TCT Europe 27.1 by TCT Magazine

DESIGN-TO-MANUFACTURING INNOVATION

MAG EUROPE EDITION VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1

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30 YEARS OF EOS PASSION FOR AM: A PIONEERING JOURNEY TO THE DIGITAL FACTORY OF THE FUTURE Jewellery Focus

Leaders of the New School

Formnext REVIEW

An array of additive applications for jewellers

Where are those faces from a famous TCT front cover now?

News and interviews from the Frankfurt show floor

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EDITORIAL

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NEW YEAR NEW ME? “New year, new me” – how many times have you seen this wellintended statement posted and hashtagged across social media timelines since the clock struck 12 on New Year’s Eve? My guess is, more often than you’ve used that new gym pass. Forgoing the usual diets and step counting however, I made a similar resolution, a mental promise that I would start 2019 with a more positive and optimistic attitude, including towards the additive manufacturing (AM) industry. Basically, to look for the good, be inspired and not get bogged down by press releases and company bios that use flowery words like “intersection” instead of just saying what they actually do. You know the ones. In the countless predictions at the start of the year, Materialise CEO, Fried Vancraen summed up the AM industry’s progress perfectly as a “slow revolution”. Factories are getting “smarter”, hardware launches don’t arrive as thick and fast as they used to, and real-life applications have superseded the number of clickbait world firsts. This is undoubtedly a very good thing. If the AM industry is doing a “new year, new me”, it’s dismissing fad diets in favour of a healthy balanced lifestyle and promising to present a more honest picture of itself on Instagram. So far, so good. Along with some new design features and a fresh look Additive Insight podcast, we have just returned from our first official event in Japan, a country that, with the world’s third largest installation base of industrial AM machines but a reputation for lagging behind on innovation, is somewhat of an enigma. Yet an incredible 43,000 visitors across simultaneous technology shows says things are moving in a positive direction and the general consensus from vendors is that Japan is a growing market. Read our Head of Content, Daniel O’Connor’s piece on TCT out East on pg. 42 for more. In this issue we also reflect on a feature TCT printed back in 2013 on the six leaders of the 3D printing new school. A couple of those names are still very active in the industry, some under different guises, and others … well, the less said the better. It has been eye-opening to learn how these influential people have navigated the industry’s highs and lows and to get their perspective on its current state for our sevenpage special starting on pg. 25. So, if you’re looking for your own AM inspiration this year, the following pages are a good place to start. I recommend you turn to page 12 for a report on how one UK-based organisation is using 3D printing to provide valuable digital skills and change lives. Or how about our cover story on EOS’s pioneering journey to the digital factory of the future. Failing that, for a few practical pointers to put you on the right path for your AM journey, check out Todd Grimm’s latest column on fulfilling your own AM bucket list for success. With that (better late than never) we wish you a very happy and prosperous 2019. LAURA GRIFFITHS, DEPUTY GROUP EDITOR

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 05

VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1

COVER STORY

Software

8. 30 YEARS OF EOS

Assistant Editor, Sam Davies goes behind the scenes at EOS to report on its pioneering journey to the digital factory of the future.

Jewellery

11. AN ADDITIVE EMBRACE

A look at how Boltenstern is delivering thousands of customised jewellery pieces using precious metal AM.

21. CUSTOMISING CAD USING PROGRAM SYNTHESIS

Tao Du, a PHD student at MIT, discusses a technique that breaks down complex 3D CAD models for custom 3D printing.

23. HOW FORD AUTOMATED THE DESIGN OF MANUFACTURING AIDS Laura finds out how Ford is leveraging trinckle software to streamline the production of 3D printed jigs and fixtures.

12. FREEDOM AND DESIGN

Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griffiths speaks to the team bringing digital jewellery-making skills to disadvantaged women in India.

THE NEW SCHOOL

15. 3D PRINTED JEWELLERY HITS THE MAINSTREAM

The TCT editorial team reflects on the six “leaders of the new school” who graced the cover of this very magazine back in 2013 and asks, what happened next?

Head of Content, Daniel O’Connor examines the 3D printing of the famous Poppy Pin.

25. WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

33. TITOMIC: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

On its debut booth at Formnext, Sam speaks to an Australian company making waves in the world of metal AM.

35. M LINE HAS ARRIVED

Laura delves into GE Additive’s advancements in the Concept Laser M LINE FACTORY process, which seeks to add further automation into AM.

37. IN OTHER NEWS – FORMNEXT SPECIAL

News in brief on some of the biggest announcements from the Formnext show floor.

41. SOMETHING IN THE AIR

Guido Plicht, Metals Processing & EPAT Industry Manager E&A, Air Products on optimising all parts of the supply chain to improve the AM process. Following the debut of TCT Japan in Tokyo, Dan reports on AM developments in the Far East and gears up for our fifth TCT Asia event.

17. AWARD WINNING FINISH

47. INNOVATION FUNDING; AN UNTAPPED WINDFALL FOR UK MANUFACTURING

19. SMART TO FINISH

Sam revisits post-processing firm, AMT as it prepares for the launch of a new product.

Formnext

42. TCT OUT EAST

Post-processing Laura talks to a TCT Award-winning company about its automated finishing process for metal AM parts.

William Garvey, Director at Leyton UK, explores how UK Manufacturers can benefit from tax relief offered in the Industrial Strategy.

50. BUCKET LIST

Todd Grimm suggests an expansive, practical bucket list for AM success.

30 YEARS OF E PASSION FOR AM: A PIONEERING JOURNEY TO THE DIGITAL FACTORY OF THE FUTURE

his year, Munich-based EOS is celebrating 30 years in business.

In that time, founder of EOS and now Executive Chairman of the EOS GROUP, Dr. Hans J. Langer has overcome many hurdles. He founded EOS back in 1989 shortly after his former employer rejected a project he had suggested. So, he decided to embark on the venture alone. In BMW, he won his first important customer. Others followed. The company then went through years of patent litigations surrounding EOS’ sale of stereolithography platforms during the 1990s. It was settled when EOS decided to focus on powder-based additive manufacturing (AM) only. During this timeframe EOS also introduced its first system for metal 3D printing. What followed were years of tech development and the introduction of rapid prototyping technologies to a plethora of customers, from automotive to medical professionals, from North America to China. THE BREAKTHROUGH But it was in 2014 when Langer’s long-held ambition to enter the industrial arena began to be realised. GE Aviation introduced its additively manufactured Leap fuel nozzle tip, in which 20 assembled pieces were reduced to one, and weight was cut by 25%. It was the result of ten years work since Morris Technologies, the service provider acquired by GE in 2012, first invested in metal 3D printing. “We work with the engineering teams of our large customers on solutions that production people cannot even think of,” Langer told TCT. “Innovation must go beyond just innovating the EOS serial production system. It needs a big picture approach to support customers in generating totally new applications that were not thinkable before.” In subsequent conversations between the senior management of GE and other

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 ABOVE:

EOS MANUFACTURING SITE IN MAISACH, GERMANY

OEMs and EOS, it was agreed it should not take ten years to go from early application development to serial production. A 3D printing system alone was not going to cut it. So, EOS introduced its ‘Additive Minds’ consulting unit, to speed up customers’ learning and innovation curves, supporting them to find the right applications for 3D printing, develop them, and then ramp up to scale produciton. But Dr. Langer was thinking even further – that a whole ecosystem serving the entire value chain would be necessary. THE EOS ECOSYSTEM That word, ecosystem, has dictated most of the decisions made by Langer since. At the forefront of his mind is a seamless, efficient AM integration in existing production environments, the combination of industrial 3D printing with conventional manufacturing technologies, and the continuous optimisation of part

and data flow. These are elementary requirements, but their implementation is of the utmost importance. The EOS Ecosystem today comprises of innovators and venture groups, the Additive Minds consultancy division and external business partners. In 2015, Langer founded AM Ventures, a strategic investor focussing on startups, which develop solutions along the whole value chain in industrial 3D printing and have respective expertise in design, simulation, processes, powder, and postprocessing. It has been established as a separate business alongside the EOS GROUP, as Langer is convinced that

COVER STORY

F EOS WORDS: SAM DAVIES

“THE WORLD CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE ALREADY MAKE WITH OUR MACHINES.”

start-ups need to operate independently to give the project the best chance of succeeding. AMbition, a new unit within the venture group, is now offering support to customers on their way from the initial product idea to the final, manufactured part. To fully concentrate on the further development of the EOS Ecosystem, Langer stepped away from the position of CEO of EOS GmbH in 2017, with Adrian Keppler assuming the role. As Executive Chairman of the EOS GROUP, Langer initiated some new companies: Advanced Metal Powders (AMP), which develops new metal powders for industrial players; Additive Manufacturing Customized Machines (AMCM), which develops platforms according to customer specifications with the potential that they are later made available through EOS as standard platforms; and Additive Manufacturing Metals (AMM), a team focused on customer-specific metal applications. “We have seen that our customers are now on the way to build up digital factories. If they are based on additive, it turned out that the biggest hurdle for

end to end along the production process,” Dr. Adrian Keppler, CEO of EOS, offered. THE NOW NOT THE WOW While with its ecosystem of technology, venture groups, and consultancy divisions EOS hopes to ‘change the world’, Keppler reasons it’s not about the ‘wow’, what could potentially be achieved by using AM, but about the ‘now’, what is already possible with existing AM technology. For example, at the end of 2018, Airbus Helicopters announced the start of the large scale additive manufacturing of A350 XWB components which are set to take to the skies in 2020. Meanwhile, according to GE Aviation, more than 30,000 Leap fuel nozzle tips have been additively manufactured in five years. For EOS, it’s about making breakthroughs like those more commonplace, converting application by application from traditional technology to 3D printing to add value, offer better performance, faster access, lower costs. Its participation in the NextGenAM project alongside Premium AEROTEC and Daimler is another example of that. Here, the partners are aiming to enable

 SHOWN:

EOS CUSTOMER & TECHNOLOGY CENTER IN KRAILLING, GERMANY

 SHOWN:

DR HANS J LANGER

the customer to get to production is to collect all the skills and know-how that is necessary to integrate the complete production process. This is why we started to set up EOS Additive Minds and the EOS Ecosystem and constantly expand it,” Langer explained. “What we want to offer to the customer is a highly productive, self-learning AM cell where we increase the overall equipment efficiency, have clear interfaces upstream and downstream, where we can then interlink with postprocessing technologies, whether it is milling, grinding, heat treatment. This will allow an optimised flow of data and parts

an automated and efficient metal additive manufacturing serial production solution, harnessing the advances in automatic design and robotics to facilitate connected end-to-end production processes. Through its know-how, broad product portfolio, key collaborations, and growing ecosystem, EOS is increasingly supplying its customer base with all the solutions they need. Langer’s final remarks, though teasing and ambiguous, serve to reinforce that. “The world can’t imagine what people already make with our machines.”

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 09

[Anything goes here]

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JEWELLERY

AN ADDITIVE EMBRACE WORDS: SAM DAVIES

 BELOW:

B:303 mm T:297 mm S:278 mm

Marie took over the company from her father, Sven, in 2015. Not long after, having taken the decision to explore the potential of new technologies, she witnessed a presentation delivered by Cooksongold at Basel World, where the application of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the jewellery sector was the focus. From here, an alliance blossomed, all jewellery pieces are to now be 3D printed, and in September 2018, the output of this collaboration was recognised at the TCT Awards as the best creative application of the technology that year. The Embrace collection is a series of jewellery pieces, which offer a degree of customisation. Coloured beads or gemstones are woven into cages which are 3D printed in silver, platinum, 18K red gold, or 18K yellow gold. Customers can choose to have a number of cages, a variety of different coloured stones, and alter the size of the piece, which could be a bracelet, bangle, chain, or earing. The combinations go into the thousands.

intervention build, we call it,” explained David Fletcher, Cooksongold’s Precious Metal 3D Printing Business Manager.

Then comes the post-processing. Such is the nature of the jewellery market, the surface finish must be perfect. And jewellers use the angle of reflectivity to make sure that it is. “If the incoming light reflects at the same angle as the outgoing light from the part, then all the light is hitting our eyes at the same time and produces a very highly polished, reflective surface. If it’s a slightly bumpy surface, then the angles of reflection are slightly different, so they’re coming off at different angles and it appears duller,” Fletcher articulated. “That’s the requirement in the jewellery industry.” Post-build, the support structures are removed, the pieces sand blasted, and then they are run through OTEC’s EPAG Flex electropolishing system. Some pieces may then be radium plated to enhance the brightness of the finish. These build and finishing processes were happening around the clock before

CREDIT ANGELO KREUZBERGER

radled inside a precious metal cage is a stone. A group of them dangle from an ear, a necklace, a bracelet. It is architecture in its smallest form, the result of technology meeting tradition, the product of Marie Boltenstern’s influence on an Austrian jewellery atelier born in the 1960s and renowned for catering for the rich and famous.

BEADS AND GEM STONES ARE SET INSIDE MID-WAY THROUGH THE BUILD OF THE 3D PRINTED CAGES

Cooksongold oversees the production of these pieces, the cages additively manufactured on EOS M 080 or M 100 direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) platforms, with the stone being set mid-build, rather than the cage being assembled around it afterwards. “We print the cage, and then three quarters of the way through we stop the build, we evacuate some of the powder, and then set the stones inside, and then backstore the powder and carry on printing. It’s an

the end of the year. Five DMLS systems at Cooksongold’s facility were in operation 24 hours a day, while another at Birmingham City University was also being utilised on occasion, as Marie was working to fulfil an order in the thousands from a big Chinese retailer. There’s since been further interest from China, as well as Hong Kong. It’s a significant validation of Marie, her aptitude in design, and her decision to adopt AM technology to build on the success of her father. She’s trained in architecture, and thus quickly picked up the Design for Additive Manufacturing skills, with the help of a set of guidelines supplied by Cooksongold, which details rules on orientation, build angles, and so on. The result is an award-winning collection of unique, additively manufactured, jewellery pieces. “Marie is taking this traditional jeweller, and turning it into a 3D printing business,” said Fletcher. “And we’re at pains to point out that the Embrace collection cannot be made any other way. You can’t make those from traditional techniques. There’s a big opportunity for jewellery [in adopting additive manufacturing] and Marie is exploiting that.”

SHOWN: RING AND CUFFLINK FROM THE 3D PRINTED EMBRACE COLLECTION

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 011

FREEDOM OF DESIGN

ONE UK-FOUNDED ORGANISATION IS HELPING DISADVANTAGED WOMEN IN INDIA TO GAIN HIGH-VALUE DIGITAL CAREERS IN THE JEWELLERY INDUSTRY. DEPUTY GROUP EDITOR, LAURA GRIFFITHS, SPEAKS TO THE FOUNDERS ABOUT HOW THEY’RE USING 3D PRINTING TO BREAK THE CYCLE.

ccording to the latest statistics from the International Labour Organization (ILO), for every 1,000 people in the world, there are 5.4 victims of modern slavery. Over 70% of those people are women. But “knowledge is power” and London-based organisation, Free-D wants to use 3D technologies to empower women from at-risk backgrounds by giving them the opportunity to gain soughtafter skills which lead to secure, high-value employment. The aptly named, Free-D was founded by Katherine Prescott and Siavash Mahdavi who first met at software start-up, Within, later acquired by Autodesk. With over two decades of experience in the 3D printing industry working across medical, aerospace, automotive and footwear, they started thinking more about the technology; how it’s taught, how oftentimes it’s the people who have eschewed traditional training routes that just click with 3D, and how it has the potential to be used for good. Following conversations with NGOs (NonGovernmental Organisation) working within social violence, they had a theory – to create

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a STEM-focused academy that could help women at-risk to learn valuable skills and open them up to entirely new careers and opportunities. Could 3D printing be the key to breaking the cycle? “One of the biggest challenges is, once women are rescued from an exploitative or dangerous situation, such as trafficking, they are not given many opportunities to rebuild their lives in a way that would lead to high-value employment and financial independence. Quite often their only opportunities are to learn skills in industries open to exploitation, low salaries and job instability, such as the garment industry or the service industry,” Sia told TCT. “Yet many of these women haven’t had the opportunity to flex their brain or be creative, it is assumed they aren’t capable to learn more advanced skills.” Katherine added: “3D printing expertise, especially in countries like India, is soughtafter. One of the problems I’ve heard from different employers is that they cannot easily find people with the skills needed to make the most of the technology. This

skills gap means employers can spend up to two years training staff for them to get headhunted by other firms. If we can provide consultants who already have the experience and skills needed, they could be highly in-demand. Free-D is focused on making sure that the skills taught are highend, with a comprehensive understanding from end-to-end of the design and manufacturing process.” To pilot the project they travelled to India, a country with an estimated total of 14 million women living in slavery and equally alarming rehabilitation rates. With laptops and a desktop 3D printer donated by early supporter PrintLab in tow, they set out to Mumbai in January 2017 where the team met with several NGOs to find out if their theory would actually work. An initial 12-month pilot programme was set up with a group of 11 women, working with local partners including Kshamata, an organisation which supports women rescued from exploitation, local jewellery school IIGJ, and 3D printer distributor, printOmake, to create a bespoke curriculum focused on the jewellery industry. The gems and jewellery market is already one of India’s fastest growing sectors and expected to be worth 100 billion USD by 2025. The jewellery industry itself is also one of the largest adopters of 3D technologies, from lost wax casting applications to precious metals, and the demand for skilled employees is high. Mumbai, specifically, is also home to one of India’s largest 3D printing service providers, Imaginarium, who partnered with Free-D to provide manufacturing and training support for the programme. With India’s heritage in jewellery manufacturing and increasing technological advancements, Kamlesh Parekh, Director at Imaginarium, says jewellery was the, “natural choice for a programme that aims at providing long-term employment.” Katherine continued: “Early on during training, we found that exercises based around jewellery was something the women could relate to and get creative

JEWELLERY

with. That creativity was excellent as a motivator for students to keep persevering through mastering more difficult topics. We don’t want to limit the Free-D students to only work in one field, but we felt like jewellery was a really good place to start.” The team started with the basics, thinking about how things are made and the fundamental mathematical principles behind working in 3D such as placing shapes onto a build platform and experimenting with scale. Using CAD software such as Meshmixer, Rhino and Magics, the students were taken through the design thinking process to create their own jewellery projects, getting to grips with design, support structure generation, selecting the best printing method, prototyping and post-processing. Their designs were initially printed using a plastic extrusion-based process before advancing to more complex processes like stereolithography, which would ultimately be used to prepare models for the lost wax casting process. Through various modules and holistic training, not only in 3D technologies but also language and presentation skills, the goal was to have the students come away with an understanding of the different roles within the product design process with a view to future employment. “I think in general, 3D printing differentiates itself from other STEM subjects,” Sia commented. “You are able to design something, to think something up in your head and within a matter of hours it physically exists. The power you feel, the confidence you gain in saying ‘I thought of something and now it’s here’, after working in the industry for a long time, you can forget the almost magical side of using the technology. That’s something we’re also exploring, to see whether 3D printing itself can actually be empowering and therapeutic.” The first stage of the pilot programme has just reached completion with each of the students presenting their projects to prospective employers. Ten were offered placements with Imaginarium and Fab Jewels, a huge success for the pilot but the impact spans much further. Many of the students said the course, though challenging, had given them not only a new skillset but more confidence in themselves and new perspectives on working life. Some are now planning on furthering their CAD education and finding skilled work in the jewellery industry, others have ambitions to start their own creative

side projects. One student, Sara* has dreams of launching her own business to help other people from disadvantaged areas. Sara commented: “I’m interested to learn more about CAD and design and [gain] more knowledge about manufacturing so that in the future I can open my own operation in a place not very developed, where people really need help. What I have gone through in my childhood, I don’t want anyone else to go through that. I want them to know about their rights, I didn’t know about mine. I want to help children, so they have opportunities that I missed out on. I want to become a role model.” Following the success of the pilot, the plan is to turn the programme into a repeatable model that can support even more women. Initially, a range inspired by the students will be manufactured by Imaginarium and available to buy from Free-D and other stockists. Katherine hopes the profits can be used to setup a new manufacturing and training facility so that brands and retailers who care about an ethical supply chain can start making orders for jewellery this year, with pilot graduates working directly on orders or as CAD and manufacturing consultants. Free-D are openly looking for partners to support them in setting up their facility and helping them develop the curriculum to be at the cutting edge of the technology. Katherine concluded: “We’ve already learned so much from our pilot. In the future, I don’t see why we couldn’t set up centres all over India or anywhere there is demand for 3D printing skills. Free-D so far has benefited from support from a small but dedicated group of pilot partners. To take this program to the next level, it would be great to hear from potential partner companies or individuals looking to support the cause by providing the technology, tools and expertise required to make the industry as a whole more accessible.”

*Names have been changed.

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JEWELLERY

3D PRINTED JEWELLERY HITS THE MAINSTREAM WORDS: DANIEL O’CONNOR

D printed jewellery can be a little esoteric; at TCT Magazine, we’re privy to incredibly intricate designs that could only be made using 3D printing but you’re not likely to see a piece in Goldsmiths or H Samuel, they’re more often than not bespoke one-offs for discerning consumers. But is that tide about to change? For last year’s Poppy Appeal, The Royal British Legion may have fundamentally shifted 3D printed jewellery into the mainstream without the mainstream even knowing. The item in question is the Nylon Poppy Pin, which sold out on the Poppy Shop website weeks before Remembrance Sunday, with comments on the consumer reviews website, Feefo, like: “Looks really cool and had compliments about it. 5 Stars” - Julie Osborn “Unusual and can be used time and time again. 5 Stars” - Anthony Howard “A stand out talking piece. 5 Stars” - Scott Hilditch The backbone of the Nylon Poppy Pin is produced with selective laser sintering (SLS), not that you’d know it, the manufacturing process is secondary to the style. As it should be. The idea came about in April 2018 when the Royal British Legion’s retail buyer and product developer was referred to a 3D printing studio in London through connections at the Birmingham City Jewellery School.

This being the charity’s first foray into 3D printing, there were questions about design constraints, materials, fixing, quantities etc. Quality and cost were taken into consideration but an essential for the Legion team was to achieve the pure red colour to replicate the poppy. After the team at the service bureau presented a number of designs it was decided to go with one that took the profile of their poppy logo, this was then dished and the internal area was given a tessellated surface to reflect the digital nature of production. To make use of processes the Legion already had in place and to elevate the piece the service bureau designed a hole that allowed a brass disc finding, to be snapped into place. That brass disc

was already being used for another of its jewellery pieces meaning that the Legion did not have to source or commission a specific new finding and the assemblers would be entirely familiar with how to fit together. Having resolved the design, 1,000 were packed into the tightest possible build volume and printed in an EOS Formiga Nylon SLS 3d printer. Once produced, they were cleaned of the loose powder and vibro finished in order to smooth the components. These were then dyed in proprietary equipment to produce the finished red poppy parts. They were then shipped to the assembly company where the brass findings were attached to finish the brooches. The 1,000 brooches went up for sale on the Poppy Shop site and sold out within weeks. The likelihood is, with the success of the 2018 pilot run, the Royal British Legion will turn to 3D printing again for the 2019 Poppy Appeal. The mass production element to this story seems to signify a shift in thinking, no longer is 3D printing simply a gimmicky sales tool for 3D printed jewellery, it is a sustainable, affordable means of manufacturing a mainstream product. This is a breakthrough.

 TOP:

3D PRINTED POPPY PINS AFTER DYING PROCESS

 ABOVE:

CAD DESIGN OF THE POPPY BIN WITH BRASS FINDING

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POST-PROCESSING

AWARD WINNING FINISH WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

 BELOW:

DENTAL PARTS BEFORE AND AFTER ELECTROPOLISHING

t Formnext 2018, splashes of purple could be spotted on a select few stands as this year’s TCT Awardwinning exhibitors proudly displayed their industry expert-approved tech to the masses. One such badge-holder was Barcelona-based, Steros GPA Innovate S.L. (GPA INNOVA), which took home the TCT Post Processing Award 2018 for its DLyte dry electropolishing system. Founded in 2015, GPA INNOVA specialises in machinery for metal surface finishing. Its DryLyte technology, which combines grinding and polishing in a one-step process to produce shiny finished parts, is said to be the first dry electropolishing system of its kind. Unlike traditional methods, DryLyte does not use liquid as the electrolyte but instead uses ion transport via free solid bodies which enable the removal of material from only the peaks of roughness and without changing the part’s shape, tolerances or leaving any micro scratches on the surface. The process can handle complex geometries and penetrate all dead zones for a range of metals including steel and stainlesssteel, cobalt chrome, titanium, aluminium, nickel and precious metal alloys for dental, healthcare, aerospace, automotive and other industries. Depending on the application, the process time can be reduced by around 75% compared to mechanical techniques. Jaume Miras, Finance Director at GPA INNOVA explained: “Our system is working like digital polishing, we don’t really need to press to create pressure on the surface, we don’t need to create movement on the surface, we just need the ball to touch the surface and then it’s this ion transport from the piece to the media. The metal will remain inside the media and after some hours or after the

time of use, you need to replace with fresh media.” The process is completely automated and does not require programming, particularly beneficial for processing batches of customised AM parts. Though the technology is also aimed at more traditional processes such as CNC machining and casting, the company has partnered with a number of additive manufacturing OEMs including EOS, Renishaw and 3D Systems to help provide a complete solution for producing finished parts with a surface roughness of under 0.09 micrometres. “When you don’t have really big volumes with the same part, for example in the dental field where every mouth is different, so every part will be different, you would need programming for each part,” Miras commented. “That’s why our system doesn’t need programming, you can put several parts in the same batch and it’s just a standard program because it’s not dependent on the geometry of the part.”

With different machines designed for various sectors and materials, the company already has around 140 of its systems installed worldwide. The majority are based in Europe with customers primarily in the dental industry but its machines are also being adopted by bigger firms such as French aerospace company, Safran Group and global medical giant, Johnson & Johnson. One mid-sized dental laboratory which produces around 50 pieces a day is said to be saving around 102,000 EURO a year, primarily in labour costs, compared to manual polishing and is averaging around nine finished parts per hour with the DLyte Dental system. Expanding that even further, at Formnext, its new DLyte 10000 Industrial Series machine (coming soon, GPA INNOVA says) could be seen coupled with a KUKA robotic arm, an example of how systems can be customised and adapted to fit into current production workflows. Miras added: “When we go to the industry we see that each company is different. This machine will also need to be included in the current production chain so of course, we need to adapt somehow. This will be a standard machine with some adaptations to meet the customer needs and that will be something that comes very soon for all industries and with really customised solutions.”

 ABOVE:

TITANIUM MEDICAL PART FINISHED WITH DRYLYTE

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POST-PROCESSING

SMART TO FINISH

SHOWN: AMT’S POSTPRO3D SYSTEM

AFTER FEATURING IN THE TCT MAGAZINE 25.1 POST-PROCESSING FEATURE, ASSISTANT EDITOR, SAM DAVIES REVISITS ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES (AMT) AFTER A BUSY COUPLE OF YEARS.

wo years is a long time in business, but for this company it has seen the launch of its flagship post-processing system, the evolution of the technology that powers it, an expansion into North America, and in Q2 of 2019, it prepares for the introduction of an additional product. AMT’s patent-pending PostPro3D machine was made commercially available last autumn, ahead of its trade show debut in Frankfurt. It was being deployed in factories on both sides of the Atlantic before the year was out, and will soon be in China too. It is an automation-ready surface-finishing machine, boasting a process chamber of 600 x 400 x 400 mm, process run time of between 90-120 minutes, and is priced at between 80-100,000 GBP, depending on the scale of smart tech integration required by the customer. BLAST, or Boundary Layer Automated Smoothing Technology, is the technology developed from University of Sheffield’s pUSH process, and promises closed loop controllable and repeatable smoothing. It can be used to enhance the aesthetics and performance of parts and also to better functionalise them, adding glossiness, colour, textures or eliminating failure initiation sites on the surface. “It means that you have a machine that can easily erase the ‘stair-stepping’ of 3D printed parts without tumbling, media blasting, or any of the traditional manual and pseudoautomated labour-intensive methods,” explains Joseph Crabtree, CEO, AMT. “It means that you can add value, increasing the look, feel, and the performance of parts in minutes and with a minimal impact on their production cost.” The proprietary technology also boasts proficiency in removing porosity and sealing parts.

When its chemical consumable agent, in gas form and under controlled temperature and pressure, comes into contact with a given material, the material is changed from solid to liquid. In powder processes, partially sintered particles at the surface get dissolved, and in extrusion processes, there is a self-levelling and healing effect that fills gaps between layers. For a company targeting the automotive, aerospace, medical and consumer markets, these are important capabilities. Supplementing the PostPro3D’s proficiencies is its UL certification, a first for the postprocessing market, which remarks the machine as repeatable at scale. But AMT not only wants to deliver a functional, future-ready system into the aforementioned verticals, the company’s guiding principle is safety and sustainability. “As we scale to true industrial additive manufacturing, it is critical that we have safety and sustainability

at the cornerstone of everything we do,” Crabtree said. “We are developing all our systems to have zero waste [or] eﬄuent, [and be] automated and power efficient. In addition, we are launching a range of Engineered ‘Green’ Solvent consumables that we have been developing in conjunction with the University of Sheffield and our team of chemists. We challenge other companies that call themselves innovative to change their methods of make.” Meanwhile, AMT is looking to expand its own offering to the industry too. The company is currently setting up an innovation centre in Austin, TX, which will act as its North American headquarters and offer a benchmarking service, similar to its facility in Sheffield, UK which offers a 24-hour turnaround on parts. Then, there’s the new product, PostPro Mini. When AMT brought the PostPro3D to market last year, Crabtree and his team aimed it towards larger industrial end users, those more likely to have AM machines running around the clock manufacturing end-use products. The PostPro3D Mini is a scaled down version, developed in parallel with the original, offering a process chamber a third of the size at a price between 2030,000 GBP. Its launch is imminent, and contrary to the tech, AMT won’t be finished there.

 ABOVE:

EYEWEAR FRAME PRINTED WITH HP’S MULTI JET FUSION FULL COLOUR & FINISHED WITH AMT’S BLAST TECHNOLOGY

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 019

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DESIGN SOFTWARE

CUSTOMISING COMPUTERAIDED DESIGN USING PROGRAM SYNTHESIS TAO DU, A PHD STUDENT IN THE COMPUTATIONAL FABRICATION GROUP OF MIT’S COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY (CSAIL).

early all commercial products start as a CAD file, a 2D or 3D model with the product’s design specifications. One method that’s widely used to represent today’s 3D models is constructive solid geometry (CSG), a technique where numerous basic shapes, or “primitives,” with a few adjustable parameters can be assembled in various ways to form a single object. When finalised, the compiled digital object is converted to a mesh of 3D triangles that defines the object’s shape. These meshes are used as input for many applications, including 3D printing and virtual simulation.

automatically constructs computer programs based on a set of grammars. Essentially, to build CAD models, designers assemble individual shapes into a final object; the researchers’ method does the reverse, disassembling the CAD models into individual shapes that can be edited. As input, the system takes a 3D triangle mesh and first determines the individual shapes that make it up. Program synthesis crawls through the shapes, trying to figure out how the shapes were put together and assembled into the final model. The final shapes contain editable parameters for users to tweak that can be reuploaded to the mesh.

Customising that mesh, however, is no easy task. With complex models comprising thousands of triangles, customisation becomes daunting and time-consuming. Traditional techniques to convert triangle meshes back into shapes don’t scale well to complex models or work accurately on low-resolution, noisy files.

After the system receives an input mesh, a preprocessing step detects the possible locations, orientations, and parameters of all primitive shapes. This process creates a massive point cloud across the surface of the triangle mesh. A special “primitive-detection” algorithm infers from these points the dimensions for each primitive shape that makes up the mesh.

In a paper presented at the recent AMC SIGGRAPH Asia conference, MIT researchers describe a system that applies a technique called program synthesis to break down CAD models into their primitive shapes. Program synthesis

The researchers then sample tons of points in the entire 3D space and flag them as either inside or outside the mesh. This helps determine how the shapes converge or relate to one

another. A simple example is a mesh consisting of two spheres, A and B, merged together. If one sampled point falls inside sphere A, one inside sphere B, and one at the intersection of the two (inside both A and B), it’s most likely a union of the two shapes. Given this information, along with the primitive dimensions, program synthesis could potentially create a CGS tree. But, 3D meshes of even low complexity would require program synthesis to sample tens of thousands of points. This would create a massive search space that’s computationally impractical to handle. To ensure the system worked efficiently, the researchers designed a sampling method that creates several small subsets of point samples across the 3D space, which is much easier for program synthesis to compute. By sampling these subsets, it creates a new candidate “program,” or CGS tree, that could be considered correct. After numerous iterations — and using techniques to eliminate certain points and trees — the system lands on the correct CGS tree for each shape, with correct intermediate steps and final parameters. Any edited shapes are fed back into the mesh as the system computationally follows the intermediate steps back to the final object. The process could be useful in manufacturing or when combined with 3D printing software. This is especially important in the age of design sharing, where amateur 3D printer users upload 3D print models to websites for online communities to download and modify. Uploads are mostly triangle meshes because meshes are far more universally accepted across platforms than the original CSG-based CAD files. The system can potentially handle other formats like point clouds by adding a preprocessing step.

SHOWN: TECHNIQUE BREAKS DOWN COMPLEX CAD MODELS INTO THE INDIVIDUAL SHAPES THEY’RE MADE OF. (IMAGE COURTESY OF THE RESEARCHERS)

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 021

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DESIGN SOFTWARE

HOW FORD AUTOMATED THE DESIGN OF MANUFACTURING AIDS WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

3D PRINTED JIGS AND FIXTURES ARE USED BY JUST ABOUT EVERY VEHICLE MANUFACTURER IN THE WORLD TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY ON THE PRODUCTION LINE. NOW, FORD WANTS TO TACKLE THE NEXT BOTTLENECK, DESIGN.

t Ford’s Research & Innovation Center in Aachen, Germany, the automotive leader is using intuitive software to automate the design of additive manufactured production tools. The software was created by the Berlinbased company Trinckle (stylised as trinckle), whose flagship software “paramate” simplifies the design process for user-specific products, whether that’s consumer goods like eyewear or the mass customisation of copper inductors, which saw the company scoop last year’s TCT Industrial Product Application Award.

To overcome that, Trinckle has worked with Ford to develop an internal application for the efficient generation of labelling jigs – a hand tool used to accurately place name and model badges on the body of a vehicle.

While it’s no secret that producing tools and manufacturing aids via traditional methods are expensive, Ford found that up to 50% of its total costs per tool were, in fact, in the manual design step, “the new bottleneck” as Lars Bognar, a research engineer at Ford Research & Advanced Engineering Europe, calls it.

Within the software, the user simply uploads the model data of the car body and paramate’s algorithms then automatically generate the geometry of the tool to fit the contour of the car and form the base of the new jig. Additional elements such as handles, magnet mounts for fixation and edge guides can then be added by simply clicking on where the engineer wishes to place them. This particular application has reduced the design process from 2-4 hours down to just 10 minutes without the need for a CAD or an AM-trained engineer. Ford believes this has the potential to save thousands of Euros per tool, which, considering its Ford Focus alone is manufactured using over 50 custom designed jigs, tools and fixtures, could account for colossal savings across multiple models.

“For each new line and each special edition, these tools must be specifically designed to position the badges with exact accuracy,” Bognar explained. “This design task is not a trivial one, as the tools have to adapt precisely to the free-form surfaces of the car body sheet. It can easily last between two and four hours to create an appropriate AM-ready design.”

“The labelling jig itself is not different from the jigs we have seen before. The innovation is that you don’t need a CAD experienced person for the final design. The software application is

so intuitive that anyone, with a little bit of technical understanding, can create such a jig,” Dr. Ole Bröker, Head of Business Development & Consulting at Trinckle, told TCT. “Ford’s goal is to enable employees on the shop floor to do the design adaptions on their own, within some boundaries of course. This would mean opening the design process for those who work with the tools on a daily basis.” The designs are sent directly to Ultimaker Cura software and 3D printed on-site using, for example, desktop Ultimaker S5 machines, which Ford has installed inside its shop floors across Europe. Though this application is still in the R&D department, after a successful pilot, Trinckle says the possibilities are wide open. Bröker added: “We just picked the low hanging fruit with these labelling jigs and of course we go further, we are already working on the next application within the field of production and assembly means at Ford. These are a great use cases for our paramate software because these tool geometries are very use case specific. They are not even too complex in many cases, but they still demand a lot of timeconsuming manual design work. We try to get rid of that.”

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 023

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THE NEW SCHOOL

FEATURE COMPILED BY DANIEL O’CONNOR, LAURA GRIFFITHS AND SAM DAVIES.

LEADERS OF THE NEW WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

PETTIS

BURNS

REICHENTAL

WEIJMARSHAUSEN

WILSON

HARKER

ix years ago, as I was starting out at Rapid News with an understanding of 3D printing that amounted to a miniature version of the Sand Beast seen on television’s QI, the then editor of TCT Magazine (now VP Content Strategy & Partnerships at Rapid News), James Woodcock was embarking on a tour of the U.S. speaking to the most influential personalities in what was then a shape-shifting industry. The result was a front cover with six faces above the headline, “Leaders of the New School.” It caused much consternation in the 3D printing world; many decrying the absence of their company’s figurehead, some suggesting that there was more

than a whiff of BS from the printer in every home movement, a couple of comments even suggested one of the faces should be arrested (there’s been an interesting development in that regard). What is undeniable is that each one of those six has left a lasting impression on the world of 3D printing, particularly in the eyes of the mainstream media. What is interesting is that such is the flux in this industry only one is on the same path, and his road has been particularly bumpy. Over the following six pages, the current TCT Editorial team will look at either the people or the companies and ask the question, what happened next? - Daniel O’Connor 27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 025

THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF A 3D PRINTING EVANGELIST WORDS: SAM DAVIES

t’s said you should never make predictions, especially about the future.

But it can be difficult to suppress a belief when there is so much passion immersed within it. Avi Reichental would typically wax lyrical about the potential 3D printing had in your home, moreover, every room in your home. He did so in this magazine, in fact, in 2013. In this moment, he was the CEO of 3D Systems, the oldest, and still one of the largest, vendors in the space, while the industry had reached the peak of its hype cycle. His was one of the loudest voices in its climb there, and one of the last remaining when doubt superseded. “Our position is that consumers are asking for access to 3D printing and it is our job to provide the tools and the content,” he said in 2013 when questioned on the increasing scepticism in consumer demand. “We intend to reserve judgement and let the consumer decide about 3D printing.” A mathematical equation had formed in Reichental’s mind, in which the sum was consumer demand, and the addends democratisation and education. Democratisation was ‘key’, education was ‘the most fundamental change that needed to happen’. His calculation was supplemented by some workings out: pricing would come down, machines become easier to use, they would be integrated into the curriculum at primary, secondary and higher education, and ultimately, people wouldn’t know how to live without them. Every broken part replaced by a 3D printed one, every child’s desire addressed with a desktop machine.

026 / www.tctmagazine.com / 27.1

Reichental chased the consumer market, championed it and believed in it, and in 2015, he and 3D Systems parted ways. “I was wrong about that,” he told TCT. “I used to say it’s not going to be a matter of whether or not you will have a 3D printer in every home, the question will be in what room in your house would you like to have a 3D printer and for what purpose. It didn’t happen the way I envisioned it. The democratisation of 3D printing happened, we can buy printers today for 198 dollars, the migration to schools and libraries happened, [but] the migration to the home I was totally wrong about. “Something very interesting happened. We see many of these would-be home printers [have] become good enough for small engineering firms. The democratisation of that class of printers that started with the whole Makerbot movement ended up giving professionals a better, cheaper tool.” Reichental made these comments at Formnext 2018, where XponentialWorks, the company he now heads, exhibited the capabilities of a selection of the start-ups it represents. Nexa3D debuted its industrialgrade SLA systems, which will be made available this year at price points between 20,000 USD and 50,000 USD, and sample parts like engine blocks and pull handles. NxtFactory showcased its QLS 250 and 350 SLS machines, priced at 80,000 USD and 120,000 USD, along with some printed shoe soles and a differential hub produced with John Deere. And Paramatters was demoing its generative design software, which boasts finite element analysis capabilities, and is being used by Ford, Renishaw, and Stanley Black & Decker. The stand’s

centrepiece was a Mini with a selection of concept applications. The standout was a 3D printed trailing arm suspension, designed to deliver the same performance as its casted counterpart but with a weight reduction of 47%. He believes the price points and performance of these technologies serve to address his long-held view on democratisation and supplement his more contemporary fixation around Industry 4.0. As we look outwards from his stand tucked away in the corner of Hall 3.0, GE, Trumpf, and Desktop Metal are all in eyeshot. They’re companies who see the place additive manufacturing (AM) has on the factory floor, its potential – real potential – to disrupt the wider manufacturing market. But similar barriers remain, and this trio are not alone in still having work to do on the democratisation of their technology.

THE NEW SCHOOL

 BELOW:

XPONENTIALWORKS’ FORMNEXT SHOWPIECE, FEATURING AN ARRAY OF 3D PRINTED APPLICATIONS.

schools and middle schools and high schools and universities of various complexity are being integrated into other curriculums, which means we’re getting to a point where people understand that 3D printing doesn’t exist for the sake of 3D printing. It’s a tool that unleashes creativity.”

SHOWN: TOPOLOGICALLY OPTIMISED STEERING WHEEL

“The throughput and the total cost of ownership have to be comparable or better [than conventional methods]. Then you really democratise because for the first time you really unleash much more effective designs for additive manufacturing that don’t require set-up, that don’t come with some costly tooling, that give you the flexibility to make millions of identical parts or millions of one-of-akind parts without any additional penalties,” Reichental assessed. “That

SHOWN: TRAILING ARM SUSPENSION GENERATIVELY DESIGNED TO SAVE 47% WEIGHT AND PRINTED IN ALUMINIUM.

gives you digital inventory instead of warehouses stuffed with goods that don’t move. That gives you the ability to teleport products across borders digitally without getting encumbered with all these trade wars and so forth. That’s democratisation. Giving customers access to high-speed, cost-effective design and manufacturing.” It’s the start of manufacturing becoming sexy again, Reichental believes. Parts being generatively designed and manufacturing with the aid of automation processes: ‘These technologies have been around for years, but now we have the computational power to do something about it,’ he notes. This is to be aided by familiarity of 3D printing technology, ensuring the next generation has the adequate digital literacy to maintain this next phase of industrial revolution. “We are sitting here with 50 companies that can deliver you a 3D printer to a school or library for a few hundred dollars,” Reichental said. “We see a real explosion of not just design curriculums to learn digital fabrication, but we see how 3D printing in elementary

He continued this train of thought and it led him back to a path already tread: “It’s an instrument that enables all of us to become digital craftsmen.” The more he sits and ponders, the more his mind wanders. He was wrong, he conceded as much, and yet as he debates the 3D printing/ consumer poser, even today, he begins to think he might yet be right. Amazon Web Services’ majority stake in Shapeways means he can imagine a world where the consumer’s Amazon Echo sits beside a desktop 3D printer: “You will say, ‘Alexa, print me a Christmas ornament,’ and Amazon will send you a file and you will print it.” It’s what can happen when passion intertwines with enthusiasm, even when other passions surrounding 3D printing’s implementation in factories co-exist, and even if the enthusiasm is rash: “I am encouraged by the tell-tale signs and I’m not giving up on it. I’m optimistic, maybe foolishly optimistic, but optimistic,” laughed Reichental. The dream lives on, but the pursuit, for now at least, remains dormant. His enduring optimism in the consumer market is not immediate per XponentialWorks’ Formnext booth. Similarly, and despite the consumer focus that developed, 3D Systems’ large play in industry throughout Reichental’s tenure cannot go unmentioned. His downfall was that his optimism in the consumer market didn’t dwindle when that of the majority did. He fell foul of chasing a target audience when the applications, by and large, didn’t exist. Sure, you could 3D print a spare part for your utilities and furniture, but how often do you need to? You can hope that by democratising and educating, the next generation will be so obsessed with 3D printing that a desktop machine is as commonplace as a television or a laptop, but not everyone wants to be a digital craftsman. Perhaps we should leave it to those that do. As a leader of the new school in 2013, Reichental said democratisation was key, education was too, that the consumer would decide about 3D printing, and the demand was there. Through the endeavours of his new venture, there’s acceptance that he was right, and he was wrong.

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 027

THE EVOLUTION OF WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

MAKERBOT D

uring a recent flight to New York, I finally got around to watching Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett pull off an elaborate jewellery heist in Oceans Eight. I knew 3D printing featured in the movie but hadn’t anticipated it would play such a key role in the plot, allowing the con artists to replicate a priceless diamond necklace using a desktop, plastic-extrusion printer. If you say so, Hollywood. Fittingly, this magic machine was stamped with a MakerBot logo, the very same Brooklynbased 3D printing company I was on my way to visit. MakerBot, has been a card-carrying advocate for the 3D printing revolution ever since its former CEO, Bre Pettis posed on the cover of Wired magazine claiming the Replicator was going to change the world. It was also a victim of the hype it helped create, opening short-lived physical stores (which TCT paid a visit to in 2013) and launching products too soon, like Bronze and Iron materials, which were never released commercially. As the company marks its 10-year anniversary this year, now feels like the ideal time for a new product reveal and with it, a more industrial-minded MakerBot. The following day, on the 21st floor of Brooklyn’s Metro Tech Center, the company launched its latest machine which aims to bridge the gap between desktop and industrial 3D printing. The Method is designed to deliver industrial precision, reliability, and dimensional accuracy at a more accessible price of 6,499 USD. The system, which MakerBot has been working on for two years and believes opens up a new category in “Performance 3D Printing”, feels like a logical next step for the company, which has realigned itself across education and professional verticals under the leadership of CEO Nadav Goshen. The machine is aimed at professionals to enable testing and validation of accurate prototypes and faster product design cycles, leveraging expertise from Stratasys, of which MakerBot is

028 / www.tctmagazine.com / 27.1

a subsidiary, and the accessibility of its own machines. This feels evident in its design which could pass as a desktop version of Stratasys’ popular F123 Series and the installation of a touch screen interface in place of the manual control knob from the Replicator+. Its sturdy Ultra-Rigid metal frame houses a Circulating Heated Chamber which regulates the temperature to provide cooling at a controlled rate, while new Dual Performance Extruders combining water-soluble PVA, enable print speeds up to two times faster than current desktop systems. It also features dry-sealed material bays to keep out moisture, a spring steel build plate to allow parts to be popped off, and built in sensors and automation features. The Method will initially be available with PETG material but MakerBot says there are more to follow across two categories; Precision and Specialty Materials. On the software side, MakerBot Print is compatible with 25 of the most popular CAD programs and supports collaborative cloudSHOWN: HISTORY OF MAKERBOT HARDWARE AT ITS BROOKLYN HQ

based working. The software offers default print modes as well as the option to choose your own custom settings, with the overall aim to get you from design to print as fast as possible. We also saw how parts can be nested in MakerBot Print so that designers can print multiple components, leveraging the water-soluble support material, to create full prototypes in a single print run. The decision for MakerBot to go for the gap between desktop and industrial is interesting. Speaking with Goshen, the company spotted a need to “develop something completely new” and in the last two years, has invested heavily in order to bring as many industrial features as possible into the desktop format it is known for without having to compromise on quality. For businesses who may have been previously priced out by larger industrial systems or needed something more from the desktop, the Method may be just the thing.

SHOWN:

MAKERBOT METHOD

THE NEW SCHOOL

THE SHAPE OF 3D PRINTING TO COME WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

hen TCT last visited Shapeways in 2014, The Netherlands-founded company had recently set up its North American facility in Long Island City, amassed over 15,000 store owners on its platform, and had dreams of creating the first Shapeways’ millionaire. A lot has changed since then, the company has a new CEO, the number of businesses run through Shapeways has tripled, and several of those are making millions of dollars of revenue, some even setting up their own teams. Now over a decade into the game, the feel as you walk into Shapeways Factory is still very much that of a start-up – you’re unlikely to find machines named after Marvel characters and pop divas at a big corporate – but the company’s CEO Gregory Kress, who joined the company just 12 months ago following the departure of Co-Founder and CEO Peter Weijmarshausen, embraces that. “We’re a start-up, we’re still young and we’re still growing and still figuring things out,” he tells me on a recent tour of the facility. The Long Island factory houses four primary 3D printing technologies but its versatile plastic is its most popular offering with around 50% of parts being produced on its arsenal of 11 EOS selective laser sintering systems. Its R&D department is home to some newer installations including Formlabs’ Form Cell, Stratasys’ J750 full colour multi-material printer, currently in beta testing, and Carbon’s CLIP technology, which was still in the process of being setup during our visit. Meanwhile, over in the original Eindhoven factory, HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology has really hit its stride. Files come in and are assigned in a sort of “3D Tetris” style to maximise build platform capacity. They’re then printed and any required post-processing such as polishing or dying is carried out before they’re passed on to the distribution centre for shipping. In the past, Shapeways may have been considered more of a marketplace for 3D content (it was once described as the “Etsy of 3D printing”) than a manufacturing service

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50% OF SHAPEWAYS’ PRODUCTS ARE PRINTED WITH EOS SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING

provider, but now with a fresh rebrand and focus on “design, make, sell” functionality, it positions itself as “a silent partner behind the scenes” helping small businesses to get their products delivered to customers. “Our customers have a deep understanding of their market fit and what their customers need - we’re just enabling that process,” Kress explained. “Most of them have design issues, most of them want mass customisation, most of them need more than just 3D printing, they’re not asking for prototypes. What we’re trying to do now is remove as much friction from that process as we can and really just help them be more successful.” With most creators choosing to set up individual stores on other platforms, Shapeways has developed integrations with the likes of Shopify and Etsy, enabling customers to order products directly from other webstores, have them sent straight to the Shapeways factory and delivered to their door, often with the store’s own branding stamped on the box. “We don’t ever want to say that we take a file and turn it into a product, there’s so

much more complexity in this process and the real value that we can create is helping our creatives today,” Kress said. Last year, Shapeways announced 30 million USD in new funding to facilitate its expansion and celebrated its 10 millionth printed part. It continues to partner with OEMs to prove out new technologies and Kress isn’t resting on any laurels when looking to the future. “Even in the last year we’ve made so many changes to things we’ve been doing for a long time. I’m trying to be as agile as possible,” Kress added. “We’re a startup – if we change all of our processes tomorrow, I don’t care, we’ll figure it out, whatever is best for our customers.”

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EXPERIENCE COUNTS WORDS: DANIEL O’CONNOR

avid Burns featured on the Leaders of the New School front cover back in 2013, he was then CEO of ExOne and had just led the company to IPO, Dave left ExOne after a decade of service in 2015. He remains a firm favourite on the speaker circuit and recently completed a keynote at TCT Japan in Tokyo. The company he left behind ExOne has, in the past year ramped up its hardware innovation launching the Innovent + platform at RAPID + TCT 2018 and at Formnext I caught up with ExOne’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jared Helfrich to talk about the brand new X1 25PRO. “The X1 25Pro is essentially a scale-up of the Innovent+ system; it prints using very fine MIM powders - you’re talking nine microns - it is a mid-size production machine, and it enables you to take all of your process settings, everything you’ve learned from Innovent+ and have a more volumetric output.”

the big benefit is the surface finish, the surface quality and full density single alloys.” ExOne has a long history in binder-jetting and with the X1 25PRO system and the likes of its sandcasting S-Max system, those looking to manufacture in metal now have a broad church from which to choose. “There is a crossover point where the size or the scope of your part lends itself more to casting,” says Jared. “We are experts in both; we have the moulds and cores for castings

The system prints using MIM powders such as 136L, 304 L, and 17-4PH stainless steels; Inconel 718 and 625; M2 and H11 tool steels; cobalt chrome; copper; tungsten carbide-cobalt; and many more. It combines these powders with a binder to print a green part, that is then sintered leaving a fully dense part. “The powder metallurgy of MIM powders is well known,” says Jared. “[When sintered] you’re going to have a uniform shrinkage that is predictable, you’ll make sure you know what the scale is but after that it becomes a repeatable process. You’re looking at anywhere from 17-20% shrinkage, but it is uniform, well-known and repeatable.” What is remarkable about the parts Jared shows me is the surface finish; the parts are smooth and involve a threading system that fits together like a good quality nut and bolt from a hardware store. I asked the question, what post-processing steps were taken after sintering? “None,” explained Jared. “You’re looking at parts printed in very high resolution with really tight tolerances. Along with a wide variety of materials,

030 / www.tctmagazine.com / 27.1

SHOWN: X1 25PRO PLATFORM

that’s aluminium, irons and steels and then on our direct side you’ve got very highend materials, different part applications that lend themselves to that. With the spectrum of those two technologies, ExOne can cover a lot of manufacturing.” ExOne will begin taking orders for the X1 25PRO system immediately. Customers will have the opportunity to see the X1 25 PRO on display at the RAPID + TCT 3D event in Detroit on May 21-23, 2019.

THE NEW SCHOOL

JOSHUA HARKER AND THE 3D PRINTED JOLLY ROGER WORDS: DANIEL O’CONNOR

hen the editorial team embarked on this idea to update on those famous faces on the front cover of July 2013’s TCT Magazine, there was one figure whose face required a gentle memory jog. This gentleman was everywhere in 2013 but piracy and circumstances forced him into unchartered waters. Joshua Harker keynoted at TCT Show + Personalize 2013 on the back of his Crania Anatomica Filigre skull-based model becoming the most-funded sculpture project in Kickstarter history. He was the first person to create a business based on 3D printed art, and his skulls became synonymous with 3D printing in the mainstream media. With the uptake in interest in his work and a commission from Burning Man festival in the bag, 2014 was looking bright for Josh, but, as he explained to TCT in an email, best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry: “In the space of just a few months I had an entire collection of 3D printed art stolen from a show tour in Russia, ripoffs of my filigree skulls started showing up in department stores, I spent significant amounts of money and effort to enforce my copyright with little result. The production partner I had committed to restructured their quoting algorithm, increasing pricing by as much as 400%; and they then also began promoting knockoffs of my work by other designers. Then there was the Burning Man project, which I invested an entire year of work and attention to that didn’t go as planned. All this contributed to the derailing of

WORDS: DANIEL O’CONNOR

CODY

WILSON

ilson featured on the front cover on that edition of TCT Magazine as at the time he was making 3D printing front page news world over. Personally, I don’t want to give the man more publicity other than to update on his current status:

SHOWN: JOSHUA HARKER’S LATEST WORK FOR ROLLS-ROYCE AS A CELEBRATION OF ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH TAP AIRLINES.

acquisitions, and money grabs rather than the long-term benefits versus drawbacks of the technology, not to mention endless copycat designs. I’d always tried to promote a the project I was putting together sense of community & be an ambassador for 3D printing, but at the time to develop a new it became increasingly apparent 3D printer technology which I that I needed to reassess.” had hoped my various ventures Fortunately, for those of us who would have helped fund.” admire Josh’s work, reassess A family tragedy unfolded at did not mean walk the plank. the same time, leaving Josh’s 2014 in tatters. His world-famous Harker is back with a new studio in artsy Ann Arbor, Michigan, skulls became so pirated that it and his latest commission is would not be a surprise to see a beautiful piece designed to one on Captain Jack Sparrow’s mast. He decided to start putting celebrate Rolls-Royce and Trans Air Portugal’s partnership through some distance between himself the Trent 7000 turbine engine. and the 3D printing world. “I’m in a very good place today “I’ve repeatedly had to partly due to having navigated wrestle with companies (large & these trying circumstances and small) trying to co-opt my work I’ve searched deeply to find to sell their products. Some relationships with the well-known passion for my work again. So... after having time to reboot and larger manufacturers began refocus I am planning a return fairly but inevitably deteriorated to public eye soon with some as marketing priorities spiralled exciting new projects. 3D printing out of control. Nearly overnight will continue to play a major role the entire [3D printing] scene in much of it.” became more focused on investment opportunities,

In September 2018, the Austin Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Wilson, who was accused of sexually assaulting an underage teenager on August 15 after reportedly soliciting contact with the girl on website SugarDaddyMeet. com. Wilson was arrested in Taiwan after missing his return flight home. Wilson is now expected to appear in court in Texas in early February. The charges filed against him include: four counts of sexual assault of a child two charges of indecency with a child by contact two charges of indecency with a child by exposure Mr Wilson’s defence lawyer Andino Reynal told the Austin American Statesman newspaper: “Mr. Wilson at all times believed reasonably that the complaining witness was a consenting adult.”

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 031

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TITOMIC: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE WORDS: SAM DAVIES

midst talk of the biggest metal additive manufacturing system SHOWN: in the world and bicycle frames TITOMIC’S FORMNEXT BOOTH being built and finished in under 30 minutes, is a company that, when you pull back the curtain, is indulging in plenty of action titanium or titanium alloy particles out of a nozzle onto a scaffold. When the too. Titomic is what happens when a government particles collide, they fuse together. This process can be packaged into ‘solutions’ wants to make better use of its rich titanium customised to the user’s demands, or reserves, a fashion generated by widespread sold as ‘off the shelf’ platforms with industrial use of the material, and the national build envelopes up to 9 x 3 x 1.5 m, research organisation (CSIRO) develops a and typically comprises of a spray head patented manufacturing technology able to attached to a Kuka or ABB Robotic arm. process it. A larger TKF set-up can consistently build Those reserves, per the U.S. Geological at 30kg of material an hour, and up to Survey 2014, include 24,000 million metric 500kg a day. tonnes of rutile, the most common titanium dioxide mineral, and 160,000 million metric 22 IN BLUE tonnes of ilmenite, a titanium-iron oxide mineral It can make use of Australia’s titanium – respectively the largest and second-largest abundance, then, but what does it mean totals in the world. The industrial use spans the in practice? Lang offered the marine aerospace, automotive, defense, marine, and industry as a target market: one where consumer goods sectors. And the technology titanium is used plenty, but where the is a cold spray process being marketed as processing of such quantities of material Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) after CSIRO may be cost prohibitive. Fine titanium licensed it exclusively to the Melbourne-based powders can be priced around 250 vendor. USD per kilo, meaning on a particularly Instead of exporting those reserves as raw material or selling as titanium dioxide, an initiative was put in place to begin processing and producing with it in large quantities. “Rather than sell the resource, build industry around [it],” Jeff Lang, Titomic CTO, summarised at Formnext. The commercialisation of TKF is key to that ambition. It works by accelerating

productive day using TKF, that’d cost a company 125,000 USD in materials alone. One of TKF’s advantages, though, is its ability to deal with irregular morphology powders, ones that don’t boast perfectly spherical particles, and cost closer to 50 USD per kilo. That particularly productive day using TKF now costs 25,000 USD in material usage.

Earlier this year, Titomic signed a Memorandum of Understanding with shipbuilding firm, Fincantieri, with a view to using TKF for the manufacture of large mechanical ship components. The vendor has been testing sample applications, and through other relationships in the marine sector with Naval Group, BAE, and Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC), is looking at how to redesign ships and how to better preserve them too. “We’re working initially on areas around coatings and hulls,” Lang said. “Currently, a normal ship has to be dry docked every two years to do a new anti-fouling coating. We’re working with our anti-fouling coatings that blends the metals, like copper and titanium, that will give a ship up to a 20-year life before it has to get dry docked. With copper, it doesn’t allow any marine growth onto it. Producing hulls is long-term, but we work with a lot of other areas [like] finding improvements in the propulsion systems, the large propellers and drive systems, and even on the turbine blades.” The marine industry is simply the tip of the iceberg, the scratching of the surface, for Titomic’s presence in industry, and Australia’s new-found use of its titanium

SHOWN: SAMPLE PART: OIL VALVE SECTION COMPONENT

resource. In addition to its naval partners, Titomic is working with Boeing, Airbus, Sonaca, Spirit Aerospace, TAUV, U.S. Raytheon, Northrop Grumann, Lockheed Martin, Callaway Golf, and even Louis Vuitton. Some want ballistic coatings, some want engine components, and some want luxury suitcases. All of them want strong, resistant, lightweight products, and Australia wants a bigger slice of the titanium pie. It’s why Titomic exists.

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 033

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FORMNEXT

M LINE HAS ARRIVED WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

n November 2016, in a packed exhibition hall in Frankfurt, a well-known additive manufacturing (AM) company gave visitors a glimpse of what their factories of the future could look like; an automated machine concept transporting builds between metal AM and processing units for serial production. Now two years later, at the very same event, that same technology from Concept Laser, acquired by GE in the launch of GE Additive, was pronounced ready to be delivered to customers. The technology in question, the Concept Laser M LINE FACTORY, is designed to deliver economical, scalable direct metal laser melting (DMLS). The modular system is made up of two parts; the M LINE FACTORY LPS (Laser Processing Station) and MHS (Material Handling Station) which allows part production and set-up and dismantling processes take part in independent units, resulting in reduced downtime and increased output. Since its debut, the M LINE, GE’s second hardware launch last year and said to be its most productive machine yet, has undergone rigorous testing which has culminated in a number of improvements to its architecture and automation capabilities. The build volume has been increased to 500 x 500 mm which is tended by four either 400 or 1000-watt lasers and the separation of individual processes means laser ‘on’ time (the time the laser is active) has been heightened. Speaking to TCT at Formnext 2018, Christine Furstoss, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at GE Additive, described how the system, due for delivery this year, will enable customers to create optimal configurations to fit their specific factory or product. “M LINE is not only the factory of the future, but really a statement in what additive needs to

be,” Furstoss told TCT. “It is our first fully software driven machine for our new CL WRX 3.0. You’ll be able to simulate the factory within the software. It really, for us, represents digital meets physical. We’ve said those words, they’re very nice words but it means being able to do simulations that you can believe, it means being able to get to first time yield from the point of view of having the part intent come out the way you want.” Software was big news on the GE stand where the company announced its strategy and a number of industry partnerships. As Furstoss and several other vendors at the show told TCT, though all paths ultimately lead through the machine, vendors are increasingly learning that software is the key. GE began to address this last year with the acquisition of GeonX to strengthen and speed up its simulation capabilities and also revealed agreements with leading vendors, Autodesk, PTC, Siemens PLM, Vera Security and Dassault Systemes alongside improvements to its build preparation workflow.

REVOLUTION? NOT JUST YET

When GE Additive first landed on the scene it talked about “accelerating the additive revolution”. Two years on, Furstoss is refreshingly pragmatic about this approach and believes that while a revolution is possible, “revelation” is more fitting for where the industry is currently at. “We now have to figure out how do we industrialise it,” Furstoss commented. “When I can get a small auto repair shop to think about additive, because now they don’t have to have a bunch of spare parts on their shelf because they can print it, that’s when additive takes over. That’s my mission, to make it accessible and easy to adopt for everyone, then it will be a revolution because it can truly change business models.” GE is in the unique position of having almost three decades of experience as an AM end-user. It is now applying that to offer not only engineering services through its AddWorks team but also industrialisation services which go beyond design and into factory setup and quality control. “We usually talk about strategies for a whole factory or a big line. We can talk about it with one given part and then build the additive process around that. For me, as an engineer, that’s so exciting.”

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27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 035

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FORMNEXT

IN OTHER NEWS: FORMNEXT SPECIAL MORE OF THE NEWS FROM THE FORMNEXT SHOW FLOOR. RIZE UNVEILS FULL COLOUR 3D PRINTER

At Formnext, Boston-area 3D printing company, RIZE debuted its latest machine, materials and software updates. The new kit, the XRIZE, is the next generation of its RIZE ONE system, now with full colour capabilities and has been developed to enable engineers to produce functional polymer and composite parts featuring images, text and texture maps. In addition, new RIZIUM CARBON and ENDURA materials are bringing high-impact

strength to the platform while updated software is enabling users to build security into their parts with digital part identification and augmentation. RIZE President and CEO, Andy Kalambi, commented: “We are doing significant enhancements on all three areas and we are doing it at very good value to our customers. We are not a very big team but we are showing that small teams can make a big difference to industry. No one has done colour the way we will deliver colours and it’s going to be a game changer.”

3D SYSTEMS LAUNCHES METAL 3D PRINTERS AND MATERIAL

XJET PREMIERES CERAMIC BUILD MATERIAL AND SOLUBLE SUPPORT FOR STAINLESS STEEL

Xjet introduced a new ceramic material and a soluble support solution for a soonto-be-released stainless steel material at Formnext. The alumina build material was developed as a result of interactions with industrial partners, and is said to offer good electrical insulation and high mechanical strength, compressive strength, and hardness. Yet relative to zirconia it has lower wear resistance, meaning it is simple to machine before and after firing. Meanwhile, the soluble support material for stainless steel helps to enable fine details and complex geometries, while taking around ten minutes to dissolve in a Jacuzzi. The two launches represent the latest developments in XJet’s NanoParticle Jetting technology as it begins to ship and install more of its Carmel series of AM systems. XJet CEO, Hanan Gothait, commented: “Whilst XJet NanoParticle Jetting technology is in itself unique, offering distinct advantages, we’re examining every part of the process for opportunities to push the envelope, from the hardware, the material chemistry and beyond.”

3D Systems announced two new hardware additions to its DMP series of metal 3D printing platforms at Formnext. The DMP Flex 350 and DMP Factory 350 are said to have been designed to enable volume production of critical components in aerospace, healthcare and transportation. The company also showcased LaserForm AISiMg0.6(A), a new aluminium alloy material which can help to produce strong and lightweight parts without the need for casting. The DMP Flex 350 includes improved gas flow so uniform part quality across the entire build area is enhanced, while print productivity levels are up 15%, facilitating faster time to market and lower costs. The DMP Flex 350 can be field upgraded to the DMP Factory 350, as production environments become more demanding.

STRATASYS REVEALS MORE DETAILS ON LAYERED POWDER METALLURGY

In Frankfurt, Stratasys unveiled further details on its new metal 3D printing platform which adopts a first-of-its-kind “Layered Powder Metallurgy” (LPM) technology, to make production of metal parts quicker, easier and more cost-effective for short run applications. Described by Andy Middleton, President EMEA at Stratasys as a “breakthrough” metal technology, the LPM solution includes a 3-step process combining traditional powder metallurgy with Stratasys’ PolyJet ink-jet technology. This includes printing of boundaries with proprietary thermal ink, powder dispensing and spreading, and then compaction of the powder layer to achieve high-density and controllable shrinkage. The system aims to directly address the needs of customers who require production of pilot-series parts, small-batch manufacturing during product ramp-up and end-of-life, as well as customised, lightweight, complex parts. The company says LPM can offer cost reductions which not only compete with current metal AM technologies, but also machining.

27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 037

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FORMNEXT

SINTRATEC INTRODUCES NEW SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING PLATFORM

TRUMPF DEBUTS GREEN LASER AM FOR COPPER AND PRECIOUS METALS

Machine tool leader, TRUMPF demonstrated its full range of AM systems including its TruPrint 5000 and green laser technology. TRUMPF’s latest 3D printer, the TruPrint 5000, can be preheated to 500 degrees Celsius to print high-carbon steel or titanium alloy components without cracking or warping, allowing tool and mould makers to print forming tools, punches and dies which would have previously been impossible. Preheating the substrate also reduces stresses, improves processing quality and, in many cases, eliminates the need for support structures, which could be beneficial for prostheses and implants. It can also reduce the need for downstream heat treatment, while making the titanium more resilient and implants more durable. TRUMPF also showcased a new green laser with pulse function to demonstrate printing of pure copper and other precious metals by connecting the new TruDisk 1020 disk laser with its TruPrint 1000 3D printer. The green laser could open up new possibilities in the electronics and automotive industries and also holds potential for printing gold in the jewellery industry.

Swiss company, Sintratec introduced the Sintratec S2, a follow up selective laser sintering platform to its Sintratec Kit and S1 machines. The new end-to-end solution is comprised of the Laser Sintering Station, the Material Core Unit and the Material Handling Station, and can be supported by additional modules like the Sintratec Blasting Station, the Sintratec Polishing Station, and the Sintratec Vortex Unit. Through a cylindrical printing area, the Laser Sintering Station is heated and ventilated with a ‘new concept’, while the precision of the scanning system not only promises speed, but repeatability too. The Material Core Unit is equipped with an integrated powder mixing function and an additional Material Core Unit can be added to process different materials. The Handling Station, meanwhile, collects used and excess material and sieves it for reprocessing. The Blasting Station can be utilised to improve surface quality and aesthetics, while the Polishing Station can seal surface impurities and gives components a smooth, stainless steel-like finish.

BIGREP LAUNCHES TWO 3D PRINTERS WITH METERING EXTRUDER TECHNOLOGY BigRep launched two new fused filament fabrication systems powered by its Metering Extruder Technology (MXT). The BigRep Pro and BigRep Edge have been designed for the production of functional prototypes, composite tooling, and small series production. Both are equipped with Bosch Rexroth motion control systems, which enable speed, precision, and IoT connectivity. BigRep Pro features a build envelope of one cubic metre and boasts a large, temperature-controlled spool chamber which enables continuous printing of large-scale industrial parts in ASA, ABS, and nylon. The BigRep Edge is designed for printing high-performance materials in a large-scale format within a controlled temperature environment. Both machines have two MXT modular extrusion heads which gain better control over the amount and speed of material that is extruded by separating filament feeding and melting and molten extrusion. Stephan Beyer, BigRep CEO said the new printers are five times faster than current extrusion speeds, with greater precision and quality.

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GUEST COLUMN

SOMETHING IN THE AIR In the not too distant past materials for additive manufacturing (AM) used to be a case of bastardising polymers and metals from other processes. Now, the likes of Carpenter and BASF produce bespoke materials for singular applications. Next on the checklist would be the consumables. In this column Guido Plicht, Metals Processing & EPAT Industry Manager E&A, Air Products looks at how the companies long-standing expertise could help to improve the additive process

e all know the potential AM has to transform large industries. Already it is making major inroads to revolutionising aerospace manufacturing, while automotive firms are actively trying to increase its usage in their operations. The benefits will be substantial. The creativity and flexibility in design compared to traditional methods is well-known and answers the growing demand for personalisation within the automotive industry. However, there are significant issues which make many manufacturers hesitate. The additional time and money which goes into the process means traditional methods are still preferred by many – they can’t offer the same flexibility in design but they are currently faster and cheaper. This is most evident in the automotive industry, where the large number of parts involved severely limits the scope for its use. While AM may be used in the initial research and development phase, companies revert back to traditional methods to produce all but a prototype of certain parts. The need to streamline the process if we are to make AM viable for mass production is evident. If we can’t swiftly bring about efficiencies, then making it a mainstay in larger and more intensive industries is unlikely to be possible in the coming decades. Consumers are pushing for more variety and more innovation, but

as it stands the technology we have developed to achieve this just can’t cope with demand. Despite the promise of AM, some companies will need to see a significant improvement in value or they will continue to waver. So, how do we best go about delivering this? While many solutions are focused on the parts production itself, there is progress to be made by looking more at the individual elements which make up the process. Certainly, the machining process will need improvements, but the production of materials at earlier points in the supply chain should also be optimised to absorb some of the required improvements. A prime example of this lies in powder production, a vital part of the AM process. At Air Products, our main link to AM is through providing the gases which create the right protective atmosphere for the production of powder. Currently, a large part of this work involves investigating ways to modify the levels and varieties of the gases included. While this research is primarily needed to ensure a higher quality powder, it brings with it new efficiencies – reducing the amount of powder needed and reducing gas consumption. It’s this kind of tighter process control which can optimise individual processes within the AM supply chain and ease the transition to making it viable. In some ways, the industry falls into the trap of looking just at the big picture to solve this problem, rather than at individual efficiencies which could make all the difference. A vital part of achieving these efficiencies will be a greater degree of collaboration across the whole supply chain. Without the co-operation of the other companies involved we wouldn’t be in a position to carry out research around gas modification, and similar circumstances will inevitably arise in other areas, such as heat treatment. The entire supply chain, not just those with direct links to part production, needs to work together to bring about these incremental efficiencies. Looking at each element of the supply chain and examining how to improve it can uncover scope for substantial efficiencies and therefore pave the way for the mass adoption of AM.

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TCT OUT EAST WORDS: DANIEL O’CONNOR

n the space of four short months, on the continent of Asia, the TCT Brand has debuted two shows and is on the cusp of running its fifth Shanghai event. With a debut Shenzhen show in the calendar for October, it’s safe to say that TCT’s most significant presence is now in the Far East. Over the next three pages, we’ll discuss what happened in Japan and what’s going on in Shanghai.

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TCT JAPAN REVIEW Over three days at Tokyo’s Big Sight venue TCT Japan proved to be a wild success; the number of visitors, the feedback from exhibitors is promising and it means we’re ready to go again for TCT Japan 2020 but there’s something I’ve not been able to put my finger on, where exactly is Japan in terms of additive manufacturing maturity? Like a Himitsu-bako (a Japanese puzzle box), on the surface, it appears, relatively simple, but there are twists and turns to unpick before unearthing the treasure. During the opening day’s conferencing, Mr Sawakoshi Toshiyuki of the 3D Manufacturing Promotion Association was first up on stage, he was keen to understand why Japan is so far behind the curve when it comes to additive manufacturing, even

going so far as saying, “there are many companies in Japan that still do not the very basics of 3D Printing”. It’s an opinion widely shared, with many crying out for more education on the applications of additive. Commentary on the current climate of technological innovation within Japan has suggested that the country has become risk-averse and that’s a feeling shared by many in this industry. With such a high-profile manufacturing portfolio, particularly in automotive, where additive has seen a huge uptake, the perceived lack of use seems bizarre especially when you consider the early history Japan had with technologies. Many different

TCT OUT EAST

sources dispute the origins of 3D printing but what is clear is that before Chuck Hull released stereolithography onto the world, Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute had two inventions that involved threedimensional modelling in 1981. The innovation didn’t stop there either, long-standing industry expert Graham Tromans told me whilst walking the show floor that he and fellow 3D printing luminaire Phill Dickens, took a visit Japan for an Overseas Science and Technology Expert Mission (OSTEM) over twenty years ago. On the mission, Graham observed that the automotive companies and large companies like Mitsubishi were all using rapid prototyping technology, perhaps not to the standards of the UK, but they were certainly there. Graham gave me a list of Japanese companies, who manufactured early rapid prototyping machines, that we no longer see nor hear of, it was a bit of a rabbit hole but the history of 3D printing in Japan is a long one:

• CMET: A division of Mitsubishi Corp, CMET launched the first stereolithography machine in Japan in 1988. By 1992, Terry Wohlers reported that the Solid Object Ultraviolet Laser Plotter (SOUP) had sold as many as 56 machines to companies including Mercedes, Fujitsu, Matsushita Electric, two Japanese universities and Dornier Deutsche Aerospace in Germany. • eijin Seiki: Founded in 1944, Teijin Seiki licensed DuPont’s Soliform Solid Forming System in 1991 and by 1995 had reported the install of over 29 stereolithography machines. Teijin merged with CMET in 2001 and the merged company is still releasing and selling its Rapid Meister ATOMm series of machinery.

• D-MEC: Could you imagine the clamour if now, in 2019, a 3D printer was launched under the brand Sony? Established in 1990, D-MEC’s series of stereolithography systems was developed jointly with Japan Synthetic Rubber and Sony Manufacturing Systems. The Solid Creation Systems were popular with automotive manufacturers and according to the same article on Terry Wohler’s website, Toyota purchased one for 500,000 USD. • Kira: Japan’s first non-stereolithography system was released by the Kira Corp in 1994, the Solid Center used plain office paper along with lamination and an x-y plotting knife to build up objects, not unlike Mcor’s technology. Kira’s Solid Center was short-lived, a brief sales period in the U.S. in 2001 was curtailed fairly quickly. There are plenty more systems out of Japan that were around in the early days of Rapid Prototyping, in fact, Japan was 2nd only to the U.S. for number of machine installs until very recently. So, what happened in the meantime for experts like Mr Sawakoshi Toshiyuki to suggest that the country is now way behind the curve? Graham Tromans thinks one reason may be that the Japanese companies were put off the industry by the litigious goings on in the west between the likes of EOS and 3D Systems, this opinion would be reasonable considering a company like Keyence only sells its polymer jetting UV curable 3D printers in Japan and Germany, citing patent issues when asked about its availability globally. Another piece to the puzzle could be that the Japanese market is not behind whatsoever, some in the industry believe that many companies using the technologies for manufacturing here are simply more closed off and less willing to share case studies for fear of competition. The most recent Wohler’s report would certainly back that up, it suggests that over 30% of machine installs in the Asia/Pacific region is here in Japan. Another of the keynotes, David Burns suggested in a panel session that the fact Japan still has a strong traditional manufacturing base means that Japan may be at an advantage when it comes to the productionisation of additive workflows into existing infrastructures, something which the U.S. has struggled with. One thing that is clear from the three days at TCT Japan, Japanese OEM manufacturers are way beyond copycat SLA systems, with Mimaki’s impressive colour platform, Nikon’s new metal system, Mutoh’s range of machinery, the likes of DMG Mori, Mazak, Sodick and co all with hybrid metal systems, perhaps the Japanese market will reveal those hidden treasures sooner rather than later?

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TCT OUT EAST

TCT ASIA PREVIEW H ot on the heels of the inaugural TCT Japan, TCT Asia returns to Shanghai for its fifth year in February, with more exhibitors, features, and speakers than ever before. For three days from the 21st February, across halls W4 and W5 of Shanghai’s premier trade fair venue, SNIEC, the additive manufacturing and surrounding manufacturing technology world will demonstrate its latest and greatest.

TCT ASIA SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS FEBRUARY 21 | 10:30 - 11:00

FEBRUARY 22 | 10:00 - 10:30

JOSE-IGNACIO ORTIZ-VIDAL HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AT AIRBUS CABIN INNOVATION

TOM MUELLER FOUNDER/PRESIDENT AT MUELLER ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS

Additive manufacturing and 3D printing has found a killer application in the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of aircraft. Jose’s talk will be a deep dive into both the technologies and ROI 3D printing is offering Airbus.

Investment casting has been at the forefront of many polymer systems’ sales pitch as OEMs hope that their printers can produce sacrificial models for foundries, this technique has been working for a number of years however Tom Mueller believes there’s change afoot. This change is because of the advances in metal additive manufacturing technologies and in this talk, Tom will explore the trend.

TCT Asia will offer the first opportunity for the Asian market and in many cases the world to see a host of new additive technologies. Western companies such as Arburg, BigRep, EnvisionTEC and MakerBot have launched new Polymer systems that will get Chinese debut at the show and as is almost tradition at TCT Asia, metal technology will dominate the aisles. Last year a mixture of Eastern and Western companies combined to showcase in excess of 35 metal additive manufacturing machines on the show floor; there were powder-bed fusion machines that print in two materials (Dedibot), Farsoon had its new CAMs technology, JointX had enormous wire-arc welding 3D printing devices... 2019 will prove to be no different with a record number of metal OEMs on the floor. Many of the new products will be presented on the TCT Introducing Stage in Hall W4 as part of TCT Asia’s on-thefloor educational remit. Along with the Introducing Stage, visitors are also free to attend the Tech Stage in Hall W5. For a higher level of conferencing with talks from global experts in the field of additive manufacturing, the TCT Asia Summit returns with a three-day programme.

FEBRUARY 23 | 10:00 - 10:30 WENBO JIANG DEPUTY DIRECTOR AT SHANGHAI NINTH PEOPLE’S HOSPITAL The Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital is amongst the world’s most innovative and its use of 3D printing has been well-documented at TCT Asia. Wenbo Jiang will showcase the advantages the technology is having at the hospital as well as discussing how the 3D work is cooperated on and divided up between engineers and doctors.

MARCH 07 2019 | 15:00 (GMT)

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UK MANUFACTURING

INNOVATION FUNDING; AN UNTAPPED WINDFALL FOR UK MANUFACTURING

he UK’s manufacturing strength has been built on innovation, however, many companies in the sector could be missing out financially due to not claiming tax relief for their innovative thinking. Creating a culture of innovation and developing new solutions enables manufacturing businesses to stay ahead of the competition. In the current uncertain economic market, this is more vital than ever. The UK currently invests just 1.6% of GDP into R&D, falling below the European average of 2%. Subdued domestic activity and ongoing Brexit uncertainty are threatening headwinds to the outlook for manufacturers in 2019. Part of the government’s strategy to tackle this is by encouraging tax relief and funding opportunities for companies in the sector. Under the government’s Industrial Strategy, research funding will be increased to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. The government says it will start with an extra investment of 2.3 billion GBP in 2021-22, raising total public investment in R&D to 12.5 billion GBP that year. R&D TAX RELIEF The Research and Development (R&D) tax credits initiative is designed to encourage greater spending in research and development, leading in turn to greater investment in innovation. The way the scheme operates is by reducing a company’s tax bill by an amount equal to a percentage of the company’s qualifying R&D expenditure or by the payment of a credit, again linked to the company’s qualifying R&D expenditure. A company can only claim R&D tax credits if it is liable for Corporation Tax in the UK but otherwise there are very few limitations. Analysis of the latest HMRC statistics however, suggests that many businesses are still missing out. Although manufacturing as a sector has the largest number of claims for large companies, for SMEs it is outpaced in monetary terms by Professional, Scientific & Technical and Information & Communication. A big challenge is that many smaller manufacturing businesses are unaware that the work they are doing counts as R&D or innovation.

Indeed, analysis of Leyton’s client base has found that 86% of our new manufacturing clients in 2018 came from businesses that have never previously claimed under the scheme. INNOVATION RESOURCE Very little of the funding for R&D comes from white lab coats, petri-dishes or smoking test-tubes. Research and development, as defined by government, covers a much broader set of activities. Within manufacturing this can cover products, processes and computing, ranging from improvements to existing methods or the development of new methods. We believe organisations in the manufacturing sector are underclaiming due to a lack of centralised oversight on their innovation activities. By carrying out a detailed scoping process, a company can identify how much money they would receive for government funding, grants or tax credits – creating a pool of innovation resource for reinvestment to further the continuous innovation culture of the business. PATENT BOX CLAIMING While claims for R&D tax credits have steadily increased over the past few years, there is far less awareness for another scheme, ‘the Patent Box’, an incentive aimed at attracting R&D investment leading to the creation and active management of patentable intellectual property (IP). Patent Box is in addition to the Research and Development (R&D) tax credit scheme and can be claimed simultaneously. It effectively allows qualifying companies to apply a 10% rate of corporation tax to all profits relating to qualifying patents, instead of the normal 19% corporate tax rate. However according to HMRC’s most recent figures, the number of companies claiming Patent Box relief

AUTHOR BIO: William Garvey is a Director at Leyton UK, a leading innovation funding consultancy. In this column William explores how UK Manufacturers can benefit from tax relief offered in the Industrial Strategy.

only equates to roughly 3% of the R&D tax credit claim volume. Leyton worked with a FTSE 250 Manufacturer of Soft Drinks to help them realise the potential of their previously unrealised innovations as patents. The company was able to successfully claim for a novel bottle cap in packaging and also a dispense system used in pubs. Due to the complexity of the client, the process took 11 months. However, the second claim took just 6 weeks. The first claim was worth 575,000 GBP to the client with the second claim 1.3m GBP. British manufacturers continue to lead the world with their culture of innovation and should act now to ensure they don’t miss out on tax benefits that they are owed.

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GRIMM COLUMN

B CKET LIST A

dditive manufacturing (AM) presents a wide variety of technologies to help us achieve our goals. Far from being stagnant, this dynamic industry continues to offer an ever-increasing list of options. But this falls in the category of ‘too much of a good thing’. With so many options, it can be quite overwhelming, and sometimes a bit confusing, when attempting to absorb and comprehend all of the technologies available. However, having a firm grasp on the AM landscape is critical in making the best decisions, which are supported by deep investigation of the technological candidates. To maintain control, and to perhaps preserve your sanity, I suggest that you consider the bucket-list approach. In the everyday context, a bucket list is an optimistic roster of actions or dreams to fulfill before one’s time ends. For AM, I am suggesting a bucket list that is expansive while being practical and sensible. I am suggesting a method, one that I have had to use out of necessity, for organising and managing the vast number of AM solutions. The bucket list is a categorisation system that helps you to retain all the options that you are exposed to while keeping you focused on those that present the best opportunities to succeed. It has just three buckets into which AM solutions are deposited. The first bucket, ‘Investigate’, holds the options that are of high interest and are to be actively pursued through investigation. The second bucket, ‘Monitor’, contains the options that are worthy of further consideration at some time in the future. The third bucket, ‘Ignore’, is for all others. If done wisely, this approach should remove 75%, or more, of the options from your active consideration. Using my personal criteria, Ignore includes poorly differentiated metoo products and those that I don’t believe have much promise. Monitor is where I place interesting solutions that I believe need a bit more time to mature and advance. Investigate is for those solutions that are commercially viable and ready for general release to the industry.

TODD GRIMM

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

tgrimm@tagrimm.com

050 / www.tctmagazine.com / 27.1

I recommend that you also use technology readiness as a factor in determining which bucket to place a solution. However, all of my other criteria will not work for you since they must be defined by your needs, goals and applications. Before you start your bucket list, decide what is important, what is critical and what would be nice to have. Make these decisions with consideration of your intended applications and product types coupled with the needed materials, output characteristics and performance traits. With this clarity, you can now start your bucket list by contemplating your requirements with respect to what a solution is known to offer. Then, as you are exposed to new companies, new machines, new materials, and new software, pause for a moment and reflect on whether they should be Investigated, Monitored, or Ignored. It is tempting to get caught in ‘paralysis by analysis’ as you drop items in the respective buckets, but don’t over-analyse and overthink. Instead, rely on your intuition and what you know to be true. Organisation is what is important, not perfection, because your bucket list will evolve as new information comes forward. An item that currently resides in the Ignore bucket is not lost forever; it can be moved when new information presents itself. Using the bucket list, you will have command of the AM landscape while focusing attention on what matters most. It provides rationale to what can be ignored or investigated later for peace of mind, sanity and confidence. It is also a great defense of your approach when someone, often in upper management, inserts themselves into your AM efforts after reading the latest headline and asking if you have considered this new solution. Simply turn to them and state that you have taken a look at it, but it does not deserve further attention and support that statement with your one sentence rationale. There are many paths to AM success. A good bucket list separates the dead ends and arduous paths from the easiest and most direct routes.

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TCT Europe 27.1

Articles inside

Freedom of Design

30 Years of EOS