The State of 3D Printing in Industrial Goods, Part Two

In the last part of this series, we discussed a variety of general industrial product manufacturers that have begun to adopt 3D printing along the road from prototyping to end part manufacturing. Now, we’ll begin to look at service bureaus that 3D print general industrial goods for their customers. Because there are a number of service bureaus capable of producing parts for industrial product makers, we’ll limit our exploration to just those who market themselves for industrial goods specifically, or are otherwise aligned in such a way that they are already close to the industrial sector.

Kennametal is a tooling and materials supplier that has found a position in the AM space as a metal powders and AM services provider. The company makes powders for metal powder bed fusion (PBF), directed energy deposition (DED) and bound metal 3D printing (think Markforged and Desktop Metal’s desktop metal systems). These materials include gas-atomized cobalt, nickel and iron alloy powders (Stellite, Nistelle and Delcrome).

A 3D-printed valve cage made from Kennametal’s Stellite 6-AM-K powder. Image courtesy of Kennametal.

Kennametal has been 3D printing prototypes and cutting tools for some time, but took things a step further in fall of 2019 with the establishment of a Kennametal Additive Manufacturing business unit. The AM division will help customers through the entire process of securing materials, designing parts for 3D printing, and provide series production relying on binder jetting and PBF. An example component described on the unit’s website is a valve cage 3D printed for IMI Critical Engineering, which supplies flow control systems for industrial processes.

Aidro is an Italian company that makes hydraulic valves and systems for a variety of industries. The firm uses metal PBF to 3D print end-use parts that are up to 85 percent lighter than traditionally made counterparts. Other capabilities developed by Aidro include the ability to combine subcomponents into one single printed unit, improve performance over traditionally made parts, and take up less space than conventionally fabricated components.

A comparison between a traditionally made hydraulic manifold and one redesigned for 3D printing. Image courtesy of Aidro.

HP’s partners GKN Additive and Parmatech will likely play increasingly important roles in AM for the industrial sector through the use of HP’s MetalJet 3D printers. Parmatech is a metal injection molding provider, which focuses on the medical and industrial sectors. Though GKN Additive is somewhat focused on aerospace and automotive parts, given the specialties of its parent company, GKN, it manufactures metal powders for AM and provides 3D printing services more broadly, augmented by its more recent acquisition of Forecast3D.

3D-printed copper induction coils from GKN Additive. Image courtesy of GKN Additive.

In particular, the company is tackling copper induction coils, which are used in the automotive and industrial sectors for tempering metal components to make them harder. In addition to allowing for the production of complex, custom copper inductor coils, 3D printing is actually a more repeatable and reliable process for fabricating these parts because the heat treatment phase is built into the production step.

GKN is not alone in this space, however. As niche as the application is, PROTIQ, a subsidiary of German industrial manufacturer Phoenix Contact, has an online configurator for customized copper induction coils, which it can 3D print as a part of is its larger 3D printing services. Additionally, the company offers optimized tooling for injection molding. 3D Inductors is another business that is entirely dedicated to 3D printing copper induction coils.

Though it does not offer its services through an online marketplace, NXCMFG is a service provider that focuses specifically on 3D-printed tooling. Using design and weight optimization, the company is able to 3D print metal molds and inserts with conformal cooling channels that reduce injection molding cycle times between 20 and 80 percent.

A mold 3D printed by Oerlikon. Image courtesy of Oerlikon.

In addition to its metal powder production, Swiss engineering conglomerate Oerlikon’s AM division provides 3D printing services. While it can lean on its expertise across a number of verticals, Oerlikon AM boasts 20 years of experience in toolmaking and general industrial products. Examples on its website range from injection molding tools to a heating sleeve and a heating plate with built-in cooling channels and reduced part count.

DM3D is a manufacturer of directed energy deposition (DED) machines that also provides 3D printing services. Like many DED companies, DM3D markets its technology for both part fabrication and repair. This includes pumps for the agricultural industry, hardfacing cutting implements, and high productivity tooling. DED is capable of 3D printing with multiple metals, with which DM3D uses to produce tooling.

Carpenter Technology Corporation (CarTech) is metals company that has been increasing its stake in 3D printing, first by purchasing titanium powder company Puris, then by acquiring an electron beam melting service provider, CalRAM. Along with Proto Labs and Burloak Technologies, an engineering and manufacturing company, the two service providers have become part of the GE Additive’s Manufacturing Partner Network. All three companies perform AM of industrial goods and have expertise related to all forms of manufacturing. This, along with GE’s close ties to the industrial sector, will likely make the entire network an important component in production of industrial parts.

With headquarters in Austria, voestalpine in an important player in the industrial goods sector, providing AM services as a part of its international steel products manufacturing. In addition to developing metal powders for AM, the company has opened a new AM research institute in Taiwan, a production plant in Canada, and an AM center in Singapore. Aside from making products for just about every sector, voestalpine also manufactures molding and tools, highlighting the ability to 3D print molds with built-in conformal cooling.

Through a majority acquisition in AM service provider Materials Solutions, Siemens is now a 3D printing bureau. With a number of EOS metal PBF systems, the company has an established history in metal 3D printing dating back to 2006. Among the sectors it serves, Materials Solutions highlights the 3D printing of tooling from high-temperature super alloys and featuring conformal cooling.

U.K. engineering company Renishaw has its own line of metal PBF 3D printers, as well as Global Solutions Centres in which customers can begin their journey of AM adoption. As a part of this journey, clients can lease Renishaw machines or have parts printed as a service. Along with its expertise across a number of verticals, Renishaw offers 3D printing for industrial tooling and end parts. As we mentioned in our previous installment, Renishaw 3D printed screw-in milling cutters for KOMET Group in Germany.

SMS Group, which recently partnered with Additive Industries for the development of its serial production 3D printers, developers metal powders for AM and offers 3D printing services. Among the parts it has 3D printed for the industrial space are an SIS injector for electric arc furnaces, a PSM roll cooling ring for metalworking, and a 3D-printed multi-nozzle spray head  for die maintenance.

Previously welded from 18 different parts, this SIS injector is now made up of a single 3D-printed part and takes up 50 percent less space. Image courtesy of SMS Group.

Jabil is another service provider worth mentioning, given its size and the fact that it is an early adopter of HP’s Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology for mass production. After using Ultimaker printer farms in-house for printing jigs and fixtures on its assembly line, the contract manufacturer began using MJF, with HP itself as an early customer. The company 3D prints 50 polymer parts for HP’s printers.

In addition to the companies described here, there are a number of large AM service bureaus that you may already be familiar with that are involved in 3D printing tooling for the industrial sector. These include Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, Protolabs, Xometry, Materialise, Digital Metal, FIT AG and 3D Systems.

In the next installment in this series, we will take a look at some of the 3D printer manufacturers already providing systems for manufacturing industrial goods or primed to take advantage of that sector as it evolves.

The post The State of 3D Printing in Industrial Goods, Part Two appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

The 2nd TÜV SÜD Additive Manufacturing Conference aims to explore industrial readiness

Leading technical service corporation, TÜV SÜD, is addressing the implementation of industrial 3D printing with standards and digital solutions at the 2nd TÜV SÜD Additive Manufacturing Conference.  Set to take place in Munich from February 6-7th, TÜV SÜD aims to explore and discuss industrial readiness. Up for discussion at the event are topics including how […]

3D Printing Industry Review of the Year May 2019

In May 2019, the 3D printing industry was mainly focused on the RAPID + TCT conference, one of the biggest 3D printing events of the year. The month saw various high profile releases in 3D hardware and software, from the likes of Siemens, Aurora Labs, Origin, and Essentium. News in 3D printing was also dominated […]

2019 Year in Review: Industrial 3D Printing

We continue to see industrial 3D printing increase in speed, size and capability, while dropping in cost as signs point to its integration into the larger manufacturing industry. This year, there were a number of announcements that reinforce this trend, including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and product releases.

Service Bureaus

This was one of the more important stories of the year, in this author’s opinion, in that it solidified BASF as more than a periphery agent in the AM space. The largest chemical company in the world had slowly been spready its tendrils into the space, developing materials for companies like HP and then acquiring Innofil3D, Advanc3D Materials, Setup Performance, Forward AM. It also continues to develop materials to new 3D printing processes. In addition to Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), BASF has teamed with Paxis, Impossible Objects and Origin for material development.

With the acquisition of San Francisco- and Paris-based service bureau Sculpteo, BASF has established itself as a major player. The fact that it has also invested $25 million in 3D printing software and service company Materialise indicates that it is making significant bets on the service bureau space, with its materials fueling those efforts.

BASF may be the largest chemical company in the world but it’s not the only materials giant in the 3D printing industry. DuPont, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Covestro (Bayer spin-off), Arkema (spin-out of French oil giant Total), Henkel, DSM, Evonik and others were also very active in the space this year (though of course that is to be expected).

Meanwhile, another service bureau marketplace, Xometry, has continued to grow. After closing a $50 million Series D investment earlier in the year, the startup acquired Europe’s largest on-demand manufacturing marketplace, Shift. This will allow it to expand into 12 new countries and access a network of over 4,000 manufacturers.

GKN has also continued to grow its AM activities, acquiring more metal powder makers and California-based 3D printing bureau FORECAST3D, which complements the group’s existing HP Metal Jet technology with a large fleet of Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers. Additionally, GKN Powder Metallurgy opened a third customer center in Germany and one in Michigan, which also serves as its North American headquarters.

Siemens

After completing what it claims was a successful pilot program, Siemens officially launched its  Siemens Additive Manufacturing Network, which allows customers and suppliers to connect for their production needs. It will also integrate HP’s Digital Manufacturing Network and include large manufacturers, including the world’s biggest sporting goods retailer, Decathalon. The tech giant is also working on an end-to-end AM workflow that includes digital inventory, part and cost analysis, production tracking, RFQ processing and scheduling.

Atlas3D is capable of quickly orienting parts and adding support structures to minimize distortion in DMLS.

Siemens also acquired Atlas3D, which has developed a cloud-based software for automatically orienting parts for metal 3D printing and generating support structures through the use of thermal distortion analysis.

HP and GE Additive Continue to Grow

Having already released its flagship series, metal 3D printers and color 3D printers, HP launched its Jet Fusion 5200 Series, meant to be the company’s new production line. The 5200 series is marketed as more productive, accurate, consistent and efficient than the preceding 4200 line. This was followed up with the opening of a new 150,000-square-foot R&D center in Barcelona. HP also announced a partnership with Rösler AM Solutions to develop automated post-processing technology.

GE Additive opened a new 40,000-square-meter campus in Lichtenfels, Germany, which will serve as the new headquarters for Concept Laser. Investing in itself further, GE Aerospace purchased 27 new Arcam electron beam melting systems for GE9X blade production.

Mass Production Technologies

Upon receiving yet another round of massive funding in 2019, Carbon, which boasts its digital light synthesis as capable of mass production, secured new partnerships for the large batch manufacturing of bicycle parts for Specialized and fizik, eyeglasses for JINS, nightguards and splints for Keystone Industries, and car parts for Lamborghini.

A 3D-printed fuel cap for the Urus SUV.

Additive Industries also suggests that its modular MetalFAB1 3D printer is suited for mass production and, in addition to selling six of its expensive metal 3D printers to a US aerospace company (and later on a seventh!), it partnered with Airbus and Premium AEROTEC subsidiary APWORKS to further certify its technology for serial production of aerospace parts.

HP’s MJF is also designed for mass manufacturing, which was further demonstrated when Smile Direct Club announced the use of the technology to 3D print over 50,000 dental aligner molds per day.

Niche Sectors

Sectors ripe for additive disruption are starting to gain more attention. In particular, the railway sector has seen more activity related to 3D printing. Stratasys, for instance, partnered with Angel Trains in the U.K. in a pilot program that has 3D printed four passenger armrests and seven grab handles for Chiltern Railways. Europe’s “Mobility goes Additive” network made the first 3D-printed safety-relevant component for rail: a metro brake unit that is already being used in Hamburg, Germany.

mu Space CEO & Founder James Yenbamroong and Relativity Space CEO & Founder Tim Ellis stand in front of Relativity’s Stargate, the world’s largest metal 3D printer.

In addition to rail, the marine and space industries have been impacted by AM. Companies like Relativity Space, Launcher and Rocket Lab (if you count news from last year) are all working on 3D-printed rockets for use in the launch of small payloads. And this is beyond the existing work with mainstream launch companies like United Launch Alliance and Space X. German steel giant thyssenkrupp has also made continuous headway into the maritime field, certifying a facility for 3D printing marine parts and partnering with a large shipping firm for the 3D printing of spare parts.

All of this paints a picture in which 3D printing for end part production is no longer experimental, nor is the entry of large and unique businesses into the space. AM is still far from saturating the much, much, much larger manufacturing industry, but it now has a significant foothold.

The post 2019 Year in Review: Industrial 3D Printing appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

Siemens seeks validation for 3D printed burners key to 100% renewable energy for Gothenburg

Award-winning industrial manufacturing company Siemens is in the process of validating 3D printed burners key to a fossil-free fuel initiative in Sweden. Part of a cooperation agreement between the conglomerate and Göteborg Energi, the power provider owned by the City of Gothenburg, Siemens is testing state-of-the-art gas turbine technology that enables the operation of renewable fuels. 3D printing […]

Identify3D partners with EOS and Siemens to integrate secure data transfer in 3D printing ecosystem

Identify3D, a San Francisco-headquartered software company, has announced it has signed an OEM partnership with Siemens Digital Industries Software, the automation and digitalization software branch of industrial manufacturing company Siemens.  This partnership will enable the integration of Identify3D’s security suite within Siemens’ software solutions. Both companies aim to support customers in creating automated, end-to-end, secure […]

Formnext 2019 – Connectivity: the last word in additive manufacturing for production?

As the largest 3D printing exhibition of the year, formnext provides the perfect opportunity to understand industry sentiments and technology developments. Building on the drive toward additive manufacturing for production, a key theme apparent at formnext 2019 was machine connectivity: providing customers with the tools to successfully integrate 3D printing into their respective production environments. Much […]

Siemens to acquire MultiMechanics and expand simulation for additive manufacturing

Last week, German multinational conglomerate Siemens made two commitments to benefit its additive manufacturing software capabilities. In the first instance, the company committed to the acquisition of virtual testing software developer MultiMechanics. Second, Siemens introduced Additive Manufacturing Path Optimizer (AM Path Optimizer) technology to its NX software offering. Commenting on the latter development Zvi Feuer, SVP […]

Oerlikon at Formnext 2019: 3D printed rocket parts, post-processing, and digital factories

Oerlikon AM, the additive manufacturing branch of Swiss technology group Oerlikon, has announced a series of partnerships at this year’s Formnext show. The company has revealed that it will be providing metal 3D printed parts and qualification for United Launch Alliance (ULA), a U.S. rocket launch service provider. ULA will use the metal components to […]

Siemens launches Additive Manufacturing Network, partners with ASME

Siemens has launched its Additive Manufacturing Network, a cloud-based solution fostering collaboration between engineers, and suppliers for the creation of 3D printed parts. Furthermore, the company’s oil and gas division, Siemens Gas and Power and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) have partnered to develop additive manufacturing training services that will be offered through Materials Solutions. Zvi Feuer, […]