TCT NA 4.1 by TCT Magazine

NORTH AMERICAN EDITION VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 www.tctmagazine.com

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IN FULL SWING AUTODESKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GENERATIVE TOOLS SHIFT LIGHTNING MOTORCYCLES INTO HIGH GEAR

THE MAGAZINE FOR DESIGN-TO-MANUFACTURINg INNOVATION

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FROM THE EDITOR STILL ACCELERATING

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

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

DANIEL O’CONNOR, GROUP EDITOR

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TCT | VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 1

COVER STORY

6. IN FULL SWING

30. PREVIEW

How Autodesk’s generative tools shift Lightning Motorcycles into gear.

Jewelry

We look ahead to the 30th Additive Manufacturing Users Group meeting.

10. A DECADE OF DESIGN FOR INDUSTRY

Group Editor, Daniel O’Connor reports on a visit to the Birmingham School of Jewellery.

15. OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND CADBLU

How a New York 3D printing company is helping to revolutionize two historical jewelry districts.

19. Q&A: FRANK COOPER

Frank Cooper talks jewelry in the first of our TCT Expert Advisory Board interviews.

22. MATERIALS: A DRIVER IN ADVANCING AM

AMUG

33. BIO-COMPATIBLE REFRACTORY METAL ALLOYS FOR PATIENT-SPECIFIC ORTHOPEDIC AND DENTAL IMPLANTS

In this guest column, Dr. habil. Markus Weinmann discusses biocompatible materials.

SOFTWARE

25. NEXT STAGE IN SUPPORT GENERATION

Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griﬃths speaks to Materialise about its e-Stage for Metal software.

27. LIVE PARTS

A closer look at Desktop Metal’s new generative design tool.

29. ANALYZE AND OPTIMIZE Editorial Assistant, Sam Davies takes a look at Carbon’s latest software update.

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

35. “WE ARE THE INNOVATION ENGINE” Laura reports on a trip to 3D Systems in Colorado to see the company’s latest technologies.

39. TCT AWARDS 2018

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

40. WINDS OF CHANGE; TIDE OF RESISTANCE

Todd Grimm’s regular column discusses tunnel vision in AM.

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IN FULL SWING AUTODESK’S GENERATIVE TOOLS SHIFT LIGHTNING MOTORCYCLES INTO HIGH GEAR

WORDS: DANIEL O’CONNOR ON JUNE 30TH, 2013, RICHARD HATFIELD, CEO OF A SMALL MOTORCYCLE COMPANY, STOOD, QUIETLY CONFIDENT, AT THE FOOT OF PIKE’S PEAK, COLORADO, ALONGSIDE HIS FULLY ELECTRIC BIKE AND RACER CARLIN DUNNE. TWO YEARS PREVIOUSLY LIGHTNING MOTORCYCLES MADE WAVES BY BECOMING THE FIRST ELECTRIC POWERED BIKE TO BREAK THE 200 MPH MARK, AND RICHARD KNEW THE LS-218 WAS ABOUT TO MAKE HISTORY AGAIN IN THE RACE TO THE CLOUDS.

ext year, you should bring batteries,” Hatfield quipped after the bike smashed not only the rest of the electric field’s times but beat the fastest gas-powered bike by almost 21 seconds. The posted time of 10:00.694 remains a record for an electric motorcycle, in spite of the wet and snowy conditions at the peak 5,000-foot ascent. Lightning Motorcycles had a distinct advantage over some of the more well-established names in motorcycling, all of which were competing to bring the fastest electric bike to the mountain. Lightning was starting from scratch, unencumbered by traditional preconceptions of how one manufactures a bike. Using a suite of Autodesk software and 3D printing technologies Lightning was able to be agile in its iteration process.

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cover story

“We can make quick changes and have a working part on the bike within a day,” Hatfield said. Amongst the software Lightning was deploying was Autodesk’s Project Dreamcatcher - a demonstrator of its much talked about generative design capabilities, now available as a technology preview with Autodesk Fusion 360 and Autodesk Netfabb. Generative design tools allow you to explore a multitude of design solutions based on goals and constraints, unlike optimization software which only allows for refinement of a known design. By cutting the weight of the bike without compromising performance, Lightning is now aiming to make the LS-218 even faster by deploying new design methods, additive and a manufacturing process that has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years, casting.

shown: THE NEW SWINGARM DESIGNED USING AUTODESK’S GENERATIVE DESIGN TOOLS

Heading up the project on the Autodesk side is Andreas Bastian, whose previous work on a magnesium aircraft seat frame using Autodesk Generative Design and Netfabb, was shortlisted for a TCT Award in 2017. The seat frame recorded a 56% weight saving and is on its way to being approved as flight-safe by the FAA. Lightning had previously attempted to lightweight the bike’s swingarm using composite 3D printing technologies, although the designs worked in theory the material properties were unlikely to withstand the forces required when riding such a powerful machine. For Andreas, it was logical to start with some of the techniques picked up on the seat frame project. “We have looked at the swing arm because it is a nice scale of a problem,” Andreas tells TCT. “It is traditionally made of three parts bolted together, it is made of known materials using known manufacturing processes, and it was developed by engineers, who know a ton about motorcycling.” Previous generatively designed projects had clear goals in that they needed to be both lightweight and structurally sound. However, the swing arm required both those quantitative goals as well as one more qualitative one; maintaining the allusive ‘ride feel,’ that is crucial to experienced riders. It was determined using the simulation tools in Autodesk Generative Design, that there were five primary load cases, and to sustain ride feel the swingarm needed to match as many of these as possible, while at the same time reducing weight. “What’s interesting is you want a different amount of stiffness for different behaviors,” states Bastian. “You need high stiffness for normal operating mode because if you are riding and hit a speed bump and your swingarm is floppy, then you will momentarily lose contact with the road and therefore bike. Whereas under race conditions when banking at angles of up to 50 degrees vertical you need a more deflection.” The generatively designed swingarm matched its original counterpart in four of the five load cases, with the fifth outperforming by as much as 55%. 

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cover story controlled casting with 3D sand printing to produce a fast and reliable method for casting almost any geometry,” he states. “The potential of applying these technologies is vast, and we are working on expanding our capabilities even further to cast products that were previously unachievable.”

CASTING ASPERSIONS While a generatively designed part may look impressive onscreen and perform under Autodesk’s rigorous simulation tools, manufacturing is another issue entirely. Although generative design tools and additive manufacturing (AM) have grown up together, for this particular project, Andreas knew that AM wasn’t going to be able to produce the final part. Enter casting. “We haven’t seen a whole lot of shapes like those of generative design and a manufacturing process like casting overlap,” he comments. “That is largely just cultural; it is not a technical reason. A lot of these new design capabilities are conceptually tied to additive and specifically direct metal additive, but casting has an incredible amount of shape flexibility too.” Casting also benefits from being a mature manufacturing process with qualification pathways for hundreds of materials including application specific alloys. Direct metal additive’s value proposition against casting is centered around lead times and agility but by using what Andreas describes as ‘No Tool Casting’ this argument all but evaporates.

The generatively designed swingarm was printed, cast in A356 aluminum, cleaned, heat treated, machined and inspected within three weeks, with the whole process taking only a few months. This kind of agility of manufacturing gives Lightning its speed on the track before anybody else. “The democratization of technology will enable new ideas to be brought to market quicker and allow startups to compete with large legacy enterprises.” CEO, Richard Hatfield told TCT. Earlier this month an electric vehicle made by Tesla just 15 miles down the road from Lightning’s headquarters in San Carlos, California is hurtling at 24,500mph towards Mars. While we might not match that here on earth, you can be sure Lightning Motorcycles and Autodesk will continue to push the limits of what is possible.

“Most of the lead time and cost in casting is in the tooling,” Andreas states. “The foundry we are working with on this project use a voxeljet sand printer to directly print their molds. Using this method, you effectively get all the value proposition of direct metal additive plus all of the advantages of casting.” Although sand printing for foundries is not new, it is the addition of Autodesk Generative Design that takes this project to another level. The foundry in question is Tooling & Equipment International (TEI), based out of Livonia, Michigan, and its President, Oliver Johnson concurs with Andreas on casting’s future for generatively designed parts.

 TOP LEFT: GENERATIVE

DESIGN TOOLS ALLOWED LIGHTNING MOTORCYCLES TO COMPARE MANY UNIQUE DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES

“We have combined advanced simulation and computer-

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jewelry

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

’m about to tempt fate on a scale never tempted before. This magazine is on the printing press around St. Valentine’s Day, I’m not at home for it, I wasn’t last year either, but I have something up my sleeve that ought to make up for it. The risk comes with putting this story into print with the potential of it being seen a good week before my grand gesture thus potentially ruining it full stop (so all keep shtum on social media please). But there’s a relevance, and regular readers will know the great lengths I go to for a dash of editorial color. See, for the jewelry feature I visited the UK’s largest jewelry district to see how the students of the BA (Hons) Jewelry and Silversmithing Design for Industry (DFI) course at Birmingham School of Jewellery (SoJ) in the UK are reshaping the manufacture of jewelry. The course is in its tenth year and as a celebration, the team, including Claire Price, Keith Adcock, and Andy Howard along with Frank Cooper, invited me down to see some of the output the current crop of students are producing. One of those works that immediately draws attention, due to the fact it seems almost out of place is a set of honey dippers, the decorative handles of which are printed in nylon on a selective laser sintering machine at UK service bureau, Digits2Widgets (D2W). “As part of their first week of inductions into the technology to try and understand it we get them to produce these honey dipper toppers,” explains Senior Lecturer / Programme Leader, Claire Price. “They get a visit to D2W and some space on the machine. It is a one-day task playing with T-Splines, having seen the machine and what it can produce, understanding the tolerances and materials. It is

010

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about getting them used to the speed too, rather than saying ‘oh we have six weeks to come up with a design for a honey dipper,’ the reality is that they wouldn’t have that.” The course is grounded in that very reality of hard industry; it is geared up to give the students a skill set that will get them work in a fastchanging world. Amongst learning CAD skills, laser cutting, laser welding and 3D printing, the students have to spend some time using a traditional jewelers workbench. “One of the first things we get them to do is to work on commissions,” says Keith Adcock, Senior Technologist at the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre (JIIC). “It’s all well and

SHOWN: PENDANT 3D PRINTED IN PLATINUM AT COOKSONGOLD

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

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

jewelry

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

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

 RIGHT: HAND - DYED BRACELET

FINISHED WITH COAT METAL DETAIL

 BELOW: RELIC BRACELET AND PACKAGING PRINTED AS ONE

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011

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

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jewelry

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

SHOWN: DECORATIVE HONEY DIPPER HANDLES PRINTED IN NYLON SLS

More info at this link http://mytct.co/SojDFI

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

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

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The Event for

25 26 27 SEPTEMBER 2018 NEC, Birmingham, UK

Being recognised as a world-class company is only achieved by constantly improving every part of your design-to-manufacturing process chain. The pace of development in technology, materials and software is incredible and with over 300 cutting edge exhibitors that CAN help you enhance your design and manufacturing process, it is no surprise that more than 10,000 professionals from product development, engineering and manufacturing functions choose to attend the TCT Show every year. Join them this September.

Whatever your mission, find your insights, intelligence and inspiration at TCT Show.

SHOW

jewelry

OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND CADBLU. WORDS : SAM DAVIES

he jewelry sector is one awash with artists and forward-thinkers, creators and risk-takers. Such are the personalities behind the rings, the piercings, the bracelets, and the necklaces that prop up the industry, it was always going to be one of the leading adopters of 3D printing technology. The creative freedom and the customization capabilities were obvious enticers early on, but now, there’s a speed element, and a precision one too. Jewelers’ Row, Philadelphia hosts more than 300 retailers, wholesalers and craftsmen. It is the oldest diamond district in the United States, and the second largest, losing out only to the one in New York. Since the mid-19th century it has been a hub of artistry, and since the late 1970s, it has been home to Casting Headquarters, a company serving many of its 300+ neighbors in casting, design and molding capacities. Casting HQ is made up of nine people. There are two diamond setters, a single jeweler, a single caster, two wax modelers, and three CAD designers. Ashley Gardner is one third of the CAD design team, six years into her career, after graduating with a jewelry-making degree from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Her first experience with 3D printing came via a Solidscape T76, which was more than capable of delivering the desired detail, but perhaps not as quickly as she and her colleagues would like. It encouraged Casting HQ to install a ProJet MJP 2500, a 3D Systems machine brought to market specifically for jewelers to manufacture high resolution casts and molds. Since the new system was purchased, the Solidscape has taken a backseat.

SHOWN: RAW CASTING OF A 14 KT WHITE GOLD ENGAGEMENT RING

Why? “Because [ the MJP 2500 is ] just so much faster, and the waxes are super detailed.” For a company that likes to collaborate with its clients, rather than just serve them, this is a huge benefit. “You can get a more precise product and you can work more closely with the customer because [they don’t always] come to you and tell you what they want and trust you to finish it,” Gardner tells TCT. “You can take them through each step in the process with super realistic details with computer renderings and then you can show them the wax models, they can envision it, and you can take them more closely through the process to get them to exactly what they want their piece to look like.”

IMAGE CREDIT: ELITE CASTING

SAM DAVIES TAKES A LOOK AT HOW A NEW YORK 3D PRINTING COMPANY IS HELPING TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE STATES’ OLDEST JEWELRY DISTRICTS.

Casting HQ’s expertise is frequently utilized for engagement rings and wedding bands, and so there’s little room for error. Working alongside each other, Gardner and the customer can design, and tweak, and iterate digitally, before having to manufacture the product. At this stage, there’s still potential for milling to be used in favor of 3D printing. It depends on the design, but the speed and quality of the ProJet MJP machine means, more often than not, 3D printing is the go-to method. Limitations have arisen, however, in the duplication of antique pieces, like filigree rings, which were originally manufactured with stamping methods, whereby the metal is very thin, but very strong. Gardner says 3D printing 

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07/02/2018 14:52

jewelry and casting doesn’t allow them to manufacture something so slender that can last forever, like you can when making a piece by hand. In New York, another small casting firm has harnessed a ProJet 2500 machine but, so far, ‘everything is perfect.’ Ragip Karamartin is a partner at Elite Casting, a company who has been providing a jewelry casting, model and mold making service for 20 years, and for the last few, custom orders with 3D printing. Like Casting HQ in Philadelphia, it previously used a Solidscape machine, but at the end of 2017 installed the 3D Systems platform. The quality of the output, Karamartin says, isn’t too dissimilar, but the difference in volume is startling. In a matter of hours, the ProJet can manufacture around 150 rings compared to the ten in a day on the Solidscape: “You’re getting a Renault instead of a Bambi [motorhome],” Karamartin analogizes, “I think that’s why a lot of people are considering paying a little more for the [ProJet].” Karamartin is firmly of the belief that time is money, and for that reason additive manufacturing (AM) offers the solution for high volume jewelry production. It’s also opened the door for small clients with one-of-a-kind pieces, ‘something we’ve never had before’, Karamartin admits. The machine is changing the way Elite Casting operates. A company of just 20 people isn’t feeling the strain when business picks up, because of a productive machine designed specifically to enhance the manufacture of jewelry casts. “The business has shifted from old school manufacturing to the new system,” Karamartin says. “Instead of 100 people working on high end projects right now, everything is being done with the machine. One production person can manufacture 150 pieces a day. Now we have the machine which can do the same in three hours, and also overnight. The good thing is everything is identical. They all come out at the same weight, no human errors. It makes a big difference.”

Casting HQ and Elite Casting, though small in size, are working to serve customers of all varieties. Their work is a good test of AM technology, which is being harnessed to produce wax models, before casting takes place. Between the two companies, they are using ProJet 2500 machines to manufacture customized, unique, pieces, as well as other products in high volume. And they are doing so in quicker time than ever before, all the while maintaining the quality expected in pieces of jewelry. The link between the two companies comes through Rich Motto and CADblu, the distributor who sold them the ProJet 2500 machines, and the company providing support as and when necessary. Motto, CEO and Founder of CADblu, has been in the jewelry industry for 38 years, began working with CAD/ CAM as early as 1991, and embraced additive technologies as their potential grew. The company provides an extensive selection of 3D printing systems and materials, including a wide variety of 3D Systems machines,

having previously also supplied Solidscape platforms. It also lists the likes of Tiffany and Tacori among its customer base. Typically, it is these companies that tend to lead the way in incorporating contemporary technologies, like AM, into manufacturing processes, before the smaller players take inspiration. In Casting HQ and Elite Casting, CADblu has two clients taking full advantage of that trickledown effect. “3D printing is becoming more accessible for small businesses,” Motto said. “Currently, these companies can use this technology, not only for customized items, but also an effective way to reduce cost and time with small run production. Ultimately, they save time and money by skipping the modeling and mold-making process. We’re at a point where the jewelry industry, including small businesses, continues recognizing the potential of 3D printing and adopting it as an integral part of their manufacturing process.”

IMAGE CREDIT: ELITE CASTING SHOWN: RAW CASTING OF A PLATINUM WEDDING BAND

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JEWELRY

THE TCT EXPERT ADVISORY BOARD Q&A: FRANK COOPER

ast year when we pulled together the TCT Expert Advisory board to help us fairly judge the awards we always had in the back of our minds that these eminent minds would help with our coverage. For each issue this year we’ll be selecting an expert relevant to our focus and picking their brains as to how additive or its surrounding technologies has shifted the manufacturing process. First up it’s Senior Lecturer in Jewellery Manufacturing Technology and Manager of the Centre for Digital Design and Manufacturing at the School of Jewellery, Frank Cooper. Frank has been in the jewelry industry for most of his life, and his pioneering work has seen a clamor for his knowledge leading to speaking engagements across the globe. He’s a born and bred Birmingham, UK man and he lives and breathes the Jewellery Quarter, which is one of Europe’s oldest and biggest jewelry districts. TCT: In your time in the industry how have additive technologies evolved for jewelry manufacture? FC: The standard printer of the jewelry industry, the Solidscape, has over the last ten years or so become a robust and reliable piece of kit that is

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

manufacturers, for the bigger, more expensive technologies but there is also a niche for the smaller less costly printers too. So long as the output is of a reasonable resolution and will happily go through the casting process, then the industry is happy to pick its way through the many options now available. Particularly popular at the moment is the Formlabs Form 2 system about which I only seem to hear good things, easy to set up, simple to use, good results and excellent customer support. TCT: In your opinion what area of the manufacturing process could jewelers most beneﬁt from applying the current technologies? Speed of reaction to special requests from customers, especially for bespoke items or changes in fashion styles, can both be dealt with quickly and cost-effectively when using the right combinations of CAD and 3D printing. If used properly these two areas of technology can also reduce the amount of work in progress or inventory rattling around a jewelry manufacturer, remembering one kilo of 18-karat gold could set you back in the region of 35,000 GBP (40,000 USD) or more. 

SHOWN: TRADITIONAL BENCH

SKILLS FOR JEWELLERY REMAIN IMPORTANT

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SHOWN: ISO-TENSILE BAR MADE OF PA12-RC ON SPRO60HD-HS BY 3D SYSTEMS

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

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

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

SHOWN: A BUILD TRAY FROM

A FORMLABS FORM 2 MACHINE

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MATERIALS: A DRIVER WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

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

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Dana: We’ve been asking for more and more materials from the additive perspective and really pushing the boundaries to get into production. Here at Carbon, we are really developing more engineering, end-use products using our materials. One key component of this is working with end customers who are going to produce end parts. Sophie: We have to start with applications when we’re discussing materials, and that certainly is the case for Added Scientific. We are strongly of the opinion that you need to start with the materials and understand the characteristics of what you’re trying to get to before you even talk about the process. Nicola: For us, the key point is that the quality of the part that you get out is very dependent on the quality of the material that you put in, which is why we spend a lot of time looking at the applications and the specific characterization of the powders that are used in that particular application. Martine: Somos has been around since the 80s when the first prototyping resins were developed in stereolithography. I saw them, they were brittle, they were yellowing and now look here today where everyone is focussing on trying to find real solutions for high demanding end applications. I think the industry has grown very far. Q. Do you feel that materials can get overlooked amidst hype around new hardware? Nicola: People are beginning to understand that materials are important. We’re certainly seeing a lot more questions about the materials we use with particular instruments and in support of that, also that there are processes around the care of the materials themselves, so the storage, the handling, the transport and the traceability. Sophie: I would completely agree, we’ve invested 6 million GBP (8.2 million USD) at the university into a lab purely for material characterization. It’s not the most attractive aspect of the technology, you can’t take a nice photo of materials, it doesn’t fill up premium space on your website, but for us, it is the most important bit. Dana: It’s a collaboration of material development that of course cannot be overlooked but then also creating new hardware and software. So as you look at the lattice designs or topology, all of the different software that can collaborate with the materials side to create better products is necessary.

#3DTALK

VER IN ADVANCING AM Martine: We have to work together, so you have to have the right machines, the right software. You have to involve the end customer, the service bureaus, the technology development, everyone in the chain to develop a solution for what the customers need. We’re one ecosystem, and this industry still has a long way to grow. Q. What are the current challenges in your area of the industry and what can be done to overcome them? Dana: The challenge we see is for end production parts. A lot of the time you have these 2D drawings that have been looked at for several years, and it identifies what material that part needs to be made in. One challenge I throw out to everyone is, “what are the key requirements needed for that part?” and opening your mind to possibly changing that material, not using an exact polypropylene but using a material that behaves like that polypropylene. Sophie: One of the challenges that we’re having with materials is quite simply getting them. What we’re trying to do is print some weird

and wonderful materials that haven’t been printed before. I just paid about 900 GBP (1,250 USD) for about 30 grams of material to come from South Korea, but we can’t get hold of it otherwise. We’re starting to see new initiatives coming through particularly to support nanoparticle development, and I think that will benefit us and it’ll give our industry better access to those materials. Nicola: From taking the material into your production facility in the first place right through build and perhaps re-using the powder, it can quite quickly get complicated to know which batch of powder you started off with. So, traceability is a key factor, and it’s certainly something that we’re working in partnership with some people on to put in a system that tracks that powder at every stage through its life history. Q. How are new materials opening up a path for more sustainable manufacturing practices/processes? Sophie: You will hear lots of claims that 3D printing is environmentally friendly but by and large, it is a crime to sustainability - the process is the crime. The product is often very environmentally friendly because it’s lightweight, it consolidates components, it’s built nearer where it’s needed, but the process and the materials rarely are. If you look at the wider lifecycle that’s when you start to see the benefits and that’s why you have to assess things like aerospace components, or any AM component, regarding its whole lifecycle. Nicola: Compared to subtractive manufacturing, yes you are using less material, but there is the caveat as to how we produce that material in the first place. The classic example is aerospace where you’re very much looking at lightweight components, the less it costs you to fly about, the less it costs in fuel. But AM is not just about sustainable improvements; it’s about the improvements we can make in the types of components we can make. Q. We are seeing big players and chemical companies like BASF coming into AM materials - what does this mean for the industry? Martine: We’re a niche market, it’s still a relatively small industry, and we have all

these great end application markets to focus on. If they [the BASFs of this world] didn’t see that strategic opportunity then they wouldn’t enter. As an industry, we need these players, partnerships, and collaborations to make it grow and mature, so I think it’s a great opportunity for us to grow this industry. Nicola: When we see the bigger names coming into the industry it gives it more traction, more people take notice, more investment, more partnership opportunities, which helps to drive innovation even faster. Q. What’s next for AM materials? Will new processes coming in require a new class of materials? Dana: Of course, as we develop more materials and put those through validation, that’s going to drive adoption into more applications. But we do need that collaborative effort to do that. Sophie: For me, a new class of material would be true multi-material - mixing polymers and metals, for example, or polymers and ceramics. I think that’s what we’re going towards, it’s maybe five or ten years out, but it’s coming. The challenges that presents are quite substantial - how on earth do you recycle something that is made up of plastics and ceramics and metals all in a single component all bound together? How you do quality control on that is beyond me, but I think we’re going to have to address these problems as an industry. Nicola: One thing that we’re looking at is the data that we have available on existing materials and to understand them throughout the process. We can already take data from material before it goes into the machine, there’s a capability to take data whilst it’s in the machine to look at the properties once the part is built and it’s the pooling of all of that information to build up a real big picture of actually how AM materials work in practice. Martine: I think it’s all about collaboration, multi-materials, and the big data so I think the main thing is we have to go as an industry beyond thinking in liquids, powders or filaments, I think it would be great in the future if we can look at a solution for an end customer or end application needs and independently of the technology, we print it. I think that would be our future.

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SOFTWARE

NEXT STAGE IN SUPPORT GENERATION WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

reating supports for direct metal 3D printed parts is an essential process. When building complex geometries, making sure parts are both anchored suﬃciently and easy to remove can be extremely time-consuming. Belgian 3D printing leader, Materialise has been tackling the pains of support generation for the last decade with its e-Stage software for stereolithography and DLP technologies and now, it is expanding those capabilities to the metals market. The launch makes Materialise the first company to offer a fully automatic software product for the generation of optimal support structures for SLM (selective laser melting) parts in titanium, aluminum, and stainless steel.

The software, e-Stage for Metal, has been in development for two years following the success of its e-Stage polymer product and was oﬃcially launched onto the market at formnext powered by TCT. e-Stage for Metal claims to deliver significant time savings compared to manual support generation including support removal by up to 50% and part finishing up to 20% faster, limiting the risk of human error and build crashes. In addition, due to the diamond-shape structure of the supports, nearly all trapped metal powder can now be recovered which means powder consumption levels are much lower and potential health risks are minimized.

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

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

80% and halve support removal time for a metal 3D printed drone. Building on its proclamation as the “backbone of the 3D printing industry” and expanding its software capabilities even further, Materialise also recently announced an agreement with Simufact Engineering GmbH, a metal AM process simulation software company, to give Materialise Magics users better control of their prebuild processes. Materialise is already looking at ways in which this simulation tool could be incorporated into e-Stage to make it even easier for users to create optimized parts. “There is still a learning curve in the sense that you can use the software to generate supports, but with some parts, particularly bigger parts with big cross sections, we may still need to add some additional supports to anchor the part or extract heat,” Koen commented. “The first thing that we want to do with this [Simufact] software is to apply it to e-Stage to make it smarter.” The original e-Stage is still receiving regular updates, some of which we saw at TCT Show earlier this year in Materialise e-Stage 7.0 which offers SLA support that decreases the build time and resin consumption up to 50%. With additional tools, such automation and simulation, the necessary but often neglected pre- and post-printing parts of the AM process are gradually becoming more streamlined, more intelligent and ultimately much simpler.

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

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SOFTWARE

LIVING PARTS A WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

t SOLIDWORKS World 2018, there was a common theme running throughout the many 3D printing announcements and that was the way nature is inspiring much of the way we design and manufacture.

Cementing a strategic partnership with Dassault Systèmes, metal 3D printing company Desktop Metal is also taking a leaf out of nature’s book with its latest offering to the market, a generative design tool called Live Parts. Available exclusively to SOLIDWORKS users, Live Parts is an experimental technology aimed at simplifying generative design for 3D printing. Speaking about the launch, Ric Fulop, CEO and Co-Founder at Desktop Metal commented: “In addition to hardware, we believe design for additive manufacturing software tools and techniques are critical to the successful fabrication of strong, lightweight parts that perform. We are excited to partner with Dassault Systèmes on the preview of our latest innovation, Live Parts, and to offer our software tool as a means for educational exploration to the largest community of engineers leading advancements in additive manufacturing.” Topology and generative design are of course nothing new in additive manufacturing but Desktop Metal says this tool is unique in its ability to “grow” strong and lightweight metal parts in a matter of minutes that are responsive to multiple forces happening in a real-time cloud environment. The Desktop Metal team provided a live demo of the tool at SWW18 which showed how parts grow, in a similar way to how a plant would towards the sun. The part appears as this living organism and you can see how it transforms in minutes, shedding any unnecessary weight along the way. It’s called Live Parts because parts are just that – live organisms built up of cell structures in a cloudbased platform. A genuinely impressive process to witness and though it may sound similar to other generative or topology tools already on the market, it is unlike anything we’ve seen so far. Gian Paolo Bassi, SOLIDWORKS CEO, explained how current topology optimization is based on an assumption about how parts are currently designed and made. With this tool, the aim is to create a part based solely on conditions in a given environment,

SHOWN: BRACKET IN LIVE PARTS

RIGHT: GENERATIVELY DESIGNED METAL PART PRINTED WITH DESKTOP METAL TECHNOLOGY

such as the many forces a part may go through before, during and postadditive manufacturing. “We should implement the way nature grows things which involves very low-level cells which are like little machines that create chemicals and respond to chemical stimulus and build a system that fabricates an object out of these low-level cells,” Andy Roberts, Senior Software Engineer at Desktop Metal told TCT. “Additive manufacturing goes through several stages, you print it and then you sinter it, so there are a lot of processes going on, a lot of chemicals, temperature changes and so what we find is parts that have lot of straight lines and sharp angles are candidates for potential problems. “What we find is that with nature, the constant combination of changing forces creates organic structures that are resilient to

unexpected things. So for example our parts have naturally smooth transitions and they’re evenly balanced and they uniformly hold up and they work better and sinter better as a result so we get more resilient and stronger parts.” Live Parts is still very much “in active development” according to Desktop Metal and an early stage version of the tool will be made available exclusively to SOLIDWORKS users to gain feedback. In addition to Live Parts, as part of their strategic partnership, Desktop Metal and Dassault Systèmes will be collaborating on the implementation of future features that enable users to have a full additive workflow from design through 3D printing.

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ANALYZE AND OPTIMIZE WORDS : SAM DAVIES

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

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

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

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AMUG 2018 PREVI

WORDS : LAURA GRIFFITHS

t last year’s Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference, formerpresident Steve Deak celebrated the 10,000 plus years of additive manufacturing (AM) experience in the room. Presenting a photo taken at the first user group meeting back in 1987, the small group of stereolithography users gathered around a handful of early parts on a foldaway table, is a far cry from the 1,600 delegate event the annual meeting has evolved into. This year, the conference returns to St. Louis Union Station on 8-12th April and marks the 30th anniversary of AM users coming together. “We proudly state that AMUG is For Users, By Users. I consider 30 years of operations to be a testament to the organization delivering on the promise of providing real value to additive manufacturing users,” Paul Bates, AMUG president, told TCT. “Having seen so many conferences and users groups come and go over 30 years, I also believe that this anniversary was made possible by the unique structure of our conference that promotes sharing between individuals. A lot has changed in 30 years. This anniversary is proof that AMUG has adapted to the changes and that it has helped users around the world adapt to the changes in the AM industry.” The five-day event will include over 200 presentations, technical sessions, hands-on workshops and two-night AMUG Expo, all designed to help users get more from, and do more with, their systems. Attendees can expect keynotes from AMUG Industry Advisor, Todd Grimm and Dominik Rietzel, Head of BMW’s Additive Manufacturing Centre (NonMetal), whilst current AMUG President, Paul Bates will highlight 30 years of the users group. Plus, a session not to be missed will be the fourth annual Innovators Showcase, which this year features Materialise founder and CEO, Wilfried Vancraen in an on-stage “fireside chat” style interview.

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EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS POSTPROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

LPW TECHNOLOGY

The post-processing company is announcing the demonstration of an enhanced version of its AUTOMAT3D processes and materials. This new software release will demonstrate additional functionality accommodating the Direct Digital Thread for smart manufacturing. Software features include analysis of support and build structures that results in intelligent adaptation of the post-printing recipe for optimized support removal and surface finishing. With the benefit of increasing throughput and reducing cycle time for consistent customerready final parts, the new release of AUTOMAT3D will enable scalability and support the market’s drive towards mass customization.

The metal powder specialist will be focusing on the ability of materials to drive improvement in metal AM at this year’s AMUG event. Its ‘Workshop for the Generation of Additive Manufacturing Specific Powder Specifications’ (April 12, 1.30pm – 3pm) aims to equip attendees with an understanding of the limitations of current standards for specification, and the effects of alloy variables on AM processing outcomes and how these can be controlled. Ben Ferrar, COO of LPW commented “The current standards for metal powder specification for AM are basic, and don’t always reflect the huge leaps in our understanding of the behaviour and performance of materials in AM processing that we have seen in recent years. We need specifications that are based on the applications’ needs rather than what suits the powder manufacturers.”

EVIEW

amug PREVIEW

CUSTOM PROTOTYPES INC

UNIONTECH

Custom Prototypes will introduce a large format Raplas 700 stereolithography machine. The company says this will be the North American debut of an open SL system that allows users to choose any 355 nm resin. All Raplas machines are driven by user friendly Magics Control Platform - a software-assisted, embedded hardware solution from Materialise that allows you to take full control of all build parameters including “on the fly” dynamic laser power and dynamic scanner focus.

UnionTech will be exhibiting “Fresh Dimensions in Additive Manufacturing” with its recently launched PILOT 450 system with PolyDevs Software option and a preview of the new RSPro 1400.

EXONE

ExOne will be showcasing its newest system, the Innovent+, as well as expanded dust management options for the Innovent and the Innovent+ at AMUG 2018. Based on the Innovent platform, the Innovent+ has increased powder handling capabilities and comes with an upgraded recoater design for material flexibility and ease of use. The recoater can be quickly removed for system cleaning or powder change over and each recoater comes with four screen configurations which allows for greater material flexibility. Expanded dust collection options will also be on display. The dust collection has been integrated into the Innovent and Innovent+ through the addition of down draft duct work that pulls powder from around the buildbox. The optional Innovent Portable Floor Dust Extractor has a variable control knob that allows the user to adjust the CFM units pulled. Also available is the Innovent Depowdering Down Draft Table which lowers powder plumage during the depowdering process.

SLM SOLUTIONS

Priced below $100,000, the PILOT 450, is ideal for a range of industrial grade applications including investment casting patterns, metal clad composite patterns, injection molding tooling and functional prototypes. The RSPro 1400 is a large frame stereolithography machine and features a 1400 × 700 × 500 mm build volume, dual lasers for simultaneous printing on one part, and scanning speeds up to 18m/s.

SENVOL

The German metal AM leader will roll out its software package, Additive.Intelligence, including its Additive.Designer preprocessing tool. The software combines all features necessary to generate 3D printed parts while being fully adaptable to the customer’s needs. The range of features starts with native CAD-file import and ends by defining the necessary milling strategies to automatically post-process the AM part on a milling machine. The software imports all native CAD formats, eliminating the need for STL files, reduces the need of supports with an optimized exposure strategy, guides users to the best plate positioning with component orientation processing and offers a preliminary calculation of the build costs based on the machine and build set-up. The goal of the software is to lower the learning curve of AM by reducing the software skills necessary to be successful while optimizing builds with less supports and workflows based on specific part preparation.

AM data specialist, Senvol will showcase a new software it is developing for the U.S. Navy. The software, Senvol ML, is an ICME probabilistic framework that uses a data-driven machine learning algorithm that has been trained to predict outputs from inputs. Senvol says there are several uses for the algorithm, but one example is that it can predict mechanical performance (e.g. tensile strength) based on the process parameters used on the AM machine. Annie Wang, Senvol President, will be presenting Senvol AM during the conference.

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TECHNICAL ARTICLE

BIO-COMPATIBLE REFRACTORY METAL ALLOYS FOR PATIENTSPECIFIC ORTHOPEDIC AND DENTAL IMPLANTS

lthough in principle, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are perfect for ‘patient-specific’ applications, given 3D printing’s suitability in making complex one-off parts with no added cost, there are still some hurdles to overcome. One hurdle that needs to be lept is that of the biocompatibility of materials. With direct metal 3D printing, in particular, to comply with constraints from the organizations like the FDA, concerns of the toxicology must be addressed. Orthopaedic and dental implant materials are exposed to high mechanical loading. Even though many current materials used in the direct metal 3D printing processes, like stainless steel and cobalt-chrome alloys, can cope with the mechanical stresses, there are concerns surrounding the release of toxic or allergenic elements that could result in inflammation of tissue. Metal alloys based on titanium (Ti) and niobium (Nb) represent higher biocompatibility with appropriate mechanical properties for avoiding stress-shielding and consecutive implant loosening. It is with this in mind that one of the forerunners of alloy materials development, H.C. Starck Tantalum and Niobium GmbH has designed AMPERTEC Spherical Ti-42Nb specifically for AM processes. AMPERTEC Spherical Ti-42Nb powders are produced using electrode induction-melting gas atomization (EIGA), the powders are fully spherical with a negligible amount of satellites. The spheroidal shape results in better processing properties in both powder bed fusion-based and lasercladding processes.

Atomized alloys such as Ti-42Nb are compositionally entirely beta-phase (β-phase) alloys with a body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal structure, which is associated with a higher ductility to pure hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Ti or the commonly used Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Thanks to unique processing properties, AMPERTEC Spherical Ti-42Nb powders can be printed to almost full density (99,95%) using the selective laser melting process. Internal stresses are usually low, accordingly, thermal post-processing such as diffusion annealing or HIP is not necessarily required. The phase composition is not affected by the laser melting process; similar to the atomized powders, as-printed Ti-42Nb is pure β-phase. Printed parts have a fine-grained microstructure with extremely homogeneous element distribution. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) investigations confirms that there is no segregation of Ti or Nb-rich phases.

Mechanical investigations by means of tensile and compression tests display a combination of high elasticity and strength. The Young`s modulus (tensile elasticity measure) of as-printed Ti-42Nb specimen measures ca. 60 GPa with strengths values of ca. 700 MPa. By comparison, standard Ti alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V of Ti-6Al-7Nb possess elastic moduli of 110 – 115 GPa, the elastic modulus of cortical bone is 16 - 22 GPa. The closer match of Ti-42Nb in tensile elasticity to that of cortical bone means that stress shielding between bone and implant and associated inflammation or implant loosening due to mechanical mismatches is suppressed. Finally, cell-biological investigations point to the fact that both osteoblasts (a cell that makes bones) and fibroblasts (the cell that synthesizes collagen) exhibit higher metabolic activity on Ti-42Nb than on Ti-6Al-4V. This is of crucial importance since the implant adaption is mainly influenced by proper bone and tissue ingrowth, which are steered by osteoblasts and fibroblasts, respectively.

Fig. 1: SEM images of gas-atomized AMPERTEC Spherical Ti-42Nb powders at 100x (left) and 1000x (right) magnification

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3D SYSTEMS

WE ARE THE INNOVATION ENGINE” WORDS: Laura Griffiths

here is so much noise in this market”, Vyomesh Joshi, better known as VJ, CEO of 3D Systems, commented during a Q&A at the company’s Littleton, Colorado-based medical facility back in November.

Compared to its founder-status and stronghold in the industry during the peak of 3D printing hype, you could be mistaken for believing the additive manufacturing (AM) giant has been keeping uncharacteristically quiet. However, at a recent gathering for press, partners and investors, 3D Systems was out to shout loud and clear that it is still very much in the game. On an ice-cold Colorado morning, I arrived at the company’s Healthcare Technology Centre, an impressive, sprawling facility from which its entire healthcare business operates. Throughout the day I witnessed engineers talking to surgeons and making changes to patient-specific devices as part of its ondemand medical manufacture service. By all accounts, it’s just another average day at the oﬃce but on this occasion, the company had several announcements to make, some a long-time coming and others a little from the left-field, all set to materialize over the next 18 months. The first was the commercial launch of its Figure 4 technology, shown in various iterations since CES 2016

RIGHT: VYOMESH JOSHI, CEO 3D SYSTEMS

where the average visitor would have probably skipped over the former concept system printing at mega speeds against a backdrop of long-gone consumer tech. Now 3D Systems is launching the technology for real, as a modular system that allows users to choose from a standalone setup or scale up as they see fit to incorporate auxiliary elements such as post-processing.

throughout the day we were increasingly being given the impression that hardware is only secondary to materials and software. It’s all about the wider ecosystem and how those processes and parts work together which VJ says the company is “uniquely positioned” to deliver.

Since Figure 4 was first announced, a technology which we have come to learn has been in founder Chuck Hull’s back pocket for some time, a number of similar technologies have come onto the market but 3D Systems isn’t shying away from the competition, namely Silicon Valley 3D printing company, Carbon. 3D Systems is promoting a similar message of being able to scale from prototype to production using the same platform and material set, only with a bigger material portfolio (15 resins so far) and increased productivity (up to 40% faster according to 3D Systems’ statistics).

The first iteration of Figure 4 is a dental-focussed machine, seen in its early stages during AMUG 2017, used in combination with NextDent materials, acquired by 3D Systems last year. During a short demonstration, in the time it took for an engineer to introduce the technology and walkthrough the traditional way of making a dental model, the machine had completed a build. The technology will range from standalone configurations with prices starting at around 25,000 USD and allow users to scale up to highlycustomized, 

When I sit down with VJ, I ask why the long-patented technology has only just come to fruition. He explains that materials were the real driving factor. “Let’s just be real,” VJ explained. “My opinion is the starting point is materials, it’s not the amazing technology.” This materials approach is vital and

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SHOWN: FIGURE 4 SCALABLE SOLUTION

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software made available to all SOLIDWORKS users. The commercial launch is set for the end of this year and it will be interesting to see if 3D Systems can be the first to live up to this automated AM factory vision. Perhaps the most surprising announcement of the day was that 3D Systems is moving back into the desktop space. But forget ideals of a 3D printer in every home, this new machine, the FabPro 1000 is aimed solely at the industrial market and claims to be up to four times faster with a 40% lower part cost compared to similar machines. Targeting engineers with this sub-5,000 USD DLP (digital light processing) machine, VJ is quick to knock down any thoughts about the potential for the company to move back into the consumer arena. “The way I think about that is there has to be a reason that customers will use that product and if you have productivity, if you have quality and if you have functional production parts you will use it,” VJ explained. “And once they use it, it makes all the sense.” in-line production systems over 1 million USD when demand requires it. “If you go to the dental lab and say we have a new way of making dentures they will listen to you,” VJ explained. “They will tell you the first core barrier is materials. Here the machine is not that expensive, it’s a good entry point, they can play with it.” 3D Systems has also grown its current line of SLS production systems with the larger ProX SLS 6100 and three new nylon materials. Designed for tough, highresolution end-use parts and functional prototypes, the system features automated material handling and 3D Sprint software to optimize builds. New SLS materials in the portfolio include DuraForm FR1200 fire retardant nylon, DuraForm EX BLK nylon 11 and DuraForm AF+ aluminium-filled nylon. The company also introduced new rigid and engineering-grade materials for its MultiJet Printing (MJP) technology that are more durable, can produce lower cost functional prototypes, and several are certified for use in medical device applications. 3D Systems’ metals family also received an update with the unveiling of a new DMP 8500 Factory Solution metal AM platform designed for high productivity with one of the largest metal build volumes (500 x 500 x 500 mm) on the market. Similar to Figure 4, the machine is a modular platform and features integrated powder management and a closed-loop system to ensure uniform, repeatable part quality at a lower total cost of operation. Similar to several ‘factory of the future’ concepts we saw at formnext powered by TC back in 2016, the vision sees the DMP 8500 installed in a 24/7 factory setting where a vacuum sealable Removable Print Module can travel from printer to Powder Management Modules for a continuous production workflow. It also makes use of 3DXpert, 3D Systems’ all-in-one software for metal AM which includes CAD import, geometry optimization, lattice creation, calculation of scan paths and even postmachining tools. The company recently announced a partnership with Dassault Syste�mes which will see the

Strengthening the wider ecosystem, 3D Systems also announced the introduction of 3D Systems Professional Services group to deliver applications engineering expertise and global technical support. Another big part of this is 3D Connect, a cloud-based software solution which will deliver proactive and predictive serviceability for production environments. We saw a demo during a tour which showed the ability to monitor a machine remotely, pinpoint any potential issues and perform a deep dive into where they are coming from. Initially, 3D Connect will enable remote service and printer fleet support and will be integrated on new and select current systems beginning early this year. VJ explained that he believes 3D Systems is the first 3D printing company to really get into this services approach and commented, “we want to change this whole concept of up-time and really make sure that our customers can continue to run these things day in day out 24/7 because that’s what they want to do.” It is clear that 3D Systems is taking an aggressive approach to its customercentric strategy, looking at specific applications first and building a solution outwards from that, addressing the entire process chain. To quote VJ, this is a “printing not a printer company” after all. 3D Systems clearly knows the score with healthcare, and VJ says the company is taking a “thoughtful approach” to its next target verticals, concentrating on aerospace first with a similar dedicated facility. With that in mind, VJ wants to be clear, “we are the innovation engine, we are going to listen to our customers and provide solutions.”

“MY OPINION IS THE STARTING POINT IS MATERIALS, IT’S NOT THE AMAZING TECHNOLOGY.”

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TCT AWARDS

TCT AWARDS 2018: OPEN FOR BUSINESS

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

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

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

WWW.TCTAWARDS.COM

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

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

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WINDS OF CHANGE; TIDE OF RESISTANCE

grimm column

WORDS : TODD GRIMM

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

tgrimm@tagrimm.com

n the words of Phil Collins, “I can feel it in the air tonight.” 2018 feels like it will be a good, progressive year, and perhaps, a pivotal year. I say this without consideration of new technologies and better solutions. Instead, the sense is based on a shift in attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions, in essence, a vibe. Participants and prospective participants are becoming enlightened to the realities of additive manufacturing (AM). However, the positive winds of change that propel us forward are countered by a tide of subconscious resistance. The revelation of this shift hit home at November’s formnext powered by TCT. There was something in the conversations, messaging and expectations that was decidedly different from past events. The show-goers seemed to be looking for real, practical solutions instead of chasing dreams. Those I spoke with were not seeking a magical cure-all, and they recognized that AM is an alternative with both unique strengths and unique weaknesses. It just felt real; it felt, dare I say it, pragmatic. Yes, there is still a lingering hangover from the days of raw hype, but overall, things were much more balanced. Evidence of the changing environment also comes from what is becoming common, the equipment manufacturers’ customer education centers. Most recently ExOne and GE Additive announced Adoption Centers and an International Customer Experience Center. These facilities join those of other suppliers that

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have done the same. I say that this is evidence because it is an acknowledgment that AM, at least for metal AM, isn’t a simple, easy-to-learn solution that users and prospective users can quickly wrap their heads around. It is evidence that allowing a perception of AM being a drop-in solution that effortlessly finds workable applications doesn’t work. The supply side has moved to a pragmatic stance by allowing users to learn hands-on, to fine tune the process for an application and to leverage third-party resources to transition to in-house operations. So, there is a positive change, but the battle is far from over. Each of us will need to work incessantly to beat a nebulous enemy, one that lurks in the minds of most. This is the tide of resistance against which we are swimming. The enemy is a pre-existing prejudice for status quo. I call it tunnel vision. Tunnel vision can derail the best of intentions and sink a great application merely by allowing the past to dictate the future. Rather than expanding the view of what is possible and what qualities are necessary, the prejudice for the capabilities of a non-AM process is often unquestioned. This creates tunnel vision. How that manifests itself is an inappropriate filter through which AM is considered. The process considerations, output qualities, time constraints and cost drivers of the preceding solution become the baseline for AM evaluation. Additionally, tunnel vision can limit the consideration of opportunities to be attacked to those within the scope of the

non-AM process. Since AM has a dramatically different rule book and significantly different deliverables, that tunnel frequently bars AM applications, no matter how strong the use case is. Something as rudimentary as an unneeded, overly tight, global tolerance for a part can thwart AM. To expand AM’s horizons, we need to pull this enemy, this bias, into the light. Since it is often a subconscious force, the key action is to call it out by questioning everything and challenging all that is accepted as fact. With intelligent questioning, what is assumed to be a critical need may be found to be a good, but optional, characteristic. With questioning and re-evaluation, the tunnel may expand to encompass a broader range of specifications. Questioning may also realign the tunnel in another direction, which can then point it towards daily challenges that are ignored because nonAM processes are incapable of addressing them. Questioning others’ assumptions is imperative, but we cannot forget to question our own. Tunnel vision is a trap into which each of us may fall. It is a trap that creates unrealistic barriers and throws up inappropriate obstacles. Breaking through the tunnel to expand the range of vision is not easy, but it is necessary for AM to flourish within your organization. Given enough time, this tide of resistance will ebb on its own, but if you wait until it does, you will be a late adopter that has fallen behind the open-minded.

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