TCT North America Issue 6.2 by TCT Magazine

HEALTHCARE Including the additive community's response to the COVID-19 crisis

MAG NORTH AMERICAN EDITION

ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTION Latest additive applications for the building of buildings

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2

www.tctmagazine.com

SUPPORT-FREE SIX EXPERTS DISCUSS THE BUSINESS IMPACT OF VELO3D'S SUPPORT-LESS METAL AM

DESIGN-TO-MANUFACTURINg INNOVATION

Hirtenberger. Ingenuity. Engineered

HIRTISATIONÂŽ

FULLY AUTOMATED POST-PROCESSING OF 3D-PRINTED METAL PARTS

No mechanical processing steps involved

Removal of powder cake

Reaching deeply into cavities and geometric undercuts

Removal of support structures

Combination of electrochemical pulse methods, hydro-

Levelling of surface roughness while

dynamic flow and particle assisted chemical removal

retaining edge sharpness

hes.hirtenberger.com

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2

ISSN 2059-9641

EDITORIAL

HEAD OF CONTENT

Daniel O’Connor e: daniel.oconnor@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 398 DEPUTY GROUP EDITOR

Laura Griffiths e: laura.griffiths@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 389

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Samuel Davies e: samuel.davies@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 390 ASSISTANT EDITOR - TCT MAGAZINE GERMAN EDITION

ADVERTISING HEAD OF MEDIA SALES

Carol Cooper e: carol@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 386 ADVERTISING MANAGER

Christine Joinson e: christine.joinson@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 385 ADVERTISING MANAGER

Nicky Martin e: nicky.martin@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 365 SENIOR SALES

Gareth Jones e: gareth.jones@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 360

PRODUCTION

Sam Hamlyn Matt Clarke Ellie Gaskell

MANAGEMENT C.E.O. / PUBLISHER

Duncan Wood

VP, CONTENT, STRATEGY AND PARTNERSHIPS

James Woodcock e: james@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 391

SUBSCRIPTIONS

PUBLISHED PRICES TCT North America Print Subscription - Qualifying Criteria US/Canada - FREE UK & Europe - $249 ROW - $249 TCT Europe Print Subscription - Qualifying Criteria UK & Europe - FREE US/Canada - £249 ROW - £249 TCT German Language Print Subscription - Qualifying Criteria UK & Europe - FREE US/Canada - €249 ROW - €249 Subscription enquiries to subscriptions@rapidnews.com Read this and back issues for FREE on Issuu www.issuu.com/tctmagazine Partner with

The TCT Magazine is published bi-monthly by Rapid News Publications Ltd Carlton House, Sandpiper Way, Chester Business Park, Chester CH4 9QE, UK.

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained within this publication is accurate, the publisher accepts no liability for information published in error, or for views expressed. All rights for The TCT Magazine are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

A Strong Future Stands Behind Us! ARMSTRONG RM COMBINES OLD-WORLD CRAFTSMANSHIP WITH INNOVATIVE, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS . . . . . EVERY DAY FOR OVER 50 YEARS

FUNCTIONAL ALUMINIUM & PLASTIC PROTOTYPES RAPIDLY

ISO 9001:2015 Certified • ITAR REGISTERED • AS9100 Rev.D email: sales@ARMstrongRM.com • tel: (315) 437-1517 For more info visit us at: ARMstrongRM.com

• Machined Aluminium Castings • One Shot Casting • Rubber Plaster Mold • Precision Air Set Sand • Graphite Die Casting • RIM – Reaction Injection Molding • CNC Machining & Hogouts • Painting, Finishing & Assembly

FROM THE EDITOR

TESTING TIMES

In contemplating what goes into an editor's letter at this moment in time, I had promised myself I'd steer away from the news topic dominating the headlines. After all, starting on page 10, Laura's excellent coverage of the additive manufacturing industry's reaction to COVID-19 goes into a lot more detail than I ever could. However, by mentioning the pandemic in that first paragraph, I've broken my promise and seeing as the horse has bolted, I may as well continue. I was planning on signing this letter off with something like, "I hope all our readers and their families are safe and sound," but that feels empty, and now is not the time for flippancy. Some basic math taking into account our readership and the current curve of the infection rate, the likelihood is that not everyone's family is safe and sound. There will be some of you reading this whose lives have been affected in irreversible ways, and for you, I'm angry. Angry at the slow responses from governments around the globe; angry at the people flouting curfews and lockdowns; angry at panic buyers; angry at some company's behavior towards their staff; angry at some of the ambulancechasing profiteering. Writing an editor's letter and editing a magazine about additive manufacturing at a time like this feels futile. That being said, you could spend your time becoming bitter and twisted at a situation that is out of your control, or you could choose to see some of the positives and examples of community shining through. For every nitwit buying up hand sanitizers looking for a quick buck, there's a company like BrewDog retooling its plant to make hand gel to disperse for free. As I'm composing this, I see the news breaking that 405,000 people have volunteered to assist the health service in the UK. There are positives to try and cling to. The long-serving AM members we're not getting to see this spring at AMUG or RAPID + TCT have always been known for their willingness to help and share information. The response you'll read more about in Laura's piece is proof that, despite AM's unprecedented growth, the spirit of community still exists. We believe we have an innovative solution that is quick and flexible, perfect for the manufacture of bespoke medical devices and short runs. And if we're honest, we also have bags of latent capacity. The mainstream media has been lapping the 3D printing of PPEs and ventilator parts up; let's hope that if there is any light at the end of the tunnel, additive manufacturing has proved to be a viable technology by doing the ultimate and saving lives. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, stay indoors unless absolutely necessary to leave and be vigilant about yours and everyone else's safety. I'm stealing a line from the Kermode and Mayo podcast here that I like, and hope is true: "Everything will be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the end."

DANIEL O'CONNOR HEAD OF CONTENT

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 03

TCT VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2

COVER STORY

06. SUPPORT-FREE

Six experts talk about their experiences of using Velo3D’s metal additive manufacturing technology.

HEALTHCARE

09. LAB IN A BOX

Assistant Editor Sam Davies talks to a company hoping to 3D print the ‘desktop PC of biology’.

10. 3D PRINTING STEPS UP IN CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Deputy Group Editor Laura Griffiths takes a look at the 3D printing industry’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Postprocessing

13. MAKING THE CUT

3D Systems and GF Machining team up to optimise the workflow for 3D printed spinal cages.

15. SURFACE FINISHING METAL AM PARTS: TIME TO TACKLE TIME

Fintek’s Richard Ainsworth discusses a UK Government sponsored research project.

17 Architecture & Construction 17. COUPLE UP

Sam speaks to the product design company 3D printing a redesigned scaffold coupler.

21. COULD AM CHANGE HOW INDUSTRY BUILDS?

Laura talks to the project manager of a research effort producing a large steel cantilever beam.

23 Executive Q&A 23. EOS CEO MARIE LANGER TALKS SUSTAINABLE AM

Marie Langer talks to TCT about what she’s bringing to EOS as CEO.

THROUGH THE DOORS

25. COMING OF AGE

Behind the scenes at Arcam as the GE Additive company opens new Gothenburg facility.

Standards

26. STANDARDS FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS TCT Expert Advisory Board's Dr Mohsen Seifi on ASTM's development of AM standards.

29 RAPID + TCT 29. 30TH EDITION POSTPONED UNTIL 2021

Though the 30th RAPID + TCT event was postponed until 2021, Head of Content Dan O’Connor still has exhibitor news to share.

SUPPORT-FR

SIX EXPERTS DISCUSS THE BUSINESS IMPACT OF VELO3D'S SUPPORT-LESS METAL AM

dditive manufacturing (AM) for metal parts has a constraint: the requirement for support structures to be added and later removed. When contemplating a workflow that excludes support structure creation and removal, most will focus on the reduction of time and the elimination of cost. These are real outcomes, but they undervalue the larger gains that can be realized by those that use metal AM. Here, six companies contribute their experiences, expectations, and insights.

SUPPORT STRUCTURES

David Bentley, senior manufacturing engineer for 3D printed metals at Protolabs, said: “Ninetyfive percent of the parts that come through here are going to require supports.” Michael Corliss, VP–Technology for Knust–Godwin, noted that 60% to 70% of parts have supports that require CNC machining for removal. Although any metal AM part may require support structures, and therefore benefit from their elimination, the positive impact is greatest on parts with internal passageways or cavities. The most-cited example of support structures’ impact on metal AM was shrouded impellers. Other examples are manifolds, heat exchangers, and conformal cooling channels. Regardless of the complexity of the part design, support structures will require removal after the build, degrade surface finish, add time to the AM build, and consume material, which can be expensive. The benefits of eliminating supports are obvious in terms of time, cost and quality. However, these obvious benefits are secondary to the big business advantages that may be somewhat obscure.

UNSHACKLED DESIGNS

For many years, AM has been positioned as a technology that unleashes freedom of design. Yet, this dream has been shackled by the constraints imposed when secondary operations are considered. The inability, or difficulty, to remove supports from a part that leverages design freedoms in a way that impedes access by machine tools or hand tools will limit the design possibilities that AM promises. Andrew Carter, senior manufacturing engineer at Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, said: “We may never get 100% true freedom of design in laser-based metal powder bed fusion, but this support-less process is completely widening the

06 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 6 ISSUE 2

span of applications.” For shrouded impellers, Chad Robertson, senior engineer at Hanwha Power Systems America, said: “Additive gives us the capability to control some features that traditional cannot; features like the fillets where the impeller meets the shroud.” Without AM, the shroud is brazed or electronbeam welded to the impeller. However, when supports lie between the impeller and shroud, the removal process limits this ability to benefit from the additional control offered by AM. By working on projects designed for conventional manufacturing rather than those that require design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) principles, Carter believes, “We can reduce or eliminate the barriers to adoption of AM for many OEMs.” Scott Volk, former Chief Technology Officer for Incodema3D, had similar thoughts: “Now we don’t have to push as hard. We can allow for some of the things customers have already designed.” Carter also cited productivity gains in the sales cycle that come from the ability to accept orders for parts that do not require redesigns.

REPEATABILITY AND RELIABILITY

An outcome of support elimination is that scrap rates are dramatically reduced. With lower scrap rates, companies realize advantages that include improvements in resource utilization, throughput, efficiency, cost of goods sold, and lead time. Expanding on these, the customer has higher satisfaction, higher confidence, and improved results. There are software tools that

5 ABOVE:

IMPELLER SHOWN WITH SUPPORTS AND THEN PRINTED SUPPORT-FREE

6 BELOW:

SHROUDED IMPELLER FEATURING ZERO DEGREE ANGLES PRINTED ON VELO3D'S SAPPHIRE MACHINE

REE 6 BELOW:

VELO3D’S CAPABILITIES CAN ELIMINATE SUPPORT STRUCTURES ALTOGETHER BY PRINTING PARTS FREEFLOATING IN POWDER, WHICH DRASTICALLY ELIMINATES SECONDARY PROCESSES

cover story

automatically create support structures, although Carter noted that the results are not build-ready. Essentially, the software provides a starting point, and an experienced AM professional then applies knowledge from past experiences to optimize the resulting supports. Carter said: “It’s still very much tribal knowledge, and if support structures do need to be changed, that adds time to the project.” Volk added that tall supports, those that rise two or three inches, can be problematic, especially when the support structure originates from a part surface that lies below the supported feature. Another aspect is inconsistencies that arise from manual removal operations. Corliss said: “With the AM machine making support-free parts with better surface finishes, it’s repeatable. When you’re doing it with humans, it’s never consistent; you don’t get the repeatability.”

MORE AM OPPORTUNITIES

An advantage of support-less metal AM is that more opportunities can be successfully addressed because fewer are turned away as impractical applications. With elimination of support structures, Carter said: “We’re now seeing applications that we couldn’t address earlier.” Carter said shrouded impellers have been “the holy grail”. He added: “They were difficult, if not impossible, to manufacture with previous equipment … Our ability to produce support-less parts allows us to aggressively attack that market.” Incodema3D also referenced shrouded impellers. Volk said: “We did this with a customer who’s in power generation, but it didn’t turn out well. I mean we were able to do the product, but the amount of money it took to make it...it just wasn’t feasible.”

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE

To accommodate or avoid support structures, design modifications may be necessary when using a ‘traditional” LPBF process. However, these alterations may also impact the performance of the part. When supports become unnecessary at the process level, the new-found design freedoms allow ideal configurations that in turn yield optimal part performance. Hanwha Power Systems, which is driving innovation in supercritical CO2 engines, has experienced the limitations of supported metal AM parts first hand. Robertson said: “The parts that we are interested in for AM are generally pretty tricky parts to print on a standard AM machine just due to the support structure. “Support-free metal AM frees us up to use the geometry we’d like to use rather than being pushed into using a design

“IT OPENS UP NEW POSSIBILITIES TO INCREASE HEAT EXCHANGER PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY.”

that compromises the aerodynamics in order to make an AM-friendly part.” Volk has seen a similar scenario with heat exchangers. He noted innovative designs that dramatically increase the surface area where heat exchange occurs but were too challenging for metal AM. He said: “It opens up new possibilities to increase heat exchanger performance and efficiency.”

FUEL INNOVATION

The benefit of support-less metal AM promotes innovation by removing barriers that constrain designs, processes, and business models. Jeff Thornburg, president and CEO of Interstellar Technologies, said: “One of the things that my team and I have been very attracted to is anything in the industry that provides more speed, more forward velocity, and faster innovation.” In Interstellar’s view, support structures are an impediment to its mission of innovation in propulsion systems. By simply avoiding the removal procedures, its innovation is accelerated. He said: “Instead of working around a limitation, I think it frees you up to be more creative and innovative. You’re taking that time that would be spent to design around a limitation and applying it to creativity, which then leads to even better designed performance.”

CONCLUSION

The advantages of eliminating support structures from the metal AM workflow are numerous and extensive. The business case for Knust-Godwin is business expansion. For Protolabs, Incodema3D, and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, the big win is in expanding the addressable market for metal AM parts. Meanwhile, Hanwha Power Systems gains performance, and Interstellar Technologies fuels innovation. Each company could build justifications based on time and cost reductions, but that is imprudent. Focusing on the smaller benefits ignores the powerful motivators that can drive businesses to act, to change, and to innovate. Visit Velo3d.com to download the full whitepaper, authored by Todd Grimm.

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 07

INDUSTRIAL

OPEN CHOICE OF MATERIAL

MECHANICAL STRENGTH

ARBURG PLASTIC FREEFORMING 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY

LOW-VOLUME PRODUCTION

More flexibility for your additive manufacturing! Our two freeformers offer everything you need for the industrial production of high-quality individual parts and small batches: different build chamber dimensions, two or three discharge units, and a variety of qualified original plastics. Also suitable for resilient and simultaneously complex hard/soft combinations. Anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible with our open system! www.arburg.us

healthcare

WORDS: Sam Davies

or decades the size of computing systems has reduced gradually, from the mainframe equipment used in the mid 20th century through workstations, laptops, tablets and smartphones. It means, today, at times of crisis and convenience, many workers can take the device central to their productivity home, to another workspace or on the road. For those working in biological labs, however, every piece of equipment remains in the facility. Changing that, in one fell swoop, is the motivation of BiologIC Technologies. The start-up has designed, and holds intellectual property for, a device it hopes will become ‘the desktop PC of biology.’ It is intended to scale down laboratory processes to design biology, controlling fluids and cells, introducing chemicals and reagents, within a small footprint. Referred to as a lab in a box, Stratasys’ J826 multi-material PolyJet 3D printing technology is integral to its design and manufacture. “If you think of all the functions in a biological lab, we’re basically miniaturising those into a series of modules each with a Rubik’s Cube-sized footprint,” Chairman Richard Vellacott told TCT. “A normal PC runs off semiconductor chips, central processing units and graphical units made out of silicon; we’re making bioprocessing units using 3D printing.” These bioprocessing units, or cartridges, plug into a universal instrument to run a particular biological workflow. Stratasys’ flexible and tear-resistant Agilus material is used to help move biology ‘dynamically’ around the system, while the VeroUltraClear material allows the user to see the biology as it goes. The design of the cartridges is said to be so complex, making them any other way isn’t an option. As such, BiologIC will be looking to move into production using the same technology, expanding on its current capacity - nine cartridges per build - with larger format J850 machines.

SHOWN:

BIOLOGIC’S 3D PRINTED BIOPROCESSING UNIT

6 BELOW:

THE BIOLOGIC TEAM LEFT TO RIGHT: DR COLIN BAKER, RICHARD VELLACOTT & NICK ROLLINGS

Already, customers are intrigued. “We’ve been working with customers since day one – they’re fascinated by it – and they can see straight into the design, build and tests of these products,” Vellacott said. “We can turn the whole conventional life science instrument development model on its head, rather than waiting five to ten years to get something out to a customer and hope they want it.” Of course, there is some path still to tread in the development of BiologIC’s device – Vellacott confesses it’s a ‘grand vision’ – but once the usual regulatory hurdles have been cleared, the hope is medical professionals can

“CUSTOMERS ARE FASCINATED.” accelerate the advancement of their medicines. BiologIC knows there exist laboratory innovations that could lead to potential therapies for cancers, vaccines and treatments for other diseases, and Vellacott only has to flip open his laptop or swipe a finger across his phone right now to be reminded of the urgency. What’s more, with experience working in laboratory environments, they can relate to the pain points that slow these developments down: Specialist equipment not marrying together so well, software tools not connecting either, and scientists routinely being taken away from their specialist tasks to do manual jobs around the lab. “That’s not efficient for anybody,” Vellacott said. “If we can automate these processes, we can free up scientists to do what they do best, which is understand biology, design experiments, get results. We want to deploy these people not in mindless capacities, but in mindful creation. “If we execute this nicely, hopefully, we will make a big difference in the world.”

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 09

3D PRINTING STEP IN CORONAVIRUS WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

s I sit at my makeshift desk, waving to my team mates over Skype as TCT commences working from home our bid to help stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic, the reality of the crisis we all suddenly find ourselves in looms. But as I struggle to turn my attention away from the growing stats and figures filling up my newsfeed or the empty shelves in my local supermarket which serve as a constant reminder (this crisis will, if anything, make me a more creative cook), there is another movement gaining momentum that’s curbing the worry and giving me hope. A surge of additive manufacturing (AM) companies from service bureaus to makers have publicly declared their willingness to support the manufacture of much needed lifesaving medical equipment. As the number of cases increases, our regular supply chains are struggling to facilitate demand for crucial items such as respiratory devices and protective masks. Here in the UK, our NHS is said to have around 5,900 vital ventilators but it is believed we could need almost quadruple that number to care for Covid-19 patients. It’s a similar situation across the world. AM companies believe this is the time to step up. In Italy 3D printing is already having an impact following a fast reacting exchange between an Italian journalist, the founder of a Milano Maker Lab and engineering company Isinnova. The collaboration led to the successful production of a prototype for a replacement valve for respiratory aids, which were then printed in a powder bed process in PA12 by AM provider Lonati SpA, and sent to a hospital in Brescia. The manufacturer was able to produce 100 within a day, at a cost of less than 1 Euro each. The UK Government has called on the UK manufacturing supply chain to switch their production to manufacture "as many new ventilators as possible,” according to the Prime Minister. A number of 3D printing companies are believed be amongst the 1,400 businesses to have already pledged their support including 3T Additive Manufacturing.

010 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 6 ISSUE 2

As an ISO13485 approved service provider, 3T says it has the capacity to produce metal and polymer parts in a variety of materials for the medical industry and believes it could help with the manufacture of casings, clips, fixturing and more. "The benefit 3T can offer at the moment is a 24-hour turnaround on polymer parts, and using laser sintering technology means that we can manufacture hundreds of parts at the same time with little to no finishing requirement," Victoria May at 3T, told TCT. "No support removal means as soon as the machines are cool, the parts are ‘broken out’ of the machine, blasted, and then ready to go. All we require is a 3D file.” British engineering and metal AM firm Renishaw is one of the companies the Cabinet Office has approached to assist in this national effort. Renishaw's Chris Pockett told TCT: "We have judged that our most useful role in this challenge is to offer our services to rapidly produce components for the devices using our in-house additive manufacturing, machining and electronics capabilities. We have formally communicated this to the Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and we are already in contact with some of the teams that are working on ventilator designs.”

HEALTHCARE

PS UP CRISIS

Over in the U.S., Silicon Valley 3D manufacturing company Carbon says it is on hand with a network of contract manufacturing partners using its Digital Light Synthesis technology, and believes AM can help overcome the challenges of traditional supply chains, particularly in the face of shut-downs and global transportation disruptions. So far, the company has been developing designs for face shields and swabs for test kits. Dr. Joseph DeSimone, Carbon's Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, cited Carbon’s cloud capabilities and engineering-grade materials as valuable assets in tackling the crisis and urged companies, governments, and others to reach out. He told TCT: “Adaptable and diversified global supply chains are essential now and into the future as we confront major disruptions caused by pandemics or other significant events like earthquakes or hurricanes. For example, Carbon printers are all connected to the cloud, so when such a disruption occurs, even if one facility goes down, digital designs for parts can easily be shifted to and manufactured at another facility as needed.”

“NOW MORE THAN EVER WE MUST CONTRIBUTE WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE MOST VULNERABLE.”

SHOWN: UK GOVERNMENT CALLED ON MANUFACTURERS TO PICK UP PRODUCTION OF VENTILATORS

HP has also shared its plans to assist, leveraging its large Digital Manufacturing Network to help design, validate and produce essential parts with Multi Jet Fusion. "Digital manufacturing can be a huge help in quickly filling parts shortages, creating new and more effective designs, and helping bridge disrupted supply chains,” Ramon Pastor, interim President of HP’s 3D Printing & Digital Manufacturing business, commented. “That’s why we are mobilizing both our own internal team, as well as collaborating with our global partner community, to design, validate, and begin producing critical parts for medical responders and hospitals – respirator valves, breathing filters, face mask clasps, and more." Similarly, digital manufacturing company Protolabs managed to turn around thousands of components for coronavirus test kits in just 24 hours, and is said to be working on a new multi mold production order for a large medical provider. Desktop machine manufacturers are offering their resources directly to hospitals and projects. BCN3D for example, a Barcelona-based outfit, is offering up its farm of 63 polymer extrusion machines including its Sigma, Sigmax and BCN3D Epsilon dual extrusion printers.

Xavier Martínez Faneca, BCN3D CEO shared with TCT: "We are not going to be left behind and now more than ever we must contribute with our technology for the benefit of the most vulnerable". Meanwhile, Josef Prusa, founder of desktop 3D printer manufacturer Prusa Research, told TCT the company is starting production of protective shields for the Czech Ministry of Health. The company, which runs a factory of over 1,000 3D printers, says it will donate 10,000 units as a starting point. Prusa Research's maker community has come out in force offering to help, however, like many, Josef has warned against printing non-validated respirators and stressed that the company is reaching out to professionals who can verify and test their designs. Away from FDM, desktop stereolithography leader Formlabs has established a support network which invites its users to volunteer time and equipment. The company is working with hospitals, medical professionals and state/federal agencies, to print and and test parts. However, Dávid Lakatos, CPO at Formlabs tweeted urging anyone "just printing something that looks like a mask", could potentially do more harm than good and stressed the importance of involving medical professionals before providing these items to patients or healthcare providers. While there are many 3D printer owners with the best intentions offering up their capabilities, there is, of course, concern around the safe implementation of these parts. There are also questions around liability should one of these devices fail. Kevin Quigley, owner of product design company Quigley Design, is wary of the UK Government mobilizing manufacturers to develop new ventilators and devices. "This whole situation is about speed," Quigley told TCT. "The ICU situation is ramping up by the hour. If you want speed, you look at production rates - you don't try to reinvent the wheel. Developing a complex medical device like this is not easy and, if I have learned one thing in 30 years, it is that just because you know a lot about one sector, doesn't mean it transfers directly to another." Those requirements - speed, innovation, on-demand manufacture - are the kinds of promises the AM landscape was built on, and now, with the right call to action and support from governing bodies, it will hopefully get the chance to fulfil them.

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 011

Introducing unprecedented productivity, material versatility, and simple serviceability.

INTEGRA P 450 The most flexible and user-friendly industrial SLS 3D printer on the market

Pricing starting at $499,000*

For more information, visit integrap450.com

*Includes installation, basic training, start-up materials, 12-mo. system warranty, 24-mo. laser warranty, and all necessary third-party software licenses.

POST-PROCESSING

WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

he next time you find yourself doubting 3D printing’s potential for production, just think of this figure; one million. That is the number, according to 3D Systems, of certified medical implants it has 3D printed for human beings around the world. How they got to that number is all about workflow, and that workflow, is down to collaboration. 3D Systems partnered with precision machining specialist GF Machining back in 2018 to deliver a new automation concept for complex metal parts. At the most recent Formnext event, the companies demonstrated the results of this integrated workflow for a series of titanium spinal cage implants. Discussing the partnership, Mark Cook, Vice President, Metals Products at 3D Systems, told TCT how the company worked with GF to address the requirements of the manufacturing floor: “Teaming up with GF was critical for us to take that next step and really help customers develop more efficient ways to bring additive into the serial production environment.” Different applications require different solutions, and medical devices, naturally, come with additional challenges in terms of certification. For spinal cages, which 3D Systems is said to be producing 500,000 of annually, the parts are designed, prepared and optimised in 3DXpert software and then sent for printing in the DMP Flex 350, which features quick-swap build modules for continuous production. The parts can then go straight to the CNC machining centre to begin post-processing. While all applications are different, the common thread is a need to understand each workflow from the outset to maximise efficiency and incorporate all postprocessing functions, as Romain Dubreuil, Product Line Manager at GF Machining explained: “Where there are still a lot of manual operations, the vision in the future is […] going to production in series

where the complete manufacturing chain is optimised.”

THINKING AHEAD

Applying its 65 plus years of experience, GF says it is working with 3D Systems at R&D level to further simplify AM integration into the full manufacturing process chain for steps such as milling and CNC machining. But is post-processing really as much of a bottleneck as once thought? Cook says, in the case of metals, post-processing is little more than a required downstream operation. “Even in traditional manufacturing, you typically never put a piece of material into a CNC machine and get the final part out,” he suggests, adding that post-processing steps need to be considered as part of the overall production

workflow to make it as efficient as possible. Gautam Gupta, VP, Business Development, Healthcare at 3D Systems however, says metal printing does come with its own unique postprocessing challenges, even just to remove the parts from the build plate. He described how previously it had been difficult to position the build in a way that would allow for wire EDM. To solve that, GF introduced the AgieCharmilles CUT AM 500, specifically designed for AM, which allows efficient separation of parts up to 510 x 510 x 510 mm, from the build plate without any damage. Gupta explained: “Now instead of you having to turn the plate 90 degrees and get the wire somehow aligned, you can just keep the plate as you printed it, keep all the data intact and let the wire come in horizontally. It seems very trivial and simple but it has had a huge impact on how we can process the implant.” 3D Systems is also leveraging additional solutions from GF including a System 3R clamping mechanism which allows easier integration and accurate positioning of the build platform with secondary processes. Cook says they’re only just scratching the surface and as the partnership progresses there is scope to further streamline the entire process from putting powder into the system to getting your final part in hand. He added: “It's really much more about designing equipment with the entire process comprehended at the beginning [..] we're starting to develop concepts that are based on accomplishing that goal four or five years down the road.”

3 LEFT:

3D PRINTED SPINAL CAGES

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 013

LEARN MORE

exone.com/metal3d

The X1 160Pro

BIG METAL PRODUCTION • Advanced 3D printing of ultra-fine MIM metal powders • Largest metal binder jetting system available today • 3D prints more than 20 metals, ceramics and composites • Exclusive technology for industry-leading density, repeatability • Quality 3D printing with fast speeds topping 10,000 cm3/hour

WATCH THE VIDEO

NEW

ExOne’s 10th meta l 3D printe r

POST-PROCESSING

SURFACE FINISHING METAL AM PARTS: TIME TO TACKLE TIME WORDS: Richard Ainsworth, Fintek

urface finishing costs can be up to 60% of an AM component. Currently, poor quality of surface finish can make them unsuitable for some industrial uses. Post-processing, such as CNC machining or linishing, is time consuming, often inconsistent and usually costly. This is suppressing AM uptake, despite the potential benefits. To mitigate the scarcity of information, Innovate UK sponsored detailed research, led by Croft Additive Manufacturing with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and Fintek.

roughness measures for each set of parameters formed the basic data matrix to begin the POSY development. This process was repeated to create a sizable database. A set of test bars were also produced for mechanical testing by Liverpool John Moores University, who carried out further surface finishing in a centrifugal disc finishing machine and a drag finishing machine. An identical set of samples went to Fintek, who processed them in a centrifugal machine and a new generation high-energy stream finishing system from OTEC Präzisionsfinish. Measurements of surface roughness before and after processing, tensile strength and mechanical properties were then supplied to INTEGRATION OF AM AND FINISHING MTC. Using disc finishing, LJMU found that The first aim was to reduce the variability roughness differed depending on if the AM bars and overall surface roughness of an AM part by optimizing the build parameters and were built layer-by-layer horizontally, vertically or at 45 degrees. During the finishing cycle, they make mass finishing more effective and responded differently with plastic process media quicker. The second aim was to improve over time – vertical built bars saw the greatest mass surface finishing techniques to suit reduction in surface roughness, followed by the increased part complexity. Capturing horizontal build and then the 45 degree build as process informatics from build and the cycle time increased. Drag finishing proved finishing stages, along with mechanical to be more aggressive over the same time. properties measured at key points, were Fintek found highly variable cycle times were vital to providing data for developing a necessary to achieve smoothing. They also new process optimization system (POSY), discovered that the usual silicon carbide media designed and developed by MTC to help used in stream finishing was unsuccessful, manufacturers predict the best build parameters to achieve near net shape while sometimes resulting in pitting on the part surface due to its grain structure. Like LJMU, maintaining tensile strength and reducing they had better results using plastic media. initial surface roughness. Both LJMU and Fintek found that the greatest roughness decrease occurred in the first 20 MEANINGFUL BENCHMARKS minutes with further incremental improvements To start, Croft additively manufactured up to 80 minutes at between 190rpm and simple test bars in stainless steel 316L, 250rpm. having defined a series of different laser The studies also showed that the rate parameters and build orientations. Surface of material removal had implications for the initial part

build; suggesting that for more complex shapes it would be beneficial to designin material to be strategically added to compensate. OTEC's high energy stream finishing performed best in achieving a commercially viable smoothness.

COMPLEX TEST PART

The next tests represented a realworld, complex AM component. With experimental design from MTC to help validate the POSY software, Croft created an AM part comprising flat, curved, inner and outer surfaces. Identical test pieces were supplied to LJMU and Fintek. The results from mechanical testing and low and high energy stream finishing were added to POSY. To refine the stream finishing process, Fintek called on OTEC in Germany. With an adjustment of the plastic media, the SF machine was able to surface finish external facets to Ra 0.05µm in 12 minutes – a more commercially acceptable time comparable to subtractive engineering. However, the smaller internal spaces were still challenging to penetrate for current process media types.

VALIDATION OF POSY

To validate the effectiveness of the data and POSY, a desired surface finish of an AM part was entered into the software tool which then predicted the build parameters and orientation necessary to achieve the target. The resulting part was tested and the surface roughness was found to be within 6% of the POSY prediction. This showed the software enabled the creation of a part nearer to net shape from first build, reducing lengthy and costly trial and error work. Significantly, the surface finish of the part was already improved. As more data is added, POSY is expected to become even better at predicting build parameters based on a target surface roughness and known post processing method. Importantly, stream finishing is one of the newest forms of mass finishing, highly adaptable to inline production. While internal spaces and channels are still problematic, there is hope in the form of an abrasive flow polishing system being developed by Croft for this purpose.

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 015

Powders that push the limits 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.

• Unique mechanical properties • Exceptional bio-compatibility • Highest thermal stability • Advanced superconductivity • Extreme resistance to chemicals

• Extremely low O content • Spherical shape • High tap density • Very good ﬂowability • Homogenous element distribution

amtrinsic@hcstarcktanb.com www.hcstarck-tantalum-niobium.com

architecture & construction

WORDS: Sam Davies

or two years a prototype has been handled with great care, whether it was in the hands of the product design company that produced it or the civil engineer whose experience in the construction industry spawned the idea for it. At January’s Futurebuild trade show, the sintered aluminum piece, a new design of a scaffold coupler, was being clanged and bashed against the kind of cold, metal framework it is designed to join together. For more than 100 years, the design of scaffold couplers hasn’t changed, so those clanging and bashing know just how much they should withstand, they know how long it usually takes to screw the part tight and they know when they’ve come across big potential. “They got it immediately,” LUMA-ID Director and Product Designer Mark Little told TCT. “It’s really satisfying when you spend so much time designing something and it’s used by people in the trade for the first time, slamming it against the scaffolding, doing their thing, and they [were asking] ‘when can I have this?’”

OVERHAUL

CREDIT: SCULPTED WITH LIGHT

The civil engineer who thought up the coupler design is a Managing Partner of StrucTemp, a structural and temporary works service, with more than 36 years’ experience. In that time, Shiraz Dudhia has been hurdling and ducking the threaded studs that stick out of traditional couplers asking, ‘has nobody come up with anything better than this?’ Explaining that frustration to LUMA-ID has led to the

design of a scaffold coupler with no external or sharp parts and a shortened thread that allows users to screw the device to a close in as little as two seconds. This design, which also has typical wall thicknesses and dimensions, has been validated over the course of 18 months using SOLIDWORKS software and fused deposition modelling (FDM) technology. “At Luma, we’re not big fans of overly theorizing. We like to print something, test it and see how well it works and where it fails,” Little said. “When you’re working with something so handheld and repetitive, you don’t want to spend hours on an idea if you haven’t tested it out first.”

THE NEXT STEPS

With FDM, the coupler was printed in two parts and riveted together, but as the

Futurebuild show approached, they looked instead to direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). With DMLS, which LUMA outsourced, the couplers were printed in aluminum in a single part and designed as a fold piece with gaps to limit the amount of redesign as they move into production. What process will be used for the manufacture of the scaffold coupler is still to be decided – metal folding is an option the partners have prepared for, but casting remains on the table. While it won’t make much sense to additively manufacture the pieces – “the numbers of worldwide production of scaffold couplers are bonkers. I don’t want to quote them because they don’t sound real.” – the technology has still had a major role to play. “3D printing gets you 80% of the answer and that’s enough to feel confident and go ahead on tooling. It will be slightly different properties, things might crack and fail, but you put your engineering hat on and try to avoid anything obvious,” said Little of moving into production. “I’m always a big fan of going to a supplier and saying, ‘we’ve got this; what would be the best thing to do from a cost perspective?’ Then, we can design around that.”

“WE'RE NOT BIG FANS OF OVERLY THEORIZING.”

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 017

3DEXPERIENCE | Make

Get your parts made now! 210+ SERVICE PROVIDERS, 13,000 MACHINES WORLDWIDE Upload your design. Select the manufacturing process and the material and get your parts made by industrial manufacturers. Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Make is also directly accessible in SOLIDWORKS and CATIA applications. Benefit from instant quoting for 3D printing and CNC machining, as well as 3D based collaboration making the ordering process even faster. The 3DEXPERIENCE Make is the best way to connect with manufacturers and start manufacturing now! • Get instant quotes for 3D Printing and CNC Machining. • Identify the best partner for every project based on your specifications. • Go straight from design to parts thanks to direct integration within SOLIDWORKS and CATIA.

The power of on-demand manufacturing across all processes with more than 210 service providers and 13,000 machines worldwide.

• Iterate on design and manufacturing with 3D based collaboration and in-app messaging. • Reduce errors and risks with process-driven specifications, geometry check and repair and design for manufacturing feedback. • Ensure traceability of all Buyer/Seller exchanges, order modifications and part updates.

Learn more about these services at:

© 2020 | Dassault Systèmes. All rights reserved. 3DEXPERIENCE®, the Compass icon, the 3DS logo, Make and Part Supply are commercial trademarks or registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes, a French “société européene” (Versailles Commercial Register #B322306440), or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are owned by their respective owners. Use of any Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries trademarks is subject to their express written approval.

3DEXPERIENCE | PartSupply

Accelerate your design with millions of 3D Components 40M+ parts, 30 countries, 800 content providers Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE PartSupply is the most comprehensive, artificial intelligence-driven catalog of sourceable 3D components. Available free-of-charge for companies of all sizes, its more than 800 on-demand content providers from around the world comprise a one-stop-shop of tens of millions of qualified component configurations. 3DEXPERIENCE PartSupply makes it easy for you to:

• Browse catalogs of qualified supplier components any-time. • Quickly search for components you need by combining the power of semantic search and 3D shape similarity. • Compare similar configurations side-by-side and analyze their characteristics and supplier locations to decide which best fit your needs. • Download the 3D model into your design environment (such as SOLIWORKS and CATIA) for fast validation of your design.

Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE PartSupply Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Make Or contact us at

The most comprehensive online 3D components catalog with tens of millions of components and hundreds of qualiﬁed suppliers.

partsupply.3dexperience.3ds.com make.3dexperience.3ds.com

marketplace.make@3ds.com | marketplace.partsupply@3ds.com

The Event for 3D PRINTING & ADDITIVE INTELLIGENCE 29 30 01 SEPT/OCT 2020 NEC, Birmingham, UK

Evaluate, Adopt, Optimiseâ&#x20AC;Ś Analyse the opportunity Discover your application Learn from user success stories Understand capabilities and limitations Choose the right solution Optimise existing technology Consider enterprise adoption Ensure return on investment

With more than 80 speakers and 250 exhibitors, find your strategy at TCT3Sixty.

www.tct3sixty.com

architecture & construction

COULD AM CHANGE HOW INDUSTRY BUILDS? WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

SHOWN: THE LASIMM SYSTEM

arely a week goes by without a story about some kind of world first 3D printed house, office or bridge. But what is the reality for architecture and construction firms using the technology today? A collective of companies, universities and research institutes have come together to answer that question through the LASIMM (Large Additive Subtractive Integrated Modular Machine) Project and develop a scalable, hybrid manufacturing system capable of 3D printing large metal parts for construction. LASIMM employs a dual-robotic system from Global Robots; the first for additive manufacturing of aluminum and steel, and the second for machining to finish the part and remove any excess material, followed by metrology and inspection. The three-year project recently concluded with a series of demonstrator parts for three industrial end-users including British architectural design and engineering firm Foster + Partners. The company worked with the LASIMM to manufacture a large steel cantilever beam as a research artefact at partner Loxin’s facility in Spain. The full design was five meters long, 0.5 m wide and 120 mm deep, tapering to the end at 50 mm deep, and designed for a load of a 500 kg point load at the tip.

“THE TECHNOLOGY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS.” Different size beams were tested ranging from two to five meters, using generative design tools to adapt the designs to various shapes and dimensions. Components were welded onto a steel plate layer-bylayer, resulting in a two-meter beam measuring 2 x 0.4 x 0.05 m. Johnny Van Der Zwaag, project manager in the Collaborative Research and Innovation team at Autodesk, which helped to assemble

SHOWN: STEEL CANTILEVER BEAM DESIGNED BY FOSTER + PARTNERS

the LASIMM and build the software to drive it, believes the technology has the potential to transform the supply chain for architectural projects. He told TCT: “As the global population increases and cities become even more crowded than they are today, we need to build things faster. The convergence of manufacturing and construction is redefining the future of making, changing the way the industry builds.” Autodesk was responsible for transforming Foster + Partner’s design into toolpaths and ensuring the two robots worked accurately together. The robot arms are designed to work in parallel yet independently from one another, building simultaneously on different areas of the same part. Van Der Zwaag explained: “Creating this safe system between two robots, where they understand and are talking to each other is a further step forward to hybrid manufacturing being used at an industrial scale. It means we can manufacture parts faster and scale up to make bigger parts. Not to mention, the time savings, using less material, reduced inventory and work floor space. The potential is to localize the manufacturing environment, which would also reduce the carbon footprint that comes with shipping parts worldwide.” Foster + Partners plans to test additional freeform shapes and explore how LASIMM could open up new ways of using materials more effectively, such as timber and carbon fibres. According to Van Der Zwaag, the hope is that it will eventually become more costeffective to use additive processes in the construction industry. He said: “The studio was able to research and test the science behind the materials uses in buildings, to understand the requirements for the spatial or performance characteristics of the design. Being able to 3D print and have control over structural volumes, means it could control the geometry and integrate lighting, ducts, airflow, heat transmission, and acoustics directly into the structure of the part.” The European Commission, which funded the project, is said to be building on learnings to invest in further activities which could bring LASIMM closer to commercial application. Van Der Zwaag is optimistic this will lead to more industries working together, sharing knowledge and testing new innovations for manufacturing.

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 021

The Pioneer of Selective Laser Melting

Unmatched speed, quality and robust safety features; introducing the redesigned SLM®500 Selective Laser Melting Machine Reliable and repeatable, the SLM®500 is designed for certified metal additive production. Featuring the industry’s best-in-class:

Build speed - quad-lasers paired with open parameters put you in charge of production with the control to build to tailored specifications, creating a cost competitive advantage

Gas flow - patented laminar gas flow that floods the chamber every 40 seconds ensures a clean build with homogeneous part properties every time

Closed-loop powder handling - completely separates operators from contact with metal powder, and maintains an inert atmosphere throughout the process For more information on the new SLM®500 visit: slm-solutions.us/product/slm-500

SLM Solutions Americas EQUIPMENT

POWDER

SOFTWARE

CONSULTING

1.248.243.5400 |

SERVICE

| |

info@slm-solutions.us WWW.SLM-SOLUTIONS.US

Executive Q&A

EOS CEO MARIE LANGER TALKS SUSTAINABLE AM

OUR EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW SERIES CONTINUES WITH MARIE LANGER, NEW CEO OF EOS, ON SUSTAINABILITY AND HER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRIAL AM LEADER. TCT: EOS was founded in 1989 by your father Dr Hans Langer. You've been around the technology for most of your life. Do have any early memories of additive manufacturing? Marie Langer: My dad, of course, he's a great storyteller and visionary. My dad was always very customer focused so he brought home a lot of stories about customers [...] also internal topics, but mostly what the technology can do. Of course, we had the small gimmicks [â&#x20AC;Ś] like the ball in the ball, these kind of things. So, when I was really little, I kind of realized already, okay, that's something special. We had a neighbor who was working in the dental business who actually identified one of the first applications in that area very early on in the '90s. He was living right next to us and yet he was really a pioneer. So that was really interesting for me as well like seeing that even people living next to us [were] using the technology. TCT: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve spoken a lot about sustainability. Can you talk a little bit about how you're addressing that at EOS and the environmental and the social impacts that that may have? ML: What is really important for me is to better communicate the advantages we have in this technology when it comes to conventional manufacturing. So many advancements like new resource efficiencies, lightweight design, longer product life, inventory waste reduction, a lot of things that we can offer with the technology in general. As a first step I want to make everyone more aware of the fact that it can be a green technology and then of course, there are a lot of things we look into either biodegradable materials [or] making sure that we reduce energy waste of our machines. Of course, material waste is a big topic. TCT: At Formnext last year, you said you didn't think it was that special

you're one of the first female CEOs in AM. How do you feel about being seen as a pioneer in that regard? ML: I am of course excited that there were so many positive reactions because of that. For me, in the end, diversity and being socially aware, showing empathy is very important. Having a specific amount of social intelligence and leadership becomes more and more important in our global world. I definitely want to support every woman who wants to take on a more senior role here but I don't want to stop there because for me, it's more a question of diversity in general, diversity when it comes to culture, when it comes to nationality, when it comes to personality. I have a lot of male friends in my surroundings that are very open, that are great leaders as well. So, for me, it's not only about pushing females now, it's about pushing diversity because I think, in the long run, that is what will make us great. TCT: The company celebrated a major milestone last year, 30 years in the industry. Looking ahead, can you talk about your ambitions in terms of the business itself, and also technology development? ML: We consider ourselves as a market leader. We want to lead 3D printing to become a mainstream sustainable manufacturing process and everything we do in the next year will point directly to this goal. Of course, we look much more into modular designs, we see that applications focused machine development will be getting more and more important also, then comes materials related to that. We're pushing this topic of AM cells or AM factories for dedicated fields of production cases because we see that there is a great demand to develop that together with our customers. I really believe in our technology and the potential we have here and I want to see it being an established mainstream manufacturing process. I don't know if it will take us 30 years, I hope not, but I'm committed to do whatever it takes to get us there. Listen to the interview in full on our Additive Insight podcast: mytct.co/MarieLanger

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 023

20 years experince for 3D printers & CNC industrial motors.

- Quality control: defect detection including pores, debonding and cracks - 3D data acquisition of external and internal surfaces - Metrology: dimensional measurements including small and internal features with full GD&T reports www.yxlon.com Âˇ yxlon@yxlon.com Âˇ 234-284-7849

Web: www.ldomotors.com Email: sales@ldomotors.com

COMING OF AGE

THROUGH INSPEX THE DOORS

WORDS: Sam Davies

ollaborative workspaces, silver spherical monograms nailed to the walls, room to grow by five times, the implementation of lean manufacturing and a resounding American voice carrying through the corridors as a press tour navigates the 15,000-squarefoot space, ambles along a steel walkway and heads down to the squeaky-clean shop floor. This is not the Arcam the additive manufacturing industry has grown accustomed to over the last 20 years. This, as the logo now tells us, is a GE Additive company. Before, Arcam was based inside a building three times as small; an ‘entrepreneurial start-up’ bringing to market a ‘unique but young’ technology from multiple offices throughout Gothenburg. Now, with the support of GE, it is looking to propel itself to new heights. “The commitment was to help this entrepreneurial company become world-class in terms of quality and supply,” opens Jason Oliver, GE Additive CEO and the owner of those intonations reverberating through Arcam’s newly opened Centre of Excellence. “Part of building a great company is having the right facilities and tools for our teams, our customers, our suppliers to come and collaborate together.” GE has pumped €18m into this new facility, three years after completing the takeover as it launched its Additive business. But its dealings with Arcam predated that acquisition; in 2013, GE Aviation had bought out Avio’s aviation business, which had been using Arcam’s Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technology for four years. Four weeks before the unveiling of Arcam’s new Gothenburg site, the trio celebrated a landmark moment: Boeing successfully flying two GE9X engines on its 777X aircraft, each of which featured around 250 titanium aluminide blades printed with EBM technology by Avio Aero. One of these blades is being swung repeatedly by Arcam General Manager Karl Lindblom to demonstrate the 30%

weight reduction which is contributing to a 10% increase in fuel efficiency compared with the GE90 engine that came before it. GE Additive is also keen to point out these critical and moving parts can’t be made any other way. Beyond the application showcase, Arcam has materials development and research labs, testing centers for customers, and software, hardware and electronics engineers working on the floor above. The 100 or so people situated here are managed by Annika Ölme and Isak Elfström, who now also have 1,000+ additional R&D brains to pick via GE. They both say it’s nice to have an industrial owner. Lindblom agrees.

Lindblom is one of a host of workers who lives upstairs but now finds himself without a desk thanks to a hotdesking policy that encourages internal collaboration. He’s also enjoying the implementation of lean manufacturing, which sees him spend at least 30 minutes on the shop floor three times a week listening to the vexations of the workers there. “Trust your employees, listen to your employees, stop small problems becoming big problems.” As problems within the business are supressed, the aim is for the machines they are manufacturing to scale. GE took over the company with aspirations of manufacturing 10,000 machines in ten years, with an extra 1,000 for GE’s own deployment. Applications like the GE9X engine blades, and with it the 340 preorders of the Boeing 777X aircraft, will go some way to making that possible. “It takes a certain amount of time before it comes through the pipeline, of course,” Lindblom assesses, “but yes, this means a lot of business for us going forward. It at least shows the direction we are heading. It’s going to be a volume business in ten years, for sure.”

6S HOWN:

AVIO AERO TURBINE BLADE MADE ON THE SPECTRA H EBM MACHINE

“IT'S GOING TO BE A VOLUME BUSINESS IN TEN YEARS.” VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 025

STANDARDS FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACT LATEST DEVELOPMEN T o accelerate the broader adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, widely accepted and globally recognized standards must be developed.

AM is a rapidly growing manufacturing technology that many industry sectors have now begun using to produce end-use functional parts. Over the past few years, AM has captured tremendous interest from small, medium, and large-scale industry due to the advancement in the technology. However, the rate of adoption remains slow compared to the maturity level of the technology. Industry has been cautious about embracing AM, largely due to the lack of acceptable standards that they can rely on in moving from prototyping to industrial production at scale.

AUTHOR BIO: Dr. Mohsen Seifi joined ASTM International in 2016 as a director of additive manufacturing (AM) programs, in which he facilitates’ standardization activities across all ASTM AM related technical committees, and building new partnerships as well as development of new AM standards related programs within diverse ASTM portfolios. He has also been appointed as an adjunct assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University in OH, USA. He has co-authored more than 30 peer reviewed publications and has presented more than 50 invited and keynote talks at various countries, technical meetings, industries and government agencies while also receiving a number of technical society honors and awards. He is currently serving as a global director of AM programs at ASTM International Washington DC office responsible for ASTM AM center of excellence (CoE) initiative. ASTM AM CoE has four founding partners and two strategic partners at this point with about eight different locations across the globe. He holds MS and PhD degrees from Case Western Reserve University in materials science and engineering with emphasis on metal AM qualification and standardization and has conducted extensive work on the field funded by various organizations.

Understanding the need for standards to drive AM industrialisation, ASTM International took the lead and formed the ASTM F42 Committee for Additive Manufacturing Technologies in 2009 to develop standards specific to AM. In 2011, ISO created its own committee for AM standards development, ISO/TC 261. To align the efforts of the two organizations, ASTM and ISO signed a PSDO agreement in 2013 to jointly develop globally accepted standards for AM. This was a strategic move to effectively utilize and harness the inputs from the best minds in AM, which would otherwise end up diluted across multiple overlapping initiatives. In addition to ASTM and ISO, other standard development organizations (SDOs) are also developing standards for specific domains in AM. Together, ASTM and ISO have been coordinating global efforts to develop and promote the standards most needed by the AM community by leveraging the technical expertise from more than 1,000 leading AM technology practitioners around the world. With this collaboration, around 25 standards have been published so far, and another 40+ standards are under development. These have included:

028 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 6 ISSUE 2 026 1

• General AM standards • Standards for feedstock materials • AM process and equipment standards • Standards for finished AM parts • Application specific standards

STANDARDS

TURING: NTS WORDS: Dr Mohsen Seifi

Recently, in order to meet the specific requirements from different industry sectors, ASTM has formed a new subcommittee to develop standards specific to applications (e.g., aviation, spaceflight, medical, transportation/heavy machinery, maritime, oil/gas). The adoption of these standards will enable rapid qualification and certification of the AM products.

GAPS IN AM STANDARDIZATION

While the standards published so far represent crucial progress, these standards alone are not enough to meet the industry’s needs. To assess remaining standards gaps and focus the effort of the community on the highest priority standards needs, the Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC), an initiative by America Makes and ANSI, developed a standardization roadmap for AM. The roadmap identifies about 90 gaps; close to 65 of these gaps need additional pre-standardization research and

development (R&D).

A NEW CONCEPT: RESEARCH FOCUSING ON FILLING STANDARDIZATION GAPS

Standard development has always been a slow process for many reasons. It is voluntary and consensus-based, and it can be time consuming for the busy experts involved in standards development to come to agreement on complex technical details. However, considering the pace at which AM technology is maturing, the industry can’t wait years for critical standards to come out. To address this challenge, ASTM came up with a unique initiative; the ASTM AM Center of Excellence (AM CoE). The primary role

“AROUND 25 [AM] STANDARDS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED SO FAR, AND ANOTHER 40+ STANDARDS ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT.” of AM CoE is to initiate rapidturnaround R&D projects that tie directly to standardization gaps by collaborating with its partners—global leaders in AM research. The AM CoE is the first organization in the standard development world to expedite the standardization process by supporting research. By coupling standard development with R&D, the AM CoE can reduce the time-tomarket for AM parts and materials and obtain a faster consensus for standards among the AM community with credible results from high-quality research. This has already been demonstrated through the the first and 2nd rounds of AM CoE R&D projects. So far, close to 10 new standard work items has been registered and initiated by these research and progressing rapidly via the consensus-based F42 process.

INDUSTRY RECOGNIZED EDUCATION AND TRAINING WITH A FOCUS ON UTILIZATION OF AM STANDARDS

Another way to accelerate standardization is through increasing AM community engagement in the process. To that end, the AM CoE has initiated a comprehensive education and training program that emphasizes standardization. These programs highlight the importance of standards, address the challenges in using standards, demonstrate how standards can be used in technical protocols, and bridge the gap between standardization and certification. To further support the development of a skilled AM workforce, the AM CoE is launching a personnel certification program, which will kick off with an AM General Certificate course. This course covers all the fundamental stages of the AM value chain, accompanying the instruction on each stage in the chain with up-to-date information about the applicable standards. The AM CoE will complement this effort with an ongoing series of workshops, webinars, seminars, and conferences to continue to engage and support AM community to develop their understanding of standardization in AM.

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 027

Trust

Technology

Turnaround

MISSION CRITICAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

test,

analyze,

characterize ITAR Certified

AS9100 Certified

Validating Powders, Products and Feedstock g Material Composition g Validate Metal Printed Parts g Powder Characterization g Powder Studies

NSL’s Powder360 gives you confidence in powder characterization through: Alloy and Process Development • Powder Qualification • Recycle for Reuse Trust NSL, contact us at

NSLpowder360.com or call 877.560.3875 to learn more!

918-944-6031 1-833-RAP-APP1 (1-833-727-2771) 405 S. 9th St. Broken Arrow, OK 74012

sales@rapidapplicationgroup.com

rapidapplicationgroup.com

RAPID INSPEX + TCT

30TH EDITION OF RAPID + TCT POSTPONED UNTIL 2021

ME, the producers of the additive manufacturing showcase RAPID + TCT, announced that they have postponed the 2020 exposition and conference to April 2021 in Chicago, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. RAPID + TCT is North America's largest and most influential additive manufacturing event. The postponement comes only after extensive efforts to identify viable alternatives to present the event this year.

"While SME takes great pride in producing the RAPID + TCT event, we are also very aware that it belongs to the additive manufacturing community," said Steve Prahalis, Chief Operating Officer of SME and its Vice President of Events. "The health and safety of our community is paramount, of course. But since RAPID + TCT is an event that represents the community as a whole, in the past week we have actively consulted our community partners, our exhibitors, and advisors. The commitment to RAPID + TCT was overwhelming; most of our partners and exhibitors enthusiastically reiterated their intention to join us in Anaheim and reminded us of their commitment to the event if we were able to find an alternative date. Unfortunately, we were not able to find a workable and safe option." More than 400 exhibiting companies and in excess of 10,000 ÂÂ attendees, conference delegates, speakers, sponsors, and industry staff were anticipated at RAPID + TCT 2020, which was slated to take place at the Anaheim Convention Center from April 20-23. RAPID + TCT's annual importance to the additive

manufacturing industry, as well as its unique charge as a community-driven event, made the decision to postpone the event all the more challenging. Over the last week, the dramatic increase in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States made the April dates extremely unlikely. Even so, event organizers continued to work to identify options for presenting the event at some point in 2020. "In unprecedented and extremely fast-moving circumstances, we actively participated in and supported the difficult decision to postpone this important event," said Duncan Wood, CEO Rapid News Publications Ltd. "We are all aware that this decision will require industry professionals, exhibitors, partners, and visitors from around the world to reschedule their attendance, which will have an impact on their organizations as it will for SME and Rapid News Group. We are grateful that given the current situation the international community has showed great understanding and supported our collective decision, and we look forward to a successful 2021 event in Chicago." For many in the additive manufacturing community, RAPID + TCT represents not

only significant investment but the year's primary opportunity to educate, inform, and advance the additive manufacturing industry and to develop and nurture business opportunities. This drove the collective efforts to find alternatives for the 2020 event. Prahalis said that SME, Rapid News Publications Ltd, and their community advisors engaged in intense discussions over the past two weeks, particularly escalating in the past few days, to identify alternative venues and dates to present a 2020 exposition. Ultimately, however, given the uncertain nature of the pandemic's length and severity, they recognized that there were no options that would both work operationally and assure the safety of the additive manufacturing community. "This is a very difficult time for everyone, and I believe that SME has made a prudent and sensible decision," said Zach Simkin, President of Senvol and Chair of SME's Additive Manufacturing Community. "Although the additive manufacturing community was very much looking forward to coming together this April and to celebrate RAPID + TCT event's 30th anniversary, as part of the decision-making process I can say first-hand that we all felt, unequivocally, that safety must come first. When it becomes safe again to convene, we all look forward to coming together to celebrate the next edition." RAPID + TCT 2021 is scheduled for April 26-29, 2021 at the McCormick Place in Chicago, and Prahalis said that SME and its advisory community were committed to making next year's event the most compelling version of the event in its history. 4

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 029

Improving Product Lifespan and Consistency for 3D Printed Metal Parts • Aerospace • Automotive • Biomedical

• Electronics • Oil & Gas • Power Generation

Pressure Technology, Inc. Warminster, PA | 215-674-8844 Concord, OH | 440-352-0760

• Eleven (11) Units to 30” Diameter & 108” Long • Pressures to 30,000 psi (207 MPa) • Temperatures to 2550° F (1400° C)

www.pressuretechnology.com

POWDER FLOW CHARACTERIZATION POWDER SPREADABILITY TEST AND QUALITY CONTROL

Heat Treating

AUTOMATED POST-PROCESSING SOLUTION FOR SMOOTHING THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER 3D PRINTED PARTS KEY FEATURES / CAPAbILITIES: // Smoothing & Surface Modification // Compatible with 100+ polymers // Compatible with all powder-bed and filament-based 3D printing technologies // Waterless // Recyclable, single, green agent CONTACT INFO@AMTECHNOLOGIES.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.

www.linkedin.com/company/granutools WWW.GRANUTOOLS.COM contact@granutools.com | +32 483 19 83 39 | Rue Jean-Lambert Defrêne, 107 - 4340 Awans -

AMTECHNOLOGIES.COM

ISO

9001/AS9100

RAPID INSPEX + TCT

EXHIBITOR NEWS GEMCO

With a magazine about to go to print featuring a preview of all to come at RAPID + TCT 2020, the show was postponed due to COVID-19. The postponement doesn’t mean business stops and we’re using the following pages to promote the products and technologies the world of additive manufacturing was bringing to the show.

www.okgemco.com

FARSOON

www.farsoon.com

ESSENTIUM

www.essentium3d.com Essentium, Inc., a leading provider of 3D printing technology for additive manufacturing, was set to introduce new ULTEM AM9085F and ABS materials which were to be showcased on its award-winning Essentium High Speed Extrusion (HSE) 3D Printing Platform. The high-performance materials offer superb properties at high temperatures making them an ideal choice for many aerospace, automotive, and medical applications. By delivering a complete and no compromise solution, the Essentium HSE combined with innovative materials finally unlocks the promise of industrial applications of additive manufacturing.

At this year’s RAPID + TCT the laser-based additive manufacturing company led by Dr Xu Xiaoshu was to present its latest developments to its flagship 403P polymer SLS device. The Chinese-based company was to demonstrate several configurations of the machinery including a FLIGHT technology enabled device, which, by using a fiber laser is said to improve throughput by up to three times that of High-Speed Sintering while maintaining a high-resolution scanning process. Farsoon also intended to demonstrate its breakthrough in high-temperature SLS with the HT403P machine capable of printing at temperatures up to 220°C for processing industrial materials such as PA6 for direct-use applications.

NSL ANALYTICAL www.nslanalytical.com

As the additive manufacturing industry matures so does the needs for analytics. NSL is a one-stop shop for materials testing needs and was set to demonstrate its methods and techniques, which are backed by a robust quality system, as well as being ISO/IEC 17025 and Nadcap accredited.

GEMCO planned to use its booth at RAPID + TCT to demonstrate how refining powder characteristics like flow can enhance part quality, consistency, repeatability and productivity. The Middlesex, NJ-based manufacturer of tumble blending and vacuum tumble-drying equipment, founded in 1916, is a technical expert on powders. This includes understanding powder chemistry, physical attributes, and how powders will interact when blended. To take full advantage of this growth and efficiently produce high-quality parts, powder producers, 3D printer manufacturers and others will need to ensure the consistent, repeatable quality of the metal powders used in the process. As 3D printing techniques and equipment continue to advance, optimizing the powders in this way can improve powder flowability to prevent clogging, speed the process and produce a higherquality part. At the show, the company also planned to exhibit its new Transparent Powder Mixer, its clear acrylic mixing shell provides full transparency into the real-time state of powder blending, which enables researchers to fast-track the final product and process.

NSL’s services include: • Material Composition - Chemical analysis of major and trace level elements for R&D and specification conformance • Powder Characterization - Particle size, shape, texture and porosity; powder density and flow • Validate Metal Printed Parts - Metallurgical analysis, mechanical testing, microstructure and failure analysis • Powder Studies - Alloy development, process optimization and powder re-use

VOL 6 ISSUE 2 / www.tctmagazine.com / 031

RAPID INSPEX + TCT

PRESSURE TECHNOLOGY, INC.

www.pressuretechnology.com Another ancillary technology/ function in the additive world set to be featured on the RAPID + TCT showfloor is Hot Isostatic Pressing Services (HIP), and Pressure Technology Inc. (PTI) is one of the leading suppliers serving the additive manufacturing, aerospace, power generation, medical and automotive industries. Within two USA facilities, Warminster PA and Concord OH, PTI operates 11 HIP units ranging in size from 16” through 30” diameter with the majority capable of pressures up to or exceeding 25,000 psi. PTI has been a toll HIP provider since 1977 allowing its customers to eliminate major capital investment which would otherwise be diverted from core activities. PTI offers responsive customer assistance and 24/7 processing to allow rapid turnaround of customer product.

SINTRATEC

www.sintratec.com Swiss SLS machine manufacturer, Sintratec were set to showcase a range of new powders designed to work with its recent S2 machines. The machine was designed with quick material change in mind, allowing for a flexible approach to selective laser sintering.

The three-module system, consisting of the Laser Sintering Station (LSS), the Material Core Unit (MCU) and the Material Handling Station (MHS), reduces “tedious cleaning processes” and improves depowdering times. Sintratec have a range of case studies prepared for presentation at the show including customers like Daimler Buses, which is using Sintratec technology for the manufacture of spare parts.

SLM SOLUTIONS

the need for filter cartridge changes. The automated PSV sieve creates a closed-loop material handling SLM Solutions Americas were process where operator exposure to debut the new SLM 500 at to metal powder is minimized and Rapid + TCT 2020. The SLM 500 material integrity is safeguarded by features SLM Solutions’ trusted, keeping the powder in a sealed, inert industry-leading gas flow along environment. The SLM 500 was the with powerful quad-700W laser first on the market to feature four technology. The new permanent lasers for increased productivity and filter module increases machine up continues to lead the market in multitime, stabilizes gas flow and reduces laser precision and expertise. consumable costs while eliminating

www.slm-solutions.com

YXLON INTERNATIONAL www.yxlon.com

Non-destructive testing (NDT) has become one of the industry’s most talked about subjects particularly in the world of aviation, which is seeking to qualify a significant number of additive manufactured flight critical components. YXLON designs and produces radioscopic (2D) and computed tomography (CT) inspection systems for the widest variety of applications and fields. Whether situated in the aviation & aerospace, science, new materials, automotive or electronics

032 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 6 ISSUE 2

industry, its customers are said to be among the largest producers and major enterprises worldwide. CT systems have been an integral part of its product portfolio since as far back as 2003. Computed tomography provides a threedimensional insight into inspection items, thus enabling the analysis of inner structures, dimensional measurement tasks in metrology applications or actual-to-nominal comparisons to CAD data, to name a few examples.

International exhibition and conference on the next generation of manufacturing technologies

Frankfurt, Germany, November 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 13, 2020 formnext.com

Do you belong to the world of additive manufacturing? Design and software

R&D Metrology

Materials

Post-processing Services

Manufacturing solutions Pre-processing

In a world where AM applications are increasing rapidly, solutions are needed along the entire process chain. Become an exhibitor at Formnext. Present your expertise in the manufacturing process and secure your place in Frankfurt.

Where ideas take shape.

Offical event hashtag #formnext

ASTM International Conference on Additive Manufacturing (ASTM ICAM 2020) Organized by the ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence Learn more about additive manufacturing technologies through a greater understanding of application requirements, process controls, and process-structure-property-performance relationships. November 17-20, 2020 | Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, FL

Industry, academia, and government agency professionals in the AM community are invited to participate and help address the need for industry standards, design principals, as well as qualification and certification challenges. There will be several symposia organized during this conference, including: – Structural integrity, qualification and certification – Industry 4.0 (Cyber, AI, Robotics, Automation, Sensors, etc.) – AM feedstock – Application of AM in construction – 3D printed ceramics – Application of AM in oil and gas industry – 3D printed polymers and composites – Microstructural aspects of AM – Non-destructive evaluation methods for AM

For more information, contact the technical chairs: – – – – –

Fatigue & fracture of AM materials Mechanical testing of AM materials 3D printed electronics Application of AM in biomedical General additive manufacturing topics including design and simulation, materials and processing, post processing, and safety – AM applications in general aviation – AM applications in commercial space flight – Student presentation competition

Register Today! www.amcoe.org/icam For additional information amcoe@astm.org company/additive-manufacturing-center-of-excellence

@astmamcoe

Dr. Nima Shamsaei Auburn University Director, National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) shamsaei@auburn.edu tel +1.334.844.4839 Dr. Mohsen Seifi ASTM International Director, Global Additive Manufacturing Programs mseifi@astm.org tel +1.202.904.2834

TCT North America Issue 6.2

Articles inside

STANDARDS FOR ADDITIVE

EOS CEO MARIE LANGER

LAB IN A BOX

SURFACE FINISHING

COMING OF AGE

COULD AM CHANGE HOW