s made. Now that that’s out of the way, we can get to the fun stuff: how carbon fiber is currently available in the 3D printing industry.
Carbon Fiber Filaments
The most widely accessible form of carbon fiber in 3D printing is chopped carbon fiber filament. There are a wide variety of chopped carbon fiber blends available, with 3DXTECH offering some of the most diverse types that include high temperature thermoplastics as the matrix material. For instance, it’s possible to buy, PA, PEKK, PEEK, and PEI (ULTEM) filaments filled with chopped carbon fiber.
A manifold made with Innofil3D PET carbon fiber reinforced filament by FFF.
In chopped carbon fiber filament, segments of carbon fiber are mixed with thermoplastic pellets and then extruded into filament suited for extrusion 3D printing. Because the carbon fiber is broken, and not in continuous strands, it only offers the stiffness of carbon fiber at the points where those very small fragments are located.
Nevertheless, the introduction of carbon fiber into thermoplastic filament can improve its strength and stiffness but may also have negative effects, as well. One team of researchers found that, in addition to the desired strength, a PEEK-carbon fiber composite had more porosity and poor adhesion between printed layers. Another group found similar results with chopped carbon fiber in resin for stereolithography, including increased brittleness.
This doesn’t mean that chopped carbon fiber filament (or resin) doesn’t have value in 3D printing, particularly since it is much cheaper than the technologies that we will be going on to discuss. However, we will see in part three of this series how even these materials can be improved with some pretty ingenious thinking.
Continuous Carbon Fiber 3D Printing
In 2014, Markforged introduced continuous filament fabrication (CFF) to the world. In CFF, carbon fiber is pre-impregnated with a thermoplastic nylon, which is deposited from a specialty extruder. This is then used to provide reinforcement for plastic parts, including the firm’s own brand of chopped carbon fiber filament, Onyx.
More recently, a Russian company called Anisoprint has commercialized its own version of continuous carbon fiber printing dubbed composite fiber coextrusion (CFC). Unlike CFF, which features one input and one output for its prepreg material, CFC uses two inputs and one output. One input is dedicated to reinforcement fiber and the other is used for feeding thermoplastic. Dry fiber is fed into the system, where it is impregnated with an extremely liquid thermoset resin. During printing, the thermoset is cured and extruded together with traditional thermoplastic filament. The thermoset matrix permeating the reinforcement fiber then bonds with the filament.
How CFC works.
As a result, not only is there less of a chance of introducing air bubbles or voids in the prepreg material, but it also opens up the variety of thermoplastics that CFC can use (so far, PETG, ABS, PC, PLA and PA).
The rate of deposition can also be controlled in CFC to generate interesting structures and properties not achievable with traditional composite manufacturing, such as lattice shapes. In crossing one strand of carbon tow over another, in traditional circumstances, the thickness of that area is doubled. With CFC, it’s possible to reduce the thermoplastic being extruded, while still depositing the carbon fiber, reducing the amount of plastic in that area.
Strength is evenly distributed around the hole, but not in the entire structure in part one, causing it to sheer. In part two, the entire part is reinforced in a crisscross fashion.
This, in turn, increases what is known as the “fiber volume ratio”, the amount of fiber reinforcement there is in relation to the total volume of the composite. A higher fiber volume ratio usually means improved mechanical properties. So, as these carbon fibers are crisscrossed in a 3D-printed lattice structure, the fiber volume ratio increases, as does the strength.
In aerospace, engineers seek fiber volume ratios of up to 60 percent or so. However, with other carbon fiber 3D printing technologies, the ratio is closer to 30 to 40 percent. Without lattice structures, CFC can achieve about 45 percent, but, at points where carbon fibers overlap, this ratio is doubled—that is, even stronger than available with traditional composites.
With minimal thermoplastic deposition in one direction, this part has less material but improved strength.
In woven carbon fiber, multiple layers of unidirectional fibers crisscross to mimic isotropy, which ends up providing omnidirectional strength at the expense of excess material. However, with CFC, it is possible to only add material and strength where necessary. For this reason, Anisoprint highlights the anisotropy of carbon fiber as a benefit, rather than a weakness—hence the name “Anisoprint.”
Since Markforged and Anisoprint have come to market, a third challenger has appeared with its own form of continuous carbon fiber printing. Ahead of Formnext 2019, Desktop Metal introduced a technology called micro automated fiber replacement (μAFP). μAFP relies on two print heads: one deposits thermoplastic filament and then a tool changer swaps to the other, which lays down prepreg tape, similar to the automated fiber placement technology mentioned briefly in part one.
The carbon fiber-thermoplastic tape is first heated to above the melt temperature of the plastic. Then, a roller presses the tape onto the printed part. The combination of heat, pressure and then the cooling of the printed part, allows the tape the part to fuse.
Desktop Metal is releasing the technology with the Fiber HT and Fiber LT 3D printers. The LT is available as with a $3,495 annual subscription and prints PA6-carbon fiber or PA6-fiberglass tape. The HT ($5,495 per year), can not only print with those tapes, but also PEEK or PEKK combined with carbon fiber or fiberglass. The HT also has two printheads, while the LT has just one.
Additionally, the Fiber HT includes the ability to manage the orientation of the fibers using advanced settings in its software, can achieve less than one percent porosity, and can print with a fiber volume ratio of up to 60 percent.
Large Format and Experimental Carbon Fiber 3D Printing
Also at Formnext, Anisoprint unveiled its production scale CFC system, the Anisoprint ProM IS 500. With a build volume of 600 mm x 420 mm x 300 mm, the system has a heated build chamber capable of printing PEEK and PEI, as well as automated calibration and other production-quality features. With four swappable printheads, it will also be able to combine different composite materials, in addition to carbon fiber. The system will also feature software for optimizing the printing of lattice structures. Anisoprint aims to ship its first ProM IS 500 systems at the end of 2020.
While this is the Russian company’s first production-level carbon fiber 3D printer, it may face some stiff competition. There are a number of other firms that are working on their own unique takes on carbon fiber 3D printing. Because they differ distinctly from the types discussed here, we will explore them in the next chapter of our saga.
The post State of the Art: Carbon Fiber 3D Printing, Part Two appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
New 3D printing jobs: BigRep, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Mogassam
Looking for a new job in 3D printing? A host of new opportunities are now open through 3D Printing Industry. In 3D Printing Jobs, we offer candidates and employers the opportunity to search and advertise vacancies in this rapidly changing sector. In this update, we have new roles from BigRep, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and […]
What Makes for a Great 3D Printing Webinar?
Tools and insights to help people choose the right 3D printer, materials, or become more knowledgable about how disruptive technologies can benefit the industry, are very important. This is one of the reasons why a lot of well-established companies and startups are turning to webinars to help users boost their understanding of a 3D printer they already own or to attract new customers. Nevertheless, webinars take up time, usually around an hour or more. On average people spent one-third of their time on work and around five hours a day for leisure (at least in the US), so whether you’re taking time out of a work project, using your much-needed coffee break at the office or staying up late at night, that webinar should be worth it for you to consider it.
Faris Sheikh using Form 3 during a webinar
With so many different types of manufacturing methods available, it’s difficult to decide which one is better suited for your needs, and the overwhelming amount of 3D printers currently on the market makes choosing one challenging, even more so if you need to add software, scanning devices and post-processing machines. 3DPrint.com has been surfing through quite a few webinars; these online sessions are great sources to become more informed about the technology and how to use it. Over the last year, we have tagged along with Faris Sheikh, a growth marketing specialist at Formlabs, to get a glimpse of the company’s new Form 3 printer; witnessed a live demonstration on how Markforged‘s new Blacksmith AI software can help us accurately design 3D printed parts, and learned how to take advantage of high-strength thermoplastics PEEK, PEKK, and ULTEM from specialists at Montreal-based firm AON3D. Balancing so much information is fun, and we learned a lot, yet choosing the right webinar is not easy so we have summarized the top qualities we consider can take your online viewing experience from great to amazing.
Before signing up for your next webinar you might want to read over our six-pointers. We consider a live demonstration to be on the top of our list, followed by experienced public speakers who will address at least one of the challenges when working with the product, as well as allowing for a Q&A session since we have noticed that some of the most interesting tips arise from audience questions; examples of some of the successful experiences are a great way to illustrate what can be achieved with a product, and finally, we give a lot of credit to webinars that stick to the originally scheduled time frame (remember, time is a valuable commodity).
We love powerpoints, they are great visual aids, and extremely useful when speakers need to convey complex terminology and a lot of information. However powerpoints during a 3D printing webinar are ok for a few minutes, but the audience can benefit much more from a live show, watching someone on screen explain a particular process makes the webinar worth your time. We have witnessed almost everything, from scanning and designing parts with CAD software to preparing a machine for printing.
Using Dot3D’s ruggedized tablet, software and RealSense camera for 3D scanning
Last May, 3D scanning enthusiasts were able to tune in to a webinar to witness a live broadcast of DotProduct’s Dot3D during scanning, this is one of the firm’s professional handheld 3D capture solutions which has joined forces with Intel RealSense to better capture real-time 3D data, making both indoor and outdoor 3D capture possible. One of the highlights of the session was a demonstration by company specialist Chris Ahern who performed a live daylight 3D scan of a sample field pipeline, using RealSense’s D415. After capture, Ahern moved onto optimization for cleaning any noise recognized from the data, done within just a few minutes and with ease, showing what it takes to handle the scanning features and post-data analysis. During this webinar, the audience was able to appreciate a walk through all the steps necessary to perform the scan as well as observe how Ahern dealt with one of the more challenging features, needing to manipulate the output a bit to get the acceptable quality required. This is a great example of a company that was able to channel a lot of the qualities we value most.
Some processes like metal printing and machining are not as easy to demonstrate live. In this case, webinars with lots of examples and information supporting the process are very well received by an audience, which is usually more knowledgeable about the specific process and expects to hear about successful cases and know-how. For example, one of Optomec‘s latest webinars proved how useful the company’s laser engineered net shaping (LENS) technology could be when applied on sustainable repairs to some of the most complex machinery around, including plane parts and tank gear repairs. Here, examples were paramount to convey the benefits of the complex machining process.
How Optomec was able to repair broken teeth on a gear thanks to their LENS repair machine
Webinars are one of the most effective online marketing tactics for any business, they usually bring in new customers and help keep users up to date on the latest advances in the technology that they bought. A great way to engage the audience is through a robust Q&A session. Since questions usually come in throughout the presentation, the speaker can choose a few to answer at the end, but we noticed that some of the best webinars have specialists really committed to dealing with unusual and interesting questions. Sauber Motorsport AG (the company operating the Alfa Romeo Sauber Formula 1 Team), went deep into the underlying benefits of SLS additive manufacturing processes during the Q&A of their on-demand webinar, talking about everything from accuracy to printing with different materials. Expert Richard Broad didn’t hold back in the question session proving that this is one of the reasons we really enjoyed their presentation.
Online webinar sessions usually go for an hour tops, so when they extend beyond the allotted time, it can be a bit daunting, the audience usually loses interest and can get easily bored. An average 3D printing webinar should last around 45 minutes, with presentations usually ending after 30 minutes, followed by 10 to 15 minutes for answering questions. However if a speaker will not stop at 30 minutes, presentations can last an hour or more. If companies expect their audience to keep coming back for more online sessions, they need to prove that they can deliver all the necessary information in the promised time.
Web conferences aren’t new, the first ones date from the 1990s and companies have been using them as a tool for years. Today 3D printing webinars are getting better, allowing for audiences around the world to interact, by asking live questions or filling out surveys (which later help the company determine who is tuning in, where from and what industry they work in); having some of the most experienced employees offer technical demonstrations for viewers, and especially trying to prove that their product is worth considering. We’re really looking forward to future webinars, trying to imagine what some of the most innovative minds out there could come up with to engage audiences with their product, such as using virtual reality to help viewers become even more immersed in an interactive webinar experience, or for companies with large room-size machines, a walk through their processes to witness how the systems work would be amazing. But for now, we’ll stick to our six points. What other qualities would make a 3D printing webinar experience worth your viewing time? Join in the discussion.
[Images: 3DPrint.com, Dot3D, Formlabs and Optomec]
The post What Makes for a Great 3D Printing Webinar? appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
Markforged opens new facility to support 3D printer materials production
Award-winning composite and metal 3D printer provider Markforged has announced the opening of a 25,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Billerica, Massachusetts. The new site aims to support the company’s material production, which increased by 81% over the past year. “With the significant growth of Markforged printers in the field, the consumption of our materials continues […]
Siemens and Materials Solutions open 3D materials Innovation Center in the U.S.
Siemens officially opened the doors to its Innovation Center in Orlando early last week. The 17,000 square foot facility was conceived as a collaboration between Siemens Gas and Power and Materials Solutions, the UK-based metal additive manufacturing business Siemens acquired in 2016. 3D Printing Industry attended the opening event to learn more about the center’s […]
Markforged Metal X Now Lets You 3D Print in Inconel 625
Metal and composite 3D printer manufacturer Markforged has now released Inconel 625 for the Metal X system, bringing a high-performance nickel superalloy to many more users.
Inconel 625 is used in many high-performance applications where corrosion resistance and temperature resistance are sought qualities. 625 is used in turbines, piping, valves, specialized industrial equipment, hydraulics and in flow applications. It is used in the nuclear and defense industry as well as aerospace, oil, power, chemical, and the marine industry. 625 has already been available on the Exone systems for a few years and recently was made available for Digital Metal. Sandvik, Hoganas, and AP&C already offered 625 for the Powder Bed Fusion market. SLM Solutions, Admatec, 3D Systems, GE and EOS machines let you print in the material. You could order 3D printed 625 parts from Stratasys Direct and others as well.
The systems and setups you would need to successfully print Inconel 625 would be quite extensive and expensive, however. Conventionally manufacturing 625 was often also complex. What Markforged is now doing is making this material an option for many more applications and users. The Markforged Metal X is available for around $100,000. This is a fraction (15% to 5%) of what you’d need to spend with other manufacturers to be able to 3D print 625. Along with a washing, debinding and sintering step the Metal X lets you in a relatively affordable way print parts. Binder jetting metals is still difficult with new geometries and different wall thicknesses and sizes leading to different shrinkages. So ten thousand of the same or similar parts should not be a problem but 10,000 completely unique parts would be. Traditionally as well we think of Powder Bed Fusion as providing us with higher performance more accurate parts than binder jet.
The Metal X set up (is it ten or X, I’ve never asked)
But Markforged is opening a niche here in manufacturing which is a very exciting one. Yes, there is a burgeoning market for Powder Bed Fusion for qualified parts for nuclear, marine and aviation. This market alone in the relatively exotic 625 material is potentially huge. An even broader market exists around this market in processing, marine, automotive, flow, power, defense and oil and gas. This market is huge. Localized production of defense products in-country at the base or at the oilfield alone is a vast market. In light of recent events in Saudi Arabia, 5% of global crude production has been halted for a number of weeks or perhaps months. The Abqaiq attack exposed Aramco to loses of $200 million per day. In that kind of money no object, scenario local production of replacement parts, valves, pipes, and fittings would be a welcome addition for Aramco and many other NOCs. We think that we’re always so cool in 3D printing but our effects and uses represent a considerable impact on small elements of industries to which ours is a rounding error. If the loses from Abqaiq last as much as two months, one firm Aramco, will have forgone in revenue from one damaged site what our entire industry generates in revenue per year.
The US navy seems intent on putting 3D printers on aircraft carriers and other ships. For some reason, they have a penchant for Powder Bed Fusion. I think putting a laser and powder system which needs argon to run onboard an aircraft carrier is lunacy. But, a Metal X system may be much easier for the Navy to operate safely. Surely it will tend to explode less? At the same time, one would expect fewer problems with the whole you know, moving boat thing. Given what is at stake in the Navy with delays, the potential of underway replenishment is also considerable. Onboard 3D printing also makes a lot of sense for some commercial shipping and offshore.
I’m on the whole very skeptical of binder jet but very bullish on the prospects of 3D printing for marine and oil and gas applications. There is incredible unexploited potential there. On time, small series, weight-saving or flow-optimized parts produced in place is exactly the sweet spot of 3D printing. I really believe that Markforged has real potential here to open three multi-billion-dollar markets for 3D printing: in defense local spares, marine and oil, and gas. Apart from Ivaldi, some work by Voestalpine, SLM and Aidro, no one is paying attention to oil and gas or marine. In April we looked at shipboard 3D printing but while this area is expanding it lags significantly behind aviation and even automotive in the adoption of 3D printing.
Jon Reilly, VP of Product at Markforged says that,
“Inconel is traditionally a difficult and expensive material to work with. Before Markforged, many would have to wait for a contract supplier, invest significantly in mold creation, or purchase a powder-based process that requires intensive facility build-outs and highly trained technicians, Now manufacturing Inconel is fast, safe, and affordable.”
The launch customer is also Nieka Systems which makes “sample preparation equipment for the mining and cement production industries” and has “3D printed Inconel crucible clips to hold samples in place while rapidly and repeatedly cycling between high and low temperatures. The team can now print the same batch of parts in-house 10x cheaper and in just a few days instead of waiting four weeks for the 3D printed parts to be delivered from a third-party supplier.”
You can read more on the case study here.
There is a lot to be stated for this kind of in time local production by regular industry as well. Whereas I’m super skeptical about metal binder jet being used for many different unique parts, using it for standardized parts, replacement parts and consumables to me has a really exciting future. I’d love for ruggedized Metal X systems to be offered certified for use onboard vessels and able to produce certified and qualified parts for oil and gas as well as marine applications. For now, being able to cost-effectively print 625 moves us all a bit closer to where we want to be.
The post Markforged Metal X Now Lets You 3D Print in Inconel 625 appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.
Markforged brings Inconel superalloy to the Metal X 3D printer
Award winning composite and metal 3D printer provider Markforged has made Inconel 625 a compatible material for the Metal X. A nickel-based superalloy, Inconel 625 is remarkable for its propensity to retain high strength at elevated temperatures, and is often applied in chemical, offshore, and aerospace industries. With availability for the Metal X, Markforged seeks to reduce […]