DESIGN WORLD ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING HANDBOOK SEPTEMBER 2021

September 2021

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E d i t o r i a l

Continuing to grow The additive manufacturing industry is riding a wave of success in 2021.

The ongoing pandemic has not slowed activity in this industry, just shifted it. New product development is being outpaced by mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships among additive vendors.

A number of these business moves are being funded by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), a way to go public through mergers rather than Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). As many industry analysts are claiming, the pandemic has highlighted the usefulness of AM. Thus, these SPACs see the potential for strong future growth in AM. The involvement by SPACs indicates confidence in this technology’s growing costcompetitiveness and advances. There’s a lot of buzz around the potential for AM to facilitate digitization. Many industry watchers see AM as an “interface technology” between digital designs and real products.

But it should be remembered that additive manufacturing is a

long-term growth industry. It will take its place as both a prototyping technology and a manufacturing technology.

This issue of the handbook focuses more on how specific industries are applying additive technology, including semiconductor, medical, and sports.

Materials are playing a larger role in the additive industry this year as well. The people we spoke with offer a number of excellent tips and suggestions in applying additive to the various industries.

The pandemic certainly put additive technology in an excellent spotlight, proving that it is a useful way to solve problems fast. As can be seen by all the mergers and partnerships, executives and other potential users see the industry differently now, and are taking a closer look at how additive technology can aid their design and production efforts.

We hope you enjoy these stories as well as take a look at the latest products from the additive industry.

Leslie Langnau | Managing Editor llangnau@wtwhmedia.com

On Twitter @ DW_3Dprinting www.designworldonline.com

September 2021

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Medical Design & OUTSOURCING DESIGN WORLD

Contents 9

•

2021 • designworldonline.com

01 _EDITORIAL

32 _STRATASYS

Continuing to grow

Application specific 3D printers, and more of them

04 _3D SYSTEMS

How additive manufacturing helps the semiconductor industry 12 _DESKTOP METAL

Signs of a maturing technology

38 _CARBON

Taking advantage of lattice designs in 3D printing 48 _AD INDEX

Company Profiles 43-47

16 _GE ADDITIVE

Metal additive manufacturing speeds innovation in spinal devices 20 _HP ADDITIVE

What designers of sports equipment have learned about additive manufacturing 24 _MAKERBOT

Working with stainless steel in 3D printing 28 _MARFORGED

Design tips for metal additive manufacturing

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A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

How additive manufacturing

helps the semiconductor industry

It took a while, but the effects of the COVID pandemic on the semiconductor supply chain have emerged. You see it in the automotive industry where car makers are slowing down assembly lines for lack of semiconductor chips. You see it in the IoT and in consumer electronics, such as gaming system, any product or service that needs chips for digital performance.

Scott Green • Principal Solutions Leader for semiconductors at 3D Systems, shares his thoughts on this subject.

The challenges in semiconductor production The challenges in semiconductor production (especially as it relates to the effects of COVID) include: global production capacity which has been affected by the trade disruptions caused by the Trump administration, and the disruptions in working styles all over the planet due to health restrictions.

If the Biden administration policies end up requiring semiconductor foundries to buy new equipment, that will be a supply and demand issue with capital equipment itself. Acquiring fabrication equipment will take time. Even if a semiconductor foundry decided

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September 2021

today to add a manufacturing line, there would be a lot of work ahead to get it placed and start pumping new silicon into the supply chain.

So, the major challenge is both a production capacity issue and a supply demand issue. Once COVID restrictions subside, these challenges will be alleviated a bit, but we still have a supply and demand issue where there is an increasing demand for smart devices, smart automobiles, and as new industries tap into the need for semiconductor chips, the capital equipment manufacturing companies are going to have to catch up.

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Additive manufacturing can be a key tool in the design and production of wafer tables for the semiconductor industry. These tables ensure temperature remains stable to within a couple of milli-kelvin. With additive manufacturing, wafer table designs can use artificial intelligence to create the cooling channels that serve the function.

capable in the market to satisfy the needs of these manufacturers, so that you can have more transistors occupying the same space, but taking lower power.

One way that additive manufacturing comes into this is that it generally helps improve the technology developed and brought to market for those systems. Assuming that a foundry is already running equipment at max capacity, the foundry managers can’t really decide they’re going to do something different with that equipment or go to a new, dramatically different process. So, dramatic changes are not really possible with existing capital equipment for processing silicon wafers or lithography.

Since we’re already pushing the boundaries of lithography equipment and what’s possible with physics, one of the technology related barriers for semiconductor production is going to be how do we get the latest generation of fabrication equipment into the hands of those foundries so that they can satisfy the requirements of customers. We need more equipment that’s more DESIGN WORLD

An example of how additive can improve semiconductor processes Lithography: There are more than 100,000 components that go into some lithography machines. Every single one of those is built in relatively small quantities, maybe a couple of thousand specialized parts from implementation to production run. What we have is a complex system with a big supply chain of relatively low volume orders from suppliers. So, you have design compromises pretty much all over the place inside of a lithography machine.

In many cases, additive could enable those systems to work much closer to the theoretical expected working environments, as opposed to making compromises in machine operation because of how you have to manufacture things. The benefits include greater precision, higher production capability, faster

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Additive technology

the additive process

known as Metal Sintering?

The use of lasers to melt metal powder into various shapes, in a layer-by-layer process, is known as metal laser sintering.

Other similar names, such as Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Direct Metal Sintering, and Power-bed Fusion are vendor branded names for this process.

The various additive systems for this process use lasers to melt or sinter the powdered metal. Each system uses different types of lasers, just as a Ybfiber optic laser. Some systems use just one laser, others offer multiple lasers to speed the build process.

Metal powder is held in a tank or build bed in the machine. A blade or scraper mechanism sweeps a fresh layer of powder onto the first layer and sinters it. This step is repeated until the object is built.

Metal sintering delivers dimensionally accurate parts that are nearly 99% dense. Repeatability is about 20 µm in all directions. The surface finish is often considered rough.

Depending on the application, some type of machining or polishing will deliver a smooth finish. Applications for this additive method include medical, aerospace, dental and other industries where small complex parts are critical.

cycle times, more wafers produced per machine per week. You’re also going to see a better quality of imaging across the entire wafers.

That’s going to mean less waste and higher quality product.

Additive manufacturing allows you to optimize the strengthto-weight ratio. If you have a big armature assembly, additive manufacturing allows you to make use of design flexibility to

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Lithography machines use manifold fluid lines.

Taking advantage of additive manufacturing’s ability to handle complex geometries, a designer can eliminate the connections of hoses and tubes previously used.

optimize that component so it only takes up the minimum amount of the space needed, yet has the strength to execute the task.

Topology optimization or structural optimization lets designers create relatively massive parts that are light in weight; the use of lattice structures, for example.

But you can’t make such parts using traditional manufacturing processes. They require a different process, such as additive manufacturing.

Another example, there are a number of manifold fluid lines inside a lithography machine. Additive manufacturing is much better at producing parts with conformal or interior cooling structures for better fluid manifold dynamics. A designer no longer must compromise the design to fit the manufacturing technology. For lithography machines, a designer can eliminate the connections of hoses and tubes previously used.

Additive manufacturing allows you to build a fluid manifold or a cooling structure that is prioritizing function over manufacturing capability. You’ll end up with smooth channels or channels that don’t take right angle bends that could cause fluid disturbance.

Another example, a wafer table. You could design any cooling structure inside of a wafer table that you can imagine. And typically, these things are going to be driven

September 2021 www.designworldonline.com

from numerical simulation.

Design flexibility is something that you get with additive manufacturing. You are no longer restrained in the design because of the way it will be made.

Why is additive manufacturing in semiconductor applications gaining attention now?

The semiconductor industry has been using additive technology for some time. “Why we haven’t heard about it is because it’s just not as sexy as airplanes and automobiles and missiles and stuff like that.”

Another factor is competition.

You have only four huge mega corporations that make the major chunk of lithography or fabrication machines, “and they ain’t telling anybody anything. They want to make sure that they keep that competitive advantage.”

Semi-con is also highly specialized, so it’s been happening in small pockets. And I think what we’re trying to do is help connect emerging demand with the solutions that we understand for the market.

“We’re also running into physical barriers in the semiconductor industry.

Getting down to a 14-nanometer process was a big hurdle in general from what I remember in past history, and it’s going to get even harder. I don’t see us going below a nanometer ever. Some major step change will

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black

reverse

Additive technology

be needed for the entire system of producing product, and we’re not there yet. But what additive manufacturing is doing, particularly direct metal printing, is very precise and the materials are there. Additive technology is coming down in costs. It’s becoming relatable due to other things like us working with large Hadron colliders, or advanced light source projects, or even automotive and aerospace.”

And now the CAD industry is focusing on design for additive manufacturing. Earlier CAD programs were a limitation for the whole industry in general.

In the semiconductor industry, you’re only as good as your weakest link inside of a complex system. And when you take something that has a ton of error tolerance, and you start removing all the different thermal gradients, all the fluid turbulences, you start to get a system that functions more efficiently. Again, we’re referencing lithography here.

Such changes are going to help us squeak out productivity in the current framework of paradigm production for maybe another 15 or 30 years.

And in a relatively short period of time, you’ll start seeing those relatively major effects in consumer products in just a few years.

Inside a wafer table Inside lithography, for instance, you have a wafer that’s on a plate for lack of a better way of putting it.

The “plates” function is to make sure that it keeps that wafer at a stable temperature within a couple of milli-kelvin. Eventually it’s going to get to an equilibrium where it’s no longer sharing heat.

But keeping a wafer at a stable temperature has been a limitation because of the wait time involved for the wafer to stabilize, and current cooling and conditioning methods don’t provide a uniform thermal environment for precise control. That

8

Design flexibility is something that you get with additive manufacturing.

You are no longer restrained in the design because of the way it will be made. time is lost productivity. If you can get to a stable temperature faster, you can pump out more wafers per week, improving cycle time.

While this is a functional production improvement, there’s also a quality improvement that’s inherent to having a thermally stable wafer. On a microscopic scale, when temperature is fluctuating, the wafer is actually moving in space. You can’t see with your eyeball, but it’s actually moving as it reaches towards a stable temperature.

When you keep something at a very controlled temperature with low thermal gradients, it’s probably going to stay flat. When you project light onto it, you’re projecting it onto a flat surface. And you know that you will get the best possible image projection, which means you get better results.

Traditionally, the conditioning plates and cooling tables have been brazed. Multiple parts are brazed together to create a single component. The advantage that additive manufacturing provides here is that a design can be inspired by artificial intelligence to create cooling channels that serve the function.

Additive enables us to design for function first, which it’s really cool and freeing for mechanical engineers.

With additive manufacturing, I can try it, I can print it, and test it on a bench top setup. If it’s not as good as I thought it would be, I can make a change and try it again. That’s a really small meantime between iterations with design engineering. Whereas if I was to go through the traditional supply chain, that part might’ve taken me a month or two to get because it had to go through an ordering system, somebody had to machine it, somebody had to assemble it, somebody probably tested it, did QA. Then they put it in the mail and ship

September 2021 www.designworldonline.com

it and then you can finally test it. But with additive manufacturing, you cut out all those steps. You’re able to, for this specific part, iterate quickly on new design concepts, which will allow customers and designers to get to the ideal functional benefits much faster.

If you were to machine that, not only will it take a relatively long machining operation, but you need to assemble the part, and then you’re limited by your ability to iterate because of time, overhead, reprogramming and so on.

Cooling channels can actually surround or shroud around a light source. For instance, you can have an embedded spiral channel instead of a shroud with assembled cooling tubes, if you need to create a cooling jacket. The sky’s the limit when it comes to manufacturing with additive, but there’s not infinite advantage, but there’s not infinite advantage. Of course, you have limitations. They’re just different than other tools and it opens up new realms of possibility.

Do you see the supply chain easing up since the pandemic, or is that still yet to come?

As working limitations change, the foundries are going to be able to run at a faster clip and they’re going to be able to produce more products.

But the technical advancements that come into the newest machines, newer processes that are being shipped for the biggest manufacturers, that’s really where we’re going to see the unlocking of speed and potential.

We’ll see consumer electronics that consume less power, are more intelligent, and really interesting, more powerful automotive products.

3D Systems | www.3dsystems.com

DESIGN WORLD

COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD ENVELOPE (MM; W X D X H)

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

3D Systems

Figure 4 Standalone 3D Printer

124.8 x 70.2 x 196 mm (4.9 x 2.8 x 7.72 in.)

Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10, TOUGH-GRY 10, TOUGH-GRY 15, TOUGH-BLK 20, FLEX-BLK 10, FLEX-BLK 20, HI TEMP 300-AMB, ELAST-BLK 10, RUBBERBLK 10, MED-AMB 10, MED-WHT 10, EGGSHELL-AMB 10, JCAST-GRN 10 UV Curable Plastics

0.02 to 0.1 mm

Up to 104 mm/ hr vertical build speed

Figure 4 Modular 3D Printer

124.8 x 70.2 x 346 mm (4.9 x 2.8 x 13.6 in)

Figure 4 PRO-BLK 10, TOUGH-GRY 10, TOUGH-GRY 15, TOUGH-BLK 20, FLEX-BLK 10, FLEX-BLK 20, HI TEMP 300-AMB, ELAST-BLK 10, RUBBERBLK 10, MED-AMB 10, EGGSHELL-AMB 10 - UV Curable Plastics

0.02 to 0.1 mm

Up to 104 mm/ hr vertical build speed

Figure 4 Production 3D Printer

124.8 x 70.2 x 346 mm (4.9 x 2.8 x 13.6 in)

30+ UV curable materials

0.02 to 0.1 mm

Up to 104 mm/ hr vertical build speed

Figure 4 Jewelry 3D Printer

124.8 x 70.2 x 196 mm (4.9 x 2.8 x 7.7 in)

Figure 4 JCAST-GRN 10 - UV Curable Plastic

0.02 to 0.1 mm

Up to 16 mm/ hr vertical build speed

NextDent 5100 Dental 3D Printer

124.8 x 70.2 x 196 mm (4.9 x 2.8 x 7.7 in)

Broad selection of NextDent dental materials - UV curable Plastics

0.03 mm min.

Up to 105 mm/ hr vertical build speed

ProJet CJP 660Pro Color 3D Printer

254 x 381 x 203 mm (10 x 15 x 8 in.)

VisiJet PXL - Full CMYK colours

0.1mm

28mm/hr max. vertical build speed

ProJet CJP 860Pro Color 3D Printer

508 x 381 x 229 mm (20 x 15 x 9 in.)

VisiJet PXL - Full CMYK colours

0.1 mm

5-15mm/hr max. vertical build speed

ProJet MJP 2500 Plastic 3D Printer

294 x 211 x 144 mm (11.6 x 8.3 x 5.6 in)

VisiJet M2R-WT, M2R-BK rigid plastics, VisiJet ProFlex M2G-DUR engineering plastic; melt away support

32 μ

ProJet MJP 2500 Plus Plastic 3D Printer

294 x 211 x 144 mm (11.6 x 8.3 x 5.6 in)

VisiJet ProFlex M2G-DUR, Armor M2G-CL engineering plastics VisiJet M2R-WT, M2R-BK, M2R-CL, M2R-GRY, M2R-TN rigid plastics VisiJet M2S-HT90 specialty material VisiJet M2 EBK, M2 ENT elastomeric materials Melt away support

32 μ

ProJet MJP 2500W RealWax 3D Printer

294 x 211 x 144 mm (11.6 x 8.3 x 5.6 in.)

VisiJet M2 CAST - wax material

16μ

ProJet MJP 2500 IC RealWax 3D Printer

294 x 211 x 144 mm (11.6 x 8.3 x 5.6 in.)

VisiJet M2 ICast - wax material

42μ

ProJet MJP 3600 Plastic 3D Printer

Up to 298 x 185 x 203 mm (11.75 x 7.3 x 8 in.)

VisiJet M3-X, Black, Crystal, Proplast, Navy, Techplast, Procast - UV Curable Plastics

16μ to 32μ

ProJet MJP 3600 Max Plastic 3D Printer

Up to 298 x 185 x 203 mm (11.75 x 7.3 x 8 in.)

VisiJet M3-X, Black, Crystal, Proplast, Navy, Techplast, Procast - UV Curable Plastics

16μ to 32μ

ProJet MJP 3600W RealWax 3D Printer

Up to 298 x 183 x 203 mm (11.75 x 7.3 x 8 in.)

VisiJet M3 CAST, M3 Hi-Cast - Wax material

16μ to 32μ

ProJet MJP 3600W Max RealWax 3D Printer

Up to 298 x 183 x 203 mm (11.75 x 7.3 x 8 in.)

VisiJet M3 CAST, M3 Hi-Cast - Wax material

16μ to 32μ

ProJet MJP 3600 Dental 3D Printer

284 x 185 x 203 mm (11.2 x 7.3 x 8 in.)

VisiJet M3 Dentcast, PearlStone, Stoneplast - Dental UV curable plastics

29μ to 32μ

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Additive technology COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD ENVELOPE (MM; W X D X H)

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

3D Systems

ProJet MJP 5600 MultiMaterial 3D Printer

518 x 381 x 300 mm (20.4 x 15 x 11.8 in.)

VisiJet CR-CL 200, CR-WT 200, CRBK, CE-BK, CE-NT Composite MultiMaterial Printing

13μ to 16μ

ProJet 6000 HD SLA 3D Printer

Up to 250 x 250 x 250 mm (10 x 10 x 10 in.)

Accura 25, Xtreme, Xtreme White 200, ABS Black, ClearVue, Fidelity, 48HTR, Phoenix, Sapphire, e-Stone

0.025 to 0.125 mm

ProJet 7000 HD SLA 3D Printer

Up to 380 x 380 x 250 mm (15 x 15 x 10 in)

Accura 25, Xtreme, Xtreme White 200, ABS Black, ClearVue, Fidelity, 48HTR, Phoenix, Sapphire, e-Stone

0.050 to 0.125 mm

ProX 800 SLA 3D Printer

Up to 650 x 750 x 550 mm (25.6 x 29.5 x 21.65 in)

Accura plastics and composites (widest range, simulating ABS, PP and PC, high temp., for casting patterns and other specialty materials)

0.05 to 0.15 mm

ProX 950 SLA 3D Printer

1500 x 750 x 550 mm (59 x 30 x 22 in)

Accura plastics (widest range, simulating ABS, PP and PC, high temp., for casting patterns and other specialty materials)

0.05 to 0.15 mm

ProX SLS 6100 3D Printer

381 x 330 x 460 mm (15 x 13 x 18 in.)

DuraForm ProX plastics and composites (powders)

0.08 to 0.15 mm

2.7 l/hr volume build rate

sPro 140 SLS Production 3D Printer

550 x 550 x 460 mm (22 x 22 x 18 in)

DuraForm plastics and composites (powders)

0.08 to 0.15 mm

3.0 l/hr volume build rate

sPro 230 SLS Production 3D Printer

550 x 550 x 750 mm (22 x 22 x 30 in)

DuraForm plastics and composites (powders)

0.08 to 0.15 mm

3.0 l/hr volume build rate

DMP Flex 100

100 x 100 x 90 mm (3.94 x 3.94 x 3.54 in.)

Ready-to-run LaserForm CoCr (B), CoCr (C), 17-4 (B), 316L (B) metal alloys with extensively developed print parameters. Custom material parameter development available with optional software package.

10 μm - 100 μm. Preset: 30 μm

ProX DMP 200 Precision Metal Printer

140 x 140 x 115 mm (5.51 x 5.51 x 3.45 in.)

Ready-to-run LaserForm CoCr (B), 17-4 (B), Maraging Steel (B), 316L (B), Ni625 (B) and AlSi12 (B) with extensively developed print parameters.

Custom material parameter development available with optional software package.

10 μm - 100 μm. Preset: 30 μm

DMP Flex 350

275 x 275 x 420 mm (10.82 x 10.82 x 16.54 in.)

LaserForm Ti Gr. 1 (A), Gr.5 (A) and Gr.23 (A), CoCrF75 (A), 316L (A), 17-4PH (A), Ni625 (A), Ni718 (A), AlSi10Mg (A), AlSi7Mg0.6 (A) and Maraging Steel (A)

Adjustable, minimum 5 μm, typical values: 30, 60 μm

DMP Factory 350

275 x 275 x 420 mm (10.82 x 10.82 x 16.54 in.)

Wide choice of ready-to-run metal alloys with extensively developed print parameters, including LaserForm Ti Gr. 1 (A), Gr.5 (A) and Gr.23 (A), 316L (A), Ni625 (A), Ni718 (A), AlSi10Mg (A) and AlSi7Mg0.6 (A)

Adjustable, minimum 5 μm, typical values: 30, 60 μm

DMP Factory 500

500 x 500 x 500 mm (19.6 x 19.6 x 19.6 in.)

LaserForm Ti Gr.23 (A), Ni718 (A) and AlSi10Mg (A)

Adjustable, min. 5 μm, max. 200 μm, typical value: 60 μm

* Material dependent

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September 2021

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A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

Signs of a maturing technology The end of the year 2020 saw Desktop Metal go public. Using a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), the company is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That was just the beginning of roughly twelve months of product and materials introductions and acquisitions.

The company announced the P-1 printer began global shipments and joins the Production System lineup alongside the flagship P-50 printer.

Designed to serve as a bridge from process development to full-scale mass production of end-use metal parts, the P-1 leverages the Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology and core additive manufacturing benefits for companies and research institutions alike at the size and scale of serial production.

The P-1 offers a form factor to bridge the gap between benchtop process development and mass production, leveraging the same SPJ technology and print carriage design as on the P-50

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September 2021

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but with enhanced process flexibility.

Also similar to the P-50, the P-1 features a state-of-the-art print bar with native 1200 dpi, printhead technology that supports a variety of binders, and an inert processing environment to support both non-reactive and reactive materials.

As a result, materials research and new application development conducted on the P-1 can be transferred directly onto the P-50 to scale.

SPJ technology on the P-1 prints a layer in less than three seconds, including powder deposition, powder compaction, anti-ballistics, binder deposition, and printhead cleaning. At this maximum build rate, the P-1 can achieve production throughputs 10 times higher than those of legacy powder bed fusion systems and fast enough to complete a full build in less than one hour.

The P-1’s open material platform and inert process environment allow customers to use low-cost, third-party metal injection molding powders across

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Today the world manufactures more than $85 billion in medical and dental implants each year. We think a large percentage of these parts could be printed and made patient-specific before the end of the decade.

The P-1’s open material platform and inert process environment allow customers to use low-cost, third party metal injection molding powders across a variety of materials, making the P-1 suitable for serial production of small and complex parts in addition to smaller scale process development activities.

a variety of materials, making the P-1 suitable for serial production of small and complex parts in addition to smaller scale process development activities. Powder reclaimed during the printing and de-powdering process can be recycled for future use, for more cost efficiencies and a more environmentally friendly manufacturing process. In addition, the tooling-free manufacturing

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process on the P-1 facilitates quick turnovers to new jobs along with the ability to print many complex geometries simultaneously with no print supports required.

P-1 customers will also gain access to Desktop Metal’s Fabricate manufacturing build preparation software, as well as to the Live Sinter application, which dynamically simulates the sintering process and

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automatically generates print-ready geometries that compensate for the shrinkage and distortion that take place during sintering, minimizing process trial and error while improving accuracy.

Soon after that, Desktop Metal, Inc., announced the acquisition of EnvisionTEC, a leading global provider of volume production photopolymer 3D printing systems.

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Additive technology

One of the newer materials certified for printing on its systems is 4140 low-alloy steel.

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September 2021

EnvisionTEC will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal with its founder, Al Siblani, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the EnvisionTEC business.

The acquisition of EnvisionTEC brings the digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology to the overall portfolio of Desktop Metal.

EnvisionTEC systems are used in a range of industries, including medical devices, jewelry, automotive, aerospace, and biofabrication.

Then, the company’s marketing team announced a powder that enables aluminum sintering for binder jetting AM technology. This powder is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Desktop Metal and Uniformity Labs. The 6061 aluminum powder yields fully dense parts, is sinterable with more than 10% elongation and improved yield strength and ultimate tensile strength versus wrought 6061 aluminum with comparable heat treatment.

Said Ric Fulop, CEO and cofounder of Desktop Metal, “The global aluminum castings market is more than $50 billion per year, and it is ripe for disruption with binder jetting AM solutions. These are the best reported properties we are aware of for a sintered 6061 aluminum powder.”

Agreed Adam Hopkins, founder and CEO of Uniformity Labs, “This development is a step towards the adoption of mass-produced printed aluminum parts.”

The aluminum powder also enables compatibility with water-based binders and has a higher minimum

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ignition energy (MIE) relative to other commercially available 6061 aluminum powders, for a better safety profile.

Desktop Metal also launched a new business line, Desktop Health, that will focus on additive manufacturing solutions for dental, orthodontic and otolaryngology applications.

“Today the world manufactures more than $85 billion in medical and dental implants each year,” said Fulop. “We think a large percentage of these parts could be printed and made patient-specific before the end of the decade.”

Michael Mazen Jafar will be the President and CEO of Desktop Health.

Most recently, Desktop Metal announced it has qualified the use of 316L stainless steel for the Production System platform, which leverages patent-pending Single Pass Jetting (SPJ) technology for fast build speeds.

Known for its corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties at extreme temperatures, 316L stainless steel is suited for applications in demanding conditions, such as parts exposed to marine or pharmaceutical processing environments, food preparation equipment, medical devices and surgical tooling. It also exhibits excellent weldability by standard fusion and resistance methods.

The material meets MPIF 35 standards for structural powder metallurgy parts set by the Metal Powder Industries Federation.

Parts printed with 316L have demonstrated excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, while significantly decreasing production time and part cost.

Here are a few example applications.

Rocker arm for saltwater marine environments. Rocker arms open and close intake and exhaust valves on outboard marine engines. The use of 316L extends the part’s life and provides corrosion resistance against harsh saltwater environments.

The Production System P-50 can

DESIGN WORLD

MACHINE NAME

BUILD SIZE

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

Fiber

310 x 240 x 270 mm

PA6 + CF, PA6 + GF, PEKK + CF, PEEK + CF (Both chopped and continous fiber)

50 μm

NA

Production System (P50)

490 x 380 x 260 mm (48L)

Alloys, including stainless steel, copper, and tool steels, 17-4PH, 316L, Inconel 625, H13, AISI 4140, AL 6061

30 - 200 um

12,000 cc/hr

Production System (P1)

200 x 100 x 40 mm (0.8L)

Alloys, including stainless steel, copper, and tool steels, 17-4PH, 316L, Inconel 625, H13, AISI 4140, AL 6061

30 - 200 um

1,350 cc/hr

Studio System+ Printer

300 x 200 x 200 mm

17-4 PH, 316L, AISI 4140, H13, Copper

std resolution =100-220 um, High resolution = 50 um

NA

Shop System

350 x 220 x 50,100,150,200 mm (4L,8L,12L,16L)

17-4 PH

50 - 100 um

800 cc/hr

Studio System 2

300 x 200 x 200 mm

316L

std resolution =100-220 um, High resolution = 50 um

Max build rate = 16 cm3/hr

produce more than a thousand parts per day with ribbing features and cutouts to deliver adequate strength and stiffness while maintaining low weight and a small footprint versus the standard cast alternatives, which require up to 8 to 14 weeks lead time.

Fluid connector for chemical processing plants. Heavy industry fluid connectors used in many chemical processing plants need to be manufactured in 316L for corrosion resistance against the chemicals moving through the part. The connector’s complex internal channels make it impossible to manufacture as a single component via conventional manufacturing methods. The Production System P-50 prints the fluid connector in 316L as a single, consolidated component and can support a throughput of nearly 5,500 parts per week, at a fully burdened cost of approximately $6.85 per part.

Custom surgical tool for medical applications. Because 316L is a surgical-grade steel, it is an ideal material for medical applications like surgical nozzles. By eliminating tooling, additive manufacturing enables mass production runs of different sized nozzles with no lead time, featuring internal channels

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that are optimized for individual patient needs.

Printing on the Production System P-50 eliminates multiple fixturing steps otherwise required for machining, and results in a throughput of more than 24,000 parts per week at approximately $2.50 per part. By comparison, machining the same part would cost $20.00 -$40.00 per part, and require up to two months to create the same number of parts the P-50 can produce in just one week.

Continuing its expansion, Desktop Metal acquired Adaptive3D, a leading provider of elastomeric solutions for additive manufacturing. Adaptive3D offers photopolymer elastomers.

Its products enable volume enduse parts production with additive manufacturing of odorless, tough, strain-tolerant, tear-resistant, and biocompatible rubbers and rubberlike materials. The flagship resin is Elastic ToughRubber 90, a tough, printable elastomer for all seasons.

Adaptive3D printable materials fit high-throughput manufacturing of functional, complex 3D plastic and rubber parts in consumer, healthcare, industrial, transportation, and oil and gas markets. Adaptive3D’s core technology was developed through

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Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funding, and the Company has received strategic capital from leading materials companies including Covestro, Arkema Group, West Pharmaceuticals, Applied Ventures, and Royal DSM. And, as of this writing date, Desktop Metal qualified a number of materials for its printing systems, including 4140 low-alloy steel.

Desktop Metal | www.desktopmetal.com

Another qualitied material is 316L, a surgical-grade steel, which suits medical applications like surgical nozzles. By eliminating tooling, additive manufacturing enables mass production runs of different sized nozzles with no lead time, featuring internal channels that are optimized for individual patient needs.

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A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

Metal additive manufacturing speeds innovation in spinal devices Since its foundation over twenty years ago in Italy’s biomedical valley near Modena, Tsunami Medical has continued to evolve and grow its business in response to the market dynamics of the ever-changing global medical implants sector.

At the heart of the company’s evolution, is a strategy that embraces and integrates new technologies such as additive manufacturing. This allows it to remain at the forefront of the design, development and manufacture of medical devices for spinal surgery and invasive procedures.

After quickly establishing expertise in the field of biopsy and vertebroplasty, already in 2010, Stefano Caselli, Tsunami Medical’s founder and general manager and his team began to explore how metal additive technologies could be applied to spinal cages and implants.

The purchase of its first two GE Additive Concept Laser DMLM machines in 2015 marked a milestone in the company’s additive journey. Fast forward five years

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September 2021

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to today, and Tsunami Medical remains focused on the spinal sector and to date has additively manufactured more than 50,000 pieces for its global customers.

To further scale production, earlier this year, the company acquired two additional GE Additive Concept Laser Mlab systems – doubling its fleet size to four machines.

Fast-paced innovation in the spinal device sector Innovation in spinal cage implants has come a long way in a relatively short period in time. This is in part thanks to companies like Tsunami Medical, who work hand in hand with forward-thinking orthopedic, neurosurgeons and other medical professionals, to integrate metal additive into their work.

Compared to early PEEK-based implants, metal additive manufacturing now not only makes it possible to calibrate the mechanical properties, elastic modulus and rigidity of a device, it also allows device designers the freedom to create open structures – in a quality that

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is close to replicating the porous structures of trabecular bone.

Another advantage of additively manufactured structures is that they can be incorporated into the shape of the implant and produced in one production step – without the need for additional coating. This allows for the design of porous structures with customized conformations of pores, thickness and overall porosity.

“That collaboration and shared learning with medical and healthcare professionals around the world is invaluable. Their ideas and continued enthusiasm for metal additive energizes us and helps to influence and shape our innovation strategy going forward,” adds Caselli, himself a biomedical engineer.

DMLM drives innovation and productivity gains Innovation at Tsunami Medical comes in various shapes and forms, but they are typically small and incredibly complex. The company’s latest innovation breakthrough – the Giglio Interspinal Fusion System – focuses on developing implants that are almost ready for use, straight from a metal additive manufacturing machine.

Tsunami Medical remains focused on the spinal sector and to date has additively manufactured more than 50,000 pieces for its global customers

DESIGN WORLD

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Additive technology

Giglio consists of an interspinal spacer device and the necessary tools for its positioning and fixing within a minimally invasive operation. Five mobile, articulated pieces allow for the extraction of the fins for anchorage to the vertebrae. The surgical operation is performed by making an incision for the passage of the device. This is correctly positioned using a guide wire that is stretched from the insertion point. Once the device has been positioned, it is tightened by a special tool, which is then removed, together with the guide wire.

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The system is intended for lumbar diseases with an indicated segmental requirement. This covers a wide range of medical conditions, such as; degenerative disc diseases, vertebral instability, review procedures for post-discectomy syndrome, pseudoarthrosis, a lack of spinal fusion or degenerative spinal fusion and adult deformities.

Giglio consists of an interspinal spacer device and the necessary tools for its positioning and fixing within a minimally invasive operation.

Five mobile, articulated pieces allow for the extraction of the fins for anchorage to the vertebrae.

The surgical operation is performed by making an incision for the passage of the device. This is correctly positioned using a guide wire that is stretched from the insertion point. Once the device has been positioned, it is tightened by a special tool, which is then removed, together with the guide wire.

Here, Tsunami has been able to take advantage of GE Additive’s DMLM technology in a number of innovative ways. DMLM offers the ability to create precise geometries, including gears and mechanical moving parts – on a very small scale – with no assembly needed.

“DMLM helps us achieve the accuracy, complexity and functional integration we are striving for. It also delivers a great surface quality than reduces or sometimes eliminates the need for typical post-processing, which in turn drives productivity gains,” says Caselli.

“The implant comes out of the machine with an optimized 20-unit printing cycle, without the need for support structures. It is already fully assembled and except for final polishing requires no postprocessing. No other machine today would have been able to give us this kind of performance,” he adds.

Scaling globally As demand grows from its international customer base. Caselli plans to scale the business further.

With two decades of sector experience to build on, deep connections to the medical community and the company’s next generation of spinal implants currently going through the regulatory process, 2021 is gearing up to be another definitive year for Tsunami Medical.

GE Additive | www.geadditive.com

COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD ENVELOPE (MM; W X D X H)

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

GE Additive Arcam EBM

Arcam EBM Q10plus

200 x 200 x 180 (W/D/H); 7.87 x 7.87 x 7 in.

Titanium Ti6AI4V Titanium Ti6AI4V ELI Titanium Grade 2 Cobalt Chrome

NA

NA

Arcam EBM Q20plus

350 x 380 (Ø/H)

Titanium Ti6AI4V Titanium Ti6AI4V ELI Titanium Grade 2

NA

NA

Arcam EBM A2X

200 x 200 x 380 (W/D/H); 7.87 x 7,87 x 15 in.

Titanium Ti6AI4V Titanium Ti6AI4V ELI Titanium Grade 2 Inconel 718

NA

NA

Arcam EBM Spectra H

200 x 200 x 380 (W/D/H); 7.87 x 7,87 x 15 in.

crack-prone alloys like Titanium Aluminide, nickel alloy 718

NA

NA

Arcam Spectra L

350 x 430 mm

Arcam EBM Ti6AI4V Grade 5, P-material; Arcam EBM Ti6AI4V Grade 23, P-Material

NA

NA

September 2021

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DESIGN WORLD

COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD ENVELOPE (MM; W X D X H)

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

GE Additive

Concept Laser Mlab

50 x 50 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 2 x 2 x 3.12 in.; 70 x 70 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 2.75 x 2.75 x 3.12 in.; 90 x 90 x 80 mm (x,y,z); 3.5 by 3.5 x 3.12 in.

Stainless Steel 316L Stainless Steel 17-4PH Bronze CuSn remanium star® CL (CoCrW) Silver 930 Gold, Yellow Gold, Rose Platinum

NA

1-5 cm3/h (depending on material / geometry)

Concept Laser Mlab R

50 x 50 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 2 x 2 x 3.12 in.; 70 x 70 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 2.75 x 2.75 x 3.12 in.; 90 x 90 x 80 mm (x,y,z); 3.5 by 3.5 x 3.12 in.

Stainless Steel 316L Stainless Steel 17-4PH Aluminum AlSi10MgTitanium Ti6Al4V ELI Grade 23 Titanium CPTi Grade 2 Bronze CuSn remanium star® CL (CoCrW) rematitan® CL (Ti6Al4V ELI) Silver 930 Gold, Yellow Gold, Rose Platinum

NA

1-5 cm3/h (depending on material)

Concept Laser Mlab 200R

50 x 50 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 2 x 2 x 3.12 in.; 70 x 70 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 2.75 x 2.75 x 3.12 in.; 90 x 90 x 80 mm (x,y,z) 3.5 by 3.5 x 3.12 in.; 100 x 100 x 100 mm (x,y,z) 3.94 x 3.94 x 3.94 in.

Stainless Steel 316L Stainless Steel 17-4PH Maraging Steel M300 Aluminum AlSi10Mg Nickel 718 Titanium Ti6Al4V ELI Grade 23 Titanium CPTi Grade 2 Bronze CuSn remanium star CL (CoCrW) rematitan CL (Ti6Al4V ELI)

NA

1-5 cm3/h (depending on material / geometry)

"Concept Laser M2 Series 5"

250 x 250 x 350 mm (x,y,z); 9.84 x 9.84 x 11 in.

Stainless Steel 316L Stainless Steel 17-4PH Marging Steel M300 Aluminum AlSi10Mg Aluminum AlSi7Mg Nickel 718 Nickel 625 Titanium Ti6Al4V ELI Grade 23 Cobalt CoCrMo

NA

2-35 cm3/h (depending on material / geometry)

Concept Laser M Line Factory

500 x 500 x 400 mm (x,y,z); 19.68 x 19.68 x 15.74 in.

Cobalt CoCrMo (in development) Nickel 718 (in development) Aluminum A205 (in development)

NA

not stated

Concept Laser X Line 2000R

800 x 400 x 500 mm (x,y,z); 31.5 x 15.75 x 19.68 in.

Aluminum AlSi10Mg Titanium Ti6AL4V Grade 23 Nickel 718 Cobalt CoCrMo Stainless Steel 316L (in development)

NA

up to 120 cm3/h (depending on material / geometry)

Innovation in spinal cage implants has come a long way in a relatively short period in time. Compared to early PEEK-based implants, metal additive manufacturing now not only makes it possible to calibrate the mechanical properties, elastic modulus and rigidity of a device, it also allows device designers the freedom to create open structures – in a quality that is close to replicating the porous structures of trabecular bone.

DESIGN WORLD

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September 2021

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A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

What designers of

sports equipment

have learned about additive manufacturing

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September 2021

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DESIGN WORLD

For the design engineers at HP focused on the sports industry, the goal is to figure out what users care about and how to use additive manufacturing to advance the state of the art in the sports field. With the Cobra Golf putter, the challenge in the design was trying to predict how the putter would feel and how it would affect the bounce and roll of a golf ball. The HP design team went through dozens of iterations quickly, got feedback, and was then able to make changes fast.

DESIGN WORLD

Designers in the sports world have been one of the quickest groups to adopt additive manufacturing technology.

Through their experience, they have developed a few insights and perspectives that might be useful for engineers in other fields.

Designers of sports equipment need to show something quickly to the customer, get their feedback, and then iterate fast. Additive manufacturing/3D printing technology is perfect for such a need.

But designers in the sports world have a special focus. “Product developers, product owners and designers in this space are focused on the end-user in a way that you don’t necessarily see in other industries,” notes David Woodlock, Application Development and Design Manager at HP. “What we’ve seen 3D printing do is let designers respond to users faster. That starts with getting better prototypes out in the field, often to professional athletes, to check out how the design stands up to abuse. That’s the kind of immediate impact we’ve seen with additive technology.”

Faster iteration also has another benefit for the designer. Woodlock sees how his team shifts their thinking more to how they can enhance the design and bring to the athletes what hasn’t been possible before. It’s about figuring out what the users care about and how the design team can use this new tool to advance the state of the art.

One example is the Cobra Golf putter. The challenge in the design was trying to predict how the putter would feel and how it would affect the bounce and roll of a golf ball. The HP design team went through dozens of iterations quickly, got feedback, and was then able to make changes fast.

The team realized that additive opened a new design space for

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them. If such a part is machined or cast, there are certain limitations on how one fills the part volume.

With additive, though, the team could create new cavities and play around with putting material in different places.

“Additive gives us a bigger design space,” notes Woodlock.

“What is the best trade-off of all of the different new avenues to get to a new solution?”

Not only did 3D printing come in handy for prototyping the putter, but it is also being produced in small volumes on HP’s metal 3D printing technology.

Customization/personalization An area that influences sports design is personalization. The more you can tailor a design to an individual’s capabilities, the more successful the product.

With additive technology, it’s possible to account for different sizes, different strengths, different swing profiles, and so on.

This ability also means designers can offer a larger number of options for a design. Notes Woodlock, in the past, SKUs were usually limited to three sizes. Some of this was due to supply chain logistics. “But with full personalization, not only is there a one-off for a specific person, there’s also the option to offer 10 sizes versus three, and that’s a ton of value.”

The timing is right because of the effects of COVID. “As people seek relief from quarantining, we’ve seen the bicycle industry explode by more than 50% in 2020. Nordic skiing, hiking, all of these sports are taking off because people want to get out of their homes. With this trend, though, you’re getting people of different sizes, different athletic abilities, different genders, and you could argue that previous sizing did not fit enough of this new diverse set of demographics that are getting into the sports.

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Additive technology

In another industry, additive manufacturing was used to print special glasses frames for children with dyslexia.

“So, if you think about it now, I’ve got a more diverse group of participants. We can enable them all to have that same high-level experience that your pro athlete does because we’re going to start making sizes that will fit them. I think it’s perfect timing and thankfully the additive industry is getting the kind of investment that can explore some of these areas.”

Cross transfer of skills But does the experience gained in sports design transfer to other engineering fields?

“It’s a certain level of sophistication with manufacturing data, which already existed with traditional technologies,” notes Woodlock.

“Whereas now that understanding is coming to additive manufacturing, and that’s the secret sauce. Now, obviously, people in all these different sports arenas come up with unique ideas and that has a lot of value. The value of the engineering, the time, and the work is in consistency of a scaled manufacturing process and I think that’s totally applicable to any industry.

“If you have an additive application to scale in any industry,

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September 2021 www.designworldonline.com

that is a skill set that is hugely valued in other industries. Because it’s still very unique.”

Another aspect of cross-transfer of skills is learning to think differently.

“In the sports field, a designer cannot discount a product or design because they don’t see value in it,” notes Woodlock. People have very different experiences in sports than I do. So, what I’m learning is, I can’t discount something because I don’t see value in, because I don’t necessarily represent everybody’s problems. Everybody else has very different problems, unique to themselves and I think that’s a lesson that’s kind of applicable to anybody.

The use of additive in sports applications will also help improve additive technology. Presently, materials, PLM software, metrology, and quality software have varying levels of compatibility with additive technology. But that is changing.

The primary opportunities to affect additive technology is certainly with materials, but also software, notes Woodlock.

“Sports design is an interesting space. I think it’s a great proving ground for new technologies that’s applicable everywhere else.

“As I go through some design processes, I run into times where the software can’t keep up with what I want to do,” says Woodlock. “The traditional CAD programs can make the shapes that I want to make, but the ordering systems can’t handle a single user ordering a custom part and getting it back to them in a way that fits into my ERP system.

“Also, my metrology and quality management software can’t handle all the new variables. What we’ve seen is that material costs and hardware has come a long way, but we got stuck at the software. So, you’ll see a huge investment in the software space.

Look at the personalization ordering backbone for sporting goods. It is very similar to the one that you’d need for

DESIGN WORLD

COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD ENVELOPE (MM; W X D X H)

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

HP

HP Jet Fusion 3D 4200 Printing Solutions

380 x 284 x 380 mm (15 x 11.2 x 15 in)

HP 3D High Reusability PA 11 HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 GB Vestosint 3D Z2773 PA 12

0.08 mm (0.003 in)

4115 cm3/hr (251 in3/hr)

HP Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printing Solution

380 x 284 x 380 mm (15 x 11.2 x 15 in)

HP 3D High Reusability PA 11 HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 Girbau DY130 Dyeing Solution9

0.08 mm (0.003 in)

5058 cm3/hr (309 in3/hr)

HP Jet Fusion 540/340 3D Printer

332 x 190 x 248 mm (13.1 x 7.5 x 9.8 inches)

CB PA 12 material

0.08 mm (0.003 inches)

1,817 cm3/hr (111 in3/hr)

HP Jet Fusion 580/380 Color

332 x 190 x 248 mm (13.1 x 7.5 x 9.8 inches)

CB PA 12 material

0.08 mm (0.003 inches)

1,817 cm3/hr (111 in3/hr)

HP Metal Jet

430 x 320 x 200 mm (16.9 x 12.6 x 7.9 in)

316L stainless steel MIM powder

1200 x 1200 dpi addressability in a layer 50 to 100 microns thick

NA

a personalized health care product like a prosthetic, or other custom products. This is a great opportunity for startups in the industry.”

On the hardware side of development, Woodlock sees metal 3D printing technologies coming out in a low-cost way as developers try to go after this middle space.

“It has been an underused technology, but it has some workflow issues that we’re trying to solve with a new way of doing essentially binding and I think that is an area that you’ll see people innovate.

People don’t really know where you can take in the value you can create with it. So, I’m excited to see what some of these people come up with or how to use those technologies.”

“Engineering now is getting really fun because it’s moving into designing for the human being,”

how can you improve that.

“Whatever discipline you study, be it chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, the focus is on the person because that’s where I think the smartest, most empathetic people are uniquely able to solve and create value. Everybody’s looking for what improves my experience at home, riding my bike at work, anything like that and that’s kind of why I love sporting goods and that’s kind of a leader in all these spaces.”

Technology trends According to Woodlock, there are a few fundamental new capabilities that the industry needs to adopt.

It begins with what will design look like 10 years from now because it won’t be the same as it is today.

“Traditional CAD programs have

Sports design is an interesting space.

I think it’s a great proving ground for new technologies that’s applicable everywhere else. says Woodlock. “We’re past the point of technology for technology’s sake. We’re now at the point of what is the human experience and

DESIGN WORLD

HP.AMHDBK.9.21.Vs3.LL.indd 23

had a good run since the eighties or earlier and they’re kind of the same, equation-based approaches.

Not very much has changed.

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“But look at Pixar movies and look at the difference between Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 4 and notice the difference in the animators’ capability to make 3D bodies. The animators have tools that can ride the compute power curve that traditional CAD does not have. They can use more polygons, more mesh, and so on and create this huge curve in just processing power and how they’re able to design 3D objects.

“I think traditional CAD starts to go away and you start to hop on this train of what is animation doing?

What is video game design doing?

Because they are advancing fast. At some point, processing power will catch up or every designer will design like the animators. But it takes a ton of horsepower to render all those things. It’s very computational heavy.

But that’s the future, not equations, organic shapes, representations, but leveraging what they’ve done in animation and bringing it into the creation of physical objects.

“Some of our best designers of 3D products come from either animation or video game design and they bring those skills into creating 3D objects that we then print and I think that’s the future.”

HP Inc. | www.hp.com

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9/8/21 12:57 PM

A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

Working with stainless steel in 3D printing

COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD SIZE

MakerBot METHOD X

METHOD

6 x 7.5 x 7.75 in (dual extrusion) 7.5 x 7.5 x 7.75 in (single extrusion)

METHOD Carbon Fiber Edition

24

September 2021

BUILD MATERIALS

For METHOD and METHOD Carbon Fiber Edition: Model Materials: PLA, Nylon,Tough, PETG, PETG ESD, SEBS 95A, Nylon Carbon Fiber, Nylon 12 Carbon Fiber, 316L stainless steel Support Material: PVA For METHOD X and METHOD X Carbon Fiber Edition: Model Materials: PLA, Nylon, Tough, PETG, PETG ESD, SEBS 95A, ABS, ABS ESD, ABS EC, ASA, PC-ABS, PC-ABS FR, PC-PBT, PolyLite, PolyMax PC, PolyMax FR, Durabio, Nylon Carbon Fiber, Nylon 12 Carbon Fiber, PETG Carbon Fiber, ABS Carbon, ABS Kevlar, 316L stainless steel Support Materials: PVA, SR-30

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LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

20 - 400 microns

0.2 mm or ± 0.002 mm per mm of travel

DESIGN WORLD

M

ore 3D printing vendors are introducing metal materials for their systems. One popular metal in particular is stainless steel. This material offers a number of benefits to designers. We interviewed Felipe Castaneda, Creative Director at MakerBot, on ways to make the most of it in your designs for 3D printing. Here are key points of the interview.

Software tools Generative design software will be an important tool in designing with many materials, including stainless steel. When working with this software, it is important to understand the problem you’re working on thoroughly. The goal of generative design is to get as many answers from the computer as possible, to expand the possibilities of what your design will look like. But to do that, you first need a really good grasp of what the problem is in order to form the right questions for the computer to answer.

Fortunately, computers are still not as smart as engineers. So, computers are not able to create the questions themselves. You will get answers from computers, but if you don’t phrase the problem appropriately, the answers might not even be relevant. With the nearly infinite processing compute power of computers, it’s a good challenge to first frame the problem of any design. What aspect of the design are you looking for the computer to improve on? Are you trying to enhance a part’s structural properties? Are you trying to enhance the way that it will be made, and so on? Different problems will come up with different solutions, and in that lies the value of the designer to translate that problem into something that the algorithm can react to.

“There are multiple approaches to what we would call generative design,” notes Castaneda.

“Traditionally it’s been more about the geometries, … but there are places where the generative design will be focused not on creating something complex, but rather on giving you a lot of options. Let’s say, if I have a wrench printed using a mix of carbon fiber and 316L, I could be asking the program to generate, say multiple lengths of the wrench, or multiple sizes for the interfacing bolt in the wrench, different patterns here to be followed and to be created, so that it has a different grip against the user’s hand. So, it varies a lot.”

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Additive technology

The tips of the gripper claw are made out of the 316L material because the claw is subject to the most wear and tear as it holds items. Notice the pattern on the inside of the gripper claw. This pattern was created using generative design programs, but it takes the ability of additive manufacturing to make the pattern.

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Materials More vendors are offering a stainless-steel material for use with their 3D printers. What are the benefits of this material?

According to Castaneda, this material gives you the ability to create robust, sturdy parts that are challenging to make using other manufacturing methods. There are certain geometries that you would not be able to generate in any other way with stainless steel than by using 3D printing. Being able to create these complex geometries enables you to ultimately achieve the shape and form that you want.

“Specifically,” says Castaneda, “this material is, in some cases, 20 to 50 times as strong as our next strongest composite or polymer. So, its physical properties are rather remarkable.”

“I’ve been using it for quite a range of applications,” says Castaneda, “starting from creating grippers. In this case, we are working on developing what essentially is a robotic gripper.

It’s going to be actuated by a NEMA 17 motor, so a pretty standard stepper motor. The tips of the gripper claw are made out of the 316L material.

Those tips are going to be the element of the assembly that will be subject to the most wear and tear as it holds items. That’s why we chose to use metal in this case.

“And the reason we used 3D printing as opposed to any other machining method, is that we have some complicated geometries that would not be able to be manufactured in any other way, such as machining or grinding. There’s a little pattern inside of the tips of the claw, in the concave elements. We created that pattern using generative design.

“The 316L material allows us to have a much stronger part only in the section that will be subject to the most wear. The rest of the assembly is made out of nylon and carbon fiber.

It’s also 3D printed, but we are focused on lightweighting that part of the design. So, we are applying the material where it’s most valuable.

In this case, the part, the section of the part that has the most wear and tear, will be having the stronger material applied to it.

“If we were to print this whole assembly out of stainless steel, which is definitely possible, these would probably end up weighing a good three, five pounds, for a gripper that’s about the size of my hand, right? So that might be just too much for any robot to carry around. However, if I can reduce the weight on the less structural parts of the gripper

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and use, in this case, the carbon fiber composite, and just get those tips out of metal, then I’m getting the best of both worlds. I’m getting the sturdy, the rigidity of the metal on the tapers themselves, and the lightweight component, and the stiffness of the carbon fiber on the rest of it.”

You can achieve greater detail, both created from a generative design program and into the geometric shape, than you could have with traditional machining methods.

“We’ve seen stainless steel in medical applications and some other devices,” notes Castaneda. “I have another good example here, it’s basically just a lattice. This is more of a proof of concept of what could be done and pushing the requirements of the process itself, the 3D printing plus sintering process later on. But yeah, these types of geometries are not something that you would be able to create following any other traditional manufacturing method.

And that’s where the mix of 3D printing with 316L makes it a rather handy tool to have it at your disposal.

Of course, there are limitations when working with any material.

For the Method 3D printer, limitations include the size of the parts that you can create.

Specifically, you will be bound by a 100 x 100 x 100 mm box; about 4 in.3. However, the limitation comes not from the printer, but rather from the sintering process itself.

When you send your part out, there are specific additional steps to be taken after the part has been printed from your machine. Once you get the part out of the printer, you’ll get what we call a green part.

The green part has this kind of clay like feel to it. It’s rather dense, but that’s not the final shape of the part, or the final expression of the part.

You will have to de-bind and then sinter this part. Those steps create the stainless-steel part that you will be using later on.

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“What MakerBot does,” notes Castaneda, “is allow users to print the part themselves, which already saves time and money. And then, once they have the green part, they just send it out to a processing facility. The facility heats up the part, and returns a fully, solid stainless-steel part to the user.”

For Method printers, the stainless-steel material comes as a filament in a spool. This filament is a richer metal. Other filaments usually have a mix of 30% of the metal and 70% of the plastic-- the binding agent that keeps it all together during printing. MakerBot’s material is closer to an 80/20 mix. That’s why the parts are rather dense.

The filament is not brittle, but it has a clay-like quality to it. It will not bend. If you flex it enough, it snaps.

A spool of an average filament would weigh about one kilogram.

The MakerBot stainless steel spool weighs about three kilograms, or about six pounds.

The spool is convenient for working with metal, plus it makes it easy to switch out materials quickly and cleanly.

Once you have sent out the part for de-binding, removing that excess 20% binding agent tends to shrink the part size. “It’ll shrink a little bit and it’s going to shrink unevenly,” says Castaneda.

“It’s going to shrink about 20% on the X and Y axis, and 26% on the Z axis.” The height skrinkage is due to the weight of the part itself. The weight of the part on itself will shrink a bit more vertically than horizontally.

Whether in powder for filament form, stainless steel will help people to come up with better solutions, more interesting solutions and ultimately expand the size of the market.

make metal

parts through

additive extrusion Early in the history of additive manufacturing, working with metal was a challenge. The metal material was usually converted to a powder, which, depending on the metal chosen, tended to be easily explosive. Additive systems used special equipment to move metal powder in and out of the machine, and special atmospheres to eliminate the possibility of the powder igniting.

Since those early days, additive vendors have found ways to combine metal powder with a binder (often a carbon fiber, plastic binder, fiberglass, or Kevlar) and form a safer to handle material composite. The amount of binder combined with the metal varies from 30 to 70%, depending on the metal and the application for the composite material. This composite material can then be shaped into rods, and more recently filament, that can be used in less expensive additive machines that use extrusion to build parts a layer at a time. The filament is not brittle, but it has a clay-like quality to it. It will not bend. If you flex it enough, however, it snaps.

The rods or filament are fed into the printer’s extruder nozzle, which melts the composite material to a point where it can be easily deposited in a layer-bylayer build process.

Once the part is built, it is removed from the build plate and usually must undergo a second operation, known as sintering. Sintering uses high heat, a temperature less than the melting temperature of the composite, to remove the binding material used to make the composite. The end result is a fully dense (99.7%) metal part.

MakerBot | www.makerbot.com

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A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

Design tips

for metal additive manufacturing

There are always tips and “tricks” that can make designing for additive manufacturing using metal materials easier and more productive. Here are a few.

1 Increase yield to same time and money Yield, in the context of additive manufacturing, is a function of feature parameters and process parameters. For example, with the Markforged systems, you can improve yield by considering the process itself, (which is fused filament fabrication (FFF)), and designing features that can be self-supporting. This means reducing the need for overhangs that require additional support.

Another example is to consider the path the nozzle will take to place material. Notes Daniel Lazier, Strategic Application Engineer, at Markforged, “We see users shifting their mindset from one of the number of cuts, which is a very CNC focused mindset, to a more additive mindset where you’re only depositing material in the places where you need it, taking into consideration constraints like gravity and so on. There are efficient ways to place material, which can speed up the build process, improving yield.

Also, consider using inlay lattice patterns rather than a solid build. Internal lattice 28

September 2021

patterns offer support using a minimal amount of material, reducing build time and cost.

2 Software for planning an additive layout Traditional CAD software programs did not always optimize for an efficient additive printing layout. Newer programs, such as generative design or topology optimization, help designers think about creating designs for additive manufacturing technologies.

These programs will take design parameters on load, thermal, or aerodynamic requirements, for example, and then output oftentimes alien-looking features that optimize the solution to a problem.

Then, slicer software aids in determining part settings and how to print the geometry.

Noted Lazier, “Markforged offers a slicer program known as Eiger. Eiger includes the ability to customize a lattice structure that’s built up in the internal feature of the part. So, the outer shell is as designed, but the interior of the part may look like a honeycomb or a triangular truss structure.”

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3 Tips on geometry With traditional manufacturing, an engineer might prototype the whole project several times before building the design. But with additive technology, because users pay for the material used, they can prototype sections of a design until they get it right, and then prototype the whole design.

“I can just break out little features, like say I have a really complicated connector,” says Lazier. “In fact, just yesterday, I was designing a sample part that I wanted to fit together like a Lego almost so that the two pieces come together with a subtle adherence to one another.

“In that case, I can just break out that unique feature, and then I’ll iterate on it a couple of times. I might fill up a build plate with 10 iterations in one print and then in a matter of a few hours, I can obtain the part that I need that points to that feature complexity.”

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Additive technology

The Metal X system offers end-to-end 3D printing of various metal materials.

In addition to metals and polymers, designers can also consider composites.

Continuous fibers, for example, can often have strength on par with metals.

Lazier cites a recent example from a Siemens’ client. “They developed this really neat looking cutback tool to service their gas turbines. And they needed unique and complex holding surfaces for the circular saw that was going to be part of that tool.

“When they went through the process of iterating, it wasn’t so much like they were taking the whole entire saw and printing it every time, they were just printing out bits and pieces that had a feature complexity. Rather than take a print that might take a day and make it 10 times in 10 days, they took a 30-minute subsection and did that 10 times taking five hours instead.”

4 Material choices.

The Markforged printer works differently than other metal 3D printers. It’s an extrusion process using a feedstock material composed of metal powder. Once the part is built layer by layer, it goes into a deep binder tank that removes the polymer component of the part. Then the part

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is placed in a furnace that solidifies the metal particles into a final physical body. Other additive processes using metal may involve laser sintering, where sections on a bed of metal powder are fused with the laser.

“The factors that would lead me down one road or another,” notes Lazier, “the physical characteristics that I’m generally looking at are things like size and where I’m going to need support overhangs. Those constraints actually look really different from those two print systems, where, with something like laser sintering, I’m generally going to be most concerned with a factor like heat.

“Several software packages model how things might work as a function of heat in that relatively intense chamber. With the Markforged process, we consider how the heat in the furnace will affect geometry, and how to support or combat potential slumping as a function of geometry.”

In addition to metals and polymers, designers can also consider composites. Continuous fibers, for example, can often have strength on par with metals.

“Our continuous carbon fiber, for example, performs like 6061 aluminum in terms of tension and flexural strength.”

Such a material is useful in applications needing strength but is light in weight.

In a decision tree, when might a designer choose between metal and a composite? “Composite parts like traditional composite laminate structures generally perform really well in the plane that those laminate fibers are laid, but in the inter-layer adhesion, that’s going to be an area of potential

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vulnerability in the design, says Lazier.

“I might point an engineer toward a metal print system in a case where I have lots of different accesses that could be subject to loading conditions. Relatedly, hardness is a big characteristic where we’re going to make sure that we identify metal as the right use case. And going along with that, temperature.”

Polymers, of course, work well in applications with lower temperatures.

Many times, though, a part is better made with multiple materials.

“We see lots of customers employing strategies like hybrid parts. For example, size can be a big constraint for metal, but not so much for a polymer composite. We see our customers taking really, really big sections of their part, like say an end effector that needs to withstand a lot of load in one axis. They might print a majority of that arm in a composite, and then produce the tip or the contact point that needs to be custom in metal,

COMPANY

and then bond the two together, either through bolts or an adhesive or other kind of binding agent.

One of the material aspects to consider with composites is fiber direction. “There’s a bit of a learning curve with composites. This material has fibers laid in a plane, so where the design will experience mechanical load becomes a design criterion.

“When I was first trained in this technology, it was kind of like being on a roller coaster, and then all of a sudden that roller coaster can now go off the rails, where I could point that continuous fiber in that plane, in any direction that I’d like, which is almost like a superpower, being able to that specifically dictate how a part is going to respond to mechanical stresses.”

Other challenges include the “two-axis problem,” where fibers will be laid in a laminate structure that is two-dimensional. The implementation or use of external components off

the shelf components, like pins or bolts to restrain that part in the Z-axis, it’s going to be a super useful strategy long-term.

“We design parts in the 2D layer by layer format, but those parts need to perform in the 3D world.

That being the problem statement, one of the most potent solutions we have for that using off-the-shelf components like bolts. And for a couple of cents, I’ve solved this problem where I no longer have this type of vulnerability in this part.

Markforged | www.markforged.com

MACHINE NAME

BUILD SIZE

COMPOSITE BASE FILAMENTS AVALIABLE (METALS FOR METAL X)

CONTINUOUS FIBER REINFORCEMENTS AVALIABLE

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

Desktop series

Onyx One

320 x 132 x 154 mm (12.6 x 5.2 x 6 in.)

Onyx

N/A

100-200 micron

NA

Desktop series

Onyx Pro

320 x 132 x 154 mm (12.6 x 5.2 x 6 in.)

Onyx

Fiberglass

100-200 micron

NA

Desktop series

Mark Two

320 x 132 x 154 mm (12.6 x 5.2 x 6 in.)

Onyx, Nylon White

Carbon Fiber, Fiberglass, Kevlar, HSHT Fiberglass

100-200 micron

NA

Industrial series

X3

330 x 270 x 200 mm (13 x 10.6 x 7.9 in.)

Onyx, Onyx FR

N/A

50-200 micron

NA

Industrial series

X5

330 x 270 x 200 mm (13 x 10.6 x 7.9 in.)

Onyx, Onyx FR

Fiberglass

50-200 micron

NA

Industrial series

X7

330 x 270 x 200 mm (13 x 10.6 x 7.9 in.)

Onyx, Onyx FR, Nylon White

Carbon Fiber, Fiberglass, Kevlar, HSHT Fiberglass

50-250 micron

NA

Metal X

300 x 220 x 180 mm (11.8 x 8.7 x 7.1 in.)

17-4 PH Stainless Steel, Tool Steel (H13, A2, D2), Inconel 625, Copper

50-125 micron post-sinter

NA

Markforged

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End to end metal 3D printing system

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t e c h n o l o g y

Application specific 3D printers, and more of them

Stratasys has been busy this year with a number of new product introductions. Here’s a rundown.

The newest Polyjet 3D printers are the J35 Pro and J55 Prime.

The J35 Pro is a multi-material 3D printer for the desktop. It accommodates everything from concept modeling to high-fidelity, realistic, fully functioning models.

With it, users have the option to combine a variety of materials, including Vero UltraClear, that can be printed simultaneously. The printer can incorporate up to three materials that can be printed as single material parts or combined on the same model part, on the same tray. Applications include over-molding, filling simulation and printing in full grey scale.

“We find that we spend a great deal of time creating and testing models,” said Yaniv Adir, project manager for Taga Innovations, Ltd, a manufacturing engineering company in Tel Aviv,

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Israel. “If a customer had changes or if it doesn’t work as expected, we would have to go through the process over again. By bringing the J35 Pro into our office, we can create the models and prototypes in-house, in a day – giving us the ability to iterate, correct errors and more efficiently verify designs with customers.”

The J35 Pro also offers a simple design-to-print workflow powered

by GrabCAD Print, allowing users to import their designs using native CAD files or 3MF file formats.

The J55 Prime builds on the technology of the Stratasys J55 3D printer introduced in 2020.

This system goes beyond fullcolor printing with new materials that enable tactile, textual, and

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The J35 Pro multi-material 3D printer for the desktop, accommodates concept modeling to high-fidelity, realistic, fully functioning models.

Users can combine a variety of materials, including Vero UltraClear, that can be printed simultaneously.

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The Stratasys H350 3D printer is designed for the production of thousands of parts as additive manufacturing at higher volumes gains momentum in the industry.

sensory capabilities. In addition to the existing realistic visual models, the printer uses multiple materials that cater to design, functional and biocompatible prototyping, such as:

• Elastico Clear and Elastico Black • • •

for flexible, soft-touch printing that accurately simulates the look, feel and function of rubberlike products.

Digital ABS Ivory for high impact designs such as molds, jigs, fixtures and functional prototypes.

Vero ContactClear, a translucent material designed for prolonged skin or bodily contact such as medical devices, sport wear, or wearables.

Ultra-opaque colors, enabled by the VeroUltra family of materials, introduces 2D level graphics and text, vibrant and accurate colors with better plastic simulation, raising the bar in 3D printed multi-material models.

The J55 Prime is office-friendly, with a compact design, odor-free and quiet operation.

Moving into production Stratasys also introduced systems aimed at accelerating the shift from traditional to additive manufacturing for low-to-mid-volume production applications underserved by traditional manufacturing methods.

For example, the Stratasys H350 3D printer is the first 3D printer in Stratasys’ new H Series Production Platform. Powered by SAF (Selective, Absorption, Fusion) technology, the H350 printer delivers productionlevel throughput for end-use parts.

It’s designed to give manufacturers production consistency, a competitive and predictable cost per part, and complete control for the production of thousands of parts. The H350 printer includes about a dozen different parts 3D-printed with SAF technology.

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The H350 printer has been in beta testing since early 2021 with service bureaus and contract manufacturers in Europe, Israel, and the United States, including Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, which is now selling parts on demand using the system. It is expected to ship more broadly to customers in Q3 of 2021. Applications include end-use parts such as covers, connectors, hinges, cable holders, electronics housings, and ducting.

Stratasys is using certified thirdparty materials for H Series systems.

The initial material is Stratasys High Yield PA11, which is a bio-based plastic made from sustainable castor oil.

Also introduced is the Stratasys F770 3D printer that uses industrialgrade FDM technology. Capable of handling large parts, this newest FDM 3D printer features a long fully heated build chamber and a build volume of more than 13 cubic feet (372 liters).

The system, priced under $100,000, is for prototyping, jigs and fixtures, and tooling applications requiring standard thermoplastics.

Soluble support material simplifies post processing, while GrabCAD Print software streamlines workflow and enterprise connectivity is enabled through the MTConnect standard and the GrabCAD SDK.

Sub-Zero Group Inc., based in Madison, Wisc., manufactures luxury appliances, and has been a beta customer for the F770. Doug Steindl, corporate development lab supervisor, said it helps keep the printing of larger parts in-house, creating a cost savings of 30 to 40%.

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The Stratasys F770 3D printer that uses industrial-grade FDM technology. Capable of handling large parts, this newest FDM 3D printer features a long fully heated build chamber and a generous build volume of more than 13 cubic feet (372 liters).

And more Illustrating Stratasys’ ability to quickly execute on integrating its acquisition of Origin, the company introduced the Stratasys Origin One 3D printer for enduse manufacturing applications. This 3D printer uses proprietary P3 technology and a software-first architecture to produce parts at volume in a range of open, certified third-party materials.

The technology combined with hardware upgrades enabled Stratasys to optimize virtually all aspects of the system in the new version of the product to improve reliability and

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Additive technology

Internal Stratasys estimates suggest a $3.7 billion market opportunity by 2025 for the production-oriented segments suited to the Origin One, including automotive, consumer goods, medical, dental, and tooling applications. performance. Cloud connectivity means customers will receive additional feature improvements.

Internal Stratasys estimates suggest a $3.7 billion market opportunity by 2025 for the production-oriented segments suited to the Origin One, including automotive, consumer goods, medical, dental, and tooling applications.

Stratasys has grown its GrabCAD Software Partner Program to six companies with the addition of Teton Simulation, which uses the GrabCAD DFAM Software Development Kit to help customers improve the reliability of additive manufacturing builds.

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The expansion of Stratasys’ lineup of manufacturing-ready 3D printers using FDM, SAF, and P3 technologies is making it easier for customers to turn to additive manufacturing for more critical roles in the production process.

Stratasys is leveraging its polymer 3D printing to build ecosystems of partners, from software to materials to post-processing, to provide complete additive manufacturing solutions for customers. A growing set of enterprise software applications through the GrabCAD Software Partner Program give customers the power to integrate, manage, and support additive manufacturing at scale.

“Software is central to Industry 4.0 and the additive manufacturing value proposition,” said Ryan Martin, Research Director at ABI Research. “A robust software ecosystem enables the management of networked fleets of 3D printers, improves flexibility and agility, and facilitates the level of quality and reliability expected of modern production applications. Manufacturers must consider the strength of their 3D printing partners’ software ecosystems as they look to expand their use of additive manufacturing.”

Stratasys also introduced a medical 3D printer that combines multiple applications in one system.

With multiple materials and multi-color capabilities, the J5 MediJet 3D printer helps users create highly detailed 3D anatomical models and drilling and cutting guides with approved third-party 510k-cleared segmentation software.

Guides and models are certified as sterilizable and biocompatible, and the printer is economical and compact enough for small lab spaces.

The J5 MediJet 3D printer is the newest addition to the Stratasys J5 Series of printers, along with the J5 DentaJet and J55. In operation, it features a patented rotating build platform with a fixed print head for reliability and simpler maintenance.

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The system also delivers more output from a small footprint.

Compared to other 3D printers, the MediJet 3D printer is up to 30% faster, and offers a simple workflow that includes automatic build tray arrangement, corrections and support for the latest 3MF file format for simplifying connectivity to third-party segmentation and design software.

The printer supports DraftWhite material for single-material applications, along with a full array of flexible, rigid color, and transparent materials. The multi-materials capabilities support a range of medical modeling applications in an office-friendly platform.

The J5 MediJet printer is certified with leading 510K-cleared DICOM segmentation software packages for clinical diagnostic use. Additionally, it can print biocompatible materials that are certified for limited contact to tissue and bone, and permanent contact to intact skin (ISO 10993) and for breathing gas pathways in healthcare applications (ISO 18562).

MediJet models can also be sterilized using Steam, Gamma and EtO methods specific to the print material.

The J5 MediJet material and hardware manufacturing sites have received ISO 13485 certification for the design and manufacture of medical devices.

Stratasys also announced it acquired UK-based RP Support Ltd. (RPS), a provider of industrial stereolithography 3D printers and solutions, so now the company has SL in its repertoire. Stratasys will leverage its infrastructure to offer the RPS’ Neo line of systems to the global market with an expanded set of applications. Stratasys expects the acquisition to be slightly accretive to revenue and non-GAAP per-share earnings by the end of 2021.

Stratasys | www.stratasys.com

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COMPANY

TECHNOLOGY

Stratasys

FDM

Polyjet

DESIGN WORLD

PRINTER

BUILD ENVELOPE (mm)

MODEL MATERIAL OPTIONS

LAYER THICKNESS (mm)

F120

254 x 254 x 254 (10 x 10 x 10 in.)

ABS, ASA

0.013 in.

STRATASYS F170

254 x 254 x 254 (10 x 10 x 10 in.)

ABS-M30, ASA, PLA, FDM TPU 92A

Down to 0.127

STRATASYS F270

305 x 254 x 305 (12 x 10 x 12 in.)

ABS-M30, ASA, PLA, FDM TPU 92A

Down to 0.127

STRATASYS F370

356 x 254 x 356 (14 x 10 x 14)

ABS-M30, ASA, PC-ABS, PLA, Diran 410MF07, ABS-ESD7, FDM TPU-92A

Down to 0.127

FORTUS 450mc

406 x 356 x 406 (16 x 14 x 16 in.)

ABS-M30, ABS-M30i, ABS-ESD7, Antero 800NA, Antero 840CN03, ASA, PC-ISO, PC, PC-ABS, FDM Nylon 12, FDM Nylon 12CF, ST-130, ULTEM™ 9085 resin, ULTEM™ 1010 resin

Down to 0.127

F770

1000 x 610 x 610 mm / 372,000 cm (39.4 x 24 x 24 in. / 22,677 in) Maximum length on the diagonal – 1,171 cm (46.1 in.)

ABS-M30 (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) standard thermoplastics

from .178mm to .330mm depending on material

Stratasys F900

914 x 610 x 914 mm (36 x 24 x 36 in.)

ABS-M30, ABS-M30i, ABS-ESD7, Antero 800NA, Antero 840CN03, ASA, PC-ISO, PC, PC-ABS, PPSF, FDM Nylon 12, FDM Nylon 12CF, FDM Nylon 6, ST-130, ULTEM™ 9085 resin, ULTEM™ 1010 resin

Down to 0.178

OBJET30 PRO

29.5 x 19.3 x 14.9 cm (11.6 x 7.6 x 5.9 in)

MODEL: Rigid Opaque: VeroWhitePlus, VeroGray™, VeroBlue™, VeroBlack™, VeroBlackPlus™, Simulated Polyproylene: Rigur™, Durus, High Temperature

28 microns , 16 microns for VeroClear Material

OBJET30 PRIME

29.5 x 19.3 x 14.9 cm (11.6 x 7.6 x 5.9 in)

MODEL: Rigid Opaque: VeroWhitePlus, VeroGray, VeroBlue, VeroBlack, VeroBlackPlus - Transparent: VeroClear and RGD720 - Simulated Polypropylene: Rigur, Durus - High Temperature - Rubberlike: TangoGray™ and TangoBlack™ - Biocompatible

28 microns for Tango™ materials 16 microns for all other materials

J850

490 x 390 x 200 mm (19.3 x 15.35 x 7.9 in.)

Vero™ family of opaque materials including neutral shades and vibrant VeroVivid™ colors ™ Agilus30™ family of flexible materials ™ Transparent VeroClear™ and VeroUltraClear1

Horizontal build layers down to 14 microns (0.00055 in.) 55 microns (0.002 in.) in Super High Speed2 mode

J835

350 x 350 x 200 mm (13.8 x 13.8 x 7.9 in.)

Vero™ family of opaque materials including neutral shades and vibrant VeroVivid™ colors ™ Agilus30™ family of flexible materials™ Transparent VeroClear™ and VeroUltraClear1

Horizontal build layers down to 14 microns (0.00055 in.) 55 microns (0.002 in.) in Super High Speed2 mode

J826 Prime

255 x 252 x 200 mm (10 x 9.9 x 7.9 in.)

Vero™ family of opaque materials including neutral shades and vibrant VeroVivid™ colors ™ Agilus30™ family of flexible materials ™ Transparent VeroClear™ and VeroUltraClear1

Horizontal build layers down to 14 microns (0.00055 in.)

55 microns (0.002 in.) in Super High Speed2 mode

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Additive technology COMPANY

TECHNOLOGY

Stratasys

Polyjet

PRINTER

BUILD ENVELOPE (mm)

MODEL MATERIAL OPTIONS

LAYER THICKNESS (mm)

J750 Digital Anatomy

490 x 390 x 200 mm (19.3 x 15.35 x 7.9 in.)

Vero™ family of opaque materials including neutral shades and vibrant VeroVivid™ colors Agilus30™ flexible material VeroClear™, VeroUltraClear™ transparent materials TissueMatrix BoneMatrix

Horizontal build layers down to 14 microns (0.00055 in.)

OBJET30 DENTAL PRIME

300 x 200 x 150 mm (11.8 x 7.9 x 5.9 in.)

MODEL: VeroDentPlus - Clear Bio-compatible - VeroGlaze

J700 Dental

490 x 390 x 200 mm (19.3 x 15.6 x 7.9 in.)

VeroDent (MED670), VeroDentPlus (MED690)

J720 Dental

490 x 390 x 200 mm (19.3 x 15.35 x 7.9 in.)

Vero family of opaque materials including vibrant colors VeroCyanV, VeroMagentaV and VeroYellowV VeroClear transparent material Tango and Agilus30 families of flexible materials Transparent VeroClear

Layer thickness 16 microns 55 microns Horizontal build layers down to 14 microns (0.00055 in.)

Digital Model Materials: Over 500,000 colors Materials to simulate soft-tissue Translucent color tints User-developed digital materials Support Materials: SUP705 (WaterJet removable) SUP706 (Soluble) Origin One

192 x 108 x 370 mm / 7,672 cm3 (7.5 x 4.25 x 14.5 in. / 462 in3)

Neo 800

Short: 800 × 800 × 120 mm Half: 800 × 800 × 300 mm Full: 800 × 800 × 600 mm

Open resin system - compatible with 355 nm stereolithography resins

50 to 200 μm

Neo 450s

Short: 450 × 450 × 50 mm Half: 450 × 450 × 200 mm Full: 450 × 450 × 400 mm

Open resin system - compatible with 355 nm stereolithography resins

51 to 200 μm

Neo 450e

Short: 450 × 450 × 50 mm Half: 450 × 450 × 200 mm Full: 450 × 450 × 400 mm

Open resin system - compatible with 355 nm stereolithography resins

52 to 200 μm

J5 DentaJet 3D printer

Tray size: 1,174cm2

Biocompatible materials: Biocompatible Clear MED610™ VeroGlaze™ (MED620) Flexible clear biocompatible material MED625FLX™ Vibrant colors including: VeroCyanV™ (RGD845) VeroMagentaV™ (RGD852) VeroYellowV™ (RGD838) VeroDent™ PureWhite (DEN847)

Horizontal build layers down to 18 microns (0.0007 in.)

H350

315 x 208 x 293 mm (12.40 x 8.18 x 11.53 in)

Powder: Stratasys high yield PA 11 Fluid: Stratasys high absorption Fluid HAF™

100 μ (0.004 in.)

Stereolithography

Powder Bed Fusion

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Resins

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DESIGN WORLD

COMPANY

TECHNOLOGY

PRINTER

BUILD ENVELOPE (mm)

MODEL MATERIAL OPTIONS

LAYER THICKNESS (mm)

PolyJet

J5 MediJet

Printing area: 1,174cm2 Max Part Size: Up to 140 x 200 x 190mm (5.51 x 7.87 x 7.48 in.)

Biocompatible materials: Biocompatible rigid transparent (MED610) Biocompatible Opaque (MED615RGD™ IV)

Horizontal build layers down to 18 microns (0.0007 in.)

Stratasys

Rubber like: Elastico Clear (FLX934) Rigid Transparent Colors: VeroCyan™V VeroMagenta™V VeroYellow™V VeroUltra™ ClearS VeroBlackPlus™ DraftWhite (MED837)

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PolyJet

J35 Pro

Round Print Tray with up to 1,174cm2 (182 in2) Print Height: 158mm** (6.22 in.)** Maximum model height: 155 mm (6.1 in.)

VeroUltra™ WhiteS VeroUltra™ BlackS VeroUltra™ ClearS DraftGrey™ Elastico™ Clear Elastico™ Black RGD531 (Ivory) RGD515+ SUP710™ Vero™ ContactClear

HQS print mode at 18.75 microns (0.0007 in.)

PolyJet

J55 Prime

140 x 200 x 190mm (5.51 x 7.87 x 7.48 in.)

Up to 1,174cm2

VeroCyanV™ VeroMagentaV™ VeroYellowV™ VeroPureWhite™ VeroBlackPlus™ VeroClear™ VeroUltra™ ClearS DraftGrey™ VeroUltra™ WhiteS VeroUltra™ BlackS Elastico™ Clear Elastico™ Black Digital ABS Ivory VeroContact™ Clear

Horizontal build layers down to 18 microns (0.0007 in.)

PolyJet

J4100

1000 x 800 x 500 mm (39.4 x 31.5 x 19.7 in)

Neutral shades VeroPureWhite™ VeroBlackPlus™ VeroBlue™ VeroGray™ Transparent materials VeroClear™ VeroUltraClear™ Flexible materials Agilus30 Black Agilus30 Clear Digital materials Digital ABS Plus™ Ivory Digital ABS Plus™ Green

Horizontal build layers range between 27 microns - 55 microns (0.001 in. - 0.002 in.) depending on the print mode.

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37

A d d i t i v e

t e c h n o l o g y

Taking advantage of

lattice designs in 3D printing

Leslie Langnau • Senior Contributing Editor Lattice structures are those geometric shapes grouped together to create repeatable patterns for engineering purposes. The idea of lattices has been around for quite some time. You see these repeating patterns on buildings and bridges. For design engineers, lattices can deliver specific mechanical properties to an object, often in the form of a stiffness-to-mass ratio.

Lattice structures have not been used as often as they could be because manufacturing methods that could produce them easily did not exist until the development of 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing. Injection molding and machining are often cost prohibitive when it comes to producing these shapes.

Today, though, 3D printing easily creates lattice structures in helmets, saddles, shoes, nasal swabs, and in other designs. For example, lattices are being studied for use in soft robotics and in understanding how pulmonary airways work.

The additive company Carbon offers a lattice design generator called Design Engine that automates the process of creating conformal, single-zone lattices.

Using lattices in your design can “basically explode your design freedom significantly,” notes Hardik Kabaria, Director of Engineering at Carbon.

Lattices can be made from metal or polymer materials. If you use the

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Carbon Design Engine, you’ll work with stereolithography and polymer materials.

According to Kabaria, the Carbon Digital Light Synthesis system opened the door to more easily work with lattice structures. “The initial application we found and have had success with is in the area where, traditionally, you were using foam. So, if you're using foam for shoes, or helmets, or saddles, those are the places where you can replace the foam with polymeric lattice parts.

“And the basic advantage there is you can achieve mechanical properties not easily achievable with foams. But we have also found some areas that are significantly different than foam replacements. And the example I would give is COVID-19 nasal swabs.

“I've been working on a lattice-design computational-geometry algorithm that is dedicated towards these types of applications for quite some time. I would not have imagined that COVID-19 swabs are something that we would be able to make using lattice design ideas.

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Lattice structures let you place a range of mechanical properties precisely where you want them in your design.

Additive technology “There are more applications out there than what we, who live and breathe lattices, have ever imagined.

And that is one of the reasons why we realized that we needed to create a software program that would give access to more mechanical engineers in our ecosystem.”

Doing more with lattices Lattices are generally complex designs. You can have hundreds of thousands of these geometric structures in a design. There are generally two problems designers face with lattices. Traditional CAD tools do not make it easy to draw hundreds or thousands of these structures in a design.

Second, traditional manufacturing methods, such as injection molding or machining are too costly to use to mold or cut that number of geometric shapes.

Lattices suit a range of objects, from shoe insoles to helmets, and even nasal swabs.

COMPANY

MACHINE NAME

BUILD SIZE

BUILD MATERIALS

LAYER THICKNESS

BUILD SPEED

Carbon

L1 Printer

15.7" x 9.8" x 20" (400mm x 250mm x 508mm)

Carbon EPX 82 Carbon RPU 70 Carbon RPU 130 Carbon EPU 40 Carbon EPU 41 Carbon MPU 100 Carbon CE 221 Carbon FPU 50 Carbon SIL 30 Carbon UMA 90 Carbon DPR 10

100 μm (Standard), 50 μm (Fine), 25 μm (Super Fine)

40mm/hour (unscripted)

M1 Printer

5.6 in x 3.1 in x 12.8 in., (141 mm x 79 mm x 326 mm)

Carbon EPX 82

Layerless, isotropic parts

40mm/hour (unscripted)

M2 Printer

7.4 x 4.6 x 12.8 in. (189 x 118 x 326 mm)

Carbon RPU 70 Carbon RPU 130 Carbon EPU 40 Carbon EPU 41 Carbon MPU 100 Carbon CE 221 Carbon FPU 50 Carbon SIL 30 Carbon UMA 90 Carbon DPR 10

100 μm (Standard), 50 μm (Fine), 25 μm (Super Fine)

40mm/hour (unscripted)

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“So, you have a problem both on the design software side, as well as the manufacturing side,” says Kabaria. “We at least solved the manufacturing side with additive manufacturing and polymer materials. So, you can print and create an end quality part. But we also realized that's only part of solution. We developed a manufacturing method, but we didn't give you a way to make amazing parts on that manufacturing method. So, that's why we started working on the design engine to enable our customers to create really kickass products. The most beautiful part of this is that we have enabled customers to put parts in production.”

The software can be used by mechanical and industrial design engineers, as well as the manufacturing technician on the floor that may not have access to the high compute power needed for CAD produced lattices.

Design tips Design for additive manufacturing principles are also needed when working with lattices for a design.

Be sure you can make the structure on the chosen 3D printer or additive system. One question to consider is will you have a good yield on the printer? “Because in the end, some manufacturing projects, almost all of them really, are about unit economics. You can only have so many failed parts, right?”

Be sure the lattice structures are not too small, clustered, or densely packed together. Such designs will inhibit resin flow, which will slow down the printing process. And slow printing effects unit economics.

Lattices can require a lot of memory to render, represent, and transfer to the printer, …. “there are challenges in every one of those stages. Like, our design software works on AWS. We can use the

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cloud infrastructure and highperformance computing to generate the designs, but that's sort of the first step. Then, we have to successfully transfer the design to the printer, make sure we don't run into any problems during that process, ensure it’s sliceable so, … we slice the part and convert it into like images or voxels, and that process has to be foolproof because initially, you had kind of a simple parts, but now you have a very complex geometry.”

In terms of computational geometry algorithms, there are challenges on the design front to make sure that the part is not just a nicely rendered geometry, but that it is something you can print and have it in your hand.

Keep in mind that every printer has a resolution, so don’t design a lattice structure smaller than the resolution, or the pixel size, of the printer.

For some 3D printing systems, materials can be a limitation. Each material has a viscosity. If the viscosity is high and you have little space between the lattice struts, the resin will not flow through. You will only print a few lattice struts, and after that, there'll be nothing there, or it will be a full blob of resin.

Then, there are a few process limitations to consider. For example, how fast will the printer move? Will heat be an issue?

“Generally, we worry about three things, hardware limitation, material-specific limitation, and the limitation of the process. And we try to account for that in the design.”

Lattice shapes There are thousands of useful geometric shapes suitable for lattices. One of the challenges is determining which structure is right for the project. “We wanted to make that part easy. You are a mechanical engineer, the most important knowledge that you have is figuring out if a mechanical

DESIGN WORLD

response you’re looking for, let's say for a saddle, has the right stress distribution, so you don't have a peak pressure at your sit bones. So, that's the most important part that you as a mechanical engineer for saddle industry know. The customer cares about the mechanical response, our software will help you find the lattice structures.

“While we know there are hundreds of thousands of different lattice structures, we initially launched with just five different structures. If you're looking for a polymeric foam-like response, which is what we call non-linear response, we'll give you a lattice structure.

structures, it's just not going to work. It's just not going to scale.”

Benefits Making it easier to include lattice structures in a design opens the door for new applications. If customers know that a design choice achieves a non-linear foamlike response, but they would like a very plateau-like stress versus strain response, which is almost like a flat curve, “we have a mechanical response wave structure for them.

We call it the tetrahedral unit cell.

They can choose that, and they can start populating it with the geometry and start testing it.

We at least solved the manufacturing side with additive manufacturing and polymer materials. So, you can print and create an end quality part. But we also realized that's only part of solution.

“If you're looking for a memory foam-like response, it's a different lattice structure.... Often, you're looking for something very linear, which is actually not achievable with foam easily, but those are the kinds of things you really get in shoes, we have different lattice structure.

“Our goal was to enable custom manufacturing. As in the example of helmets, each head shape is different person to person.

“You have a part that you want to populate with lattice structures that you decided on based on the mechanical response you wanted.

We want that process to be flawless, ….so users do not have to worry about broken structures that could lead to part failure. We don’t want users to deploy mechanical engineers to even inspect that there are no broken structures or open

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Additive technology

Our idea has been that anything that you want to do with the lattice design, we'll allow you to do it in our tool base, in our software.

The engineering team of one of our customers, CCM, has been using this tool and has been able to find a new application on their own.

Customers can work with Carbon engineers to design parts.

However, the Design Engine enables customers to design without any aid.

“This is possible because of two things. We don't have to teach everybody which structures are the best, which model to use it with.

And the second is, you have a part, you choose the structure, we'll be able to populate it so that they can quickly throw it on a printer, print it, iterate it, and the cycle continues.

Currently, the Design Engine program is not directly connected to CAD programs. “It's not as smooth of a link as we want in the future.

Today, you use your SolidWorks, or CATIA, or whichever is your CAD design tool that is your favorite, and you can export it from there, the part you want a lattice in a triangle mesh.

Then you bring it to our tool, which is browser-based, so you

can access it through your browser on your computer. You upload it.

All the real computation happens on our AWS cloud infrastructure, so you are not really utilizing the computer power you have and more important, we are not limited by it. So if we want to do some heavy computation, we can run it on the cloud, and then we send it back to your browser for you.

“So, our idea has been that anything that you want to do with the lattice design, we'll allow you to do it in our tool base, in our software.”

Examples include creating different zones, creating a “skin” on a surface, creating a texture that is more comforting. Anything that is related to the 3D printing specific design, we'll build it in our tool base, but you can still export it back into the SolidWorks for revision or for version control purposes.

Carbon | www.carbon3d.com

The Carbon Digital Light Synthesis system opened the door to more easily work with lattice structures. Carbon3D offers a lattice design generator called Design Engine that automates the process of creating conformal, single-zone lattices.

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DESIGN WORLD

2021

Vendors in the additive industry

3D Platform 3D Platform is the trusted source for industrial-strength,

large-format 3D printers. Based in Roscoe, Illinois, USA, the 3D Platform team is focused on driving advancements in technology to innovate, design, and build next-generation equipment for additive manufacturing. Our approach to 3D printing focuses on four clear industry demands: Scalability and increased throughput from high-flow extruders allows smart manufacturers to shed legacy product development cycles and small-scale models for full-size prototypes and production.

Open market-enabled solutions allow users to go bigger with 16 times the speed of competitors’ extruders for faster printing and exceptionally strong parts.

• Quick-Swap dual extruder heads deliver high quality 3D prints.

• Modular design accommodates variable nozzle and filament sizes • Nozzle flexibility for fine layer resolutions or faster printing and strength.

Affordability of equipment and materials allows SMB’s and Fortune 100 companies to tailor 3D printing to their needs, and quickly develop new products and bring them to the market.

Robust industrial technology stands up to harsh environments and the excessive demands of rapid manufacturing using the world’s leading linear motion mechatronics, reliable motors, and sophisticated control systems.

To learn more about 3D Platform, visit www.3dplatform.com.

3D Platform 6402 E. Rockton Road Roscoe, Illinois 61073 USA +1.779.771.0000 3dplatform.com marketing@3dplatform.com sales@3dplatform.com DESIGN WORLD

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2021

Vendors in the additive industry

BuildParts by CIDEAS Inc. Additive Manufacturing Since 1998

Established in 1998, BuildParts by CIDEAS Inc. is a full service 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing provider.

Utilizing over 30 in-house machines, BuildParts offers all major technologies under one roof, including; SLA, SLS, FDM, DLP, DLS, Full Color PolyJet and a variety of part finishing options, urethane castings, as well as, engineering services.

BuildParts sets the benchmark for price, quality, experience and lead-times. Our experienced and dedicated staff of project managers act as a free consulting company for your unique project needs.

Available same day printing and secure interactive online quoting. Receive your 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing quote at: BuildParts.com or contact us today at 847.639.1000

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CIDEAS Inc. 125 Erick Street Unit #A115, Crystal Lake IL 60014 USA Email: info@buildparts.com Web: www.buildparts.com Office: +1 847-639-1000 | Facsimile: +1 847-639-1983

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2021

Vendors in the additive industry

CS Hyde Company

CS Hyde Company is your source high performance tapes, polymer films, fabrics, and silicone. For over 20 years we have been supplying almost every industry with performance materials for all types of applications. Our product line is composed of a variety of materials with properties associated with additive manufacturing/3D printing including low friction, nonstick release, and high temperature resistance. As a polymer film supplier of engineering grade thermoplastics and PTFE Fluoropolymers, we have grown to be a premiere source for custom printing surfaces. Common materials include ULTEM® PEI, and Optically Clear FEP tape or film. FDM printers using PEI benefit from a surface with durability and a surface that will hold filament in place and remove cleanly when cooled. Our PEI sheets are also pre-laminated with high temperature 3M™ adhesive that adhere to spring steel or glass build plates. FEP film is a great release material for resin vats found on DLP, Laser, LCD or as a release layer for tensioned “drum” style resin vats.

Our custom cutting capabilities allow us to cut these materials to exact dimensions of any build plate or resin tray. Common sizes are available on our online catalog for click and ship availability.

CS Hyde Company 800-461-4161 resources@cshyde.com DESIGN WORLD

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2021

Vendors in the additive industry

HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printing Technology

HP Inc. creates technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere.

Through our portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions, we engineer experiences that amaze. More information about HP Inc. is available at www.hp.com/go/3DPrint.

Products: • HP Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printer • HP Jet Fusion 4200 Series 3D Printer • HP Jet Fusion 500/300 Series 3D Printers • HP Metal Jet https://www8.hp.com/us/en/printers/3d-printers.html

HP 3D Printing 1501 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, California 94304-1100 Phone: 877.468.8369

hp.com/go/3DPrint

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DESIGN WORLD

2021

Vendors in the additive industry

Yaskawa America, Inc. Bring new precision and performance to every stage in your additive machine development with Yaskawa motion control Rise above the desktop: Shaky, imprecise desktop machines become robust industrial performers with motion control that overcomes vibration, boosts speed and gets you ready for tomorrow's hybrid technologies.

Advance the industry standard: Industrial quality printers benefit from Yaskawa's smooth and precise motion, plus worldwide support that distinguishes your machine in a crowded marketplace.

Restate the state of the art: Top tier manufacturers need new ideas, plus the engineering support to make them work. Yaskawa supplies both, using the latest linear and robotic motion systems and Singular Control to create a seamless, supportable development environment.

Our motion control technology also prepares you for new frontiers in additive manufacturing: • Robotic systems that produce curvilinear motion for true 3D deposition • Additive/Subtractive technology which combines the benefits of 3D printing and traditional routing/machining Yaskawa servos provide smooth, precise motion for additive manufacturing, while the G-code compatible MP3300iec controller can operate any motion device to implement the latest advances in hybrid manufacturing. Couple these with Yaskawa Compass™, our customizable user interface software package, to bring new precision, performance, and creativity to your additive machines.

Yaskawa America, Inc. 2121 Norman Drive South Waukegan, IL 60085 https://www.yaskawa.com marcom@yaskawa.com 1-800-YASKAWA DESIGN WORLD

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AD INDEX HP 3D Printing ........................................................ BC CIDEAS Inc. .............................................................IFC CS Hyde Company ....................................................2 3D Platform ............................................................. IBC Renishaw ......................................................................7 Yaskawa Electric America ..................................... 11

SALES

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Ryan Ashdown

Publisher Mike Emich

rashdown@wtwhmedia.com 216.316.6691

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jbrownlee@wtwhmedia.com 224.760.1055

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mcooke@wtwhmedia.com 781.710.4659

Jim Dempsey

jdempsey@wtwhmedia.com 216.387.1916

Mike Francesconi

mfrancesconi@wtwhmedia.com 630.488.9029

Company Profiles

3D Platform ..............................................................43 CIDEAS Inc. ...............................................................44 CS Hyde Company .................................................45 HP 3D Printing .........................................................46 Yaskawa Electric America ................................... 47

memich@wtwhmedia.com 508.446.1823 @wtwh_memich

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smccafferty@wtwhmedia.com 310.279.3844 @SMMcCafferty

EVP Marshall Matheson

mmatheson@wtwhmedia.com 805.895.3609 @mmatheson

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ngleason@wtwhmedia.com 312.882.9867 @wtwh_ngleason

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jpowers@wtwhmedia.com 312.925.7793 @jpowers_media

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Unlock Manufacturing Possibilities

Whether you want to create prototypes or final parts, we can help you to produce lightweight parts with optimal mechanical properties, even at low volumes.

www.hp.com/go/3Dparts