TCT Europe 26.1 by TCT Magazine

EUROPE EDITION VOLUME 26 ISSUE 1 www.tctmagazine.com

THE EVOLUTION OF CASTABLE MATERIALS HOW ENVISIONTEC KEEPS TURNING UP THE WAX IN 3D PRINTING

THE MAGAZINE FOR DESIGN-TO-MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

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VOLUME 26 ISSUE 1

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FROM THE EDITOR

STILL ACCELERATING

s there an editor’s letter on the globe for the first edition of a year that doesn’t start with Happy New Year? I doubt it so I won’t break the tradition, Happy New Year to all our readers and advertisers, may 2018 bring us all unheralded levels of prosperity. You may notice that we’ve got a new tagline across all TCT Group products, they’re all variations on a theme, but the important part is ‘Design-to-Manufacturing Innovation’. The word ‘to’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting; at first, we were using ‘and’, then ‘to’, then ‘through’, and back to ‘to’. The first question we get from newcomers to the brand is, “What does TCT mean?” It’s an acronym for “Time Compression Technologies”, which, back in the mid-90s, was a zeitgeisty turn of phrase grouping Rapid Prototyping, Vacuum Casting, CAD and various other emerging technologies that purported to reduce time-to-market. What those technologies lacked was a thread passing through that gave manufacturers a complete solution from the start of the process to the end. That’s no longer the case; innovation is happening across the spectrum in pre-processing, design, simulation, material science, rapid-prototyping, bridge manufacturing, additive manufacturing, post-processing, qualification and beyond - that’s the importance of the word ‘to’. Today, the industry that includes additive and the surrounding technologies is at the crux of Industry 4.0 initiatives alongside

robotics and machine learning. With the rapid advances in machine learning, generative design, simulation and additive there’s a perfect storm brewing for a complete design-to-manufacture process overhaul. TCT Magazine, TCT Shows and TCT Conferences will be at the forefront of that innovation; we aim to give applications a platform to inspire followers. With features on design software and post-processing following a focus on innovate manufacturing developments within the jewellery industry, it was almost as if we planned to change that tagline now. The complete design-to-manufacture workflow comes in many guises, and there’s no ‘one-way’ to achieve your goal, there’s no one technology to solve all the problems. The multitude of permutations for the process makes our job ever-exciting; innovation can happen at any link of the chain, it can come from years of R&D by a team of 300 or a flash of inspiration by an individual. If you feel like you’ve got an innovative process or application we want to hear from you; we want to promote your story on these pages, on our website, on our stages, at our events, we want to celebrate you via the TCT Awards. We will always want to accelerate this industry of ours so, get in touch. Druck on.

DANIEL O’CONNOR, GROUP EDITOR

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VOLUME 26 | ISSUE 1 39. TCT AWARDS 2018

COVER STORY

Find out how you can be involved in this year’s prestigious event.

8. THE EVOLUTION OF CASTING

How EnvisionTEC keeps turning up the wax in 3D printing.

Jewellery 11. A DECADE OF DESIGN FOR INDUSTRY Group Editor, Daniel O’Connor reports on a visit to the Birmingham School of Jewellery.

16. LIKE CLOCKWORK How a Dutch architecture graduate harnessed 3D printing to create a classical wristwatch.

28 Post-processing

27 27. PRINT, POST-PROCESS, REPEAT. Solukon presents a new era of automation for post-processing.

28. THE FINISHING TOUCH How DyeMansion helped give Daimler AM parts the perfect finish.

Software

32. MATERIALS: A DRIVER IN ADVANCING AM

23. ANALYSE AND OPTIMISE Editorial Assistant, Sam Davies takes a look at Carbon’s latest software update.

25. NEXT STAGE IN SUPPORT GENERATION Deputy Group Editor, Laura speaks to Materialise about its e-Stage for Metal software.

An extract from the UK’s first #3DTalk panel session on AM materials.

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41. PREVIEW A look at what you can expect to see on the showfloor in Shanghai.

45. INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

19. Q&A: FRANK COPPER Frank Cooper talks jewellery in the first of our TCT Expert Advisory Board interviews.

TCT Asia

Dan delves into a Government white paper that has ruffled a few feathers.

49. … AND IN OTHER NEWS More stories from this issue’s big features.

50. WINDS OF CHANGE; TIDE OF RESISTANCE Todd Grimm’s regular column discusses tunnel vision in AM.

35. REVIEW A roundup of the biggest news and highlights from the Frankfurt show.

16 25 : 5 www.tctmagazine.com

THE EVOLUTION OF CASTABLE MATERIALS HOW ENVISIONTEC KEEPS TURNING UP THE WAX IN 3D PRINTING

hen EnvisionTEC launched its very first 3D printer in 2002, it was developed with the jewellery industry in mind. Along with a requirement for highly detailed castable patterns, EnvisionTEC saw there was a significant opportunity to save time and money for a market that was painstakingly hand carving wax patterns. In the early days of jewellery 3D printing, EnvisionTEC machines could print smooth, highly detailed patterns that were completely plastic and required professional expertise to cast. While this was suﬃcient for small pieces under 5 grams of finish weight, anything more substantial would expand so much during burnout that the stress would often fracture the investment. To overcome this, makers of investments developed extra-high-strength bonds to withstand those pressures, whilst 3D manufacturers simultaneously embarked on

the development of formulas containing more wax, which burns off before the plastic to make room for expansion during the burnout. At EnvisionTEC, the company graduated from its original waxless Plastic Investment Casting material, known as PIC, to Exceptional PIC (EPIC), with 8% liquid wax. Over the years, EnvisionTEC added more and more wax, in both liquid and powder form, for specific purposes, working to preserve print quality. That resulted in EnvisionTEC’s Easy Cast (EC) materials line dedicated to fool-proof casting. Until last year, the highest wax content was found in the company’s EC3000 material, which contained a 55% blend of powder and liquid wax. Now, coupled with highspeed continuous 3D printing technologies like cDLM (Continuous Digital Light Manufacturing), EnvisionTEC is intent on changing the game for castable materials for the jewellery sector and beyond.

 FAR LEFT:

ENVISIONTEC’S EC3000 MATERIAL, CONTAINS A 55% BLEND OF POWDER AND LIQUID WAX

 LEFT:

RINGS PRINTED IN EASY CAST 2.0

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COVER STORY

shown: SPRUING TREES PRINTING ON THE VIDA CDLM IN EASY CAST 2.0

One of the challenges of 3D printing with photopolymer resins that contain wax is the softness of the material. As each layer is printed during the build process, the print is peeled off the build platform before advancing to the next layer, which exerts significant separation force on the object being printed. The softer the material, the more supports are required to withstand this force without tearing. With cDLM, however, there are almost zero separation forces, as parts are essentially built in free space, which means softer materials with high wax content can be printed with very few supports. “For jewellers, more wax means easier casting. It’s as easy as that,” explains EnvisionTEC founder and CEO, Al Siblani. “The more plastic or photopolymer content you have, the more fussy and controlled the casting process has to be because the plastic expands so much during the burnout. Wax makes casting easier. Many jewellers learned casting as a craft from their relatives using wax carvings or wax patterns. Casting 3D printed patterns with more plastic content is different than casting a wax piece, so we can bring back that ease to the casting process with more wax.” EnvisionTEC’s Easy Cast 2.0 C contains about 90% wax content, which is designed to make casting as easy as with wax patterns using standard investments. With the addition of hardeners, EC 2.0 C also produces crisp, accurate details with a smooth surface finish. In concert with cDLM, this new material has also opened the door to 3D printing of entire spruing trees (a collection of wax models assembled in a tree-like formation for lost wax casting) of rings, removing yet another labour intensive part of the casting process. “The ability to 3D print full spruing trees is going to be a game changer in terms of speeding up and simplifying production for jewellery makers,” Al commented. “Right now, jewellers clean up the patterns after printing and attach them to a spruing tree for casting. It will take time for jewellers to manage the digital process of putting all the rings on a tree, and we’re working to make that easier for them, too.” These developments will be welcomed by company’s like Birmingham-based Weston Beamor. Back in 2001, the company was the first precious metal casting business in the UK to invest in 3D printing but it wasn’t until it came across

 LEFT:

MICRO PLUS CDLM

EnvisionTEC’s DLP Perfactory series that the company saw the combination of materials, build speed, capacity and most importantly, resolution required for the jewellery market. Now, operating out of the city’s renowned Jewellery Quarter, it houses two EnvisionTEC P4 machines, one running EC3000 for lost wax casting and the other running RC90 to create silicon moulds for multiple castings. “The advent of CAD software opened up new possibilities for jewellery designers in complexity, speed and accuracy, so 3D printing became increasingly important for jewellery manufacture,” Ed Hole, Head of CAD Design & 3D Printing at Weston Beamor explained. “CAD and 3D printing is now the industry standard production method and, as a result, there has been more and more demand for better castable resins. Simply put the higher the wax content the better it will cast, but resin manufacturers also have to consider build strength and curability, so it’s not an easy balance. In our experience EC3000 is the most consistent performing resin for build quality and castability.” 3D printing has helped to transform the jewellery sector to a point where the industry is no longer reliant on skilled wax carvers but rather a mix of traditional and technological skill. Looking to the future, EnvisionTEC believes these strides in casting materials could have implications beyond jewellery into more industrial areas where large investment castings with high accuracy and surface finish details are required. “The tools and techniques for making jewellery haven’t fundamentally changed in the last thousand years or so – files, hammers, saws etc,” Ed commented. “However, in the last 15 years the industry has seen a revolution in the way pieces are designed and manufactured, all down to 3D printing. Jewellery making has become the perfect marriage of technology and traditional craftsmanship - cutting edge CAD modelling and 3D printing together with skilled artisans.” With EnvisionTEC’s growing line of cDLM printers — four build sizes are now offered — a new era of castable 3D printing is here. Al adds: “Progress in 3D printing is rarely about one single printer or technology, or even the functionality of independent materials. Powerful change comes from the interplay of machines and materials, and that’s what makes this sector so challenging and fascinating.”

For more information visit: EnvisionTEC.com/castables

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JEWELLERY

A DECADE OF DESIGN FOR INDUSTRY WORDS : DANIEL O’CONNOR

’m about to type something risky; I’m about to tempt fate on a scale never tempted before. This magazine will probably start hitting desks around St. Valentine’s Day, I’m not here for it for the second consecutive year, but I have something up my sleeve that ought to make up for it. The risk is putting this story into print on the pages of a manufacturing magazine that could be out a good week before my grand gesture thus potentially ruining it full stop (so all keep schtum on social media please). But there’s a relevance, and regular readers will know the great lengths I go to for a dash of editorial colour. See, for the jewellery feature of this issue of the magazine I visited the UK’s largest jewellery district to see how the students of the BA (Hons) Jewellery and Silversmithing Design for Industry (DFI) course at Birmingham School of Jewellery (SoJ) are reshaping the manufacture of jewellery. The course is in its tenth year and as sort of a celebration the team including Claire Price, Keith Adcock and Andy Howard along with Frank Cooper, who heads up the centre for Design and Manufacturing (DDM) invited me and Digits2Widgets (D2W) design chief, Jonathan Rowley, down to see some of the work from the current crop. One of the works that immediately draws one’s attention due to the fact it seems almost out of place, is a set of honey dippers, the decorative handles of which have been printed in nylon on a selective laser sintering machine, Jonathan Rowley’s EOS P1 machine no less. “As part of their first week of inductions into the technology to try and understand it we get them to produce these honey dipper toppers,” explains Senior Lecturer / Programme Leader, Claire Price.

“They get a visit to D2W and some space on the machine. It is a one day task playing with T-Splines, having seen the machine and what it can produce, understanding the tolerances and materials. It is about getting them used to the speed too, rather than saying ‘oh we have six weeks to come up with a design for a honey dipper’, the reality is that they wouldn’t have that.” The course is grounded in that very reality of hard industry; it is geared up to give the students a skill set that will get them work in a fast-changing world. Amongst learning CAD skills, laser cutting, laser welding and 3D printing, the students have to spend some time using a traditional jewellers workbench. “One of the first things we get them to do is to work

SHOWN: PENDANT 3D PRINTED IN PLATINUM AT COOKSONGOLD

on commissions,” says Keith Adcock, Senior Technologist at the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC). “It’s all well and good designing your own piece from scratch, but in the real world, they’ll more than likely be doing commissions restoring rings from grandparents. “Most companies want people now who can do a little bit of CAD, but they also have those bench skills. There was a thought that 3D printing and CAD would replace modelmaking. What has happened is, an awful lot of people who are now CAD designers in the trade are just modelmakers, but they’ve swapped the tools. I do the same job now as I’ve always done except I don’t smell of oil so much; I used to do die sinking and toolmaking, and I still do that, but now I use a computer.” 4

“THE COURSE IS GROUNDED IN THAT VERY REALITY OF HARD INDUSTRY; TO GIVE THE STUDENTS A SKILL SET THAT WILL GET THEM WORK IN A FAST-CHANGING WORLD.”

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Simple. Sophisticated. Elegant. When Jenny Wu was inspired to create her Catena necklace, ExOne provided the production solution.

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JEWELLERY

REINVENTING RELICS Alongside the students’ work is that of the current Artist in Residence (AiR), Timon Tio. In exchange for a little student support, AiRs have the opportunity to develop new work and technical skills. Timon’s current collection is an example of what can be achieved using 3D printing from head to toe. “I had to understand how the technology works, understand the value of the material, had to understand the final target, understand the people who will be willing to buy this,” says Timon. “First of all, I thought about this project as something that not all of the people could buy and not just be a conceptual piece of jewellery.” The first product in what Timon hopes will become a line is the Relic Bracelet. Printed in Nylon as one piece with a working clasp using SLS, it was then handdied and 3D printed and then cast metal detail added as a final flourish. It has a good weight, close up the surface finish is impeccable, and importantly, it is selling as

a product. But what stands Timon in great stead is that he came at this from not just a creative point-of-view but that of a Product Designer. “The bracelet comes inside a 3D printed packaging that was printed as one,” explains Timon. “I had to adjust the proportions so I could maximise my space inside a D2W container and lower the price for the end user. The 3D printed box not only protects the bracelet but also becomes an object of art. I was very inspired by the relics, (ed. hence the name) the relic is the remains of a physical scent or the goods of a person and is usually kept within a memorial, and this is the relationship between the bracelet and the packaging.” I asked Jonathan Rowley how many people print with the packaging in mind... “Not enough,” he exclaimed. “If you imagine that bracelet laid out in CAD costs what it costs, the added expense of adding a little bit around it is negligible, and the value of producing the packaging simultaneously is immense.” 4

4 RIGHT: HAND - DIED BRACELET

FINISHED WITH COAT METAL DETAIL



BELOW: RELIC BRACELET AND PACKAGING PRINTED AS ONE

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JEWELLERY

JEWEL IN THE CROWN There are many technology routes the students can follow for their final submission; they aren’t required to use 3D printing, though most do at some stage in the process. There’s plenty of equipment on hand, be it traditional or new, in SoJ’s phenomenal facility. But the Technology Hub ran by Frank and Keith’s team is of most interest to us with its array of 3D printing systems including a 3D Systems ProJet, an EnvisionTEC Perfactory, a Solidscape machine (they call it “the workhorse”) and a Cooksongold / EOS Precious M 080. It is the use of the latter laser sintering technology by a student that the team hopes will win another Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Award at the 2018 event in February this year. Andrew Cowley has created an incredible pendant using 3D printing and other laser technologies to a whole new level. Due to a desire to make the pendant in platinum Andrew had to turn to Cooksongold themselves as the Technology Hub’s version of the M 080 is currently exploring the constraints and opportunities of printing in silver. “Initially, I wasn’t planning on sintering it at all,” says Andrew. “The plan was to make it in two halves and laser weld it together, but because of the shape - as it got more organic - I realised it’d be a nightmare to match up, and I didn’t want an ugly seam around the outside. I also knew that the silver laser sintered material wouldn’t be up to the standard I wanted and I hadn’t seen anything laser sintered in platinum, so I took a bit of a risk.” The pendant consists of four parts; there’s the stone; the body, printed in platinum; and the two oval-shaped inserts were printed and cast using the Solidscape machine. The platinum printing was uncharted territory, and the price represented a challenge Andrew had to create a workaround for: “I had to change the weight a few times, the first time I did it, it was coming out weighing 20 grams, and I couldn’t afford to get that done, I had enough budget for around 10 grams, so there was a lot of trial and error. I made some of the holes bigger and kept cutting and cutting, so I had a shape I was happy with that was also affordable.” Lecturer Claire says that although many students like the idea of printing in precious metals the cost proves too prohibitive and Andrew “worked his

SHOWN: DECORATIVE HONEY DIPPER HANDLES PRINTED IN NYLON SLS

SHOWN: THE PLATINUM PENDANT ON THE PRECIOUS M 080 BUILD PLATE

socks off ” part-time to be able to afford the piece. Once the part was finished (three-and-ahalf days ahead of schedule too) there was the matter of finishing. Andrew did something that Frank Cooper reliably informs me he’d only seen one person try on a piece this small before, “The technical term is laser ablation,” Frank shouted across the room. “Cooksongold had removed the supports for me but I tried everything to get tools into the holes to finish the inside and I couldn’t get that surface quality I wanted,” says Andrew. “Someone at my work suggested zapping it with a laser welder and see what happens. I wasn’t sure how dense it was going to be so there was a chance I was going to hit it with a laser, and the whole thing was going to disintegrate, which was my biggest concern. If I had done it with silver, it would have blown a hole in it.” Luckily it worked, by turning the laser welder down 20% and upping the beam diameter from 0.2 - 0.4 mm to 1 mm Andrew was able to polish the insides leaving little sign of the fact it was 3D printed. The piece is a work of art, and you can tell how proud the entire team are with Andrew’s work. After the meeting, with the promise of manufacturing for the jewellery industry whirling around my head I had some time to kill before my train, so I started to look around, started to get a feel for the decades of craft that lingers in the Jewellery Quarter air. I began to realise I needed to source an engagement ring. Thanks to the Design for Industry course I’ve had to spend way more time thinking about the craft of making the thing than I would have previously. Anyway, here’s to hoping she’ll say yes, but you’ll have to wait for the next issue to find that out…

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WORDS : SAM DAVIES

Delft University of Technology alumnus and son of an artist and restorer of classic cars declares a new craft in watch-making.

Case: DESIGNED WITH A DIAMETER OF 38MM AND A THICKNESS OF 10MM. PRINTED IN STAINLESS STEEL 316L.

He speaks a year on from his graduation, leaving Delft with a Masters in Architecture; four years after founding his own company, Holthinrichs’ Watches; and nine years after his fascination with timepieces began. Though his childhood dream had been to become an architect, his interest in watches and fashion would supersede the design of large structures. “I became interested in style and art deco and clothing,” Holthinrichs remembers, “and I thought I should own a pocket watch. That was nine years ago. I bought an Amica pocket watch and when I opened it, it was just magical to see. It’s architecture in small. It’s craft and technology and design in one small piece.

DIALS: DARK RUTHENIUM METALLIC DIAL TRADITIONALLY PRODUCED WITH MATTE FINISH

STRAP: HANDCRAFTED LEATHER STRAP. Crown: HOLTHINRICHS’ BRAND INSCRIBED ON THE CROWN. PRINTED IN STAINLESS STEEL 316L.

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JEWELLERY

BUCKLE: 3D TEXTURED WITH HAND POLISHED EXTERIOR SURFACE. PRINTED IN STAINLESS STEEL 316L

“I started collecting like a mad man. And then, after four years, I thought I’m actually educated as a designer and by that time I knew how a watch worked and how it was constructed. I thought I should be able to make one myself. That was the beginning.” Soon after completing his first watch design, the first 3D printed house was built in his homeland’s capital: The Amsterdam 3D Print Canal House. It piqued Holthinrich’s interest and he began exploring the possibility of incorporating 3D printing into his watch-making escapade. After working with Aldema, now a Materialise company, and using a Renishaw AM250 machine, Holthinrichs was invited to an Additive Manufacturing Solutions Center where he has been able to develop his first wristwatch, the Ornament 1. He builds the watch by hand, the dials, for example, made in the traditional manner, but leans on 3D printing for a few of the more aesthetic features. The buckle, case and crown are printed in stainless steel 316L in a 30-hour process. With a diameter of 38mm and thickness of 10mm, the case has a raised inscription of the Holthinrichs’ brand, while on the reverse it has the words ‘stainless steel’, ‘3D printed case’ and ‘Swiss movement’ in upper case lettering. Holthinrichs exports his design into the QuantAM build preparation software where he checks and configures the parts on the build plate, adding supports where necessary. Then the files are sent to a Renishaw AM 400, selected for its flexibility and ability to produce fine detailed designs. Since the parts need precision of one hundredth of a millimetre, post - processing is required.

This is outsourced before Holthinrichs finishes them with hand filing and polishing techniques. Post - processing, assembly, and adjustment by hand take a further 30 hours per watch. The Ornament 1 is the latest addition to a watch collection still boasting around 80 timepieces, more than 100 having been repaired and sold to fund his own watch-making efforts. Development completed in January 2016, it still hasn’t left Holthinrichs’ wrist – some feat for a fashion obsessive. Though more than satisfied with his first watch, he’s eager to push on with his next creations: “Architecture is never finished,” he offers thoughtfully. He wants to begin exploring printing the moving parts of the watch next, and now his own atelier in the Delft city centre has opened, he has the setting to do so. His ambition is to create a line of watches, of which Ornament 1 is the first instalment, and also to produce an ‘ultimate personalisation version [where] finish and design is pushed to the maximum.’ While designs will differ, the influence of 3D printing technology is sure to continue. “I call 3D printing a new craft in watch-making,” Holthinrichs articulates. “I think most brands or watch makers will see 3D printing only as a prototyping medium, but I think they are maybe too conventional in that sense, too conservative. I think it could add to the industry.”

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JEWELLERY

THE TCT EXPERT ADVISORY BOARD Q&A: FRANK COOPER

ast year when we pulled together the TCT Expert Advisory board to help us fairly judge the awards we always had in the back of our minds that these eminent minds would help with our coverage. For each issue this year we’ll be selecting an expert relevant to our focus and picking their brains as to how additive or its surrounding technologies has shifted the manufacturing process.

First up it’s Senior Lecturer in Jewellery Manufacturing Technology and Manager of the Centre for Digital Design and Manufacturing at the School of Jewellery, Frank Cooper. Frank has been in the jewellery industry for most of his life, and his pioneering work has seen a clamour for his knowledge leading to speaking engagements across the globe. He’s a born and bred Birmingham man and he lives and breathes the Jewellery Quarter. TCT: In your time in the industry how have additive technologies evolved for jewellery manufacture? FC: The standard printer of the jewellery industry, the Solidscape, has over the last ten years or so become a robust and reliable piece

of kit that is widely used across the global jewellery industry. When I first started in the industry, in the jewellery equivalent of the Bronze Age, the Solidscape had a reputation for unreliability of the jets. Following the expiration of a number of patents we’re seeing huge amounts of ‘new kids on the block’ try to promote their wares to the jewellery industry. There are two keys to their successful uptake; the first and obvious one is affordability, the less obvious is how well the output from the printer casts when used in the primary manufacturing process of the industry, lost wax investment casting. Either wax-based systems or photopolymeric castable resins are widely accepted and used these days. The less the caster has to change his standard processes to accommodate the waxes and resins the more accepted they become within the industry.

There is a place in the industry, generally amongst the volume manufacturers, for the bigger, more expensive technologies but there is also a niche for the smaller less costly printers too. So long as the output is of a reasonable resolution and will happily go through the casting process, then the industry is happy to pick its way through the many options now available. Particularly popular at the moment is the Formlabs Form 2 system about which I only seem to hear good things, easy to set up, simple to use, good results and excellent customer support. TCT: In your opinion what area of the manufacturing process could jewellers most beneﬁt from applying the current technologies? Speed of reaction to special requests from customers, especially for bespoke items or changes in fashion styles, can both be dealt with quickly and cost effectively when using the right combinations of CAD and 3D printing. If used properly these two areas of technology can also reduce the amount of work in progress or inventory rattling around a jewellery manufacturer, remembering one kilo of 18-carat gold could set you back in the region of £35,000 or more. 4

SHOWN: TRADITIONAL BENCH SKILLS FOR JEWELLERY REMAIN IMPORTANT

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JEWELLERY

These technologies can also speed up the creation of master patterns, again a long established and traditional part of the jewellery manufacturing industry. Master patterns are used to make moulds into which wax is injected for use in the casting process for large volume production runs and, of course, using the more ‘traditional’ function of 3D printed ‘prototypes’ can vastly speed up the design iteration process from concept to final pattern. Also and again of more interest to the volume jewellery manufacturer once, let us say a ring, has been designed and agreed as ready for production it is so much simpler to use the functionality of the right CAD software to create a range of master patterns across any number of different finger sizes. TCT: What skills are jewellers asking for from graduates now and how has that changed? FC: Our graduates pass out into the industry with a broad range of skills taught on a number of degree level courses and many of these are still the traditional jewellery design and especially the craft skills you would expect to find. In the jewellery industry these are known as bench skills; the ability to turn a piece of precious metal and perhaps few precious or semi-precious stones into a beautifully crafted piece of jewellery

by the use of hammers, files, saws, hand tools, polishing lathes etc. However, there is also a steadily growing demand for a large number of our graduates to have a pretty good understanding in the use of CAD in particular and at least a working knowledge of the various printing options available to the industry. They need to be able to design jewellery in CAD that can be manufactured, so they need that grounding and understanding of the various jewellery manufacturing techniques and options to design in CAD manufacturable jewellery items. A point I often labour to visitors to my Technology Hub in the School is that none of my wonderfully clever printing technologies, and I have quite a few, makes or prints finished jewellery, it takes a suitably skilled and trained person to convert that output into beautiful jewellery. Similarly none of the clever CAD softwares and their even cleverer algorithms in my CAD training suit design beautiful, buildable, jewellery, it is the well trained person in charge of the software who carries out the real design work. TCT: Can you brieﬂy outline what the value propositions and constraints of sintering precious metals are? FC: Undoubtedly the sintering of precious metals has potential to offer the jewellery industry some interesting and

novel new routes to market especially in the spheres of personalised, customised and individualised jewellery and things with a batch size of one. There is also some exciting work being done to explore further the geometric complexity potential for jewellery items manufactured this way along with some fascinating new methods of polishing those hard to access points that come with the geometric complexity. We here at The School of Jewellery have also recently undertaken some interesting research into stopping part way through the build and adding or embedding additional items like semiprecious stones or pearls TCT: What is the technology that most excites you for the jewellery industry? The continued democratisation of accessibility to the various 3D printing options now becoming available to the jeweller is steadily gaining momentum and traction around the industry and can only be a good thing for the industry going forward. If you want me to give you one to keep an eye on then the evergrowing list of affordable, bench top, metal printers is an area I am keeping a very close eye on and looking out for the possible adoptions of these into the printing of precious metals. Blue sky off the wall, then I can’t help but admire the possibility and potential of the XJet system and could watch their promotional video for hours and think ‘what if?’

SHOWN: A BUILD TRAY FROM A FORMLABS FORM 2 MACHINE

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SOFTWARE

ANALYSE AND OPTIMISE WORDS : SAM DAVIES

n Redwood City, California, a team of masterminds is powering the mission of one of the industry’s most burgeoning players. Carbon has only been in operation since the summer of 2014, but is already enjoying a palpable presence in the additive manufacturing (AM) space. That’s perhaps largely down to its team of software specialists, led by Roy Goldman. Last November, Carbon rolled out the 15th update to the software that supports the company’s 3D printing systems. These updates occur every six weeks, and are the cornerstone of Carbon’s efforts to move its partners to manufacturing at scale with Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) process. Typically, these new software versions are provided without fuss, but the most recent updates were so significant Carbon felt compelled to shout about them. Now, the software is backed by Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a cloud-based computational feature that enables simulation of the printing process. The incorporation of FEA, an engineering-renowned tool tailored for CLIP, has been two years in development. It understands the physics of the process and the forces at play during builds, which means the user, with the support of Carbon, can make more educated design tweaks. The first target area has concerned the generating of auto supports, which can make the success of first time prints more likely. Another key focus will look at complex lattice structures,

where Goldman suspects the software will shine. Carbon wants to make sure the design of lattice structures is easier to do. This will rely on the help of the client, who will be required to provide a compression and response, detailing how they want the part to perform. Then, the software will be able to harness its capabilities to simulate a wide range of lattice structures and recommend the ideal structure for the desired performance. “Simulate not only printability, but simulate [the] behaviour of these complex lattice structures. That’s something that I think really sets our FEA apart from some of the existing tools out there,” Goldman, Carbon’s Director of Software, says. “This world of lattice structures is new and complicated because you have to be able to simulate very thin struts, and a lot of them, in what could

be a relatively small part. That can be taxing for traditional simulation technologies.” Immediate feedback has been tremendous, according to Goldman. Partners are seeing the areas of undue stress in a design iteration, highlighted by red dots, and altering angles where necessary, or adding a support. It’s removing the need to print a design to find out whether the part functions accordingly to their needs, and thus brings with it time and money-saving benefits. For the likes of adidas and Incase, two partners whose projects are reliant on intricate and custom design, the software is providing welcome advancements. “It is very much like optimising for manufacturability,” Goldman emphasises. As Carbon works to direct its partners towards manufacturing with 3D printing, it has recognised the need for comprehensive simulation features, and a streamlined workflow. The updates made in six - week intervals, meanwhile, are done so in response to customer feedback and ensure Carbon’s expertise is accessible to the partners harnessing and applying the technology. “That train just keeps running,” Goldman says, “and every release is a mix of new features, feature improvements that are based on feedback from our customers, [and] bug fixes. It’s been a process where not only is the software getting richer but ultimately a lot of how the printer works is controlled by the software itself. What’s been exciting is our customers’ hardware hasn’t changed since they became customers but the software updates alone are making the prints come out better, more reliable, and faster.”

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SOFTWARE

NEXT STAGE IN SUPPORT GENERATION WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

reating supports for direct metal 3D printed parts is an essential process. When building complex geometries, making sure parts are both anchored suﬃciently and easy to remove can be extremely time consuming. Belgian 3D printing leader, Materialise has been tackling the pains of support generation for the last decade with its e-Stage software for stereolithography and DLP technologies and now, it is expanding those capabilities to the metals market.

The launch makes Materialise the first company to offer a fully automatic software product for the generation of optimal support structures for SLM (selective laser melting) parts in titanium, aluminium and stainless steel. The software, e-Stage for Metal, has been in development for two years following the success of its e-Stage polymer product and was oﬃcially launched onto the market at formnext powered by TCT. e-Stage for Metal claims to deliver significant time savings compared to manual support generation including support removal by up to 50% and part finishing up to 20% faster, limiting the risk of human error and build crashes. In addition, due to the diamond-shape structure of the supports, nearly all trapped metal powder can now be recovered which means powder consumption levels are much lower and potential health risks are minimised.

Ingo Uckelmann, Technical Manager of Metal 3D Printing, at Materialise Bremen explains: “The time savings delivered by the automated generation of metal supports enables engineers to focus on other tasks. The elimination of manual work makes the process much more reliable and eﬃcient, which allows us to meet increased customer demands.”

Materialise has been using the software internally for some time and has already been working with several beta customers. One of those customers is Airbus APWorks, which has been printing and testing aerospace parts created with e-Stage for Metal and is already convinced by its potential to reduce powder consumption and post-processing time, whilst maintaining high build stability. Speaking with Koen Neutjens, Product Manager, Materialise e-Stage during a tour of the Materialise booth at formnext, he explained: “There was of course a little bit of hesitation at first. But once they tested it on a challenging part and they saw that it succeeded, it shifted from hesitation to excitement and they really wanted to test more and put it in their production environment.” Koen explained how in some cases, support generation time was reduced from around 90 minutes to a matter of seconds, exemplified in a case study from Volum-e who used the software to reduce support generation time by 80% and halve support removal time for a metal 3D printed drone.

Building on its proclamation as the “backbone of the 3D printing industry” and expanding its software capabilities even further, Materialise also recently announced an agreement with Simufact Engineering GmbH, a metal AM process simulation software company, to give Materialise Magics users better control of their pre-build processes. Materialise is already looking at ways in which this simulation tool could be incorporated into e-Stage to make it even easier for users to create optimised parts. “There is still a learning curve in the sense that you can use the software to generate supports but with some parts, particularly bigger parts with big cross sections, we may still need to add some additional supports to anchor the part or extract heat,” Koen commented. “The first thing that we want to do with this [Simufact] software is to apply it to e-Stage to make it smarter.” The original e-Stage is still receiving regular updates, some of which we saw at TCT Show last year in Materialise e-Stage 7.0 which offers SLA support that decreases the build time and resin consumption up to 50%. With additional tools such automation and simulation, the necessary but often neglected pre- and post-printing parts of the AM process are gradually becoming more streamlined, more intelligent and ultimately much simpler.

“E-STAGE FOR METAL CLAIMS TO DELIVER SIGNIFICANT TIME SAVINGS COMPARED TO MANUAL SUPPORT GENERATION - SUPPORT REMOVAL BY UP TO 50% AND PART FINISHING UP TO 20% FASTER.”

S HOWN: E-STAGE FOR METAL IS THE FIRST FULLY

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POST-PROCESSING

PRINT, POST-PROCESS, REPEAT.

WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

e are German, we make things safe” states Andreas Harman, engineer and director at Solukon Maschinenbau GmbH. When I meet with Andreas at formnext powered by tct in Frankfurt, the company, which specialises in automatic depowdering units and unpacking stations for laser sintered metal and plastic parts, is exhibiting its machines commercially for the first time, whilst one is crossing the Atlantic on the way to its first customer in the U.S.

Originally intended as an engineering consultancy company, Solukon was founded by Andreas and fellow engineer, Dominik Schmid in 2013. The duo came from a major additive manufacturing (AM) hardware manufacturer and saw there was a demand for solutions that could automate the time consuming and often messy de-powering process for AM - the part you don’t see when looking at perfect exhibition pieces on a trade show floor - both eﬃciently and safely. Based in Augsburg, Germany, Solukon has developed three customisable machines inspired by customers like Daimler who approached the team in 2016 to come up with a solution that would streamline its lengthy cleaning process. The automotive manufacturer was spending almost 16 hours cleaning AM parts manually but with the introduction of an automated system, that post - processing time was reduced to just two hours.

inert to make it safe for manual handling. The excess powder is then collected in a hopper and can be discharged into a sealed container. The machines ensure that the cleaning process is repeatable to allow manufacturers to certify the same level of quality per part, and also promote the re-use of powders. Prior to their commercial launch, the machines have been working day in, day out with over 30 already installed on manufacturing floors at the likes of Audi and FKM Sintertechnik GmbH. German engineering service provider, Hofmann installed its first depowering system in 2016 and has since acquired another to cater to its aluminium and stainless-steel output. Providing to highly regulated industries such as automotive, aerospace and medical, and dealing with reactive materials, means repeatability in ensuring the same cleaning result and safety are paramount. Hofmaan tells TCT it has now been able to automate around 90% of its powder removal process and safely unpack reactive materials.

“We have special solutions,” says Andreas. “There were some wishes from customers such as having a vacuum cleaner inside. We can adapt the machines to them. We will be bringing out a software that has more functionality, more movement to control and that was inspired by a customer. If they say they need more functions, we will do that.” Solukon claims its customers are reporting around 70% of their overall AM costs come from auxiliary processes such as loading data and cleaning, rather than actual printing. As AM moves further into a production, Solukon’s solutions are aiming to simplify a major part of that process. “Our customers, especially service centres, are thinking of the future – how to make these production lines perfect,” Andreas added. “We are very happy they are using our machines.”

“Daimler came to us, they had a problem with how to clean parts, so we designed this machine for them and made a product out of it,” Andreas explained. “This machine [the SFM-AT800] is able to handle 300 kilo parts in inert atmosphere. You have top loading and two axes for automatic cleaning, so every side of the part is cleaned. Then we are collecting the powder and bringing it back into the process.” The three systems include the SFM depowdering unit for laser sintered metal parts of which there is a small and larger version, the SFP unpacking station for laser-sintered plastic parts and the SFK cleaning unit for both plastic and metal. Solukon’s depowdering units remove loose powder from laser-melted parts with targeted programmable vibration and automated 2-axis rotation. Depending on the build material, the atmosphere in the process chamber can be made

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THE FINIS TOUCH “WE CAN NOW PRODUCE SPARE PARTS AT SCALE USING ON-DEMAND, INDUSTRIAL 3D PRINTING PROCESSES THAT MEET DAIMLER EXACTING TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND SURFACE QUALITY STANDARDS.”

4 SLS RAW PRINT

nfortunately, the job is not as simple as that. Despite the many attributes 3D printing has for low-volume on-demand manufacturing, there’s a rate-limiting step that has brought the replacement part application grinding to a halt – poor quality surface finish. For a company like Daimler AG, whose attention to quality is so deeply rooted in its culture that it’s even embodied in the corporate motto – “Das Beste oder nichts” (nothing but the best), the surface finish quality of parts directly from a 3D printer would never make it onto a Daimler vehicle. However, Daimler is also a pioneering company and has turned that problem into an opportunity by investing in a post-processing solution with the potential to revolutionise the automotive industry aftersales value chain. Daimler’s long-standing experience in AM prototype development laid a strong foundation for new ways of thinking about spare parts management at its EvoBus subsidiary. Under the

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leadership of Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of CSP 3DD Daimler Buses, and in conjunction with DyeMansion and Additive Minds, an EOS consulting group, Daimler was able to rework its Customer Service and Parts (CSP) group’s replacement parts development processes to eliminate the quality and scalability barriers presented by traditional AM techniques. With the help of a series of workshops and some off-site support, EvoBus was able to determine the entire supply chain and realise how it could exploit the potential of industrial 3D printing for replacement parts. In close collaboration, the partners assessed the technical and economic feasibility of the project within a few months. The final implementation of these additive manufactured parts is currently being investigated in detail.

NISHING

POST-PROCESSING

THE PRINTING OF REPLACEMENT PARTS SEEMS LIKE AN EASY WIN FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (AM). THE ABILITY TO PERFECTLY ALIGN SUPPLY WITH DEMAND AT THE SAME TIME AS CUTTING THE COSTS OF MANUFACTURE, STORAGE AND SHIPPING BY PRINTING PARTS IN-SITU WHEN NEEDED IS SURELY A NO-BRAINER.

4 SLS spare-part finished with DyeMansion technology in Daimler Evogrey

In its initial attempts to use industrial 3D-printing techniques, EvoBus experienced diﬃculties in reproducing the colour and surface quality of the injection-moulded original parts. EOS’s SLS machinery has fantastic repeatability for printing precise geometries but direct from the machine those parts are generally white, and the surface finish is rough. The main challenge for Daimler was reaching the required glossy finish of a Daimler corporate colour like Evogrey to

spare part

match the injection moulded counterparts. Printed parts were going to need several stages of postprocessing. In step fellow German post-processing experts, DyeMansion and its three-stage ‘Print-to-Product’ workflow. Since winning the formnext powered by tct Start Up Award in 2015 DyeMansion has worked tirelessly to perfect and automate its technology. The DyeMansion ‘Print-to-Product’ workflow can transform 3D-printed raw parts into high-quality replicas of the original injection-moulded parts, matching the visual appearance, individual colours and tactile properties.4 26 : 1

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIA JOHANNES

THE CHALLENGE AND THE SOLUTION

4 Injection moulded

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POST-PROCESSING

REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL PARTS Here’s how DyeMansion turns standard, grey or white 3D-printed output into highquality replacement parts on-demand and at scale: First, DyeMansion’s Powershot C system removes excess powder in a surfacefriendly manner. Next, the sintered parts` open pores are closed in DyeMansion’s specially developed blasting process, and the surface is prepared for a homogeneous colour image. This process provides the desired matt gloss and improved functional properties, including scratch resistance and dirt repellence. During the ‘Print-to-Product’ workflow’s third and final stage, the parts are dyed in the desired colour in the DyeMansion DM60 colouring system. DyeMansion created Daimler-customised corporate colours based on colour samples from their injection-moulded parts. Since dyes react with the raw material when subjected to pressure and heat in DM60 systems, it is critically important to develop colour tones based on all material and surface requirements. What’s more, once customised by DyeMansion, Daimler’s corporate colours

can be reproduced on-demand at the customer site with no external assistance. DyeMansion’s dyeing process and plug & play operation work regardless of batch sizes or product geometries and can be incorporated into the manufacturer’s existing processes to support the production of on-demand spare parts globally. “With DyeMansion we found an experienced partner who could support our additive manufactured spare parts production across the globe,” says Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of CSP 3DD Daimler Buses - Evobus GmbH. “We can now produce spare parts at scale using ondemand, industrial 3D printing processes that meet Daimler exacting technical specifications and surface quality standards.” THE BENEFITS The project has delivered high-quality spare parts that mimic the look and feel of the originals, which can be manufactured on-demand to meet individual customer requirements, such as colour and quantity. The value chain is optimised significantly – in the future; spare parts can be made available exactly at the locations where they are needed. Being pioneers in its

Ralf Anderhofstadt, HEAD OF CSP 3DD DAIMLER BUSES - EVOBUS GMBH

field, Daimler’s CSP application could permeate the entire spare parts market with its demonstration of the versatility and opportunities of AM. Industrial 3D printing has solved the current challenges faced by EvoBus for its CSP requirements and has the potential to increase the profitability and innovative strength of the company in the long term as well as to safeguard its pioneering role. In the further course of the project, the AM portfolio will be expanded to include additional spare parts made of polymer and metal. In the future, the analogue components will be fully digitalised with the aim of making the spare parts business more eﬃcient overall. In the end, it is the customer who benefits thanks to the shorter lead times; end customers can reduce the unproductive downtimes of their buses to a minimum.

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MATERIALS: A DRIVER WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

AT LAST YEAR’S TCT SHOW, TCT TEAMED UP WITH WOMEN IN 3D PRINTING AND CYANT TO DISCUSS MATERIALS IN THE UK’S FIRST #3DTALK PANEL SESSION. THE PANEL WAS; MARTINE VAN DER ENT, SALES DIRECTOR EMEA AT DSM; DR NICOLA JONES, MARKETING MANAGER AT LPW; SOPHIE JONES, GENERAL MANAGER AT ADDED SCIENTIFIC; AND DANA MCCALLUM, HEAD OF PRODUCTION PARTNERSHIPS AT CARBON. We’ve seen increased development on software, hardware and materials over the last decade. Could you describe where you’re each coming from in terms of materials?

From left: MARTINE VAN DER ENT, DR. NICOLA JONES, SOPHIE JONES, DANA MCCALLUM

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Dana: We’ve been asking for more and more materials from the additive perspective and really pushing the boundaries to get into production. Here at Carbon we are really developing more engineering, end-use products using our materials. One key component of this is working with end customers who are going to produce end parts. Sophie: We have to start with applications when we’re discussing materials and that certainly is the case for Added Scientific. We are strongly of the opinion that you need to start with the materials and understand the characteristics of what you’re trying to get to before you even talk about process. Nicola: For us, the key point is that the quality of the part that you get out is very dependent on the quality of the material that you put in, which is why we spend a lot of time looking at the applications and the specific characterisation of the powders that are used in that particular application. Martine: Somos has been around since the 80s when the first prototyping resins were developed in stereolithography. I saw them, they were brittle, they were yellowing and now look here today where everyone is focussing on trying to find real solutions for high demanding end applications. I think the industry has grown very far.

Q: Do you feel that materials can get overlooked amidst hype around new hardware? Nicola: People are beginning to understand that materials are important. We’re certainly seeing a lot more questions about the materials we use with particular instruments and in support of that, also that there are processes around the care of the materials themselves, so the storage, the handling, the transport and the traceability. Sophie: I would completely agree, we’ve invested 6 million GBP at the university into a lab purely for material characterisation. It’s not the most attractive aspect of the technology, you can’t take a nice photo of materials, it doesn’t fill up premium space on your website but for us, it is the most important bit. Dana: It’s a collaboration of material development that of course cannot be overlooked but then also creating new hardware and software. So as you look at the lattice designs or topology, all of the different software that can collaborate with the materials side to create better products, is definitely necessary. Martine: We have to work together so you have to have the right machines, the right software. You have to involve the end customer, the service bureaux, the technology development, everyone in the chain to develop a solution for what the customers really need. We’re one ecosystem and this industry still has a long way to grow.

#3DTALK

VER IN ADVANCING AM Q: What are the current challenges in your area of the industry and what can be done to overcome them? Dana: The challenge we see is for end production parts. A lot of the time you have these 2D drawings that have been looked at for several years and it identifies what material that part needs to be made in. One challenge I throw out to everyone is, “what are the key requirements needed for that part?” and opening your mind to possibly changing that material, not using an exact polypropylene but using a material that behaves like that polypropylene. Sophie: One of the challenges that we’re having with materials is quite simply getting them. What we’re trying to do is print some weird and wonderful materials that haven’t been printed before. I just paid about 900 GBP for about 30 grams of material to come from South

Korea but we can’t get hold of it otherwise. We’re starting to see new initiatives coming through particularly to support nanoparticle development and I think that will really benefit us and it’ll give our industry better access to those materials. Nicola: From taking the material into your production facility in the first place right through build and perhaps re-using the powder, it can quite quickly get complicated to know which batch of powder you started off with. So, traceability is a key factor and it’s certainly something that we’re working in partnership with a number of people on to put in a system that tracks that powder at every stage through its life history. Q: How are new materials opening up a path for more sustainable manufacturing practices/processes? Sophie: You will hear lots of claims that 3D printing is environmentally friendly but by and large, it is a crime to sustainability - the process is the crime. The product is often very environmentally friendly because it’s lightweight, it consolidates components, it’s built nearer where it’s needed but the process and the materials rarely are. If you look at the wider lifecycle that’s when you start to see the benefits and that’s why you have to assess things like aerospace components, or any AM component, in terms of its whole lifecycle. Nicola: Compared to subtractive manufacturing, yes you are using less material but there is the caveat as to how we produce that material in the first place. The classic example is aerospace where you’re very much looking at lightweight components, the less it costs you to fly about, the less it costs in fuel. But AM is not just about sustainable improvements, it’s about the improvements we can make in the types of components we can make. Q: We are seeing big players and chemical companies like BASF coming into AM materials - what does this mean for the industry? Martine: We’re a niche market, it’s still a relatively small industry and we have all these great end application markets to focus on. If they [the BASFs of this world] didn’t see that strategic opportunity then they wouldn’t enter. As an industry, we

need these players, partnerships and collaborations to make it grow and mature so I think it’s a great opportunity for us to grow this industry. Nicola: When we see the bigger names coming into the industry it gives it more traction, more people take notice, more investment, more partnership opportunities, which helps to drive innovation even faster. Q: What’s next for AM materials? Will new processes coming in require a new class of materials? Dana: Of course, as we develop more materials and put those through validation, that’s going to drive adoption into more applications. But we really do need that collaborative effort to do that. Sophie: For me a new class of material would be true multi-material - mixing polymers and metals, for example or polymers and ceramics. I think that’s what we’re going towards, it’s maybe five or ten years out but it’s coming. The challenges that presents are quite substantial - how on earth do you recycle something that is made up of plastics and ceramics and metals all in a single component all bound together? How you do quality control on that is beyond me but I think we’re going to have to address these problems as an industry. Nicola: One thing that we’re looking at is the data that we have available on existing materials and to understand them throughout the process. We can already take data from material before it goes into the machine, there’s a capability to take data whilst it’s in the machine to look at the properties once the part is built and it’s the pooling of all of that information to build up a real big picture of actually how AM materials work in practice. Martine: I think it’s all about collaboration, multi-materials and the big data so I think the main thing is we have to go as an industry beyond thinking in liquids, powders or filaments, I think it would be great in the future if we can look at a solution for an end customer or end application needs and independently of the technology, we print it. I think that would be our future.

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FORMNEXT

FORMNEXT POWERED BY TCT 2017 REVIEW

he success story of formnext powered by TCT continued in November 2017, with the Frankfurt show drawing an incredible 21,492 across the four days of exhibitions and conferencing. Considering that in 2014, there was potentially not going to be a show at all in Frankfurt at that time of year due to Euromold’s departure from the calendar, this 60% percent increase from the previous year is incredible. “We are more than satisfied because the quality of expert talks is incredibly high and the general quantity excellent. We see ourselves closer to our mid-term goal of expanding formnext to a leading fair worldwide. I believe that the heart of additive manufacturing (AM) has been beating in Frankfurt over the last few days and that pleases me no end”, commented Dr Christoph Schumacher, Department Manager Marketing and Corporate Communications at Arburg and member of the formnext Exhibition Advisory Board.

CONFERENCE Held on two stages in parallel for the first time this year, the formnext powered by TCT conference focused on both current applications and the future of AM on all four days of the exhibition. 62 Leading experts from multiple industries gave 1,028 attendees an excellent overview of how AM can be used now and going forward, along with plenty of food for thought that could lead to further developments. Some of those to speak included Dr Raphael Salapet of Airbus Safran Launchers, Martin Hanisch and Matthias Leidescher of Premium AEROTEC, Miguel José from Volkswagen Autoeuropa, Michael Kenworthy and Dr David Dietrich from Honeywell Aerospace and Dr Carrie Stern from Montefiore Medical Center.

ATTENDENCE AT THE SHOW WAS UP A MASSIVE 60% FROM 2016

Though data protection says we can’t reveal names, some of the feedback from attendees for the conference was outstanding: ‘I enjoyed the conference and found that the sessions were very informative.’ ‘I gained a deeper understanding of the technologies central to additive manufacturing.’ ‘The key highlights included learning about the latest trends and market developments in metal AM and how 3D metal printing will affect investment casting.’ 4

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THE LAUNCHES There were plenty of gargantuan launches at formnext powered by tct like that of GE’s A.T.L.A.S. Project machine, but there were perhaps some equally newsworthy launches from companies with less might than GE (and let’s face it that’s nearly everyone). Stereolithography renewed its spot at the top of the podium place as the gold-standard for 3D printing. As well as a host of improved resins from DSM Somos and 3D Systems demonstrating the commercial configuration of its Figure 4 Technology, there were launches from the likes of UnionTech and new player RAPLAS. Martin Forth, CEO of RAPLAS spoke to TCT about the company’s newly launched resin production system and said, “We have the intention of getting out of the prototyping arena and into production, so our machine had to have accuracy, consistency, good value with low operating costs.” One of Raplas’ USPs is a laser scanning system that delivers a dual spot from 80 μm up to 1.2 mm. “Most other systems of this size on the market have a range from probably 200 - 800 μm,” explained Martin. “But what does that number actually mean? The reality is we can do very fine detailed parts, and we can do very large parts on the same platform without having to refocus or recalibrate.” Outside of stereolithography, with over 400 exhibitors here’s a few snippets of launches from the show ﬂoor: EOS gathered one of the biggest crowds to usher in a “new era of manufacturing” with its new EOS P 500 laser sintering machine designed for the mass production of polymer parts on an industrial scale. Within hours of launch, EOS announced Materialise as its first confirmed customer. Desktop Metal showed its Production System for the first time alongside a more substantial microwaveenhanced sintering furnace. The company also demonstrated some of its use-cases, one in particular is for the injection moulding sector where even its

46% OF THE ATTENDEES WERE FROM OUTSIDE OF GERMANY

COMPANIES WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO ENSURE THEIR BOOTHS STOOD OUT FROM THE SOME 470 EXHIBITORS

Studio System could revolutionise the tooling of the moulds.

in sectors such as defence and healthcare.

Machine tool and laser manufacturer, TRUMPF announced the launch of its latest Laser Metal Fusion (LMF) system, the TruPrint 5000, aimed at the aerospace, tooling and medical industries. The TruPrint 5000 cuts exposure time per job by a factor of three, armed with three scanner-guided lasers specially designed to operate simultaneously at any point in the system’s 300 (D) x 400 (H) construction chamber.

The Carmel 1400 machine promises high productivity, with 24 inkjet heads comprising of a total 12,228 nozzles working at the same time, depositing 222,000,000 droplets.

GE Additive lowered the curtain on the first machine developed by teams at GE Additive and Concept Laser, a project called A.T.L.A.S. (Additive Technology Large Area System). The new metal 3D printing machine is a Beta technology and features a build volume of 1.1 x 1.1 x 0.3 m, over twice the size in the Y-direction compared to Concept Laser’s biggest machine, the X LINE 2000R. GE Additive says that Z-axis of 0.3 m is scalable to beyond 1 m. Two years on from launching its RenAM 500 machine, Renishaw introduced its new RenAM 500Q, a four-laser additive manufacturing system, which is said to quadruple the speed of printing for small and medium-sized metal parts. Xjet announced the commercial launch of its Carmel line of machines based on its NanoParticle Jetting technology, which sees powders used to print very fine layers of nanoparticle inks. Introducing the Carmel 1400 and Carmel 700, XJet is aiming to transform ceramic and metal AM

German metal AM firm, SLM Solutions unveiled its new “big fish” large-format SLM 800 system equipped with a build envelope of 500 x 280 x 850mm and capacity for up to four 700w lasers to produce substantial metal parts. formnext proved a success for SLM, reporting a single sale in the region of €37m incliuding 20 of the new SLM 800 machines and one SLM 280 machine. On the materials side, Royal DSM announced it is expanding further into additive manufacturing with a new integrated business, DSM AM, which builds on DSM’s existing materials businesses and expertise in AM. One of the world’s largest materials companies, BASF formed several partnerships with the likes of BigRep and Ricoh to evolve its AM capabilities through development partnerships. Fellow chemical conglomerate, SABIC, also launched two new products at the show the LEXAN EXL AMHI240F filament; and the THERMOCOMP are high-end FDM materials. The firm also has materials for SLS in development.

For more on all the launches at formnext visit http://mytct.co/formnexttct

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TCT AWARDS

TCT AWARDS 2018: OPEN FOR BUSINESS

ubmissions for the TCT Awards 2018 are now being invited. The winners will be announced, during the 2018 edition of the TCT Show, on the evening of Wednesday 26th September at the Hilton Metropole, Birmingham, on-site at the NEC. Following a hugely successful inaugural event, the TCT Awards 2018 will once again celebrate design-to-manufacturing innovation across a range of industries including medical, aerospace, automotive and consumer products. Technology innovations will also be in the spotlight along with a further three inductees to the coveted TCT Hall of Fame. Duncan Wood, CEO, Rapid News Publications Ltd, owners of TCT, comments: “After such a fantastic evening last year we are really looking forward to seeing which projects are submitted for 2018 and who makes the exclusive Hall of Fame. We encourage companies to reflect on the amazing work they are doing and the incredible technology they are developing and get their entries in as soon as possible.

“The TCT Awards are the most important and prestigious celebration of design-tomanufacturing innovation, and we look forward to recognising amazing individuals, technology and applications in September.”

Information for entering the TCT Awards The TCT Awards 2018 are open to companies across the entire design and manufacturing technology ecosystem and may be entered online; a full list of categories, submission criteria and deadlines can be found at www.tctawards.com

TCT SHOW 2018 TAKES PLACE 25–27TH SEPTEMBER 2018, NEC, BIRMINGHAM, UK. WWW.TCTAWARDS.COM

“THE TCT AWARDS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT AND PRESTIGIOUS CELEBRATION OF DESIGN-TOMANUFACTURING INNOVATION”

The awards will be judged by an independent board of experts, analysts, journalists, and academics. Nominees for the Hall of Fame will be selected by this panel and then a free and fair public vote will be held to determine the three inductees for 2018. The TCT Awards are the place to see and be seen — to discover sponsorship opportunities and for information on how to attend the 2018 TCT Awards Evening, please visit www.tctawards.com

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TCT ASIA PREVIEW

TCT ASIA 2018 PREVIEW WHERE : HALL N1 SHANGHAI NEW INTERNATIONAL EXPO CENTRE (SNIEC) WHEN: 28 FEB – 3 MAR 2018 EXHIBITS 1 - 3 MAR

he first TCT event of the year is nearly upon us, and early projections show that TCT Asia in Shanghai is gearing up to be another huge success. The doors to Hall N1 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) are flung open on March 1, 2018, and remain so until March 3. Floorspace has grown 50% from that of 2017 with several new Fortune 500 enterprises like Oerlikon, BASF, and DuPont joining the usual suspects like EOS, 3D Systems and Stratasys. At TCT Asia visitors will be able to see the complete design-to-manufacture innovation workflow from the design software of Autodesk (Booth H64), through functional prototyping from Markforged (Booth D60), through end-use manufacturing from GE Additive (Booth C10), to the metrology systems of Renishaw (Booth F36). One of the standout themes from this year is the presence of the world’s principal chemical companies, who have, over the past three years, awoken to the promise of additive manufacturing. BASF, MITSUBISHI CHEMICAL, DuPont, Covestro, Praxair, DSM, Arkema, Lubrizol, and Clariant collectively have over USD 150 billion in sales and are all present on the TCT Asia show floor. Away from Polymers, China represents the fastest growing market in the world for metal additive manufacturing and last year we saw over 13 metal machines launched at the show. The prevalence of metals is only going to increase in 2018 what with the sheer size of GE Additive’s booth who will be on hand to discuss the ATLAS Project and SLM Solutions who sold approximately a quarter of machines ever sold to China over the past 12 months. You’ve also got the likes of Bright Laser Technologies, Hans Laser, Shining3D and Farsoon whose metals capacity grows day-by-day.

Although the term ‘industry’ may conjure up images of heavy machinery, small desktop machinery can make a huge difference. Just ask the team at Volkswagen Autoeuropa in Portugal who have installed several Ultimakers directly on the assembly floor, saving thousands of hours and Euros by printing jigs, fixtures and tooling. Visitors to TCT Asia will be able to see examples from this case study on Ultimaker’s Booth (D68), and then compare machinery from across the globe with established Chinese brands like Raise3D, INTAMSYS, Flashforge etc. showing their wares against global counterparts like Zortrax and MakerBot.

REACH THE SUMMIT

TCT Asia Summit has always been the best platform for learning about the progress of the global 3D printing industry. Whether you are from the sectors of aerospace, automotive, healthcare or machining, the TCT Asia Summit signposts the best use cases for your industry. Due to its popularity the TCT Asia Summit is over an extra day this year starting the day before the exhibition opens on Feb 28th.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PROGRAMME INCLUDE: 28 FEB, 10:50-11:20 In Hospital 3D Printing Speaker: Jonathon Morris, Professor, Mayo Clinic

01 MAR, 11:30-12:00 Intergrated AM Aircraft Parts of Nickel-based Superalloy Speaker: Gu Dongdong, Professor, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics 03 MAR 11:00-11:30 Surface Treatment of Titanium and Peak Implants to enhance Bioactivity Speaker: Liu Xuanyong, Researcher, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics

TCT INTRODUCING

As one of the highlight features of TCT exhibitions across the globe, the TCT Introducing stage was a roaring success at TCT Asia, formnext and TCT Show. Through the Introducing Stage, industry users, distributors, and agencies can eﬃciently learn about the latest solutions launched to the local market. In addition to Farsoon Technology who will launch its first product (high-temperature nylon 3D printing system with the world’s largest manufacturing volume and largest scan area designed with a molding cylinder of 1,000 x 500 x 450 mm in size) for continuous nylon additive manufacturing solutions (CAMS system) on the TCT Introducing Stage in 2018, Clariant Chemicals, DuPont, Shining 3D, TRUMPF, and Techgine Laser, etc. will release new materials and equipment too. 4

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TCT ASIA PREVIEW

EXHIBITOR PREVIEWS

This is just a mini snippet of a new desktop and industrial hardware launch at the show alongside an important material and scanning technology debut in Asia:

3D SYSTEMS

BOOTH NUMBER | N1-G40 FabPro 1000 3D Systems is re-entering the industrial desktop 3D printing category with the introduction of the FabPro 1000, an entry-level production printer created for engineers and designers, as well as jewellery artisans and fabricators. 3D Systems says that the FabPro 1000 – powered by best-in-class software easily fits on a desktop and delivers exceptional part quality and speed with a lower total cost of operation. From tough engineering plastics to castable resins, the FabPro 1000 materials are designed for accuracy and quality.

NANJING ENIGMA AUTOMATION CO., LTD

BOOTH NUMBER | N1-H66 ArcMan 600 The core of WAAM technology is lungoPNT, a powerful additive manufacturing software that is easy to use. It realises fast conversion from design to manufacture that significantly reduces the cycle of programming and process design aswell as lowering the R&D costs. This system is equipped with an additional technology database that is combined with a large number of arc additive tests and manufacturing experience data. A range of 3D printing materials can be applied, such as aluminium, stainless steel, titanium, copper alloy, nickel-based and other metal materials. It is appropriate for use in aerospace, military, marine and other parts of additive manufacturing.

OERLIKON METCO

BOOTH NUMBER | N1-J16 Co-Cr alloyed powder MetcoAdd F78A Oerlikon’s new Cobalt-Chromium gasatomised alloyed powder can be used in SLM and Powder Bed Fusion technologies. The particle size distribution is -45+15 µm. The strict carbon content makes it suitable for applications in aerospace, dental, orthopaedic implants and other high-end verticals. It also matches the standard of ASTM F75, ISO 5832-4 and UNS R1538. Oerlikon claims that its mechanical properties are proved to be greater than counterparts in casting parts and forging parts.

CARL ZEISS

BOOTH NUMBER | N1-E58 COMET L3D ZEISS’ new COMET L3D blue LED 3D scanner can be put to use without long-time preparation. It can collect 3D data, inspect, and generate colour map reports from parts, quickly and accurately. The simple design is not only very compact and lightweight but can also be transported to different application fields easily. It can adapt to a variety of applications and a wide range of parts, from 10 mm to 10 metres.

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In Additive Manufacturing, It’s What’s Inside That Counts

DÜSSELDORF, 20 – 24 FEBRUARY

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A Fair by

OPINION

THE INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY LIGHT ON INDUSTRY

he 27th November 2017 was a good day for some of British Manufacturing - from our oﬃces in Chester, you could almost smell the kilns being fired ready to churn out commemorative crockery by the bucket load after the announcement of another Royal Wedding. Emma Bridgewater’s buoyancy, however, was countered by the sinking feeling those in the UK’s additive manufacturing (AM) community had at precisely the same time. This isn’t because the AM crowd are revolutionaries wanting to overthrow the monarchy and replace it with generatively designed figureheads, but because of the big news of 8am that was buried by the royal engagement just an hour and a half later, The Industrial Strategy. The Industrial Strategy was the UK Government’s plan to “boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK”. On the drive to work the Industrial Strategy was being discussed on a radio broadcast by BBC Five Live from outside of the MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre). That excited me; the plan was to get to work, whack up the document, hit Ctrl + F and bask in the glory of our additively manufactured future. When I did search the pdf, I genuinely presumed there was something wrong with my machine, I wasn’t the only one. “Myself, Phill Dickens [Added Scientific], Rob Scudamore [TWI] and Tim Minshall [University of Cambridge] pulled up the document together we just kind of thought ‘why do we bother?’ Explained an exasperated James Logan, UK Collaborative R&D Funding Manager at the MTC.

Across 255 pages of how this Government plans on steering this country’s industry in a post-Brexit world, there is precisely one mention of additive manufacturing and that’s way back on page 206 (in the interest of fairness and not to come across resentful there is also a picture of a 3D printed joint replacement on page 65).

WORDS : Daniel O’Connor

A BAD TASTE

For AM UK this was a bitter pill to swallow. Just two months prior, AM UK developed and released an entirely costed Additive Manufacturing UK National Strategy 2018-25 with full industry support from the likes of Dyson, GlaxoSmithKline, Bentley, GE, Unilever, BAE Systems, etc. Their white paper backed by the quasi-governmental, Innovate UK, conservatively estimated that by 2025 AM could account for £3,500M Gross Value Added to the UK economy and upwards of 60,000 Jobs. If that’s not a clear and concise boost to the “productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK”, I’m not sure what is. In a letter to TCT one of the leading steers behind AM UK, Professor Phill Dickens said: “The motivation for the AM Strategy came out of an Evidence Paper I did for the Foresight Report back in 2013. Having reviewed a number of manufacturing technologies, it became clear that although the UK was very good at Rapid Prototyping in the 1990’s, without a clear strategy the benefits of AM would largely pass us by as a nation just like a number of other technologies. “You might think that a national industrial strategy would build on previous more specific strategies such as The Composites Strategy, The AM Strategy and more recently the Made Smarter report by Jurgen Maier. The first two seem to have been completely ignored, and the last gets a brief mention. This is despite the fact that we also made an AM response into the Industrial Strategy consultation process.” The letter continues in a tone that to anybody who knows Phill, is unfamiliar such is the pessimism seeping through a note sent while wounds were still weeping. AM UK wasn’t asking for the moon on a stick either, the challenge fund bid that went in from Digital Manufacturing was to the tune of £170m of which £15-20m would have been to address the specific AM needs including technology, skills and training plus business support and supply chain development. It is believed that even a third of that amount would have been enough to move the dial. 4 26 : 1

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OPINION MISSING THE POINT Phill’s not the only one in pain; in a host of phone calls to industry folk afterwards there was anger, there was dismay, and there was a general downheartedness. A lot of those feelings can be attributed not just to the lack of mention and support for AM, but the areas the Industrial Support did focus on, in particular, Artificial Intelligence (AI). While AI is seen as a significant part of global Industry 4.0 strategies, it never stands on its own. Case studies like the following mentioned in the white paper only pour fuel onto the fire: “SecondHands is a research project led by Ocado Technology that aims to design a collaborative robot that can offer help to maintenance technicians working in Ocado’s highly automated grocery warehouses.” Consider the airy-fairyness and niche that is compared to Volkswagen using £3,000 plastic extruding machines on the assembly floor to save 91% in tool development costs and reduce development time by 95%. It’s ludicrous. Whereas AI is conceivable future technology, AM is now. The issue the government has with AM so I’m told is that it doesn’t solve one particular challenge and they’re right, there isn’t one killer application. But that’s because additive manufacturing is a tool or set of tools that could benefit every single manufacturing facility throughout the country be they giants like Rolls Royce or a lone jeweller. “I think the big guys are going to do it (AM) regardless of if there is an Industrial Strategy behind them,”

said Dr Louise Jones, Knowledge Transfer Manager for Additive Manufacturing at KTN Ltd. “For me, the most significant impact could be if SMEs choose not get on board, we’re going to lose manufacturing in the UK.”

during the summer. He identified that these louvre components might be a suitable candidate for AM and did some experimenting using Nylon SLS. They’re now paying 22 pence per part - a 98% saving.

SMALL ENTERPRISE, BIG IMPACT

“When you see examples of the LEAP fuel nozzle, it’s great, it is sexy, but GE’s a massive business, the little guy up the road is totally disconnected from that,” said Louise Jones. “But with the lighting example of a tiny little product where AM has had such a huge impact, businesses might start to think ‘oh you know what, actually maybe there is an element of what I’m doing already where I can apply AM’.”

The SME theme was repeated throughout the calls, Jonathan Rowley of Digits2Widgets who sat on a number of the AM-UK strategy steering committees, is all too aware of the perils SMEs go through when turning to additive for the first time. “Very often manufacturing clients come to us with an object that they’ve identified would be good to apply some AM to. Very often they’re perfectly printable but the cost is prohibitive,” Explains D2W’s Design Manager, Rowley. “Imagine how damaging to your opinion of AM it is if you take the time to select an object, nominate it, go and get a quote, discover it costs five times the amount it currently costs to produce, you just think ‘forget it’.” The problem there comes down to education, which is what the Additive Manufacturing UK National Strategy was crying out for; funding for programmes to teach people how to apply AM best. Rowley’s Digits2Widgets also have a client who is a prime example of how far a little Skills, Education and Training goes. The company is a lighting company based minutes down the road from the service bureau in London; it was paying a German company €13 a pop for some expanding louvre components. The company owner’s nephew, who was studying industrial design and had some knowledge of AM, did some work for the company

Getting to that point is where the barrier lies and is where the industry needs Government support and funding. It didn’t come this time around but James Logan of the MTC doesn’t necessarily think all is lost: “In some ways, it (the lack of AM in the White Paper) could be beneficial because it could force the AM community to think hard and do things that do deliver benefits. Fundamentally the money isn’t there to do what is exciting and entertaining, the financiers are now going to want to fund what is going to deliver returns, which might not be a bad thing.” When writing this we at TCT have asked ourselves what we can do to accelerate this industry? Our shows and conferences will continue to highlight the potential benefits of AM and I’m dedicated, as editor of the magazine, to promote the work of more SMEs. So please if you’re an SME reading this who is applying AM effectively, write to me (daniel.oconnor@rapidnews.com). Perhaps we can pay your advice forward and ignite an Industrial Strategy of our own.

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