EDITORIAL
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Laura Griffiths
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Samuel Davies
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Carol Cooper
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Sam Hamlyn Matt Clarke Robert Wood
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Duncan Wood
How can I sum up additive manufacturing in 2024? I’ve learned it’s not particularly wise to ask people, no matter how expert, to predict the future. Who can? I don’t like being asked to commit to plans a month in advance, let alone a year.
It was, largely, another 12 months defined by cuts and consolidation. The mostread stories on tctmagazine. com were those headlined by bankruptcy filings, noncompliance notices from the NYSE, acquisitions and job losses. Alas, it’s human nature to gravitate towards the negative but I like to think that on these pages, we do a good job of showing the positive too.
Reflecting on the list of predictions that we and our advisors made in our first issue of the year, it turns
out there’s a lot we got right. An additive space boom? Well, SpaceX’s apparent use of AM for its Raptor 3 engine certainly grabbed a lot of attention. Rise of the entry-level printer? If we use CONTEXT’s figures, Creality, Bambu Lab, Anycubic and Elegoo would argue a resounding yes. The convergence of AI? We're talking about it in this very issue so, check.
There’s also plenty of other stuff, positive news, that we couldn’t have predicted. Like Manuevo rising out of the ashes of Shapeways’ bankruptcy to relaunch its AM service. Or GE Aerospace announcing a more than $150 million investment into facilities running AM equipment. Or BMW reporting it had 3D printed more than 400,000 parts worldwide in just a year.
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In a column earlier this year, TCT advisor Steve Cox wrote about playing the AM long game. If I reverse engineer his advice, take a longer view and reflect on AM in the ten years I’ve been reporting on it, the picture doesn’t seem so gloomy, or all that unique. We’ve had highs and lows, overnight successes and slow revolutions, the same as any other disruptive technology, but it has matured, maybe not as quickly as we’d like, into a set of technologies that are undoubtedly having an impact.
The end of the year is a time for reflection, so I guess what I'm trying to say is, do so with perspective. There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful, and you’ll find many of them throughout this issue.
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06. RAISING THE BAR
EOS teases a new machine ahead of Formnext 2024
09. TRUE OR FALSE
Sam Davies takes a closer look at the reality of AM-enabled distributed manufacturing.
12. HEAD ON
27. ON CLOSER INSPECTION
Laura chats to the companies developing quality assurance technologies aimed to address AM’s unique challenges.
31. BIG ON DATA
Interspectral CEO Isabelle Hachette discusses the growing importance of tools to visualise and analyse AM data.
35. MANAGING QUALITY
45. SETTING THE PRECEDENT Additive Minds’ Fabian Alefeld on bridging the U.S. skills gap with industry-education partnerships.
46. JUST ONE THING
What is the single most important action that would help address the AM skills gap? We ask the industry.
Manufacturing Quality Editor Rhiannon Temporal speaks to Hexagon’s ETQ about enhancing AM quality assurance levels.
The story of how additive empowered a sportswear equipment start-up to turn heads and minds.
15. RIDING TALL
Sam learns how Fizik is leaning on Carbon in its automated workflow for personalised bike saddles.
19. TEN YEARS OF LACE
Sam has a conversation with Jenny Wu about creating a jewellery company built on AM.
23. IN THE BAG
Laura meets with the MIT team behind Coperni’s Disney-inspired printed bag.
25. ALL EYES ON US
Materialise discusses its vision for ‘a movement of digital artisanship.’
37. FORMNEXT PREVIEW
A brief look at the AM technologies and exhibitors heading to Frankfurt on November 19-22.
50. HOW AM IS HELPING REBUILD THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND SECURE NATIONAL INTERESTS Tali Rosman is our guest columnist.
Every year, companies use Formnext as a platform to reveal innovations that push the boundaries of technology. This year, it seems like EOS is gearing up to make waves with an exciting announcement. Known for its commitment to pioneering responsible manufacturing solutions, EOS has become synonymous with highperformance industrial printing.
For months, whispers have circulated about a new addition to the EOS family, built upon the successes of the
EOS P 396. EOS is set to unveil a successor at Formnext that promises to surpass its predecessor in speed, cost-efficiency, and material flexibility. This new solution not only continues the P 396’s legacy, as customers demanded, but also incorporates their feedback and introduces enhancements to meet the needs of today’s shifting markets.
Attendees at Formnext will have the opportunity to experience these advancements and see how EOS continues to raise industry standards.
EOS’S LEGACY AND THE EVOLUTION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
For years, the EOS P 396 has been a cornerstone in the world of polymer AM, where its reliability, quality, and flexibility have made it a favourite among users. Known for producing parts with exceptional mechanical properties, dimensional accuracy, and surface finishes, the P 396 has set a high standard in the industry. However, as the demands of manufacturing evolve, so too must the technology that drives it.
The new solution represents a natural progression from the EOS P 396, built with a clear understanding of today’s priorities. A perfect combination of flexibility, efficiency, and quality control makes it easier for businesses to grow AM operations on their terms, supporting production needs and sustainability strategies at different scales. By blending the proven strengths of the P 396 with new advancements in software, materials, and efficiency, EOS can offer the perfect combination of more sustainable and cost-effective polymer 3D printing.
ANTICIPATING THE NEXTGENERATION POLYMER 3D PRINTING SYSTEM
While specifics remain under wraps, EOS’s upcoming system has already sparked conversations among industry experts.
EOS’s new system is designed to boost productivity and reduce costs without compromising quality. Users can expect up to 50% greater
productivity compared to its predecessor, with streamlined operational workflows and optimized software that shorten production cycles.
This new model emphasises operational excellence, catering to manufacturers aiming to enhance output while minimising total cost of ownership (TCO) — reduced by up to 30%. It appears the new solution is designed to keep pace with the shifting industry landscape, meeting new standards of performance and costeffectiveness while raising the bar for the competition.
EOS’s latest system continues the company’s tradition of delivering flexible, customer-driven solutions. Unlike some competitors who favour one-size-fits-all models, EOS has earned its reputation by offering adaptable systems that accommodate a variety of applications. With its latest system, EOS addresses critical areas like cost efficiency, datadriven production, material optimisation, and adjustable parameters for tailored setups.
• Proven quality at a lower cost
EOS’s new system is designed to deliver the high part quality that customers have come to expect while achieving greater cost efficiency. Enhanced production workflows reduce per-part costs, allowing manufacturers to maintain quality without sacrificing profitability.
• Data-driven production
By integrating advanced software capabilities, EOS’s new model supports a data-driven approach to production. With real-time feedback and data analytics, manufacturers can tailor production to specific needs — whether optimising for quality, speed, or cost — transforming the
system into a strategic asset rather than just a production tool.
• Enhanced material efficiency EOS has optimised material reuse, with refresh rates of up to 80% for some materials. New white and black materials, which will be announced alongside the new system, are expected to offer high reusability rates, helping manufacturers to lower TCO and increase profitability.
• Flexible parameters for tailored setups The new EOS machine allows users to fine-tune process parameters to achieve the ideal balance of surface finish, dimensional accuracy, and mechanical properties. This adaptability means that manufacturers can adjust for different production goals, making the new system well-suited for a range of applications.
• Streamlined workflows and compact design As manufacturing facilities increasingly focus on space efficiency, EOS’s new system is designed with a smaller footprint, making it ideal for
“Proven quality at the right cost.”
various production environments. This compactness, coupled with productivity enhancements, allows manufacturers to scale up without compromising floor space.
Users will also be able to pair the new machine with semi-automated powder handling solutions, addressing a longstanding demand from EOS’s customer base. These features make the machine accessible to small businesses and large enterprises alike, enabling a seamless transition to advanced polymer AM technology without the need for extensive space or setup changes.
For those at the forefront of polymer AM, Formnext 2024 will be the perfect venue to stay informed about the latest advancements shaping the future of production technology. EOS’s nextgeneration system, designed to optimise efficiency, material utilisation, and adaptability, promises to redefine industry standards.
Attendees will have the opportunity to witness the unveiling of this new technology, which promises to transform workflows, reduce costs, and push the limits of polymer 3D printing. Industry professionals interested in learning more are invited to Hall 11.1, Booth D41 on November 19 at 11:00 AM, where EOS specialists will demonstrate the system’s capabilities and discuss its potential applications.
Formnext 2024 offers an opportunity to see how EOS’s advancements in additive manufacturing can unlock new possibilities for industrial production. For those ready to explore the future of polymer 3D printing, EOS is inviting visitors to connect with like-minded experts and discover how new technology can drive the next era of manufacturing. SHOWN:
SHOWN: Precision-driven quality for every application
Sam Davies explores the current landscape of distributed additive manufacturing.
centres where a lot of competence is built up in a certain application, not shifting from medical implants to aerospace engines.”
An hour into the second of three Executive Perspectives Keynote panel sessions at RAPID + TCT, there was a tap on my shoulder.
The CEO of an additive manufacturing (AM) software firm leant in, with a hushed voice, and remarked how refreshing it was to see someone staunchly express a controversial opinion.
Up on stage were five AM business leaders, providing their perspectives on a range of industry trends and talking points. Though it may be convention for the participants of such panels to be diplomatic, to be tactful and to skirt the edges, this one was different.
As DMG Mori General Manager Nils Niemeyer grappled with the realities of distributed additive manufacturing, covering the real-world challenges but emphasising the theoretical upside, Materialise founder Fried Vancraen uttered the rarely heard phrase: “Allow me to disagree.”
“I think,” he went on to say, “that distributed manufacturing is one of the most false narratives of our industry.” Leveraging his near 40 years of experience in the AM sector, Vancraen went on: “If you look at what has really worked in this industry, it is the bigger
He was pulling no punches: “It is simply not working. It’s a different environment. It’s different postprocessing. It’s a different mindset. I’ve seen every decade of this industry, entire companies betting on distributed manufacturing and going bankrupt, time after time.”
It hasn’t, though, deterred others from taking on the challenge of setting up distributed manufacturing networks in the hope of proving the exception to the rule.
There are many ways to stand up a distributed manufacturing model. A ‘flexible network’ approach, as referenced by a recent ACAM Aachen Centre for Additive Manufacturing and Boston Consulting Group report, consists of independent plants that can produce a similar product range, helping to balance capacity between sites. The ‘hub and spoke’ model sees core production steps concentrated at one or a few locations, with final production steps done closer to the point of consumption, while ‘local for local’ is essentially local production for local markets.
Each flavour of distributed manufacturing is made up of a dispersed network of facilities and promises reduced inventory, potential cost savings, resilience against supply chain disruption, and the flexibility to produce parts where it most makes sense. But more than that, according to 3YOURMIND VP, North America William Cuervo, they give manufacturers the initiative to take control.
“Given how long leads times are and how delicate the supply chain is, the biggest advantage is not having to wait around for an update [from your suppliers],” he told TCT. “They can tap into industry-ready services and capabilities that are at their disposal, whether that be internally, through an academic institution, or through a contract manufacturer.”
When you add it all up, it is no wonder that so many companies over the years have championed the potential of distributed AM, and set up their businesses to adopt such approaches. Vancraen would suggest that most of these outfits have failed to achieve much success, but is that down to idea, execution or hype?
Dr-Ing Wilderich Heising, Partner & Associate Director at Boston Consulting Group, suggests the communication around distributed AM can’t be ignored, while Cuervo has thoughts on their implementation.
“AM is not a panacea to solve the world’s problems, and distributed manufacturing is not that miracle cure either,” Heising said. “What we’ve seen with AM over the last ten years was a really big hype; we were exaggerating the possibilities and that might have happened with the decentralised narrative too.”
Cuervo added: “Decentralised and distributed manufacturing could be a false pipe dream, but so can AM if you’re not doing it for the right reasons and you’re not in touch with the how and the why you’re looking at this in the first place.”
This is the first big hurdle for manufacturers trying to implement distributed additive
manufacturing networks and there are more down the track.
A decentralised approach won’t get off the ground without deep thought into why and how, but even once that’s figured out, there is still the investment in capital equipment, identification of partners and suppliers, and, if you’re working in certain industries, regulatory constraints and knowledge transfer.
A supply chain that revolves around one fixed production site is complex, let alone one that serves multiple facilities in multiple regions.
There are opportunities though. Markforged CEO Shai Terem wasn’t shy in making that point at RAPID + TCT (see our featured case study for more) and Replique can point to several examples. One of which is a collaboration with MAN Truck & Bus, where Replique produced several spare parts for a marine diesel engine. The original manufacturer was no longer available, but Replique was able to quickly identify a suitable production partner to fulfil the order with minimised downtime. Alstom, Miele and RehaMedPower are others that Replique has supported with a decentralised approach, noting how many customers demand the production of parts close to the point of need.
When Vancraen made his comment about companies failing to make a success of distributed AM approaches that catered for a variety of industries, companies like Replique were brought to mind. Decentralisation and distribution are core to Replique’s approach, while its tagline – trusted parts for everyone, everywhere –suggests there is no industry the service provider won’t serve.
At a high level, they seem the kind of company at risk of suffering the same pitfalls as those Vancraen has seen rise and fall over the last four decades. But when you dig into how its process works, it reveals a company that has likely learnt from the mistakes of others. Replique has assembled a range of specialist manufacturers in various industries (250 across six continents), rather than manufacturing sites that ‘have a lot of competence in everything,’ with its framework identifying the best partner for whatever job has
presented itself. The company’s software platform also documents the digital twin and history of every part to ensure quality assurance and process stability.
“We don’t view distributed manufacturing as a simplistic approach,” Replique CEO Max Siebert said. “For us, it’s about having decentralised capacities while centralising expertise. When done right, this approach enables companies to scale efficiently without sacrificing quality.”
This kind of set up might be where Vancraen would be willing to bend on his assessment of distributed AM. As counter points were made, he conceded there would be grey
areas where companies were achieving success. And it’s a good thing too. Although Covid-19 was probably the biggest supply chain disruption of the last century, they haven’t exactly slowed down since 2020. Blockages in the Suez Canal, Typhoons in Shanghai and ongoing international conflicts have only underscored the importance of supply chain flexibility.
Just as well then that there are promising signs from the likes of Replique.
“As product variety continues to grow and the demand for parts increases, the importance of decentralised and on-demand manufacturing will rise to maintain flexibility for diverse production needs,” Siebert finished. “While AM won’t be the only manufacturing method, it is undoubtedly becoming a go-to approach for parts where its benefits are most evident.”
For three years now, wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has been working with Markforged and Würth to build out a distributed additive manufacturing network. The company’s distributed manufacturing infrastructure includes a digital inventory of more than 5,000 Vestas parts and a fleet of Markforged machines operating across several manufacturing sites.
Previously, Vestas was relying on external suppliers to manufacture essential parts like top centre marking tools and lightning tip receptors, enduring the weeks-long lead times and risking the potential for components to fail final inspection. Now, Vestas has brought the production of these parts in-house, allowing any individual with the right permissions to scan a part code or search the ERP system and send print files to the most suitable Markforged machine. Control is centralised, but manufacturing is decentralised.
“Distributed manufacturing is already starting to happen,” Markforged CEO Shai Terem said at RAPID + TCT. “Point
of need production, when you can, is great, and when you cannot, you have a centralised location. Vestas has 8,000 tools required to [manufacture’ these big wind turbines, and 5,000 of them are on a digital library now, printed at the point of need. Printers are being controlled from some central place, they control the library, control the process of how to certify, how to upload them to the digital library, and then they’re printed where needed by the most efficient way to do it.”
In any good story, nothing worth fighting for is ever easy. For BATS-TOI, Inc., a New York-based developer of contact sports equipment, it could have been the supply chain challenges that assailed even the most robust manufacturers during the pandemic, that forced it to hang up its headgear and quit. It could have been when the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) came knocking and demanded it stop selling its product, which had already been embraced by hundreds of student athletes across the United States. But for Mario Mercado, founder and CEO of BATS-TOI, which takes its name from the French to “fight to overcome any obstacle,” a new form of headgear that would better protect the health and careers of athletes, was absolutely worth the battle.
It started as a graduate school project, first at NYU and then at Columbia University. Mercado had been a wrestling coach at NYU and also Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Athletic Commission, assisting in the regulation of professional boxing and mixed martial arts. That experience led to the realisation that, while high-profile sports like football and hockey are synonymous with protective headgear, wrestling, a sport which requires consistent, intense grappling between opponents, endures greater risk to concussions and head injuries than any other. It gave Mercado the motivation to design a new form of headgear that focused not only on ear protection, as industry-standard wrestling headwear traditionally has, but also reduces the risk of concussion.
Armed with this idea, he started knocking on the doors of NYU’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department where Dr. Nikhil Gupta introduced him to the lab’s additive manufacturing capabilities. A first prototype, made using FDM, planted the seed around 3D printing's potential, but this wouldn’t be an overnight AM success story. Instead, the start-up went ahead with the traditional route of injection moulding, manufacturing its first headgear in Italy and in Asia. It wasn’t cheap, and against the backdrop of the pandemic, where global travel restrictions made in-person quality control impossible, Mercado realised, it simply wasn’t going to work.
“The cost of that as a startup was just crazy,” Mercado told TCT. “That really sparked my interest of going back and revisiting additive manufacturing.”
Mercado spent a year working with different service providers until Dr. Gupta directed him to a place on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue where he could take a look at HP’s Multi Jet Fusion. There, he met another hurdle – there was no 3D printer to be found. Deflated, he sat in the waiting room, scrolling through LinkedIn and hastily connecting with anyone related to HP’s 3D printing division. The following day, a flurry of messages appeared in his inbox, and Mercado quickly began working with Akash Valavala from HP’s Professional Services team. In just seven weeks, the headgear was converted into an AM-optimised design and printed using MJF.
“I believe that first MJF helmet was the point when we realised this could really work on MJF,” says Brian Ingold, Head of GTM Solutions at HP. “There have been many iterations and design enhancements throughout the years but getting that first helmet to work was a pretty big “aha” moment for the team.”
Mercado was finally getting somewhere. AM, suddenly, appeared to be a viable production method.
“Could it be done with injection molding?” Mercado reflects. “Yes, but not economically.”
Still, the additive economics didn’t come straight away – initially, Mercado recalls being quoted $800 to print a single helmet. With ambitions to scale to 10-20,000 units as a minimum, this pushed him to figure out a way to use additive to his advantage and simultaneously get costs down. Today, a single helmet, known as the Mercado III, retails for less than $100.
“We've lowered the part costs through this journey as we've designed for nesting while keeping function,” Ingold continued. “I think the key to production is finding that right part cost. It's been really impressive to see the iterations of the helmets as a new idea comes out, but also how quickly we can turn that around into a product that can get
into the market. It's something you would never be able to do with the traditional methods of manufacturing.”
In wrestling, there is no ‘one size fits all’ and to withstand grabs and takedowns, headgear must fit like a glove. The Mercado is geared to provide coverage to the athlete's head and ears and is fitted with an adjustable chin strap. In one early pre-AM iteration, made in Italy, BATS-TOI planned to incorporate the headgear and chin strap as one piece, but wildy underestimated the difference in athlete chin size. A semidetachable version, made in Taiwan, was introduced but presented several failure points and, in all the markings of an early
“We can be responsive to that person in real time.”
but working with AM allowed Mercado to iterate quickly.
“[HP’s] design team has a ton of experience in working with commercial products that have been scaled in the millions of units,” Mercado said. “The great thing about engineers is what really excites them and pushes them is how to solve a problem that people think is almost impossible to solve.”
Mercado worked with HP’s design team to determine the structure of the headgear – which parts needed to be stiffer, more flexible, how thick or thin it should be? – and develop a product that could effectively scale for serial manufacture with minimal human interaction and assembly. BATS-TOI took scans from several athletes to get the right form factor and determine five that would fit the greatest range of shapes and sizes. The designs were developed using the HP Lattice Design Engine and printed in TPU via HP’s Digital Manufacturing Network.
"With additive, we're able to have four styles without having to invest that large amount of money that would normally be required for injection moulding,” Mercado explained. “We went through that process by modifying the CAD. If there was a problem at a wrestling competition on a Saturday, someone would tell us about it either on a Sunday or Monday, we would address it that week, look at the CAD, and then print a new one the following week. We've had a customer
receive multiple iterations of our headgear within a month.
“We are standing behind our pact to give their daughter or son something that actually works. But then also it shows that the beauty of additive in this application is that we can be responsive to that person in real time without having to start from scratch, and then continue to move forward and make that progress.”
While the final products are said to be lighter than the mass of foam and deliver greater energy absorption, it’s not just about performance and durability on the mat. Throughout the headgear's many iterations, BATS-TOI has worked with athletes to learn where it needed to adjust, understand their psychology, their needs. When athletes fed back that it was too hot to have headgear pressing hair against their necks, for example, they adapted, creating a ponytail hole, first for comfort, but also to allow wrestlers to show their personal style.
“Designing a product, particularly in sports, you have to understand what is the anticipated behaviour of, in this case, the wrestler,” Mercado explained. “They're not just going to put it on and take it off. There's an emotion behind it when they're winning or they're losing.”
Like any start-up, Mercado had taken many risks. The biggest, perhaps was going straight onto the market and selling, bypassing the old guard of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). This was an entirely new product and Mercado knew it would require a change in mindset. Within three months, BATS-TOI had sold around 1,500 units before a cease and desist arrived from the NFHS, the body that writes the rules for high school sports in the United States, instructing the company stop selling and leaving BATS-TOI almost bankrupt. It was a fight Mercado was prepared to take on, and the company went head-to-head with the NCAA to get the product accepted. In a fortuitus case of timing, shortly after, new
rules from the state associations started to come into play, stating that if an athlete were to get three concussions within a season, they would be out. Now, both the athletes and the associations that looked after the sport understood that this product was a necessity, and pretty soon, BATS-TOI was getting letters from athletes praising the Mercado for saving their season. Now, BATS-TOI is recognised as an Official Wrestling Headgear Partner of the NFHS.
“It was never a problem about product market fit. It was really about the timing,” Mercado said. “We started to see more of a grassroots adoption of the headgear and we realised that we had struck a nerve. And that's what allowed us to improve on the headgear, even to the same athlete with multiple iterations, because they knew the value of our product towards their athletic career and their athletic goals.”
For the first time, the adoption of metal additive manufacturing in mass-market production on a global scale becomes a reality. With our deep expertise in advanced laser systems for industrial applications, we've developed fully modular and scalable solutions for brake disc coating, ensuring compliance with Euro 7 standards.
A leap towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.
Sam Davies explores the automated
AM workflow behind Fizik’s personalised One to One bike saddles.
In 2019, the coverage of a 3D printingenabled bike saddle had a reporter pondering.
Carbon and Fizik had just unveiled the latest success story to come out of Carbon’s Lattice Engine: The Adaptive bike saddle with 3D printed padding, where the energy return properties of Carbon’s EPU 41 material and zonal cushioning characteristics of a lattice structure combined to provide greater comfort to cyclists.
It barely had a chance to prove out its promise when attention was turning to the future.
“Eventually,” a CyclingNews article read, “an in-store system could collect consumers’ pressure-mapping. This data can then be fed back to the 3D printers at the Fizik factory before a completed unit is shipped direct-to-consumer.”
When 3D printing applications hit the press, the imagination tends to stretch its legs, picturing all kinds of digitally automated workflows, processes and practices for the development and production of, for example, personalised
goods. What CyclingNews projected back in 2019 has long been one of additive manufacturing’s biggest promises. Most of us have been around these parts long enough to know that they aren’t always fulfilled. But this one was.
Five years on from the launch of the Adaptive bike saddle, Fizik has introduced the One to One saddle – a customised seat engineered to suit the rider’s shape and style. This latest product iteration still leans on Carbon’s 3D printing offering – Fizik operates a Carbon L1 printer – but has added gebioMized, a leader in pressure map data, to the equation too.
The process now sees a pressure sensor mat capture 64 data points pertaining to the rider’s shape, positioning and riding style, with the information being transferred to Carbon through an API in less than an hour. The Carbon Custom Production Software – inclusive of Carbon’s
Design Engine – then kicks into gear, gathering the input data and generating a 3D printable file that is sent directly to the print queue of the Carbon L1 machine sitting in Fizik’s factory. Each step of this process – down to the serial number and part tracking – occurs sequentially without the need for operator input.
What arrives with the consumer is a saddle unique to them.
“All of these One to One Fizik saddles have the same volume,” Andrew Sink, an Application Engineer at Carbon, tells TCT. “What we’re doing is we’re modulating the density in different areas, specifically for riders based on that pressure map feedback. There is a very high level of customisation in each saddle based on where you want that zonal density.”
The lattice structure used for Fizik saddles is also unique to this particular project, with the design based on the characteristics of the EPU 41 material. Carbon’s Design Engine software uses this structure as a baseline, with the pressure map dictating where modulations are made to ensure the latticed saddle padding offers different responses in different zones.
This is important since a soft saddle using the same foam from the nose to the back is counter intuitive. What will likely happen is the rider’s ischial tuberosities (sit bones) will sink through the soft padding, hit the shell and pinch, causing discomfort.
“There are body parts touching the saddle that needs different kind of support,” explains Alex Locatelli, Product Manager at Fizik. “If you are sitting on the ischial bones, then the bones can support more pressure without even noticing. But if you rotate your pelvis on the saddle, and then your soft tissues are squeezing on the saddle, then you can feel pain,
SHOWN: Carbon & Fizik partnered with gebioMized’s to deliver the One to One saddle
numbness, discomfort. And that discomfort could [cause people to] give up cycling.”
The process developed in partnership with Carbon and gebioMized is working to address these issues. Using gebioMized’s sensor mapping technology has allowed Fizik to measure how cyclists generate pressure on the saddle, where that pressure is being generated and how intense the pressure is. That then informs the exact shape and density of the lattice structure that will be incorporated into the saddle’s padding.
very carefully at the lattice structure, you won’t see any defects or broken struts because we’ve already validated the lattice itself.”
“On the ischial bones, the padding is much firmer; you need more stability,” Locatelli says. “But while rotating on the saddle, the padding has become much softer, so you don’t have numbness. The general comfort of the saddle is much better. With this technology, we can be so precise. You can find the right spot where there’s a little bit of unnecessary pressure and then we can compensate for that with the technology.”
Not only can Fizik be precise, but it can also be flexible, quicker and, in theory, hit bigger scales. As far as Fizik can tell, it is the only saddle manufacturer that has access to an in-house 3D printer capable of printing multiple products in a single build, with post-processing carried out overnight and custom products turned around in a couple of weeks.
The success is owed to the upfront work carried out by the automated workflow, which serves to reduce design iterations, validate lattice shapes, and go from printing multiple parts per rider to deliver a repeatable process per saddle.
As Sink explains: “The way this process works is once we have the saddle geometry, and this is the lattice structure that performs a specific way according to some baseline, we have a lattice that we understand and characterise. When we go through the scaffolding and apply the transformations for the custom lattice, the printability of the file doesn’t change. There’s no second iteration required, there’s no print testing, or anything like that. The lattice has been validated, so your custom saddle and my custom saddle, if you look at them, you’d be able to see that they’re different, but when you look
What we’re left with is a lighthouse application for Carbon and a dream come true for Fizik. Since work started on 3D printing saddles, the end goal has been to deliver customised products at a price point that won’t deter consumers.
In 2019, one of Locatelli’s first tasks as a member of the Fizik team was to explore the feasibility of 3D printing for bike saddles, procure material and lattice samples from Carbon, and spend a couple of weeks in California to immerse himself in the technology. Five years on, the experts in making saddles and the experts in making lattices have pooled their know-how to turn 3D printing’s promise into a reality.
The Fizik One to One saddle is available for consumers to buy from 25 dealers around the world. And they’re doing so. And they’re coming back for a second. And a third. It is good going for a company just five years into its additive manufacturing journey.
“Back then, it was a bet because the technology was expensive and even if the saddle costs between 300-400 Euros, our margin is basically not as good as the margin we make on standard saddles,” Locatelli says. “But we wanted to test the market and see if the riders would react to this new technology. And we were surprised because the feedback from the market was very, very positive. Some customers order the custom saddle and after a couple of weeks they want another one for another bicycle. Nowadays, 3D printed saddles are the saddles that we sell the most because of the comfort that the technology can provide.”
“3D printed saddles are the saddles that we sell the most.”
The new metal benchmark. Designed for high performers across industries such as medical.
Meet us at Formnext, Booth D41, Hall 11.1
Adecade ago, the compliments of a few passers-by turned into a business venture for Jenny Wu [JW].
So encouraged was she with the reception of her 3D printed necklace as she attended Art Basel that, upon her return, Wu immediately set up her own jewellery brand: LACE.
In October, that brand turned ten years old, with Wu carving out some time to relive much of LACE’s journey, diving deep into the design inspirations behind her earliest pieces and explaining why 3D printing technology has remained a cornerstone of her process.
TCT: It was the autumn of 2014 when you introduced the first commercial products in your LACE collection – the Tangens necklace manufactured with a Stratasys FDM machine and the Papillo ring, which was cast in sterling silver after a mould was printed with a Solidscape machine. Tell us about the design of those pieces and what 3D printing could enable at that time.
JW: So, in the beginning, I was really trying to maximise the capability of the 3D printing technology. All of the designs were much more maximalist, they were very statement, bold pieces. The comments I was getting was like, ‘how do you make gradient interlocking pieces?’ Because that would make very little sense to do in a more conventional way of making jewellery. I was mostly testing what I could do with 3D printing, so that was the idea in the first set of pieces. In terms
of technology at that time, when I first started, it was mostly just FDM, SLA or SLS, and I was trying to produce a piece that would not break down over time due to UV. We tested with FDM, but then the support was challenging, and I think we landed with using SLS in the end.
TCT: A year later, the collection had expanded to include pieces like the Orbis earrings and those were produced in steel with binder jet technology. What spurred that expansion into new materials and 3D printing processes?
JW: I've always wanted to create a fine jewellery line, and there's something about the plastic jewellery that people don't relate to as fine jewellery, even though they were quite costly to make. I really wanted to find a process that can directly print from a machine without the additional casting process. So, that's where binder jetting came from. And I thought that was truly brilliant, that we can finally make a metal piece. At that time, the default material was a stainless-steel bronze material, and that one is still in our
“Right now, everything has some 3D printing in its process.”
collection, we still use it, because people really like seeing the layer lines, and they feel like that's part of the process and the story. And the colour is also quite unique. It's not quite bronze, it's not quite stainless steel. Binder jetting was definitely a nice addition to our collection.
TCT: Why is LACE wedded to 3D printing? What is it about the technology that suits what you’re doing with every piece?
JW: That was always a question when I first started, whether lace will always be a 3D printed jewellery brand, or would that word get dropped at some point? You get so big that it's actually cheaper to mass produce somewhere else and not be 3D printed. And that's not a question that I'll be able to answer at this moment. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. I still, every year, go to RAPID + TCT and different events to see what the advancements are and, to me, that's the fun part about doing LACE. How to work with other
companies, and trying to push the limits of their technology to create something really beautiful with it. At this time right now, everything has some 3D printing in its process. And we'll keep at it until it [doesn't] make sense.
TCT: What were the opportunities you saw in developing a fine jewellery brand with 3D printing technology?
JW: As with any brand, you're always balancing cost with your design. And I think what's always fundamental to LACE is the fact that we put design first, and we create really iconic pieces that sometimes are very challenging to produce. So, I think that's where 3D printing really made sense. We're able to create very fine, more lacy kind of pieces that can be printed and will be much more challenging in a more traditional way of production. I would say the challenge is really trying to balance the not producing 10,000 pieces and then also being able to produce it at a cost that is okay with the market. It’s always a balance there that we're trying to figure out.
TCT: Over the years, LACE has used a range of different 3D printing processes and materials to produce its fine jewellery pieces – what would you consider to be the hallmark of a LACE jewellery product?
JW: When you go into a building that you love, and you have this feeling like, 'wow, this is a great space'. And I want that experience for the jewellery as well. I always love the way when people put on our necklace and their eyes are just like, 'oh, wow, I've never seen myself like this.' Or when they put on a ring, it has a certain way, like, 'oh, I didn't know it could do that.' So, to me, maybe it's not specific, like a certain design or certain thing, but it's a certain feeling that you have when you wear our pieces, and this gives me room to keep improving and create this amazing experience for our customers.
TCT: What do you make of the evolution of 3D printing since you first began to work with the technology?
JW: What's been the most exciting is to see the evolution of 3D printing in the last 10 years, and how that has really, really matured in this period. I remember when I first started, there was so little post-processing. We would print something, and then we have to hot dye it in our shop, and it's very inconsistent, and it would fade, and there were so many problems with it, and [there would be] dust everywhere. Or you get a metal print, and the resolution is not bright and shiny, there's no polishing. [But] I remember coming back, post-covid, how much R&D happened during covid, I think, with all these different companies, and how many more 3D metal printing technologies there are. And the array of post-processing that is out there, everything from amazing machines that could dye, vapor smooth, and there's also more mechanical polishing, so there's now such a robust postprocessing [offering] to back up the 3D printing technology.
TCT: That said, what would you like to see improve?
JW: I always hope that by being part of 3D printing, it doesn't become so cost prohibitive for people to buy, because the process is expensive. Over the years, the price has gone up and down, up and down, and depending on what it is, we realise that it's actually much more difficult to run a production house, etc. So, one, I hope that in the future, [there are] more materials that we can work with, and then also just even more [work is done] on making the costs more competitive.
TCT: Finally, what comes next for LACE?
JW: We are expanding. We now have our first in person store in Asia. One of the things that LACE is trying to figure out is how do we do retail? How do we do an inperson experience? Is 3D printing a part of that? It’s perhaps a more global expansion for LACE in the next 10 years.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. You can listen to the full interview on the TCT Additive Insight podcast: https://tinyurl.com/fcat8282
WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS
It’s the final day of Paris Fashion Week 2025 and Coperni has selected the most magical place on earth as its runway. But it’s not just the Disneyland castle at night that’s creating a sense of wonder – there’s also a bag, a simple blue tote brought to life by a technology that looks much like magic itself.
The Parisian fashion brand has never been afraid to experiment with the unconventional: from its liquid sprayon dress worn by supermodel Bella Hadid to its use of NASA-approved silica Aerogel to construct a bag made of air. So it was only fitting that the founders of a 3D printing technology out of MIT’s Self Assembly Lab, known for its explorations into programmable material technologies, should get a call.
“We were very honoured that we were chosen as one of the technologies Coperni wanted to highlight,” says Schendy Kernizan, CEO and Co-founder of Rapid Liquid Print (RLP), the MIT-founded start-up that developed the technology used to bring this Coperni-Disney project to life.
The process – Gravity Free Manufacturing –was spun out of the lab in 2020 by Kernizan and co-founders Skylar Tibbits, Bjorn Sparrman, and Jared Laucks.
“When we first started RLP, we focused on overcoming the existing limitations of 3D printing,” Kernizan told TCT of RLP’s origins. “We looked at the fact that everything is limited by gravity.”
RLP prints in a reusable gel matrix, eliminating the effects of gravity to build soft elastomer products in minutes. This method enables non-planar printing, using industrystandard materials such as silicone ranging from Shore 00-50 to Shore 50A, and is also said to work with rubbers and foams, offering multiple hardness and colour options for complex, large-scale designs.
“Within the additive manufacturing world, you'll hear a lot about how the material property is not competitive with traditional manufacturing, which forced us to think a little bit differently early on in development,” Kernizan said of RLP’s approach to 3D printing, which unlike traditional manufacturing processes like injection moulding, is said to be sustainable, reusable, and adaptable. “Our gel acts as the mould and it can be reused countless times, significantly reducing waste. Each design change happens digitally, free of traditional repetitive and wasteful physical molds.”
The bag, named the Ariel Swipe after Disney’s The Little Mermaid, adopts Coperni’s signature egg-shaped silhouette. Across a short six-week transatlantic collaboration, the teams performed an iterative design process, sharing test prints – particularly around the aesthetic of the opening of the bag – before culminating with the production of three final bags, each printed in just four hours.
“There were definitely tweaks along the way,” Kernizan said of the development process. “Our process is unique, and designers can benefit from early discussions on the technology’s unlimited capabilities and possibilities. This collaboration was a great example of that learning process”.
The Coperni bag is not a prototype. When the sky-blue object emerges from the gel, with no support structures to speak of, it’s practically ready to be marched down a runway.
“You simply pull it out, rinse it, and let it dry. There’s no need for additional postprocessing or curing—the gel takes care of all of that during the printing,” Kernizan confirmed.
RLP has the ability to print down to 0.5mm resolution and up to 1 x 1 x 0.5 metres in build volume. It’s already being applied in industries like healthcare and automotive for the
manufacture of end-use products from prosthetics to gaskets.
“The beauty of this process is that it can scale infinitely. You could reconfigure the system to print something as large as a pool,” Kernizan said. “After this show, we’re excited about future opportunities where we can showcase the unique capabilities of RLP in even more creative ways.”
RLP operates primarily as a service from its Boston facility, but the plan is to bring the technology to factory floors, with two machines already sold to early adopters within the medical industry, and broader commercialisation plans expected in 2025.
“We're not just making prototypes” Kernizan added. “Our vision is to empower industries with RLP machines that drive innovation and production efficiency. This is about creating real products that will shape the future.”
“Our vision is to empower industries.”
With the freeformers, fully functional components and small volume batches based on original plastic granules can be industrially additively manufactured using ARBURG Plastic Freeforming (APF), even from very soft materials (up to hardness 28 Shore A) or in hard/soft combinations. The industrial 3D printers are generally suitable for sophisticated applications in medical technology, the automotive industry and aerospace.
The high-temperature freeformer 750-3X features a build chamber which can be heated to 200°C and can plasticise high-temperature plastics at up to 450°C. This means that even the original granulate Ultem 9085, for example – which has been certified for use in aerospace applications – can be reliably processed and turned into resilient functional components. The machine has three discharge units and, from the outside, is indistinguishable from the freeformer 300-3X. Inside, however, the part carrier is around 2.5 times larger at roughly 750 cm 2 and the build chamber has been enlarged significantly, measuring 330 mm x 230 mm x 230 mm.
In addition, data processing and the GESTICA controller, which is developed and manufactured by ARBURG
in-house, have been optimised in terms of process stability, component quality and discharge speed. Improved software features and grid-shaped support structures mean that the build time can be reduced considerably. The result is significantly reduced costs per component and lower material usage.
The intuitive GESTICA controller enables a clear, straightforward production process thanks to its “intelligent” assistance functions. At the push of a button, the startup sequence for material preparation runs completely automatically with no need for human intervention. The operator can see all of the relevant information regarding order status and the production sequence at a glance as required. Furthermore, the high-end machine can be used for industrial additive manufacturing of small series without any problems.
The freeformer 750-3X can be seen live at the ARBURGadditive stand (Stand D79, Hall 12.1) at Formnext 2024 from 19 to 22 November in Frankfurt.
When Materialise unveiled its latest eyewear collaboration with Impressio in Paris, the frames, distinguished by their bold waterinspired silhouette, and opaque, acetatelike finish, were poised to represent not only the possibilities of modern manufacture, but the epitome of what the Belgian additive manufacturing company describes as ‘a movement of digital artisanship.’
But as Alireza Parandian, Head of Global Business Strategy, Wearables at Materialise tells TCT shortly after: “These are not only frames with special shapes and characteristics – they’re also just normal frames with better attributes for the economy and sustainability.”
The eyewear sector, Parandian says, has embraced AM over the last decade. Modelled by collaborations with companies like Hoet and Yuniku, which have brought novel customisation experiences to consumers at retail, and luxury brands like Porsche and McLaren who have leveraged the technology for celebratory collections, Materialise has produced several hundred thousand frames for around 80 different brands. Championing the potential for mass personalisation, eyewear products have been largely enabled by laser sintering, augmented by new materials developments across metals and polymers, including those designed to reduce its carbon footprint.
But over the last five years, the team has been exploring different processes and materials to deliver eyewear that more closely resembles the look and feel of traditional frames, with all the benefits that a digital supply chain and design for AM can afford.
“It's about learning about each other's realities,” Parandian explained of Materialise’s latest ‘co-creation’ with Luxembourg-based Impressio. “When we talk about a new material, a new process, we definitely come to the table with all kinds of limitations that it has and all kinds of opportunities that we can explore together. Impressio came with multiple design ideas to help us not only bring about a product that looks beautiful and extends the idea of something wearable to something that is sculptural, but also, in the process, kind of cover up for imperfections or thicknesses that are required in order to make sure you have mechanical stability. In these co-creations, you have to put all of those things on the table. It requires a lot of experience on our side and courage on the side of our partner.”
“This innovation is based on a novel material that transitions from an opaque to a translucent finish, revealing all the curves and volumes in the light, with shades of ocean blue, bottle green, or ruby red,” Guillaume Boisson, co-founder of the Impressio Collection told TCT. “The Aqua model, born from this collaboration, stands out for its fluid design, reminiscent of water droplets suspended in mid-air. This perfect marriage of cutting-edge
technology and creative freedom promises to redefine design standards in the world of eyewear.”
‘Be like water’ was the concept. The volumetric design mimics the movement of water falling and bursting onto a surface, brought to life with transparency and three vibrant colour-ways. To get there, the team began working with DLP, benchmarking almost 50 different materials against the gold standard of mechanical stability, thermal stability, and crucially, medical regulations.
“That's exactly where deep knowledge in 3D printing comes in – engineering knowledge, being solution-minded, trying out different things and not accepting a ‘no’, which is a culture here at Materialise,” Parandian explained. “This was truly a sculptural piece. We needed to take that and look at how engineering could support this. It wasn't easy.”
With unique design freedoms come unique challenges. While AM allowed the team to create a lightweight, seamless product, married with the more traditional aspects of eyewear-making, the use of resin-based technology meant considerations around support removal and post-processing had to be made to achieve a glossy, retail-standard finish.
“Software is the unsung hero of 3D printing,” Parandian said. “If you really are looking for the moon shots, you have to think about freedom of design to its highest degree, where personalisation and customisation is bringing so much added value that it can have transformational effect.”
With the frames as its showpiece at this year’s Parisian optical event SILMO, Materialise is signaling to the industry, where it has spent the last ten years optimising and investing in not only AMenabled consumer products but also software-enabled consumer experiences, it is open for collaboration.
“We want to be the innovator you can count on,” Parandian said. “It's really important to give room and freedom to our partners to come up with ideas, and what we're trying to do and assess every time, together with our partners, is where is the market fit? Is it feasible in terms of economic aspects? Is it viable in terms of all their requirements? Our vision with this was, we wanted to come and show what differentiating possibilities 3D printing can offer to the industry. And that was not just [about] translucency but to go beyond what acetate makes possible – to go beyond what is possible.”
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When baking a cake, what you put in isn’t the same as what you get out. Biting into soft golden sponge doesn’t taste like egg or flour or sugar; it tastes like cake – or it should if you follow the recipe. Additive manufacturing is a little bit like that. You may know your ingredients at the start – the material, the design, the oven you’re using – but there’s chemistry and physics happening in between, a recipe, that causes the part to become something new. It depends heavily on precision. There’s variability – the potential for porosities, warping, surface irregularities – that makes quality and inspection of 3D printed parts a challenge, and as the technology’s adoption in production applications grows, that challenge is only deepening.
In a recent issue of the International Journal of AI for Materials and Design, founded by Professor Wai Yee Yeong, a paper on ‘Machine learning techniques for quality assurance in additive manufacturing processes’ penned by Surajit Mondal and Shankha Shubhra Goswami, stated that “despite its transformative potential, AM poses unique challenges, particularly in the realm of quality assurance.” As opposed to the established quality control methods of traditional manufacturing processes – visual inspection, dimensional inspection, non-destructive
testing (NDT), for example – “the dynamic and additive nature of AM introduces new complexities and uncertainties that traditional quality assurance methods may struggle to address effectively.”
“The biggest difference is that additive manufacturing is actually creating a material,” Kirill Volchek, Chief Technology Officer, Oqton, a developer of AIpowered software for additive AM, told TCT. “Physics is very complicated and you're getting one type of raw material that you're putting inside the machine and then you're getting a part out – process creates your actual material, digitally, and that's a major difference.”
In CNC machining, a billet of aluminium placed onto a 5-axis machining centre will be the same chunk of material at the end, just in its desired shape. But Volcheck says the adoption of process simulation technologies, which allows close monitoring of printed parts in-situ, is enabling higher success rates for AM. Oqton, for example, recently partnered with EOS to integrate Oqton Build Quality,
an AI-powered tool specifically for metal powder bed technology, and provide users with full end-to-end traceability of their parts. The software evaluates build performance to detect, prevent and correct anomalies and defects, allowing issues to be spotted and corrected early.
“Additive is just so different than what we've done historically,” Noah Mostow, Business Development Manager at Phase3D, a developer of in-situ monitoring solutions for AM, concurred. “With additive, you are creating both the material and the geometry at the same time. With forming, we're looking at creating just the material property and controlling the material property because of your form, which is your geometry. Within subtractive, you have your material properties, you're turning it into the correct shape. Within additive, we are doing both of those things at the same time. Where the challenge comes in is, how do you control all of the parameters that go into creating those two key pieces of material and geometry?”
Phase3D’s flagship products, Fringe Research and Fringe Qualification, measure every layer of an AM build, creating heatmaps to help users of primarily metal powder bed machines ensure quality and productivity. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its work with the U.S. Air Force and NASA to develop Fringe Research to validate two materials on two different laser powder bed fusion machines. Phase3D believes it is the first inspection company for AM to measure anomalies during the build that lead to porosity, which is said to be a major cause of part rejection for both organisations.
“We're now hitting a period, especially in the aerospace world, where designers want to create parts that they either cannot inspect using traditional methods like CT scanning or it's unbelievably timeconsuming and expensive,” Mostow said.
All of the stuff that AM is supposed to be superior at – time compression, freedom of design, and reducing scrap – risk being cancelled out by the challenges imposed by post-printing inspection. The layerby-layer structure of AM introduces the threat of defects and anomalies at each stage of the printing process, meanwhile, its ‘limitless’ design benefits can render inspection by traditional means largely ineffective for complex geometries.
“With the capability of having more design freedom, more complex geometrical designs have been developed to reduce material cost, reduce the number of parts and/or to enhance performance of the intended part or product,” says Dr David Menzies, Chief Commercial Officer at Additive Assurance. “Handin-hand with this new design space, it creates complexities in the manner by which quality control and inspection can be performed. Additionally, metal additive manufacturing processes, such as laser powder bed fusion, are extremely intricate. The smallest changes in the manufacturing process, such as powder batch-to-batch variation or laser output, can lead to different solidification characteristics and result in variability in quality.”
Additive Assurance is an Australian developer of process monitoring and quality assurance solutions for laser powder bed fusion. Its AMiRIS product is an independent in-situ process monitoring solution which uses high-resolution sensors to monitor the metal LPBF process to the micron level and deliver real-time
monitoring and quality control. It’s completely machine agnostic and can operate across a fleet of machines.
In August, the company announced a partnership with Additive Industries to integrate AMiRIS into its MetalFAB systems.
“Quality is a paramount concern for all manufacturers regardless of the processes that they use to generate their products,” Menzies continued. “Significant investments are made to ensure that quality irregularities can be identified as early as possible in manufacturing processes. The cost of the lost production time and raw materials versus the profitability of the production run dictate how much investment is needed and at what stage of the production process to mitigate this risk.”
Cost remains a huge barrier for AM adoption, and post-printing steps such as inspection can be a major expense.
“The biggest challenge in additive is the price of a part,” says Volchek. “So trying to reduce it and to make sure that part could hit the proper price target, we need to ensure that there are no additional costs involved in the process. So we need to prevent issues.”
Thinking preventatively can save costs further down the line. According to Volchek, having a full end-to-end view of the process is vital – “it's already too late when you're at the end of a process.” It also means being able to prepare and account for any deviations that may occur along the way.
“When you are coming to production, we need to not just print successfully, we need to be in required tolerances by customers. So then, iterations come in place,” Volcheck said. “If you don't have a software that allows you to predict your deviations and account on that during preparation, then you're iterating and iterating again, coming to a cost.”
After adopting Oqton’s Manufacturing OS at its central manufacturing facilities in Houston, Texas, energy technology firm Baker Hughes is said to have realized a 98% reduction in active monitoring engineering time and saved 136 engineering hours per printer annually. Crucially, it also reported an 18% reduction in costs associated with scrap due to real-
“Quality is a paramount concern.”
time actionable alerts during part production.
“This saving is actually happening just because of data,” Volchek said, “because of data being collected and data being analyzed and data being labeled and used in trainings.”
On an episode of TCT’s Additive Insight podcast earlier this year, Andreas Bastian, co-founder and Head of Product at Lumafield, a Californian company working in industrial CT and AI inspection, described the cost of checking an AM part as “astronomical.” With high machine install and running costs, building a solid economic business case for AM can already be a battle, and high scrap rates and costs of inspection makes the case even harder, particularly as manufacturer's wrestle with fitting AM into their usual KPIs and established processes.
“The use of these inspection technologies, in my perspective, is becoming emphasised because it's needed,” Mostow said. “We can't have as a technology this high of scrap rate because it's not economical.”
Menzies adds that long production runs of some laser powder bed fusion parts compared to traditional processes, with some builds running for several days, also creates a greater need for productivity and early detection of failures, particularly in circumstances where the profitability of production is thin.
“Lost time and materials in these circumstances have a large impact on financial performance, and any new methods to mitigate this are of clear interest to manufacturers,” Menzies explained. “With increasing adoption of PBF-LB/M, more low profitability production is being opened up and at the other end of the spectrum higher quality requirement production is also increasing.”
We’ve worked with Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) to achieve compliance for one of Maritime's most common materials.
• Produce metal parts that are antimicrobial and antifouling.
• Excellent wear and corrosion resistance properties.
• Galvanically compatible with steel and iron.
Manufacture and post-process Nickel Aluminium Bronze (NAB) parts in less than 24 hours with our Expeditionary Manufacturing Unit (EMU) capability. EMU combines our patented XSPEE3D cold spray metal 3D printing technology, and post-processing SPEE3Dcell unit, enabling you to make reliable, dense metal parts faster than ever thought possible.
Additive manufacturing is an inherently digital process, and if you ask Isabelle Hachette, CEO at Interspectral, a Swedish technology company specialising in 3D visualisation and data fusion, ‘there is no lack of data’ from AM – just a lack of tools to fully utilise it.
Interspectral’s AM Explorer software enables monitoring and analysis of process data for metal 3D printing technologies – having undergone deep integration to provide easy integration and access for 60-70% of all the systems on the AM market – and aims to help AM users achieve higher levels of precision, quality, and efficiency.
Here, Isabelle Hachette [IH] discusses why now, more than ever, quality assurance technologies are playing a crucial role as AM continues its path to production, and why industry collaboration will ultimately help drive adoption.
TCT: Tell us about Interspectral, where did it all start?
IH: We entered the additive market through a research project that we were participating in with several industrial and research partners in Sweden. We saw an immediate need for our technology to solve the needs of the advancing additive manufacturing industry with quality assurance and process monitoring.
We are actually entering from a neighboring industry, scientific visualisation. We entered the additive manufacturing industry because we saw that there was a high demand for our technology, specifically to enable serial production in additive manufacturing, and [through] this research project and the industrial co-operation that we had
in Sweden, we discovered that there was a lot of data that was measured and acquired in the production process. We also discovered that there was no standardised way of handling the data in an efficient way, and many times the data could consist of several terabytes and that made it difficult to use the technology in a larger scale. So we think that we can take a lead in developing the market to efficiently read and visualise and draw conclusions [from] this big data.
TCT: What is Interspectral bringing to the market that’s different to current quality assurance and process monitoring solutions on the market today?
IH: We provide a unique value to quality assurance and process monitoring because we have developed our proprietary algorithms, and they were developed even before we entered into this market. These proprietary algorithms can read, visualise and analyse big and complex data in a very efficient way.
We can also automate this in a very efficient way, so it makes it easier for the end user to draw the conclusions and make it comprehensible.
We can read data from any machine. We can actually handle any data format independent of the type or the dimension, and when acquiring the data during the build process, there are several different data formats, point clouds, volumes, 2D measurements. We can gather all this different data into one single digital twin. That makes it easy for the end user to have a holistic view of all the data that has been gathered during the build process, from the design file to the data that is gathered during the printing process and also, during the postinspection, for example, with CT scans and so on.
For an end user, this provides unique value because you don't need to have several different software for each brand of machine that you have. We say that we see collaboration before competition, so we have a very collaborative approach. We want to work and collaborate with all the different stakeholders on the market.
Based on our 60 years expertise in manufacturing and development of refractory metals, we have developed AMtrinsic® atomized tantalum and niobium spherical powders and their alloys for demanding additive manufacturing technologies. Our ability to adjust specific intrinsic material properties enables us to push the limits according to the requirements of your application.
Visit us at Formnext 2024 Frankfurt am Main, DE Hall 12.0, Booth D19
TANIOBIS offers atomized AMtrinsic® C103 (Nb-10Hf-1Ti) and FS-85 (Nb-28Ta-10W- 1Zr) pre-alloyed powders. Hightemperature strength, superior creep properties and their excellent workability with Additive Manufacturing make these alloys great candidates as structural materials for various aerospace applications. AM offers design freedom enabling manufacturing of lightweight components with complex features e.g. rocket thruster with integrated cooling channels which is one of the many applications of our AMtrinsic® C103 and FS-85 alloys.
AMtrinsic® spherical tantalum and niobium powders provide outstanding combinations of material properties customized for specific applications. Aligned with 3D-printing technology, AMtrinsic® powders can help overcome hurdles in various high-tech industries. The high temperature stability, excellent corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of AMtrinsic® Ta, Nb powders and their alloys deliver a perfect fit for biomedical (Ta, TNT and TNTZ), chemical (Ta, Nb, Ta-W) and aerospace (Ta-W, C103 and FS-85) applications. In addition, AMtrinsic® Nb with its prominent superconducting properties is ideal for the superconducting industry.
“We saw an immediate need for our technology.”
TCT: We hear a lot about ‘AI-driven’ technologies, and we’re seeing this more and more in the AM sector. How is AI being leveraged here?
IH: The proprietary technology of Interspectral from the beginning was very much about handling large data, visualising large data in an efficient way. Now we are complementing that technology with AI-driven technologies. The AI component that we are developing is actually for optimising the error detection in the build job, for example, so that we can automate, and make it easier for the end user to use the additive manufacturing in production. We are optimising the way to get the right answers in the right time.
TCT: What has the industry response been like so far? You recently worked with AMEXCI to build a platform for data driven defect detection, for example.
IH: In general, we have a very good response on the market with AM
Explorer. Today we have done deep integrations with more than 60 to 70% of all the machines on the market, so that's a really good start for making this technology possible.
The collaboration with AMEXCI, in particular, is a collaboration that was born from the research collaborations that we have within the Swedish industry and we have a common mission to develop the AM industry globally, and specifically drive the adoption rate of AM technology in Sweden. Of course the collaboration with AMEXCI is very important for us and it gives us the possibility to quickly iterate and get quick feedback on our internal developments. So we think that we have a big opportunities to expand on the market. We are both vendor, sensor agnostic, and we can easily customise for new data formats or larger data compartments, for example.
Specifically for the AI module, we believe that our unique combination of efficient visualisation, complex data fusion and deep analytics provides
SHOWN: Interspectral takes a collaborative approach
unique values to the market. We also see a broad adoption of AM Explorer actually throughout the different industries and applications. We have now customers ranging from the biggest users of metal AM today, to also the small R&D labs, but our biggest uptake is currently among midsized service providers.
TCT: What unique challenges does AM present for manufacturers in terms of quality assurance compared to more traditional manufacturing processes?
IH: Specifically for the parts that are produced with AM, they are [often] times more complex and they have more complex interiors. Then it's also more challenging for traditional QA methods. So then there needs to be development of more sophisticated QA processes, required for this type of quality assurance. At the same time, additive manufacturing, and specifically LPBF and EBF, are fully digital processes and the process parameters are monitored during the full production process. So, a lot of data is created, up to several terabytes per build job, and I think that the challenge in terms of quality assurance in this industry is very much about how to, in an efficient way, handle this large amount of data that is being measured during the process, and then also to understand and be able to draw the conclusions from that data.
TCT: Are users doing enough with their data to fully optimise their use of the technology?
IH: I think that there is big potential for improvements of using efficient tools for handling the large amount of data. As we say and experience every day at Interspectral, there is no lack of data. There is a lack of good tools to visualise, understand, and gain insights from the data that has been generated during the full process, pre-process, during the process and after the process. We believe that there is still a lot to discover within the data that has been measured, and we are providing the tools for this discovery and the big data handling, the standardisation, and producing efficient workflows. They are the biggest challenges ahead, and our mission is to develop the new standards in order to optimise the use of data in additive manufacturing and to help to achieve the goal to go from prototyping to production.
Listen to the full interview on the TCT Additive Insight podcast.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
spoke to David Isaacason, Vice President of Product Marketing from ETQ, part of Hexagon, to discover how its new Inspection Management App can enhance quality assurance levels in 3D printing.
MQ: At the launch of the Inspection Management App, issues including “product recalls” and “defects” were outlined as two key quality control issues seen in manufacturing. Are these same issues being seen within 3D printing? If so, could the Inspection Management App help resolve these problems within 3D printing as well?
DI: Your products are only as good as your equipment, people, processes, raw materials and design (as well as other factors). This is as true with 3D printing as with other manufacturing approaches, such as injection moulding. Therefore, Inspection Management could be used at a variety of points in the manufacturing process, including supplier deliveries, first article inspection, during production, final inspection, finished goods, and customer returns. 3D printed products would benefit as much as any other product from use of Inspection Management as one quality control tool.
MQ: The app is designed to support users in meeting quality standards and compliance requirements. How does
the unique structure of AM parts and the specific standards that have been developed around these processes affect this? Does that make it more challenging?
DI: A key for Inspection Management is setting up the inspection checklist. If done properly, then you can inspect any product produced by any manufacturing method. However, depending on the structure of the raw materials, you may want to approach the incoming inspection more like batch sampling. As mentioned previously, there are many factors that can impact the quality of a printed product.
MQ: I previously saw an article from ETQ which claimed “Tech like 3D printing can create unauthorised copies that may not have the same structural integrity of the original.” Could the new app play a part in identifying counterfeit goods? If so, how would that work?
DI: This would depend on the type of product being inspected. You would need to acquire the counterfeit product
and then have an inspection checklist based on key variables that would highlight if the product were authentic or not. Inspection Management is a tool that can give inspectors guidance when trying to determine if a product is counterfeit or not.
MQ: Are there any other key features of the ETQ Reliance NXG quality management system that could aid in improving quality assurance within 3D printing?
DI: As the 3D printer is running, there are sensor readings and other data that could be used in SPC or Predictive Quality Analytics, which can read a number of inputs and then predict when an issue might occur. This advanced warning allows manufacturers to be proactive in addressing issues before they become major problems that cause downtime, added scrap and higher cost of poor quality.
MQ: There’s a growing feeling that AM is unfairly held to higher standards than more traditional manufacturing processes because of its perceived ‘newness’. What are your thoughts on that?
DI: Additive Manufacturing has been touted as a new and improved manufacturing approach, and it’s true for many types of products. However, it is still vulnerable to a variety of potential issues as discussed earlier. Bad raw materials, poor equipment, bad design etc are just a few if the issues that can impact the quality of the product. But this is no different that if a product is produced on a more traditional manufacturing line. It may be the shiny new object today, but in the future, it will be just one of several manufacturing techniques in an integrated, automated factory.
April 8-10, 2025 | Huntington Place | Detroit, MI
Four world-class manufacturing events, together in one location
SME is bringing together these four events, providing access to more than 600 manufacturers while showcasing advanced manufacturing, smart technologies and mobility advancements. Combined Audiences, Magnified Impact!
SAVE THE DATE!
At RAPID + TCT 2025, you’re under the same roof with SME’s AeroDef Manufacturing; SAE’s trademark mobility event, the World Congress Experience (WCX); and America Makes’ project success showcase, Technical Review & Exchange (TRX).
Arkema will be bringing its pioneering advanced liquid resins for additive manufacturing to Frankfurt. Its Sartomer building blocks and N3xtDimension custom formulations offer tailored solutions for vat printing technologies, including SLA, DLP, LCD, BJ, and MJP. Arkema says its specialism lies in synthesizing custom structures, designing advanced thermosetting resins, and engaging in collaborative product development. With a focus on sustainability, the company will demonstrate how its bio-based solutions can reduce environmental impact without compromising quality.
Bosch Advanced Ceramics is inviting Formnext visitors to explore the possibilities of ceramic additive manufacturing. With hundreds of thousands of 3D printed ceramic parts already produced, at Formnext 2024 Bosch will present its ceramic capabilities, with a range of applications including a medical device sleeve with 90µm wall thickness, gripper for surgical applications and a 250mm diameter ring blade with internal channels.
TCT: Tell us about a product you're launching at Formnext.
JR: This year, we are really excited to launch EPU Pro, a significant advancement in our materials portfolio that will enhance performance, usability, production and sustainability.
This single-part, dual-cure resin builds upon our already outstanding portfolio of premium elastomers that have been rigorously tested to ensure they meet the material performance and production reliability needed to mass produce across multiple highperformance applications.
TCT: What's the biggest challenge you're currently working to solve?
JR: We are working to prove that additive manufacturing, and Carbon specifically, is capable of bringing high-performance products to market at scale. Over four million latticed elastomeric products have been produced on the Carbon platform to date and are currently on the market available for the everyday consumer.
Additive manufacturing isn’t just some vision of the future, it is actively being used by the world’s most innovative companies to make better products in less time.
TCT: Can you give us a snapshot of an application that people must see on your booth
JR: You need to stop by to see the Fizik One-to-One custom saddle. This is a first-of-its-kind custom 3D printed bike saddle available globally to everyone from amateur cyclists to elite competitors. Leveraging Design Engine and Carbon’s Custom Production Software, Fizik is able to tailor the saddle to each rider’s comfort and performance needs all at once.
(Read more on p.15)
Forward AM says it is excited to collaborate with WEBER Additive and architects Mungenast / Morroni at Formnext 2024. This case study will feature a signature wall, designed using its recently launched Ultrafuse pellet line, highlighting rPETG material. The wall, showcasing acoustic dampening properties, will be printed by Ludwig Schleicher Anlagenbau GmbH using WEBER Additive’s DXR robotic pellet extrusion system.
Tobias Rödlmeier, Product and Application Technology Manager at Forward AM said: “This co-operation demonstrates the potential of 3D printed architecture to deliver sustainable solutions while embracing circular economy principles.”
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Xenia Materials, global a developer of high-performing thermoplastic composites for FGF production, will officially release its latest AM materials solutions. Following a preview at TCT 3Sixty 2024, Xenia has continued its focus on the 3D printing sector with the development of a new range of 3DF Materials for filament-based solutions for FDM/FFF production.
Among the 3DF Materials portfolio, the current range includes four distinctive filament-based solutions. Xenia says visitors will be able to explore these innovative materials first-hand at the booth.
Solukon will introduce the SFM-AT1500-S, described as ‘a solution for new dimensions of automated depowdering.’ Supporting the growth in large-format powder bed technologies, this depowdering system can handle parts up to 600 x 600 x 1500 mm or 820 x 820 x 1300 mm weighing up to 2100 kg.
With special drive technology, Solukon says it has succeeded in making the system very narrow. The structure is arranged so that no platforms or stairs are necessary to load the parts, making the system unique in terms of its footprint and convenience when loading and handling large components.
In addition, Solukon will showcase the SFMAT350-E, an ultrasonic depowdering system for a particularly gentle cleaning of delicate structures.
TCT: Tell us about a product you're launching at Formnext.
GH: In addition to our expanded filament offerings and the introduction of new LFAM pellet materials at Formnext, we’re excited to showcase our Closed-Loop Motorsport Tooling mould, which won a TCT Award this year. In collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Airtech repurposed carbon-fiber splitter moulds from the 2022 Pikes Peak race, creating new 3D-printed moulds using recycled Dahltram C-250CF materials. This project not only contributed to Brumos Racing Car's world record at the 2023 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb but also demonstrated the circular lifecycle potential of 3D
printed tooling, significantly minimising material waste and environmental impact.
TCT: What's the biggest challenge you're currently working to solve?
GH: We are actively addressing the challenge of enhancing sustainability in composite manufacturing. A key solution is Dahltram T-100GF, Airtech’s recycled-grade thermoplastic resin for pellet-fed, large-scale 3D printing. This material combines recycled co-polyester resin with fiberglass reinforcement, excelling in applications like architecture, furniture, prototyping, trim tools, holding fixtures, low temperature master models, and casting patterns. By leveraging large-
At Formnext 2024, Quintus will introduce a new Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) system. This advanced HIP system features a larger hot zone and full High Pressure Heat Treatment (HPHT) capabilities, significantly boosting throughput for large-format additive manufacturing.
The new HIP system is said to provide ‘outstanding temperature uniformity, enabling the production of NADCAP-certified components and maintaining process consistency across various machine sizes.’ The company believes its latest addition will boost AM capacity, streamline efficiency, and enhance component quality.
scale additive manufacturing, we ensure both high performance and sustainability. Visit our booth to learn more about how we’re driving change in this space.
Arburg is set to expand its AM machine offering with the launch of the Freeformer 550-3X. Based on the plastics processing company’s plastic granule-based Arburg Plastic Freeforming technology, the 550-3X will replace the Freeformer 200-3X, and features a build volume of 230 x 230 x 230 mm and two discharge units.
It’s said to be capable of processing a range of plastic granulate materials, including an original medical material which Arburg says it will demonstrate on the show floor with examples of resorbable medical implants. But Arburg says the biggest addition is the Gestica control system, which is designed to support the operator, including nonexperts, throughout setup and build to ensure ease of use and reliable printing.
Exhibitor Q&A | EXENTIS | Gürsel Demircali, Chief Commercial Officer of the Exentis Group | HALL 11.0 | STAND C62
TCT: What's the biggest challenge you're currently working to solve?
GD: At Formnext, we're excited to unveil our latest generation of fully automated Exentis Additive Screen Printing Production Systems. Our
ToffeeX will be present its ToffeeX software, the first physics-driven generative design software that is said to deliver optimised, manufacturable designs in hours.
The UK-founded company says its strength lies in empowering engineers to quickly design thermo-fluid components that meet all of their requirements. The software was recently used to design more efficient rocket engines by the University of
biggest challenge is to push the boundaries of micro-precision manufacturing, and that's exactly what we're doing with our technology platform.
TCT: What kinds of applications can visitors expect on the booth?
GD: Visitors to our booth will be able to see components with micro-precision structures. We're creating filter structures so fine that they're barely visible to the naked eye. This opens up completely new applications in various industries. For example, to produce microfilters for hydraulic systems, or complex cooling structures. It's a game changer in precision manufacturing!
Glasgow and the UK Space agency. Using ToffeeX, they were able to create highperformance regenerative cooling channels for rocket engine combustion chambers that take full advantage of the intricate geometries that AM allows.
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Colibrium Additive will be presenting its unique capabilities as the only metal additive OEM to offer three different technologies. Attendees are invited to explore Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (E-PBF) and learn about its Point Melt scan strategy, as well as Plateless Builds and Powder Support, alongside its Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) M2 Series 5 and M Line printers as a tool for additive production. Visitors will also be able to learn more about Colibrium’s Binder Jet range which is said to deliver metal parts ‘better, cheaper, faster and safer than castings and other manufacturing methods.’ The company will also showcase its advanced materials capabilities via AP&C, and consulting services with AddWorks.
Replique, the end-to-end platform for industrial sourcing, is set to showcase its latest platform upgrades and applications. Replique now provides users with access to additional manufacturing technologies, such as forging, metal casting, and injection moulding, via 250+ production partners. Attendees can also explore updates to Replique’s Material Hub, which now includes metal materials and a direct comparison feature.
This year, Replique is putting a special focus on healthcare, including a partnership with Zermec Pharma AG. Replique has developed a fully 3D printed containment valve, specifically designed to meet the high standards of powder manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies focused on minimising contamination and enhancing production quality.
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Lithoz has announced it will launch its next ceramic additive manufacturing system with a build capacity that’s five times larger than its flagship CeraFab S65 3D printer.
While standing at the same size as the S65, the new CeraFab System S320 features its biggest build platform to date at 245 x 130 x 320 mm and is geared towards the serial production of mid-size technical ceramic parts. The system is built on the Lithoz’s signature Lithography based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM) process and offers a resolution of 60 µm and a 4K projection system.
The S320 will launch at Formnext alongside a range of ceramics applications including filters, casting cores for more efficient turbine blades, and semiconductor components.
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As teased in our cover story (Pg. 6), EOS will debut a new AM system at Formnext. Details are being kept under wraps until the doors open, but Sebastian Becker, Head of Product Management Metal, EOS GmbH, told TCT: “We’re advancing additive manufacturing to new heights, making industrial-scale applications more practical and profitable.
“Our cutting-edge beam shaping technology improves the processability of hard-to-weld materials and boosts productivity without compromising part quality. Our innovative low-angle and support-free processes unlock new design freedom for metal 3D printing. We’re committed to driving down cost-per-part through reducing consumables, increasing productivity, and leveraging metal powder recycling.”
Lynxter has announced the launch of its S300X – FIL11 | FIL 11 IDEX 3D printing system.
The new product has been built off the success of the company’s S300X – LIQ21 | LIQ11 elastomer 3D printer and its modular multi-material S600D system.
Lynxter’s S300X – FIL11 | FIL 11 system is equipped with two FUL11 toolheads to enable independent dual extrusion (IDEX),
boasts a heated chamber up to 80°C, and has a build volume of 300 x 250 x 280 mm. Its maximum print speed is said to be 1000 mm/s in the X and Y axis and 50 mm/s in the Z axis. Other features of the machine include a duplication mode, mirror mode, dual-material printing and support options that can ‘further enhance the production and design capabilities’ of users.
The wire based additive manufacturing company will be highlighting an application story with Alstom on the VDMA booth. The company says this yaw damper bracket, used in commuter trains to ensure the stability of the vehicle at high speeds, is a good example of a qualified AM component.
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UnionTech says it will present its ‘transformative 3D printing technology for the footwear industry’ through a partnership with Dongguan Yuyuan, which the China-based AM company says was able to accelerate its R&D using AM.
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The Italian laser-based metal AM company will highlight its theme of "Scaling AM for Industrial Production," with the unveiling of its commitment to ‘transforming AM technology through innovation, automation, and competitiveness.’
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The large-format AM company and partner Sika will be showcasing their recently launched high-performance casting materials co-developed for automated tooling on the Massivit 10000 including SikaBiresin CIM 80 for Room Temperature Applications, SikaBiresin CIM 120 for Elevated Temperatures, and SikaBiresin CIM 220 for Extremely High Temperatures.
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Manufacturing Quality Editor Rhiannon Temporal provides a snapshot of the metrology and 3D scanning technologies on the show floor.
Q&A | Artec 3D | Sergey Sukhovey, Chief Experience Officer at Artec 3D spoke to MQ about the new Artec Point.
MQ: What specific qualities set the Artec Point aside from Artec 3D’s already established 3D scanners?
SS: The Artec Point is unique due to its versatility and its focus on metrologygrade accuracy. Unlike our other scanners, the device’s 0.02 mm accuracy, highspeed scanning at 120 FPS, and industryrecognised metrological certificates set it apart from other scanners, making it ideal for industries where precision is critical. Whether you are scanning large components with its fast crossed-laser grid, capturing fine details with its parallel laser lines, or dealing with hard-to-reach areas using a single laser, Point offers unmatched flexibility.
Comet Yxlon will present its FF35 CT high-resolution, multi-application CT System. The FF35 CT is said to be a versatile tool that can inspect components of various sizes with precision and detect even the finest inner details. The FF35 CT is designed to help users scan the intricate geometries of AM parts for defects such as cracks and porosities. The company says the device also facilitates product development by gathering valuable information about 3D printed products and their performance throughout their creation, helping to improve manufacturing processes and achieve better results.
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MQ: What key factors make the Artec Point particularly compatible with the automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and heavy industry sectors?
SS: Artec Point’s ability to handle various object sizes, surface finishes, and complex geometries makes it ideal for sectors like automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing.
As you know, these industries often require high precision for tasks such as quality control, reverse engineering, and inspecting hard-to-access areas, which is where Point truly excels. Its blue light laser technology ensures high accuracy, even on difficult surfaces
At Formnext 2024, Creaform will demonstrate how the HandySCAN 3D|SILVER Series serves as an essential tool for reverse engineering, product development, and additive manufacturing. This lightweight, highly portable scanner is said to deliver fast, accurate 3D data capture for industries looking to streamline workflows and enhance product quality. For AM, Creaform says its technologies are playing a critical role in helping companies maintain high standards of quality control, whether verifying the dimensional accuracy of 3D printed parts or reverse engineering components for production.
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REVOPOINT | HALL 12.1 | STAND E01
Revopoint will present its Revopoint MetroX 3D scanner, recently launched on Kickstarter. The device combines hybrid multi-line blue laser and full-field blue structured light, and features four modes. The company will also present its full range of scanners including the MIRACO 3D scanner, which can capture intricate details on small or large-scale objects; the POP 3 Plus, with a 20% improvement in accuracy; the MINI 2, which captures the tiniest details with a precision of up to 0.02 mm; and the RANGE 2, designed for efficiently scanning large objects.
like shiny or dark objects, while its fastscanning mode allows for the efficient capture of large components, which is key in automotive and aerospace applications.
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Can ON-RAMP help bridge the U.S. skills gap by harnessing industryeducation partnerships, reskilling initiatives, and emerging technologies?
As advanced manufacturing methods are reshaping industries, additive manufacturing (AM) continues to be a key driver of innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness. New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent launch of the $200 million ON-RAMP initiative represents a transformative moment for manufacturing in the state and an opportunity to advance AM adoption. With the U.S. facing a projected shortage of 2.1 million manufacturing workers by 2030, ON-RAMP has the potential to bridge the skills gap, train the next generation of workers, and fuel AM growth. However, for ON-RAMP to succeed, it must consider AM as one of the key technologies of advanced manufacturing and meet the AM sector’s unique challenges.
Driving workforce development ON-RAMP’s emphasis on workforce development addresses the increasing demand for skilled labour, which, as is true for most advanced manufacturing technologies, is especially true in AM. As technologies continue to evolve, curricula and training programs must be adaptable. While AM plays a central role, it is one of many advanced manufacturing technologies, and it should not be taught in isolation. Training programs need to integrate AM with other manufacturing methods to provide a wellrounded understanding of the entire manufacturing process. In order to ensure a well balanced and skilled workforce, the ON-RAMP initiative ensures that workers are equipped with comprehensive skills, covering the latest advancements in manufacturing—ranging from new materials and software to advanced hardware—while also fostering collaboration with other relevant technologies.
It seems that one of ON-RAMP's key strengths
is its commitment to building regional training centres that act as education hubs. These centres must collaborate closely with educational institutions, industry leaders, OEMs, and venture partners to ensure programs remain relevant and financially sustainable. True collaboration is essential because the skills needed today, especially in AM, may be outdated in a few years.
By fostering a dynamic regional learning environment and continuously evolving the curricula, ON-RAMP can create a workforce prepared to meet the changing demands of the AM industry.
Additionally, ON-RAMP’s potential to incentivise AM business development is critical. While workforce training is essential, companies must also create opportunities to adopt AM.
By supporting workforce development and business growth, ON-RAMP can position New York as a frontrunner in AM, attracting businesses and talent. The interconnectedness of education, financial backing, and industry is vital for sustaining long-term growth in this field.
The high stakes of a skills shortage Failing to address the skilled labour shortage in manufacturing could have far-reaching consequences, particularly for innovation, sustainability, and supply chain resilience. Without a workforce capable of understanding and deploying innovative technologies like AM, the U.S. risks falling behind in key manufacturing areas. Innovation will stagnate if companies cannot implement the advanced techniques that AM offers, from
lightweight, sustainable design to rapid prototyping.
Moreover, a lack of skilled AM labour would hinder reshoring efforts. One of AM’s significant advantages is its ability to produce complex and high value parts locally, reducing reliance on fragile global supply chains. Without trained professionals to operate AM systems, companies will struggle to fully leverage these capabilities.
AM offers unique opportunities to reshape the future of engineering talent, particularly in regions with rich history of manufacturing. The initiative’s focus on creating accessible career pathways for both entry-level and midskill workers is crucial in addressing the looming labour shortage.
Training programs under ON-RAMP can equip workers with specialized AM skills. Supported by industry partnerships, these programs can provide hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies to prepare workers for current and future challenges.
The knock-on effect of AM’s potential to foster entrepreneurship is often overlooked. As new workers enter the field with specialised skills, many will have the opportunity to create their own businesses, driving innovation and economic growth. The small manufacturing shops that can adopt AM can distinguish themselves from competitors, accessing new markets and developing novel solutions for their clients.
ON-RAMP’s support for workforce development will thus have a ripple effect, helping to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs.
The ON-RAMP initiative represents a critical opportunity for AM. By investing in workforce development, supporting business growth, and fostering collaboration between education and industry, ON-RAMP can address the skilled labour shortage while positioning New York—and the U.S.—as a leader in advanced manufacturing.
If the findings from the first two TCT UK User Group meetings are any sort of indicator, no matter where a conversation about additive manufacturing challenges may begin, it typically always leads to a discussion about skills.
From classrooms to apprenticeships and industrial strategies, there are many ways to tackle the gap in AM skills. We asked those across industry, academia and research: What is the single most important action that would help address the AM skills gap? Here’s what they had to say.
COURTNEY PUHL | EWD Senior Project Engineer | America Makes “Addressing the skills gap is critical to growing the additive manufacturing industry. At America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, we collaborate with our members from industry, academia, and government to create comprehensive education
and training programs that align closely with industry needs. Institute-developed awareness and inspiration programs are designed to widen the funnel, expose learners to career opportunities, and encourage individuals to enter programming that will bring them into the industry. Through career exploration tools and microlearning modules, the AM industry is made accessible to all learners regardless of age or circumstance. Learners inspired to pursue the next step of a career in AM can continue to more in-depth institute programs. By offering hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools, certifications, and clear career pathways, these programmes can equip the workforce with the specialised skills required for the rapidly evolving field of additive manufacturing.”
DR CANDICE MAJEWSKI | Senior Lecturer | School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering | The University of Sheffield
“I think there’s a danger that, when we talk about skills, we focus quite narrowly on the technical aspects of additive manufacturing. And while technical capabilities are without a doubt hugely important, we mustn’t let them obscure the need for a broader range of skills. For our industry to advance to meet its full potential we need ongoing innovation; for that we need new
MELISSA ORME | Vice President of Boeing Additive Manufacturing
“There is a recognised gap in the skilled workforce for additive manufacturing that is due in part to erroneous perceptions that AM, and all manufacturing for that matter, lacks career advancement and is not interesting or meaningful. Hence to address the AM skills gap, we need to change the perception that it is not interesting. The truth that needs to be conveyed is that AM is a high-tech capability that is based on digital integration. It uses modeling, simulation, big data analytics, machine learning, and AI. Engineers implementing AM are free to unleash their creativity and imaginations in ways that were never before possible in manufacturing. It is a capability that combines material science, structural mechanics, dynamics and data analytics.
Hence, the first step is to interest the workforce in AM roles by promoting the allure of innovation and cutting-edge technologies that comprise the AM workstream. Once the motivated and energetic workforce begin to fill the workforce gaps, the second step is to train and upskill them at the same pace as the rapidly changing technology.”
ideas, new perspectives and perhaps completely new mindsets. So the biggest question becomes, how do we attract a broader range of people? For me that means we need to be getting out there and speaking to the people we don’t normally reach. This might be as simple as spreading the word via events, magazines, and podcasts in new areas, but could also include AM-focused events targeting new audiences. If we can reach new people with accessible, easy to digest, information, we can hopefully get the influx of new people that will help transform the industry.”
“AM education is already addressed quite well at the university level, and we are seeing better AMeducated engineers graduating and entering the market. However, a skill gap persists throughout the industry, preventing AM from breaking through as a universally adopted production technology with its own design and production rules. Standardised training programs would provide a common language, framework, and skill set, making it easier to acquire the necessary skills and for employers to identify qualified personnel. Numerous training systems already exist, offered by various market players and institutes, some of which provide certifications for specific roles within the AM supply chain. Implementing standardised training programs at a higher level would improve transparency and comparability across training offerings, certifications, and the qualifications of trained personnel.”
ANDREW ALLSHORN | Founder at AT 3D-Squared Ltd
“This is a compelling topic that’s been close to my heart for many years, particularly since I donated an SLA 250 to my former high school. The primary challenge in bridging the additive manufacturing skills gap is raising awareness. The optimal approach would involve incorporating additive manufacturing into the school curriculum, ensuring that every Design and Technology class includes it. However, it should not be limited to just D&T; it must be made available across all subjects, including Sciences, Engineering, Culinary Arts, and the Humanities, as it is relevant to every aspect of our lives. The earlier we can introduce additive manufacturing to students, the more beneficial it will be for the future of our industry.”
“We need to implement targeted education and training programs that integrate AM into the broader manufacturing landscape. For too long, we have viewed AM as either a replacement for, or an alternative to traditional methods, when it should be seen as a complementary tool, one that works synergistically with existing manufacturing. The goal should not be to replace traditional
STEVE COX | 3D Technologies Consultant at AMFORi Consulting
“Firstly, we need to re-establish the essential fundamental of having a defined UK Industrial Strategy. This would help frame the skills gap that exists across all of UK manufacturing but would cover the specific needs required for AM to continue to grow and flourish.
The 2024 TCT User Group perspective was that those who have grown up exposed to 3D printing through secondary and higher education has improved the numbers entering industry with AM skills, but it’s not improving fast enough. So perhaps that acceleration needs to come through upskilling older workers, especially those in SME’s where potential for adoption is still very significant but where I see it being held back by concern over the necessary skills needed. This won’t be easy, but perhaps creating a government-sponsored collaboration programme where those larger companies who have successfully implemented AM help to facilitate that upskilling could be a solution.”
manufacturing but to enhance and augment it through AM, creating a more versatile and adaptive manufacturing ecosystem. This means training programs must emphasise how AM can coexist with and enhance established techniques, equipping workers with the knowledge to leverage both sets of skills effectively.
For this, fostering better communication and collaboration between academia and industry is required. Industry needs to provide guidance on the specific skills required, while educational institutions must adapt their curriculum accordingly. This way we can ensure the future workforce is equipped with the right mix of competencies to thrive in a manufacturing environment.”
WAI YEE YEONG | Professor and Chair of School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
“AM involves engineering principles in a holistic manner, covering different aspects including designprocess-material and product development. The key is the ability to identify unique advantages of using AM to achieve better final performance of the intended application. It is important to develop hands-on workshops or laboratory-based design and fabrication modules that allow learners to experience the entire process flow of AM from design to print. As a result, learners will be able to map the key values of using AM technology for the specific industry or application.”
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WORDS: TALI ROSMAN
Recent global disruptions and conflicts, from Covid-19 to the situation in the Ukraine, have underscored the critical importance of robust manufacturing capabilities and resilient supply chains. The ability to rapidly produce essential equipment (military and civilian), especially in times of conflict, can be the decisive factor in determining the outcome of a war. Specifically, these events exposed a concerning weakness in the United States: a significant decline in manufacturing capacity coupled with an alarming dependence on foreign suppliers, including China, for critical civilian and defense components alike.
Amidst these challenges, additive manufacturing, once confined to prototyping and niche applications, has emerged as a powerful force, enabling the rapid production of complex components and enhancing supply chain flexibility.
AM has been put to the test in the last year and has been growing in importance when it comes to re-building the USA manufacturing base and fortifying the supply chain.
THE FUTURE OF WARFARE
The US has recognised the strategic significance of AM and is investing heavily in its potential to revolutionise defence production. AM’s agility and speed offer a distinct advantage in a world where conflicts are increasingly characterised by rapid technological advancements and evolving battlefield dynamics.
• Drones: AM is playing a pivotal role in revolutionising drone technology, which is increasingly crucial in modern warfare. Companies like Firestorm are leveraging AM to produce entire drone airframes, consisting of 44 printed parts, showcasing the speed and flexibility that AM brings to drone manufacturing.
The US Air Force is also actively supporting startups like RapidFlight, who was awarded a contract to develop advanced, 3D printed drones with a focus on autonomous capabilities.
• High-Performance Aerospace Components : Honeywell is reducing production time and costs by using AM to print ceramic moulds to fabricate turbine blades for their jet engines. Similarly, Pratt & Whitney is leveraging
AM to completely redesign its TJ150 turbojet engine. This redesign, enabled by AM's design freedom, has drastically reduced the engine's part count, leading to faster production and potentially lower costs.
• Large-Scale Manufacturing: The US Army is pushing the boundaries of AM with the "world's largest 3D printer," developed by MELD Manufacturing. This massive system is being used to produce parts for the Apache attack helicopter, demonstrating the scalability of AM to meet the demands of largescale military hardware production.
AGILITY AND SPEED: THE AM ADVANTAGE
The true strength of AM lies not only in its ability to produce diverse military equipment but also in its unparalleled speed and agility. Task Force 99, a specialised Air Force unit, has showcased the potential of AM by designing and printing a functional drone in under 48 hours. This rapid prototyping and production capability provides a significant advantage in adapting to changing battlefield conditions and countering emerging threats, outpacing the limitations of traditional manufacturing processes. More broadly, there is a focus on quick production of cost-effective solutions that can be readily deployed, where AM has an inherent advantage.
The drive to reshore manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers is a central theme in the US’s embrace of AM. In a significant move that underscores the strategic importance of AM, the US Department of Commerce has recently imposed export controls on metal AM equipment. This action, driven by national security concerns, restricts the flow of sensitive AM technology to potentially adversarial nations, highlighting AM's potential to shift global power dynamics.
While the transformative potential of AM in reshaping the future of warfare is undeniable, challenges
remain. Scaling up production to meet the demands of large-scale military operations, establishing industry-wide standards for quality control, and advancing materials science to expand the range of printable materials are all critical areas that require further development.
As AM technologies continue to evolve and integrate into mainstream manufacturing, their role in re-building the USA manufacturing base and enhancing national security becomes increasingly pivotal. By bolstering the United States' manufacturing autonomy and resilience, AM not only addresses current supply chain vulnerabilities but also prepares the nation for future challenges in an uncertain global landscape.
“AM has been put to the test in the last year.”
Gain practical knowledge through proactive participation and handson experience
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Impactful networking without any agendas
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Value
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n 4-day conference
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