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THE REVOLUTION IS NOW

STRATASYS REDEFINES POSSIBLE BY REVVING UP 3D PRINTING FOR BUSINESSES LARGE AND SMALL

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

ISSN 1751-0333

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A New Hope

t It was as I was watching the third trailer for the new Star Wars movie I gasped for breath, not at the sight of the Millennium Falcon jumping into light speed, not at the sight of a mysterious onehanded figure touching R2D2’s head. It was the words “This Christmas”. “Christmas? Christmas is ages away. It’s like …err... 8…. weeks?!” Then I saw a tweet saying 30 days until formnext powered by tct and the panic truly set in. Isn’t this the time of year that people traditionally wind down? Get the pipe and slippers out? Settle in to a bit of Bing Crosby in front of a roaring fire? Not at TCT, it’s all systems GO! Not that I’m complaining, it’s this fast-paced, hectic industry that keeps those energy levels up. Those energy levels need to be kept topped up too, it’s fair to say Laura and I racked up the road and air mileage in order to bring you the best in original content for this issue of TCT. Trips to Aachen, Dusseldorf, London, Crewe all sandwiched between the small matter of TCT Show + Personalize UK in the NEC, Birmingham. There are a couple of big trips on the horizon too, both of which are previewed in this issue. We’ve got the inaugural formnext powered by tct at Messe Frankfurt in November, followed by our now annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for CES 2016 in January. We’ve also got a few other events dotted here, there and everywhere we’re trying to figure out who goes where If only there was a way for us to be in two places at

once, perhaps a hologram projected out of some sort of droid? I’ll have to get onto James Brurton of XRobots for that (see page 34 for an explanation). If there’s a particular theme to this issue, other than Star Wars of which there’s some references (though this is a strictly Yoda Bust free zone), it is standardisation and regulation. Not only is our guest column focused entirely on the subject but also we have an interview with Chris Krampitz of UL towards the back, as well as a piece from Laura’s visit to world-leader in certification, Lloyd’s Register. It is an matter that needs addressing in the industry and I’d be happy to field your opinion on the matter (find my contact details on page 3). I hope you enjoy the final issue of this year’s TCT, have a fantastic holiday season and we’ll either see you at formnext or in the New Year.

Druck on

Daniel O’Connor Group Editor

Redefine your design Explore the potential of additive manufacturing Renishaw’s additive manufacturing systems use powder bed fusion technology to produce fully dense complex metal parts direct from 3D CAD. Find out more at www.renishaw.com/additive

Mechanical bracket for a satellite to be used in the space sector produced on a Renishaw AM250

Renishaw's Fingers Strip ad TCT 1015.indd 1

www.renishaw.com 27/10/2015 12:56:27 DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com 05

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

FROM THE EDITOR

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

CONTENTS

TCT | DECEMBER 2015 EDITION

PRODUCTION IS HERE

Laura takes a trip to the Manufacturing Technology Centre to find out about how Arcam’s EBM technology is being used in aerospace and implant manufacture.

LEAD NEWS

THE REVOLUTION IS NOW

Dan takes a look at how Stratasys is helping SMEs to understand what can be done now to revolutionise their workflows with 3D printing.

SETTING THE STANDARDS

FEATURES

NEWS ROUNDUP

A roundup of all the latest news from the last month, for more on each of the stories visit www.tctmagazine.com

MAGIC IN THE MANUFACTURE

Find out why Materialise is leading the shift in additive manufacturing with its latest Magics software.

FINDING YOUR FEET

Laura looks at the latest developments in the 3D footwear industry from adidas to 3D printed footwear concept, Feetz.

TALKING TEETH

Additive manufacturing, milling and bacteria fighting material – Laura reports on recent advances in digital dentistry.

VORSPRUNG DURCH TECHNIK

Dan visits the Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing to find out how Fraunhofer is gearing up for “Industrie 4.0”.

TCT SHOW + PERSONALIZE REVIEW

We bring you highlights from the 20th edition from the TCT Show + Personalize exhibition and conference.

FINDING FORM

Dan speaks to Formlabs’ Will Walker about the launch of the company’s next generation 3D printer, the Form 2.

Laura visits Lloyd’s Register to find out about how a new joint industry project with TWI aims to explore certification of additive manufactured components. .

INCUBATING INNOVATION

Dan reports on how Renishaw is lowering the entry barrier to metal 3D printing with its latest venture, Renishaw Solutions Centres.

VISUALIZE THE FUTURE

We take a look at some of the latest features in SolidWorks 2016 3D design and engineering software portfolio.

FORMNEXT PREVIEW

We highlight some of the key product launches and special exhibits you can expect to see at the inaugural formnext powered by tct event.

PERSONALIZE PRINTING PRESS

A pick of some of the best 3D prints we’ve spotted over the last month.

WHAT DOES AVI REICHENTAL’S DEPARTURE MEAN FOR CONSUMER 3D PRINTING?

Daniel O’Connor takes a look at 3D Systems’ CEO split and ponders whether it means the end of the road for the consumer 3D printing dream.

54 63

MINDING THE GAP

Dan interviews UL’s Chris Krampitz to find out how the company is working to address the issues emerging technology is bringing to manufacturing. cluster. year’s show.

A taste of what to expect from the 3D Printing Marketplace and conference at the world’s biggest consumer electronics tradeshow.

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

Dan spent the day seeing how Lulzbot is growing into one of desktop 3D printing’s strongest companies.

MADE TO MEASURE

Discover how Europac3D combined 3D printing and traditional arm measurement to create a complete measurement solution for a leading automotive supplier.

FROM CREATORS TO MAKERS

Laura spends the day at Somerset House to find out how Makerversity and Proto Labs are providing creators with tools to realise their ideas.

VIVA LAS VEGAS: THE CES 2016 SHOW PREVIEW

REGULARS

05 25 82

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK GUEST COLUMN TODD GRIMM COLUMN

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

LEAD NEWS: STRATASYS

worn path when talking about 3D printing to glorify the future and what we will be doing with the technologies but if this year’s TCT Show + Personalize had a theme it was that of the present; what people are doing. That was never more evident than on the Stratasys booth. In order to validate the technology a company like Stratasys may often look to the big guys, the multi-nationals with a whopping R&D budget, for an interesting use case. Touring the Stratasys booth at TCT Show 2015 you’d be forgiven if you’d never heard of some of the companies that were eager to display how they are using 3D printing to its full potential. It’s not that Stratasys couldn’t get displays from companies like Unilever, who a recent study showed use Stratasys technology in order to cut lead times by up to 90%. Rutland Plastics, Whale Pumps, Design Reality, Strakka Racing – all companies with a workforce way below 100 – were asked to participate on the booth, this was a strategic display of might in 3D printing for the little guy. “My focus of improvement in our message is not necessarily to put across the sexy 3D printed applications but the really useful, the really timesaving applications that save money,” explained Marketing Director EMEA at Stratasys, Nicole Clement. “Strakka Racing, for instance, is making prototypes, jigs and fixtures and end-use parts on a uPrint machine, which isn’t a huge investment for a starting point.” t is a well

My focus of improvement in our message is not necessarily to put across the sexy 3D printed applications but the really useful, the really timesaving applications that save money

Dan Walmsley, Strakka Racing Team Principal, concurs; he told TCT how 3D printing was essential in allowing the DOME S103 LMP2 to compete in motorsport’s toughest endurance race, Le Mans 24: “We had a few handling issues during testing so we started to refine and develop all the components, not only did 3D printing become a rapid solution towards reengineering the car but also the accuracy of build. “For example, the profile of the dive planes on the front of the car is very sensitive to the performance so we had lots of iterations, all of the tooling was done using 3D printing. This meant that we could get an iteration in a matter of days whereas a traditional lead time for a carbon composite part like that is 6-7 weeks.” RAPID PROTOTYPING STILL KING Design Reality, a design consultancy based not too far away from TCT Towers in North Wales, are famed for its General Service Respirator design used by the British Armed Forces, they have been using 3D printing to prototype since the company’s inception in 2000. “We’re a 15 year old company who bought an SLA machine back in 2000,” explained Creative Director, Wyn Jones. “We used to employ a few people in a workshop for finishing parts but the benefits of our Stratasys Connex 3 machine mean it really is as simple as a 2D printer.” By having a printer in house Design Reality has found that they win more work for highly classified projects like the aforementioned gas mask.

now

The revolution is WOR DS : DA N IE L O’ C O N N O R

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

“We’ve just bought a new premises so are expanding to twice the size,” detailed Jones. “We’ve divided up our ground space into a workshop for prototyping on the ground floor and design on the top level. We’ve got a Stratasys Connex 3, we’ve got an Objet Eden260VS, we have vacuum casting, we have a CNC machine, we’re realising that the prototyping part of our business is now so big and important that being able to dedicate a whole floor to it essential.” TOOL GOOD TO BE TRUE It is the printing of jigs and fixtures, or as Todd Grimm put it in his column this time last year, the ‘mundane’, use for additive technologies that Stratasys want to shout from the rooftops about most. British injection moulding company, Rutland plastics, have been in that industry for over 50 years and in order to stay ahead of the game they see it as crucial to develop and implement new techniques. Rutland traditionally made approximately 100 new jigs and fixtures annually from aluminium on its CNC milling machines. This process cost $1,500 per piece or $150,000 per year; it also meant that the company was precluded from using at least one of its machines to generate revenue for 300 business days. By using a PolyJet machine, purchased originally for rapid prototyping projects, to produce the jigs and fixtures, Rutland was able to reduce the cost by 40% with a timesaving of 66% as well as freeing up the time for external customers on the CNC machine. “Tooling is the hidden star of 3D printing,” explained Nicole Clement. “Of course there is a limited market at the moment for enduse parts but everyone can use it for tooling,

people love lightweight tools, with less waste that are faster to produce, the option to achieve that is 3D printing. In automotive they can have one tool in the shop, a tool in an engineer’s pocket, a tool for spares because the cost is so low. “We see this as a vertical across all industries,” she added. ALL UNDER ONE ROOF At the coming formnext powered by TCT exhibition in Frankfurt, Stratasys are set to have possibly the largest ever stand at an additive manufacturing show. Its integrated solution approach includes displays by subsidiaries MakerBot, Solidscape, Stratasys Strategic Consultancy and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, extending the value proposition to their customers on a larger scale. Andy Middleton, President of Stratasys’ EMEA division explained: “The shape of Stratasys’ offering to the marketplace has expanded considerably in recent times, as has the range of solutions, systems and services we are able to offer customers. We

believe that we are now better placed than ever to deliver customers additive manufacturing solutions throughout the value chain – regardless of their size.” This statement echoes the thoughts of his colleague Nicole Clement at TCT Show who throughout the whole conversation with us kept coming back to the technologies’ benefits to SMEs, particularly in Europe: “From an investment point-of-view China and the US will soon surpass Europe in 3D printing terms. Europe has a large traditional manufacturing base. It is important we speak to those people to show them what this technology can bring not only to new manufacturing but traditional manufacturing too. If you get across that this technology can save time and money I think opportunities will be huge.” And that to Stratasys is why trade shows remain an important part of the calendar, they are a chance for SMEs to come and see what is possible, to look, feel and ask questions to understand how they can revolutionise their workflows now.  For more information visit www.STRATASYS.com

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

ENVISIONTEC ENTERS PARTNERSHIP WITH SOMOS 

Proto Labs is to acquire select assets and operations of German service bureau Alphaform AG. The worldleading manufacturer of custom parts and prototypes will expand its additive manufacturing presence in Europe through the acquisition and will include Alphaform divisions operating in Germany, Finland, and the UK. This acquisition will significantly expand Proto Labs’ AM capabilities in Europe by adding SLS, DMLS and additional SL capabilities. 

NEWS

Many companies at this year’s TCT Show were keen to point out that collaboration will play a major role in pushing the additive manufacturing industry forward. This news roundup features a snapshot of the changing landscape and some of those recent partnerships and ventures from established names both inside and outside of the industry.

EnvisionTEC has announced a collaboration with world leader in 3D printing materials development, Somos. Somos has been developing materials for over 25 years and currently has over 15 different stereolithography resins all used in a wide range of applications from automotive to injection moulding. The partnership will allow both companies to advance their technologies and develop new applications and high-performance materials for heat resistance, durability, high resolution and stability. 

FOR THESE STORIES IN FULL CLICK TO WWW.TCTMAGAZINE.COM

MATERIALISE OPENS METAL 3D PRINTING FACTORY IN GERMANY  Materialise has announced the launch of a new metal 3D printing production service in Germany aimed at the aerospace, automotive and industrial manufacturing industries. This new production line at Materialise’s Metal Competence Centre for software will be open to customers looking to manufacture functional parts and prototypes in titanium (TiAl6v4) and marks the Belgian additive manufacturing leader’s next step in becoming the most complete factory for 3D printing. 

STRATASYS & ADOBE TO BRING COLOUR 3D PRINTING TO CREATIVES  Stratasys and Adobe are joining forces to help creative professionals transform their designs into vibrant and durable colour 3D printed models. Adobe Photoshop CC users will be able to send 3D files for production through Stratasys Direct Express powered by Stratasys Direct Manufacturing, increasing ease of use by enabling a streamlined workflow with features such as direct quoting, validation and previewing. 

CANON MAKES 3D PRINTING MARKET DEBUT Canon has announced its entry into the 3D printing market with its first major inhouse developed 3D printer concept. The resin-based lamination system has been designed to rival current 3D printing technologies and is set to accelerate speeds and reduce costs offering users the opportunity to work with a wide range of general purpose resins and deliver a competitively smooth surface finish. 

PRODWAYS PARTNERS WITH FARSOON ON NEW 3D PRINTER RANGE  Prodways has announced a major partnership with leading Chinese 3D printing company, Hunan Farsoon High-Tech to develop a full plastic and metal 3D printer product range based on Farsoon’s current range of selective laser sintering models, “Prodways powered by Farsoon”. Prodways has also taken a 45% stake in Varia 3D, a 3D printing service provider and commercial partner of Farsoon. DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

PROTO LABS TO ACQUIRE ALPHAFORM AND EXPAND PRESENCE IN EUROPE 

MATERIALISE

Magic in the Manufacture

his

year

materialise

celebrated its 25th year in the additive manufacturing industry spanning pioneering medical advancements to unique custom wearables. At formnext powered by tct, the Belgian additive manufacturing leader will be showing the world why it’s not just another additive manufacturing tool provider but rather a backbone for the entire industry. With the launch of Magics 20, Materialise is once again demonstrating that successful and valuable AM is not just a case of pressing a button and waiting for success. There’s a process – you have to get the file right, industry specifications, data, cost efficiency, repeatability and all of those other key things that go into making a workflow run smoothly and achieving positive outcomes. This latest version of the data preparation software brings together all of those attributes and takes them to a whole new level. “It’s something that we give to the industry to allow them to realise all of those ideas without having to go through a learning curve of 25 years,” Stefaan Motte, Vice President 3D Printing Software at Materialise explained. “It’s the encapsulation of those 25 years of experience that we have and making it available, giving that power to the users of the platform to realise their bright ideas.” Launching this month with better and faster repairing capabilities, Magics 20 features a new interface to improve the user experience and makes it easier than ever to use and customise. Magics remains the standard choice for 3D printing professionals and this year has been designed with a

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WOR D S : L A U R A G R I F F I T HS

ABOVE: RS print 3D printed custom insoles particular burgeoning industrial market in mind, metal additive manufacturing. “We see that metal 3D printing is really making an impact,” Stefaan explained. “Companies are seeing the added value of metal 3D printing in their environment so they’re confirming the position of Magics 20 as the flagship tool to prepare the printing of those metal parts.” TIME FOR CHANGE Despite this key focus, it’s not just metals that stand to reshape the industry. Stefaan believes additive as a whole is experiencing a shift in gear as the technology begins to grab the attention of huge industry sectors and initiatives like the 3MF Consortium open up communications to create synergy and

help standardise the technology. Rather than being used as a tool for concept creation in the corner of a factory somewhere, it is allowing new business models to flourish and providing new companies that no longer have the luxury of time to learn a new technology, with the ability get their products to market much faster and trust that they meet standards. “That’s where the Materialise backbone comes in”, commented Stefaan. “It enables industries to translate the ideas and designs they have into something that is actually manufacturable and printable not just as a quick one-off product but as a process that is sustainable, reliable and efficient to meet the industry requirements”. This year Materialise has provided the digital foundations for potentially radical products that without additive wouldn’t have been possible - from helping to realise Hoet’s custom eyewear to providing RS Print with the technology to send marathon runner Paula Radcliffe over the finish line with 3D printed insoles. These products are not just prototypes or one offs, they are real functional products made possible through sustainable business models that connect all of those vital components together from design to production and testing. “You have not just the attention but also the belief and drive of those big industries that it will enable them to do great things,” Stefaan added. “When you look at interfacing with machines and machine technology, getting feedback from those machines on how the build process is going is important. We see it as an absolute necessity for the technology to be successful.” 

The ART oF pRoDuCTion eFFiCienCy

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FOOTWEAR

Feet

WOR DS : L A U R A G R I F F I T HS

for example adidas, an internationally recognised brand that recently unveiled its take on digital footwear with the introduction of Futurecraft 3D, a customisable 3D printed running shoe midsole which can be tailored to the individual’s foot. The concept has been made possible through a partnership with Materialise who worked with adidas to create a lightweight structure in the midsole to improve flexibility and maintain rigidness and strength. Speaking at the launch, Eric Liedtke, Executive Board Member of adidas AG, commented that Futurecraft 3D is a “statement of intent” which uses a unique material and process combination and performance data to “drive truly bespoke experiences.” In theory the intention is to make it possible so that one day customers will be able to walk into an adidas store, run briefly on a treadmill and instantly get a 3D-printed running shoe designed specifically for them. That alone is revolutionary enough and could provide athletes with the ability to get the best out of their performance. However, they’re not the only company stating their intentions in the digital footwear industry and so far that’s just the soles - what about the rest of the shoe? ake

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR … EVERYONE “I’ll take a round-toe, 3-inch heel, with a T-bar, in Pillarbox Red, size 6 and a half”. Imagine if you could order a pair of shoes like you were ordering a cup of coffee. That’s exactly what Lucy Beard, wondered when she stood in line at Starbucks one day and turned it into a unique footwear concept, Feetz.

Futurecraft 3D is a “statement of intent” which uses a unique material and process combination and performance data to “drive truly bespoke experiences.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Finding Your

For a relatively ‘new’ industry, major players in global sectors that these industries fall into can really help to validate its position in the wider landscape. For 3D printing, the footwear sector has stated potentially groundbreaking intentions in the marketplace that have really drawn attention to the value of the technology in the industry.

“I was fed up,” explained Lucy, CEO and founder of Feetz. “I went to a Starbucks coffee store and I ordered any coffee I wanted and I watched them make from two little machines - the coffee machine and the milk machine - 87,000 different combinations of coffee and so that was my light bulb moment.” Feetz is described as a digital cobbler. Whereas in the old days you would have had shoes made for you to your specifications by a shoe-maker, now it’s more likely you’ll just have to hope the high street store has a shoe style you like and available in your size – that is unless you’ve got the spare cash to go old school and opt for a tailor made pair. The idea behind Feetz is to give every individual the power to choose the shoes that they want and do so in an accessible way using a simple app and 3D printing. Everyone’s feet are completely individual. In fact, your own feet are probably quite different from left and right. If someone said to me before this year’s TCT Show, “Hey Laura - instead of wearing those brand new show-shoes for a week beforehand to ‘break them in’ why don’t you just buy a pair that will just fit you in the first place?” – I would have said “gimme!” and probably avoided what I’m patenting, Tradeshow-Foot. “We’re making it more accessible for every person to have the obligation to have just the benefit of having a shoe that fits,” Lucy adds. “I talked to a lot of people and they didn’t even like to get their feet out. So we were like how do we make shoe fitting accessible, anywhere you are in the world? And I realised that carrying your smart phone in your pocket, you have the most powerful tool available.” ››

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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FOOTWEAR ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

The process is simple. Using the Feetz app, you take three pictures of each foot from three different angles and in under a minute, a 3D model of your foot is generated using a combination of your profile and a database of thousands of feet. The shoes are then manufactured using a custom FDM technology and a specially developed material derived from traditional shoes. “I went and asked every single vendor, partner and 3D printer maker out there and nobody had a material for footwear,” Lucy commented. “So instead we bought 100s of pairs of shoes, we melted them, we ground them up, we have material scientists on our staff and we reverse engineered what shoes are made of.” 3D printed shoes aren’t typically the most conventional form of footwear. From United Nude’s iconic custom designs printed on the 3D Systems Cube to Francis Bitonti’s algorithm generated, mathematical shoe concepts, they’re often more suited to a gallery than your feet. Having admitted to purchasing a pair of $1,000 SLS shoes herself, Lucy concurs that the shoes we’ve seen so far haven’t been the most practical and insists Feetz will not launch until people are willing to accept these products as shoes. “We started our beta testing in June, we’ve gone from 20 different styles and now we’ve come down to two where 90% of people are like “can I have these, I don’t want to give them back” - which is nice because at the start not many people were saying that!”, Lucy explained. “We will not go to launch until you will accept and wear these as real shoes. It’s taken us over a year of development to do this but now that we’ve reached that point where customers are saying “I want these shoes, I accept these as real shoes”.”

Feetz already has a backlog of thousands of orders and the company is set to produce an exclusive run of the shoes for the first 100 customers this Christmas

Feetz already has a backlog of thousands of orders and the company is set to produce an exclusive run of the shoes for the first 100 customers this Christmas ahead of starting mass production in Spring 2016. “It’s insane that we have technology today that says we can have shoes that are custom made and we can keep up with the demand for 7 billion people on this planet. It’s just we’ve got to change what we’re used to in terms of what are shoes, how are they fit, what are the styles and that’s where 3D printing comes in.” SOLE OF THE TECHNOLOGY It’s not just start-ups and established brands coming into the 3D Footwear market either. The potential has been recognised by key 3D technologies players who have struck up partnerships with these companies and done much of the groundwork behind the scenes to enable these concepts. Autodesk recently launched a new group, Autodesk Footwear for

the design and manufacture of production footwear and custom insoles and even helped develop the technology behind Feetz. Long before its partnership with adidas, Materialise was pushing boundaries in the footwear industry by providing the technology and business models for customised insoles in collaboration with RSscan and RSprint. These wearables are not cool accessories for the contemporary fashion enthusiast, they’re purposeful products that provide real value, tailored to the individual’s data and lifestyle and currently the most accessible form of 3D footwear for the masses. Like most products in the additive manufacturing industry, it’s about changing perceptions of what we perceive to be the norm and discovering how these products can add real value to our lives instead of simply a statement about how they were made. With the influence of household names and strong foundations in AM to back it up, the possibilities are huge. “When the big players come in it actually really validates the technology, it isn’t just something like a maker sitting in a library, tinkering, it actually has real fundamental manufacturing ability,” Lucy added. 

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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3D Scanning and 3D Printing Sales and Services

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Europac3D supply the full range of Artec 3D scanning equipment including the new fully-automated bodyscanner which captures the human form in only 12 seconds. The popular Eva and Spider hand-held 3D scanners, based on video technology, are suitable for capturing objects ranging from industrial parts to heritage items.

The CS+ (top) and DS3 desktop automated 3D scanners from Solutionix offer highly accurate detail-rich scanning of smaller objects and components, including industrial, dental and jewellery parts.

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DENTAL APPLICATIONS

WOR D S : L A U R A G R IFFIT H S

The hearing aid and dental industries are expected to be the biggest area of future development using custom 3D printing technology. It’s estimated the US and European market for dental implants is expected to reach $4.2 billion by 2022 and with digital technologies becoming commonplace, that stands to be up shook up even further. In this issue we take a closer look at some of the most recent developments and emerging technologies in the dental sector including new machines, materials and processes. 3D printing in the dental industry may be nothing short of revolutionary but it’s also nothing new. The technology is already being used for end-use parts as a form of localised, lowcost manufacture for patientspecific products - a welcome solution for lab owners, dentists and patients alike. By combining oral scanning, CAD/CAM design and 3D printing, dental labs can accurately and rapidly produce crowns, bridges and a range of orthodontic models in a single setting. Now the challenge is to make these technologies even faster and more accessible. In a bid to make the technology accessible to even the smallest of dental labs, back in September, Stratasys introduced a small-scale dental machine, the Objet30 Dental Prime aimed to enable the production of dental models inhouse and in a choice of three

Polyjet materials. Just last month, the company took this to a much bigger scale by launching a larger solution for the industry, the Objet500 Dental Selection 3D Printer for the production of multi-material, multi-colour dental models large dental and orthodontic labs. The 490 x 390 x 200mm build volume machine uses triple-jetting technology for a wide range of materials to enable production of several dental-specific parts in a single run. This offers massive savings in time and its multi-material capabilities mean that realistic dental models, in a range of colours and hardness, can be created to mimic human anatomies. “This new level of flexibility, precision and efficiency was aimed to allow labs to streamline their digital workflow while improving their competitive edge,” explained Steffen Mueller, General Manager, Dental Solutions, Stratasys. Though additive brings some major benefits to the sector particularly in customisation, more traditional subtractive methods are upping their game to compete. That’s just what digital manufacturing solutions provider Roland DG are demonstrating to customers with their 3,000 dental machines and counting sold since 2012. The company recently launched two new milling machines onto the market with their own unique benefits to the dental lab, both separately and together – the DWX-4W and DWX-51D. The DWX-51D is equipped with a 10-station automatic tool changer and offers speed, precision and a vast range of product capabilities including the ability

ABOVE: antimicrobial 3D

printing material

This new level of flexibility, precision and efficiency was aimed to allow labs to streamline their digital workflow while improving their competitive edge

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Talking Teeth

to produce copings, crowns, full bridges and abutments and other prosthetics from zirconia, wax, PMMA, composite resin and PEEK. Previewed earlier this year, Roland DG’s DWX-4W wet mill is designed for milling glass ceramics and composite resins, popular with both dentists and patients for producing aesthetically superior crowns, inlays, on lays, and veneers. The combination of the new DWX-4W wet mill with an existing dry mill, such as the latest DWX-51D, provides significant advantages over single machines to enable users to process different materials, simultaneously without a changeover, which brings the added benefit of unattended overnight production. “The whole benefit of this technology is it should be totally unattended and takes all of the donkey work away and most people that have these machines want to run 3 sessions, morning, afternoon and then let it run before they go home and comeback in the morning and pick it up, two machines allows you to do that.” Peter Kettle, Business Development Manager at Roland DG, explained. “They’re creating works of art every 20 minutes but there’s a real pressure on that person to make sure the next is as good as the one they’ve just done.” In order to progress any industry that benefits from additive, development needs to be pushed on all fronts and that includes materials. Roland’s machines are designed with open architecture to allow users to work with the latest materials as they become available. For products designed for the human body, material quality is of upmost importance to ensure they are fit for long-term human contact. For a niche industry that requires such rigorous testing, this can take some time. ››

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DENTAL APPLICATIONS

BELOW: Roland DWX-4W

The machine takes variance away and gives absolute consistency, that’s the first benefit. Then they start to see improvement in the aesthetics because more is being put into the porcelain work.

reduces the risk of caries and gingivitis. In general, it improves oral hygiene.” The material has been developed for use with stereolithography technology. The liquid polymer from this process contains the bacterial contact killing reagent. To achieve this the formulation is optimised so that the viscosity of the antimicrobial polymer precursor is the same as the conventional polymer printing solution along with the bacterial contact killing additive. The material is still in the early stages of development and further tests are being carried out to ensure its safety before it is approved for human applications such as 3D printed crowns and veneers. It’s also

BELOW: Stratasys Objet500

Dental Selection 3D Printer

ABOVE: Roland DWX-51D DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

“When it comes to dental, being part of the medical industry, they are very conservative when it comes to new materials, there’s a long process to get authorisation or usage of these materials”, Peter commented. Researchers at the University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials have just unveiled some pivotal research that could prove highly valuable to the dental industry. They have developed an antimicrobial 3D printable material that can kill bacteria on contact thus eliminating the common health risks associated with dental implants and devices. With current dental products, bacteria from cavities can settle on teeth in the form of biofilm which is removed by a good tooth cleaning. This 3D printed antimicrobial material improves oral hygiene in locations where it is hard to carry out hygiene procedures and in aligners and retainers, which are already commonly 3D printed. Professor. Dr. Andreas Herrman, Head of the Board of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, explained: “The antimicrobial 3D printed materials kill bacteria on contact. With this property one reduces the formation of a biofilm on the printed material and this

being proposed to the medical community for use with 3D printed surgical guides to facilitate complex procedures and even in the production of food packaging and toys. Andreas added: “First, we will make sure in further experiments that the materials are not toxic. Then we need to check how the materials interact with toothpaste, mouthwash and how they behave in oral cavity conditions for more than the 6 days we have tested. Before general use we need to perform clinical studies with a selected group of patients.” Though hygiene is an important part of material development, naturally, aesthetics are also a priority, as customers demand higher quality and more realistic outcomes. As material development continues and competition starts to rise, these materials are becoming increasingly accessible to dental labs, large and small, across the globe. “We’re also seeing that there is a greater demand for very high aesthetic material,” Peter added. “Glass-based ceramics, high aesthetics, that’s definitely a trend coming in. There’s also a lot of development going on to improve denture work which is the biggest part by far for the dental industry in the UK.” 

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FRAUNHOFER ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

LEFT: Factory Floor at RWTH Aachen where the StreetScooter was designed and prototyped

VORSPRUNG

DURCH TECHNIK Daniel O’Connor headed to Aachen to see how German additive manufacturing is being served a fillip by the Fraunhofer institute.

ust as i set about typing this story up from my notes I happened to be watching the news, it is reporting the closure of several steelworks in Britain as one of the last bastions of British manufacturing crumbles under the weight of a marketplace that has seen the price of a tonne of steel fall below that of a tonne of cabbages. As I headed to the opening of the Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing (ACAM) it was German industry that was taking a blow as the controversy surrounding VW’s erroneous emissions escalated. Yet, judging by the presentations and exhibitions throughout the day, Germany is already preparing for an industry that may look very different in several years time, they call it “Industrie 4.0” and ACAM is a living, breathing example of the country’s forward thinking when it comes to its manufacturing base. ACAM is a strategic partnership between German organisations such as Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and KEX Knowledge Exchange. Its aim is to explore the opportunities that additive technologies afford towards industry 4.0 by embedding machine suppliers, software engineers, research fellows and users into a campus culture in order to further advance Germany’s standing in advanced manufacturing.



LEFT: Skizze eGO life



LEFT: PM Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing ACAM Kick-off 2015 Bild2

An example of what can be achieved using a collaborative approach like this is the e.GO StreetScooter electric car that was developed at the logistics cluster campus at RWTH Aachen University. Prof. Günther Schuh, member of the board of directors, Fraunhofer IPT, is very proud of the achievement in a debut automotive outing: “We wanted to prove that it is possible even in a high-wage country like Germany, to have a purpose designed electrical car that has lower total cost of ownership than a traditional car with a combustion engine,” said Prof. Schuh as he addressed the crowd. “Around 30% of the prototype pieces in the development process were

additively manufactured. We reduced the development time, even though we are not experienced car manufacturers, by around 50% and even more important the overall investment including the production line was €34m. An established car company would spend €300 - €400m to achieve the same thing.” Many of the additive industry’s big players were at the launch of centre including SLM Solutions and Concept Laser, two German machine manufacturers, who are set to benefit from the ACAM campus concept. ACAM aims to help manufacturing companies – from large concerns via medium-sized companies down to small enterprises – employ the additive manufacturing method usefully and profitably for their production processes. This will not only help out manufacturing companies but the machine makers themselves, in particular those aforementioned. “The campus conept means we as researchers want to allow the leaders of industry, to guide us,” explained Prof. Schuh. “To give us the relevant research questions instead of what academia typically does; defining the research topics and questions alone.” This is, in fact, what the Fraunhofer institutes have always done so well in Germany; linked research to industry in order to protect and enhance manufacturing since 1949. Institutes like the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, UK, show that we, here in Britain, are attempting to replicate those methods but with a dilapidated ship-building industry and a collapsing steelworks one does wonder if this is a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.  DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

Jörg Lenz COLUMN ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Jörg Lenz is the Collaborative Projects Coordinator at EOS GmbH and AM HAS BEEN his life passion for almost 23 yearS. Currently he is the chairman of the ISO/Technical Committee 261 on Additive Manufacturing and also member of the Executive Board in ASTM F42, co-chair of the German DIN NA 145-04-01AA and member of the VDI FA105 on AM.

Standardisation for Additive Manufacturing:

offering guidance, explanation and reliability

WO R D S : J ö r g L e n z

(AM) is currently experiencing an unprecedented hype. A lot of people - from politics, associations, analysts to the public press and social networks though very often refer to it as “3D printing”. For an explanation of the difference in wording between AM and 3D Printing ISO/ASTM 52900 and ISO 17296-2:2015 can give guidance. Some predict the replacement of conventional manufacturing by additive technologies. On the other hand, as AM enters production environments, in the future we’ll see more and more applications combining conventional and additive technologies in existing production environments. This already shows the multiple dilemmas that AM technology is facing and it becomes even more important to continuously educate the market. In this context, standardisation can offer additional guidance for those willing to invest in the technology and supports them in making an educated investment decision. Standards, by definition, offer a set of rules decided upon by consensus of all persons involved and are based on a regulated standardisation process. At the same time they are meant to represent the current state of science and technology. As such, standards provide a good overview on AM technologies as well as defining conditions and characteristics and supporting customer enablement. They provide an additional level of reliability and safety, at the same time dispelling concerns about the unknown that every new technology is facing in the beginning. Additive technologies are currently facing an unprecedented hype yet not at every stage of market development the technology is ready for the introduction of standards. In some cases, standards can even endanger the evolution of Additive Manufacturing into a true manufacturing technology by raising expectation too high at too early a stage. Industrial AM technologies are ready for standardisation, as this market segment has reached a certain level of market maturity. Here, standards can offer true guidance and explanation. Consumer 3D printing, on the dditive

manufacturing

ABOVE:

Jörg Lenz

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is currently experiencing an unprecedented hype.

contrary, is still facing a lot of inflated expectations and isn’t yet ready for standards. For the industrial segment, an overview of the various technologies, capabilities, also limitations, characteristics and conditions was one of the first standards that was introduced first by the German Association of German Engineers (VDI) in 2003. Since then the VDI committees constantly continued to develop guides involving all relevant experts in Germany, including machine vendors like EOS. The German DIN prepares those papers and submits them to ISO/Technical Committee 261 as new work items. Together with ASTM F42 and based upon a first-time-ever Partner Standards Development Organization (PSDO) agreement between both organisations, unique AM standards are being developed. The newly established CEN/TC 438* will take them over via Vienna Agreement*, and very soon the first ISOASTM-EN standards on AM will be published. Every national body has its mirror committee where the national experts collaborate in developing standards. ISO/TC 261* and ASTM F42* have agreed on a common strategy in the ISO/TC 261 business plan, also available on their website. Associations and other organisations, but also committees of the Standards Development Organizations (SDO) already involved, have started with additional or competing activities. The challenge is to integrate these initiatives into the overall strategy with the goal not to duplicate efforts and lose experts in too many committees. Already existing conventional standards must be considered. Many of them are also applicable for AM, some need only small supplements. Experts prefer this over re-inventing the wheel. Also cooperation with the corresponding committees makes sense and saves expert resources. To the same extent as AM shows its potential for series manufacturing applications in aerospace, automotive or medical already today, also certification issues arise. Standards and guides give valuable support in this field.  * For all the relevant links in this article please visit http://mytct.co/JoergLenz

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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TCT SHOW REVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

TCT SHOW + PERSONALIZE 2015:

THE REVIEW

TCT Group Editor Daniel O’Connor talks us through his two days at TCT Show + Personalize 2015 held on 30th September and 1st October at the Birmingham NEC.

The last day of September 2015 saw the opening of the 20th edition of TCT Show + Personalize, Event Sales Manager for the show, John Jones, turned to me after an hour of the doors opening and said: “Hear that buzz? That’s the sound of a great show”. He wasn’t wrong this truly was the biggest and best TCT Show to date. I know reading this you’ll no doubt think ‘Well they would say that, it’s their show.’ So I’ll leave it to the words of a visitor: “Really first class show with a superbly diverse collection of stands and state of the art presentations. Excellent.” Stephen Suddell, Key Account Manager, Assystem UK Ltd ‘It’s easy to find one quote’. Okay, How about another?

“TCT + Personalize remains the only place to experience the full breadth and depth of 3D printing application and innovation. It remains a must attend show.” Christopher Barnett, Futurist, ExplainingTheFuture.com One for the road: “I’d been out of the 3D printing loop for a few of years and was astonished by what I saw at the TCT Show. It was amazing to see how the technologies have advanced in such a short period of time. When I finally walked through the exit I was left with a lot of thinking to do. I had attended with a view to upgrading my printing facilities (which I did), but was presented with a whole new range of business opportunities and some extremely interesting new ideas. What I’ve also found useful, is that many of the companies have, as promised, contacted me subsequently, continuing the discussions we had at the show. It’s probably very dangerous, but I shall be back in 2016.” Ian Pearson, Technical Director, Peas In A Pod

Sharing what 3D printing can do with people and seeing their enthusiasm is what I love about trade shows.

That final quote, to me, sums up TCT Show and the reason communities have grown over the years. Twenty years ago the show was held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, UK there were more exhibitors this year than visitors to that event. Those that spent time talking to Ian genuinely cared, their warmth and dedication have inspired Ian to, in turn, become a bigger part of the community. Andy Middleton, President at Stratasys EMEA, told me beforehand how exhibitions were the lifeblood to companies in this industry, saying: “Sharing what 3D printing can do with people and seeing their enthusiasm is what I love about trade shows. You get a very strong feeling of

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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TCT SHOW REVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Another record breaking year for TCT saw more exhibitors than ever before — including the most 3D printing machine manufacturers ever assembled under one roof.

purpose when you’re at a trade show because you’re imparting knowledge and experience to people who take a huge benefit from it.” IN NUMBERS The figures for the show speak for themselves; over 6,000 attendees – a record for a two day TCT Show; over 200 exhibitors showing in excess of 70 different 3D printing and additive manufacturing machines, from £1m metal machinery to £500 desktop printers; 1,500 spectators watching over 30 speakers in both the main conference arena and seminar theatre; and over 300 school children becoming indoctrinated into the next-generation of leads during our Inspired Minds sessions. The moment you walked through hall 3A’s doors at the NEC, Birmingham you were greeted by this issue’s cover star, Strakka Racing’s Le Mans 24 DOME S103 LMP2 car. The

car is like a best of album for 3D printing; not only were parts rapidly prototyped, not only are there several FDM end-use parts externally and internally but also large swathes of the tooling was 3D printed in order to cope with quick reactions to regulatory penalties. “The FIA took issue with our door system,” Strakka Racing Team Principal, Dan Walmsley told me. “Very late in the day we had to develop a new system, 3D printing the jigs and fixtures meant we were able to have a totally new and compliant system within days.” It’s the kind of project that gets off the ground at TCT, it’s almost as if you could see the light bulbs appearing above visitor’s heads as they spoke to Stratasys about implementing PolyJet machines for injection moulding needs, or Concept Laser about topological metal design, or the RepRap Hub about building their own machine for less than £300, or inquiring to 3D Print Bureau about the first ever showing of Carbon3D parts at a trade show. TCT Show is the place to do business.

Duncan Wood, our C.O.O and Event Director at Rapid News Publications Ltd, commented: “Another record breaking year for TCT saw more exhibitors than ever before — including the most 3D printing machine manufacturers ever assembled under one roof — take part in the 20th anniversary event. A resulting increase in floor space, more international visitors and solid growth again in overall visitor numbers when compared to the last two-day event in 2013 ensures the UK event continues to be the benchmark and one from which we can continue our global expansion. We are delighted with the feedback from our visitors this year, which we believe proves that TCT Show remains among the most valuable dates in any designer, engineer or manufacturing professional’s diary.” As part of the team that organise the show you barely get time to put your head above the parapet and come 5pm on October 1st I genuinely couldn’t believe it had finished, fortunately we’ll be doing it all over again next year. TCT Show + Personalize 2016 takes place 28th to 29th September at the NEC, Birmingham.

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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TCT CONFERENCE REVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

UTIONS

TCT SHOW + PERSONALIZE 2015:

CONFERENCE REVIEW WORDS : JIM WOODCOCK

T AL SIBLANI

his year’s TCT Conference in the UK was a significant milestone for the TCT team and the industry as a whole, marking as it did the 20th edition of the industrydefining event. Now surrounded by an exhibition featuring hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors, the UK conference remains central to the TCT mission — helping our community assess and adopt 3D technologies — and year-on-year it attracts a line up of speakers that is the envy of conferences globally. Where the 1996 event heralded a brave but somewhat limited new world of opportunities, the 20th edition dealt with a more established, better known but by no means less exciting group of technologies. As has become tradition, the conference opened with executive keynotes — inspirational tales of swashbuckling on the high seas of 3D printing and (educated) crystal ball gazing — from veterans and newcomers alike. The first day saw Al Siblani, CEO of EnvisionTEC take to the TCT stage for the first time. While other companies have sought the limelight and been proactive bandwagon jumpers, EnvisionTEC have deliberately and with little fuss built up one of the largest install bases in 3D printing. Famous for its DLP technology, which brought a new level of detail to the additive world, EnvisionTEC has grown and diversified with offerings now including 3D bioprinting. Siblani’s own story goes back to the days of Laminate Object Manufacturing and the long-defunct Helisys Corporation. Siblani’s oratory entertained and educated in equal measure — be sure check out the video of his talk at

http://mytct.co/AlSiblani

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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TCT CONFERENCE REVIEW

MAX LOBOVSKY

Day two was kicked off in style by Max Lobovsky of Formlabs fame. Formlabs and Max himself are difficult to pigeonhole as either newcomer or veteran and sit somewhere in between. On the one hand they have only just released the second iteration of their Form series of desktop SLA printers, on the other they seem to have changed the 3D printing landscape completely since raising an unprecedented $2.95 million for launch of the Form 1 in 2012. It’s been a bumpy road at times but Max explained how the company’s mission — bringing SLA to the desktop — is still very much front and centre, exemplified by the Form2 which was on show during the TCT Show exhibition. To follow Max we introduced Conor MacCormack to the stage bringing his vision for the future of 3D printing, which he believes lies in the classroom not on the production floor. Certainly the developments that Mcor are making to their line of paper-based 3D printers would back up this enthusiasm for education. The combination of full colour and safe materials is certainly appealing for anyone trying to engage the next generation. The rest of the two days was dedicated to users and those looking to help take the industry to the next level. Of those the Autodesk Spark and 3MF Consortium presentations displayed again the strong collaborative nature of the industry. The work on a new file format, led by the 3MF Consortium, could impact on the whole

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Following on from the history of EnvisionTEC came a not only a fresh face but also a new perspective in the form of HP’s Scott Schiller. HP have been on the periphery of the industry since they announced that they would be joining the AM world in earnest in October 2014, and have recently been ramping up their participation at industry events. Their booth at TCT and activity on stage demonstrated a humility and willingness to learn from the existing industry that reflects the closeknit nature of the AM world at the moment. Whether it’s the Rep-Rap project or seemingly the highest level, learning from each other is still the most powerful way.

CONOR MACCORMACK

Of the users on stage this year, Kieron Salter of KWSP’s talk on using AM to develop an Le Mans Race Car, Prof. Iain Todd’s presentation on materials design and the joint presentation by Lotus and Boeing garnered a lot of interest ahead of the event.

industry and it was heartening to see Autodesk, HP, Microsoft, Stratasys, SLM Solutions, Netfabb, Stratasys, 3D Systems, Materialise and Dassault Systèmes all represented at the TCT Show. Of the users on stage this year, Kieron Salter of KWSP’s talk on using AM to develop an Le Mans Race Car, Prof. Iain Todd’s presentation on materials design and the joint presentation by Lotus and Boeing garnered a lot of interest ahead of the event. All three sessions proved to be valuable for anyone in the automotive and aerospace industries but also for anyone looking to gain insight into how AM is developed and deployed at the very highest levels. The spirit of collaboration was again in evidence throughout. Medical applications of 3D printing are always impressive because of the immediacy of the benefits — talks from Sutrue, Xilloc and Cardiff Metropolitan University student Poppy Farrugia show perfectly the breadth of applications within this area. Sutrue’s Alex Berry kicked off with a presentation on the automated suturing devices after which the company is named. The speed at which the product has been developed, and the amount of input from the surgery community has all been made possible thanks to the company’s desktop SLA system. Carsten Engel then followed up with the state-of-the-art in customised implants in a variety of materials, explaining how the technology is developing to allow more patients access to life changing implants. His representation of the engineer vs surgeon dichotomy was also enlightening. Finally Poppy Farrugia of Cardiff Metropolitan University gave a fascinating presentation on her work to enable disabled sports people to use sport orthotics that meet their expectations. The work demonstrates how 3D technologies can engage people to work with experts to solve their own problems like never before, thanks to the immediacy of the technologies. In total 23 presentations were made at the 2015 edition of the conference, each shining light on a different aspect of this fascinating industry and the even more fascinating industries it serves. You can see all of the presentations on mytct.co/ TCTConference2015 DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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TCT SHOW



BELOW: A penny for the thoughts of some of these minds at TCT Show.



BELOW: Strakka Racing’s Le Mans 24 car was a key feature at the entrance of this year’s TCT Show.



RIGHT: The force was strong at TCT Show as XRobots’ James Brurton showcased his 3D printed R9 Droid.



ABOVE: People were keen to learn about the UK debut of the Form 2 on the Formlabs’ booth.



BELOW:

EnvisionTEC’s Al Siblani packed out the opening keynote to the TCT Conference Programme.

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BELOW: Crowds gathered around stands to see what 3D technologies could offer them.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

ABOVE: TCT’s 3D Printing in Action Zone was host

to an array of fascinating 3D printing projects including the Staffordshire Hoard…



… as well as other precious items like this ring from Weston Beamor.

BELOW: Jade Crompton’s Digital Ceramics collection was proudly on display at TCT from 3D printed prototype to traditionally manufactured final parts.



ABOVE: This Alien model on Tri-Tech 3D’s booth showed how a 3D printed base part can be finished by hand in order to make a spectacular piece.



BELOW: Inspiring the next generation of visitors and potential exhibitors.



LEFT: Digits 2 Widgets’ 3D printed Le Corbusier’s Chapel was purposely remodelled so as the roof and interior could be seen by all at TCT.

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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in partnership with

Direct Precious Metal 3D Printing technology for the jewellery and watchmaking industries. Whatever’s in your mind, make it real.

See the Precious M 080 at Formnext Frankfurt 17th–20th November

Cooksongold stand 3.1 – G73

The Precious M 080 is the most advanced direct precious metal 3D printing system, which enables the creation of jewellery and watch components previously impossible to successfully manufacture from existing processes. Working closely with the M 080 are Cooksongold’s Advanced Metal Powders in 18k yellow, white and red gold. With 950 platinum and 925 silver coming soon.

The M 080 is designed to: • Increase designer freedom • Realise designs in just a few hours • Ensure maximum precious metal accountability • Remove the need for investment tooling. With our comprehensive service package, the technology provides end-to-end manufacturing and the only dedicated solution for jewellery and watchmaking...

making the impossible possible.

Call: 0121 233 8192 for more information now or visit: www.cooksongold-emanufacturing.com 4186 DMLS TCT 192x136 type area_AW.indd 1

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

15/10/2015 18:20

FORMLABS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES



RIGHT: The Form 2 Printer

Finding

FORM WOR DS : DA NIE L O’ C ON NOR

et’s make something clear if you search my previous articles on tctmagazine.com you’ll find that I am something of a Formlabs fanboy. To me, its not that the product is shiny and marketing is sleek, it’s the triumph over adversity that I admire most. The fallout after an incredible crowdfunding campaign in 2012 was foreboding; there was a well-documented lawsuit with 3D Systems and issues aplenty with manufacturing that led to delays in shipment of the Form 1. You don’t have to stray far from Formlabs to find a ship that has floundered under the weight of a successful Kickstarter campaign - Pirate3D. It would appear that Pirate3D is sinking, leaving hundreds, potentially thousands, of backers machine less and out of pocket. Only 40% of machine orders have been fulfilled and cofounder, Brendan Goh, said that the company has ran out of funds because of shipment costs and spending too much money on R&D. This is in stark contrast to Formlabs, who not only fulfilled all the orders but also have gone on to launch two new products in a similar timeframe. The latest of those is the Form 2 and I was privy to a sneak preview and demo of the machine with Formlabs’ Will Walker shortly before its UK debut at TCT Show + Personalize 2015 in September. The new machine confounds assertions made about Pirate3D that a small company cannot compete in the 3D printing market. ››

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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POLYGON MESH PROCESSING

Polygonica Software FAST AUTOMATIC ROBUST

17 – 20 NOVEMBER 2015

HALL 3.1

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

STAND D72

polygonica.com

038

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

FORMLABS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

LEFT: F2 Ecosystem

“The three things we’ve achieved with the Form 2 are; improving the reliability, building the technology from the ground up, and giving the users more freedom to print larger parts with greater detail,” explained Walker. “You get everything that you’re paying for.” SEEING IS BELIEVING The machine itself is what we’ve come to expect from Formlabs, a functional design that wouldn’t look out of place in any Bay Area hipster office. Other than a slightly increased footprint and a touchscreen display the first thing you notice is the resin cartridge system at the back. Resembling a jerrycan of sorts, the cartridge fits snugly in place and automatically fills the tray with required amounts of desired resin for your print. Anyone who has used a Formlabs machine will see this as something of a godsend; not having to handle the resin, not having to pour in an amount and come back to top up during a bigger print will save hours of messing round. The machine also has a way for keeping that resin usable for longer.

“The biggest change is the new wiper system, it stirs the resin after every print, what that does is it helps the resin become one continuous liquid mixture whereas before, with the Form 1, you’d have resin building up around the edges of your print that would be partially cured, if you had a very large print you might start to see bits of it floating off and causing failures in your print,” Walker continued. “The tank itself is now heated, it warms up the resin to get the temperature up to a certain level so if you’re working in a colder area the resin will still function normally. Heating the tank also reduced the force happening in the machine. “ The team have also heeded criticism that other desktop 3D printer manufacturers faced when closing the device, the cartridge

system is there for anyone who puts easeof-use ahead of the ability to tinker but the machine is also open to pouring in your own third-party, resin in the way one would with the previous Formlabs machines. WHEN BORING IS GOOD The parts on display made by Will Walker’s demo unit are varied, you have huge, hefty Tough Resin examples that showcase the machine’s 42% bigger build volume and over 30 intricate ring designs in Castable Resin printed on one build platform. “I had an interesting talk with Max (Formlabs co-founder and CEO Maxim Lobovsky) when I was a year in at Formlabs,” Walker reminisced. “He said to me: ‘the bittersweet part of what we do is that we’re going to make these machines boring.’ They’re going to go from being this sexy, most exciting thing in the room to becoming the part of our lives everyday. That will happen when using the machine is as simple as making a cup of tea, that’s our vision. ››

RIGHT:

Form 2 parts

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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PUSHING THE ENVELOPE FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

The Arcam Q20 represents the 3rd generation EBM technology. It is a manufacturing equipment specifically designed for production of components for the aerospace industry. Key Features: • Arcam LayerQam™ for build verification • Latest generation EB gun • Closed powder handling

www.arcam.com

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

FORMLABS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

LEFT: Form2 build platform



BELOW: Form2 parts and cartridges

“Using the machine will only become easier and as an artist it is freedom because you get your time back from diagnosing what is wrong with the machine and put that back into your designs.” At TCT Show we caught up with Max, who said of the Form 2: “The Kickstarter was a bit of an experiment, it is amazing to get to go back and build the machine we wanted to build the first time around but didn’t have the resources or all of the user feedback.” FROM PROSUMER TO PRO-USER Whereas other machine manufacturers have chased the consumer dream Formlabs quickly understood from the start that their users would be what the wider world calls the ‘prosumer’, the kind of people who buy Mac Pros or Canon DSLR cameras, the Adobe Creative Cloud users, the kind of people who are using high-end technology for professional reasons. “We have mechanical engineers, industrial product designers, jewellers using our castable resins to make final pieces of jewellery,” Max continued. “We have people in the movie and gaming industry who print out characters that they’re working on… It really is a wide range of users.” There’s a selection of superusers that Formlabs love, stories like the Sutrue device by Alex Berry that featured in a previous issue of TCT and in the main conference programme at TCT Show.

the bittersweet part of what we do is that we’re going to make these machines boring.

“I’m amazed at the number of people who are building companies around the machine,” enthused Will Walker. “Companies like Marble in Bristol (UK), they’re making high-end autonomous drones that are designed for surveying or map-making that are fixed wing, not propeller driven. If you’re crazy about aviation you’ll know that fixed wing is the best for fuel efficiency, so if you need to make an extended aerial survey you need fixed wing. They’ve been building with a Form 1+ and they’re doing things with aerospace that you can’t make in any other way, they’re using a style of structure called geodetics, which almost looks like overlapping crossed plates built into the wing but everything is hollow so everything is very low weight with very high stiffness. They use the 3D printer to build the crumple zones.” As the Form 2 takes off and other rivals sink, it is easy to see why I’ve become such a Formlabs fanboy and the offer of Will Walker to come and see its Massachusetts-based facility, where there are “teams of people whose job it is just to check that boards are working” will almost certainly be taken up by yours truly and not just because of the enticing free bar nights the company puts on for its now 100-strong team. For more information visit www.FORMLABS.com

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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EOS e-Manufacturing Solutions

Visit us at: formnext 2015 Hall 3.1 Booth F70

Tool insert and injection moulding component. (source: Innomia, Magna)

EOS Additive Manufacturing: Productive and Flexible Tooling Solutions EOS Additive Manufacturing enables highly productive, flexible, individualized tooling solutions. It allows complex forms and functional integration: conformal cooling channels result in reduced cycle time, lower scrap rates and attractive costs per part. Please read the full EOS customer case study and scan the QR-code below.

www.eos.info

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SOLIDWORKS ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

WOR D S : LAURA G R IFFITH S

VISUALIZE THE Future

owered by Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform, the latest iteration of the 3D design and engineering applications portfolio, features a new user interface, tools and process enhanced to help designers and engineers get their ideas from concept to final product faster than ever before. When TCT caught up with SolidWorks The theme of SolidWorks CEO Gian Paulo Bassi earlier this year, 2016 is, ‘Make he commented on how there is “a lot of Great Design reinventing the wheel in CAD” and not Happen’ enough learning or building on the way were and that is problems solved in the past. being pushed With enhanced through new and enhanced p r o d u c t i v i t y and automation capabilities features, it looks that are like SolidWorks helping a 2016 is taking community c o n s i d e r a b l e of 2.7 million strides to turn that strong users around. innovate more With a strong efficiently global user-base and get their that spans 80 ideas realised countries, more faster. than 90% of new features and enhancements in the 2016 portfolio were fuelled by user feedback and requests. New features include the ability to flatten any surface, visualise and validate design performance, more efficient communication with manufacturing, quick creation of marketing-quality images, and more easily accessible commands. The design process has been enhanced to reduce time and effort to achieve desired geometries, increase modelling flexibility and access commands. Key features include a new sweep command to create complex shapes faster than ever before and a breadcrumbs tool to allow quick access to any model without viewing the Feature Tree, which also reduces the level of mouse travel needed to complete a task. Problems can be solved much more quickly with more efficient analysis to visualise and verify functionality and detect potential errors. Industrial design has also been made more proactive with powerful tools for increased productivity and reduction in steps to improve design for consumer products and soft goods.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes is in visualisation with SolidWorks Visualize, (formerly Bunkspeed), essentially the “camera” that enables users to generate and collaborate with high quality graphics. SolidWorks Visualize has been created for anyone who needs to create professional photo-quality, images, animations, and other 3D content in the fastest and easiest way possible. The tool is hardware-agnostic, which means designers, engineers, and content creators who use SolidWorks or other CAD creation tools for product, architectural, mechanical, and other designs can produce an enhanced 3D decision making experience . On the latest iteration of the software, Gian Paulo, commented: “As the next generation of products emerges, SolidWorks advanced capabilities help millions of design professionals, educators, students and ‘makers’ efficiently innovate in product design, simulation, technical communication and data management.” Of course one of the key attributes of good product design software is the ability to ensure it is manufacturable. SolidWorks 2016 is taking the speculation out of 3D printing and allows users to run a preview, identify where supports are needed and see what their printed parts will look like. Better integrated design and manufacturing processes are helping to fasttrack design to manufacture and reduce product costs with simplified 3D printing in AMF and 3MF formats and smarter cost estimation that lets users know when they have exceeded target costs. Enhancements have been made across all aspects of the portfolio including SolidWorks Electrical to enable easy collaboration between schematic and 3D design, Simulation to make automatic bonding of edges a massive 370x faster than in 2015 and powerful data management to enable more time for design. Overall, SolidWorks 2016 provides a smarter set of tools at every step of the product development process that allow creatives and engineers to concentrate on innovation, design and getting products to market much faster. 

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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International exhibition and conference on additive technologies and tool making

Frankfurt am Main, 17– 20 November 2015 formnext.com

Think global. Act Frankfurt. Representatives from the tool/form-making and additive technologies/ 3D printing sectors as well as their suppliers and partners will be showcasing their expertise to trade visitors from around the world at formnext in Frankfurt from 17 – 20 November 2015. Benefit from this fascinating new exhibition concept in one of the world’s most spectacular halls.

Where ideas take shape.

For further information, call +49 711 61946-825 or write to formnext@mesago.com

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

DESKTOP 3D SLM PRINTING VISIT ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Daniel O’Connor got on a boat cruise with SLM Solutions to see how ship-shape the metal 3D printing machine manufacturer is.

Travemunde Tales

t was travelling up the River Trave from medieval

Lübeck to Germany’s favourite beach resort, Travemünde that I realised how multinational SLM Solutions’ user base is, perhaps it was the first time during the day that I was able to put my head above the parapet having been buried in a technical difficulty surrounding a presentation I was set to give about the state of the market, but the open water and still air gave me a fresh perspective on the people I’d been surrounded by. On the boat trip laid on by the metal additive machine manufacturer I heard the subtle tone differences between Russian, Polish and German in stark contrast to the Japanese and Chinese tongues, and that was just VP Global Marketing and Communications, Stefan Ritt! The event was SLM Solutions SLM500 User Group Meeting; the feedback from the global gathered users has allowed SLM to make advancements on its flagship metal powder additive manufacturing machine, the SLM 500HL. The improvements include the option to equip up to 4x 400W lasers, a patented bi-directional powder recoating system that can increase build speed by up to 50%, closed loop powder handling, a removable build volume with modular design and much more.

We are pleased to be growing continuously and on a broad basis within a dynamic market environment: our customers operate in the aerospace, energy, automotive and medical technology sectors.

The two-day event included a tour of SLM’s new Demonstration Centre at the Lübeck HQ where the users were able to see the new features of then SLM 500HL system in action. The second day was jam-packed with user presentations from luminaries such as Chris Krampitz of UL (read an interview with Chris on page 77), Prof. Claus Emmelmann of Lazer Centrum Nord and Kevin Czinger of Divergent Factories. It was Czinger’s presentation I found most eyecatching, the CEO of Divergent Microfactories divulged how the company is dematerialising auto manufacturing with its 3D printed supercar. Czinger was able to bring along metal parts made using an SLM Solutions machine of the 3D printed chassis in a holdall bag, as if it were flat-pack furniture from Ikea. From one car manufacturer hoping to unsettle the automotive industry to another hoping not to rock the boat any further, VW’s Thomas Stein took to the SLM stage just days before the emissions scandal went public and days after VW admitted to EPA that it had deliberately installed the infamous software in its cars. Not that one could have possibly known from a well-oiled presentation showcasing how the German giant is currently using additive manufacturing processes and how it intends to use them in the future. After the sessions it was to that multi-lingual boat journey, the sheer scope of SLM’s customer base was as evident on the boat as it is in the company’s most recent financial report showing that it has more than doubled its new order intake during the first nine months of 2015 to reach EUR 41.8 million. SLM Solutions’ CEO, Dr. Markus Rechlin, said: “We are pleased to be growing continuously and on a broad basis within a dynamic market environment: our customers operate in the aerospace, energy, automotive and medical technology sectors. This includes names like the dental technology firm SLS France or the American aerospace supplier Sintavia. Sintavia, is going to use three such machines to build lighter aircraft parts.”  DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

045

Stereolithography Moldfreeps®

Free form parts for the development and series production save time and money

custom-made

The right material for your applications

FIND US

Booth 3.1 G77

Stereolithography Resins Material

SL (EP) 1700

SL (EP) 1900

SL (EP) 2000

SL (EP) 2100

SL (EP) 2700

SL (EP) 3000

SL (EP) 3300

SLA 7000

SLA Viper Si²

500 x 500 x 370 20 x 20 x 14.5

250x250x240 10x10x9

Normal 0.1 / 4

SL (EP) 9000

SLA Viper si²

ProJet 6000HD

SLA Viper si²

250 x 250 x 240 10 x 10 x 9

250 x 5250 x 120 10 x 10 x 4.7

250 x 250 x 120 10 x 10 x 4.7

Normal 0.1 / 4

SLA Viper si²

SLA Viper si² ProJet6000HD

Maximum build size

mm inch

250 x 250 x 120 10 x 10 x 4.5

250 x 250 x 240 10 x 10 x 9

Layer thickness

mm / mil

Normal 0.1 / 4

Tensile Modulus-Raster

MPa / ksi

1700 / 245

1900 / 275

2000 / 290

2100 / 305

2700 / 390

3000 / 435

3000 / 480

9000 / 1300

Tensile Modulus

MPa / ksi

1600 - 1800 230 - 260

1800 - 2000 260 - 290

1900 - 2100 275 - 305

2000 – 2200 290 – 320

2600 - 2800 375 - 405

2800 - 3200 405 - 465

3300 - 3400 480 - 495

8500 - 10000 1230 - 1450

Tensile strength at yield Tensile strain at break

MPa / ksi

43 – 47 / 6.2 – 6.8 43 – 47 / 6.2 – 6.8

50 – 55 / 7.2 – 8.0 45 – 50 / 6.5 – 7.2

50 – 55 / 7.2 – 8.0 35 – 40 / 5.0 – 5.8

50 – 60 / 7.2 – 8.7 45 – 55 / 6.5 – 8.0

60 – 65 / 8.7 – 9.5 50 – 60 / 7.2 – 8.7

– 55 – 65 / 8.0 – 9.5

– 70 – 85 / 10.1 – 12.3

Tensile strength at yield Tensile strain at break

4–5 10 – 15

3– 4 5 – 10

3–4 4–6

3– 4 10 – 20

3– 4 5–7

– 2–3

– 1–2

Machines

Hardness

Normal 0.1 / 4

HR 0.05 /2

eHR 0.025 /1

Normal 0.1 / 4

HR 0.05 /2

Shore D

75 – 80

80 – 85

92 – 94

Heat distortion temperature (HDT/A)

°C °F

40 – 45 100 – 115

40 – 45 105 – 115

45 – 50 100 – 115

60 – 110 140 – 230

80 – 120 175 – 250

Marginal temperatures

°C °F

-25 – +200 -10 – +400

-25 – +250 -10 – +480

-25 – +270 -10 – +500

-25 – +300 -10 – +570

g/cm³

1.13 – 1.20

1.15 – 1.20

1.12 – 1.15

1.17 – 1.23 white / yellowish

Very high stiffness very high dimensional accuracy harsh heat deflection stable

Density Colour of the parts

clear

gray

amber transluscent

Good strength and toughness good dimensional stability and surface reproduction

Good stiffness, strength and toughnessparts with thin walls

Good stiffness, strength and toughness parts with thin walls

Good strength and toughness high dimensional accuracy and surface reproduction parts with thin walls

High stiffness, heat deflection stable

PA66 PC PC+ABS

PA6/PA66 PC ABS

PC ABS PET

POM

PEEK

transluscent

gray

Tough , flexible good replication accuracy parts with thin walls

Good strength and toughness very high dimensional accuracy and surface reproduction parts with thin walls

PP PA12

PA6 / PA66 PC

Characteristics

Similarity with

filled polymers

THE COMPANY

The family company has specialised in the production of complicated small parts, which are characterised by high precision, fit and function. Offering a wide range of stereolithography materials, a variety of production (series) materials can be simulated. Twenty years of experience, a wide selection of materials and plant technology allow “The SL Pro” to respond to its customers different needs and desires. And it reacts quickly to requests with production of your parts within 24-hours wherever possible.

THE CONTACT

Joerg Griessbach – The SL PRO Am Hang 5 09244 Lichtenau Saxony / Germany info@the-sl-pro.com www.the-sl-pro.com +49 37208 882902

Create the future with Ricoh Join Ricoh’s daily presentations on: •

RICOH Rapid Fab

•

Ricoh AM S5500P

•

3D print for education

Visit us in Hall 3.1 Stand D20 046

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

DESKTOP FORMNEXT 3D PRINTING PREVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

SponSOred by

Forming insight AT

formnext

rife on the show floor and the place to get to grips with all that is new at formnext powered by tct is the conference programme. With over 20 years’ experience putting on 3D technologies conferences; tct brings to the stage a list of speakers to inspire formnext Daniel attendees into implementing O’Connor the technology into their looks business. forward to The programme is packed four days of full of the best speakers conferencing from the world of additive manufacturing and those from at formnext traditional manufacturing in powered by order to demonstrate how tct from the two seemingly disparate 17th-20th technologies are converging November at on factory floors across the the Frankfurt globe. The conference programme Messe. runs over the course of the four day show with Graham Tromans to open with his constantly updated “Introduction to Additive Technologies” session on 17th November. Conferencing concludes with a final day of further reading on the 20th November designed to help visitors take the long-term benefits from information garnered at both the conference and show floor. Sandwiched between the 18th and 19th November represents two days of top-level conferencing kicking off on the Wednesday with keynotes from EOS CEO, Hans Langer, with a talk on the company’s decades of risk and reward followed by Michael Breme, Audi’s Head of Toolmaking, for a presentation on the potential and application of metal 3D printing in the automotive industry. Following the opening will be our leading columnist and industry consultant Todd Grimm with his incredible ‘How to assess additive technologies’ presentation, a must see for anybody thinking of adopting AM into their business. Dr Kristian Arntz of Fraunhofer IPT is up after Todd hot on the heels of the German institute’s launch of the Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing, which Dr Arntz is heading up. nnovation will be

The programme is packed full of the best speakers from the world of additive manufacturing and those from traditional manufacturing in order to demonstrate how the two seemingly disparate technologies are converging on factory floors across the globe.

Thursday’s session opens with a keynote by David Reis, CEO of Stratasys. Stratasys has taken its largest ever stand at formnext and David will be on hand to talk to attendees about how 3D printing can truly change business models today and in the future. Other highlights include Scott Schiller of HP, Martin Friedrich of BMW, Heinz Gaub from Arburg, Ralf Becker of SCHUNK, Geoff McFarland from Renishaw and many many more. All conference sessions will be simultaneously translated between English and German ensuring the attendees get the full bang for their buck. Be sure not to miss out on what will be four days of insight and inspiration, head over to formnext.com/conference for the full programme as well as ticketing details.

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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FORMNEXT HALL 3 # D80

Industrial 3d printing solutions for casting applications YOUR PARTNER FOR

· 3d printed sand cores and mold packages · 3d printed patterns for investment casting · Industrial 3d printing equipment voxeljet AG Paul-Lenz-Straße 1a 86316 Friedberg Germany Tel +49 821-7483-100 Fax +49 821-7483-111 info @ voxeljet.com www.voxeljet.com Americas EMEA AsiaPaciﬁc

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

SponSOred by

FORMNEXT

PREVIEW

n case you haven’t noticed we’ve branched out a little luminaries such as Arburg and here at TCT; not content with running 20 years of TCT the laser manufacturer Trumpf Show + Personalize in the UK, a groundbreaking TCT will also be on hand at this year’s Asia in Shanghai as well as partnering with one of formnext. the world’s largest trade show in Las Vegas for CES, we “After less than a year of planted our roots in mainland Europe too. The next world preparation, we can already clock to go up in the office will display the time in Frankfurt, guarantee that the formnext Germany, as we gear up for the inaugural formnext premiere will be a five-star powered by TCT, which gets underway on the 17th through event,” declared Sascha Wenzler, to the 20th November in Messe Frankfurt. Head of Division for formnext at With the help of the world’s leaders in additive Mesago Messe Frankfurt, the manufacturing technologies, several world premieres, a exhibition organiser. “I have first-rate conference, and the unique “Audi Werkzeugbau” no doubt that we’ll be laying a exhibit, formnext powered by tct is poised to set new solid foundation for formnext’s global standards in hall 3.1. The exhibition on additive ongoing development in the technologies and tool and form-making will be looking years ahead along with our to fulfil its promise in becoming the leading international exhibitors, partners, visitors, and exhibition in the fields of modern product development the entire industry.” ›› and manufacturing. Formnext 2015 will demonstrate the full The debut event is scope of possibilities and technologies free if you register facilitated by the integration of additive before hand and all manufacturing and conventional techniques. of the information Those planning to attend can look forward is on formnext.com. to experiencing the next generation of product development and manufacturing. The the next couple of event will feature exhibitors representing the pages are just a global elite in industrial 3D printing, including taster of what you alphacam, 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC, EOS, HP, can expect from a Keyence, Prodways, Realizer, Renishaw, Ricoh, few of the companies Sisma, SLM, and Stratasys – the last of which on the show floor: is planning the largest stand that they have ever had at an exhibition in Europe. Industry

After less than a year of preparation, we can already guarantee that the formnext premiere will be a five-star event

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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makingACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Main, 17– 20 November 2015

obal. Act Frankfurt.

he tool/form-making and additive technologies/ well as their suppliers and partners will be tise to trade visitors from around the world at rom 17 – 20 November 2015.

nating new exhibition concept in one of the ar halls.

as take shape.

DESKTOP FORMNEXT 3D PRINTING PREVIEW

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

DESKTOP FORMNEXT 3D PRINTING PREVIEW

TRUMPF STAND #F20

AUDI WERKZEUGBAU (TOOLING) STAND #C10

Audi will be presenting its unique expertise at formnext in a promising exhibit entitled “Audi Werkzeugbau”, which will offer exclusive insights into product development in the automotive industry. This showcase will take visitors on a journey through the history of toolmaking at Audi up to current production techniques, including the latest trends in product development and a look at Industry 4.0. It will also demonstrate how generative technology is becoming part of toolmaking at the company and the opportunities such advances afford. 

Trumpf, the German laser manufacturer that employs in excess of 10,000, is set to launch new metal additive manufacturing machinery at formnext. The company will showcase machines that use powdered metal laser metal fusion (LMF) technology -popular with manufacturers such as Concept Laser, EOS, 3D Systems and SLM Solutions - as well as a machine that uses laser metal deposition (LMD) technology used by the likes of DM3D. “The introduction of these new 3D printers is an essential first step, since additive manufacturing will not only supplement production techniques in the future, but will also exert a formative influence on them,” explains Dr.-Ing. E.h. Peter Leibinger, Head of TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH. “We will be offering rugged and highly productive machinery with which small and medium-sized parts incorporating complex structures can be manufactured,” Leibinger adds. 

Th ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

SponSOred by

Repr 3D p show form

Bene worl

RICOH STAND #D20

Another debut at formnext will be Ricoh, the company has announced the launch of its first 3D printer under the Ricoh brand, an industrial selective laser sintering (SLS) machine, the RICOH AM S5500P. The RICOH AM S5500P is capable

ADDITIVE INDUSTRIES STAND #E28

Last November in the same location Additive Industries teased us with a giant wooden shipping box with the words “coming soon” plastered across the side. This year the Dutch manufacturer is set to unveil its first industrial 3D metal printing system, the MetalFAB1, at formnext. The Additive Industries team has been working on the development and realisation of an integrated metal additive manufacturing solution for industrial series production, since 2012. The modular MetalFAB1 system uses metal powder bed fusion technology and has a broad range of new features like fully automated build plate and product handling, multiple full field lasers, continuous in-process calibration and integrated heat treatment. Additive Industries promises an unrivalled productivity, reproducibility and flexibility. 

MACHINEWORKS STAND #D72 of producing high-definition, durable parts. The machine features a large build area of 550 mm (W) × 550 mm (D) × 500 mm (H) and is capable of producing different kinds of parts at the same time, as well as mould large parts all at once. In addition to the polymer powder materials commonly used with SLS technology, such as PA11 and PA12, universally applicable materials PA6 and Polypropylene can also be used. 

MachineWorks will be demoing the latest edition of its popular polygon processing software, Polygonica, at formnext. On display there will be some of the information, latest features ofFor the further upcoming v1.3 release such as tools for feature recognition the user call +49 711 allowing 61946-825 or towrite extract geometric shape data from a surface mesh automatically. 

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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to for

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

FORMNEXT PREVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

STRATASYS STAND #G40

SponSOred by

If you’re visiting the event it is unlikely that you’ll miss the Stratasys booth given its colossal scope. It is the biggest exhibition space the company has ever taken and the first time that they have brought all arms of the company together in one place. MakerBot, Solidscape, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and Stratasys Strategic Consulting will be together as one in what some are calling “The Stratasys Village”. The company has gone through a rebranding exercise of late and a new logo means that the formnext stand will be something totally new. For a more in depth look at the Stratasys booth turn to pages 8 and 9. 

ARBURG STAND #E30

One of the world’s largest manufacturers of plastics processing machines heads to formnext armed with two Freeformers – the company’s flagship additive manufacturing machine. Juliane Hehl, Managing Partner at Arburg said: “Frankfurt is easy to reach from any part of the world. Here, our customers will meet us at the usual place and time, and we will present to them the potential of our innovative Freeformer.” 

RENISHAW STAND #E60

This time last year the British engineering company announced the EVO Project, a metal additive manufacturing machine designed specifically for production manufacturing. It is the first additive manufacturing system designed and engineered in-house and reflects 40 years of experience in supplying high-quality equipment to demanding global manufacturing businesses. At formnext Renishaw will unveil the fruits of a year-long labour. 

REALIZER STAND #E31

You might spot an advert towards the front of this issue teasing the release of a new Realizer machine. The German metals machine manufacturer are set to bring the modernised and completely revised versions of the SLM 50, and the SLM 250 / SLM 300 to formnext. Realizer’s engineers have been working hard in 2015 in order to bring the latest technology to additive manufacturing. 

RAUCH CNC MANUFAKTUR STAND G70

Rauch CNC Manufaktur GmbH & Co KG has announced it will showcase its world-first 3D printing services with PEEK-filament at formnext. Since 2013, the German-based company has been providing additive manufacturing services with PEEK materials using EOS SLS technology. The organic, thermoplastic polymer possesses unique properties that make it a great fit for industries such as aerospace, medical engineering or offshore applications. In order to expand its PEEK 3D printing services, Rauch recently installed a newly developed FFF-system designed for working with high-performance-polymer PEEK. The company is the first service provider in the world to offer 3D printing services with PEEKfilament and will present a selection of parts made using the material at the inaugural formnext exhibition. In addition to the company exhibitions, the importance of choosing the right basic materials for a component will be illustrated at formnext 2015 in a special exhibit called “From Basic Material to Component”. It will also demonstrate the use of materials for both conventional production (such as injection moulding) and additive production processes. With select exhibits and eyecatching examples – from toothbrushes and eyeglass lenses to aircraft parts and brake discs – the showcase will highlight innovative solutions for the future.  DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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PERSONALIZE

Incredibly this is the final issue of TCT before Christmas so it’s only right to dedicate this Personalize Printing Press to some of the best 3D printed/able gifts on the market.

PRINTING PRESS 0 Euro The gift money can’t buy for the person who has everything… sorry that should be ‘the money gift that can’t buy you anything’. Bert De Niel’s design is unique in that it is made from i.materialise’s 19th material, Copper. Lost-wax cast in the same way the consumer arm of the Belgian 3D printing giant produces its gold, silver, bronze and brass materials, copper conducts heat and electricity and even develops a green patina like that of the Statue of Liberty. 

World of Tanks The online multiplayer game, in which users design their own tanks and do battle, holds a Guinness World Record for Most Players Online Simultaneously. There are over 75 million registered users and 3D printing platform, Sandboxr acquired the license to turn your online tanks into full colour, one-off models made using 3D Systems Z-Corp technology. Tanks a plenty are now available to customise on Amazon’s 3D Printing Store. 

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As mentioned in the Carnivorous Coffee Cup blurb, there’s a pretty big movie event happening this Christmas. JJ Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to smash all box office records and designer Anthony Herrera has designed a new set of Star Wars Snowflakes for you to print off and cut out for free. Here’s a quick free guide for 3D printing those designs instead of cutting out.

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

DIY Star Wars Snowflake Ornaments

Carnivorous Coffee Cup Shapeways’ first ever material developed in house is Porcelain by name porcelain by nature. The world’s largest 3D printing service prints a mould using SLS printers, casts porcelain into the mould, removes the mould, and glazes each piece by hand, leaving a product that is food, dishwasher and oven safe. This Carnivorous Coffee cup by Norwegian artist Daniel Liljar might not be the most festive of gifts but it evokes memories of the big movie this Christmas, Star Wars. 

Christmas GIFT GUIDE

FreshFiber’s Flex Bands for Apple Watch

1. Download relevant jpeg from Anthony Herrera’s collection 2. Invert the black and white colours and save as jpeg 3. Convert jpeg into svg file using free online conversion software 4. Upload that svg to Tinkercad 5. Scale to required size and adjust thickness 6.Save to an STL file and hit print! 

The Apple Watch has perhaps not captured everybody’s hearts in the way the iPod and iPhone did but it is sure to be a hit this holiday season and with fashion brands like Hermes entering the strap design fray it was only a matter of time before we saw 3D printed straps. Available exclusively on Cubify.com and engineered to be unusually thin and flexible Freshfiber’s Flex Bands are Designed to look and feel “radically different” than the standard straps. 

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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DESKTOP MAKERversity 3D PRINTING

MAKERS

i think of Somerset House in London, I think of heritage, a classical building situated next to the bustle of the River Thames, full of tourists hoping to soak up some culture from its famous art exhibitions and stopping to take those necessary selfies in the reflection of the Mark Quinn sculptures that are the current centrepiece in the courtyard. Something that certainly hadn’t come to mind, was the possibility that on the basement level of this famous landmark, would lie a cluster of 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters, engravers, hand tools and just about anything else you might imagine from a workshop of the 21st century, fit for a pioneering community of makers. This place is called Makerversity, a 24/7 maker-haven for up and coming creators and small businesses to come and turn their ideas into reality. This unpolished, clustered yet infectiously inspiring space houses three main workshops: traditional, textile and digital. It’s digital offering boasts a selection of Ultimaker, MakerBot and Formlabs 3D printers, a Cubify Sense 3D scanner and various milling and cutting machines from Roland. I visited Makerversity for the Accelerating Innovation event where Proto Labs were on hand to host a collection of workshops and classes to help the maker-business community understand the various technologies that are shaping the way products are made today. Proto Labs, a world leader in fast turnaround prototyping, and by fast, that can mean as little as a day, offers injection moulding, additive manufacturing and CNC machining. This event was about giving designers and makers enough information to decide which type of technology would best suit their manufacturing needs. Like the image of Somerset House, the image of a maker event might not be quite what you think. From engineering students to start ups and businesses looking to learn about the benefits of 3D printing and just about everyone in between, all were accounted for.

WOR D S : L A U R A G R I F F I T HS

hen

ABOVE: Makerversity - Proto Labs Damian Hennessey

“Successful product development is all about bringing people and knowledge together in a collaborative environment,” Damian Hennessey, Commercial Director at Proto Labs, explained. “The space at Makerversity is fantastically creative and ideal for gaining insights into the current development needs of creators and makers. At Proto Labs we thrive in this environment and have many resources at our disposal to support all levels of designer.”

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

From Creators to

The space at Makerversity is fantastically creative and ideal for gaining insights into the current development needs of creators and makers.

For anyone just starting out with these technologies and wondering how to get their designs off the page or screen and into their hands, this workshop provided the ideal foundations for making those all important decisions – never before had I heard 3D printing being likened to a rainbow sponge cake but in fact it’s a fitting analogy. There was a reality check theme running throughout about the capabilities of 3D printing and during one particular workshop, Saleem Shariff, Lead Customer Service Engineer at Proto Labs, got straight to the point: “additive isn’t for functional at this stage”. That’s quite a strong statement to make, particularly in an age where many companies are eager to promote that additive can and does do it all – of course it would be naïve to completely agree. Whilst in some cases, this might be selling the technology a little short, it was good to see those foundational values about 3D printing being brought to the forefront to allow engineers and makers to understand its unique properties, particularly as a prototyping tool. Damian added: “The steepest learning curve in taking any product to market can be the transition from conceptual CAD based design to trialling your designs in the “real world” – be it a handful of prototypes or the first production intent product. It is through education and working together that simple adjustments can be made to help great designs become great products in the marketplace, quickly.” It’s amazing to think that right now Makerversity is likely full of artists, makers and inventors working away sharing ideas and pushing innovation forward. With this modern toolset ready to go and just at their fingertips, I can’t wait to see what they come up with.  DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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CES PREVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

SponSOred by

Partner events come thick and fast for TCT, no sooner has formnext powered by tct closed its doors than the team are packing their bags to head off to the Nevada desert for our third year of partnership with CES for CES 2016.

HERE’S A SELECTION OF THINGS NOT TO MISS ON THE SHOW FLOOR:

Viva Las Vegas: THE CES 2016 SHOW PREVIEW

he Sands Expo Level 2 will represent a home away from home from January 6th-9th as TCT, once again, presents the 3D Printing Marketplace. Over 50 exhibitors from giants like Autodesk to startups like Colibri 3D will be on hand to show the expected 180,000 visitors the latest and greatest in 3D technologies. TCT first visited CES back in 2013 when there was a mere handful of 3D printers dotted about the show floor. Roll on three years and the technologies now have their own dedicated section and many exhibitors see the show as the place to launch their latest products. Taiwanese electronics manufacturer XYZprinting took last year’s show as an opportunity to launch no fewer than eight new products at CES 2015, including the extremely popular, sub $400 3D printer, DaVinci Jr.

FORMLABS STAND #72318 There have been relatively few US-based exhibitions since Formlabs launched the Form 2. CES will represent an opportunity for visitors from around the globe to see the new and improved machine from the company, who started its rise to global dominance on Kickstarter back in 2012.

LULZBOT STAND #72117 At CES 2015 Aleph Objects launched the acclaimed LulzBot Mini, which has seen the company go from strength to strength over the past 12 months. The recent launch of the new FlexyStruder Tool Head V2 and LulzBot v2 Hot Ends for RepRap and DIY 3D printers showcases the company’s dedication to open-source innovation

NINJATEK STAND #73112 LulzBot’s FlexyStruder Tool Head is designed to ensure the optimum printing of NinjaTek’s premium filament, NinjaFlex. NinjaTek is the newly formed subsidiary of Fenner Drives and will be on hand with a host of new innovations and case studies to showcase the incredible flexibility and durability of everyone’s favourite 3D printing filament. ››

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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Polymaker’s material scientists enhanced the formulation of the polycarbonate 3D ﬁlament to imbue it with unprecedented properties and functionalities for 3D printing, while ensuring that it’s printer compatibility was the best on the market. Now available through our online store www.polymaker.com and selected resellers. Available In : Natural Transparent

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CES PREVIEW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

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3D SYSTEMS STAND #72721

The 2016 edition of CES will also represent our third partnership with CES on the immensely popular 3D Printing Conference Track.

It just so happens that one of the first 3D printing companies to make a splash at CES also invented 3D printing. 3D Systems always put on quite the show at CES and the size of this year’s stand demonstrates that it will be no different for the 2016 edition but with a new CEO in town, how will its approach to consumer 3D printing change?

VOXEL8 STAND #72435 The company formed out of Prof. Jenny Lewis’ Harvard Laboratory launched its multi-material 3D printing machine at the 2015 edition of CES with its developer’s kit. The team has been working tirelessly to commence shipping with those machines as well as prepare its industrialised version.

MCOR TECHNOLOGIES STAND #72916 Rumour has it that the paper-based 3D printing company is set to launch something big at CES 2016. The Irish company sees CES as the perfect place to demo its full HD colour printing systems.

UPS STORE STAND #73139 One place that might fit Mcor perfectly is the UPS Store, who, after a hugely successful pilot scheme, are embedding 3D printing technology and offering it as a service in huge chunks of its some 4,700 stores in the US.

THE CONFERENCE The 2016 edition of CES will also represent our third partnership with CES on the immensely popular 3D Printing Conference Track. The 2016 edition of the TCT curated conference programme, 3D Printing: A Catalyst for Innovation, will bring some of the industry’s thought-leaders as well as groundbreakers for a full day of conferencing. Last year’s opening by Autodesk CEO, Carl Bass, may seem difficult to top but TCT + Personalize conference team will deliver a line up rich with new technology, most of which wasn’t even on the radar during the 2015 event. One name on the conference agenda is truly out of this world as President of Made in Space, Andrew Rush takes to the stage hot on the heels of the company’s successful trial, 3D printing on the International Space Station. Forbes recently said of the project: “A 3D printer could have solved Apollo 13’s pivitol problem in just a few hours.” Fresh-face industry innovators like Voxel 8 and Source3 will be joined by multinationals like Jabil and HP on the agenda ensuring, as always, another first class conference programme from team TCT.  For full details on ticketing and timings head over to: http://mytct.co/TCTCES2016

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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LULZBOT ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Slow and Steady Wins the Race WOR DS : DA N IE L O ’C O N N O R

isiting London on business is great; because most companies tend not to be in tourist trap areas you happen on more places that only those in the know might, well, know. Streets like Leather Lane, awash with the kind of street food vendors us northerners only get to see at music festivals. As I made the way through the lunchtime crowds my stomach yearning with each passing steamed dumpling, gourmet burger, handcrafted pie or prawntastic paella bowl all the way up to Clerkenwell Road in Farringdon – my destination; iMakr to meet Harris Kenny VP of Marketing for Lulzbot, over for a two day visit to introduce the new Flexystruder Tool Head. As I made my way inside iMakr a familiar face was waiting at the top of the stairs also there to meet with Harris. This was the first time I’ve ever recognised somebody as a ‘YouTube Star’, it was XRobots James Brurton whose 3D printing cosplay endeavours are sponsored by Lulzbot. When it comes to 3D printing on desktop plastic extruding machines there’s very little James hasn’t seen, it was difficult for him to be impressed with 3D scanned figurines strewn around the world’s largest 3D printing store, especially seeing as his R9 Droid had just been awarded Top 3D Print of TCT Show by Explaining the Future’s Chris Barnatt. At the bottom of the stairwell playing with two Lulzbot Minis - the machines Aleph Objects launched at CES 2015 to much acclaim - was Harris Kenny and Janan Thomson from NinjaTek, who produce the much-loved filament, Ninja Flex. Harris’s second sentence was “Okay shall we all grab some lunch?” “To Leather Lane!” I exclaimed like a venerable capital veteran. Over an incredible halloumi and falafel wrap, topics vary between the renaming of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the UK

to the goings on at another desktop manufacturers - comparing its overexuberant marketing and subsequent downsizing to the creator of Lulzbot, Aleph Objects’ slow and steady wins the race approach, which has seen the team grow to over 90 members of staff and seen an incredible 809% revenue growth (as of July the company had recorded $4.71m in sales in 2014 with five months of the year remaining) in the past two years.

The thing about Lulzbot is the owners of their machines don’t complain, they don’t go elsewhere for modifications, they don’t launch internet campaigns criticising the customer service because they work and Lulzbot is constantly improving on the design in the most free and open-nature possible. CEO Jeff Moe’s dedication to a fully open approach to hardware and software has seen Aleph Objects become the first ever hardware company to receive the prestigious Respects Your Freedom certification from the Free Software Foundation. 

THE LATEST INNOVATION FROM LULZBOT IS THE AFOREMENTIONED LULZBOT FLEXYSTRUDER V2 TOOL HEAD , WHICH IS A “ROBUST AND EXTREMELY RELIABLE ADD-ON THAT CONSISTENTLY DRIVES AND EXTRUDES NINJAFLEX WITH NO WORRIES OF JAMMING” ACCORDING TO THE HARRIS. BOTH JANAN AND JAMES ASSURE ME THAT THIS IS NOT JUST MARKETING TALK AND IS THE BEST WAY TO PRINT WITH THE GROUNDBREAKING MATERIAL. After a demo successfully printing an incredibly flexible NinjaFlex keychain Harris, James and I headed off to the London Hackspace, enroute Harris mentioned that Lulzbot had donated one of their first ever machines to the space and was eager to see if they were still using it. Testament to both the organisation of London Hackspace – a truly remarkable place – and the durability of the Lulzbot A0-100 that machine is still in fully operational. So impressed was Harris with the set up that he donated a brand-new Lulzbot Mini to the space. That’s the kind of company Aleph Objects are.

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ARCAM ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

“Production is here, there’s no doubt about it” WOR D S : L A U R A G R IFFIT H S

he message from Nigel Bunt, Managing Director, Arcam CAD to Metal, at Arcam’s EBM Additive Manufacturing in Production Conference was: “We are all on an additive manufacturing journey”. Judging by the noticeably more seasoned AM audience, all the way from the big boys at Airbus Group Innovations to the independent that was looking to manufacture metal parts for model trains, this fact is true and it’s on going. Founded in 1997, Arcam has been providing additive manufacturing solutions for the production of metal components for the medical and aerospace industries since its first production machine launched in 2002. Its EBM process enables fully dense metal components to be built using layers of metal powder, melted by a powerful electron beam. Fast forward to 2007 when the company appeared on the front cover of this very magazine stating ‘The Future Is Black” and introduced the world to the Arcam A series, it has been making significant steps to show that additive manufacturing isn’t simply a tool for prototyping but rather a real method of production. It has been estimated that the market for AM in metals is to grow at about 30% per year for the foreseeable future and Arcam is focused on two high-value areas, aerospace and implants. During the day we heard about the latest developments in EBM in production in these key areas as Arcam users from Airbus, Rolls Royce and GKN Aerospace joined to demonstrate how the technology has helped to transform their businesses and industries. The day was split into the main areas of additive production from design all the way to materials, manufacture and inspection all of which is under the one roof at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry where several Arcam machines are installed. In essence, it’s all about making what we can’t already make today and designing products that are ‘AM only’. Whereas we’ve been used to seeing 3D printing as more of a proof of concept tool, the work going on at Arcam and in particular at the MTC in Coventry, demonstrates that it can and is in fact being used in final use parts. But that means

expectations are high and with that, Nigel commented: “If you’re unrealistic, people become disillusioned and don’t take the steps they could do.” It’s common for people to get carried away with the buzz and expectations around 3D printing but by completely ignoring it businesses can miss vital opportunities for where it can add real value. Rob Sharman, GKN Aerospace, is so confident of its added value that he says it is actually a “threat” not to have additive manufacturing in your business if you’re working in aerospace. In the orthopaedic industry, more than 50 EBM systems are in production creating real, custom products including acetubular cups and hip stems, knee components, spinal cages and CMF implants. Arcam’s new generation, Q10 EBM machine is designed for industrial production of orthopaedic implants and to meet the implant industry’s need for high productivity, high resolution, ease-of-use and quality control. Yet currently less than 1% of all implants are made via AM. Ross Trepleton, Group Technology Manager at the MTC recognises this gap and says that its production facility addresses what he called “the valley of death” in between university research and industry uptake of AM technology. As the message of no tooling costs, shorter lead times and more efficient material use, begins to become the norm, there needs to be more emphasis put on freedom in design and material properties in order to change the way businesses look at adopting AM into their processes. As Rob Sharmen commented: “It is not a future technology, it is a technology now” and we are seeing real tangible examples of this in aerospace and medical sectors where manufacturers are creating some truly unique and valuable products that are benefitting designers and users from concept to application. 

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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Somos

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LLOYDS REGISTER ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

CREDIT: TWI Ltd

SETTING THE

STANDARDS

CREDIT: TWI Ltd

WOR DS : L A U R A G R I F F I T HS

for end-use parts and real-life applications becomes more of a reality in the additive manufacturing industry, the need for certification increases. Generally, certification is defined by the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person or organisation - this is where additive manufacturing immediately hits a wall. Additive manufactured ‘objects’ don’t have ‘certain characteristics’ and so far there is yet to be a standardised way of proving to manufacturers and regulators that printed products are both repeatable and safe. World leader in certification, Lloyd’s Register Energy, has launched a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with The Welding Institute (TWI) to explore the certification of laser powder additive manufactured components for industrial adoption in the energy and offshore sectors. TCT went along to the JIP launch event in Birmingham, which invited potential sponsors who may wish to collaborate on this 18-month project and gain early adoption of approved additive manufacturing practices for their products. s the potential

THE IMPORTANCE OF CERTIFICATION Originating in 1760 in Edward Lloyd’s coffee house where it began examining and classifying merchant ships, today Lloyd’s Register has over 100

years under its belt serving various industry sectors including energy, power, rail and manufacturing. With verification credentials in place and new additive technologies coming into play in these very sectors, the company aims to combine its expertise with TWI’s 70 years of experience providing R&D support to the manufacturing industry world-wide. This collaboration will lead to the development of certification guidelines for real-world additive manufacturing practices. Speaking at the launch, Chris Chung, Head of Strategic Research at Lloyd’s Register Energy, told TCT that the maturing of the technology into real world applications is why the company feels now is the time to start addressing these prevalent concerns in the additive manufacturing industry. “There’s been a lot of development around the area and applications we’re seeing right now are moving far from the lab into actual full deployment,” Chris explained. “What we’re seeing is the advancement in technology, printer availability and cost reduction and actually there are good reasons why you would want to adopt additive manufacturing right now from reduced lead times through to optimising the component for deployment. We are seeing a number of early adopters and pioneers looking to deploy additive manufactured products into market.” The idea is to bring together sponsors who will each contribute a detailed component design that

››

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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LLOYDS REGISTER

AM IN THE ENERGY SECTOR For the energy industry, additive manufacturing could hold real promise. Of course there are the universal benefits of reduced lead times and costs, design flexibility and light-weighting but for an industry that operates in some very remote locations and harsh environments, a safe and localised form of manufacturing could offer an unrivalled advantage. In theory if a component were to fail on an oil rig but that rig had access to a AM system and certified file of that component, the part could be printed with the certainty it is fit for purpose and thus overcome the need to stock or transport replacement parts. “For the oil and gas industry, if you look at the assets, they’re designed for 2025 years,” Chris explained. “Quite often the machinery and spare parts are not available or supplies may not be in service anymore. That’s where AM comes in handy. If you have permission and the right to reproduce it you have to ensure it is form fitting.”

ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

will be taken from concept through to completion with additive manufacturing technology (Selective Laser Melting and Laser Metal Deposition). Ultimately these parts will be conditionally certified to meet industrial requirements for quality, safety and consistency and ready for production. “The next step is to sit down with a number of potential sponsors,” Chris continued. “We’ve already got good feedback, it hits the right notes in terms of the challenges that they’re facing. The key is to make sure the project is tailored to meeting those challenges so that it’s impactful and we will then start detailed engagement with a number of different sponsors.” These discussions are set to take a number of months so it may be a while before we get to see what types of components the sponsors have put forward. These will be used to look at the challenges of CAD model translation, material quality and recyclability, variability and support structures.

The energy sector is a fairly recent adopter and its appetite to address critical issues such as cost, has forced the industry to look at innovative technologies and learn from the advancements in other industrial sectors such as aerospace and medical.

TWI is no newcomer to additive manufacturing technologies having harnessed several years’ experience in the development of selective laser melting and laser metal deposition processes. However the energy sector is a fairly recent adopter and its appetite to address critical issues such as cost, has forced the industry to look at innovative technologies and learn from the advancements in other industrial sectors such as aerospace and medical. Peter Richards, Vice President, Marketing and Communications for Lloyd’s Register Energy, explained: “We’ve started to see more cross industry and cross learning collaboration and we saw some interesting work a few months ago in which there was crossover from both the aerospace and medical industry into the energy sector and adoption of learning from those areas.” This additive manufacturing project will run between 12-18 months and depending on sponsor agreement, we could potentially see some designs within the next few months. These designs will provide a framework for certification of future additive manufactured products and for individual case studies, will ensure repeatability of future parts. Chris added: “We want to make it very impactful for the sponsors. Being a joint industry project there will be a lot of similarities and synergies where we will be sharing a lot of the information and best practice among this group.” For more information or to express an interest in becoming a sponsor visit: www.lr.org/additive-manufacturing

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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RENISHAW ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

Incubating

Innovation

March 2 0 1 4 edition of TCT Mag featured, as its cover star, Renishaw and Empire Cycles’ 3D printed titanium bike frame. The story goes that Empire ABOVE: Marc Saunders, Director of Global Cycles’ founder Chris Solutions Centres, Renishaw Williams exhibited his MX6-R Mountain Bike, featuring parts made using an in-house FDM machine, at TCT Show + personalize 2013. During said show he got speaking to Renishaw, they came up with the idea of making the entire frame in titanium as a joint project and set about producing it. At the time Renishaw’s Robin Weston said: “The bike frame offers an opportunity for us to show what can be achieved when we collaborate with companies to develop their designs in order to take advantage of the engineering and performance advantages that are achievable when additive manufacturing (AM) is applied well.” That collaborative spirit is at the heart of Renishaw’s latest venture, Renishaw Solutions Centres. These centres aim to lower the entry barrier by providing costeffective access to machinery, facilities and AM expertise. Equipped with Renishaw’s additive manufacturing machines, including the soon to be launched EVO project machinery, and staffed with knowledgeable engineers, the Solutions Centres will provide a confidential development environment in which firms can explore the benefits that additive manufacturing can bring to their products, and quickly build their knowledge and confidence in AM as a production technology. “Our vision is to help customers to get to that point where they can be confident enough in what they can do with AM; make parts to the right quality and right consistency for them to be able to put the process into series production.” Explained Marc Saunders, Director – Global Solutions Centres at TCT Show. Each Solutions Centre will feature Incubator Cells – private development facilities containing an AM machine, design workstation and all the ancillary equipment needed to design, build and refine a new product design. As the product and process design matures, Renishaw will also provide pre-production capacity where the productivity and capability of the AM process can be established. Renishaw will provide support in the form of operators and applications engineers, as well as access to a range of he

W O R D S : DA N I E L o ’c o n n o r

machining, finishing, treatment and metrology processes. This sort of initiative will come as welcome news to Governments across the globe, particularly here in the UK. During the Additive Manufacturing Conference in the European Parliament, Brussels, Clare Marrett, Head of Manufacturing and business Investment at Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that they had found that UK SMEs had trepidations about adopting the technology because of cost and a lack of understanding of the benefits it can bring. “The Solutions Centres give those businesses an easier toe in the water than they could have any other way,” detailed Saunders. “It is about lowering those barriers to entry to additive manufacturing with metals. But I don’t think this is just about SMEs, some of the bigger companies may be able to afford to buy a machine but this is about getting the right environment, the right support, the expertise to support a business. The network of Renishaw Solutions Centres will open during the final quarter of 2015 and the first half of 2016, and will include facilities in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, China and firstly and interestingly, in India. “India is a key territory for Renishaw,’ said Saunders. “We have a substantial operation in India; India is the country that we have more staff in than any other non-UK country. We think India is going to be one of the manufacturing powerhouses of the future and we want to be there, we’ve long had that strategy of investing and putting our own facilities and people into territories, some ahead of the curve.” 

Our vision is to help customers to get to that point where they can be confident enough in what they can do with AM

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 3D PRINTING PROTOTYPING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE SCANNING DIGITISING

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3D Systems ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

What does Avi Reichental’s departure mean for consumer 3D Printing?

A It was one of those ‘STOP THE PRESSES!’ moments; this issue of TCT Mag was in production as news broke of Avi Reichental’s departure as CEO and President of 3D Systems. Avi has keynoted for TCT twice and been a huge part of the industry we’re very privileged to be writing a magazine about.

W O R D S : DA N I E L O ’C O N N O R

vi’s departure after 12 years at the helm was announced on Thursday 29th October, both 3D Systems and Avi say the split was mutual but the fact that a replacement wasn’t lined up and that the share prices hit a four-year low the day before he left, suggests that though this parting may have been mutual it was sudden. Avi oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at 3D Systems, which saw share prices rise from under $3 when he took over in Sep ‘03 to an incredible $96 in Jan 14. After that peak the share price has been in steady decline and at the time of his departure sat at $10.26, the bursting of the bubble was inevitable but the rate of reinflation has been deflating. Lead 3D Printing Analyst at Canalys, Joe Kempton commented: “Avi pioneered a lot of the media hype around 3D printing and that has been to a benefit of the industry as a whole but it also raised expectations, which led to the mass fall in share prices; in a way he’s been a victim of his own evangelism.” That evangelism meant that Avi was a captivating figure to listen to, talk to and watch. His charisma drew you in and it was on a tour of the 3D Systems’ booth at CES 2014 that this editor was completely bowled over by the company’s offerings. Ironically, Avi’s departure may have something to do with that very event, which saw 3D Systems launch a series of machines, share prices peak and, at a later date, investors quote in a class action lawsuit for weak earnings. At CES 2014 3D Systems launched its 3D PRINTING 2.0 initiative in which the company announced in excess of 12 new products aimed at the consumer sector. A number of those products were either delayed or failed to launch, most notably the CubeJet - a sub $5,000 full-colour printer based on Z Corp technology - and the

CeraJet - a ceramics printer designed on top of the acquisition of Figulo both those machines were pencilled in for a 2014 launch, neither has made it to market at the time of writing. It isn’t just 3D Systems that has suffered from the false dawn of consumer 3D printing, Stratasys were also hit with a class action lawsuit for weaker earnings following the $110m hit they took after the acquisition of MakerBot, who also launched a host of new products CES 2014, which initially struggled at launch with technical difficulties. “The lawsuits are a symptom of the general issues that are being seen with the major 3D printing vendors” said Canalys’ Kempton. “3D Systems and Stratasys have had similar issues, the bigger vendors struggle in the consumer sector because they are operating at a higher price point than a lot of the smaller companies entering the market. Avi probably realised that it is time for 3D Systems to try a different management approach.” Despite the poor recent financial results, it could be argued that Avi’s charisma has done more for the profile of the industry than any other leading figure, without people like him and Bre Pettis boardroom doors may have remained closed to the idea of 3D printing and now they are firmly ajar. The pair both shared a vision for a 3D printer in every home and it seems to be this dream that has seen the pair leave their positions as industry figureheads. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the new management team came in and commenced a cost-cutting exercise not unlike that of Jonathan Jaglom’s cuts at MakerBot, particularly in the consumer section of the business, which begs the question what will happen to the Cubify brand? “They’re either going to have to dramatically reduce the price point or really improve the eco-system.” Says Kempton. 

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EUROPac3d ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

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ABOVE: Examples from Europak

MEASURE WOR DS : L A U R A G R IF F I T HS

One of those success stories came from 3D technologies solutions provider, Europac3D who, with its popular 3D body scanner taking centre stage on the booth, had visitors eagerly forming a queue to see themselves in 3D. But it wasn’t just mass-market interest in consumer 3D printing that had people keen to flock to the one of the UK’s leading 3D printing and scanning technology provider. With its biggest stand to date, Europac3D were busy demonstrating a range of measuring devices and complete 3D solutions to industrial customers. 3D technologies are about finding solutions to problems where conventional methods just don’t quite cut the mustard. UKbased plastic products supplier, AER Stafford, found itself looking for just that when faced with finding an accurate measuring solution for a selection of plastic moulded automotive parts. The company, which supplies plastic and foam parts to major automotive names such as Jaguar, Aston Martin and Toyota, were tasked with the job of inspecting parts that would help form the back of a new Land Rover model. Without any measuring equipment to speak off, they sought the help of Europac3D to come up with a suitable alternative to traditional measurement methods and capture a selection of challenging parts. For non-rigid or slightly curved pieces, finding a fixture to hold them in place and achieve precise data can be difficult. Essentially, if these parts are placed and

Last year the superseding theme of TCT Show + Personalize was that the show is not only the place to see cutting edge technology but also the place to do business. Once again, that was the case at this year’s event with deals made, contacts shared and machines being sold straight off the show floor.

measured on a flat surface, it will distort the measurement. The solution was to use a combination of 3D printing, a traditional measuring arm and software to accurately measure the parts. The team at Europac3D began by creating a 3D printed vacuum fixture using the CAD model of the original part in a single day. By placing holes in both the top and bottom of the fixture, they were able to create a double vacuum and hold the part firmly in place without having to clamp it down and measure the part against the original model. “You wouldn’t have been able to do that if you had made it in wood because you have to hollow it out in the middle,” John Becket, Managing Director, Europac3D explained. “With it being 3D printed you actually save money on the fixture because you can hollow it out in the middle and create a double vacuum. So not only does it pull the part down to the fixture but it also pulled the fixture down to the table.” Impressed by the results, AER Stafford installed both a Kreon Ace Solano 7-axis 3-metre measuring and scanning arm along with 3D Systems’ Geomagic Control metrology software. Using a 7-axis Ace arm allows for increased flexibility and precision for capturing complex geometrical details and the ergonomic design allows users to scan easily for long periods, ideal for large automotive parts. Designed to provide the most comprehensive quality reporting of as-built parts, this accompanying software is the model solution for precision parts with minimal human interaction and a completely streamlined process. John, added: “It shows how by using 3D printing as well as arm measuring you’ve got a double whammy.” 

3D technologies are about finding solutions for problems where conventional methods just don’t quite cut the mustard.

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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MIND

A N IE L S BY D E S T IO N

o ’c o n n

Someway through this interview with Chris Krampitz, Director of Innovation and Strategy at UL, there’s a startling statistic about the skills crisis that manufacturing could face in the future. UL, the global independent safety science company, is trying to address the issue and at TCT Show + Personalize 2015 its presence could be felt not just on the show floor but also on the seminar stage. We caught up with Chris during the show to find out what UL are doing to address the issues that emerging technology like 3D printing brings to manufacturing. Q: UL have become quite a prominent force in the additive manufacturing industry already, can you quickly give us an overview of UL and what it is the company is hoping to achieve? A: We’re a safety and quality company that’s been on mission since 1894 starting with electrical and fire hazards, that’s been our tradition over the last 100 years plus and we’re bringing that expertise to additive manufacturing (AM). We’ve identified the need in AM for somebody to come in to help manufacturers adopt the technology in the parts that they are hoping to produce, the equipment that’s being used and the facilities that are producing these parts. Specifically in the AM field we’re looking at developing a conformity assessment programme

to help manufacturers asses the conformance of their products and their facilities to industry standards, safety standards, any specific regulations or any customer specifications. Our training programme is part of that conformity assessment, we have a training programme and a professional certification. Q: What is the main issue that additive manufacturing raises for the broader manufacturing industry? A: The big issue is because the technology is not broadly understood, there’s a lot of variables that affect the ultimate performance of the part, you can manipulate performance of a part very easily and while that is one of the great features of additive manufacturing but it is also one of the weaknesses as you have to understand the variability. That’s the landscape at the moment, manufacturers are looking for somebody to help and assist in understanding that variability and how to reduce variability in the process to meet technical requirements. ››

DECEMBER 2015 www.tctmagazine.com

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ACCELERATING 3D TECHNOLOGIES

P A G E H T ING

Q: Is UL focussing on one specific technology or a broader range? A: We work across all technologies; we started in metals because that’s where a lot of our customers were looking to get into AM for production parts, our focus is production parts. We are also building programmes specifically for polymer composites and ultra ceramics. We see those materials, in that order, as being the wave of development for production parts. Q: Why does the industry need somebody like UL? A: One of the things we saw immediately in our strategic research into this industry is that there is a lot of research being done at large corporations and at universities, the large corporations may have been using the technology in-house for themselves but none of that research was being transferred to manufacturing and so SMEs were not benefitting from all that research and they were having a hard time accessing that. We saw that as a huge gap in the adoption of the technology and that was one of the reasons we wanted to develop a training programme to educate people on how to do this well. Many have voiced happiness on us developing this programme because it is clearly something that is lacking. You see a lot of other organisations out in the industry that are putting together one off courses here and there, they’re great courses, but what is lacking is an integrated programme that you can move and develop with. A lot of the courses out there are just for educational purposes; they don’t lead to anything that is meaningful in terms of implementing the technology to manufacturing.

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Q: There seems to be new machines on almost a daily basis at the minute with each one offering unmatched levels of ease-of-use but do you think there will still need to be people operating machinery in years to come? A: There is a large gap in skills in this industry, we see a lot of the people using the technology are at Master’s or PhD level because that’s were the technology has been used for the last couple of decades, but we don’t see enough manufacturing engineers or operators with knowledge enough to make parts that are compliant with regulations and technical requirements, they don’t understand those factors. One of the issues that really concerns us is that overall in manufacturing we’re seeing a shortage in skilled labour, by 2025 some studies are showing that we’re going to have about 90 million jobs that will go unfilled that are highly skilled manufacturing jobs. That’s overall in manufacturing but when you focus in on additive the problem becomes more severe because the pool of knowledgeable candidates is even smaller and other manufacturing is going to draw away people from additive. We see this as a huge problem that needs to be addressed in the market in order to continue the growth of the industry. Q: We keep seeing requests for governments to invest in the education, do you think that the next generation will be fully versed in 3D technologies? A: The way I see it is that without any government investment kids today are experiencing 3D technology through gaming culture, many children today are much better 3D designers than most adults because of the technology they’ve been using. The market is naturally training them in those skills and they are prepared to jump right into 3D printing without any investment from the governments. I actually think that a natural way for us to think is three dimensionally and some of us who went to school 20-30 years ago were trained to think two dimensionally so we could do drafting on paper. 

One of the issues that really concerns us is that overall in manufacturing we’re seeing a shortage in skilled labour, by 2025 some studies are showing that we’re going to have about 90 million jobs that will go unfilled that are highly skilled manufacturing jobs.

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GRIMM COLUMN

WHEN DISILLUSIONMENT IS A GOOD THING

WORDS : TODD GRIMM

the last vestiges of unadulterated hype are now withering away. We are entering a phase were calm, rational thinking takes the lead. This is a time in additive manufacturing’s life cycle when sensible initiatives are based on realistic expectations and a sound base of knowledge. This is a time when strategic plans supersede reactionary responses. According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle, this phase in technological progression is called the Trough of Disillusionment. And according to Gartner, this disillusionment is a good thing, a necessary phase in progress. For those that do not know the Hype Cycle, allow me to explain. At the pinnacle of hype, expectations are created that a technology simply cannot deliver on, at least in the present. Gartner calls this the Peak of Inflated Expectations. While it certainly raises awareness and fuels interest, the peak is not sustainable because reality is not aligned with expectations. When the reality does set in, a technology plunges into the Trough of Disillusionment. In the trough, technology is simply a tool, one with strengths and weaknesses; opportunities and threats. When wielded properly and applied to a fitting situation, the tool is powerful. Lacking the cacophony of hype, it becomes is easier to identify when additive manufacturing is right for the job. Don’t confuse disillusionment with apathy or indifference. Don’t presume that disillusionment means and end to innovation. And don’t conclude that disillusionment leads to thwarted adoption or declining sales. While each may be throttled a bit, there will still be ample enthusiasm, an abundance of original ideas and a growing number of additive manufacturing users. The only significant difference is that realistic expectations lead to practical, nearterm initiatives. We still need the visionaries, the dreamers, to plot the course for the long term. It is just that now, sensibility takes control over the short-term, strategic plans. I suspect that you have already sensed that the hype bubble had popped. We no longer believe that

This is a time when strategic plans supersede reactionary responses.

Todd Grimm

is a stalwart of the additive manufacturing industry, having held positions across sales and marketing in some of the industry’s biggest names. Todd is currently the AM Industry advisor with AMUG

tgrimm@tagrimm.com

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read story after story about the revolution in the home where we become our own manufacturers. Likewise, the number of headlines touting a manufacturing revolution has plummeted. Outside of trade media, we also read fewer stories that lead with “3D printing makes….”From the financial world, the evidence comes from stock prices inflated by unreasonable claims and then followed by a downturn when expectations align with reality. For me, evidence of the disillusionment has come from long-established manufacturing trade associations. Motivated by a possible threat to their businesses — based on the hype about revolutions and disruptions — I have been invited to speak at annual meetings of four trade associations this year. After presenting my theme of opportunity, not threat, individuals approach me to offer thanks for lending credence to what they suspected was true. They were no longer buying into the hype. These events also serve as evidence of the good nature of the Trough of Disillusionment. Rather than fretting over manufacturing springs, stampings, thermoformed parts and HVAC components, they were acting on sensible projects where additive manufacturing was a practical and powerful solution. They regaled me in tales of mock-ups and prototypes that saved the day. They shared stories of fabricating custom tooling, robot end-effectors and CMM fixtures that otherwise would have been impractical. From these individuals, I sensed a calm confidence and a rational exuberance. The frenzy and furor of hype has been quieted, replaced with practicality. We still need to think big and innovate, but now we have time. The frantic urgency of hype is no longer the motivator. Hype is withering, not dead, so we will continue to see evidence of it as it ripples through the farthest reaches. Of course, we will also continue to see it from those that have a vested interest in keeping the hype alive. But hype’s time has passed. After the Trough of Disillusionment, we will enter the Slope of Enlightenment. Now doesn’t that sound wonderful? 

Don’t presume that disillusionment means an end to innovation.

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