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RMIT University reports on the success of the 4th International Forum on Additive Manufacturing The 4th International Forum on Additive Manufacturing was held digitally by RMIT University on September 9, 2020. In this extended news story for Metal AM, Alex Kingsbury, the university’s Additive Manufacturing Industry Fellow & Engagement Lead, and Prof Milan Brandt, Director of the RMIT Centre for Additive Manufacturing report on this first virtual outing of the event. Every other year, the Additive Manufacturing folk at RMIT University hold a one-day international forum on AM. This grew somewhat organically through the need to share the latest advancements in industrial AM and reconnect with colleagues abroad. Under usual circumstances the forum is held in a limited capacity venue, and as a result, is an invite-only ‘behind closed doors’ experience for participants. The 4th International Forum on Additive Manufacturing was due to be held in Melbourne, Australia, in September of 2020. Like every other event across the globe, it had to be reimagined in the light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; while the rest of Australia was faring quite well by September, Melbourne was in the middle of a serious second wave, and, as a result, the members of the RMIT centre were strictly confined to their homes. The conversion to a virtual format meant that for the first time, the once-
closely-guarded RMIT AM Forum was available for all to participate. In his welcoming remarks, Professor Milan Brandt, Forum Chair, stated, “The main objective of the Forum was to present an opportunity for Australian companies to further their understanding of the prospects, challenges and opportunities in applying Additive Manufacturing technology.” The focus of the AM Forum has always had a commercial bent, with companies given the opportunity to showcase their industrial R&D, present results and highlight case studies. The Forum was opened by Richard Taube from automaker Ford, with the first keynote presentation covering Ford’s Additive Manufacturing roadmap and a discussion of some advanced automotive applications. The afternoon keynote speaker was Professor Christoph Leyens from Fraunhofer Institute for Material
The opening keynote presentation was by Ford’s Richard Taube and provided an overview of Ford’s Additive Manufacturing roadmap. He also discussed the advantages of simulation in the process (Courtesy Ford)
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and Beam Technology (IWS), who gave a very comprehensive talk on the science and applications of Additive Manufacturing. Speaking on metal Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB), Warwick Downing, RAM3D, gave a pull-no-punches account of running an Additive Manufacturing business in New Zealand. RAM3D is, primarily, a service bureau for the aerospace, defence, and food sectors. Interestingly, they have also built quite a presence in the AM of titanium bicycle parts. Downing took pains to explain the critical role of powder management in the success of high-quality builds, and offered a bold, but substantiated, vision of the future of AM. Keren Reynolds, BAE Systems, also spoke on PBF-LB, and the current opportunities within BAE for the adoption of AM. Reynolds recently completed a programme of fatigue testing of PBF-LB aluminium for BAE Systems, with a view to developing a framework for the qualification of metal AM within the company. Most recently, BAE has been in the process of designing and setting the requirements for a Hunter-class frigate, so Reynolds was able to outline the potential for AM’s application on that platform. Dr Mike Regan, Director of the HP-NTU Corporate Lab, Singapore, discussed research directions at HP
Warwick Downing showcased a number of parts being produced at RAM3D (Courtesy RAM3D)
© 2020 Inovar Communications Ltd
Vol. 6 No. 4