TCT North America 8.1 by TCT Magazine

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY AM trends & M&As

SOFTWARE Sustainability, simulation & smart solutions

MAG NORTH AMERICAN EDITION VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1

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PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

3D Systems’ technology leaders share their AM insights for the year ahead

3D Printing & Additive Manufacturing Intelligence

VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1

ISSN 2059-9641

EDITORIAL

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FROM THE EDITOR

FROM THE EDITOR LAURA GRIFFITHS

Looking forward Is it too late to wish someone a Happy New Year?

It’s the first issue of TCT for 2022 (our 30th volume too!) and in the spirit or optimism and looking ahead, Senior Content Producer Sam Davies and I have been speaking to various figures within the industry to get their thoughts on what’s in store for additive manufacturing over the next 12 months (page 8), and what those mergers and acquisitions that dominated 2021’s headlines mean for the industry’s future (page 10). Supply chain remains the big one but this time around the conversation is more grounded, suggesting that while AM has proven itself in the crisis situations the last two years have thrown at us, the future will be about a more considered approach, whether it’s positioning AM as a risk mitigation tool rather than a replacement for traditional methods or finding simple (indeed, boring) applications along production lines. The year has already gotten off to a good start with the return of the TIPE Conference hosted by Women in 3D Printing in January, where we were thrilled to finally announce the finalists for our next TCT Wi3DP Innovator Award (more on page 38). In an industry

that has historically been lacking in diversity, the event proved, to anyone in doubt, that there are plenty of different voices to be heard in this industry, and you needn’t look too far to find them. We hope we’ve conveyed that in this issue too, not least in Sam’s conversation with TIPE keynote speaker Julia Koerner (page 30). Elsewhere, we take a look at developments in software, including a recent art installation at London’s Design Museum which aims to tackle the challenge of waste using 3D printing and digital twins (page 28), and we also have a wealth of insight from AM experts on the things you need to know about one of AM’s biggest barriers: standards (page 37). Plus, we have a case study from Shell which is putting all of that into practice (page 35). It’s been a busy one already. TCT Japan returned to Tokyo just as this issue went to press, and it’s only going to get busier as plans continue to steam ahead for our upcoming RAPID + TCT event in Detroit and TCT 3Sixty this summer. So, Happy New Year to you. I’m looking forward to it.

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 03

TCT VOLUME 8 ISSUE 1

COVER STORY 06. PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

6 8

3D Systems’ CTO Dr. David Leigh and Chief Scientist Dr. Brent Stucker share insights on what they see for AM in 2022.

State of the industry

08. AM AND THE YEAR AHEAD Head of Content Laura Griﬃths gathers thoughts from industry experts on emerging AM trends.

10. M&A IN AM

Senior Content Producer Sam Davies explores what the recent M&A activity means for the 3D printing industry.

Software & simulation

Creative

30. UNIQUE AESTHETICS

Julia Koerner opens up about her architectural and fashion design applications of 3D printing.

33. IS THIS THE FUTURE OF JEWELRY?

How AM is bringing a new lease of life and personalization to one of the most traditional forms of jewelry.

Standards & certification

35. PRESSURE’S ON

A look at a recent certification milestone at Shell for a 3D printed pressure vessel.

TCT Awards 38. TCT WI3DP INNOVATOR AWARD: MEET THE FINALISTS We provide the background on the five finalists up for the TCT Women in 3D Printing Innovator Award.

Expert Column

40. WHAT’S CHANGED IN METAL AM?

Industry consultant Kevin Ayers reﬂects on one of the major changes impacting AM adoption: price per part.

37. 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Experts weigh in on the ‘must knows’ for AM standards and certification.

13. PRINTING SMART

Teton Simulation CEO Doug Kenik speaks to TCT about RE Suspension’s application of its SmartSlice software.

27. END-TO-END.

Hexagon explains the motivation behind its end-to-end software ecosystem.

28. DESIGN’S NEW DAWN

Laura speaks to the collaborators behind a new art installation created using sustainable resources and 3D printing.

Talk to an expert at booth #E7601 at RAPID + TCT

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES 3D Systems’ Chief Technology Oﬃcer Dr. David Leigh and Chief Scientist Dr. Brent Stucker share insights on what they see for AM in the year ahead. Q: Brent, you’ve shared how you expect to see new materials designed for more rigorous usecase environments. How is 3D Systems addressing this need?

SHOWN: DR. BRENT STUCKER

Q: You both joined 3D Systems’ leadership team last year. Can you talk about any trends you’ve observed that you believe will have an impact this year? Dr. Leigh: I believe there will be key drivers that will inﬂuence the trajectory of additive manufacturing (AM). I expect many companies will not only enhance their core offering but will also broaden their portfolio to offer their customers a more complete suite of technology – and thus a complete solution - under one brand. Dr. Stucker: As AM is moving more and more towards production applications, material formulators are increasingly designing materials that are production-quality. Over the coming year, I expect we’ll see new polymer and metal materials designed for more rigorous use-case environments. I believe companies will also begin to introduce new 3D printers designed for specific applications, part sizes, or material offerings. This will result in more cost-effective solutions for production applications rather than the more generic multi-material, multi-application prototyping machines of the past.

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Dr. Stucker: Over the AM industry, I expect materials that are focused on production applications, rather than for prototyping purposes, to continue to grow. For polymers, this would include materials with one or more of these characteristics: ﬂame retardancy, high toughness, high heatdeﬂection temperature, high strength, more ductile, and easier to process. During the past year, 3D Systems has introduced a variety of materials to address these needs including: Figure 4 High Temp 150C FR Black, Figure 4 Tough 65C Black, Accura Composite PIV, Accura AMX Rigid Black and Figure 4 Rigid 140C Black. Q: David, as AM is increasingly used for production, what are the challenges around scaling AM and how are you delivering on that? Dr. Leigh: The challenges we are currently seeing to truly scaling AM for production applications are centered on cost and material properties. That is the cost per part at high volumes is still higher than other high-volume production applications, and AM material properties in some cases are not comparable to traditional material properties. 3D Systems is helping our customers scale AM production by focusing on end-to-end solutions. We partner with our customers to develop

a custom solution for their needs and then help integrate the entire solution and make it work seamlessly in their existing production workflow. To do this, we take a holistic view from optimizing the workflow to finishing the part. Each application starts with needing the right material, and Brent addressed a handful of the new production-grade materials we launched last year alone. Additionally, we realized the value of a manufacturing operating system to integrate, streamline and automate the workflow, which is where Oqton brings tremendous value. And we also announced a partnership late last year with AMT that enables us to resell their PostPro industrialscale SLS post-processing system. PostPro enables batch cleaning and smoothing of parts thus helping our customers reduce lead time and manufacturing costs while scaling their factories. Q: Brent, you’ve had a distinguished career developing software solutions. What developments can we expect to see there? Dr. Stucker: I think we’ll see improved software and machine monitoring solutions announced, such that machines will monitor their health and notify operators when things are going wrong and/or start correcting for errors automatically. I also expect AM users to migrate to complete software platforms focused on AM – versus collections of individual software products. This can provide customers more functionality under one software platform rather than

cover story

Q: 3D Systems has created dedicated teams to focus on speciﬁc industries and applications. Are there any emerging areas we can expect to see more AM activity from?

deliver innovation for EVs. There are also some marvelous advancements occurring in regards to RF applications for aerospace. Q: Looking towards the next year, where do you see the biggest opportunities for AM?

Dr. Leigh: 3D Systems has organized itself into businesses designed to address advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods.

SHOWN: DR. DAVID LEIGH

needing to jump around between software tools to accomplish their goals. Q: Throughout 2021, supply chain continued to be a hot topic. How do you think AM’s role will play out this year? Dr. Stucker: The bottlenecks we’re seeing in automotive, aerospace, and several other industries may make it difficult for them to release as many products as they hope to do in 2022. Within the AM industry, we’re collectively dealing with our own supply chain challenges (e.g., lack of chips and components). The question I think we’re all asking ourselves is “how do we build machines in light of the supply chain bottlenecks?” I believe OEMs will look at new ways to accomplish this. For example, we could see AM machine manufacturers produce more machine components using AM itself. We can also look at this from the perspective of how AM can help to alleviate supply chain issues. Certainly, the use of AM for a host of applications is increasing, as it has been shown that it is a flexible technology that can provide ondemand solutions in a chaotic environment. I also expect more designers to begin to design for 3D printing as the production process (as opposed to designing for traditional manufacturing methods), to overcome the types of supply chain disruptions we’ve seen throughout the pandemic. By using 3D printing to produce components, the supply chain can be moved closer to home and can be more flexible to meet demand disruptions. It will be interesting to see how this impacts AM OEMs, and how we collectively look at our manufacturing processes.

In healthcare, there is a tremendous focus on patient-specific devices. This can take the form of orthopedic implants, as well as patient-specific surgical devices and instruments. This trend is also very apparent in dental for orthodontics, prosthodontics, and implantology. And we’re seeing all of this work help propel us into the next frontier of bioprinting. This field takes “patient-specific” to a whole new level, and it has tremendous potential to change the face of patient care. For industrial applications, the pandemic allowed AM to shine in helping to stem the chip shortage through unique solutions to support semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers. We are also seeing our automotive customers making tremendous strides in using AM to

Dr. Leigh: The biggest opportunity over the coming year will continue to be the role AM plays in enabling the supply chain. All manufacturers regardless of industry are continuing to feel the limitations of the supply chain, and we all need to think of how we meet our supply needs in a more digital way. AM has already played an important role since the early days of the pandemic, and I believe we’ll see that role expand in the coming year. All in all, there are some significant macro-economic headwinds at play as we are coming out of this pandemic. In light of that, I believe AM – as an industry – will thrive in light of those challenges. This is an industry that has shown its resilience, and it will continue to help accelerate innovation - transforming how businesses operate and healthcare is delivered. Visit: 3dsystems.com to learn more

"The biggest opportunity over the coming year will be in enabling supply chain."

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 07

AM AND THE YEAR AHEAD WORDS: Laura Griffiths

Head of Content Laura Griﬃths asks AM experts what’s in store for 2022.

ersonal resolutions, however ambitious or misguided, are standard for a January. Mine was to read a new book every week (don’t be too impressed, the second was ticked off by Britney Spears’ unoﬃcial biography). For industry, however, January tends to be about predicting trends for the coming year, and after the two we’ve all just had, it’s good to look to the future with a big dollop of optimism. If there’s one topic that has reigned supreme following accelerated conversations throughout 2020, it’s supply chain. After AM vendors and end-users rushed to answer calls around PPE shortages and other pandemicimpacted supplies, the question since has been whether AM’s role in alleviating those problems would just be another short-lived spike on the 3D printing hype cycle or if the goodwill earned by the technology during those times of crisis would have a long-term impact. “In the second stage of the pandemic, and now in 2022, society has become more aware of the enormous social contribution of our technology industries have seen how we can improve processes and reduce costs with our 3D printers in production lines,” Xavier Martínez Faneca, CEO at BCN3D told TCT. “I think this situation is exceptional and transitory, and through this experience, we have all realized that it does not make sense to be producing in distant locations but that local manufacturing should instead become the norm.” Recent figures from market intelligence company CONTEXT suggest that this renewed interest in 3D printing is here

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to stay. Figures show a tangible impact on machine orders, and CONTEXT reports that “almost all major vendors” at last year’s Formnext said “new and renewed interest in 3D printing was a consequence of global supply-chain problems.” While work from home scenarios saw a surge in desktop machine purchases in 2020, one machine segment that has remained strong throughout is the Professional class (categorized as those priced between $2,500-$20,000). Shipments were up not only on the previous year but +13% higher than in the same period pre-Covid, which CONTEXT believes has been driven by the launch of new products, namely lower-cost SLS machines like Formlabs’ Fuse 1. Kathy Bui, Product Lead, Engineering Business at Formlabs, commented: “In 2022, we will continue to see AM play a role in the supply chain with 3D printers becoming a manufacturer’s Swiss army knife, an adaptable tool that can keep production lines running. With in-house industrial grade 3D printers, manufacturers can fortify their business against supply chain challenges and mitigate risk rather than replacing traditional manufacturing processes. 3D printers will be used as a risk mitigation tool rather than replacing traditional manufacturing processes.” That said, the same report cautions while 3D printer shipments are on the up, the industry’s own production lines have been thwarted by the very supply chain disruptions it aims to solve. Order rates show demand is there but due to shortages in certain printer components, like many in-demand consumer-facing items from cars to PlayStation 5s, the supply chain can’t keep up.

But that doesn’t mean AM can’t be an asset elsewhere as Oliver Smith, Founder and Principal Consultant at Rethink Additive, commented: “For every story of 3D printed rockets, there are a thousand examples of 3D printing producing the “boring” stuff that keeps a line moving, an operator comfortable or a parts bin stocked. “Going into 2022 and beyond, expect a shift in messaging from vendors and enquiries by users from 3D printing as a production solution, towards 3D printing as a productions support solution, able to rapidly provide the “boring” components and widgets needed to keep your operations and shop ﬂoor processes moving. COVID has made “boring” cool.” That AM can’t solve all supply chain problems, not even its own, emphasizes how AM adoption needs the right applications. 3D Systems, for example, has been exploring AM’s role in semiconductor capital equipment, an area the company’s CEO Dr Jeffrey Graves believes AM’s ability to facilitate “exotic machine components” will help “improve eﬃciencies by simultaneously producing numerous unique, end-use parts.”

State of the industry

it’s material innovation, as Bui posited: “In 2022, 3D printing will grow as more innovative materials come to market to serve a variety of industries such as healthcare, dental, manufacturing, engineering, education, jewelry, audio and entertainment. In addition to evolving the existing materials to advance their affordability, functionality, and eﬃciency, advancements in material production will open up new markets while enabling manufacturers to reduce wasted materials and lower costs.”

Likewise, Don Xu, Deputy General Manager and Global Business Group Director at Farsoon Technologies, which announced sales totalling more than $15 million during November 2021 with over 40 machines sold, believes while AM trends in supply chain will continue this year “to an extent and in certain applications,” for the vast majority of supply chain issues, we won’t see much change. Although, Xu does believe that “larger, more productionoriented applications will be a key growth area for additive in 2022.” Avi Reichental, CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Nexa3D, which recently introduced a new SLS system that decouples 3D printing and cooling processes to maximize productivity, says the lean towards production will lead to further micro-trends too: “The last two years have exposed a highly complex and brittle supply chain, which is top of mind for most product companies and driving CEOs to accelerate the digitization and localization of their supply chain with AM playing a central role with emphasis on speed, throughput, cost, and sustainability. “With more companies transitioning to volume additive production, we will experience stronger demand for larger build formats, functional materials, scaled post-processing, and full factory automation solutions that are anchored by advanced and adaptive machine learning and vision technologies for greater production consistency and yields.” Throughout each of these conversations, it became clear that if there’s an AM segment that holds the most promise and is set to be the biggest driver in said production applications,

Speaking in a recent column for TCT, Markus Glasser, Senior Vice President EMEA at EOS, concurred: “Where historically there has been a focus on strength, production consistency and supporting a wide range of polymer and metal applications, sustainability is now the driving force for innovation. New materials are already bringing about production eﬃciencies in terms of the amount of material needed for an application, or production steps that require less energy. This, alongside improved material and finished product recycling will help enable companies to achieve their sustainability goals and support the global drive to a more sustainable world.” Commenting on where such materials innovations may come from, Smith added: “Counter to the perception of 3D printing as a futuristic technology, there in actual fact has been progressively less and less blockbuster innovations year-on-year. While some interesting start-ups are refining aspects of the technology for niche applications and markets, more broad advancements in 3D printing processes have become incremental. Going forward into 2022 and beyond, the enabling and differentiating innovation in the space will be centered around materials, which in turn will drive the application space, with these materials advancements not coming from 3DP vendors, but established and specialist chemistry and metallurgy companies.” Further to that, Laura Ely, Director of Programs at The Barnes Global Advisors, says we’ll likely see more emphasis on the minutia of materials: “We also see an increased focus on what makes a good powder and how best to analyze materials. New processes to create powders are coming onto the market; for example, Metal Powder Works and their system to turn bar stock into powders without the use of gas atomization. We’re also intrigued by a new system for solid material characterization coming out

from Exum and tools from Granutools that give new insights to solid material characteristics like flowability.” When we can start using the term “post-pandemic” with any sort of confidence remains to be seen but there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. In 2021, it seemed barely a week went by without news of a major AM acquisition or SPAC [Our Senior Content Producer Sam Davies has those covered over the page]. A month into 2022 and investment news remains quiet, but Smith thinks SPAC announcements will continue to be “top of the newsfeed” this year, adding that “2022 will be a good indicator for how SPACs could influence our industry long-term.” It's a similar story of pragmatism in supply chain as Cynthia Rogers, Communications ADDvisor at The Barnes Global Advisors, notes: “The noise surrounding 3D printing as the saviour of the supply chain will die down. While impactful in some areas during the pandemic, the simple reality exists that there are a set of requirements that must be met for any use case.” Ely added: “Some realism will set in. While AM can be a tremendous stop gap to address critical supply chain shortages during crisis situations, it is not the magic pill for all manufacturing scenarios. However, we still see great opportunity; the hard work will continue to put the processes in place to use AM for spares and repairs, for expeditionary manufacturing – think 3D printing on the battlefield – and for other areas where point of use manufacturing makes good business sense.” And there are, of course, always more challenges to be solved, as Glasser noted, emphasising a topic that has seen greater attention, and action, in recent years: “In 2022, AM will become more dominant as a key route to achieving sustainability thanks to the new opportunities it creates for organizations across the design and manufacturing workflow, and the innovations that will allow it to replace more traditional production techniques.” 2022, for AM, looks set to be about incremental but impactful developments, putting what we’ve learned over the last two years into practice, and reinforcing that realism to further meaningful applications.

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 09

WORDS: SAM DAVIES

M&A in AM W

hen Stratasys’ 100m USD buy-out of Origin was quickly followed by Desktop Metal’s 300m USD takeover of EnvisionTEC in January 2021, it seemed to represent the starting pistol on a period of consolidation for the additive manufacturing (AM) market.

Industry commentators had been expecting this for a while. The marketplace, many observe, has become saturated with a plethora of ‘me-too’ technologies offering the same promise and potential to address the same applications. What would follow was a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Competitors – like Desktop Metal and ExOne, Protolabs and Hubs, BEAMIT and 3T Additive Manufacturing – would merge; and the industry’s bigger fish would swallow up some of the smaller ones – say 3D Systems taking over Oqton, or Materialise acquiring Link3D. That, and more, happened. But by IDTechEx Technology Analyst Sona Dadhania’s reckoning, the 3D printing market still isn’t consolidating. And as she looks across the 3D printing market – where there are new technologies still coming to the fore – she doesn’t expect it to consolidate ‘anytime soon’ either. “While no single AM technology will be perfect, each innovative technology has strengths and weaknesses that enable AM to grow its footprint as an advanced manufacturing technique,” Dadhania expands. “Notably, these

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innovations come mostly from newcomers rather than longstanding market leaders. These newcomers and their technical advancements mean that the AM space isn’t yet consolidating to a small group of major players – rather, it’s growing.” Fellow market analysis firm CONTEXT is placing a significant focus on analyzing such growth – parsing out acquisition growth vs organic growth and looking at the entire industry as opposed to individual companies – throughout 2022. Compared to 2020, CONTEXT recorded that +39% more industrial printers (those selling for $100k+) were shipped globally through the first three quarters of 2021, an encouraging sign of organic growth, but suggests the market still ‘recessed -6% from the pre-Covid period of 2019.’ When evaluating the industry’s growth in the context of the recent M&A activity, CONTEXT’s VP for Global Analysis Chris Connery suggests there has been ‘great growth for specific companies, some of which was organic, but the better part of which was by way of acquisition.’

“Individual companies make up the total, so their individual performance is key, but we try to examine if M&A is just moving pieces on the existing chess board or if such company combinations help the industry grow,” he explains. “When a smaller company with a strong technical portfolio is taken over by a larger company with strong sales, marketing or distribution, then expectations are that one plus one can equal three – or four or five – and result in overall growth for the industry.” Indeed, when Stratasys made the 100m USD move to integrate Programmable Photopolymerization technology into its business, Origin CEO Chris Prucha noted the company’s ‘go-to-market’ proficiencies were the most persuasive element. By IDTechEx’s calculations, this deal was just one of 40+ business combinations closed within the AM industry in 2021 alone. And while it has been many people’s assumption that the market is therefore consolidating, Dadhania points again to continued innovation, as well as external interest in the technology, to suggest otherwise.

CREDIT: IDTECHEX - '3D PRINTING HARDWARE 2022-2032: TECHNOLOGY AND MARKET OUTLOOK.'

State of the industry

“First, these recent M&A deals represent growing interest in AM from players outside the industry; about a quarter of these deals involved an acquiring company outside the AM space,” she says. “Second, M&A is nothing new to the AM space. Consider that 3D Systems alone acquired nearly 20 companies from 2011-2012, 30 companies total from 2011-2016. However, the growth of newcomers at the bottom has outpaced the acquisition rate of the leaders at the top, leading to overall industry growth. In our latest report, we see a very healthy growth rate of 22% for hardware revenue alone over the next five years.” To explain the rise in interest in AM from outside of AM, as well as the sheer volume of investment (IDTechEx reports 950m USD of private funding being invested in 3D printing related companies in 2021), Dadhania proffers the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Connery concurs, outlining such disruption has also seen machine orders increase: “The result has been the strong recognition by many end-markets that 3D printing can indeed help mitigate some of the pains they are seeing in their supply chains by pulling manufacturing closer to consumption resulting in strong sales activity leading into 2022. Such order strength then in turn makes certain companies attractive for mergers and acquisitions and/or causes investors to shift monies towards investing in AM, resulting in more public listings.” In addition to the spike in M&A activity, as Connery references there has also been an uptick in 3D printing companies pursuing public listings, many of them via Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC). Essentium is one such company in the process of becoming publicly listed after combining with Atlantic Coastal. CEO Blake Teipel always intended to take Essentium public, but acknowledges the events of the last couple of years have helped facilitate the company’s next step this early. “There’s an upthrust here, a structural tailwind, to the concept of factory-focused additive manufacturing which can offer supply architectures with different solutions,” Teipel says. “That’s why we believe Essentium, and others, have been able to go public. I think the institutional investors see it too and they say, ‘okay, supply chains of the future are going to look different from supply chains of the past.’” Over the past 18 months, Essentium has joined Desktop Metal, Markforged, Shapeways and VELO3D in pursuing a SPAC-

enabled public listing. Teipel talks of a ‘SPAC phenomenon’ whereby investors – whether they be private, institutional or public – want access to early growth stage companies. The target companies, in turn, benefit from a quick and often significant inﬂux of cash. VELO3D CEO Benny Buller suggests, however, that ‘not all of the companies that went public, should have.’ “[What] is really important when you are a growth company is you have to have a very unique value proposition,” Buller says. “When you don’t, growth is going to be very speculative. You may be able to grow in the short term, but that doesn’t matter, because the value is based on a much bigger level of revenue that you need to grow a few years in a row very dramatically to accomplish that. And I think a lot of the companies that went public don’t really have something unique and jumped on the wagon. “Additive manufacturing is at a place where there is a lot of expectation, but the technology today is at a point where, at least on the metal side, it’s the first time that capable manufacturing technology has been introduced, and the market will start to grow with this. But because our market share is relatively small, as we are growing, it will not show on the total market in additive manufacturing for a good amount of time. I think in the further future it will, but in the [short term] it will be hidden. There is a big gap between what the industry thinks about itself, what the industry can do, and how it’s valued.” Monitoring, recording and dissecting that growth will be the job of Connery and Dadhania, with the former suggesting that publicly traded companies are a big help to analyst organizations as their public disclosures aid them in better quantifying market trends. Whether the overriding market trend in AM will be one of growth or consolidation over the next few years remains to be seen. But one thing for certain is that 3D printing technology is catching the eye and attracting investment. Now, it’s over to the technology providers. “On one hand, [there appears to be] a clear belief amongst many major investors that 3D printing represents a long-term revenue opportunity,” Dadhania says. “That belief enables young, hot companies like VELO3D and Essentium to quickly raise funds through private investment and then through SPACs. On the other hand, many of these companies are still relatively in their infancy with a lot to prove.”

MATERIALISE’S CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER CARLA VAN STEENBERGEN ON THE M&A PROCESS In M&A, the first hurdle is assessing whether the target company will contribute to the achievement of the buyer’s strategy & goals. This will be evaluated on technology or business application rather than finances. This assessment is made with a business case preparation that will do a computation of the synergies post-acquisition, as well as consider alternative options, before a due diligence (DD) process is undertaken to familiarize the buyer with the company, technology, management and financial reporting. Discussions in DD are aimed at getting to know the company and understanding the potential risks in order to make a correct financial valuation of the target and a validation of the initial expectations for synergies. Company culture is important for the success of the transaction will also be determined by the likeliness of the target company and its employees to find their place in their new working environment. My tips for pursuing an M&A deal:  Start the process with the end goal in mind, and make all key team members aware of this end goal.  Go beyond the answers found in DD. Try to understand habits and operational reality.  Focus on people & culture. In tech, M&A more often than not are a way to gain access to specific know-how which is often tied to individuals. So, spend enough time on making the transaction an added value for the target company's employees.  Never forget, closing is not the end, closing is the start.

"The growth of newcomers at the bottom has outpaced the acquisition rate of leaders at the top."

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 011

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• The European Commission recently unveiled proposals requiring manufacturers to achieve a 30% reduction in the emissions of new light commercial vehicles and passenger cars by 2030. • Automakers in the US have agreed to the Corporate Average Fuel Eﬃciency (CAFE) targets, which require that ﬂeetwidea average fuel economy standards increase to 54.5 miles per gallon on light-duty trucks and cars. The demand for lightweighting will continue to increase as countries ramp up their sustainability efforts and the use of advanced manufacturing technologies (like additive manufacturing) becomes more pervasive.

Three Approaches to Lightweighting

Broadly, there are three key lightweighting methods.

1. Material Substitution This method involves replacing the material of an existing part with a material that has a higher strength-to-weight ratio. Outside the engineering industry, one might think that the stronger a material, the heavier it must be. But the strength-to-weight ratio of certain materials can often defy belief under the right circumstances. For example, graphene has 100-300 times the strength of steel while consisting only of a single layer of carbon atoms.

3. Advanced Design & Engineering Material and manufacturing process substitution can only achieve so much. For substantial lightweighting gains, a complete redesign using the latest design tools and methodologies is often necessary. By taking advantage of cutting-edge design approaches, engineers can develop new products that are both lighter and have enhanced functionality.

2. New Manufacturing Process Material replacement often requires modification of the manufacturing process. Substituting the manufacturing process for another delivers average gains but requires more effort than material substitution. Doing so may also require the engineer to adjust the design to account for restrictions associated with the new process.

The trick to maximizing the benefits of lightweighting is combining the various techniques detailed in our guide.

Our Engineering Guide to Lightweighting

Download today to find out how engineers can leverage engineering design software and various lightweighting techniques to cut costs, improve performance, reduce energy consumption, and achieve many other benefits. Contact: sales@ntopology.com ntopology.com/guide-lw

SPONSORED BY

Software & Simulation

PRINTING WORDS: SAM DAVIES

n North Carolina, the US’s NASCAR racing capital, a manufacturer of race car components was stuck in a cycle of print a part, have it break, print a part, have it break, become extremely stressed, and then just print it solid. This less-than-ideal workﬂow is what Teton Simulation was founded to resolve when it came to market with its SmartSlice software platform in 2020. SmartSlice, which is available as a plug-in to slicer platforms like Ultimaker Cura, has been designed to optimize the slicing phase as companies like RE Suspension additively manufacture parts like piston trays. Piston trays, which hold the internal shim stacks and pistons for serviceable shocks, are used by race teams when disassembling, rebuilding and tuning shocks for high-performance vehicles. Before adopting SmartSlice, RE Suspension was hearing from customers that the printed piston trays were breaking. The easiest option was to reprint it solid and ship it back out.

“Then we brought in our software and said, ‘look, we’re showing you on the part where it’s going to break,' which is exactly where it was breaking,” Teton CEO Doug Kenik retells the story. “Instead of changing it to solid everywhere, we just changed the print settings in a very local region where it was breaking and we saved them days of print time, which allows them to get more throughput on those 3D printers.”

RE Suspension is now able to have the numbers churned automatically in the cloud, with the platform returning a thumbs up or thumbs down response in quick time. In printing parts like piston trays and dashboard brackets, RE Suspension leverages some of the ‘stiffer and stronger materials’ offered by Ultimaker. SmartSlice is able to access the material profiles of the machine vendor’s extensive portfolio and factor their respective properties into its slice simulations. It means users no longer need to buy materials to try them out, just like they don’t need to print their parts to make assessments of them.

“You need conﬁdence as a user that what you're printing is what you want.”

RE Suspension is said to use Ultimaker S3 and S5 machines. In its supply of printed parts for its racing team clients, RE Suspension has been looking to free up its 3D printing capacity as much as possible, while also reducing its usage and waste of material. Hence, moving away from the print, break, print, break routine was paramount.

“The number of slicing parameters in Cura alone is like 200 plus,” Kenik says. “Which ones do I tweak? Where do I go? You need tools to help you explore that space rapidly. You don’t want to do it manually, even virtually manually, you want to do it in an automated fashion. The software can say, ‘go in this direction, don’t go in that direction.’”

That, however, takes time. In any slicer platform there are a whole host of parameters of a printed part that can be altered, and without the requisite simulation tools, the results of which can only be determined once the part has been printed. With SmartSlice, however,

This was of particular help when RE Suspension was moving through iterations of a rear suspension

bracket prototype, which would be later manufactured via milling. Rather than printing each prototype to test its load bearing capabilities during fitment testing – the part needed to be able to support the weight of an entire rear axile while being cycled through suspension travel – SmartSlice used modifier meshes to locally reinforce the part where extra walls and infill density were needed. Achieving a thumbs up, RE Suspension could save weeks in time and more than 400 USD in cost when compared to outsourcing the machining for a metal counterpart. Moving forward, RE Suspension is intending to explore more end-use product applications with the aid of SmartSlice. When they get there, that will be job done for Kenik. “You need confidence as a user that what you’re printing is what you want at the end of it and if the printer manufacturers and the material suppliers can help supply that confidence, that creates an ecosystem where people are so successful that they want to print more,” Kenik finishes. “That’s where we are as an industry in Teton’s viewpoint. There’s a whole bunch of material innovation, there’s a whole bunch of machine innovation, but there’s a confidence issue right now where one, I don’t know where to put this, what areas it can go in, and two, I don’t know if I print it, it’s going to work. We need to continue providing these ecosystems which are providing users trust and confidence in their parts.”

SHOWN: PISTON TRAY

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8 9 JUNE 2022 NEC, Birmingham, UK

Evaluate. Adopt. Optimise. Analyse the opportunity Discover your application Learn from user success stories Understand capabilities and limitations Choose the right solution Optimise existing technology Consider enterprise adoption Ensure return on investment

With more than 80 speakers and 150 exhibitors, discover your additive strategy at TCT 3Sixty.

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MAY. 17-19. 2022

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Voices AMplified Voices AMplified Voices AMplified

Composite additive Welcome to materials have autonomous EV covered Voices AMplified

Welcome to Voices AMplified

ChrisChris Williams Williams Franco Cevolini Chair, SME Additive

Chair,CEO SMEand Additive CTO, Manufacturing Manufacturing CRP Technology Technical Community Technical Community crp.group/nbk-sme

II C

t wasn’t that longhandler, ago that,Ariz.-based outside of some forward-thinking ground mobility compa-

breadth ofwiper-washer individuals and knowledge withinsaid. SME’s AM ecoreservoir,” Iacovini t wasn’t that ago that, outside some breadth of individuals and knowledge within SME’s AM ecocompanies andlong labs, additive manufacturing (AM)forward-thinking technoloincluding SME’s AM Community leaders and ny Local Motors usesof next-generation manu- system, During the wipers assembly phase, the advisors. Local Motors

companies labs, additive manufacturing technolo- Voicessystem, including SME’s AM initiative Community leaders and from advisors. gy was almostand unknown. Since then, the public—and indusAMplified is a cross-platform with content facturing processes to build its (AM) autonomous engineering team noticed that the motor protruded

gy was almost unknown. Since then, public—and AMplified is a cross-platform initiative withwe content try—has gone from no concept of AM to an the exaggerated print digital,front including articles SME magazines electric vehicle, Olli. For example, Olli’s upper one and induslower acrossVoices theand modified bumper: “Toin avoid the issue therefore totry—has a rapidly maturing technology delivering benefits, Engineering ascoordinated well as herearticles in SMART Manufacgone fromare no3D concept offrom AM recyclable totangible an exaggerated one (Manufacturing across print and digital, including in Iacovini SME magazines structures printed polycarbonate thought to add two covers,” said: One opportunities and rewards. Great strides have been made to get turing),(Manufacturing podcasts, and webinars. material. 3D printing technology is an environmentally cover conceals the protruding part second Manufaccover to a rapidly maturing technology delivering tangible benefits, Engineering as well aswhile here the in SMART here and it’s worth remembering that people, more thanadditive mafriendly manufacturing process itself. Using manopportunities and rewards. Great strides have been made to get

What you can expect to find in the coming protects the pressure system of themonths—whichwasher reservoir from turing), podcasts, and webinars. chines, materials, or processes, made those strides possible. ever medium you choose—are stories of individual people, you can reduce transportation costs print external he explained. here andufacturing, it’s worth remembering that people, more thanand maWhat youagents, can expect to find in the coming months—which-

The true AM—it’s with current and potential abilities and, truly inspire innovationteam and advancement in man-cover from to story matchofdemand, warehouses stock. ones who The Local the motor chines, materials, or processes, made thoseholding stridesless possible. ever medium youMotors choose—aredesigned stories of individual people, just as important, the people who continue to develop it—deufacturing, and the technology and opportunities AM makes With this in mind, industry-leading 3D printing has been scratch. “For the wiper’s washer reservoir flap valve, we The true story of AM—it’s current and potential abilities and, ones who truly inspire innovation and advancement in manserves to used be heard. by the automotive developer to support a project in possible. These are people who not only made AM technology

just as important, the people who continue to develop it—de-

ufacturing, and the technology and opportunities AM makes

serves to be heard.

possible. These are people who not only made AM technology

SME has playedbased a key on rolethe in engaging and leadEurope, integration of convening some extra parts. Thea practical success, but also enabled it to capture the popular

ers to advance and accelerate AM for more than range imagination. Because behind the novel machinery, materials production materialsthe areadoption from theofWindform Top-Line

SME has played a key role in engaging and convening lead-

30 years. Recognizing early world-changing possibilities, of composites foron 3Dthe printing.

a practical success, but also enabled it to capture the popular

and finished products are specific, individual human beings. We

ers to advance accelerate adoption of AM for more than are proud imagination. Because behind the novel machinery, materials SME quickly tookand a leadership rolethe in advancing this technology. to share their stories. These materials were chosen for their mechanical char-

30Thirty years.years Recognizing early on the possibilities, and Voices finished products are specific, human beings. We ago, SME theworld-changing genre-defining RP&M AMplified installment, twoindividual fascinating acteristics, but itlaunched is also important to note that the matrix of In this SME quickly took a leadership role inbio-based advancing thisand technology. are proud totechnology—Benny share their stories. Buller, founder & CEO Conference & Exposition, now known as RAPID + TCT, developers of AM some Windform material is a polymer and thereThirty years ago, SME launched the RP&M thisEliana Voices installment, two fascinating today additive extends throughout the constellation of SME of Velo3DInand Fu,AMplified industry manager for aerospace fore 100 percent renewable: Thegenre-defining tenet, that Olli is one of the Conference Exposition,vehicles now known asroad, RAPID + TCT, and events, media, educational initiatives collabomost&membership, sustainable on the isand safe.

developers of AM North technology—Benny Buller, founder & CEO and medical at TRUMPF America, share their journeys

rations industry andthe academic partners. Through this,Carloand insights. Then, CEO and CTO of today with additive extends throughout the constellation of SME of Velo3D andFranco ElianaCevolini, Fu, industry manager forCRP aerospace Regarding Local Motors’ project in all Europe, our organization convenes engages with initiatives leadingMotors, voices Technology, shares at how his company improve printed Iacovini, Generaland Manager EMEA Local stated, “To events, media, membership, educational and collaboand medical TRUMPF Northhelped America, share their journeys from all corners of the additive world. for Local Motors’ autonomous vehicle. approve deployments in Europe, it needed some rations with industry and academic partners. Through all additional of this,components and insights. Then, Franco Cevolini,electric CEO and CTO of CRP Now, to better tell the AM story, we are proud to announce, I hope you enjoy it and will join us for future installments of components, not required in the US market.” Among these our organization convenes and engages with leading voices Technology, shares how his company helped improve printed “Voices AMplified.” Here, we will showcase the depth and were windshield wipers and parts.

from all corners of the additive world.

Voices AMplified.

“To add the wiper, we opted for a retrofit technique, or

Now, to better tell the AM story, we are proud to announce,

re-adaptation process, through an integration on the 2.0

“Voices AMplified.” Here, we will showcase the depth and

model,” Iacovini said. “These phases—retrofit and integra-

components for Local Motors’ autonomous electric vehicle. I hope you enjoy it and will join us for future installments of Voices AMplified.

P d

tion—were carried out in Italy, based on the original design produced by the Engineering Team in Chandler.”

Olli 2.0 ’s unique design is characterized by a tall rectangular pod with wide-set headlights and expansive windows nestled between a frame. For that reason, the wiper arm

could not be positioned from above, but rather from below

and to the side of the front window. “Thus, the Local Motors’ engineering department designed a new front bumper with brackets for fixing both the wipers starter motor and the front

Voices AMplified

February 2022

Voices AMplified

February 2022

016 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a single wiper arm that extends from below the windshield. Provided by CRP Technology.

Engineers examine a titanium fuel tank printed on a Velo3D additive manufacturing system with no internal supports. Engineers examine a titanium printed on ainVelo3D Such tanks/pressure vesselsfuel are tank designed for use additive manufacturing system with no internal aerospace and defense applications. Providedsupports. by Velo3D

Such tanks/pressure vessels are designed for use in aerospace and defense applications. Provided by Velo3D

Additive will provide a simpler, more responsive supply chain for high-value parts

Kip Hanson

Contributing Editor

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

Print locally — Print locally — disrupt globally

disrupt globally

KIP HANSON, SMART MANUFACTURING: Benny, what

Benny Buller Founder & CEO of Velo3D

reduce cost, it’s a race to the bottom. No one makes money

prompted you to start Velo3D in 2014?

in this race.

BENNY BULLER: Before 2014, I was an investor for

What changed my mind was a rocket company we’d invest-

KIP HANSON, MANUFACTURING: Benny, what a racetoto the bottom. No one makes moneyas two years,SMART and I vowed never to invest in 3D printing. When reduce ed cost, in thatit’s decided design their engines around 3D printing promptedeveryone you to start 2014?is this great technology. You in this race. told Velo3D me, “3Din printing a manufacturing technology. What they found is, it took them could do whatever you need.I was The only thing that BENNY BULLER: Before 2014, an investor forneeds to im-

three-plus months to getwas any parts made becausewe’d they investhad to What changed my mind a rocket company

the cost.” I had that you areWhen in a race to ed initerate on thosetoparts andtheir change the design and of incortwo years,prove and is I vowed never toseen invest in when 3D printing. that decided design engines around 3Dkind printing as

everyone told me, “3D printing is this great technology. You

a manufacturing technology. What they found is, it took them

could do whatever you need. The only thing that needs to im-

three-plus months to get any partsFebruary made because had to23 2022 | they sme.org

prove is the cost.” I had seen that when you are in a race to

iterate on those parts and change the design and kind of incorVOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 017

Voices AMplified Voices AMplified Voices AMplified

porate more intrusive DfAM [designing for additive poratemore moreand and more intrusive DfAM [designing for additive

So you the question about Europe. The vast The majorSoasked you asked the question about Europe. vast major-

manufacturing] toto make them manufacturable, compromising sales far have in been the United just We just manufacturing] make them manufacturable, compromising ity of our ity of our so sales so farbeen have in theStates. UnitedWe States.

Composite additive materials have autonomous EV covered

Cevolini sold our first system in Europe, andFranco in December of 2020 we

part performance, until they got something that was both man-

sold our first system in Europe, and in December of 2020 we

ufacturable and acceptable from performance level.

hired our first salesperson in Europe. We are now creating a CTO, CEO hired our first salesperson in Europe. We are nowand creating a headquarters for our European operation. Basically, we are CRP Technology

who were using the same technology, and I saw that this was

going to replicate in Europe the sales effort thatcrp.group/nbk-sme we have in

universal. They were designing the parts and changing them

the United States. It’s a direct sales effort with a very strong

in a way that would be manufacturable, but it wasn’t what

technical sales team and a very strong field service and appli-

part performance, until they got something that was both manufacturable and acceptable from performance level.

That surprised me. Then I started to talk with other people

headquarters for our European operation. Basically, we are

who were using the same technology, and I saw that this was

going to replicate in Europe the sales effort that we have in

universal. They were designing the parts and changing them

the United States. It’s a direct sales effort with a very strong

in a really way that would be manufacturable, but it wasn’t what they needed.

they needed. So,really I looked at that and I wondered, “What if we could

handler, Ariz.-based ground mobility compa-

salesfor team and a verythat strong field service cationtechnical support team the customers will be there. We and application support forto the customers that will estimate the Europeanteam market be aboutsaid. the same sizebe as there. We wiper-washer reservoir,” Iacovini

I looked that andMotors I wondered, “What we could estimate the European to phase, be about same size as solveSo, that? What ifatny we could eliminate these designifconmarket. Local uses next-generation manu- the U.S. During the wipers market assembly the the Local Motors solve that? What if we could eliminate these design contheyou U.S. market. straints or these manufacturing constraints? That will open And asked, what does it mean our competitors, facturing processes to build its autonomous engineering team noticed thatto the motor protruded from

straints orspace.” thesevehicle, manufacturing constraints? And you asked, does it avoid mean to our competitors, the designelectric European competitors? I thinkthe theissue answer Olli. For example, Olli’s That upperwill andopen lower in particular the our modified frontwhat bumper: “To we therefore

the answer from others was, “This would bepolycarbonate the most is, it doesn’t meantoour much to them. The applications we are theAnd design space.” in particular competitors? think the answer structures are 3D printed from recyclable thought addEuropean two coordinated covers,”I Iacovini said: One

disruptive thing that to 3D printing—but don’t areconceals those with requirements that our customers material. 3Dhappened printing technology is anwould environmentally cover the protruding part while the second we cover And the answer from others was, “This be the mostfocusing is, iton doesn’t mean much to them. The applications are worry about it. It’s completely impossible.” And I thought, have found can’t be met with our competitors’ systems. We friendly manufacturing process itself. Using additive manprotects the pressure system of the washer reservoir from disruptive thing that happened to 3D printing—but don’t focusing on are those with requirements that our customers

“Okay, don’t know to doreduce that yet, but I’ll commit theand print are pricing our systems becompetitors’ premium-priced ufacturing, you can transportation external agents, hemet explained. worry Iabout it. It’s how completely impossible.” Andcosts I thought, have found can’t intentionally be withto our systems. We next decade of my demand, life to it.” with warehouses holding less stock. compared toThe ourLocal competitors. And we are actively discover from to match Motors team designed the motor “Okay, I don’t know how to do that yet, but I’ll commit the are pricing our systems intentionally to be premium-priced couragingscratch. our people going after opportunities where With this in mind, industry-leading 3D printing has been “For from the wiper’s washer reservoir flap valve, we

next decade of my life to it.”

compared to our competitors. And we are actively dis-

HANSON: us about the growth of Velo3D over athe used Tell by the automotive developer to support project in our competitors can provide a solution. Our competitors, couraging our people from going after opportunities where last couple of years andon about your expansion intoextra Europe Europe, based the integration of some parts. Thebetween them, have more than 5,000 systems that they’ve

recently. What that might mean yourthe competitors? deployed in the field. If someone can do what they need to production materials aretofrom Windform Top-Line range

BULLER: Fundamentally, are going after manufacdo with a competitor’s systems, they will do that in the end, of composites for 3Dwe printing. recently. What that might mean to your competitors? the very field.actively If someone they need to turing customers that do not buy one system, they buy and I deployed encouragein them to do can that do andwhat not try These materials were chosen for their mechanical char-

HANSON: Tell us about the growth of Velo3D over the

our competitors can provide a solution. Our competitors,

last couple of years and about your expansion into Europe

between them, have more than 5,000 systems that they’ve

Fundamentally, we arewith going after manufacdo with a competitor’s systems, they will do that in the end, tensBULLER: of systems. Butbut they always start Then acteristics, it is also important toone, noteright? that the matrix to of work with us. We are focusing on the things that other

turing that do not buy they buy and I encourage them very actively to do that and not try they willcustomers go to two or three. Then five andsystem, six, and gradually people cannot do. some Windform material is aone bio-based polymer and there-

tens of systems. ButSo they start with that one,Olli right? Then they’ll build thisalways is a land-and-expand strateforetheir 100fleet. percent renewable: The tenet, is one of the

they go tosustainable two of or our three. Then and and gradually gy. So,will the first layer commercial model is most vehicles onfive the road,six, is expanding safe.

to work with us. We are focusing on the things that other people cannot HANSON: Let’s talkdo. about open versus closed systems.

lik

the customer base.fleet. they’ll buildRegarding their this Motors’ is a land-and-expand stratetheSo Local project in Europe, CarloSome manufacturers continue to keep the operating parame-

layer is the layer of systems that we ters under lock and key. They offer proprietary Iacovini, General Manager EMEA Local Motors, stated, “To gy.The So,second the first layer of our commercial model isare expanding HANSON: Let’s talkonly about open versus materials closed systems. shipping. We ship systems to new customers every year, and so on. What are your thoughts on that? approve deployments in Europe, it needed some additional Some manufacturers continue to keep the operating paramethe customer base. but each one of our existing customers is US continuing toAmong When youand look at powder-bed fusion, you can materials components, not required market.” The second layer is the layer in of the systems that we are these BULLER: ters under lock key. They only offer proprietary

buy systems. have already observed that, on average, wereWe windshield wipers and parts.

get closed parameters from different suppliers, but all of the

each of our existing is buying between and “To add customers the wiper, we opted for a retrofitone technique, orsuppliers today would allow you to buy a software package

one-and-a-half systemsprocess, a year. As we goanforward, youon can re-adaptation through integration the 2.0 that will allow you to open the parameters. Whether it’s EOS buy systems. We have already observed that, on average, get closed parameters from different suppliers, but all of the expect our existing customer base to keep adding maor GE or SLM Solutions or Trumpf or Renishaw, you can model,” Iacovini said. “These phases—retrofit and integra-

shipping. We ship systems to new customers every year, but each one of our existing customers is continuing to

and so on. What are your thoughts on that?

BULLER: When you look at powder-bed fusion, you can

each of our existing customers is buying between one and

suppliers today would allow you to buy a software package

one-and-a-half systems a year. As we go forward, you can

that will allow you to open the parameters. Whether it’s EOS

chines attion—were this rate, and the new willonkeep adding design develop parameters for any of those systems. carried out incustomers Italy, based the original

machinesproduced in future years well. When people talk about closed and open systems, Velo3D by theas Engineering Team in Chandler.” expect our existing customer base to keep adding maor GE as or SLM Trumpf The third Olli aspect is unique that each machine that is operating in rectanis as closed it can Solutions get, right?or One thing or thatRenishaw, is really you can 2.0 ’s design is characterized by a tall

chines thispod rate, and new customers will revenue keep adding develop parameters for any ofare those systems. the field at in the first year ofthe shipment, we recognize important to understand is that if you printing with Inconel gular with wide-set headlights and expansive windows

machines inof future years asand well. When people aboutwhen closed and open systems, Velo3D from the sale this machine, thenthat there is recurring example of atalk material, someone takes a nestled between a frame. For reason, the wiper arm 718, as an

The that third isfrom thatthis each machine thatoperating is operating inCAD file is as closed asfrom it can get, right? thatisis really revenue isaspect coming machine as it’s and creates that a print file,One thisthing print file could not be positioned from above, but rather from below

inthe future ofside that a shipment, revenue expansion that completely independent on the [Velo3D] machine with Inconel fieldyears. in the first year we “Thus, recognize revenue important to understand is that ifSapphire you are printing and to All the ofisof the front window. theisLocal Motors’

The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a very that it’s going be running on. a universal print file forwindshield. fromorganic. theengineering sale of thisdepartment machine, designed and thenathere is recurring 718, as to anwiper example a It’s material, when someone takes a new front bumper with single arm of that extends from below the Provided by CRP Technology. for fixingfrom boththis the wipers starter motor and the front CAD file and creates from that a print file, this print file is revenuebrackets that is coming machine as it’s operating

in future All of| that is a revenue expansion that is 24 Voicesyears. AMplified February 2022 very organic. 30 Voices AMplified | February 2022 018 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

completely independent on the [Velo3D] Sapphire machine that it’s going to be running on. It’s a universal print file for

thispart specific this specific this specific withpart thiswith specific

canon beany run on any alloy, thatalloy, now that can now be run

Sapphire machine in the world,

getting exactly the same outcome.

And so from that perspective,

yes, it’s a closed system, but it’s

a closed system that has been

built to generate a very specific

built to generate a And verythe specific outcome. outcome is

outcome.that Andwhen the outcome you have is a build file, that whenthis youbuild have build file, filea will reproduce in this build any file place will reproduce in on any in the world, any placemachine, in the world, anyto exactly at anyon time, same outcome. And this is an machine, the at any time, to exactly

solution to the sameend-to-end outcome. And this provided is an

customers want manufacturend-to-end solutionthat provided to

ing, notwant people that want to play customers that manufacturand develop parameters.

ing, not people that want to play and develop parameters.

HANSON: Do you think that the

industry is closer to the Holy Grail

HANSON: Do you think that the

of serial production of metal parts?

industry is closer to the Holy Grail

Do you see that happening?

of serial production of When metal you parts? BULLER: talk serial Do you see that happening? production, you automatically BULLER: talk serial market thinkWhen aboutyou the automotive production, you automatically or commercial products, and the think about the automotive like. A lot of people,market when they

think serial production, they think or commercial products, and the

VW, right? like. A lotBMW, of people, whenAnd theymy answer

onproduction, that is, absolutely not. They think serial they think may be doing some completely BMW, VW, right? And my answer

Velo3D founder and CEO Benny Buller. Provided by Velo3D

negligible things that have no busi-

on that is, absolutely not. They

Velo3D founder CEO Provided by Velo3D ness impact before that, but I will be dead beforeand BMW andBenny Buller. I think the opportunity for 3D printing is in the market

may be doing some completely

VW will be in significantly high-impact serial production with

negligible things that have no busiadditive manufacturing.

ness impact before that, but I will be dead before BMW and

And the reason for that is, when you look at products

VW will be in significantly high-impact serial production with

that are produced in volumes of tens of thousands a month,

of high-value parts, and you find those high-value parts in industrial equipment, in aerospace, in energy, in power gener-

I think the opportunity for 3D printing is in the market

ation, in medical devices and medical equipment. You don’t

of high-value parts, and you find those high-value parts in find them in consumer products.

additive manufacturing. equipment, in aerospace, in energy, powerof generthe designers design them in such a way that you could use industrial And those systems are manufacturing in in volumes tens, And the reason for that when you look at products in medical devices and medical equipment. You don’t very low value addis, manufacturing technology to make those ation,rather than tens of thousands, a month. Such high-value that are produced in volumes tensinofsuch thousands a month, consumer products. parts. Those parts areof made a way that their cost is find them parts in represent a $100 billion market today. It could become the designers design them inbysuch a way that you use into mostly represented the raw material costcould that goes

And those systems aremarket manufacturing inof volumes of tens, an almost $200 billion by the end this decade. And

them. add And manufacturing they use very low-cost raw materials, right? So very low value technology to make those

is where metal additive a manufacturing going to play a ratherthis than tens of thousands, month. Suchishigh-value

these are very, very low-value parts. Those parts are made in such aparts. way that their cost is

big roleain$100 serialbillion production. see this starting to happartsvery represent marketWe today. It could become

mostly represented by the raw material cost that goes into

an almost $200 billion market by the end of this decade. And

them. And they use very low-cost raw materials, right? So

this is where metal additive manufacturing is going to play a25 February 2022 | sme.org

these are very, very low-value parts.

very big role in serial production. We see this starting to hapVOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 019

Voices AMplified Voices AMplified Voices AMplified

pen I think that in this coming decade we’llwe’ll see asee a pentoday, today,and and I think that in this coming decade tremendous of the growth in this segment. tremendousacceleration acceleration of the growth in this segment.

And the lastthe thing data.isWhen are engaging with And lastisthing data.we When we are engaging with customers, we seewe a ratio aboutof10 to one OEMs customers, see of a ratio about 10between to one between OEMs

Composite additive materials have autonomous EV covered

Franco that want to become vertically integrated and Cevolini OEMs that

that want to become vertically integrated and OEMs that

HANSON: Other than laser powder-bed, what other forms

want to buy parts. For every OEM that wants to buyCEO a sysand aCTO, HANSON: Other than laser powder-bed, what other forms want to buy parts. For every OEM that wants to buy sysof metal 3D printing do you think are promising? tem, there are 10 OEMs that just want parts. CRP Technology

of metal 3D printing do you think are promising?

tem, there are 10 OEMs that just want parts.

BULLER: I think that laser powder-bed is going to cement

its position as the dominant additive manufacturing tech-

nology for high value parts. I am looking at the area of DED

nology for highdeposition], value parts.and I am lookingmade at the [directed energy I haven’t uparea my of DED

[directed deposition], and I haven’t madeshape up my mind aboutenergy it yet because possible that near-net handler,it’s Ariz.-based ground mobility compa-

crp.group/nbk-sme

HANSON: Can you say more about how you expect addi-

tive manufacturers to disrupt the industry?

tive manufacturers to are disrupt thenow industry? BULLER: I think what we seeing is an emergence

I think what supply we are chain. seeingThis now is an emergence of a new BULLER: contract manufacturing supply wiper-washer reservoir,” Iacovini said.

new contract manufacturing supply chain. This supply mind about itwith yet ny because possible that near-net shape willacreate a foundation on which companies that today manufacturing DED hasMotors ait’s bright future as well. I’m not Local uses next-generation manu- chain of During the wipers assembly phase, the Local Motors chain will create a foundation onthe which companies manufacturing with DED has awhy bright as well. I’m not are relying on a very archaic and nonresponsive supply chain,that sure about that. And the reason I say that isits because you facturing processes tofuture build autonomous engineering team noticed that motor protruded fromtoday

arehas relying on a very archaic supply chain, sureaabout that.vehicle, And the reason why out I say that is abecause youone that lead times measured inand quarters in years, is therefore have lotelectric of capabilities that have been there for really Olli. For example, Olli’s upper and lower the modified front bumper: “To nonresponsive avoidorthe issue we a supply chain that can provide inIacovini basically long and yet we adoption of there that infor thea really replaced oneby that hastolead times measured inparts quarters or in said: years, is havetime, a lot of capabilities thatlittle have been out structures aresaw 3D very printed from recyclable polycarbonate thought add two coordinated covers,” One ofcover one ifby needed, within days orcan veryprovide few weeks. That real world. And I need to figure out there a fundamenmaterial. 3D printing technology is anisenvironmentally conceals the protruding part while theparts second cover replaced a supply chain that in basically long time, andso yet we saw very littleif adoption of that in the batches the whole way companies operate. Thatreservoir fun-weeks. tal reason forAnd that.manufacturing The verdict open.outitself. friendly process Using man-changes protects the pressure system the washer fromThat batches of one if most needed, withinofdays or very few real world. so I need to isfigure if there is aadditive fundamenchanges how you plan, how you provide inventory ufacturing, reduce transportation costs and print damentally external he explained. changes theagents, whole way most companies operate. That funtal reason for that. you Thecan verdict is open.

youThe provide service toteam your designed customers. It motor fundamenHANSON: I believe you once that contract to match demand, with stated warehouses holdingmanless stock. and how Local Motors the coverinventory from damentally changes how you plan, how you provide tally changes the product lifecycle. ufacturers are better suited than OEMs to advance metal With this in mind, industry-leading 3D printing has been scratch. “For the wiper’s washer reservoir flap valve, we

HANSON: I believe you once stated that contract man-

and how you provide service to your customers. It fundamen-

On top of that, we are seeing how this new capability al-

additive. Why usedisbythat? the automotive developer to support a project in

tally changes the product lifecycle.

ufacturers are better suited than OEMs to advance metal

BULLER: If you look at 50 years, have Europe, based onthe thelast integration ofwhat somewe extra parts. Thelows companies to develop new products that were not posOn top of that, we are seeing how this new capability aladditive. Why is that? sible before. A lot of our customers take advantage of this seen in every aspect materials of our economy is the a trend of specializaproduction are from Windform Top-Line range

BULLER: If you look at the last 50 years, what we have

tion. Every what they are expert in, and oforganization composites is fordoing 3D printing.

lows companies to develop new products that were not pos-

technology to really design disruptive products, whether it’s

sible before. A flight, lot of power our customers take advantage of this seenare in outsourcing every aspect ourorganizations economy is the a trend specializa- in space exploration, generation or elsewhere. they to of other otherofparts. These materials were chosen for their mechanical chartion.means Everymore organization is doing what they are expert and This andbut more supply chains arein, acteristics, it iscomplex also important to note that the matrix of

technology to really design disruptive products, whether it’s

in spaceWhat exploration, flight,do power generation they and aresome outsourcing to material other organizations the other parts. other impacts you expect AM toor elsewhere. more more Windform specialized and skilled. I don’t see any reason is a bio-based polymer and there- HANSON: Thisthis means anddifferent more complex chains that areof the have, globally? why would be percent any for additive. I think this trend fore more 100 renewable: Thesupply tenet, that Olli is one and more specialized and I don’t see any reason ismore irrefutable and unstoppable. And skilled. at micro level, what you most sustainable vehicles onathe road, is safe.

HANSON: do localization. you expect AM to BULLER: We are What going other to seeimpacts much more

already talking with customers about the need for a can is would that contract manufacturers areproject muchI more nimble have, globally? whysee this be anythe different for additive. think this trend Regarding Local Motors’ in Europe, CarloWe are contract manufacturing chain bemuch present in spethan OEMs. They buildManager the capacity faster, andwhat Iacovini, General EMEA Motors, stated, BULLER: We supply are going to to see more localization. is irrefutable andcan unstoppable. And atmuch a Local micro level, you“To cific locations, whethertalking it is in with Southeast Asia orabout the Middle they much red tape. So, an OEM wants makenimble deployments in if Europe, it needed additional We are already customers the need for a can have see approve is that less contract manufacturers are muchtosome more East or Alaska. I think that we are going to see a lot of local in speparts by additive, it’s much less hassle for them to go and get components, not required in the US market.” Among these contract manufacturing supply chain to be present than OEMs. They can build the capacity much faster, and parts, than to get all aspects of theand organization aligned on were windshield wipers parts.

they have much less red tape. So, if an OEM wants to make

manufacturing in emerging economies that would be able

cific locations, whether it is in Southeast Asia or the Middle

buying a multimillion-dollar machine and so “To add the wiper, we opted for on. a retrofit technique, orto leapfrog the old manufacturing infrastructure. Very much

parts by additive, it’s much less hassle for them to go and get

East or Alaska. I think that we are going to see a lot of local

parts, than to get all aspects of the organization aligned on

manufacturing in emerging economies that would be able

buying a multimillion-dollar machine and so on.

to leapfrog the old manufacturing infrastructure. Very much

M s

And very often, whenprocess, an OEMthrough buys a machine, it initially re-adaptation an integration on the 2.0 like how emerging economies skipped the land line and went

directly to mobile [phones]. We will see much more diversifigets only model,” 20, 30 percent It’s aphases—retrofit very expensiveand offerIacoviniutilization. said. “These integra-

cation. And we will see a much more agile supply chain. ing for thetion—were industry. When you this based capacity contract carried outbuild in Italy, on in the original design

But I don’t think that because of additive manufacmanufacturing, it’s much utilized.Team in Chandler.” produced by thebetter Engineering mobile willown seesuppliers. much more diversifigets only 20, 30 percent utilization. It’s a very expensive offerturing,directly peopletowill elect [phones]. to becomeWe their But thereOlli is another corollary to that. If the capacity 2.0 ’s unique design is characterized by is a tall rectan-

And very often, when an OEM buys a machine, it initially

like how emerging economies skipped the land line and went

cation. And we will see a high-stakes much more manufacturing agile supply chain. ing forutilized, the industry. When you build this capacity in contract Additive is still a highly skilled, highly these contract manufacturers getexpansive to build gular pod with wide-set headlights and windows

But needs I don’ttothink that well, because of additive manufacmanufacturing, it’s muchathey better utilized. be done and you want to rely skills much fasterbetween because use their nestled frame. For thattechnology reason, themuch wiper arm method that

turing, people will elect to become their own But there another to above, that. Ifbut the capacity on people that are doing it at scale and at quality and suppliers. with more. So, they is are able to corollary deliverfrom much better products, could not be positioned rather fromis below

it’

culpability. So, is I think resultskilled, is diversity and localizamuch much efficiently than anget OEM Additive still athe highly high-stakes manufacturing highlymore utilized, these contract manufacturers toLocal buildMotors’ andquickly, to the side ofmore the front window. “Thus, the

The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a tion, coupled specialization. doing by itself. method that needs to be done well, and you to rely skills itmuch faster because they use their technology muchwith engineering department designed a new front bumper singlewith wiper arm that extends from below thewant windshield. Provided by CRP Technology. brackets for able fixingto both the wipers and the front on people that are doing it at scale and at quality and with more. So, they are deliver much starter better motor products,

much more quickly, |much more2022 efficiently than an OEM 26 Voices AMplified February doing it 30 by itself. Voices AMplified | February 2022 020 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

culpability. So, I think the result is diversity and localization, coupled with specialization.

Given TRUMPF’s extensive experience in laser technology, Given TRUMPF’s extensive its decision to move into the experience in laser technology, metal AM market is hardly its decision move into the surprising.toProvided by TRUMPF metal AMAmerica. market is hardly North

surprising. Provided by TRUMPF North America.

TRUMPF North America is embracing 3D printing, smart manufacturing and a vibrant TRUMPF North America is embracing 3Dworkforce printing, smart manufacturing

and a vibrant workforce Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

Much more than Much more than sheet metal

sheet metal

KIP HANSON, SM: Eliana, you graduated from Imperial

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor Eliana Fu

Industry Manager, Aerospace and Medical TRUMPF North America Eliana Fu Event Advisor, RAPID + TCT Industry Manager,

Aerospace and Medical TRUMPF North America Event Advisor, RAPID + TCT

HANSON: TRUMPF is known for its expertise in sheet

College, University of London, with a Ph.D. in materials sci-

metal processing equipment such as laser cutters and press

ence. What first interested you in this field? Was the manu-

brakes. Why has the company decided to push into metal

KIP HANSON, SM: Eliana, you graduated from Imperial

HANSON: TRUMPF is known for its expertise in sheet

facturing industry your goal back then?

additive manufacturing (AM)?

College, University London, a Ph.D. such as laser cutters and press ELIANAofFU: In highwith school, I had in nomaterials idea whatsci“materials metal processing FU: It was equipment natural, having lasers for cutting and welding, ence. What first interested you insomeone this field? Was manu- show- brakes. Why has theexpertise company decided to push into metal science” was, but when sent methe a pamphlet to develop that into 3D printing and additive manufacturing ing industry your goal aback then?and a fighter jet, I realized thatadditive manufacturing a tennis racket, fan blade facturing. You could(AM)? even think of metal AM as the offspring ELIANA In stuff high is school, I had idea what “materials it’sFU: “what made out of.”noFinding out what stuff is made

FU: It was natural, having lasers for is cutting welding, of welding and casting, which again whereand a background

out ofbut became interesting topic me and yes, ultimately to develop in materials science isinto super As and to why push into science” was, whenan someone sent mefor a pamphlet showthat expertise 3Dhandy. printing additive manubecame mya career. ing a tennis racket, fan blade and a fighter jet, I realized that

additive, obviously for aofcompany that a world leader facturing. Youwell, could even think metal AM asisthe offspring

it’s “what stuff is made out of.” Finding out what stuff is made

of welding and casting, which again is where a background

out of became an interesting topic for me and yes, ultimately

in materials science is super handy. As to why into February 2022 push | sme.org

became my career.

additive, well, obviously for a company that is a world leader VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 021

Voices AMplified Voices AMplified Voices AMplified

ininlaser that is an easy transition to make. AM isAM is promote criticalcritical thinking, innovation, and team-working are lasertechnology, technology, that is an easy transition to make. promote thinking, innovation, and team-working are

clearly manufacturing tooltool thatthat is not gimmick tools we canwe use to inspire employclearlyananadvanced advanced manufacturing is anot a gimmick other other tools can use to youth. inspireFinally, youth.as Finally, as employ-

Composite additive materials have autonomous EV covered

Franco ers, we need to make sure we are really givingCevolini opportunities

but is real and here to stay. It’s the future, and who doesn’t

ers, we need to make sure we are really giving opportunities

want to embrace the future?

and not just paying lip service but putting real actionCEO plansand CTO, and not just paying lip service but putting real action plans into practice and show people how they can haveCRP rewarding Technology

but is real and here to stay. It’s the future, and who doesn’t want to embrace the future?

HANSON: You are very active in the Women in 3D Printing

into practice and show people how they can have rewarding

careers in industry, regardless of what they look like or how crp.group/nbk-sme

they identify their gender.

HANSON: You are very active in the Women in 3D Printing

program and serve as the co-chair for the Los Angeles

careers in industry, regardless of what they look like or how they identify their gender.

chapter. Why is this organization important, and why should

chapter. Why aiscareer this organization important, and why should women pursue in AM over any other engineering or

HANSON: TRUMPF’s Smart Factory in Chicago is said to

women pursue a career in AM over any other engineering or representHANSON: TRUMPF’s Smart Factory in Chicago is said to manufacturing field? the future of advanced handler, Ariz.-based ground mobility compawiper-washer reservoir,”manufacturing. Iacovini said. What should manufacturing field? represent the future of advanced manufacturing. FU: In fact, in the fewMotors months, I’venext-generation moved from be doing now toassembly embrace phase, this future? nylast Local uses manu- manufacturers During the wipers the Local What Motorsshould FU: Intofact, in facturing thesolast months, I’ve from California Nevada, we few have a newto co-ambassador processes buildmoved its autonomous

manufacturers be doing now to aembrace future? FU: That Smart Factory really is just template for the engineering team noticed that the motor this protruded from

California to Nevada, soOlli. we have a whereas new Olli’s co-ambassador That Smart really is just athe template for the for the Los Angeles chapter ofFor WI3DP, I now have themodified Future, except that the Factory of Future electric vehicle, example, upper and lower Factory ofFU: the frontFactory bumper: “To avoid the issue we therefore

the for Lasprinted Vegas. As you can imagine, even fewer humans in it, withthat more interfacforambassadorship the Los Angeles chapter of WI3DP, whereas I nowit’shave will have Factory of the Future, except theAR Factory of the Future structures are 3D from recyclable polycarbonate thought to add two coordinated covers,” Iacovini said: One

pretty difficult being afor place where there isan very real it’s es, more features and cloud-based tools. The material. 3Dinprinting environmentally cover conceals thehumans protruding part while the AR second cover the ambassadorship Lastechnology Vegas. Asisyou canlittle imagine, will autonomous have even fewer in it, with more interfac-

manufacturing, I’m in roving all process over, helping chapextend way beyond the simplisfriendlybut manufacturing itself. Using additive man-manufacturing the pressure system of thecloud-based washer reservoir from pretty difficult being a place where thereother is very little real es, protects more processes autonomous features and tools. The ters like Detroit and Chicago. Additive manufacturing is a tic methods used on sheet metal (as demonstrated in the ufacturing, reduce transportation costschapand print external agents, he explained. manufacturing, butyou I’mcan roving all over, helping other manufacturing processes extend way beyond the simplis-

tim

route for women and girls to with become designers, engineers, of the Smart Factory) could the include 3Dcover from to match demand, warehouses holding less stock. current setupThe Local Motors teamand designed motor

leaders, and With business owners. It’s far easier to set your has been printing and other “For related processes. I think this in mind, industry-leading 3D up printing scratch. theadvanced wiper’s washer reservoir flapthe valve, we

own company a 3D printer than buying to your own 500T used with by the automotive developer support a project in days in which shop travelers written on a piece of paper and

forging press and based trying to forged fanofdisks right offparts. the Theenclosed in a plastic folder are definitely over. One thing the Europe, onmake the integration some extra

bat. Though, of course, that is are still from a possibility if you choose manufacturing industry overlooks is the need for improveproduction materials the Windform Top-Line range

to do so. of composites for 3D printing.

ters like Detroit and Chicago. Additive manufacturing is a

tic methods used on sheet metal (as demonstrated in the

route for women and girls to become designers, engineers,

current setup of the Smart Factory) and could include 3D

leaders, and business owners. It’s far easier to set up your

printing and other related advanced processes. I think the

own company with a 3D printer than buying your own 500T

days in which shop travelers written on a piece of paper and

forging press and trying to make forged fan disks right off the

enclosed in a plastic folder are definitely over. One thing the

ment in existing software, machine learning and AI. In metal

bat. Though, of course, that is still a possibility if you choose AM, for manufacturing industry is the need for example, building largeoverlooks and complex structures onimproveThese materials were chosen for their mechanical charto HANSON: do so.acteristics, ment in existing software, machine learning and AI. In metal Similarly, USC Viterbi butyou it isalso alsovolunteer importantintothe note that the matrix aofdesign basis is all very well, but without the software to

AM, forthe example, building and complexThat’s structures on School’s K12 program. Given STEM was estab-and theredrive robots, complexity won’tlarge be accomplished. someSTEM Windform material is that a bio-based polymer

HANSON: Similarly, the USC a design basis all very well, butsoftware without needs the software to lished nearly years ago you and also therevolunteer remains ain chronic labor very clear to me. Like is a true partnership, to fore30 100 percent renewable: The tenet, that Olli is Viterbi one of the

School’smost K12sustainable STEMthe program. Given that STEM was estabshortage throughout manufacturing industry, what else vehicles on the road, is safe.

drive robots, the complexity won’t be accomplished. That’s complement the hardware.

HANSON: Taking thatLike lastaquestion one step further, very clear to me. true partnership, software needs to

should beRegarding doing to get young interested inEurope, the labor lished we nearly 30 years ago andpeople there remains the Local Motors’ project ainchronic Carlo

trades? wherecomplement does metal AM into Industry 4.0? What obstacles General EMEA industry, Local Motors, shortageIacovini, throughout the Manager manufacturing whatstated, else “To thefithardware. FU: When I was at Relativity Space, we hosted an some event stand in the way of more widespread and how approve deployments in Europe, it interested needed additional should we be doing to get young people in the HANSON: Taking that last adoption, question one step further, for the Viterbi School’s Girls in STEMinprogram, where two shouldwhere we asdoes manufacturers them? 4.0? What obstacles components, not required the US market.” Among these trades? metal AMconquer fit into Industry other female engineers of color and I gave a talk to the girls were windshield wipers and parts.

FU: When I was at Relativity Space, we hosted an event

FU: Let’s take an example of a steel mill, or from my

stand in the way of more widespread adoption, and how

in the program with parents. thought “Toand addengaged the wiper, wethe opted for a Iretrofit technique, orpoint of view, a titanium mill. Fewer young people want to

for the Viterbi School’s Girls in STEM program, where two

should we as manufacturers conquer them?

this was an incredible opportunity because parents on sawthe 2.0 work in such a facility because the perception is that it’s re-adaptation process, through anthe integration

other female engineers of color and I gave a talk to the girls

FU: Let’s take an example of a steel mill, or from my

people who looked like them, different disciplines dirty, nasty work only suitable for big strong men. I would model,” Iacovini said.working “These in phases—retrofit and integra-

in the program and engaged with the parents. I thought

point of view, a titanium mill. Fewer young people want to

in the space launch industry. I saw the look of inspiration on design argue that the perception, methods of manufacturing, and tion—were carried out in Italy, based on the original

the parents’ faces and realized we needTeam to engage entire produced by the Engineering in Chandler.”

this was an incredible opportunity because the parents saw

work in such a facility because the perception is that it’s

equipment and know-how needed to make these products

peopleso who lookedparticularly like them, middle-school working in different disciplines work only suitable bigwill strong men.byI would families that girls ofby color, are alldirty, goingnasty to change. Future aircraftfor parts be made Olligirls, 2.0 ’s unique design is characterized a tall rectanin the space launch industry. I saw the look of inspiration on argue that the perception, methods of manufacturing, and understand thatpod these are openand to them, and windows advanced manufacturing processes that can give properties gular withopportunities wide-set headlights expansive

tit

parents’ and we need to engage entirearm equal equipment needed to make these products ifthe they setnestled theirfaces minds to it,realized can achieve whatever to or better and thanknow-how those currently accepted by tradibetween athey frame. For that reason, thethey wiper families so that particularly middle-school girls of color, all going to now, change. Future aircraft partsdata willor be made by want. Family support so important and incredible. The from edutional are methods. Right we do not have enough could notgirls, beispositioned from above, but rather below

cation process not just include school but also includes confidence in fracture-critical aircraft parts made by AM, understand opportunities are open to the them, and advanced manufacturing processes that can give properties and that todoes thethese side of the front window. “Thus, Local Motors’

The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a informal learning. Clubs and but one day, that will change. manufacturing if they set their minds to it,extra-curricular theydesigned can achieve they with equal to or better than those currently accepted by tradiengineering department aactivities newwhatever frontthat bumper single wiper arm thatDistributed extends from below the windshield. Provided by CRP Technology. brackets for fixing the wipers motorThe and eduthe front tional methods. Right now, we do not have enough data or want. Family support is soboth important andstarter incredible.

cation process does| not just include 28 Voices AMplified February 2022 school but also includes informal30 learning. and |extra-curricular Voices Clubs AMplified February 2022 activities that 022 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

confidence in fracture-critical aircraft parts made by AM, but one day, that will change. Distributed manufacturing

will alsothe change wethings make things will also change way the we way make in a of industry including in a variety ofvariety industry sectors,sectors, including medical and consumer products.

medical and consumer products.

HANSON: Thank you for your ongo-

ing work with The Shade Tree, a relief

and assistance organization dedicated to

homeless and abused women and children

homelessinand abused women andcan children southern Nevada. What manufacturin southern What this canand manufacturersNevada. do to support other important ers do to initiatives? support this and other important initiatives? FU: I chose this particular charity FU: I chose thisthey particular because are localcharity to the city of Las Vegas, honestly, areLas hundreds because they arebut local to thethere city of of honestly, good causes that need support. In this Vegas, but there are hundreds time of that pandemic people are very of good causes need where support. In this paranoid—or not—about their health, I time of pandemic where people are very think it is still important to try to spare

paranoid—or not—about their health, I

a thought for those who are facing way

think it is still important to try to spare

more difficult situations than ourselves.

a thought for those who are facing way

To me, women and children who are

more difficult situations than ourselves.

homeless, abused or victims of human

To me, women and children who are

trafficking have very little agency in these

homeless,situations. abused or victims of human Organizations like The Shade traffickingTree have very little agency in these provide practical means for these

Eliana Fu, industry manager for aerospace and medical at TRUMPF North America and event advisor for RAPID + TCT. Provided by TRUMPF North America.

Eliana Fu, industry manager for aerospace and medical at TRUMPF North situations.vulnerable Organizations Theback Shade groupslike to get on their

America and event advisor for RAPID + TCT. Provided by TRUMPF North America. this spring, I realized that I’d left the lump of titanium there in

Tree provide means for these feet.practical For instance, I sewed Baby Yoda and Marvel Comics

vulnerablefacemasks groups toand getsold back on their them to people who wanted more fun

the attic. The good news is that piece of titanium will never

corrode, so the new can rest easyofknowing doing yet washable cottonBaby facemasks. ButMarvel it doesn’t matter the this spring, I realized thatowner I’d left the lump titaniumit’s there in feet. For instance, I sewed Yoda and Comics the job to do. of titanium will never dollar you to raised or the forms your more fundraising Theit was goodnever newsintended is that piece facemasks andamount sold them people who wanted fun took;the attic. the point is that you did something to help someone yet washable cotton facemasks. But it doesn’t matter the else. It corrode, so the new owner can rest easy knowing it’s doing couldyou be something as simple stuffing leftovertook; toiletries the job it was never intended to do. dollar amount raised or the forms as your fundraising into plastic bags for the homeless. Doesn’t that feel good to

the point is that you did something to help someone else. It help a fellow human being?

could be something as simple as stuffing leftover toiletries into plastic bags for the homeless. Doesn’t that feel good to HANSON: Much of your LinkedIn page discusses

help a fellow human being?

your love of titanium. Do you really carry a bar of it in your handbag, why do you call it the most important metal ever,

HANSON: Much of had yourthe LinkedIn pageyet discusses and have you opportunity to tell someone, “It’s your love titanium, of titanium. you really carry a bar of it in your you Do idiot!”? handbag, why you call itcarry the most metal FU:do I no longer a lumpimportant of titanium in myever, purse. It and have was you ahad opportunity yet to tellTi-6Al-4V someone, 1.5”the thick piece of machined bar;“It’s I used it to prop up a leaking air-conditioner drip tray in the attic of titanium, you idiot!”?

mylonger townhome California. selling Itthe house FU: I no carryinaTorrance, lump of titanium in After my purse.

was a 1.5” thick piece of machined Ti-6Al-4V bar; I used it to prop up a leaking air-conditioner drip tray in the attic of my townhome in Torrance, California. After selling the house

“AM is an advanced manufacturing tool “AM is an advanced that is real and here manufacturing tool to stay. It’s the future, and that is real and here to who doesn’t want to stay. It’s the future, and embrace the future?”

who doesn’t want to embrace the future?” | February 2022

sme.org

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 023

Voices AMplified Voices AMplified Voices AMplified

Composite additive Composite additive Composite additive materials have materials have materials have autonomous EV covered autonomous EV covered autonomous EV covered

C CC

handler, Ariz.-based ground mobility compa-

Ariz.-basednext-generation ground mobility companyhandler, Local Motors manuhandler,uses Ariz.-based ground mobility compa-

Franco Cevolini Franco Cevolini CEO and CTO, Franco Cevolini CEO and CTO, CRP Technology CEO and CTO, CRP Technology crp.group/nbk-sme CRP Technology crp.group/nbk-sme crp.group/nbk-sme

wiper-washer reservoir,” Iacovini said.

wiper-washer Iacovini During the wipersreservoir,” assembly phase, thesaid. Local Motors wiper-washer reservoir,” Iacovini said.

ny Local Motors uses next-generation manuDuring the wipers assembly Local facturing processes to build its autonomous team noticed that the motorphase, protruded ny Local Motors uses next-generation manu- engineering During the wipers assembly phase,the thefrom Local Motors Motors facturing processes to build its autonomous engineering team noticed that the motor protruded electric vehicle, Olli.facturing For example, Olli’s upper and lower the modified front bumper: “To avoid the issue we therefore processes to build its autonomous engineering team noticed that the motor protruded from from electric vehicle, Olli. ForOlli. example, Olli’s upper and lower thetothe modified bumper: “To the issue we structures are 3D vehicle, printed from recyclable polycarbonate add two front coordinated covers,” Iacovini electric For example, Olli’s upper and lower thought modified front bumper: “Toavoid avoid thesaid: issueOne we therefore therefore material. 3D printing technology is an environmentally cover conceals the protruding part while the second cover structures are 3D printed from recyclable polycarbonate thought to add two coordinated covers,” Iacovini said: One structures are 3D printed from recyclable polycarbonate thought to add two coordinated covers,” Iacovini One friendly manufacturing process itself.isUsing manprotects the pressure system of the washer reservoir material. 3D printing technology is additive an environmentally cover conceals protruding partwhile whilethe thefrom second cover material. 3D printing technology an environmentally cover conceals thethe protruding part second cover ufacturing, you can reduce transportation costsUsing and print agents, hethe explained. friendly manufacturing process additive protects pressure systemofofthe thewasher washerreservoir reservoir from friendly manufacturing process itself. itself. Using additive man-man-external protects the pressure system from to match demand, with warehouses holding less stock. The Local Motors team designed the motor cover from ufacturing, can reduce transportation and print external agents, explained. ufacturing, you canyou reduce transportation costscosts and print external agents, hehe explained.

With this match in mind, industry-leading 3D printing has been the Local wiper’s washer reservoir flap the valve, we cover from demand, with warehouses holding less stock. scratch. “For Motors team designed motor to matchtodemand, with warehouses holding less stock. TheThe Local Motors team designed the motor cover from used by the automotive developer to support a project in With this in mind, industry-leading 3D printing has been scratch. “For the wiper’s washer reservoir flap valve, we

With this in mind, industry-leading 3D printing has been

scratch. “For the wiper’s washer reservoir flap valve, we

Europe, based on the the automotive integration of some extra parts. The used by developer to support a project in

used by the automotive developer to support a project in

production materials are on from WindformofTop-Line range Europe, based thethe integration some extra parts. The Europe, based on the integration of some extra parts. The of composites for 3Dmaterials printing. are from the Windform Top-Line range production

These of materials werefor chosen for their mechanical charcomposites 3D printing. of composites for 3D printing. acteristics, but it is also important to note that the matrix of These materials were chosen for their mechanical char-

acteristics, but it is also important to note that the matrix of acteristics, butWindform it is alsomaterial important note theof matrix fore 100 percent renewable: The tenet, that Ollithat is polymer one the some is ato bio-based and of there-

somesustainable Windform materialon isthe a bio-based polymer most road,The is safe. fore 100vehicles percent renewable: tenet, that and Olli isthereone of the

production materials are from the Windform Top-Line range

These materials were for their mechanical some Windform material is achosen bio-based polymer and there-char-

fore 100most percent renewable: The tenet, that Olli is one of the Regarding the Local Motors’ project in road, Europe, Carlo sustainable vehicles on the is safe. Iacovini, General Manager Local Motors, stated, “To Carlo most sustainable vehicles on the road, is safe. Regarding the EMEA Local Motors’ project in Europe,

approve deployments in Europe, it needed some additional Iacovini, Manager EMEA Local Motors, stated, “To Regarding theGeneral Local Motors’ project in Europe, Carlo

components, not required in the market.” Amongstated, theseadditional deployments inUS Europe, needed some Iacovini,approve General Manager EMEA LocalitMotors, “To were windshield wipers and parts. components, not required in the US market.” Among these approve deployments in Europe, it needed some additional

“To add the windshield wiper, we opted forand a retrofit were wipers parts.technique, or

components, not required in the US market.” Among these

re-adaptation“To process, an integration the 2.0 add thethrough wiper, opted for a on retrofit technique, or were windshield wipers andwe parts. model,” Iacovini said. “These phases—retrofit and integrare-adaptation process, through an integration on the 2.0

“To add the wiper, we opted for a retrofit technique, or

tion—were carriedIacovini out in Italy, onphases—retrofit the original design model,” said.based “These and integrare-adaptation process, through an integration on the 2.0 producedtion—were by the Engineering Team in Chandler.” carried out in Italy, based on the original design

model,” Iacovini said. “These phases—retrofit and integra-

Olli 2.0produced ’s uniqueby design is characterized tall rectanthe Engineering Teamby in aChandler.”

tion—were carried outheadlights in Italy, based on the original design gular pod with wide-set and expansive windows

Olli 2.0 ’s unique design is characterized by a tall rectanproduced by the Engineering Team in Chandler.” nestled between a frame. For that reason, theand wiper arm gular pod with wide-set headlights expansive windows

Olli unique design is characterized by athe tallwiper rectancould not2.0 be’spositioned from above, butthat rather from below nestled between a frame. For reason, arm

gular withnot headlights and expansive windows and to pod thecould side ofwide-set the window. “Thus, the Local Motors’ befront positioned from above, but rather from below

engineering designed a new front“Thus, bumper nestled between frame. Forfront that reason, the wiper arm Motors’ anddepartment to theaside of the window. thewith Local single wiper arm that extends from below the windshield. The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a Provided by CRP Technology. brackets for fixing both thefrom wipers starterbut motor and thebumper front could not be positioned above, from below with engineering department designed arather new front single wiper arm that extends from below the windshield.

The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a

brackets fixing both the wipers starter motor Motors’ and the front and to the side offorthe front window. “Thus, the Local

engineering department designed 30 Voices AMplified 2022a new front bumper with | February brackets30 forVoices fixing AMplified both the wipers starter motor and the front 2022 | February 024 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

Provided by CRP Technology.

The 2.0 version of the Olli autonomous EV features a single wiper arm that extends from below the windshield. Provided by CRP Technology.

Close-up look at the wiper motor cover printed from the Windform composite material. Provided by CRP Technology.

Close-up look at the wiper motor cover printed from the Windform composite material. Provided by CRP Technology. modified and adapted the design of the flap valve of the arm and blade, withstand the continuous stress and charging socket on Olli 2.0’s rear bumper,” Iacovini said. “In

vibrations caused by the traffic circulation on roads, and

modified and adapted the design of the flap valve of the arm and blade, withstandunit thefrom continuous stress and this way we maintained homogeneity from the design point of protect the electrical external agents. For these charging socket onwe Ollipositioned 2.0’s rearthe bumper,” Iacovini said. “In caused by needed the traffic circulation roads, that and view, and water flap valve symmetrically tovibrations reasons, the part to be made of aonmaterial this way we homogeneity from the design point of themaintained charging one.”

protect theprovide electrical unit from agents. For these would stiffness and external strength combined with high

view, and weFor positioned the water flapparts, valveLocal symmetrically to to reasons, the part needed be made of accurate, a material that the construction of the Motors turned lightness, ensuring theto creation of an reliable us atone.” 3D printing solutions provider CRP Technology and ourwould and durable application. the charging provide stiffness and strength combined with high Windform composite materials. The combination oflightness, After manufacturing the parts, CRP Technology carFor thepatented construction of the parts, Local Motors turned to ensuring the creation of an accurate, reliable laser sintering and provider advancedCRP composites allows theour manufacried out the final tests and delivery. Then a Local Motors’ us at 3D printing solutions Technology and and durable application. of production-grade 3D printed achievingofoptimal After supplier installed them Olli without encountering any patented turing Windform composite materials. Theparts, combination manufacturing theon parts, CRP Technology carresults in terms of quality and strength, and in a short time.

mounting and fixing issues. Afterward, Local Motors con-

laser sintering and advanced composites allows the manufac-

ried out the final tests and delivery. Then a Local Motors’

turing of production-grade 3D printed parts, achieving optimal

supplier installed them on Olli without encountering any

results in terms of quality and strength, and in a short time.

mounting and fixing issues. Afterward, Local Motors con-

CRP Technology manufactured both parts using the

ducted electromagnetism tests on the modified Olli in the

selective laser sintering 3D printing process and two Wind-

anechoic chamber. The EMC testing produced excellent

form materials: the polyamide-based, carbon fiber rein-

results. No critical issues were found in regard to the 3D

CRP Technology manufactured both parts using the

ducted electromagnetism tests on the modified Olli in the

selective laser sintering 3D printing process and two Wind-

anechoic chamber. The EMC testing produced excellent

form materials: thethe polyamide-based, fiber reinLX 3.0 for washer reservoir carbon flap valve.

results. EDITOR’S No criticalNOTE: issuesAs were foundto inpress, regardLocal to the 3D we went Motors

forced Windform XT 2.0 for the wipers starter motor cover,

printed parts made with Windform composites.

and the polyamide-based, glass fiber reinforced Windform

forced Windform XT 2.0 for aesthetic the wipers cover, printed parts made with Windform composites. announced it was closing its doors—for reasons outside Both parts have asstarter well asmotor functional purposand the polyamide-based, glass reinforced es. For example, the mainfiber function of the Windform wipers starter

of the purview of its AM work with CRP Technologies.

LX 3.0 formotor the washer flap cover isreservoir aesthetic, butvalve. considering its position—

EDITOR’S As we went to work press,and Local Motors We saluteNOTE: their groundbreaking expect other

future-looking autonomous EV developers to learn from next to the motor—it to: guarantee electromagnetic announced it was closing its doors—for reasons outside Both parts have aesthetic has as well as functional purpostheir story. of its AM work with CRP Technologies. compatibility, resistfunction the oscillating of the wiper of the purview es. For example, the main of themovement wipers starter

motor cover is aesthetic, but considering its position—

We salute their groundbreaking work and expect other

next to the motor—it has to: guarantee electromagnetic

future-looking autonomous EV developers from February 2022to| learn sme.org 31 their story. VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 025

compatibility, resist the oscillating movement of the wiper

Welcome to

NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING EVENT

of additive manufacturing. MAY 17-19, 2022

HUNTINGTON PLACE. DETROIT

rapid3devent.com

SPONSORED BY

WORDS: Laura Griffiths

ast year I got to attend an exhibition at the London Design Museum in the comfort of my pyjamas. No, I wasn’t testing the dress code or parameters of social etiquette, this was the product of a recent Dassault Systèmes collaboration featuring 3D printing, new materials, and a virtual twin environment that allowed me to take in a new art installation from the glow of my laptop screen. It’s called AURORA which, in addition to being the name of a striking light phenomenon, also translates to “new dawn” and is precisely what the project’s collaborators hope to inspire for the future of design. “We spent some time discussing this name, this new dawn about how we can leverage technology in the design process,” Anne Asensio, VP Design Experience at Dassault Systèmes and head of the Design Studio, told TCT from a more familiar virtual environment: a Zoom call. “It's also an optimistic view of the future. We wanted to promote our human approach to technology, and overall demonstrate where technology is not just given, but could be a great means to address those very important changes that are ahead of us.”

AURORA takes the form of a series of waves, or modules, manufactured locally at Mamou-Mani’s FabPub in London with 3D printing in bio-sourced PLA, and suspended in the air using steel tubes. It’s the third instalment from Dassault Systèmes’ Design in the Age of Experience initiative, developed within its own cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform, and forms part of the Design Museum’s “Waste Age: What can design do?” exhibition, exploring design’s role in sustainability. Describing how the two came to work together, Mamou-Mani recalls how they were each “at the crossroads between tech and the circular economy,” with a need to make technology “purposeful, as opposed to just for its own sake.” Asensio elaborated: “It's more about collaboration, experimentation with likeminded people, looking at a very important challenge that is, in this case waste, but it was really about creating the condition of the best collaboration.”

Arthur Mamou-Mani, renowned architect and AURORA designer added from a different Zoom window: “I think we both wanted to have a notion of what's next and what's after COVID? What's after this crisis?”

AURORA’s modules are said to have been inspired by a dry cactus and the movement of its cellular structure. Initially designed in 3D, the team then used Dassault Systèmes’ xGenerative Design to build the larger architectural structure before creating a virtual twin experience that places AURORA within a live model of the Design Museum. It’s here where the team were able to simulate the effects of elements such a lighting and airﬂow to inform AURORA’s design – and also how I got the chance to visit and interact with the installation remotely.

It’s a question touching most industries as the impacts of the pandemic continue to ripple through supply chains and day to day life, but one the collaborators feel creatives and designers, given the right tools, could be uniquely equipped to answer.

The modules were printed using a PLA made from potato starch, chosen not just because of its biocompatibility, but the ease at which it can be crushed back down and re-used for further 3D printing, taking advantage of the material’s unique aesthetics.

028 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

“When it comes to working with a material that's quite new and therefore quite whimsical, the material does its own thing. If one does not adapt their own ideas to that material then it can be very challenging,” Mamou-Mani explains, pointing to a shelf in the foreground featuring an array of trials and test prints. “When we worked with the PLA bioplastic, it did its own thing, and the machine also had its own way of working. So it is kind of upside down where the machine tells us what it wants, the material tells us what it wants, and then we adapt to that as opposed to the other way around.” Using Life Cycle Assessment solutions within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, the collaborators discovered they were able to save six tons of CO2 using this material compared to petroleumbased plastic. But this material choice, even with its clear advantages, also highlights how there’s no one size fits all solution to sustainability.

SHOWN: DASSAULT SYSTÈMES' ANNE ASENSIO, AND ARCHITECT ARTHUR MAMOU-MANI WITH 3D PRINTED AURORA MODULE

Software & Simulation SHOWN: MODULES WERE 3D PRINTED IN BIO-BASED PLA

“There's this big contradiction that's worth highlighting between something that's durable, i.e., sustainable, and something that you want to biodegrade, i.e., disappears,” Mamou-Mani explained. “What I like about PLA is that it sits right in the middle, it can disappear if you put it at the right conditions but it won't do it on its own so that means that you can activate the biodegradability. Or you can let it last for a long time.” The words ‘exploration’ and ‘experiment’ come up a lot during our conversation. “An interactive experimentation of how we can achieve a more sustainable approach to life in the future,” reads the description on the Design Museum’s website, and Mamou-Mani is open about the fact that before meeting with Asensio’s team, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform was a completely new way of working for the studio, requiring a “process of discovery.” But Asensio is keen to emphasize the ﬂexibility the platform provides for designers, and how creativity can encourage different ways of seizing the technology, resulting in new solutions to challenges. “Technology is often seen as very rigid, dogmatic, driven by a deterministic approach,” Asensio explained. “That’s not our way of doing it. We see the 3DEXPERIENCE platform as a very open, easy, collaborative virtual workshop. And it's nice to actually trigger those questions of what do we observe in nature? How can we translate that into a technological application and how can we play with it?

“We have done a lot of work at Dassault Systèmes to bring basically those very competent tools, considered too complex for designers, more accessible, more agile, to actually provide this quality for any architect to actually [make] their dreams come true. We cannot make circular design processes if the designers are not part of this process. So if we are looking at a circular design, concept and intention, if you don't have a tool that allows you to actually place this concept into the same environment where you can really test, simulate and make sure that concept actually has a circularity potential well, the design stays in the concept phase.” Asensio notes the rarity of designers being able to chart the impact of their work, and the use of Life Cycle Assessment tools within AURORA’s iteration stages allowed for the team to think creatively but design with engineering intent, understanding the impacts of their design choices and how that may play out across a component’s lifespan.

it has to be framed as something that may be a new way of approaching.” Those sustainability considerations extend not only to the pavilion’s process and material choices but also AURORA’s own lifecycle. Members of Dassault Systèmes’ design community have already begun coming up with new ways to repurpose AURORA’s individual modules to expand its life beyond the rafters of the Design Museum and drive that circular economy message even further. “AURORA is not just an installation in the middle of the Design Museum in London, it is a metaphor of the way we may build,” Asensio concluded. “If we really bridge creative thinking, original thinking and those scientific tools, we are very optimistic that we may basically change the way we live, our surroundings, our everyday things.”

“Sustainability is so layered that one cannot just say it's good or bad,” Mamou-Mani said. “There are several dimensions to that Life Cycle Assessment from water usage to transportation to the effect on your lungs when you burn it, or the toxicity of land, and what I loved about this project is we could dive deep into all these different dimensions.” Commenting on the wider impact these learnings could have, Asensio added: “This is probably going to be a little revolution. But it will not just happen by just a tool or few designers or architects doing it,

SHOWN: AURORA INSTALLATION AT THE LONDON DESIGN MUSEUM

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 029

UNIQUE AESTHETICS WORDS: SAM DAVIES

“To me, the most important thing is that I achieve something which looks unique, so it has a unique aesthetic embedded in it, something innovative and novel, which sets itself apart from anything that we have seen before.”

SHOWN: CRYSTAL GLACIERS

The standards were set more than six years ago. Julia Koerner founded JK Design in 2015 in Austria, with a new brand, JK 3D, being established last year with her partner Kais Al-Rawi. In that time, Koerner has found success in architecture, fashion design and product design, leaning on her specialities that span 3D printing, robotic technologies and computational design. Her name has appeared in this very magazine before, after she produced 3D printed garments and accessories for Marvel’s 2018 Black Panther movie, while a fashion collaboration with Stratasys and Ganit Goldstein also filled the column inches of many a 3D printing publication in 2021. Last spring, Koerner was reaching another professional landmark. Commissioned to develop two art sculptures measuring up to six feet tall,that would be put on public display in Santa Monica, California later that year, she was embarking on her very first public art endeavour. But due to unforeseen circumstances (a global pandemic; you may have heard about it), things didn’t go exactly according to plan on her '3D Stelae' project. The plan at one time was to hand the production of the 3D Stelae sculptures to a service provider that operated large-format 3D printing systems. With the costs deemed prohibitive, Koerner then explored CNC milling, which was a little more affordable. But by the time she was ready to place her orders with a digital fabrication shop suited to her needs, they were all either closing down because of COVID-19 restrictions or swamped by the demand for face-shields and other COVID-related applications. At this point, the deadline was just months away, with the first 3D Stelae installation slated for July 2020. The only way forward was to turn to JK Design’s in-house Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) platforms, 3D printing the two sculptures in four-to-six sections measuring around one meter tall and 30 x 30 cm in diameter. “We started printing it and it worked without adapting the geometry largely,” Koerner tells TCT. “It was so fascinating because all of a sudden we were able to print these large sections at 1.5 millimeters thick without any support material, so it’s super lightweight and the material can withstand outside environmental forces, such as sun and heat. We

030 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 8 ISSUE 1

“There is no similar product right now on the market. It’s something really unique and cutting edge.”

SHOWN: HY CLUTCH

Creative

started to produce this in our studio, and it was revolutionary because all of a sudden, I realized what we can do in-house and how we can make our own products with very limited resources.” Koerner first came into contact with 3D printing at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in 2005 and maintained an interest as she passed through the Architectural Association (AA) in London. Here, she not only met Al-Rawi, but she also became involved with the AA’s visiting school program. This program took Koerner and Al-Rawi to the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, renowned for being the closest environment on Earth to that found on Mars. While there, Koerner spent a lot of time at the archaeological Nabataean city of Petra, which was once a thriving trading center carved into the sandstone cliff faces by the Nabataeans in the second century A.D. Over time, the carved stone columns at Petra have been eroded, but would serve as Koerner’s inspiration for a project entitled Columns to Crowns. “We looked into this change over time, and we developed 25 columns which represent this change in a series,” Koerner says. “With 3D printing, you can produce unique custom elements, you can personalize, you can customize, and the idea was to showcase these morphologies in physical form.” Columns to Crowns was exhibited at Amman Design Week in 2019, with the work being carried out between 2014 and 2018 and the pieces being created with 3D printed PLA and acrylic tubes. It was this work that would later lead Koerner onto the 3D Stelae sculptures, advancing the research that came in Jordan and again returning to 3D printing technology. For Koerner, 3D printing is a means to push the boundaries of her creativity, reinterpreting how we typically think about products and creating distinctive pieces with unique geometries and aesthetics. It all dates back to her time at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. “My thesis was about superhuman

enticement, and I was always really inspired by the anatomy of the human body, by biological morphologies, growth systems, and abstracting the mathematical logics, what you would find in nature into geometries, which are only possible to be 3D printed,” Koerner says. “There was a certain fascination which came along where no other fabrication technique would be able to do it.” Fifteen years on from concluding her studies, and with her JK Design and JK 3D brands progressing well, Koerner splits her time between California and Austria. On one notable return to her homeland, Koerner was invited to Swarovski’s headquarters which sits amidst a mountainous landscape in Wattens. The glass company had requested not only a keynote presentation from Koerner, but for her to also contribute to an element of its glass 3D printing research and development. “They wanted me to challenge them; how would the designers’ thought process push the technology in a certain direction,” Koerner says. As she stood side by side with a Swarovski design team, she reinforced 3D printing’s capacity for outputting different variations of a part using the same algorithm in the same build process. This idea was manifested in a JK Design project entitled Crystal Glaciers, a series of 24 customized glass spirals that were inspired by the topology of the mountains surrounding Swarovski HQ. “With Crystal Glaciers, we wanted to showcase that across a series of these [glass spirals] there is a shift in size and scale, in intensity and the looks,” Koerner explains. “I think it had quite an impact on how they develop the technology further thereafter.” As an Austrian native, to work with Swarovski, and gain the company’s trust as an external designer, is a career defining moment and one that represented a significant shift. After years working with polymer 3D printing, there were new size limitations to get to grips with whole working with glass printing. She also had to adjust to a slower feedback loop since she wasn’t overly familiar

with the glass printing technology that Swarovski are so far keeping under wraps. Crystal Glaciers was a project that primarily intended to represent Swarovski’s continued spirit for innovation, but it did a good job of highlighting Koerner’s own ambition too. Her most recent work saw a return to more conventional 3D printing techniques, but another step forward in inspiration. Manufactured with locally sourced plant-based materials, the HY CLUTCH bag features an integrated closure clasp, partial opening hinge and an interior pocket, all of which is 3D printed. Available in black, offwhite bone and transparent colours, the HY CLUTCH products are produced on-location, ondemand within a single day, before being distributed in packaging that is made from vacuum formed recyclable plastic. While meeting a prerequisite for sustainability, it also nails Koerner’s need for originality and innovation. Featuring intricate and complex organic forms that resemble the natural hymenium lamella structures found on some species of mushroom, the HY CLUTCH bag won the Red Dot Design Award for 2021 and was Long Listed for Dezeen’s Product Design and Wearable Award 2021. It is bold, it is distinct, and it meets the brief. “We’re excited about it,” Koerner finishes. “I see a lot of future opportunities with this product. There is no similar product right now on the market. It’s something really unique and cutting edge.”

SHOWN: 3D STELAE SCULPTURE

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 031

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Creative WORDS: Laura Griffiths

t’s hard not to feel inspired when talking to Casey Melvin. The CEO – or rather CoCEO with sister Janine – a Princeton grad, was in law school spending a summer semester at Oxford in 2016, where a weekend getaway to Spain ignited an idea that would change the course of their careers. “If you would have told me five or ten years ago that I would be an entrepreneur or own my own company of any sort, I probably would have said you were lying,” Melvin told TCT while recalling a trip to Mallorca that would prove formative for THEFUTUREOFJEWELRY (TFOJ), a personalized jewelry company the duo founded, that leverages 3D technologies. Searching for a memento of their summer abroad, the sisters happened across a plain gold signet ring. It fit Melvin perfectly and they watched, fascinated, as the jewelry store owner hand etched the initials ‘CM’ on top. When they returned home to Pittsburgh, Melvin searched for a similar ring to gift to her sister but even the few that came close were either the wrong size or too expensive. Melvin was surprised

SHOWN: CASEY MELVIN, CO-CEO

to learn that there wasn’t already a solution on the market that would deliver customization at an accessible price point. So, they set out to change that. It was a trip to Shanghai and a visit to TCT Asia 2017 where the founders got a real sense of how 3D printing could turn their vision into a reality. “It's like getting a master's in 3D printing,” Melvin said of walking that first show ﬂoor. They reached out to billionaire investor Mark Cuban, a fellow Pittsburgh native, who responded with sage advice to focus on their core product – a software platform – and to outsource their 3D manufacturing. By 2017, the co-founders had assembled a team to develop their signet ring online customization platform, and in four short years, began shipping. The platform’s simplicity allows customers to add their initials, select from a library of designs, or upload their own image to generate a 3D model. They can then choose the shape, style, material and size of their ring (TFOJ's algorithm can automatically generate 125 sizes), and the price will adjust accordingly. Once ordered, the design is then 3D printed using a high resolution DLP process before casting into the customer’s chosen metal. Signet rings have been around for thousands of years, typically the domain of the powerful and wealthy. As time and trends have moved on, so too have the jewelry’s status, yet as Melvin discovered, even today, personalized signet rings remain out of reach. TFOJ aims to enable accessibility through not only a transparent pricing model – in which they ensure every piece is priced with the same markup, no matter the size or material – but also with a consumerfriendly design platform, and Melvin adds: “It was really important to us that you didn't need to be a designer or have 3D modeling experience.”

But that accessibility element extends to the customization too. Unlike that first signet back in Mallorca, TFOJ wants to ensure size and fit are not a barrier for its customers. Melvin explained: “There were no ring sizes before there was mass produced jewelry, every piece was made to order. These standard ring sizes really arose in the 19th and 20th Centuries. We're going to actually do away with standard sizes so every ring can be fit to the person who's wearing it.” Currently, the TFOJ works with a U.S.based contract manufacturer to produce its final products but Melvin says as the company looks to expand, the ability to take advantage of 3D printing’s agility and localize manufacture globally is an important prospect, suggesting “the less an item needs to travel the better.” But Melvin adds there’s more that could be explored in TFOJ’s own future. Melvin concludes: “Our goal is to democratize jewelry through 3D printing – our customization process would not be possible without the 3D printing component. And even though right now, that means 3D printing in wax and casting it, in the future that could be DMLS 3D printing into steel or into precious metal directly or in other materials that we haven't even developed yet.”

SHOWN: CUSTOMIZATION PLATFORM

VOL 8 ISSUE 1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 033

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Standards

WORDS: Laura Griffiths

tandards remain one of the most predominant challenges in additive manufacturing (AM), particularly in those highly regulated industries the technology best serves. Speaking to TCT Magazine last year with regards to the energy sector, Shell’s 3D Printing Technology Manager Angeline Goh shared how organizations responsible for setting international standards and legislation are “still playing catch up” when it comes to AM parts, but a recent milestone with LRQA (formerly Lloyd's Register) could help to speed things along.

scope of our inventory for just in time manufacture instead of stocking, as well as increase our scope in novel design and applications critical to our asset’s efforts to reduce operational emissions of greenhouse gases.”

The oil and gas giant recently worked with the global assurance provider to successfully certify a 3D printed pressure vessel in accordance with the European Pressure Equipment Directive (PED). The project, a first for the industry, underwent four stages over four years starting with the design, through to facility qualification and printing, defining acceptance criteria, and culminating last year with testing and inspection.

Goh explained: “Unlike material bought in batches, tested upfront, with 3D printing, the part is created as the material is printed. Therefore, the formed material must be certified after the pressure vessel is already produced.”

To date, standards and legislation for AM pressure retaining parts have been lacking, and the need for regulations has generally prevented 3D printed pressure equipment from being permitted. The goal behind this project was to create a proof point that could inform the energy industry’s trust in AM for future applications. It also emphasizes the “just-in-time as opposed to just-incase” method of part sourcing Goh also spoke about last year as Shell explores alternatives to the purchasing and storing of spares.

Shell shared the three main challenges that arose during this project. The first was primary material approval, which meant printing test specimens alongside the pressure vessel to test and approve material properties before formal approval through the Particular Material Appraisal (PMA) process.

They also had to define inspection protocols that would catch defects caused by AM’s own “unique flaws.” This included printing a dummy vessel featuring deliberate defects and using a range of CT scanning, dye penetrant testing and other non-destructive techniques to observe hard to detect flaws. Due to those unique defects, the usual acceptance criteria for welded pressure vessels was deemed unsuitable by the certifier so the team had to model intentional flaws on the vessel's performance to help define maximum acceptable defects.

“The sector is still lacking general acceptance criteria for defects in 3D printed pressure vessels,” Goh elaborated. “It took a lot of R&D time and effort from Shell and LRQA to be confident with the final product. Still, more data must be collected and shared by part producers for standards setting bodies to define general acceptance criteria for defects in 3D printed pressure vessels which can be adopted by certifiers in Europe and globally.” Data from this project can be utilized to support efforts to define standards for 3D printed pressure vessels under the EN 13445 - Unfired Pressure Vessels standard. Shell is now exploring the use of printing pressure-retaining parts for its own experimental installation, focusing on R&D and design and process optimization “to improve the economy of printing critical parts, rather than large scale manufacturing.” However, while the company says it will have more projects to showcase in the coming months, there are no immediate plans to get more parts certified. For now, more data, and sharing of that data, is required. Goh concluded: “We hope other companies, research institutes and companies who have invested in similar research also see the value of sharing their learnings with standard setting bodies.”

The vessel has been designed for pressures up to 220 bar and was manufactured at Shell’s Energy Transition Campus in Amsterdam using Powder Bed Fusion. While this CE stamp represents a significant breakthrough for the energy sector, in a more recent Q&A with TCT, Goh says there’s still a way to go. Goh said: “The knowledge and data that we have gained in this process is valuable for engaging with standards bodies and improving the sector’s trust in additive manufacturing. It will allow us, eventually, to further increase the

SHOWN: 3D PRINTED PRESSURE VESSEL CERTIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EUROPEAN PRESSURE EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE (CREDIT: SHELL)

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Standards

AM STANDARDS: 5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Experts weigh in on the ‘must knows’ WORDS: Laura Griffiths

for AM standards and certiﬁcation. 1 MATERIALS MATTER Zehavit Reisin, VP, Head of Materials Business & Design Segment | Stratasys “With AM certification, it is important to not only to consider the material mechanical, thermal and chemical resistance properties to fit a specific use case, but also the certification of the production process of the material as well as the printed part. This is particularly relevant for highly regulated industries such as aerospace, mobility and medical. "For example, the Stratasys’ ULTEM 9085 material is FST compliant for aircraft interior applications. However, to supply the aerospace sector, a certificate of conformance and other documentation was required to reﬂect that the production process was traceable and the FDM material manufactured in accordance with industry specifications. The very same ULTEM 9085 was found suitable for the mobility sector tooling applications but needed to go through different certification tests.

2 CONSISTENCY = CONFIDENCE Katharine Morgan, President | ASTM International “Certification for AM is vital for the technology to get broader acceptance across different industry sectors. AM opens up a plethora of applications ranging from toys to medical to aerospace and hence requires a higher degree of quality assurance. Therefore, the reproducibility of parts with quality, safety, and consistency needs to be demonstrated and verified to gain customer confidence. Standards provide the pathway to achieve certification of additively manufactured components, and ASTM is committed to developing globally recognized and industryrelevant standards on AM. Several AM standards have been published, and AM

stakeholders can directly apply these standards to streamline their certification process, both internal and external, for AM. Following a standardized approach for AM can bring down the time-to-market and respond quickly to market demands.”

3 NEW PRINTER, NEW PARAMETERS Colin Osborne, CEO | Burloak Technologies “I empathize with companies that have not been in aerospace and then decide to get into the industry and face the certification process; it is a very, very difficult process and it needs to be because of flight safety. For us, it took 18 months to get that one [The Boeing Company] BAC 5673 certification for aluminum with multiple rounds of testing on multiple pieces of equipment. In aerospace, every piece of equipment is certified by serial number - so even if you are certifying identical machines, they require separate certification processes. It's a long, expensive process. Fortunately for us, both within Samuel and Burloak, we have significant experience with aerospace. We understood the length and difficulty of that process. There'll be a handful of people that are willing to spend all that time and energy and invest in equipment, because you’ve got to buy the equipment to get it certified – but ultimately it is a very significant barrier to entry.” 4 TEST, TEST, TEST AGAIN Donald Godfrey, Global Director, Business Development for Aviation & Defense | SLM Solutions “When the EASA/FAA looks to qualify printed components, their focus is going to be on performance-based data. To validate this requirement, the company printing the component must produce a certain number of test specimens at least twice (usually more) in the same 3D printing machine, meaning the machine

must produce metal components that not only match design intent but also be repeatable. Specimens from both builds must be processed after build and tested the exact same way both times to validate machine repeatability. Specimens must match (at the very least) the minimal material property requirements of the component design. “In addition to qualifying the machine, the supply chain process and the part must also be qualified. The powder chemistry, morphology, and size distribution must be repeatable over builds. The heat treat process must be verified as repeatable. Finally, the material properties of the part must be tested and shown to be repeatable.”

5 FLEXIBILITY IS THE FUTURE Arun Ramachandran, AM Lead/SME | Collins Aerospace “AM certification is primarily about demonstrating that the part design accounts for the various sources of variability intrinsic to the AM process, and the raw material. Designing for all the possible sources of variation is expensive and impractical. One of the approaches used in the industry is to develop either a frozen or a tightly controlled process to reduce variability and build an application specific test campaign around it. While this approach can help get a part certified, it could be challenging to apply it to certify other AM applications. It may also come into conflict with the desire to realize a key value proposition of AM – flexibility, in terms of machine choices, software/hardware upgrades, part design modifications, build parameter optimization, raw material source changes etc. It is therefore important for the industry to also advance certification approaches that allow flexibility, and scale well in the long term.”

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TCT Wi3DP INNOVATOR AWARD:

WORDS: Dannielle Jones

MEET THE FINALISTS

n Wednesday, 19 January 2022, TCT’s Laura Griﬃths announced the five finalists for the TCT Women in 3D printing Innovator award 2022 and spoke with the candidates in a live panel session during Women in 3D Printing’s TIPE 3D Printing Conference. The finalists for the award, which is a collaboration between the TCT Group and Women in 3D Printing, are: Eliana Fu, Diana Kalisz, Ellen Lee, Candice Majewski and Katy Milne. During the conference, the finalists were each asked about their careers in additive manufacturing (AM), what each of them are currently working on in the industry, how they started out, and much more.

ELIANA: Eliana Fu is an Industry Manager for Aerospace and Medical at TRUMPF. Having previously worked in metalworking, Fu turned her attention to AM when customers continued to ask about 3D printing. Fu then moved into AM at SpaceX followed by Relatively Space before joining TRUMPF last year. Fu said: “I’m looking after aerospace and medical, two amazing industry sectors that can benefit from 3D printing and one of the things I’m most interested in at the moment is using green laser for 3D printing and making a lot of developments on that. We have a couple of challenges but the door is wide open for enhanced products." During her career, Fu has worked to encourage more women and girls to get into the industry as well as increasing awareness and encouraging change regarding anti-Asian hate. Currently, her focus is on improving the use of green laser in AM, especially within the space industry which Fu thinks can benefit tremendously from this technology in building rocket parts.

AWARDS

The public vote for the award is now open and people have until 23rd February to choose their favourite. The winner will be announced at the TCT Awards Ceremony in Birmingham on 8th June. Submissions for the other 11 technology and application awards also presented at TCT Awards are now open too. Vote now: tctawards.com

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TCT Awards

DIANA: Diana Kalisz has been in the additive industry for over 30 years and has a wide range of expertise in different fields. After starting out in aerospace, Kalisz moved to AM and now serves as Vice President of Materials at 3D Systems where she has been working since the beginning of her AM career in 1989. Kalisz told the panel about the changing impact that materials have had on the industry over time: “I've always said to our teams that what the customer wants is a part in their hand. And it's got to be a useful part and the level of complexity and what it takes to make that happen, really is not the customer's problem, they want their part. So the key thing that I've been working on most recently is the innovations in materials that have allowed us to get to parts that really do rival both the properties and the longevity of standard plastics." Kalisz is also a valued member of P.E.O who support higher education for women and is currently focusing on using additive manufacturing for direct production of parts in plastics to replace traditional methodologies.

ELLEN: Dr Ellen Lee has worked within Ford Motor Company's research organization for 23 years but was introduced to additive manufacturing over eight years ago when asked to help reduce the company’s SLS powder waste. In 2014, Lee established Ford’s AM Research Programme and is currently Technical Leader of Additive Manufacturing for Research & Advanced Engineering at Ford. Here, Lee sets out the direction for AM and its uses in the company. On the panel, Lee spoke about working with AM within a large company: “We're always asking ourselves what our customers would like and fortunately, we're all customers ourselves, because almost all of us drive a vehicle every day. As part of the research organization, Ford depends on us to tell the company where and when we need to turn. “In the case of AM, when we convince senior leadership of the huge potential we could have in different areas, both in the short term and in the long term, and investing in that long-term development, we are able to get significant resources for those capabilities. And, in fact, it resulted in us building the Advanced Manufacturing Center that has a lot of really great state of the art additive, as well as other advanced manufacturing capabilities.”

KATY: Dr Katy Milne started out in the industry unexpectedly after completing her doctorate with Rolls Royce, which focused more on other manufacturing processes. Encouraged to enrol onto one of their programs based near the University of Birmingham, it was here were Milne saw 3D printing in action and wanted to learn more. Previously, Katy served as Chief Engineer for the DRAMA project and is currently working with The UK Aerospace Technology Institute as Head of their Industrial Project ‘FlyZero’, which looks at building hydrogen airplanes to decrease the UK’s aviation carbon footprint to zero. Milne explained more about the project and the role AM plays within it, saying: “We've been given a year to try and figure out how the UK should compete on aircraft. […] We were really interested in how you can decarbonize long distance ﬂight. […] The project concluded quite early on the most viable route for that is to use hydrogen as a fuel that gives you zero carbon tailpipe emissions and significantly reduced to 60%, it depends, the overall warming emissions that come from the aircraft."

CANDICE: Candice Majewski is the only finalist who works in the industry in an academic manner and joined the field after attending a lecture on AM during her time at university. It captured her interest and Majewski has now been involved in the research and development of 3D printing for over 20 years. Currently, Majewski is a university lecturer at The University of Sheﬃeld, and during the panel, spoke about what her role entails: “My job is kind of a mishmash of lots of different aspects, which I really enjoy. On the research side, I'm focused around powdered polymer additive manufacturing systems and in particular, these structured property relationships, how the materials behave in the machines, how we can develop more materials, how we can make those materials more reliable. "I also do quite a bit of teaching. I have taught over 1,000 students, which is something I'm really excited for year on year." Majewski is passionate about training the next generation in AM and wants to encourage more people with a diversity of backgrounds and skills into the industry.

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Expert Column

WHAT HAS CHANGED IN METAL AM AND THE WORLD? WORDS: Kevin Ayers

long-time friend and colleague of mine, Angela Szerlong from SME, recently made the observation that leaders in the additive manufacturing [AM] industry have been talking for a long time about using AM for production but now she has seen that the intensity has been picking up. What has changed? Her observation and the question are relevant for today. The answer could be complicated but it is not: price per part. For some 25 years, we have pushed the applications and fought significant battles for AM to be accepted into mainstream manufacturing. Some victories were won in creating parts with enhanced performance and lightweighting, but we could never get past the most basic business barrier of cost per part. The costs of metal AM parts - mainly powder bed fusion (PBF) - were just way too high. One part that I have worked with is typical. This part resembled a totem pole, characterized by very diﬃcult to manufacture features. The traditional cost to manufacture was around 89 USD. The additive solution was 2,400 USD. Even with some enhanced performance gains, the customer would not accept the significant price increase. We were at an impasse as an industry in penetrating into mainstream manufacturing because of price per part. The money and the future of AM is not in the prototype industry valued at 10 billion USD but in the manufacturing market at 21 trillion USD. The highest ROI is in the serial manufacturing of parts. It is accepted that technology always goes where the money is to be found. Things have changed and the 3D printing OEMs are changing their products. The first signs of this were in the 3D sand printing area where costs are going down. This

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can be seen in the cost of sand and foundry pricing. There are also significant cost savings in quality when using 3D printed sand castings. The machine prices (Capex depreciation make up 65% of the costs) will be cut by a third due to OEMs selling much cheaper machines. The other main sea change was the coming of the binder jet metal machines which can use PM or MIM materials. Both PM and MIM are used in manufacturing already and are characterized by their low powder costs. In contrast, PBF powder is expensive even though recently those prices have begun to drop. To be sure, there are still issues in repeatability, dimensional control, post finishing, etc. but significant progress is being made. The bottom line is that now we can use metal AM parts within the same price range of conventionally made parts. What’s more, we can use the same metal alloys that we are currently using in production - a big problem for metal AM in the past. Some part designs must have certain material properties which were not attainable previously, and changing the design and Production Part Approval Process is very diﬃcult. This is a much bigger deal now due to recent major supply chain disruptions (i.e., COVID, Suez Canal, trade wars, etc.). Things are exasperated by the fact that much of production is shipped by freighter to all corners of the world, which makes being agile a much more diﬃcult proposition. These supply chain disruptions are seen by many as the new

normal. At the very least, we can be more agile by using metal AM to supplement production as needed. Giving companies and their manufacturing leaders more options is always good business. Having some of your manufacturing internally or more local to your operations also gives you additional benefits. And for that, metal AM is now poised to be in the right place and time to be the hero.

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TCT North America 8.1

Articles inside

WHAT’S CHANGED IN METAL AM?

DESIGN’S NEW DAWN

M&A IN AM

PRESSURE’S ON

END-TO-END

TCT WI3DP INNOVATOR AWARD: MEET THE FINALISTS

IS THIS THE FUTURE OF JEWELRY?

AM AND THE YEAR AHEAD

UNIQUE AESTHETICS