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METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
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Subscriptions Metal Additive Manufacturing is published on a quarterly basis as either a free digital publication or via a paid print subscription. The annual print subscription charge for four issues is £95.00 including shipping. Rates in € and US$ are available on application. Accuracy of contents Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising there from. Inovar Communications Ltd cannot be held responsible for views or claims expressed by contributors or advertisers, which are not necessarily those of the publisher. Advertisements Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical standards, inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the quality or value of such product or of the claims made by its manufacturer. Reproduction, storage and usage Single photocopies of articles may be made for personal use in accordance with national copyright laws. All rights reserved. Except as outlined above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, modified or extracted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner. Printed by Cambrian Printers, Aberystwyth, UK ISSN 2057-3014 (print edition) ISSN 2055-7183 (digital edition) Vol. 4 No. 1 Spring 2018
This magazine is also available for free download from www.metal-am.com © 2018 Inovar Communications Ltd
The challenges of moving towards a true industrial process AM’s transition from prototyping and short-run production to the higher-volume manufacturing of components is driving fundamental changes in both machine design and best-practice in production environments. In particular, major PBF machine manufacturers have demonstrated automated factory solutions which promise to dramatically improve productivity across the complete AM process chain, from file preparation through to part build, heat treatment and build plate removal. Crucially, the industry’s drive towards increased production efficiency is paired with a growing awareness of the need to manage risk in powder-based AM processes. These risks come primarily in the form of the explosivity/pyrophoricity of very fine metal powders and toxicity through inhalation. Such risks have been acknowledged for many decades by the wider metal powder processing industries, and there is now an increasing focus on them in the context of metal AM part production. As highlighted in two articles in this issue, safety considerations are driving both advances in AM machine design (page 91) and innovations in third-party solutions for powder removal and reprocessing (page 113). Of course, the issues surrounding powder handling extend beyond environmental and safety considerations. The powders used in AM processes are expensive and some can be highly sensitive to air exposure. The development of a holistic approach to powder management in AM processes will, therefore, be of fundamental importance as the industry moves towards true industrial production. Nick Williams Managing Director Metal Additive Manufacturing
Cover image Front view of the C37 2018 Alfa Romeo
Sauber F1 Team race car (Courtesy Sauber Motorsport AG)
Metal Additive Manufacturing | Spring 2018
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