TCT Europe 23.1 by TCT Magazine

FEBRUARY 2015

3D PRINTING | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING | PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

WHAT HAS 3D PRINTING GOT TO DO WITH DAIRY COWS?

LET SOMOS EXPLAIN

3D PRINTING, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

ISSN 1751-0333

GROUP EDITOR James Woodcock | james@rapidnews.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Daniel O’Connor | daniel.oconnor@rapidnews.com

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Laura Griffiths | laura.griffiths@rapidnews.com

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February 2015

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THE EDITOR

Embracing empowering technologies This first issue of 2015 comes in the wake of industry. Here the machines are smaller, down to International CES, where 3D printing, additive arguably desktop sizes, but retain the complexity manufacturing and 3D scanning sat alongside and subsequent cost of true manufacturing systems. the usual array of televisions, smartphones, and New materials, such as the castable materials for digital healthcare gadgets and gizmos. For the first the Form 1+ desktop stereolithography system are time companies such as Materialise, however opening up the options for For the Autodesk and 3D Systems took the jewellers at all levels. opportunity to show attendees not professional only how they could get hands-on with Looking forward to the next month user too the 3D printing, but how the technologies we preview the inaugural TCT dream of desktop could have a wider impact on their Asia, and the TCT Show team’s first lives too. foray into Asia. As TCT Show in the 3D printing UK approaches its 20th edition in persists even The draw of creating for oneself September we’re delighted to be able as its viability still obviously remained, but was to bring the same successful format is debated, bolstered by a growing awareness of to a new audience. A hall full of the way professionals could deploy contested and international and local exhibitors will 3D printing to make products that be complemented by a equally diverse discounted could improve both the quality of, and conference with speakers covering day-by-day. length of, our lives. every aspect of the 3D printing and additive manufacturing world — be they vendors, researchers, users or suppliers of For the professional user too the dream of desktop complementary technologies. 3D printing persists even as its viability is debated, contested and discounted day-by-day. For the We hope you can join us in Shanghai for what will be right application, the addition of a desktop system a ground-breaking event for the region — if not, stay can help designers and engineers reap enormous tuned to tctmagazine.com for updates before, during rewards, as we explore in an article following and after the three-day event. UK-based Sutrue Ltd and its work in the medical devices field. It’s not for everyone however, and no Keep on creating, system can be considered plug-and-play… at least not for long! Also in this issue we take a look at developments in the use of AM for end parts within the jewellery

Jim Woodcock Group Editor & Conference Director

Design today... ...build tomorrow Unlock the potential for Additive Manufacturing The AM250 is now available with PlusPac – an add-on kit which transforms the machine to meet the demand for cleaner process environments, improved surface finish and precision. Find out more at www.renishaw.com/additive

www.renishaw.com Renishaw's Pluspac Strip ad TCT 0215.indd 1

February 2015

www.tctmagazine.com 30/01/2015 | 13:22:595

CONTENTS tct + personalize | February 2015

01 COVER STAR

We hope the cow caught your eye – it is as surprising as the fact that 3D printing is helping dairy farmers keep their cows (and milk) clean.

REGULARS 05

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

STEPHEN MURPHEY COLUMN

TODD GRIMM COLUMN

FEATURES 18

LEAD NEWS A CLEAN SWEEP

As if further evidence was needed, 3D printing really is impacting on virtually every industry — including dairy farming, as this study from Somos demonstrates.

NEWS ROUNDUP

The latest news from across the industry. In association with www.tctmagazine.com

CES CONFERENCE REVIEW

3D PRINTING MARKETPLACE

NPE 2015 PREVIEW

OPTIMISATION FOR MANUFACTURING

The second edition of the TCT 3D Printing Conference at CES saw luminaries from across the industry take to the stage.

33 29 33

AM IN PRECIOUS METALS

STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD

EUROMOLD REVIEW

AM IN METALS

JEWELLERY DESIGN

POST PROCESSING

DESIGN FOR AM 2015

3DEXPERIENCE REVIEW

3D PRINTING IN EDUCATION

News from the 3D Printing Marketplace at the 2015 International CES. 3D Printing infiltrates NPE in Orlando.

GRM explains how optimisation within Solidworks helped multiple train operators.

TCT ASIA PREVIEW

A look at the upcoming inaugural TCT Asia + Personalize in Shanghai.

POST PROCESSING FOR SLS Daniel O’Connor explored the PUSh process or finishing SLS models.

DESKTOP PROTOTYPING

How can AM be developed to work with precious metal powders?

Daniel O’Connor explores how 3D scanning, manipulation, printing and post-processing unlocked the mysteries of the 7th Century. The most important news from the 2014 show.

Exploring how AM in metals is making headway in the aerospace industry.

Advances in the manufacturing techniques for jewellery are encouraging a rethink of the design processes too.

Although it’s easy to pass of finished products as ‘straight off the machine’, it’s better to educate your clients. An update of the thinking and practice of designing for AM from Crucible’s Mike Ayre.

Daniel O’Connor reports from the 3DExperience

When the 3Doodler launched it was widely discounted by the community — but has it found its niche?

Exploring how a start-up medical device company revolutionised their workflows with a desktop SLA machine.

February 2015

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LEAD NEWS: SOMOS

A Clea 1

1 DSMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Somos NeXt material was used to produce prototypes of the cleaning device. 2. A clear, polished version was also created to show off the internal workings to potential customers.

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February 2015

ean Sweep Milk plays a pivotal role in our diets throughout our lives. To prevent bacteria from contaminating milk, dairy farmers are tasked with not only keeping their facilities and equipment clean, but also the cows themselves. This can become rather arduous when you consider the average US dairy farmer has a herd of 115 cows. To meet the constant demand for milk while ensuring a healthy product for consumers across the country, farmers are constantly looking for ways to improve the process of milking while keeping the cows clean.

WORDS | Jim Woodcock

he owner of several dairy farms in the US state of Wisconsin was looking to develop a new device to clean cow teats, because while there is currently a device like this on the market, it was not doing the job effectively and was frequently breaking down. This farmer met with Eagle Design and they agreed upon an approach to start from scratch to design and build their own cleaning head device.

With the final design approved, the contract for manufacturing this new device was awarded to Eagle Design in Zeeland, Michigan. “We would have never received this contract without prototyping and proving the head design. DSM’s Somos NeXt material is an amazing product and is the only one that I know of that would withstand the milking parlour conditions,” said Don Portenga, Sales Engineer at Eagle Design.

Eagle Design is known to quickly turn ideas into reality using 3D printing, and so they did this time. Large-scale stereolithography machines allow multiple design variants to be built at the same time, reducing product development time. Eagle Design chose Somos NeXt, a tough, thermoplastic-like material, for making the prototype because it is flexible and durable enough to hold up to repeated testing.

Eagle Design also built a version of the device out of Somos WaterShed XC 11122 — a transparent material — and polished it clear so the customer could promote his new product to other dairy farmers and show the internal working mechanism. This product is now being shown at dairy conferences all over the United States. The additional interest generated at the shows has created a demand that will now take this product global.

Before the final design, nine versions were tested. With the housing and gears made of Somos NeXt, each version was brought to the milking parlour and field tested. The results achieved with this printed prototype were impressive; the cleaning head device cleaned over 10,000 cows — an incredible testament to the durability of the prototype.

By pairing the right material with the right technology, your next project can go from prototype to full production in a matter of weeks instead of months.

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February 2015

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NEWS UPDATE

Though CES 2015 may have stolen the spotlight in January, the 3D printing world kept turning elsewhere with investments in AM, new partnerships and medical firsts.

NEWS

ROUNDUP STRATASYS EXPANDS ASA AND DIGITAL MATERIALS RANGE

Stratasys has introduced a new colour palette for its ASA thermoplastics and expanded its Digital Materials range. ASA now offers the most colour options of any FDM material with eight new colour options; red, orange, dark grey, yellow, green, dark blue, white and light grey. Over on the PolyJet side, which already offers in excess of 1,000 material options, Stratasys have introduced 20 twocomponent Digital Materials.

For these stories in full click to www.tctmagazine.com SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY BACKS UK’S FIRST INNOVATION DISTRICT

With extensive research and development and additive manufacturing projects coming out of its Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the University of Sheffield is backing plans to create the UK’s first Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District. The goal is to connect the region’s research institutions, firms and business incubators across the advanced manufacturing sector to boost the area’s aerospace, healthcare, transportation and civil nuclear technologies.

EOS AND MTU TO WORK TOGETHER ON QC IN METALS AM EOS and MTU Aero Engines, Germany’s leading aero engine manufacturer, are closely cooperating on quality assurance of metal engine components produced by AM. The two companies have signed a framework agreement for the joint strategic development of the technology. The first result of these joint endeavours is optical tomography (OT) developed by MTU, an ideal and powerful complement to the modular EOS monitoring portfolio.

MAKERBOT REPLICATOR 3D PRINTS A MEDICAL FIRST Inventors at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have created custom tracheal scaffolding with standard MakerBot PLA filament on a MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer. The process combined 3D printing and tissue engineering. Researchers can make cartilage from a mixture of cells, nutrients, and collagen and use a 3D printer to construct scaffolding, which is covered in a cell mixture and then grows into cartilage.

PROTO LABS LAUNCHES ‘ONE DAY’ 3D PRINTING SERVICE Rapid manufacturer Proto Labs, Inc. has announced new enhancements to its FineLine Additive Manufacturing service that will enable the prototyping and low-volume production company to ship 3D-printed parts in as fast as one day.

3D SYSTEMS AWARDED OVER $1 MILLION IN 3D PRINTING RESEARCH CONTRACTS 3D Systems has been awarded two research contracts worth over $1 million to develop advanced aerospace and defence 3D printing manufacturing capabilities. Set to commence early this year, the contracts are administered by America Makes and funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The company’s proprietary SLS and direct metal 3D printing portfolio will be used to meet the demanding AM needs of the U.S. Air Force.

The new service enables designers and engineers using either stereolithography or selective laser sintering to upload 3D CAD models to check if their designs qualify for quick-turn service.

February 2015

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Complete jewellery 3D scanning and 3D printing solution from Rexcan DS2 High quality 3D scanning for jewellery items Equipped with high-resolution twin cameras, the Rexcan DS2 is an automated white light scanner that is capable of providing users with detailed and precise data, obtained from scanning small and detail-rich objects such as jewellery to ± 5µ. The DS2 has a built-in two axis platform (swing and rotation) which not only enables users to get scanning data quickly and conveniently, but also captures consistent data regardless of how inexperienced users may be.

Quickly and precisely turn any jewellery items into CAD/CAM data for modification, mold making and 3D-printing in a cost-efficient way. Designers and manufacturers can save around 50% of their time when designing and producing complex shaped jewellery pieces.

3DSystems ProJet 1200 Low cost, small object 3D printer ®

The affordable ProJet® 1200 3D printer from 3DSystems puts the high precision and exceptionally fine feature detail of a professional 3D printer right on the desktop. Parts made on the ProJet® 1200 are castable, so it is ideal for jewellery, dental wax-ups, and other castings, and the durable, stiff parts are also great for plastic prototypes.

it easy to replenish materials, and networkbased printing means the ProJet® 1200 is easily accessible to all staff.

Featuring fast print times, the ProJet® 1200 is a workhorse when short cycle times are crucial. Convenient all-in-one material cartridges make

Specification sheets for the DS2 and ProJet 1200 can be found at www.europac3d.com ®

For Sales and Services information: Tel: +44(0)1270 216000 Email: sales@europac3d.com Web: www.europac3d.com

3D Scanning 3D Printing 3D Inspection 3D Sales 3D Services

STEPHEN MURPHEY

Remember when only powerful entities, like corporations, universities or the government had the resources to build or purchase those massive, unwieldy things called computers in the 1950s? Well, here we are in 2015 and everyone now has one in their pocket. We are currently witnessing that type of gradual paradigm shift in the aerospace industry and it’s driven, in part, by the 3D printer.

About the Author Stephen Murphey is currently Director of Ecommerce at Harry Barker, and space exploration enthusiast with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. A passionate maker, Stephen is excited about the possibilities 3D printing offers to budding amateur explorers. www.stephenmurphey.com @StephenMurphey

3D Printing and Space Exploration:

A Match Made in Heaven The NASA, Made In Space and SpaceX Confluence Since 1966, NASA’s budget has steadily been reduced. However, this budgetary contraction has permitted private businesses, such as Made In Space and SpaceX to fill in the technological vacuum created by NASA’s new, limited role. And what caused these three organisations to even consider the viability of items produced by 3D printers? Those crushing budgetary constraints.

Printing Rocket Fuel and Engines… No, Seriously Rocket Crafters, a company that designs and manufactures advanced rockets and spacecraft, is currently working with Stratasys to develop hybrid rocket engines and the fuel that they burn. Hybrid engines use solid fuel with a liquid oxidizer that create the best of both worlds, thrust and control (something every man could use… sorry). In layman’s terms, the hybrid fuel comes in the form of grains and these two tech companies are developing additive manufacturing methods to produce said fuel grains. In other words, they desire to actually print rocket fuel. Ron Jones, one of the tri-founders of Rocket Crafters recently stated: “Additive manufacturing technology has been the key to producing fuel grains with higher consistency, at a lower cost…”

For example, since a manned expedition to Mars is still one of NASA’s primary goals, they’ve already designed and tested (in the Arizona desert) a rover capable of supporting human life. Called RATS, it boasts components created on a 3D printer, 70 of them in fact, to include the front bumper. As for cost effectiveness, Stratasys states: “For example, one ear-shaped exterior housing is deep and contorted, and would be impossible – or at least prohibitively expensive – to machine.” But no Terrestrial such limitations exist for a 3D printer. NASA is also very much involved in the operations of the International Space Station (ISS). Here again, because of its reduced funding, it now relies on companies like SpaceX, the ‘UPS of space’, to deliver supplies to the ISS. About six months ago a SpaceX rocket delivered the first 3D printer scheduled to be used in orbit. Who manufactured this Zero-G Printer? A company called Made In Space whose noble goal “…is one that enables humans to be independent from Earth.”

engineers will simply email the specs of a specific part to the Zero-G Printer and voila, spare part. It becomes the machine shop of space.

Once the Zero-G Printer has been validated by NASA and produced successful “build test” coupons, it will completely reconfigure the supply chain dynamic as things such as many spare parts will no longer need to be shipped to the ISS. Terrestrial engineers will simply email the specs of a specific part to the Zero-G Printer and voila, spare part. It becomes the machine shop of space. There are two other developments that may affect the future of this divine confluence. The first being that just over a year ago a patent expired that covered a very valuable process in the future of 3D printing that dealt with Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). The second is the growing influence the collaborative open hardware initiatives is having on more advanced 3D printing technologies.

As for the engines themselves, engine designer David Gregory feels that designing parts for additive manufacturing presents options that aren’t there with traditional forms of manufacturing, and that the process is optimised if the part is designed for additive manufacturing from the beginning. Yes folks, he’s talking about producing parts for rocket engines with a 3D printer… by utilizing that process that just had its patent expire, SLS, that’s how. Oh yeah, and by using another process known as direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). These two processes, combined with FDM-style 3D printing, will allow home-based, amateur rocket scientists to do more with less. Specifically less money.

You can see where this is going, right? NASA, Made In Space, SpaceX, Rocket Crafters, engineers like David Gregory, 3D printers and the proper build materials, are all combining to permit people to design, build, test, and launch their own exploratory ventures into space. The ASME Foundation and NASA just sponsored a contest in which K-12 (i.e., the sum of primary and secondary education) students were challenged with designing a space tool that will be printed on the Zero-G 3D printer. And who predicted a computer in everyone’s pocket in 1950?... no one!

February 2015

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SLM 125 HL

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SLM 280 HL

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SLM 500 HL The latest SLM 500 HL Selective Layer Melting system utilises both a large 500 x 280 x 325mm build envelope and unique dual beam technology. The SLM 500 HL is configured as standard with 2 x 400W lasers that operate simultaneously on the powder bed. The SLM 500 HL can be upgraded to operate up to 8 lasers (4 x 400W 4 x 1000W) with four optical tracks. Multiple lasers used simultaneously or in parallel in conjunction with Hull/Core build strategy can significantly increase both part quality and system productivity.

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CES CONFERENCE REVIEW

Carl Bass on stage at the 2015 International CES

The CES 2015

3D Printing Conference

REVIEW

WORDS | Daniel O’Connor

Shapeways, MakerBot, Formlabs, Autodesk, and 3D Hubs are just some of the names you’ll see the most column inches, forum pages and social media posts about when it comes to the 3D printing industry. TCT + Personalize managed to corral all of those names and more into one jam-packed, fascinating conference for attendees of the 2015 International CES.

fter curating a successful inaugural 3D printing conference at CES 2014, TCT + Personalize were tasked by the CEA to schedule a full day’s worth of programming on one of the burgeoning sectors of the consumer electronics industry. Kicking off the event was the man dubbed “The Maker King”, CEO of Autodesk, Carl Bass. Having overseen a successful expansion of Autodesk’s offerings beyond the core AutoCAD software into a widening range of applications since taking the helm in 2006, Carl has finally decided the time is right for virtual 3D experts to become physical 3D experts too. It was clear from Carl’s opening remarks that the creation of the Spark 3D Printing OS and Ember 3D Printer is not a folly for Autodesk but something he has been passionate about for a long time. “If I kept every 3D printer I’ve ever owned I could open a museum of 3D printers”, exclaimied the passionate and knowledgeable CEO as he continued to suggest that current generation 3D printing is not; fast enough, reliable enough, scalable enough or good enough in terms of quality. “Autodesk” he said, “through the Spark platform are going to change that.” Following on from Carl’s assessment of the state of the current 3D printing market was an always insightful facts and figures driven talk by the Econolyst’s celebrated 3D printing consultant, Dr. Phil Reeves. Phil’s expertly honed analysis contained some genuine nuggets of gold for the audience including a an illustration at the falling prices of consumer level 3D printers that have seen some fall below the Xbox price point. Continued on page 17

February 2015

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CES CONFERENCE REVIEW

The panel session

Autodesk CEO Carl Bass Materialise founder and CEO Fried Vancraen

The 3D Printing Train Shapeways CEO Peter Weijmarshausen is somebody, having spoken to him for the magazine at the New York HQ, we’ve been keen to have on stage for a while. A passionate speaker, Peter discussed how Shapeways are using partnerships with established brands like My Little Pony and Transformers to offer a truly unique consumer experience that combats the IP infringement worries 3D printing brings by learning from the problems the music industry faced in the early days of file sharing. Peter also detailed why he is so excited that the model railway community is benefitting from the Shapeways service: “I grew up with a dad who was and still is madly in love with model trains, the virus rubbed off on me too,” Explained the Dutch CEO. “If the train you wanted wasn’t available that was it – the limitation of mass manufacturing. With 3D printing we have a growing community dedicated to making model trains. If you think that this is only a small market you should know that in Germany alone the revenue in model trains is over $1bn.” After Peter’s talk of Shapeways’ consumer solution for 3D printing fellow Dutchman, 3D Hubs co-founder Bram de Zwart, announced that the platform had now broken the 10,000 printer barrier making them the world’s largest 3D printing network. Bram outlined how, in the space of just a couple of years, he and his co-founder left their jobs working for 3D Systems and grew the programme for connecting the dots between those who have printers and those who don’t. The afternoon session was kicked off with a talk from a man who was recently voted as the 2nd most important person in the world (ahead of the Pope!) by a Belgian newspaper. Materialise founder and CEO Fried Vancraen delivered one of the most memorable talks on the industry to date with his decades of experience allowing insight-a-plenty with enough room for some barbed remarks about many 3D printed lamps not being lamps at all but merely “illuminated objects”.

Fried’s point was that 3D printing is often used for 3D printing’s sake and is of no benefit to other ways of manufacturing when used in this way but he went on to inform the crowd just how the technology could be used drawing on personal experiences. Fried told how frustrated he was with the method used for getting prescription insoles for his children in the 90s and how proud he is of the newly launched bespoke insoles Materialise are now able to offer. “There is the potential for 80% of all orthotics to be 3D printed,” suggested the CEO whose company printed over 130,000 patient specific medical devices in 2013 alone. Fried’s sentiments were echoed by leading industry consultant Terry Wohlers, who discussed the trends shaping the 3D printing industry today. Terry’s talk included some incredible statistics including the astonishing figure of $242 million that just three Chinese cities alone have invested into the technology. It was up to Formlabs CEO Max Lobovsky to tie up the presentations as his humble talk informed the strongly attended session just how within thirty days on Kickstarter they went from nothing to being the third largest 3D printing company, in terms of machines ordered. Finally, before the audience were able to hit the 3D Printing Marketplace floor armed with a bevvy of new information, TCT’s Conference Director Jim Woodcock hosted a panel session with Peter Weijmarshausen, Terry Wohlers, Phil Reeves and Max Lobovsky. The panel set about answering tough questions from the audience, each with their own unique perspective of where the market is and where it is headed. i| For more information visit www.cesweb.org

February 2015

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CES REVIEW

SPONSORED BY

Best of the 3D Printing Marketplace

at CES 2015

As the winter holidays drew to a close there was no time for Team TCT to settle back into work mode in an orderly and calm manner. Landing gear was down and the plane had taxied to the airbridge at Las Vegas McCarran Airport before the majority of us had time to digest the Christmas turkey.

t was the 2015 International CES and the second time that TCT has sponsored the 3D Printing Marketplace as well as hosted a stellar conference line-up. For 2015 the 3D Printing Marketplace had doubled in size, as had our team in order to cover the burgeoning consumer 3D printing industry. Until this point consumer 3D printing has felt more of an aspiration than an actual industry sector but as price points drop to as little as $349 and the technology becomes more plug ‘n’ play with the introduction of smartphone and tablet user interfaces, it seems as if the technology is at a viable point of maturation. Maturation was never more evident than at the MakerBot booth, in previous years they’d used CES to launch new machines this year a steadier, more mature MakerBot – clearly influenced by Stratasys – demonstrated their eco-system. “3D Printing isn’t just about the printer anymore,” Director of PR Jenifer Howard told TCT. “It is about what you can do with the technology. This year we had booth partners like GE FirstBuild, who demonstrated real-time prototyping with their MakerBots and Martha Stewart who are transforming the design process, her designers were on our booth showing how they use MakerBots to design everyday products.” The Jenny Lawton-helmed, Brooklyn-based manufacturer also showcased a line of new composite filaments including metal, wood and clay composites that are now compatible with the MakerBot Smart Extruder. A Multi-Material World Those in the know would have been particularly intrigued by Voxel8’s stand, the company formed out of Prof Jenny Lewis’ lab in Harvard (and includes former Z-Corp CEO John Kawola amongst its advisory board) showcased their novel printing approach. Voxel8 are dedicated to bringing functionality to 3D printing with the use of multi-materials and co-founder Michael Bell talked us through their first product:

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February 2015

WORDS | Daniel O’Connor “The Voxel8 Developers Kit printer leverages decades of material science studies from the Lewis Research Group at Harvard University. The first materials we’re launching with are PLA and our conductive Silver Ink, which allow you to print quadcopters and other electro-mechanical devices.” Voxel8 weren’t the only top US university spinout showcasing multi-material 3D printing at the Sands Expo. MarkForged have been ploughing that furrow since they first launched at Solidworks World this time last year. At CES MarkForged demoed their new cloud-based software that automatically adds the optimal topological fibre to your design. If the user wants to a more custom approach to adding Kevlar, carbon fibre or fibreglass, the software’s UI is as intuitive as you’d expect from a software engineer that cut his teeth at Apple. “There’s nothing to install or download, as long as you have Google Chrome you can run the software”, said software engineer Abraham Parangi during a hands on demo. “This means we can always push the latest updates out to you automatically. The cloudbased software allows for better collaboration within teams with versioning and forking for each STL file.” First looks CES 2015 also afforded a first look at Autodesk’s Spark platform and Ember stereolithography printer. The traditionally strictly virtual CAD company displayed the virtues of collaborative working on their first ever CES booth: A dress from Nervous System printed as one in its virtually scrunched up state and then unfurled to full size; SOLID’s smart bike with titanium printed parts, haptic feedback handlebars and Bluetooth; the aforementioned Voxel8 developer kit complete with Autodesk’s Project Wire software, which gives users the ability to print around placed components with electronics; and the Ember stereolithography 3D printer that is completely hackable; all this and more showcased what Jesse Harrington Au quipped is what they like to call “5D Printing”. In other desktop SLA news Formlabs, fresh from their settlement with 3D Systems, announced a new draft mode, which shaves a considerable 55 minutes off a leading FDM machine in printing a rook at the same resolution. Formlabs hope this will go someway to dispel the myth of FDM being faster than SLA.

“3D Printing isn’t just about the printer anymore,” Director of PR Jenifer Howard told TCT. “It is about what you can do with the technology.“ Other business Airwolf3D demonstrated how their desktop machines can print pretty much any thermopolymer you chuck at it, whether it be PLA, ABS, PC-ABS, glass-filled nylon, polycarbonates, support materials that dissolve on Nylon etc. Airwolf3D pride themselves on their machine’s ability to print functioning working parts on a printer that costs as little as $5,000. On the booth they had a model wearing a dress that was fully printed on their machines. On their home turf were FSL3D, who launched their Pegasus Touch SLA printer at last year’s CES, they were showcasing their new performance resins including flexible and castable materials as well as their new Super Vat. Mechanical Engineer and Product Designer Andrew Boggeri is particularly excited about this new development: “With resibased printers you have to have a non-stick coating in order for the resin to release as you build the layers, that coating is usually PDMS or Teflon, which both wear out relatively quickly, it therefore becomes a consumable cost alongside the resins. FSL3D have spent a lot of time and money on R&D of a new material for the vat that lasts indefinitely – we’ve tested it over a few hundred thousand print cycles and seen no degradation.”

3D Systems showcased the newly acquired botObjects machine branded as the Cube Pro C as well as the CocoJet, a finalist in the Best of CES awards, which was designed in collaboration with the Hershey Company. Materialise were one of the big surprises at CES 2015. The Leuven-based firm announced during the show their first ever build processor for the desktop 3D printing world in the form of the Leapfrog Build Processor. Materialise can take a significant chunk of credit for the development of software that led to the adoption of additive manufacturing technology at the highest level. Perhaps their new foray into desktop 3D printing can do the same for that industry?

February 2015

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NPE

More than 60,000 professionals from across the plastics industry and its vertical markets are set to assemble in Orlando, Florida to discover the tools, and access the emerging technologies that are shaping the future of plastics.

Orlando, Florida

March 23 - 27, 2015

Participants include buying teams from 100 countries and more than 20,000 unique companies, representing the full range of end-user markets â&#x20AC;&#x201D; appliances, automotive, consumer products, housing and construction, medical, packaging and more. The 2015 edition of this international event will feature a one million-square-foot exhibit hall filled with full-scale, operating machinery and equipment, 2,000 exhibiting companies, a multi-stream conference programme, technology pavilions, networking and special events, and more. For the first time NPE will feature the NPE3D pavilion on the show floor of the main NPE exhibition. NPE3D will feature 18 companies involved in 3D printing as well as a morning of conference sessions addressing key topics pertinent to the plastics processing industry.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS JESSE GARANT

additive in interest As ting prin 3D and g manufacturin the in lved invo e thos s, grow sector are also looking into ways to integrate NDT inspection methods that will support additive manufacturing. One of the most viable inspection methods today is industrial CT scanning, capable of inspecting parts ranging from ningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s validity as an inspection scan CT l plastics to metals. Industria ire accurate and precise internal method comes from its ability to acqu ific to additive manufacturing and external part geometry. Spec can validate: wall thickness ning scan and plastics, industrial CT parisons to the CAD model, conditions, internal void structure, com article inspection processes for comparisons to another part, and first e. mor and PPAP & AS9102 requirements http://jgarantmc.com

STRATASYS

One of the biggest companies in the 3D printing space, Stratasys, will be using the NPE3D pavilion to educate attendees on its range of systems from the desktop Mojo to the true production Fortus machines. While the Stratasys range of 3D printers themselves process polymers, the company will be keen to demonstrate how the output of the machines can be used in the wider processing chain, such as short-run injection moulds printed on the Connex range, as well as jigs, tools and fixtures. www.stratasys.com

ARBURG

Alongside its established lineup of injection moulding machinery, Arburg will use the NPE3D pavilion to show its Freeformer additive manufacturing system for the first time in the USA. With two Freeformers, Arburg will demonstrate how fully functional plastic parts can be additively manufactured from standard granulate using the patented Arburg Plastic Freeforming process based on 3D CAD data, without a mould. As with injection moulding, the granulate is first melted in a plasticising cylinder. Plastic droplets are applied layer-by-layer onto a moving part carrier via the nozzle of a stationary discharge unit by means of high-frequency piezo technology at a specified duty cycle of 60 to 200 Hertz. The second discharge unit can be used for an additional component in order to produce, for example, a part in different colours, with special tactile qualities, or as a hard/soft combination. www.arburg.com

February 2015

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Design for the Freedom of Additive Manufacturing

What if you could start your design process with the ideal structural part and then use the freedom of additive manufacturing to make that part a reality? With solidThinking Inspire, this is now possible. ď&#x201A;Ź Learn more at solidThinking.com/TCT

Company

GRM SOLUTIONS

OPTIMISATION MATTERS SolidWorks is one of the leading names in the 3D design software industry. Used by designers and engineers the world over, the name is recognised in a vast number of industries from product design to aerospace engineering. WORDS | Laura Griffiths

he latest edition of the software, released at the beginning of this year, features a brand new tool TruForm SW, created by UK based software developer GRM Solutions to provide more accurate optimisation for manufacturing applications.

“One particularly suitable application of TruForm SW is in the development of designs for additive manufacturing,” Martin commented. “The freedom of designs that can be manufactured through AM processes provides an excellent synergy with topology optimisation, maximising structural design performance.”

Train seat component Stage 1

Optimisation is key for additive manufacturing as it means products can be designed to their maximum potential with complex structures that keep output to a minimum resulting in unique and previously unimaginable forms. Users of SolidWorks Premium and its simulation features will be familiar with the ease of which the structural performance of designs can be assessed under specific loading conditions. TruForm SW now provides designers with the ability to perform design optimisation analysis within the SolidWorks platform and discover where their designs need modification. Using topology optimisation engineers can deliver the optimum solution for their project. By applying this to the initial design phase, it essentially acts as a way of checking the product for usability before going into manufacture and allows digital tweaking before moving onto prototyping.

The topology optimisation tool allows engineers to design parts that could only be achieved with additive manufacturing. This has completely opened up the manufacturing world to possibilities that were previously thought unimaginable. “Bone like structures that have this idealised design and meet all the requirements of strength and so on,” commented Martin. “The parts – you couldn’t traditionally make in a cast so you interpret it into something but with additive manufacturing the whole process really does work quite seamlessly.”

Train seat component Stage 2

GRM Solutions is currently working with the University of Warwick on their engineering side by supplying software to students and is also working with the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, a hub for all things engineering, in particular additive manufacturing.

Train seat component Stage 3

TruForm SW can be used to develop optimal layouts for new designs or to develop reinforcement of existing parts such as ribbing patterns, castings and mouldings. Last year GRM Consulting used the same optimisation process to produce a part for a train seat that was later fully implemented by a major rail company. The process showed how using this optimisation technology can guide engineers towards places where structures should be reinforced and where unnecessary material can be removed. The result was a complex design that graduated from the simplicity of the original to produce a much stronger and reliable part. Martin Gambling, Managing Director at GRM Consulting believes that designing for optimisation is seamlessly linked with the benefits of additive manufacturing.

TruForm SW can be used to develop optimal layouts for new designs or to develop reinforcement of existing parts such as ribbing patterns, castings and mouldings.

February 2015

“The tool is being used with the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry in their additive manufacturing department, they are quite keen,” explained Martin. “What’s quite nice is they’re keen to continue to develop it to be more relevant to the additive manufacturing process.” Last year, a substantial amount of funding was planned for the Manufacturing Technology Centre to further its 3D printing sector at a time when the UK government set out to “unashamedly” back British manufacturing success. With such a keen focus on using the software in universities and colleges for complete synergy with additive manufacturing, perhaps we will see an increased number of real-life applications coming out of these dedicated spaces. i| www.grm-consulting.co.uk

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TCT Asia PREVIEW On the showfloor TCT Asia + Personalize will follow the tried and tested exhibition and conference setup, where the event is driven equally by engaging exhibitors and inspirational speakers.

apid News Communications Group — the company behind the TCT brand — has partnered with VNU Exhibitions Asia, a division of Netherlands-based VNU Exhibitions, to combine TCT’s unrivalled history, knowledge and connections in the AM/3DP industry and VNU’s expertise in running successful events in Asia. China’s phenomenal growth over the last few decades has led to it finally, by some measures at least, overtaking the USA as the world’s largest economy. The opportunities for AM and 3D printing are therefore enormous, especially considering the countries manufacturingcentric system.

The exhibition brings together the leading names from the local and international marketplace with a strong emphasis on inclusivity with technology providers for professional and industrial users alongside those for the consumer, desktop professional and ‘prosumer’ markets.

CONFIRMED EXHIBITORS

Much of the talk in investment and financial circles has revolved around the potential for AM/3DP to kick-start the re-shoring phenomenon, whereby manufacturing lost to lower-cosy economies such as China would be brought back to the West through the deployment of advanced technologies. What this ignores is the flexibility of these lower-cost, largely legacy-free economies to develop and deploy the same capabilities — often at a much faster rate than Western counterparts.

3D ELEMENTS HK ARCAM AB ARKEMA AURORA GROUP BRIGHT LASER TECHNOLOGY CREAFORM DONGGUAN SPRINTRAY 3D MOLDING CO.,LTD ENVISIONTEC EOS GMBH ESUN FENNER DRIVES

The exhibition brings together the leading names from the local and international marketplace with an emphasis on inclusivity with technology providers for professional and industrial users alongside those for the consumer, desktop professional and ‘prosumer’ markets. The first two days of the event will cater specifically for the professional user, with the third day (Saturday) open to the public, allowing anyone to experience both accessible 3D printing as well as the software and supporting technologies.

While TCT Asia is not the first event for AM and 3D printing in the region the organisers believe it will be the most focused and comprehensive showing of the technology from a local and international perspective. Duncan Wood, COO of RNCG, explained: “We are excited to build on the success of TCT Show + Personalize in the UK, and with a strong exhibitor line up and equally inspiring conference programme taking shape for Shanghai we are looking forward to TCT Asia in anticipation of a very successful extension of our trusted brand. There has been a proliferation of 3D Printing events across the globe in the last 12 months, and we know it is becoming harder for potential visitors to analyse which events are the best to attend. With TCT Asia + Personalize prospective exhibitors and visitors have the security of our 20 years in the sector along with a proven track record of delivering highly successful events, add to this VNU’s in-country expertise and you have a highly credible team in place to deliver the foremost event in Asia for 3D Printing.”

FLD-TECH FUJIAN HAIYUAN THREE DIMENSIONAL PRINTING HIGH-TECH CO.,LTD. GUANGDONG SILVER AGE SCI. & TECH. CO., LTD. GUANGZHOU CEL TECHNOLOGY LTD GUANGZHOU YOUSU PLASTIC TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD HLH PROTOTYPES CO., LTD HUNAN FARSOON HIGH-TECH CO., LTD LEPRINTER MAGICFIRM MAKERBOT INDUSTRIES LLC

MATERIALISE NANJING GS-MACH EXTRUSION EQUIPMENT CO.,LTD. POLYMAKR PRAXAIR SURFACE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. RENISHAW PLC RUNICE SANDI INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD SEAL LASER SHANGHAI DREAM ARISING CO., LTD. SHANGHAI FOREVER TECH&D CO., LTD / 3D SYSTEMS INC SHANGHAI FUSION TECH CO., LTD.

Day 1: Exective Keynotes

As TCT Show + Personalize in the UK prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, another milestone will be reached in March; the first TCT event to take place outside the UK, and the company’s first foray in to Asia. TCT Asia + Personalize will take place at the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing, 12–14 March and will mirror the successful UK format.

Special Zones TCT Inspired Minds (formerly TCT Bright Minds) will once again take space on the show floor to educate students about 3D design and 3D printing. Following the success of the initiative at TCT Show + Personalize and Euromold 2014 the scope has been broadened to include students up to university age, with a more challenging and comprehensive programme of activities. With support from Beijing TierTime, G. P. Tromans Associates and joint event organisers VNU Exhibitions and Rapid News Communications Group, fulltime undergraduate students have the opportunity to win up to RNB8000. For full details see http://mytct.co/inspiredminds. Events sponsors Materialise will run their own seminar sessions on the 12th of March, 13:00–17:30. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the company’s activities, with guest talks from local medical professionals, demonstrations of the company’s software packages. Registration for the seminars can be found (Chinese language only) at http://mytct.co/materialiseseminar Conference Programme The conference sessions at TCT Asia will be some of the most comprehensive of any event, worldwide. With speakers from across academia, industry and the consumer world coming from all corners of the globe, delegates can be sure of two days of unprecedented access to the information that could help the transform their business practices. Sessions dedicated to automotive, moulding, aerospace, medical, dental and creative industry applications will be preceded by executive keynotes from MakerBot, 3D Systems, Materialise, Stratasys, Hunan Farsoon, Mcor, Beijing Tiertime and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Continued on page 27

i|For more information ww.tctasia.com.cn

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY SHANGHAI ZHULIAN INTELLIGENT TECHONOLOGY CO., LTD. SHENZHEN CHENYUE TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD SHENZHEN SOONGON TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD SHENZHEN WEISTEK CO., LTD SHENZHEN XINGTIANXIA 3DT CO., LTD STRATASYS SUNRUY TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD SUZHOU HONSMAKER TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. TIANQI

TIERTIME TRUSTWORTHY (BEIJING)TECHNOLOGYCO.,LTD UNION-TEK VDM ALLOYS B.V. XERY 3D XYZPRINTING YINBANG PRECISION YONGNIAN YUDA 3D

YANG HAICHENG, Chief Engineer , China Aerospace Science and Technolo gy Corporation JENNY LAWTON, CEO, MakerBot WILFRIED VANCRAEN, CEO, Mat erialise GUO GE, CEO, Tiertime

Day 1: Stream A Direct Manufacturing in Aerospace & Aircraft Industry

HUANG WEIDONG, Professor, Northwestern Polytechnical Universit y WANG LIANFENG, Director of AM Center, 8th Research Institute of CASC HENRY PENG, Manager, GE Global Research Center

Day 1: Stream B Industrial RP Technology in Mold and Automotive

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

TCT ASIA PREVIEW

GRAHAM TROMANS, Principal, G.P. Tromans Associates KOEN VAN DE PERRE, Sales Manager, Materialise RALPH MAYER, Sales Manager, Renishaw Gmbh (LBC Engineering) SHEN WEIDONG, Manager of Prot otype Section, Shanghai Volkswagen YANG WEIMIN, Director, Beijing Univ ersity of Chemical Technology

Day 2: Executive Keynotes

JONATHAN JAGLOM, General Man ager of Asia Pacific & Japan, Stratasys AP Ltd Dr. Xu Xiaoshu, CEO, Hunan Farsoon Technology Co., Ltd. CONOR MACCORMACK, CEO, MCOR Technologies ZIAD ABOU, VP & GM of QuickPar ts, 3D Systems

Day 2: Stream C - Medical & Dental

KR. DAI, Director, Shanghai Medical Center of Joint Surgery and Bone, Shanghai 9th People Hospital PROF. LIN CHIU SHIONG, Chairma n, Lin & Associates PROF. KWOK SUI LEUNG, Chair Professor, Department of Orth opedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine , the Chinese University of Hong Kon g GAO BO, Deputy Director of Prosthod ontics, the Forth Military Medical Universit y CAI HONG, Deputy Director, Peking University Third Hospital

Day 2: Stream D: Creative Industries

JASON LOPES, Chief Engineer, Legacy Effects GARY S. ROBINOVITZ, Reebok Adv anced Concept, Reebok International ZHAO HUAYING, Project Manager , Shanghai Xian Dai Architecture & Consulting Co., Ltd STEVEN MA, Co-founder, Xuberan ce February 2015

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Additive Manufacturing Users Group 27th Annual Education & Training Conference

April 19 - 23, 2015 Jacksonville, FL USA

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February 2015

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TCT ASIA PREVIEW

FEATURED EXHIBITORS Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies Ltd (BLT) Booth: C18

BLT is the largest provider of complete solutions for metal additive manufacturing in China. The company has almost 30 advanced equipment sets for laser additive manufacturing and repairing. Part dimension can range from 1 mm to 5000 mm, built from more than 40 types of titanium alloys, super alloys, aluminium alloys, stainless steel, die steel and high-strength steel. The company owns 35 patents relating to metal additive manufacturing technology, successively pass the quality system certification of ISO9001-2008, AS9001C-2009, and GJB9001B-2009.

Renishaw (Shanghai) Trading Company Limited Booth: F38

Renishaw is a global company with core skills in measurement, motion control, spectroscopy and precision machining. Its products are used for applications as diverse as machine tool automation, co-ordinate measurement, additive manufacturing, gauging, Raman spectroscopy, machine calibration, position feedback, CAD/ CAM dentistry, shape memory alloys, large scale surveying, stereotactic neurosurgery, and medical diagnostics. Renishaw additive manufacturing technology is a laser-based 3D printing for metal. Renishaw’s laser melting process is an emerging manufacturing technology with a presence in the medical (orthopaedics) industry as well as the aerospace and automotive, die and mould, research and education. Laser melting is a digitally driven additive manufacturing process that uses focused laser energy to fuse metallic powders in to 3D objects.

Beijing Tiertime Technology Co., Ltd. Booth: C46 Beijing Tiertime manufactures the well-known UP series desktop 3D printers and Inspire series of industrial 3D printers. As one of the pioneering 3D printing technology companies in China, Tiertime has accumulated a strong product pipeline and intellectual properties, providing customers a complete 3D printing solution including software, hardware and consumables. Tiertime is headquartered in Beijing, and has offices in United States, Chengdu, Foshan, and has developed a global distribution network in all major countries and districts.

Creaform Shanghai Ltd. Booth: F20

Creaform develops, manufactures, and sells 3D portable measurement technologies and specialises in 3D engineering services. The company offers innovative solutions, such as 3D scanning, reverse engineering, quality control, non-destructive testing, product development, and numerical simulation (FEA/CFD). Its products and services cater to a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer products, heavy industries, healthcare, manufacturing, oil and gas, power generation, and research and education. With headquarters and manufacturing operations in Lévis, Québec, Creaform operates innovation centres in Lévis and Grenoble, France, and has direct sales operations in the United States, France, Germany, China, Japan, and India.

EOS Booth: D26

The latest systems in the EOS portfolio are the EOS P396, M290 and M400, launched in 2014. EOS P396 is the production system for the manufacture of plastic parts. It is the successor model to EOSINT P395 that is already established in the market. The new P396 offers a multiplicity of features that comprehensively meet the growing demand for increased manufacturing efficiency, process stability, and building capacity. The latest-generation CO2 laser and a completely revised temperature regulation system enable double-digit increases in productivity. The EOS M290 is designed for tool-free production of high-quality metal serial components, spare parts and prototypes. The EOS M400 the latest system in the company’s established metal technology portfolio. This modular, extendable platform gears additive manufacturing up for application in industrial production environments. The system enables the manufacture of larger components, productivity of this technology can move into new dimensions, and the level of automation is increased still further.

Materialise Booth: D31

Materialise began in 1990 as a specialist in rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing (AM) and has grown into the market leader for 3D printing and digital CAD software. Materialise has the largest capacity AM facility under one roof and is a major player in medical and dental image processing and surgery simulation software. Its medical and dental products are used worldwide by renowned hospitals, research institutes, medical device companies and clinicians. This makes Materialise the perfect partner for those involved in cuttingedge, innovative biomedical R&D.

February 2015

Stratasys Ltd. Booth: F24

A leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions. The company’s patented FDM, PolyJet and WDM 3D Printing technologies produce prototypes and manufactured goods directly from 3D CAD files or other 3D content. Stratasys holds over 600 granted or pending additive manufacturing patents globally, and has received more than 25 awards for its technology and leadership. The Stratasys portfolio of specially engineered 3D printing materials is the most comprehensive in the industry. It includes hundreds of PolyJet photopolymers and FDM thermoplastics.

PrismLab Booth: C20

PrismLab is a hightech enterprise focusing on optomechatronics, computer software/ hardware. Prismlab commits itself to the photo-curing equipment R&D activities based on our independent patent in the field of 3D printing. The PrismLab Rapid 400 is the only 3D printer using LCD around the world. The system reportedly features easy and fast re-production of high accurate digital model with 75 micron accuracy, 3D printed parts can be practically applied with smooth surface, no stepping effect.

Hunan Farsoon High-tech Co., Ltd. Booth: G30

Hunan Farsoon High-tech Co., Ltd is a total solution supplier of selective laser sintering and melting. Farsoon specialises in the R&D and manufacture of Selective Laser Sintering equipment and materials, rapid prototyping processing services, and SLS technical service support. Farsoon mainly serves industries such as automotive, aerospace, industrial design, manufacturing, medical, architecture, etc. Farsoon is continuously growing its manufacturing capabilities and market. In the summer of 2012 Farsoon shipped its first selective laser sintering machine to the USA. At the same time, SLS nylon power material was sold widely in the Chinese domestic market. In addition, SLS materials have been successfully exported to the USA, Sweden, Italy, and other international markets. |

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VDM ALLOYS B.V.

ATOMISED METAL POWDERS for Additive Manufacturing / 3D Printing

Aluminium / Titanium / Stainless Steel / NiCoCr Alloys

VDM Alloys B.V. Haringvliet 349 3011 ZP Rotterdam The Netherlands

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Tel: +31(0)10-2367427 Email: info@vdm-alloys.com

February 2015

Fax: +31(0)10-2134841 Internet: www.vdm-alloys.com 14/01/2015 13:56

POST PROCESSING

Need a smoother surface finish?

PUSh it

Surface finish has long been the bane of the laser sintering industry, the hardware manufacturers and the material scientists have been hard at work incrementally improving surface roughness without ever getting near the quality other manufacturing techniques offer. WORDS | Daniel O’Connor

t is for this reason that post-processing is still a massively important service for the industry but until recently it is a service that has seen very little development from the early days.

the same parts after being finished with the PUSh process have achieved a surface roughness Ra value of 3 microns… in other words; these parts are extremely smooth.

“There are a range of different (finishing) processes out there,” explains Professor Neil Hopkinson Director of the University of Sheffield’s Centre for Advanced Additive Manufacturing. “Some involve the mechanical removal of parts; some are very manual, which can be very expensive – though some of the manual finishing people have done is quite stunning it becomes non-scalable if you want to manufacture at a high volume; there are other tumbling kinds of process, which definitely improve the aesthetic properties but you have issues like rounding of sharp features and it is very difficult to finish hidden surfaces; those are the drawbacks of current processes.”

TCT Show regular Professor Hopkinson said: “With PUSh you are getting the best of both worlds; you’re getting a really clean finish that is not a line of sight process.” Adam Ellis added: “Over a period of time and a fair amount of trial and error we’ve perfected this process. We’ve now had success with the process on five or six materials and we are keen to expand the range of polymers that can be finished this way.”

Neil and his team including Post Doctoral Research Associate Dr Adam Ellis have been working behind the centre’s closed doors on a project set to be unleashed on the AM industry that could change not only the way parts are finished but effect the industry as a whole by adding a raft of sectors previously deterred by surface finish. The process is called PUSh and it can vastly improve the surface roughness of laser sintered plastic parts. Technical specifics state that Nylon 12 sintered parts come out of the relevant laser sintering machine with a surface roughness Ra value of around 15 microns;

In its current form sintered parts are manually finished using PUSh– up to 25 palm-sized sintered parts an hour – but the team believe that once the technology is in the wild there is no reason why the process couldn’t be an automatic one, achieved for as little as £6,000. “We looked at some of the finished articles and thought ‘wow these parts are good’ enthused Hopkinson. “A number of laser sintering companies have been just as impressed as us.” Continued on page 31

February 2015

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At Polymaker we pride ourselves in setting the standard in the 3D printing ﬁlament industry. To learn more about us and our products, reach us here! Stay Up to Date with Polymaker! www.polymaker.com inquiries@polymaker.com

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February 2015

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POST PROCESSING

The ability to create working end-use products from laser sintering is something of the holy grail for many; whether it be patient specific devices for the medical sector or a MAKIE doll for children, surface finish matters and PUSh not only adds a previously unobtainable smoothness but also adds some unanticipated properties.

One of said firms, and the first to license the PUSh process from the Centre of Advanced Manufacturing, has been German 3D Printing service FKM, who had some excellent PUSh processed parts on display at Euromold 2014. Head of Strategy and Business Development at FKM Christian Blöcher told TCT: “We are cooperating tightly with Sheffield University on the PUSh process. FKM believes in the University’s approach to achieve smooth surfaces and has installed this technology, which will be beneficial to our customers with special requirements (visual, haptical, mechanical) beyond the well known surface-standards.”

“We were asked to produce some giveaways for dignitaries at an upcoming event. One of our project partners, Sebastian Conran Associates, designed a drinks coaster printed as one with moving parts.” Explained Hopkinson. “Because it was a coaster we didn’t want it to start getting dirty if you spill a cup of tea on it so we finished the parts with the PUSh process. We tried it – spilt some drink on it and wiped clean – and it wipes spotlessly clean and it still spins. “That’s a good example of how the process improves the properties of a product by not only improving the look and feel but also by making it wipe clean.” Hopkinson continued, “This could open up new applications for the technology.” License to finish CES saw several State-side university spin-outs with their commercial offerings; Formlabs out of MIT, Voxel8 out of Harvard and MarkForged, again, out of MIT but the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing are taking the licensing route when it comes to the PUSh process.

Having discussed with FKM and other sintering service providers which applications would benefit most from the finishing process Professor Hopkinson concluded: “It appears that the majority of parts made by laser sintering could benefit from being subjected to the PUSh process.” A revelation for end-use applications Having seen, touched and interacted with parts that have been finished using the PUSh process at Euromold it is easy to see how most sectors - from creating smoother threads for nuts and bolts to more realistic prototypes for the packaging industry – would benefit from implementing this finishing technique. However it is in the end-use part of the spectrum that PUSh may have most impact. The ability to create working end-use products from laser sintering is something of the holy grail for many; whether it be patient specific devices for the medical sector or a MAKIE doll for children, surface finish matters and PUSh not only adds a previously unobtainable smoothness but also adds some unanticipated properties.

“We contemplated setting up our own business; receiving parts, finishing them and sending them back out”, explained Hopkinson. “That would create a bottleneck that could hold the technology back; it made more sense to license it out to people who use laser sintering continuously, we’d give the fundamentals of how to do it and furthermore they’d be able to develop their own processes of improving how you implement the process into a workflow. “Take FKM for instance; they have acquired a license from us, they’ve added their own slant on it and already have done some pretty jaw dropping work. The people who can answer the question of ‘what is the next step for the PUSh?’ are the licensees.” The deal with FKM is not an exclusive one, the Centre are now offering perpetual licenses for a one off cost of £10,000. It is a business model that an academic like Professor Neil Hopkinson prefers. “It is exactly what we like to see - an academic institution comes up with an idea that seems to work but commercial enterprises have their own ideas to take it further,” explains Hopkinson. “With the PUSh process we opted not to spin-out as a company but to take the licensing route. Had we been in an environment rich in spin outs perhaps we’d have thought differently, but I am happy with the licensing approach we have taken, and, more importantly, our licensees are happy too.” i| www.pushprocess.technology

February 2015

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For Trek, the multi-colour,

multi-material Connex3 3D printer has improved our overall efficiency. Something that would take a week to make now takes hours, significantly accelerating our product development.

Watch the video

or call

tiny.cc/trek-tct

+44 (0)1908 904365

to see how Connex3 technology is offering Trek designers and engineers more opportunities to prototype parts:

to discuss your application with our experts:

DESKTOP PROTOTYPING Large head with blunt taper needle suturing transplant heart valve

Sutrue A lot of interest surrounding 3D printing in medicine recently has focussed on the use of implantable 3D printed parts such as hip joints, cranial implants or even jawbones. More often than not however, 3D printing is being used in medicine away from the body — or at least for applications that don’t require permanent implantation.

urgical tools and guides — such as those pioneered by the biomedical division of Belgium-based Materialise — have been making surgery quicker, safer and less invasive for many years. When Alex Berry, a product designer, looked at the medical industry, after watching a Professor Robert Winston documentary on robotic surgery, it was the all-important interface between internal and external — the skin — that inspired his designs.

How the Sutrue devices work. The Sutrue device removes the manual process of passing a needle through tissue by passing a standard swaged needle (which are usually semi-circular or rounded) through a series of rollers, across an open gap, and back into the device. Other devices have been explored using specialised needles, though the cost of logistics made them largely irrelevant.

Suturing, more commonly known as stitching or stitches, has likely been in use since around 3,000 BC in ancient Egypt, with the oldest known examples found in a mummified body dating from 1,100 BC. Initially needles were fashioned from bone and simple metals, with the suturing thread of natural origin. Animal hair, silk and catgut were used for millennia without much in the way of advancement.

The combination of rollers and spring plate pass the needle around with more force than is required to achieve the same result by hand. The head of the device then forms its own ‘sharps bin’, reducing the chance of postuse needlestick injuries in the waste stream.

Major technological advances only appeared after the industrial revolution when a number of man-made absorbent, non-absorbent and dissolvable suturing threads were invented. Needles improved with stainless and surgical steels as well as chemical sharpening. Another advance includes swaged sutures, whereby the traditional eyed needle is replaced by a needle and thread joined at the manufacturing stage. These so called atraumatic sutures reduce drag and improve hygiene practices.

The team aims to make an endoscopic version of the device that can be inserted into the body to perform suturing applications in key-hole surgery. In many ways, Sutrue epitomises a modern start up company; focussed on solving a problem for the greater good; supported by crowd funding; deploying the most modern tools to help in its endeavours. Not so many years ago a project like Sutrue would have taken years to develop, if indeed it could have been done at all. The use of 3D printing for rapid prototyping changed all that, allowing one-offs with complex geometries to be created (relatively) quickly and costeffectively. Migration of 3D printing to the desktop represents development of the same order of magnitude.

Same old scene Despite these advances little has changed in the basic theory and practice of suturing since ancient times. Hand suturing is still the most frequently employed method and remains fraught with dangers and difficulties. Needlestick injuries — where a used needle pierces both the protective clothing and skin of a medical practitioner — are a major cause of potential pathogen spread. Following the on-going Ebola outbreak in West Africa, such injuries have once again been brought into the public’s attention. Two medical professionals were recently evacuated from the outbreak area to quarantine in London, having both suffered needle stick injuries in unrelated cases. Beyond these high-profile, if relatively isolated cases, it is believed that up to two million healthcare workers globally suffer needle-stick injuries annually through the use of hypodermic and suturing needles of which 15% (240,000) are directly incurred during suturing. Although not all needle-stick injuries go on to cause further medical issues such as infection or spread of disease, each incident is extremely worrying for the affected individual and costly for them and their employer.

The design journey included a number of iterations and some major changes

The Sutrue concept aims to address some of the issues surrounding this most ubiquitous of medical procedures. Continued on page 35

February 2015

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DESKTOP PROTOTYPING Head of the endoscopic version of the device

Outsourced vs in-house Sutrue’s Alex Berry explained: “In the early days of the company we used to outsource our prototyping to traditional bureau with a turnaround time of about two weeks. You send a part file, then wait a couple of days for a quote then wait a couple of days to agree the quote and get the part made, then wait a couple more days at the end for shipping. So 10 days can easily be swallowed up with the supply of a prototype.” Long lead times for prototypes had knock-on effects elsewhere in the development process too. “When it takes so long to get a part made it’s natural to then over-design everything to ensure you get the most value from the process as possible”, explained Berry. “If the part is ultimately not fit for purpose you’ve lost all the design time plus the lead time for the physical prototype — which is deflating. Half of the time you also realise that your design could do with a change because of something you’ve discovered when working in the 10 days you’re waiting for the prototype back… so the parts you do get back are immediately redundant.”

Using the Form 1 and later Form 1+ the team behind Sutrue have been able to quickly iterate new design features in house, getting real parts in hand overnight.

The company’s solution, which was to bring a majority of their prototyping inhouse, would have been inconceivable a few years ago, especially with the demanding accuracy and finish requirements of the Sutrue devices. Salvation came in the form of another crowd-funded hardware startup, Formlabs. Using the Form 1 and later Form 1+ the team behind Sutrue have been able to quickly iterate new design features in house, getting real parts in hand overnight.

“With a printer on the desk next to you, the trend is to under design — to change the smallest attribute of a part, print it, try it and move on,” continued Berry. “The design time is reduced, the speed of getting that part in your hand is hugely reduced and the cost comes down dramatically. “I managed four prints in a day when running iterations of designs for our endoscopic suturing head, which easily have been two months worth of work if each iteration was outsourced.” Owing to the immediate success of the desktop stereolithography format, Formlabs faced delays in dispatching the first shipments of Form 1 printers. “In the time we were waiting for our machine to arrive we spent more on outsourced parts than we did on the machine,” said Berry. “The sooner you start using a machine and spending 20p on a part instead of £20 the return on investment is very, very fast.” The Sutrue device prototypes feature an outer casing is clear resin, a laser cut spring plate (which is the key to the function of the device), commercial off-the-shelf internal gears and shafts surgical steel shafts, which Berry explained are actually eyebrow piercings — the shafts have a ball at one end and are already made from surgical. The rollers that grip the needles also use ‘3D printing’ in the form of selective laser melted parts made on Renishaw and Realizer machines.

Suture Small and Large

“We have been able to combine off-the-shelf parts with selective laser melting, stereolithography and laser cut parts at relatively low cost and within months, not years. Without technologies like laser cutting and 3D printing this would have taken an incredible amount of time and money to develop,” Berry said. Limited options Interestingly, the company had not considered in-house prototyping until the Form 1 was released, feeling that the layer height would not allow the level of accuracy required. Berry explained: “The 25µm layers were of immediate interest to us when we saw the Form 1 — FDM just couldn’t get close the surface finish of the SLA process, especially for the endoscopic device which has to pass down a 12 mm tube. The way the support structures joined the part, which itself has recently been greatly improved, also meant the finishing of small complex parts was much less onerous.”

“We have been able to combine off-the-shelf parts with selective laser melting, stereolithography and laser cut parts at relatively low cost and within months, not years.

The materials selection for desktop 3D printers is improving all the time, with one in particular of interest to Berry. The castable resin for the Form 1+ could open up new opportunities in the medical device industry where final parts in surgical steel are sought after. “We have some of the flexible and castable resins from Formlabs and from a medical device point of view the castable is very interesting. Ultimately you want to be looking to surgical steel for the final parts so the ability to cast metals from a print, while retaining the same sort of cost benefits as direct production of prototype is very interesting. If the finish of the parts in castable resin is the same as the clear or white polymer parts at the moment the finish of the cast parts would be better than the finish of an SLM metal part,” explained Berry. Continued on page 37

February 2015

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February 2015

DESKTOP PROTOTYPING

Professor Pepper and Richard Trimett

The company is now looking to produce some parts for its endoscopic device through using this method. When scaled up the polymer is strong enough to withstand the forces needed to drive the needle, but at 1:1 scale some pieces will simply shear and will have to be replaced by metal. “We have another device that we can’t talk about too much at the moment that would be used in so-called ‘beating heart’ operations for which a number of the parts will need to be cast — we’re experimenting with that at the moment too,” said Berry. Fuelling collaboration While the Sutrue device is interesting as a standalone project it is the collaboration between medical professionals and product designers and engineers that signals the biggest potential benefit of this type of workflow. An average development time for a medical device can easily reach ten years, but by employing 3D printing and other modern technologies Berry and his team are hoping to turn around the new beating-heart device in just six months. Mr Richard Trimlett, a cardiac Surgeon at the Royal Brompton hospital in London, who has been involved in trialling the device, has aided the development of the Sutrue project. Trimlett foresees a future where a surgeon can walk in to see designers and engineers and discuss new product ideas based on the challenges they face in surgery. Berry picked up on this concept: “A lot of surgeons are mechanically minded — many of them work on cars as hobbies — but they maybe don’t have the time or design skills to create products themselves. With modern CAD and 3D printing they can start to co-create with trained engineers and solve some really interesting problems. The ability to iterate in a short time scale means that medical professionals can easily stay involved in the process.” Currently the barriers to trying out an idea to see if it’s something worth pursuing are too high. By using what they have learned on the Sutrue project the team hopes to be able to collaborate with other medical professionals to develop niche but potentially lifesaving products.

Desktop 3D printing in real life It’s clear then that in the right situation having a 3D printer on the desk of the designers and engineers can revolutionise workflows and help develop better products, more quickly. Certainly the use cases are expanding daily, but it’s still not something to be approached lightly as Berry explained: “When you first take the 3D printer out of the box, it’s brand new and clean and it prints something. There’s the worry that new users will experience that and think that the machine is invincible and not take into consideration that it’s a complex optical device. It takes maintenance, it’s not a toaster! “You have to keep it in a clean environment, be aware of the temperature variance which can impact the viscosity of the resin and cause parts to fail. Likewise the mirrors and build trays need to be spotlessly clean or you will get failed print after failed print. Impirtantly on the Form 1+, the build trays are consumables too, they don’t last indefinitely but they also don’t decay in a way that lets you see you have 20 hours of printing left, for example. So if you start getting failed prints try swapping the resin tank for a fresh one and you may find your problem. “I dripped resin onto the main mirror, didn’t realise and once the laser hit it solidified and that was the end of the mirror. Relatively easily done but certainly something to watch for.” As for finishing the parts, Berry bought in a simple but effective piece of kit — a UV light box used for curing finger nail gels in salons: “It’s the right size for the parts that come off the Form 1+ and is mirrored inside so that light reaches pretty much every facet of the part. Once the soaking in isopropyl alcohol is complete we stick the parts in the UV box for maybe 30 mins and they come out about as finished as they’ll get.”

The full Sutrue device, including battery within the main body, in front of the team’s Form 1

February 2015

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February 2015

AM IN PRECIOUS METALS

Jewellery-making

GROWS UP WORDS | Laura Griffiths

icture the traditional jeweller at a workbench surrounded by thousands of pounds worth of tools, meticulously perfecting that one piece of jewellery in a step-by-step process that’s stayed pretty much the same since it began.

David Fletcher, European Product Manager at Cooksongold, precious metal supplier in the jewellery hub of the UK, spoke to TCT about how thanks to additive manufacturing an age-old process is finally growing up. “I think the jewellery and watch industry doesn’t get the credit it deserves in the 3D printing world,” David confessed. “The industry is not adverse to taking on this technology, it just takes a little while to catch up with how to design for and get the best from it. We’re now at that point where the tools are there, it just needs design to catch up with it.”

“There are three aspects,” David explained. “Mature machines, which we now have with the M 080. Mature materials, which I think is probably the biggest selling point that Cookson and EOS have because we developed a machine and materials that work in unison. What we don’t have yet is mature design. Designers previously had a rather constrained way of producing jewellery. Now we’re giving them a new tool and they study need time to really exploit the advantages that gives.”

A recent case at Cooksongold showed a two-tone ring made from 18K 5N red gold and 18K 3N yellow gold. Using the EOS Precious M 080 machine, the multi material part was produced in just four hours without the need for expensive tooling.

The tools David is referring to are those produced in partnership with additive manufacturing machine provider EOS. So far, machines built for the jewellery industry has been held captive behind an industrial price wall that many jewellers were unable to break. Now Cooksongold is moving forward with a brand new machine that delivers the best output the industry has seen so far.

A recent case study at Cooksongold showed a two-tone ring made from 18K 5N red gold and 18K 3N yellow gold. Using the Precious M 080 machine, the multi material part was produced in just four hours without the need for expensive tooling. “I guess it’s only restricted by our imagination,” David commented. “We’ve done similar parts where we’ve built a cage stopped it half way through, filled with stones inside and then continued with the print so the stones are cast seamlessly. It’s really just limited by our design ideas and the more customers get to see and use this tool then the better they’ll become at exploiting what it can do.” Moving from casting to direct metal laser sintering has major benefits for jewellers. We now have tailored products, that are lightweight and a handful of steps have been taken out of the process resulting in a significant saving in time.

Two tone ring

“We started with one of their large industrial machines. That machine wasn’t suitable for jewellery and watch applications,” David explained referring to the loss of powder that is common with these large machines. “We asked them to come up with a new machine. It’s a completely modular system that ensures high accountability for the material we put inside.” Accountability is integral to the jewellery industry due to the precious, high-cost nature of metal-based materials. The Precious M 080 is a cartridge-based system that keeps the material in a contained area. Unlike resin cast systems that push powder across the build platform during melting, this machine has a cartridge that sits above the build cartridge and deposits a precise amount of powder onto the build platform. An extraction cartridge means parts can be easily removed and the manual removal of powder is largely eradicated as the majority of unused material goes back into the extraction system ready to be used. The introduction of machines like this provides a better opportunity for jewellers to benefits from additive manufacturing. Aside from the usual selling points of 3D printing processes such as speed, cost and customisation, David reckons the technology has reached a pivotal point of maturity.

“It’s been an education for us,” David reflected. “We’ve been in the jewellery industry since 1918 but it’s the first time that we’ve done a product launch where we have had to issue design guidelines. They’re very simplistic but they ensure the customer gets the best from this technology.” Situated in the jewellery quarter of Birmingham, the place is a breeding ground for fresh talent coming out of the Birmingham School of Jewellery. This technology is available now and more importantly it is in the hands of up and coming jewellers who are already well versed in working with CAD design. David is confident and concludes: “This is something that’s just going to grow as these guys come through.” i| www.cooksongold-emanufacturing.com

February 2015

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UNFOLDING THE MYSTERIES OF THE

Staffordshire Hoard T

WORDS | Daniel O’Connor

Putting digital technologies to use in order to solve the riddles of Britain’s greatest ever discovery of Anglo-Saxon treasure.

he small cost of £6 for the M6 Toll Road seems nothing to avoid the spiralling congestion of Britain’s most notorious highway, Spaghetti Junction. The publicly funded motorway was made using traditional asphalt and tarmac along with 2.5 million pulped Mills & Boon novels. The racy novels help hold the materials in place as well as acting as a sound absorber to the vehicles that pound the surface at speeds rarely below the national speed limit. Debbie Herbert’s Mills & Boon “classic” ‘Siren’s Treasure’ may not be the only treasure buried beneath the wheels of the M6 Toll automobiles for the adjacent fields were home to perhaps the most significant single discovery of buried treasure in living memory – The Staffordshire Hoard. It was the news of the encroaching road that inspired detectorist Terry Herbert – no relation to the aforementioned Debbie as far as we know – to pester farmer Fred Johnson into letting him detect on his fields. In July 2009 Johnson eventually relented to Terry’s unremitting insistence on working the fields with his trusty metal detector. 18 years of metal detecting experience meant when Terry unearthed a few objects of note he immediately called in the archaeological experts. The find changed not just his and Farmer Johnson’s lives but changed the perception of Anglo-Saxon England in its entirety. The reward for the discovery of over 3,500 Anglo-Saxon artefacts in the field made Terry and Farmer Fred millionaires, but to historians of the Dark Ages it was a small price to pay for a discovery that may answer questions that have hounded them since studies began.

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February 2015

STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD

Reconstructing the cross

Replica of the Cross

“To put it into context,” Hoard Conservation Project Manager, Pieta Greaves explained to TCT. “There are 84 pummel caps from the top of swords in the Staffordshire Hoard before the Hoard was discovered there were less than 20 known in Britain in total.” Pieta continued: “The Hoard shows that they (Anglo-Saxons) were far more advanced than we assumed. This was a time period when they had no known magnification and they are making objects with such fine detail that our conservation has to be done using a microscope.” Unfolding the unfoldable One of the most important artefacts discovered in the month long excavation that followed Terry’s initial find was the so-called ‘folded cross’. The previous 7th Century owner had prised off the mounted garnets, folded the solid gold cross and hidden the whole assemblage. This represented a challenge for the Hoard’s carers, the public and the researchers wanted to see a fully assembled cross in all its glory but attempting to unfold an archaeological discovery like this

could cause irreparable damage. In stepped the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC) from Birmingham City University’s prestigious School of Jewellery (SoJ) with a digital solution for the physical problem. Mark Watkins, one of the JIIC CAD team worked with images, sketches, dimensions and notes taken from viewing the cross at the museum to produce, a three-dimensional CAD model. The CAD model was then passed to award-winning silversmith and former student of the SoJ, Shona Smith. Shona created three finished replicas of the unfolded cross; one for Stoke-on-Trent, one for Birmingham City Council and one for THE, not just ‘a’, VIP as Conservation Co-ordinator Pieta Greaves told TCT: “The Vatican were very interested in the collection because these really early Christian items are quite rare. So for Pope Bennedict XVI’s visit to Birmingham we wanted to gift him a replica of this Papal Cross.” Continued on page 43

Full assemblage of the folded cross

February 2015

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STAFFORDSHIRE HOARD

Replica left - real right

The Mystery Object

Spot the Difference The Staffordshire Hoard is owned by Birmingham City Council and Stoke-onTrent City Council on behalf of the nation, and cared for by Birmingham Museums Trust and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent. Because of this joint ownership and due to the on-going research project not all the objects can be displayed at the same time. Due to the success of this papal project JIIC’s involvement in the Staffordshire Hoard was upped. Using their considerable laser scanning, CAD/CAM and 3D printing knowledge the carers tasked the SoJ team with creating replicas of all the key items in the collection. “The primary goal is to create replicas of such a high level that you cannot tell the difference between them and their real counterparts.” Said Greaves. “Unlike the cross these replicas have to be one to one, including the damage, the scratches and the colour saturation.” The JIIC team use unobtrusive laser scanning to capture each object and then make some adjustments in CAD before sending the model to be laser sintered ready for a lost cast waxing and finishing process. Despite recently taking delivery of a Cooksongold Precious M080 with its ability to create pieces in precious metal, Pieta points out the need for the expert finishing qualities JIIC’s Samantha Chilton brings to the project: “3D printing technology has moved on really far but what it can’t do is produce that very finished human jeweller’s touch. Without the finishing and skills of a traditional jeweller like Sam we couldn’t replicate these object. It is quite unquantifiable; you know when something has been created by hand and when something has been made by a machine. This is interesting as it is a mix of the digital and traditional techniques; the technology creates the base and the platform for a traditional jeweller to finish off.”

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men… The majority of the pieces in the collection are from what is considered the military elite; intricate items of gold and silver from swords, knives, shields and saddles; proof that the stories from Beowulf of the glittering meadhall was more than just “poetic exaggeration” according to Pieta. The majority of pieces are also fairly recognisable in their use or adornment, but there is one piece of intrigue that the JIIC’s digitisation process could help to unlock the secrets of. “Because the Hoard is all torn apart one of the things we can do with the digital data is use that source to rebuild what it would’ve looked like originally.” Detailed Pieta. “One of objects that JIIC are working on at the moment we’ve called the ‘Mystery Object’; it has been torn to three pieces and the bottom section is missing one side. What the JIIC are able to do is digitally rebuild and print it out, we could then give the item to researchers around the world who may be able to unravel the mystery by saying that it looks like this object in their own collection or it would fit on this sword…” The beauty of the digital capturing of the collection is multifaceted; not only is it helping unravel mysteries, give gifts to VIPs and display one-to-one replicas in more than one place at one time it also aids public interaction with the collection. The conservator explained: “The Hoard is quite a difficult collection to understand. The digital process gives an added bonus in outreach terms; it means we can print out larger Nylon versions of the objects so that groups with special access needs can interact with the collection. A person with visual impairment has the ability to feel the enlarged collection to understand just how sophisticated the Anglo-Saxons were.”

February 2015

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February 2015

EUROMOLD REVIEW Project EVO

Revolutions, evolution and colour solutions

at Euromold 2014

efore the show had opened it was clear to see that all the major players were going big at the show as the press releases rolled in and the rumours rumbled on. As a publisher it can be beneficial to also be an exhibitor at tradeshows such as Euromold. The early entry for build days allows for some of the sneakiest of peaks at the new machines as they’re being set-up.

At the back end of 2014 Team TCT upped sticks and headed off for halls 8 and 11 of Messe Frankfurt for the annual pilgrimage to Euromold to see what developments were to be seen at one of the industry’s largest shows.

We’d heard whispers of something special happening over at Renishaw’s two-tier booth; a new machine was all the detail we skimmed before the show. Renishaw had been very clever to set up their new machine first and cloak it in invisibility with the use of a single linen sheet. Underneath was Project EVO, a new metal additive manufacturing machine developed specifically for production manufacturing leveraging the UK-based company’s considerable 40 years of experience.

The huge 3D Systems ProX 400

Bob Bennett, Sales Manager for Renishaw’s AM division told TCT: “The EVO Project is purely a Renishaw product and represents a move towards a highly-focussed production capable system. While the AM 250 will continue to be sold with the flexibility to run multiple materials, the EVO Project brings the engineering expertise of Renishaw to bear on a new AM platform for the first time.” One machine that was slightly more difficult to hide at Euromold, seeing as it stood three metres high, was the newly launched 3D Systems ProX 400. The ProX 400 prints chemically pure metals using 3D Systems’ Direct Metal Printing process up to the size of 500 x 500 x 500 mm. 3D Systems also played their part in the first Bright Minds programme outside the UK, supplying the equipment that made the initiative such a success. Fellow 3D printing giants Stratasys’ stand was as big and bold as you’d expect from a company debuting four brand-new products and six evolutions to existing products. One of the key developments has been in the printing of full-colour parts with a non-exclusive partnership with Adobe and their flagship Photoshop software. TCT got a demo of the capabilities of the new Connex3 profiles in Photoshop CC from Adobe’s Senior Product Development Manager Mike Scrutton. The profiles created by Adobe completely mimic on screen the colours that will be printed on the multi-material multicolour Stratasys machine; meaning exact models for 3D printing can be produced on the ubiquitous software package. “If you think of small design companies who are thinking about venturing into 3D printing,” explained Mike, “they may not be able to afford the other professional CAD packages or train people up on them but with the Photoshop CC solution they can transfer existing skills into 3D design without using another design package.” As usual there were plenty of other developments at Euromold, including the new SolFlex resin-based 3D Printers from Austrian manufacturers Way2Production. Particularly interesting about their machines is that by using pixel-stitching technology they are able to make stereolithography resolution parts at a larger size than traditional DLP machines.

Adobe’s Mike Scrutton demonstrating Stratasys profiles in Photoshop

February 2015

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February 2015

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AM IN METALS

“No Restrictions” ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING GAINS GROUND

WORDS | Laura Griffiths

t’s easy to get lost in the excess of additive manufacturing developments. Rarely a week passes by without a new material, machine or application being thrown into the mix as companies clamour for their position in this promising space. But nothing solidifies the importance of this technology more than witnessing real life applications that any one of us could see or use perhaps without even realising it. For the last year, important industry figures from both the consumer and industrial space have stepped up and made bold statements that claim there are more 3D printers than there are useful applications. Applications are the key to pushing the industry forward. Aerospace and automotive sectors are a hotbed for applied metal additive manufacturing and the technology is finally gaining ground. It holds all of the usual benefits like quicker throughput times, cost effective components, design freedom but rather than just discussing the hopeful notion of what AM is capable of, these industries have grabbed this technology by the reigns and applied it to very real and usable cases. In October last year Airbus became the first company to implement an additively manufactured part on board its new A350 XWB aircraft. Using the LASERCUSING process from Concept Laser, a green technology that reduces the environmental footprint of production, an originally aluminium seat part was produced in titanium through a tool-less, laser sintering process. But why is additive manufacturing so important moving forward? In a recent panel discussion with leaders in the metal 3D printing and aerospace sectors, the conversation turned to how 3D printing is enabling “bionic” aircraft designs built for sustainability.

“Our primary objective is to reduce weight,” explained Peter Sander, Head of Emerging Technologies & Concepts at Airbus. “Additive layer manufacturing or laser melting with metals allows us to design completely new structures. They are actually more than 30% lighter than conventional designs realised using casting or milling processes.” According to Airbus, the company budgeted for six months production time to develop a bracket component for the aircraft but now with AM that lead-time is down to just one month. Whilst reducing production time and fuel consumption because of lightweight benefits, additive manufacturing has the capability to create parts that can absorb specific lines of force, a factor that is particularly important in aerospace components. Frank Herzog, CEO, Concept Laser GmbH, explained: “In addition to reduced resource consumption, the freedom of design enjoyed by aircraft engineers is also quite attractive. The ability to economically keep component density under control and determine the microstructure quality are additional aspects. Another fundamental quality feature is the ability to define the force distribution within the component, which is often impossible with conventional parts or is considerably more difficult to achieve.” Since February last year, Air Transat in Montreal has been taking to the sky with the first 3D printed spare part from Airbus. The cabin attendant seat part was produced to overcome the significant tooling costs required in producing a part that was no longer available. With no tool costs, laser melting resulted in a much lower output than the original injection moulded part. Whilst neither of the major aerospace manufacturers Boeing or Airbus have any current plans for new models under way, the ability to quickly produce parts and repairs becomes all the more imperative for the longevity of models that are already online. Last month saw the first commercial delivery of the A350 XWB to Qatar Airways, marking a new chapter in aviation. For 14 months Airbus executed one of the most intense testing programmes ever developed which concluded last autumn in the A350-900 receiving EASA Type Certification. Sander concluded: “If development continues in a similar manner, I see no technical restrictions. The decision will then ultimately be based on cost-effectiveness and on the industrial availability of metal powders and high-speed machines.” i| www.concept-laser.de/en/home

Airbus bracket manufactured with LaserCusing

February 2015

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JEWELLRY

MANUFACTURING IS FOR MEN?

But diamonds are a girl’s best friend WORDS | Laura Griffiths Tiffany, Pandora, Faberge, you name them all of the big names in the jewellery industry are using a piece of 3D design software: Matrix by Gemvision. Created by a goldsmith, it is levelling the vertical climb young jewellers and new businesses face in getting their ideas to market.

ack in the Fifties, Marilyn Monroe might have gone for a more materialistic sentiment when she sang “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” but as the doors open up to a new generation of designers, in particular, women, the famous line attracts a whole new meaning for manufacturing.

Epic sample

Digitising design is changing the way designers think about the products they create. This is particularly evident in the jewellery industry where it’s out with old traditions and in with new 3D software and tailored manufacturing.

“You can free your mind, design something, see visually on the screen if it’s going to work, check the weight of it which is very important with commercial products”

“You can free your mind, design something, see visually on the screen if it’s going to work and check the weight which is very important with commercial products,” explained Graham Dicks, responsible for turning the UK subsidiary of Gemvision, GVUK Design into an independent distributor for the CAD/ CAM specialist. “Now if you do all of that in advance you’re taking a design conception from months down to weeks.”

“It was typically six to nine months on a leadtime where we would sit down with 300 models and end up with 60,” Graham continued. “All 300 models were made by hand on the bench and then most of them would be thrown away. You start again every single time whereas we can now send you renders and we can reverse engineer. So we end up designing 60 products, making 60 products and selling 60 products so it’s a win, win. You can do all of that before going into production saving you an absolute fortune.” The benefits of using 3D software to design a product are being sung throughout the entire manufacturing industry; its quick, saves money, allows for rapid changes and so on. For traditional jewellers, months on the bench was just part of the remit for the job. Though the move into the digital space has been both radical and challenging it has also been completely freeing. “It works so well because it works the way a goldsmith works,” Graham explained. “Goldsmiths traditionally are not computer techy people, they’re artists so with a lot of the Matrix stuff you’re not typing in commands, you’re not having to spell stuff. Its very intuitive to work with and it’s used by the good and the great.”

CAD render

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February 2015

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GVUK DESIGN

What’s more it has opened independent jewellery designers and young businesses up to a whole new way of doing business. Artists can produce designs on screen and show them to prospective buyers without having to go through the potentially costly process of making them. Changes can be made according to buyer’s requirements and then the designer is able to go ahead and make it completing eradicating the need to outlay several thousands of pounds on a full tool kit.

The Lonmin award winning Deco spine bracelet

The designer’s perspective …

“It gives new businesses and small businesses an equal footing to go out and create some amazing designs and sell before they make,” Graham commented. “That’s a real big pull. You can do that from home – you could sit on the beach and do it!” What is perhaps most exciting is the role women are now playing in the jewellery industry which Graham insists is a dramatic turning point for the trade. “If we go back 10 or 15 years, design and manufacturing was very much a male dominated industry,” explained Graham. “Typically 80 to 90 per cent of the students at Birmingham’s School of Jewellery are women. A lot of women have a great talent for design and this allows them a more artistic opportunity to get into manufacturing rather than the traditional heavier bench work style of manufacturing.” But it’s not just giving women the opportunity to break their way into an essentially male industry, it has also paved the way for a new perspective which is having an impact on the designs thermselves.

Artists can produce designs on screen and show them to prospective buyers without having to go through the potentially costly process of making them.

“The irony of course is, who wears jewellery?” Graham asked. “It has always been designed by chaps. The opportunity is there and we’re seeing a new collection of designs that traditionally men would not lean towards or on the bench would be something you would avoid.” Again the old 3D printing chestnut of the ‘barrier to entry’ has plagued the jewellery business and takes a large chunk of the responsibility for the slow uptake by jewellers to adopt additive manufacturing technology. Machines can typically cost somewhere in the region of £70,000 with leading names like EnvisionTEC and EOS providing machines tailored towards the market. Now the goalposts have shifted as machines designed specifically for small batch runs are being introduced at around a tenth of the cost such as EnvisionTEC’s Perfactory range of machines distributed by GVUK.

Sarah Heulwen Lewis, Bespok e In-House Designer at Kings Hill , St Albans believes 3D design has provided more creative prospe cts for up and coming jewellers. “3D design has enhanced my und erstanding of objects and how they are man ufactured - tenfold. When I started desig ning many years ago, I would design and not take into consideration how it would be made, or even if it could. That is the beauty of designing and I do love to create an ‘impossible’ piece of jewellery.” Proof of the positive impact women are having on the manufacturing industry, Sara h reveals that most teams she has worked with in the jewellery sector have been pred ominantly female. “Companies who design, run or provide the software and machinery can be very male dominated. I am delighted that wom an are becoming more interested and involved .” 3D design is a great tool for collabora ting with existing processes just as 3D printing has proven most effective as a hybrid form of man ufacturing with traditional practices. This co-existe nce has enabled the creation of pieces such as the Deco Spine Bracelet that won Sarah a Lonmin Design Innovation Award. “With my Rhino/Matrix skills and having worked alongside an exceptional mou nter and setter for a few years, I can now visu alise how to make an object whether this be in multiple parts for ease of mounting or a different style of assembly/setting.” Having the ability to create a design on screen and then produce a prototype on dem and is an invaluable commodity to the sector. Sarah explained: “I am able to rend er a client’s ring design to show realistic images, as well as using rapid prototyping machines to produce a model for viewing.” “I adore my job and think that 3D design has definitely given me more creative oppo rtunities, without CAD I would not be where I am today.”

Graham added: “It has changed the market. We now have the industry starting to wake up and starting to buy these machines. I would say its almost exploding. Now there are affordable machines in the market space, people are now interested. For £8,000 upwards you can buy a professional, great machine and that’s a game changer.” i| www.gvukdesign.co.uk

February 2015

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POST PROCESSING Ever seen a huge bowl of plastic fruit, a giant Frankenstein’s monster head and a scale 3D printed wheel trim at a trade show? Yes, that would be Illinois based 3DP Unlimited.

Great Expectations P

rinting large scale parts on their 3DP1000 machine, supersized 3D printing is what 3DP unlimited do best. Bold and finished to perfection, the same question tends to get asked: “Did that really come off a 3D printer?” Well the answer is yes … but that’s just the beginning. To the untrained eye of a Joe Public, these polished, colourful prints appear to have been sent to the printer and, as if by some technological sorcery, come out of the other end looking good enough to eat – the fruit that is, not the wheel trim. Quite often, consumers don’t question what they see, the notorious hype has led them to believe that this is the reality of 3D printing. 3DP Unlimited has a slightly different approach, demisting the fog around the 3D printing rumour mill and managing these sometimes great expectations. “We intentionally have chosen to go ahead and print objects and have half finished and the other half raw,” 3DP Unlimited Vice President, John Good explained. “The reason we’ve done that is to help connect the dots and paint the possibilities.” 3DP Unlimited want to be transparent about the print process. They are on a mission to inform customers new to the technology that 3D printing is a multistep process.

WORDS | Laura Griffiths “People see something near to final use case but we also want to show right next to it what the raw print or minimal finishing looks like so they don’t get this hype where an uneducated consumer is expecting Michelangelo to come off of their printer and it looks like something that belongs in my garage.” There isn’t just one process for customers to get their head around and CIDEAS is a company that is focused providing customers with the best 3D printing finishing solutions for their needs. “We tend to first try to explain to the potential customer exactly what they would be getting if they were to order a raw part,” Mike Littrell, President of CIDEAS explains. “It’s very important that we educate the customers to give them the proper expectations from each individual process.” The service bureau offers four different 3D printing processes – FDM, PolyJet, SLA, SLS – and each of those comes with a multitude of post processing options depending on the application, layer thickness and material. “What we find is it’s very important to educate the customer in advance and get a better understanding of what their project is so that we can explain to them what they will receive if they were to order a raw part.”

February 2015

Some of these services can go from simply ripping the support structure away and off it goes in the post, to next level colour matching and painting for a genuine artistic finish. Vapour honing, sanding, chemical sealing, priming, and even boiling are all possibilities within CIDEAS post processing service. Customer expectations are the driving force behind the bureau’s work and understanding the function of their specific part provides the basis for the results they produce. Do they need the Sistine Chapel or will a rough and ready prototype do the job just as well? John commented: “There are use cases where printed raw is acceptable and then there’s other cases where you need significant post processing. To use a metaphor, I’ve got a saw from the hardware saw and I’m very capable of going ahead and building shelves that I’m proud of in my garage. My wife won’t let them in the house. She wants something that looks finished. So what finishing you use is really a function of what you are trying to accomplish.” 3DP Unlimited is a company that chooses to take products to the extreme to get them looking as finished and functional as possible but it’s much more than just a manual process, it’s an art form.

Continued on page 55

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POST PROCESSING

“When you start looking at some of the objects, it’s more than sanding, more than painting,” John explained. “Quite honestly it’s art where people have skills like airbrushing, skills you would find on a painting.” Though the understanding is getting there, John believes that expectations from cloud based click and post 3D print services are one factor holding back widespread comprehension. Without better articulation, customers unaware of the multiple steps required to achieve a finished standard might anticipate museum standard prints appearing at their Mike and his front door. “I do believe there has been a disservice in the industry where you’ve got a lot of these cloud based services where you send your STL and something’s going to show up at your doorstep,” John explained. “A lot of the time what ends up in somebody’s hands really ends up being a disappointment. I think it’s very important to reflect what true service bureaux can bring to the table as a real localised partner you just don’t get it off the cloud.”

team created a film that lifts the veil on what is really involved in getting a product to a finished or near functional standard, by 3D printing a 40% scale 1927 indie car, the Miller 91.

To combat this, Mike and his team created a film that lifts the veil on what is really involved in getting a product to a finished or near functional standard, by 3D printing a 40% scale 1927 indie car, the Miller 91.

Mike explained: “You have these situations where someone goes on the cloud it shows up in the mail and maybe they’re not as familiar with 3D printing as they thought, maybe the media hyped it so they expected a production part in the mail for $20. It’s that lack of understanding the true nature of these processes that drove us to develop a video to show the unbiased view of not only how those processes worked but how the post processing of the parts occurred once they came out of the machine and what it took to get them to the level of production parts.” “It’s the experience these artisans have that allows them to understand the complex geometries and materials they’re working with and having those tools in their toolbox to be able to create a quality production looking part from a 3D print.” For 3DP Unlimited, the entire 3D printing ecosystem from design to the print bed all the way to finishing, is about printing great things but managing expectations by making sure all of the information is in the hands of the customer. John adds: “3D printing has been around for almost 30 years so there is a foundation of people with experience but the growth rate has been so meteoric that every day there’s new naïve people coming in. We can’t just say been there, done that. They need the same education we went through 10 or 15 years ago - old is new to a certain extent.” i| www.3dpunlimited.com www.buildparts.com

Making 3D Printing Better.

rs after a “Our focus is on every process that occu gy,” nolo tech part has been 3D printed from any Innovation explained Daniel J. Hutchinson Chief tProTech. Officer of Postprocess Technologies; Pos pany, getting the right For the Buffalo, New York based com as the printing itself. t finish for a print is just as importan support removal, from y olog techn Boasting a range of finishing the company ings, coat sed infu and ng dryi surface finishing, an effective for ions specialises in providing after-print solut . additive manufacturing ecosystem not inventors because we “We like to call ourselves innovators utilise them, specifically and esses take manufacturing proc tailored to 3D printing.” ech’s technology, 3D Prior to the development of PostProT the final result they were printing users were simply unable to get vention. Developing the inter looking for without heavy manual hines and consumables mac g turin ufac intellectual property, man industry with the same PostProTech provides the 3D printing manufactures. ter proficiency customers get from 3D prin es battling to get into the With an accelerated number of compani guns and concentrating their to space, PostProTech are sticking better. ting prin 3D ing mak – on what they do best better. We are a company “We like to say we make 3D printing We understand 3D that has developed from 3D printing. several years now for stry printing we’ve been in the AM indu different types from ed need is t wha and we’ve tried to augment of 3D printing applications.” as the 3D printing PostProTech’s customer reach is a wide the defence sector, 3D spectrum itself. Working with clients from ersities gives their univ to way printing service providers all the their technology. of out best the get to user base the opportunity printing and the end “We are bridging the gap between 3D . We’ve made the 3D mers custo use end or use application and essing technology, proc printing process seamless with our post and finished plete com more a enabling customers to produce own.” their on out it e figur to ng havi end product without ProTech recognises that As the industry rushes ahead, Post the pace to ensure the finishing techniques need to keep up with ecosystem continues to grow. be changing the future in “We know that 3D printing is going to do we have to change only Not which we define manufacture. but we also have to tured ufac man is it the design and the way parts in the design to think about how we’re going to finish these manufacturing process.”

i| www.postprotech.com

February 2015

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DESIGN FOR AM 2015

1 As the hype around 3D printing levels off, attention is now turning to the design rules that apply to additive manufacturing processes. Mike Ayre argues that the best results are achieved when you embrace the inherent capabilities and limitations of the technologies.

with the FLOW WORDS | Mike Ayre, Crucible Design

The idea that 3D printing could be subject to any design rules was seen as heresy in the early days of the additive manufacturing ‘revolution’. The absence of tooling and ability to create extremely complex forms seemed to suggest that design freedom was only limited by imagination. However, the reality is a little different, particularly if cost and waste need to be addressed. Whilst it is true that many conventional constraints can be ignored, such as draft angles and re-entrant features, 3D printing does have inherent limitations that can result in considerable inefficiencies unless they are designed out. Limits, what limits? Some of these limitations apply to almost every process, like minimum wall sections and hole sizes. Others, such as the degree of support needed during the build process, only apply to specific technologies. For example, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) creates parts in a chamber of powder that supports the geometry as it is built. Others, including Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) and Sterolithography (SLA) require support structures for all downward facing horizontal surfaces. The build and removal of these supports wastes resources, particularly in metal sintered parts. Whilst this is not a major issue when you are creating a single part, if processes such as DMLS or FDM are used for manufacture, the cost and waste involved in building and then removing the supports can become significant.

The cost of support To demonstrate some of these issues I’m using a simple bicycle pedal that was originally designed to be made using DMLS (Fig 1). One of the main design considerations when minimising supports is part orientation. In Fig 2, the pedal is built horizontally, and there are a large number of downward facing horizontal surfaces that need support, which I’ve highlighted in yellow. These can be minimised by increasing the number of angled surfaces. This is because processes that build in layers can ‘climb’ an angled surface without support. The degree of the angle varies depending on the process. For example, angles as low as 20 degrees can be achieved from sintered titanium. For some SLA materials, 30 degrees is recommended, but all processes will build without supports at 45 degrees to the horizontal. The downside is that the angled surfaces will be rough, as the steps at the edge of each layer are exposed. Another method that can be applied to minimise supports is to use semi-circular archways or round holes rather than square openings. Most processes can form a round arch without supports, although the centre of the arch will, like the angled surfaces, be rough. The size of the arch or hole is also somewhat process dependent, but holes of between 6mm and 10mm diameter can be easily formed without supports in most processes. Continued on page 59

February 2015

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DESIGN FOR AM 2015 About the Author

3D printing sometimes requires the designer to consider not only the strength of the finished part, but also its viability during the build process.

Mike Ayre is a product designer who has been working with additive layer processes since 1990. He has published a number of guides on 3D printing and presented at TCT Show several times. For more information and links to the guides, please visit www.crucibledesign.co.uk. By changing the pedal orientation to vertical and making some significant alterations to the design, the need for supports can be eliminated (Fig 3). The main design modification is to make the ends of the pedal angled to enable these surfaces to be built without supports. The openings in the front and back surfaces and the bearing cups are also arched to remove the need for supports.

Will it build? At this point another limitation is highlighted, particularly if you are using processes like DMLS. 3D printing sometimes requires the designer to consider not only the strength of the finished part, but also its viability during the build process. The pedal design shown in Fig 3 will be quite weak mid-way through the build process (Fig 4), as the vertical sections are not joined together and could be damaged by the action of the powder recoating blade as it passes over the partially constructed part. For DMLS parts, the general rule is that the height of a column should never be more than eight times its width.

Going with the flow Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the solution? Take a different design approach that capitalises on the capabilities of a layer based production method, whilst minimising its limitations. The pedal design in Fig 5 uses a combination of archways, radiussed corners and angled surfaces to create a solution that would be structurally sound throughout the build process, whilst minimising material requirements and eliminating the need for support structures. Finally, the vertical orientation of this part touches on another issue that needs to be considered when manufacturing parts using 3D printing: the efficiency of the build platform or chamber. Some processes, like SLS, can use the entire build chamber, and parts can be stacked on top of each other. Platform based processes such as DMLS and FDM need to consider the layout of the parts to get the maximum number for each build cycle. In the case of the pedal, orienting the parts vertically makes the most efficient use of the build platform (Fig 6).

6 These are just some of the issues that affect the efficiency of 3D printing as a production process. Each technology has its own strengths and weaknesses, and designers need to familiarise themselves with all of them if they are to get the most out of these exciting new production tools. Far from limiting creativity, the exceptional abilities offered by 3D printing, and its equally unique limitations, suggest new approaches to geometry that offer some very exciting possibilities for product designers and engineers. i| www.crucibledesign.co.uk

February 2015

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February 2015

DASSAULT SYSTÈMES

Living Heart project

Dan does the

3DExperience As Solidworks World draws to a close Dan O’Connor looks back on his visit to the Dassault Systèmes 3DExperience Forum. Just as this issue was going to press Gian Paolo Bassi – the newly instated CEO of Solidworks – announced that two million 3D design application licenses have now been installed at educational institutions across the globe. “In education, we want to stimulate bright ideas and creativity by providing students with the same easy-to-use design tools used by professional engineers,” said Gian Paolo. “Solidworks applications help students complete challenging projects like fully functional robots or solar-powered race cars and, in the process, learn lasting skills for their future professional life.” The reasons Dassault is so proud of its dedication to education was evident in the opening remarks at the 3DExperience Forum in Las Vegas at the back end of last year. Bruno Latchague, Senior Executive Vice President, Americas Market and Global Sales Operations remarked: “We’re future proofing our market with over one million students using our products in the US alone.”

A story from the heart Without doubt the talk of the show was that of 3DS’ Dr Steven Levine, who is responsible for Dassault’s Living Heart Project. “Why can’t we do for life sciences what we do for the aerospace or automotive industry?” pondered the Chief Strategy Officer. Ambitiously, Dassault didn’t beat around the life sciences bush and went straight for the jugular, or rather coronary. 3DS wanted to virtually simulate a real working human heart, in order to help out with the fight of the world’s biggest killer, heart disease. The success of the simulation was evident in the 3DExperience Playground, as a large chunk of exhibitors were showcasing how a surgeon was able to manipulate and examine a CT scan of a heart in 3D, including a quite incredible immersive experience that was the Christie Digital Cave. Simulation would allow a surgeon to perform an operation twice but only cut once. In his emotional speech Dr Levine told the story of a little girl who was born with a rare heart defect in which the heart was the wrong way round; “The heart isn’t symmetrical, one side is meant to deal with lower pressure for the lungs, the other supplies the rest of the body with blood.” He expertly noted.

Bruno Latchague, Dassault Systèmes

It wasn’t until the final slide when it became apparent that this little girl, now in her 20s and a medical graduate after four pacemaker operations, was his very own.

Education became somewhat of a theme of the two-day event held at the swanky Cosmopolitan Hotel on the Las Vegas strip. The 2014 edition of the 3DExperience Forum was the first time that Dassault had hosted an Academia track as well as inviting Wichita State University’s (WSU) Dr John Tomblin to keynote on day two.

After the emotion swept the room and it became apparent how dedicated Steven was to the project he was joined on stage by his CEO, Bernard Charles to announce the incredible news that the project had just received FDA approval.

Tomblin’s speech provided a fascinating insight into WSU’s prestigious track record of aerospace innovation at the National Institute for Aviation Research. Tomblin discussed how WSU were combining immersive technology, Dassault’s 3DExperience and robotics with additive manufacturing in order to innovate the manufacturing processes in the aerospace industry.

If there has ever been a more inspirational and worthy story led by a man as passionately dedicated man as Steven Levine, I’m yet to see it. The Living Heart Project story pulled your heartstrings and thanks to it, surgeons can do now do that virtually.

February 2015

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3DP IN EDUCATION

When the 3Doodler burst onto the scene with a record-beating crowdfunding campaign many in the industry dismissed the 3D printing pen as a passing fad that had ridden the crest of the hype wave but was destined to get washed up and buried in the trough of disillusionment as the next tide of technology sweeps in.

THE PEN IS

MIGHTIER

than the chalkboard H

ow wrong those cynics were. Not only has the 3Doodler gone on to be perhaps the only true plug ‘n’ play consumer 3D printing product on the market, successfully launched a second generation and fought off cheap Chinese knock-offs, it is now responsible for bridging the gender gap that exists in STEM education and helped children with attention difficulties concentrate for longer.

In a pilot project with UK comprehensive school St Augustine’s 3Doodler targeted 150 students across three fields of study; Technology & Engineering, Science, and Art & Design. In order for a school to achieve an Ofsted evaluation of “outstanding” establishments must be seen to be actively integrating new technologies, enter the 3Doodler. In Technology & Engineering the 3Doodler was used in one of the most ubiquitous problem solving engineering tasks in education; the physics behind bridge building. Traditionally, to complete this task students would have used balsa wood but instead they were required to build a bridge using a 3Doodler and three strands of 3Doodler plastic in order to get from one wooden block to another spaced 30cm apart. If you asked the majority of people who know the 3Doodler wher its natural home in a curriculum would be, they would say, Art & Design and it has indeed been received well by St. Augustine’s students, who were tasked with replacing traditional materials such as crepe papers and pipe cleaners with the 3Doodler in order to “decorate the human form.” Teachers also used the 3Doodler in Biology to educate students about the structure of the human heart. Students were asked to create a three-dimensional model of the human heart with its various valves and chambers using a 3Doodler, this approach sidestepped the old-fashioned pigs heart dissection at the same time as maintaining that particular experiment’s tactile learning methodology. Reaction to the 3Doodler from the students’ perspective was largely positive with 87% giving it a mark of eight (out of ten) or above. The teachers, however, pointed out some additional areas of the education process the pen was beneficial too as one member of staff explained: “Some children diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) struggle to concentrate when taught with traditional pedagogy. However, if we deliver teaching material in the form of a computer game we observed that there is no problem with concentration or focus; the same applied with the 3Doodler. With the use of a template, the student maintained focus and was engaged throughout the task set.” It was also noted that the 3Doodler bridged a gender gap often found in STEM subjects: “Normally, when I bring in new machinery (e.g. Makita tools) the boys are very keen to use them, whereas the girls are more resistant. Yet when they were using the 3Doodler, the girls were just as confident with the new equipment. Top and Centre: Doodling in Product Design lesson. Bottom: Assistant Principal and physics teacher with students

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February 2015

“One female pupil told me that the 3Doodler had helped her to understand architectural design and structures. Our Assistant Principal and Head of Curriculum Development also noticed an increase in the uptake of girls choosing Physics following the lessons where we used the 3Doodler.”

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GRIMM COLUMN

METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING;

It’s All Relative WORDS | Todd Grimm

About the Author Todd Grimm is a stalwart of the additive manufacturing industry, having held positions across sales and marketing in some of the industries biggest names. Todd is currently the AM Industry Advisor with the AMUG. You can contact him on tgrimm@tagrimm.com

can read your mind, and I don’t agree with what I am hearing. As you venture into metal additive manufacturing (AM), you are looking for a one-step process that delivers production goods in an alloy you commonly use with the same qualities; right down to microstructure. In a nutshell, you are thinking along the lines of replacing machining with AM. I am not clairvoyant. Instead, I am observant, and from those observations, I find that most seek to substitute AM for machined metal parts and tools. I can’t explain why, and I find it a bit baffling, but the contest is AM vs. machining when it should be AM vs. other metal processes. Although you may find success with that line of thought, the odds are against you. Machining is the wrong place to start. Instead, consider parts that would be cast using investment, sand or die. In contrast to cast metal parts, AM has more similarity and a greater opportunity to deliver real value.

In contrast to cast metal parts, AM has more similarity and a greater opportunity to deliver real value.

Let’s start with time and cost. Casting demands tooling, which can take many weeks to produce and many thousands of dollars. Machining, on the other hand, has a minimal upfront investment to get started. And considering the entire process, casting, with the exception of die casting, measures cycle times in hours. When used as an alternative to casting, AM eliminates tooling, which has a huge time and cost advantage, and has somewhat comparable cycle times.

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Now consider the process. After breakout or ejection, most cast metal pieces require secondary machining to dial in dimensions and surface finishes on critical surfaces. If done right, machining can be a one-step operation. So as an alternative to casting, AM is a substitute for production of the raw part, which will then be machined to as-designed specs just like a casting. And like casting, the process may conclude with some heat treatment, such as hot isostatic pressing (HIP), to yield the desired characteristics. Next, consider materials. Machining can handle most metal alloys. Casting cannot. For die casting, options include zinc, aluminium, magnesium, copper and lead. Sand casting is similar but adds iron and steel. According to ASO materials, for investment casting, nickel and cobalt-base superalloys account for 50 percent of total output by value, steels (of all types) account for 35 percent, aluminum accounts for about 10 percent, and copper and titanium alloys make up a large part of the remaining 5percent. Like AM, casting has to consider how well a material processes and what happens as it melts and cools which inherently limits your options. Finally, consider design. With creative use of cores, at least for sand and investment casting, part designs can get a bit complex internally and externally. On the other hand, machining is much more limited. If positioning AM as an alternative to machining, there is a very real danger that the design for machining mindset flows into design for AM. Although AM can take complexity farther than casting, at least there is a mental starting point that moves the design beyond what is possible on a CNC mill, lathe or router. So if you are looking for a beneficial alternative to something you already do, look first to casting. The expectations will be more in line with AM deliverables, and the gains can be more substantial. As an AM veteran recently said to me, “If you can easily make the part on a 3-axis mill, don’t even consider additive manufacturing.” For the bold, innovative types, don’t look to AM as an alternative for machining or casting. Instead, consider it as an opportunity to execute what you can’t do with either, at least in a practical sense, in materials that are not available (or hard to work with), all while using new design concepts. That is where the greatest value lies. I would have loved to start with this point, but I find that it is much easier to get your head around what is possible when there is a comparative baseline, which comes from a casting mindset. That mindset will also help you to shift from a “do-all, be-all” position to one of reasonable expectations. Metal AM is a great tool with lots of potential when applied where it makes sense. This is still a new technology that is developing and expanding. With current and future R&D, AM will offer more metals, higher precision and better throughputs to help it compete with machining. But for now, start with an eye on the work being done by foundries.

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