AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities SME

The Navy League is but one of Lang’s many volunteering experiences, and for someone who has spent countless hours over the past six years launching a successful startup business, it’s both surprising and admirable that she still finds so much time for others.

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and continues to gain momentum with successes across diverse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practices throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

That was in 2010, and it wasn’t long before her newfound pastime took a more serious turn. Her experiences at Boeing and then Lockheed Martin taught her that supply chain challenges were common in these industry—as she put it, “You can’t just drive down to the local hardware store or machine shop for replacement parts.” This statement is especially true on seagoing vessels and forward deployments, where failure to predict equipment breakdowns and plan for spares can put military personnel in a world of hurt.

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and continues to gain momentum with successes across diverse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practices throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17–19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s marquee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

Lang has worked with Father Joe’s Villages, a San Diego-based nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness, and she supports Animal Rescuers Without Borders (ARWOB), an organization that rescues homeless cats and dogs throughout San Diego and Baja, Mexico. More relevant from an AM perspective is Lang’s work on the America Makes executive committee—a position she’s held since 2019— as well as her ongoing efforts as a Women in 3D Printing (Wi3DP) ambassador.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applications. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17–19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s marquee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

Thanks to her tinkering at home, Lang soon realized that additive manufacturing (AM) could help alleviate this risk, particularly if the parts could be printed from metal. “Our military has some extremely sophisticated systems, but ultimately, service members often depend on nothing more than dumb hunks of metal to keep those systems running,” she explained. “And in wartime, their very lives might hinge on the ability to produce or repair parts in the field.”

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gardner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

“Shortly after we started FormAlloy, I saw that they (Wi3DP) were holding events in San Francisco, New York City, and Paris,” Lang said. “And even though I would have loved to fly out there and meet others like me, we didn’t have the budget back then for extra travel. So, I reached out to Nora Toure, who started the organization and was president at that time, and I told her I wanted to host some meetings in southern California.”

She should know. Although Lang has never been in the military, since 2016 she has served as vice president of legislative affairs for Navy League San Diego, an organization with a mission “to give civilians, veterans, and active duty service members the opportunity to serve those that serve others.”

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young professionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufacturing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production metal AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

As with any 3D-printer manufacturer, Lang looks forward to the day her equipment resides on seagoing vessels, yet her involvement with the Navy League is far more altruistic. She said that her sole interest is in supporting the sea services, whether that’s the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marines. For example, if a sailor or spouse has a baby, the Navy League will donate items such as car seats and other essentials.

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the company’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

“When you get to know some of the service members, and you listen to their stories and hear about the sacrifices they make being away from their loved ones—there’s a special place in my heart for all of them,” she said. “Because of that, my goal is to make their voices heard in terms of

Toure not only helped her with setting up some events, but also worked with Lang to launch a Wi3DP chapter in San Diego. The group’s members recently toured Intrepid Automation, a developer of industrial-scale AM systems for high-volume production, and were planning to visit powder metal specialist and service bureau GKN Additive (Forecast 3D) in nearby Carlsbad. “Their operations are pretty awesome,” she exclaimed. “If you want to see additive manufacturing in action, this is a great place to go.”

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed products. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

The Wi3DP presidency has since passed from Toure to Kristin Mulherin, founder of 3D-printing strategy and business development firm AM-Cubed, yet Lang remains firmly committed to the group’s mission. She’s equally committed to her own mission, one she’s been working on for nearly a decade—the continued growth and maturation of DED technology, which in FormAlloy’s case, builds part layers via blown metal powder that is then laser-fused to the workpiece.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Although their movie counterparts possess awesome superpowers, the 3D-printed Baby Yodas (at left) and Groots (right) that Olga Ivanova gave to visiting high school students are unable to do so much as dissipate electrical charge--but they’re still very

“It wasn’t too long after I built my own printer that I began thinking about metal parts and investigating the different technologies for making them,” Lang said. “I was really focused on understanding the limitations for each technology—some are quite hard to deploy in the field, for instance, while others are either very expensive or difficult to operate, or both.

“I found that directed energy deposition, on the other hand, is fairly straightforward,” she continued. “We call it the triathlete of additive manufacturing, since it can form, enhance, and repair a broad range of metal parts on a single platform. It’s a powerful technology.”

Lang and her team at FormAlloy are working to make AM even more powerful by introducing a “revolver style” specialty powder feeder system—the ADF Alloy Development Feeder—that can deposit 16 different metals in a single build. And, as its name suggests, it is intended for the development of multi-material, functionally graded alloys.

There’s also FormAlloy’s standard PF Powder Feeder that utilizes a planetary drive for precise metering of up to four materials, together with its AX deposition head for “state of the art” deposition with a single or multiple lasers. All are available on one of two platforms—the X5 and L2 series DED systems—and supported by the company’s DEDSmart digital twin technology.