CRP Technology, an Italian engineering and 3D printing company, has released its latest additive manufacturing powder for High-Speed Sintering (HSS) known as Windform P2. As the second polymer from the company’s P-Line, the new Windform range of materials for high-speed production-grade 3D printing, P2 is a glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic polyamide material distinguished by increased stiffness. Franco Cevolini, CTO […]
3D Printing News Briefs: December 3, 2019
We’re starting today’s 3D Printing News Briefs out with a new case study, and then concluding with some business. CRP USA has been working with additive manufacturing in the motorsports sector. Moving on, Gardner Aerospace has acquired FDM Digital Solutions Ltd. Finally, the Head of Engineering at Formlabs is joining up with Digital Alloys.
CRP USA AM in Motorsports Case Study
3D printed oil pan in Windform SP, University of Victoria’s Formula SAE race car 2019 version
The University of Victoria (UVic) Formula Motorsport team has been using 3D printed oil pans on their SAE competition cars for the last four years that were created with CRP USA‘s laser sintering process, and Windform TOP-LINE composite materials. As a CRP case study details, carbon-composite Windform XT 2.0 was used to print the oil pans for the race vehicles in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and while they performed “amazingly” the first two years, the engine overheated during a test of last year’s car, which caused the temperature of the oil to rise above what the pan could handle.
For this year’s vehicle, the team decided to use the carbon-filled Windform SP composite material to 3D print the oil pan, as it has a higher melting point. They also made the mating flange thicker to lessen the chances of failure, and both of these changes led to a better, more robust oil pan. At next week’s Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis, CRP USA will be showing off some of the other 3D printed solutions it’s helped create for the motorsports industry at booth 1041 in the Green Hall.
Gardner Aerospace Acquires FDM Digital Solutions
Graeme Bond (FDM) & Dominic Cartwright (Gardner Aerospace)
Global manufacturer Gardner Aerospace announced its acquisition of FDM Digital Solutions Limited, one of the UK’s top polymer additive layer manufacturers. FDM was formed in 2012, and its business model of original design solutions, manufacturing capability, and customer collaboration is successful in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and motorsports industries. The company will now become part of the new Gardner Technology Centre business unit, which is focused on R&D and advanced technology.
“Gardner Aerospace is breaking new ground in terms of technology. The acquisition of FDM and the creation of our new Technology Centre business unit provides us with the perfect opportunity to expand our technical knowledge, R&D capability and product offering, and aligns us with our customers’ growing expectations on innovative solutions, continuous improvement and cost competitiveness,” stated Gardner Aerospace CEO Dominic Cartwright.
“The role of 3D printing within manufacturing is constantly expanding and this newly acquired additive layer manufacturing capability complements Gardner’s long-standing capabilities as a producer of metallic detailed parts and sub-assemblies.”
Formlabs’ Head of Engineering Joins Digital Alloys
Carl Calabria
Carl Calabria, an AM industry veteran and the Head of Engineering at Formlabs, is leaving the company to join Digital Alloys, Inc. as its CTO. The Burlington, Massachusetts-based 3D printing company introduced its unique Joule printing last year, which it claims is the fastest way to make the hardest metal parts, as the wire-feed process doesn’t require any metal powder. By adding Calabria to its team, where he will be responsible for the company’s research and engineering, Digital Alloys can accelerate the release of its high-speed metal AM process.
“Leaving Formlabs was a difficult decision, but I was drawn to the size of Digital Alloys’ market, the team, and the opportunity to use Joule Printing to deliver metal printing solutions that have the speed, cost and quality needed for volume manufacturing of larger parts,” said Calabria. “The remarkable technology is producing titanium and tool steel parts faster, and at lower cost than conventional manufacturing processes.”
Watch this video to see Digital Alloys’ Joule printing process in action:
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CRP introduces Windform P-LINE range for HSS 3D printing
Italian 3D printing materials manufacturer CRP Technology, has introduced the first product in its P-LINE range of Windform materials for High Speed Sintering (HSS). “Today, I’m very proud to launch Windform P1, the first material from Windform P-Line,” said, Franco Cevolini, VP and CTO at CRP Technology. Cevolini continued, “P stands for Production […] we created […]
3D Printing Golf Clubs and Equipment
Golf is a popular sport in corporate America and adds about $70 billion dollars a year to the American economy. Companies are always testing new products that will catch the attention of golfers. The 2018 PGA Merchandise Show displayed the latest and greatest from golf manufacturers; everything from top of the line golf clubs to 3D printed golf balls. These tech savvy products are aimed at bringing golf to the attention of the younger generation. Research and Development tax credits are available to companies that partake in the improvement of existing products or the creation of new ones.
The Research & Development Tax Credit
Enacted in 1981, the federal Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13 percent of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:
- New or improved products, processes, or software
- Technological in nature
- Elimination of uncertainty
- Process of experimentation
Eligible costs include employee wages, cost of supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses, and costs associated with developing a patent. On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the bill making the R&D Tax Credit permanent. Beginning in 2016, the R&D credit can be used to offset Alternative Minimum Tax and startup businesses can utilize the credit against $250,000 per year in payroll taxes.
3D Printed Callaway Golf Clubs
Callaway Golf recently announced a collaboration with Titomic, an Australian additive manufacturing company. Callaway plans to bring additive manufacturing into the golf world while also improving performance and efficiency. Titomic developed a new process for 3D metal printing called Titomic Kinetic Fusion. This process uses cold gas spraying to apply titanium particles to a structure to create parts that can withstand a great amount of force. Research and development of the prototypes will be produced at Titomic’s Melbourne facility which houses the world’s largest 3D metal printer. This isn’t the first instance of additive manufacturing in the golf industry, as last year Krone Golf created a 3D printed golf club.
Krone Golf
Krone Golf and CRP Group designed a club that was created by using a mixture of additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing. Designing the perfect golf club is a difficult task. Some aspects to take into consideration include swing, impact and follow-through. Restrictions such as size and weight of competitive golf clubs make it hard to develop new clubs. The miniscule characteristics of a club need to be altered in order to improve performance and additive manufacturing provides a way to make the changes needed for the development of new clubs. The body of the KD-1 driver is made from a Windform SP carbon composite that is resistant to shock and vibration, while the face is made of Ti 6AI-4V, a durable titanium alloy that is CNC machined and sanded for smoothness. Krone Golf is fascinated with how well the CNC machined parts and the Windform material work together exactly as designed. The performance test and computer simulations show the KD-1 to outperform any driver on the market today.
Grismont Paris
Golfers who want to separate themselves from the crowd will want to look to Grismont Paris. Grismont Paris produces 3D printed, custom-made golf clubs that can be finished in gold, copper, or metal. Clement Pouget-Osmont, a passionate golfer, started off making club heads for himself and friends out of his apartment in France. Now Grismont collaborates with engineers, artists, craftsmen, and clubmakers to create custom tailored 3D printed golf clubs unlike anything else on the market.
3D printing artists work together with engineers to create a harmonious balance between style and performance. Several aspects of a golf club can be adjusted to better fit the customer including center of gravity position, lie, loft, offset, club head weight, weight distribution, and handedness. You have the option to either put in your specifications online or you can arrange a fitting session where experts will tailor your golf clubs to your every demand.
3D Printed Golf Ball
Nike is prototyping a 3D printed golf ball that is engineered to last longer and outperform even the best of golf balls on the market. Nike isn’t new to producing top of the line golf balls. The athletic company still uses elastomeric material for an inner core and a rigid material for an outer core, but 3D printing improves this process by conducting smoother transitions between materials and adding a new type of geometric configuration called a void, which could lead to performance enhancements. Nike is prototyping with different configurations, such as forming each shell layer away from the work surface, a type of assembly that is unattainable through traditional methods. Lastly, golf balls would be fused with DuPont Surlyn by using a 3D printing technique called fused deposition. While the golf ball is not on the market yet, expect Nike to announce the product in the near future.
3D Printed Accessories
For the golfers who want to 3D print on their own, Thingiverse has creations available to anyone. Makerbot, the company behind Thingiverse, designed a golfing kit that anyone can print. The kit includes CAD models for golf tees, golf forks (divot repair tool), and ball marker. The golf fork and ball marker can even be customized to display your initials or logo on the face.
Conclusion
The golf industry is constantly trying new methods of manufacturing in the quest for better performance. Club manufacturers, even brand names such as Callaway, are utilizing 3D printing in the production process in order to improve the smallest technical aspects of the golf club unattainable using traditional manufacturing methods such as injection or compression molding. Grismont is taking 3D printing to the next level by 3D printing custom-made heads and fine tuning them into top-of-the-line luxury golf clubs. 3D printing has a strong future in the golf industry and as more companies research the potentials of additive manufacturing, expect 3D printed products to become widespread in the golfing world.
Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.
Charles Goulding and Ryan Donley of R&D Tax Savers discuss 3D printed golf equipment.
CRP expands applications for SLS Windform 3D printing materials
CRP Group, an Italian industrial group integrating additive manufacturing processes and innovative materials for product development, has expanded its Windform composite materials line for applications within advanced sectors such as aerospace, automotive and motorsport, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Offering a wide range of polyamide-based glass and carbon fiber reinforced materials for SLS 3D printing, […]