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FROM THE EDITOR LAURA GRIFFITHS

Changing SEASONS

It was nice while it lasted but after an unusually hot summer, the familiar sound of rain against the office window, which seems to have appeared overnight to stubbornly uphold the stereotype of a grey and wet United Kingdom, feels about right.

The good news, however, is that with this rapid autumnal shift comes the second round of annual events for the additive manufacturing industry (AM).

As I write this letter, our Senior Content Producer Sam Davies is likely on his second in-flight movie somewhere above the Atlantic by now as he makes his way back from a busy week at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. HP, Nexa3D and a handful of other AM companies chose to launch long-awaited production-oriented machines at the event (you can read all about them on page 46) which speaks volumes about those player’s ambitions in the wider manufacturing landscape and provides us with a glimpse at what we can expect from exhibition floors and conference theatres over the coming months. For many of us, the next port of call will be Formnext and the adjacent TCT Conference @ Formnext, which will feature speakers from PepsiCo, Jack Wolfskin, Honda and more. Tickets are now on sale at tctconferenceformnext.com.

Elsewhere, it seems only fitting to mark the start of the school year with our Research & Academia feature, which includes the latest AM findings coming out of the University of Cambridge and

numerous U.S. institutions alongside a candid conversation between lecturer and student on the culture of AM in academia.

There’s change happening in industry too. With the launch of the AM Forward initiative in the U.S. which aims to support small and medium sized suppliers in their adoption of AM techologies, we speak to industry leaders about this "bold step forward for additive manufacturing" (p. 43).

There are, of course, other shifts that take their time. Two years ago, when Sam and I mapped out the features we wanted to tackle inside this magazine, we chose diversity as a key industry challenge. For this issue, Sam collates conversations from a number of AM professionals about the experiences of Black people and people of color in AM. It’s an important read and can be found on page 33.

We also have interviews with Divergent (p. 10), Volkswagen (p. 9) and Alstom (p. 13), explorations of new material formulations (p. 18), ceramics (p. 15) and copper (p. 20) in our materials feature, and an expert column on the importance of the sometimes misunderstood subject of DfAM (p. 48).

Enjoy the issue!

P.S. I recently joined Women in 3D Printing as a UK ambassador. There are numerous chapters dotted across the globe, open to all, and I encourage you to support activities in your local area. Have thoughts/ideas to share? Drop me an email at laura.gri ths@rapidnews.com.

THE REALITY OF SUPPORT-FREE METAL AM

EOS separates fact from fiction on support-free metal 3D printing.

Support-free 3D metal printing is an attractive proposition.

Conceptually, it offers many benefits, from material and time savings to greater design flexibility and reduced post-processing. But is it physically possible to 3D print entirely support-free?

In additive manufacturing (AM), supportfree printing refers to developing ways to produce 3D printed parts entirely independent of any support structures, which are commonly used to reinforce and maintain the structure of a part during printing. For powder bed processes, supports are placed strategically to prevent deformation from thermal stresses, encourage heat transfer away from melted material and protect the forming part from the recoater blade, which may cause disruption to the part’s shape if impact occurs. They can also provide additional rigidity to the part during the build process — for instance, attaching it to the build plate to keep it steady. In some circumstances, without the right support, a part will fail to fully form. This is most common with overhanging sections or where a part needs a hole that goes all the way through it; either of these scenarios will only progress so far before they’re unable to anchor themselves during the build process. Using supports allows for parts with a narrow base or gaps to be produced. As a general rule, supports tend to be required for any aspect of a build that extends under 45-degrees from the build platform — this means any part that elevates at an acute angle may need supports factored into the build.

WHY GO SUPPORT-FREE?

Shifting to support-free 3D printing can improve the end-to-end build process

both economically and environmentally, and offers multiple benefits from reduced material usage to time to market.

If the lasers in the printer don’t need to continually add layers to the supports as the build progresses it will cut down on the print time. While for each single layer of the build this will have a small time-saving impact, over the course of a complete build, it begins to add up to a significant reduction in the time it takes to complete the production of a part. Applied to manufacturing on a large scale, this empowers companies to cut down on production times by an even more significant amount.

Not having supports in the first place would mean their removal is completely eradicated from the post-process phase, which often has a significant impact on lead times. In extreme cases, a one minute processing step during the build can lead to an increased lead time of one day. A support-free build would do away with the need for such intensive post-process adjustments, making it far quicker and cheaper to complete a part with an immediately better, more consistent surface finish.

With sustainability and responsible manufacturing in mind, it’s clear that not using supports — or even reducing them in size and number — will mean less material is used. This results in a lower level of material waste and reduced energy expenditure, cutting down on both the financial and environmental cost of 3D printing. It also reduces the overall time of both the initial printing process and the post-process procedure to finish the part, allowing for greater efficiency and simplicity.

SHOWN: SUPPORT-FREE PRINTING

SAVE

IN POST-PROCESSING

IS SUPPORT-FREE POSSIBLE?

The reality is that 100% support-free additive manufacturing currently isn’t possible for every application or geometry. That isn’t to say that it may not be in the future, and the team at EOS Additive Minds, the consulting arm of DMLS pioneer EOS, has been exploring new ways to apply support-free methods to various projects.

The first of these developments is in relation to the angle limit for supports. One particular impeller project (shown top right) resulted

in the build only needing to use supports for overhangs lower than 10-degrees compared to the previously thought minimum of 45-degrees. This particular project also saw the complete elimination of internal supports, which makes the post-processing procedure much less complicated — awkwardly placed supports inside a part can be some of the most challenging to remove, even if they’re not the largest. Through these reductions in the size and number of supports, the overall cost of production for the impellers was reduced by 35-percent.

HOW TO GET STARTED

The process development team have taken the findings from bespoke, specialist projects like this and applied them to the standard processes that are available for “plug and play” 3D printing software. This means that now, even without an expert consultant, you can reduce angle limits to 20-degrees as standard.

Using its 30 plus years of experience in the AM sector, EOS has developed a series of products and services to assist users with support-free 3D metal printing. Whatever their experience level, customers can access resources which provide a comprehensive overview of support-free AM for metal to reduce costs, save time and drive innovation across the process chain. The company’s Additive Minds Academy has also developed a training course aimed at arming businesses with the tools needed to leverage support-free printing, specifically with its EOSPRINT 2 software platform. The software comes preloaded with a series of “plug and play” solutions to build products simply, without having to configure or adjust parameters, while more experienced users can experiment and calibrate based on their requirements. For users looking to explore support-free printing for specific projects, Additive Minds also offers expert consultations to develop the most effective solutions.

To find out more about support-free AM and what it can mean for your own projects, visit: mytct.co/supportfree

SHOWN: STATOR RINGS PRINTED SUPPORT-FREE IN 316L

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It’s not a first for Additive Industries, nor Volkswagen, but as this year’s recipients of the TCT Transport Application Award, the double TCT Award-winning collaborators demonstrate how oftentimes, it’s the low hanging fruit that stands to yield the biggest gains when it comes to deploying additive manufacturing (AM) for automotive.

Having already taken home awards for their own projects in respective automotive and industrial applications, the two recently came together to reimagine a tooling nozzle used for the automated deposition of a rope in the chassis flange of the VW Tiguan, which helps prevent corrosion. The original design was machined in two parts in an expensive titanium alloy and welded together. Working with the Dutch metal 3D printing company’s Additive Studios consulting services, Volkswagen deployed Additive Industries’ MetalFAB metal 3D printer to manufacture a new design which achieved a huge 650% cost reduction against conventionally manufactured nozzles.

“We follow two main targets,” Oliver Pohl, Head of Additive Manufacturing at Volkswagen, told TCT. “On the one hand we try to use as less supports as possible and we try during the iteration to find the best orientation to reach the quality targets of the nozzle outlet. On the other hand, we had the challenge to reach the quality of the produced PVC rope in the production. Also, the optimal fluid flow in the internal channel, we have [to pay] attention to.”

The parts were printed internally at Volkswagen where a single build on the four-laser configuration of Additive Industries’ modular MetalFAB system can produce 48 nozzles in just 15 hours. Optimized for additive, the nozzle was able to be manufactured as a single component in a cheaper material, 316L vs the traditionally used Tialloy, while achieving the same mechanical performance. The consolidation of parts meant post-processing was minimal due to the removal of previously necessarily

milling and heat treatment steps, while the switch to additive also meant less material usage and no excess machining chips.

Martina Riccio, Process and Application Development Manager at Additive Industries, explained: “The cost reduction is thanks to a combination of factors such as the use of a cheaper material (316L vs Ti-alloys), to less material usage, no machining chips, to part consolidation, and the removal of different manufacturing steps [such as] machining, welding, etc. The overall cost reduction has a huge impact since more than 1,000 nozzles per year are needed per VW vehicle.”

Those volumes are significant. While metal AM applications in the automotive space have been typically reserved for luxury brands and racing teams, like Sauber Technologies and Alfa Romeo Racing which Additive Industries has been working with since 2017, this part serves as a proof point for the viability of metal AM in the mass production environment of a mainstream passenger vehicle. What’s more, the company believes the success of this

“A simple tooling component can be a perfect use of metal AM for cost and lead time reduction.”

application will inspire the rapid development and manufacture of other new, optimized nozzle geometries, which are different for each car model. Volkswagen confirms, based on this experience, these additive alternatives can be rolled out to replace their conventional counterparts, and while not all applications will experience benefits of this magnitude, Pohl estimates further applications could lead to typical cost reductions of at least half that of traditional components.

Riccio added: “The tooling nozzle is an interesting business case which can be used for demonstrating the benefits on metal AM where awareness is still limited. This project shows how manufacturers can think differently for achieving metal AM benefits. A simple tooling component, if adequately redesigned and when part consolidation is applied, can be a perfect use of metal AM for cost and lead time reduction.”

DIGITIZE AND DEMATERIALIZE

“

Inside the factory of an electric vehicle (EV) battery design and manufacturing company, Kevin Czinger is making some calculations.

The manufacture of these lithium-ion phosphate battery cells at Coda’s facility in China relies heavily on coal-fired power. And because of that, ‘well over' 200 kilograms (kg) of Co2 per kilowatt hour (kWh) is being produced in battery manufacture. At this time, kg of Co2 per kWh is the most important metric on Czinger’s mind and the cogs whirring in his head only intensify as he does the workings out to reveal that these batteries and EVs aren’t having enough impact.

“Say you take the low end of that range, 200 kilograms of Co2 emitted per kilowatt hour, you don’t take into account extractive emissions or any of these other things, you’re just looking at the cell factory itself – 200 times 90-kilowatt hour [for a] Tesla is 18,000 kilograms of Co2 emitted in the manufacture of the battery before the car is ever charged,” Czinger explains. “In comparison, a Toyota

Camry driven for 80,000 miles emits, through tailpipe exhaust, 16,000 kilograms of Co2. I looked at that and said, ‘you fool – you think that you’re having a positive impact, but you’re only going to have a positive impact if you look at the entire system.’”

So, he has. Coda Automotive and the Miles Electric Vehicles business Czinger was previously involved with are no longer functioning, but rather than pursue ambitions as an OEM of EVs, he has taken a step sideways.

Post Coda, Czinger educated himself on lifecycle assessments, figuring only a holistic approach would return the energy emission reduction that is required in an era of climate emergency. He also came to realize that the way automotive structures are manufactured, and the costs required to do so, need optimizing – particularly as EVs, hybrid cars and internal combustion engine vehicles (and all the tooling and fixturing to come with them) continue to emerge.

“The amortization period, the competition, the driving down of values, you’re looking and saying, ‘this is environmentally and economically broken,’” Czinger says.

If you recognize Czinger’s name, you’ll know that his answer to this ‘broken’ system was to establish Divergent Technologies. In doing so, Czinger and his team developed the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS) to ‘digitize and dematerialize’ automotive production and provide the technical competency for the company, in time, to become a Tier One supplier to the automotive industry. After Aston Martin’s launch of the DBR22 in August – which features an additively manufactured rear subframe – that time is now.

DAPS is certified against ISO 9001:2015; ISO 14001; AS 9100D; and IATF 16949:2016 standards and is comprised of generative design, additive manufacturing, and automated assembly. The combination of these three elements, Divergent believes, will ‘massively expand the design space’ with humans setting the requirements

Divergent CEO Kevin Czinger outlines the company’s lofty ambitions in the supply of automotive structures.

have to be prepared to invent everything.”

and the software optimizing the structure to Pareto efficiency.

Key to the development of DAPS is a collaboration with SLM Solutions commencing in 2017. As Czinger surveyed the market for a fabrication tool that aligned with his vision, he saw in 3D printing a ‘half invented industry’ where the printers were ‘way too slow and way too expensive.’ He recognized the potential though and convinced former SLM Solutions Chairman Hans Ihde to work with Divergent to jointly develop a 12-laser machine. Thus, the NXG XII 600 was ‘specced’ to fit the cost and rate structure of DAPS, and has now been used by Divergent for two and a half years. By the end of 2022, Divergent will have six of the machines installed, supplementing other AM technology that the company is choosing not to disclose.

What Divergent is willing to talk about, however, is how its DAPS workflow works. Its engineers start by understanding the static stiffness targets of a structure, then the typical load cases it will be exposed to, then what its boundary conditions are, then its crash requirements, durability requirements and dynamic stiffness response requirements.

This information is the input for the Divergent design algorithm, which is where the company enters the concept phase. Here, Divergent gives the OEM ‘optionality’ to, for example, reduce stiffness in a certain area of the structure to reduce mass. After the concept phase comes the detailed design phase, and after that, it’s time to print the part.

“One of the many, many benefits is that those first units that we print,” Cooper Keller, Divergent’s VP, Program Management and Production Operations, explains, “are printed with production processes, production machines, production materials. So, if there are no design changes required through the rest of the program, that is production validation.”

Divergent has had last-minute changes requested – ‘major revisions of structures’ – but instead of 12 months to scrap the part, cast the molds and stamp the tools, it needs only to be a delay of three weeks to get the next iteration additively manufactured. The company has also seen the value in being able to validate these structures against realworld requirements in-house. Its facility not only includes the DAPS system, but also MTS multi-actuator durability rigs, a crash tower with high-speed cameras, a full materials lab, thermal testing, corrosion testing and environmental testing.

The 230 engineers and scientists in the Divergent facility are also encouraged to take inspiration from Kelly Johnson, who ran Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works operations some 60 years ago.

“They built the SR 71 Blackbird in 20 months, and they did that with 135 engineers,” Czinger says.

“Here, Kelly Johnson said, ‘when we built that, everything had to be invented.’

I wouldn’t say we’ve invented everything across those three different subsystems [generative design, AM, robotic assembly], but we have to be prepared to invent everything.”

To back those words up: Divergent has 530 patent filings and patents issued across DAPS, from software to materials to machines to optics. That five years of intense R&D has caught the eye of eight automotive OEMs, most of them within the top ten major OEM groups in the world, and one of them Aston Martin. For Aston Martin, Divergent has additively manufactured the DBR22’s rear subframe in multiple titanium pieces which are then bonded together. Though details are scant and Divergent isn’t forthcoming, Aston Martin says there was a significant weight saving with no reduction in stiffness.

Divergent is going to continue supplying Aston Martin with structures for existing and future vehicle models, while parts for multiple other brands have gone through full durability and crash testing. These programs include structures for vehicle models that are in the volumes of dozens to those in the volumes of tens of thousands – Divergent is aiming to be ready for the latter by 2025. Czinger also says the company is working on aerospace and defence programs.

The company believes it can achieve such volumes because of the savings made in engineering and assembly, plus the capabilities of its generative design software. But it also knows that it has to.

“Right now, we have a built world around us which is environmentally and economically and socially unsustainable. And we need to use technology in a very intentional way,” Czinger says. “We’ve gone quickly from

a billion to eight billion people over a 100-year period or so. We cannot use analog processes that consume more and more material and energy and capital – we need to use our technologies to create super-efficient systems that mirror what an alpine meadow does. What does an alpine meadow do? It uses evolution in an environment where there is incredible competition for material and energy to create a fully optimized structure. I think that is critical to our survival. We’re destroying ourselves, we’re destroying the planet, and we’ve got to create a stable economic, environmental and community system.”

So that’s the motivation, but where is the inspiration? Czinger talks about a combination of ten-printer fleets plus a 22 x 22 meter assembly module in the near term while hinting at a future where its DAPS might lean on 100, 500, or even 1,000 printers to produce structures for the world’s biggest automotive OEMs. But can it be done?

“What we’re doing is much more complex but if you look at the CNC machines of 2005/2006 – pre-Apple and Foxconn using them to manufacture microelectronics – after that, you saw a scale up from tens of machines to, [at] Foxconn, 150,000 lights out machines,” Czinger says. “Do you think they were thinking in 2005, ‘there are ten machines here now [but] we’re going to have 150,000 lights out automated [in the future]?’ I’m not trying to do this to create any kind of hype. I’m 63 years old, I’ve made money, I don’t need any of that. This is, here’s a chance to digitize and de-materialize that built world if you try to make it happen.”

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Additive manufacturing (AM) is now a key part of our supply chain,” the 3D Printing Hub Manager of Alstom Transport Deutschland GmbH noted this summer.

In June, Alstom revealed a series of doorstopper parts had been produced with the Ultrafuse 316L material on Ultimaker and BCN3D extrusion printers. It followed an earlier application of AM by Alstom for spare parts, which included the 3D printing of a dozen rubber drainage plugs to seal the holes in tram headlights.

The doorstopper parts are deployed within the partition door between the firstand second-class carriages of a train and are required to last the service life of the train. To deliver the parts, Alstom turned to Replique.

“This doorstopper was made of sheet metal in the past and we thought to buy sheet metal, to laser it, to bend it, to weld it, to shot blast it, and then to paint it, that’s a complex manufacturing [process],” explained Dr. Uwe Jurdeczka, Senior Expert, AM at Alstom. “What about 3D printing? We looked around at who will be able to provide quality, material, experience and all the service around [the part]. That’s [when] we made contact with Replique.”

Replique is a service provider which harnesses a fully encrypted 3D printing platform to deliver functional end-use parts. Replique arised from BASF’s Digital Transformation initiative and has since built a partner network that gives users access to polymer, metal and composite AM.

Though Replique’s materials collaborators include more than just BASF, it deemed its Ultrafuse 316L the best material for the job when Alstom reached out.

“We wanted to have the best price, performance and quality combination,” Replique CEO Max Siebert said. “[Using Ultrafuse 316L] was quite a nice solution, fitting very nicely because, size-wise, it’s still able to be manufactured in the filament process and, cost-wise, it turned out to be superior to an SLM process. With Alstom, we optimized the design and found the right manufacturing parameters later on for the serial process. Then, the part has been produced, and we sent it over to Alstom for qualification and first article inspection.”

Using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Replique delivered 50 parts to Alstom – including prototypes – with up to ten parts able to be printed per build. The doorstoppers were then sintered and debinded in a total post-processing time of around five hours. From there, Alstom carried out the required qualification process, which included static testing, to assure themselves that the parts were in line with its quality standards and could fulfil its function over the entire service life of the train. From beginning to end, the delivery of the parts was completed within six weeks.

But Alstom and Replique might not be done yet.

With Alstom’s international footprint and Replique’s growing decentralized manufacturing network, there may be scope for further collaboration. Decentralized manufacturing, per Alstom AM Programme Manager Aurelien Fussel, is the ‘golden target’ for all industrial companies, though he believes this is more a long-term goal than a short-term one. As such, there is still work to do.

Alstom still wants to see improvements to AM before it rolls the technology out to the extent it believes it can, while factory audits on Replique partner factories would also need to be carried out.

But, after the doorstopper success, there is a will to see it come to fruition.

“I propose an exercise of putting [Replique] in our shoes,” Fussel added.

“Our customer could ask to audit or visit the place where the parts are manufactured. If we qualify a site of Replique, it should be followed, known and auditable. This will not be negotiable. It is because when you put yourself in the shoes of our customer, you understand that it’s quality first.”

“It is important to understand the meaning of quality from the customer’s perspective,” Siebert finished. “That is why we regularly visit our partners to ensure high quality of our print farm network, but also from a technical perspective we want to ensure repeatable quality. If some parts have to be replaced, we need to be able to achieve the same quality five years later, ten years later. We can ensure this by locking production parameters, technology and materials for parts produced anywhere worldwide. We also have a quality documentation module on the platform, recording quality parameters of the used machines and produced parts before sending it out, enabling tracing of single parts in all quality aspects.”

LIS DARK MATERIALS

When TCT met with Dr Johannes Homa to mark the 10th anniversary of Lithoz, the CEO recalled the ceramics 3D printing company’s early days. Homa, along with Lithoz CTO Dr. Johannes Benedikt, both university students at the time, had a gut feeling that there would be similar demand for additive manufacturing (AM) production capabilities in ceramics as there was for plastics and metals, if they could just develop the right solution.

Over that decade, Lithoz has successfully built and commercialized its Lithographybased Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM) technology, and earned customers across demanding sectors from aerospace to medical, many of which have adopted multiple of its CeraFab systems – the biggest customer fleet will soon consist of 25 machines. Now, with the launch of its latest technology, Lithoz is once again going with its gut having established itself as a leader with its LCM technology as a tool for digital mass production, and

listening to the market to step into an, as yet, underserved area.

“It was clear for us that there was this opportunity in the ceramic field, and the opportunity was simply having bigger parts and full densities,” Isabel Potestio, Director Sales & Marketing at Lithoz, told TCT. “Binder jetting is interesting for bigger parts but not when it comes to high density, and those densities really make a big difference in the kinds of applications you can access.”

The answer, Lithoz believes, is LaserInduced Slipcasting (LIS), a new process that specifically addresses those needs through a larger build volume and water-based suspensions with very low organic binder contents to manufacture thick-walled, fully

dense parts in oxide and non-oxide ceramics with no debinding needed.

“The reason you can use different kinds of materials is at the heart of the LIS technology,” Potestio explained.

“The technology uses a laser to evaporate water from a water-based slurry. As LIS is a heat-based process rather than light-based, the color of the ceramic material makes no difference to the results.”

The new material capabilities afforded by this approach allow users to finally tap into dark ceramics including silicone carbide, “the king of ceramic materials,” as Potestio describes, due to its rapid cooling, high strength, heat, oxidation and wear resistance, and weight efficiency. But, it is notoriously difficult to additively manufacture.

Solukon and Orbex -

How automated depowdering boosts e ciency and sustainability in AM for space

In recent years, the space industry has driven relentlessly for increased efficiencies; as such, they have relied on additive manufacturing to produce lightweight, highperformance componentry. However, additive manufacturing requires careful and sophisticated postprocessing to be a viable production tool. This is why Orbex, Europe’s leading orbital launch services company, relies on a depowdering system by German postprocessing pioneer Solukon.

Orbex designs and manufactures the world’s most environmentally friendly 2-stage launch vehicle powered by seven engines, with additive manufacturing being used to create the majority of the rocket propulsion subsystem. AMCM’s 4K printer is used to build the world’s largest monobody rocket engines at Orbex. The main stage rocket engines can be printed in a single print run in just a few days and the process avoids having to join smaller sections with welds, bolts or flanges, eliminates the need for any unreliable hot joints, avoids outdated and errorprone additional processing steps and reduces mass. This manufacturing process, optimized for maximum efficiency, requires equally highly efficient postprocessing. This is where Solukon comes into play. The SFM-AT1000-S

has been installed alongside the printer to automate how the un-sintered superalloy powders are removed from the engine parts after production.

The Solukon depowdering system is the pro-version for extraordinary large parts and highly complex components and comes with state-of the-art features for quality assurance and automation integration.

Based on the unique Solukon SPR® technology the Solukon SFM-AT1000-S removes excess powder from complex internal structures through adjustable vibration and automated two-axis part rotation, if required the Solukon system also runs under a protected inert atmosphere.

SOLUKON DEPOWDERING AS DOOR-OPENER FOR POWDER RECYCLING

The use of the Solukon systems means a boost of efficiency according to Chris Larmour, CEO of Orbex: “The depowdering of our 3D printed rocket engines is a big challenge, the parts are large and complex in their design, and so we required to find a solution that could help us to achieve this. Our Solukon machine, the

SFM-AT1000-S, is perfect for the job and its processes help us remove all residual powder after printing and saves us a significant amount of time in postprocessing.”

Saving valuable production time is not the only advantage the Solukon system offers. There is another important aspect that fits perfectly with Orbex's strategy to deliver an environmentally-friendly rocket and launch. During the automated depowdering process in the Solukon system the excess powder is collected contaminationfree in the funnel below the process chamber of the postprocessing system.

After sieving the expensive super-alloy powder is ready for reuse in subsequent printing processes. This is why the perfect-match collaboration of Solukon and Orbex helps to reduce the ecological footprint of AM series production in the space industry.

“Adequate powder recycling is one important step towards a sustainable production in additive manufacturing.

We are pleased that Orbex is making full use of the potential our depowdering systems offer”, concludes Andreas Hartmann, CEO and CTO of Solukon.

Part of 3D printed component. Credit: Orbex

The Solukon depowdering system SFM-AT1000-S at the Orbex facility in Copenhagen, Denmark.

These properties, in addition to virtually no thermal expansion, have caught the eye of users in aerospace, semiconductor and heavy industries where dark ceramics can be used to meet demands for high hardness, density and chemical resistance and are able to withstand extreme temperatures above 3,000°C.

LOWERING THE BARRIER

The LIS technology onboard the CeraMax Vario V900, with its 250 x 250 x 290 mm build area and ability to apply up to 1,000μm slurry per layer in under a minute, has been described as an ‘ideal technological entry point’ to ceramic 3D printing. Slipcasting is already widely used and understood in ceramics but limited in design complexity, while

Lithoz says LIS parts, made using a wide range of familiar materials, can be easily reintroduced into the traditional ceramic workflow.

“The development of materials is very easy because there is no real chemistry knowledge needed,” said Potestio on LIS' ability to process standard ceramic materials already used by industry today due to the lack of binder content.

“An industry that is used to working with its own powder can basically take the material they were already using, put it in the machine and work with it. This really helps lower the barrier.”

Having formally unveiled the machine at ceramitec in June, it’s still early days but Lithoz confirms several LIS systems are

already being installed and operated as a service by partners such as QEP3D and Alumina Systems.

“We’re constantly getting requests from the industry because there is no other solution right now on the market [for creating] thick-walled, fully dense ceramic parts, and at the same time, processing dark ceramics,” Potestio concluded. “We were expecting this kind of response but it’s been really nice to see your expectations paid off. Everything looks quite simple sometimes but there’s hard work behind it and that’s really satisfying to see the market react positively to it.”

SHOWN: CERAMAX V900

SHOWN: CERAMAX VARIO V900 BUILD AREA

"It was clear for us that there was this opportunity in the ceramic field."

SHOWN: CERAMAX V900

IN WITH THE NEW

Sam Davies speaks to several AM experts on the need for new and novel materials formulations.

If you could have any material, what would it be? If you could do anything with materials and 3D printing, what would you do?”

These are the questions metal additive manufacturing (AM) alloy developer Elementum 3D has been asking. Not as a fun hypothetical during the lunch hour, but in hundreds of conversations with its customers.

It is music to the ears of Eliana Fu and Melanie Lang, two recent Additive Insight podcast guests.

“My question is, why are we using materials that were developed 70+ years ago, when we could be using new materials developed specifically for AM?” the former told TCT after her appearance on the podcast.

“I think we are limiting ourselves right now to a set of materials that have been around for decades if not centuries,” offered the latter.

Fu and Lang aren’t alone in yearning for such developments, and neither is Elementum 3D in working to provide them.

INTO THE WILD

In Uppsala, Sweden, VBN Components has developed a so-far five-strong portfolio of Vibenite metals, all of which exhibit high carbon content to achieve extreme wear resistance. Because of this high carbon content, the materials are difficult to machine, forge and roll. They are, however, 3D printable and the Vibenite 290 material is believed to be the world’s hardest steel with a Rockwell hardness measurement of 72.

Over in Chaska, Minnesota, Jabil this year commercialized its patentpending PK 5000 material, based on a polyketone resin that is made from carbon monoxide and is said to boast high impact strength, high abrasion resistance and improved elongation compared to existing Nylon materials.

Back in the metals sphere, NASA has developed the high-conductivity and high-strength GRCop 42 copper-chromeniobium alloy, developed for harsh environments specific to regenerativelycooled combustion chambers and nozzles with good oxidation resistance.

Here lies one of the key motivations for developing new materials formulations. To design the material and its characteristics for a specific process and a specific application.

“We’re seeing people that now move to the concept of ‘what if we looked at an alloy that was designed for 3D printing, not just to make it printable, but to make it widely available and better than you could possibly do without printing,” says Jacob Nuechterlein, CEO of Elementum 3D, who supported NASA in the development of GRCop 42. “That’s exciting, as a metallurgist, to be able to go into the wild of brandnew materials and brand-new alloys.”

“Let’s get to a point where we can talk about what the part needs to do and what the part needs to perform and then go backwards and make that your requirement,” Lang noted.

For those tinkering with chemical formulations, these are important considerations to make. As Fu explained, the materials formulations that make it out of the lab and into the real world have several things in common: a manufacturing technique that can process it, an application that demands its properties, and an idea of what you do with the part after it’s been used.

“If you don’t have a process to make it, you can have a Noble Prize-winning chemistry but if it can’t be made in real life, it’s not going to go anywhere,” she said. “I’ve seen so many great ideas just come to a halt because there’s no end use, there’s no secondary market, there’s no way to handle the turning scrap, and there’s no recycling method.”

Fu believes it takes a communityled effort to bring new materials to fruition, citing some of the work being carried out by the ASTM F42 Committee as a positive. There may also be a requirement for risk and revenue sharing, whereby potential end-users team with the material developers to qualify new formulations against existing or new applications in exchange for discounted rates or a cut of the profits.

SHOWN: PARTS MADE WITH VBN COMPONENTS' VIBENITE METALS

Covestro Additive Manufacturing has several models in place for how such an arrangement might work. After its merger with Stratasys is closed, the company will be able to have instant access to the hardware it has previously had to strike partnership agreements for, while the company will also make deals whereby commitments are made to buy material upfront, as well as others where the manufacturer can decide at a later date whether the project is worth pursuing further after laying down a monetary deposit. There are also many instances where exclusivity is given to a single manufacturer.

TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT

Whatever the journey for a new formulation, most agree it is paramount that an application is top of mind when it is being developed.

You need to be solving a problem somewhere for someone, and ideally you know where and for who. Hugo da Silva, the VP of Covestro Additive Manufacturing, noted that the dental and medical markets will bring much opportunity for new chemistries because of the demand for personalized goods. He also noted that entirely new applications will open the door for novel formulations, again citing an example in dental.

“Dental aligners didn’t exist in the past, and then they start making molds to do dental aligners, but that mold in that process was new,” he said. “Now, all the companies are trying to print a direct printed dental aligner. It’s also a new application – there are no references out there. When you get applications [where] there are no references, it makes it much easier.”

Covestro AM, da Silva told TCT, is currently working on multiple materials that are tailored to applications in the medical, dental, and industrial sectors, with commercial launches anticipated in the not-too-distant future. It is likely that these are being brought to market via one of the risk and revenue sharing models detailed above. Yet, while having applications and customers in mind go a long

way to overcoming the many hurdles involved with new materials development, there are still plenty of other elements to consider.

These include identifying potential secondary products where the material properties can be applied – in cases where there is no exclusivity – and also developing supply chains that make economic and environmental sense. Manufacturers that are moving away from familiar materials might also need to be educated and persuaded that this new grade can match or better the performance of the existing one, while also matching or bettering the cost, which raises another consideration. This becomes complex because with 3D printing there is likely to be less material used to make the part, there are no tooling costs, the engineering time that is factored in is different, and, in theory, the way spare parts might be handled will also change – hence, the cost modeling, in addition to the material, may be new to the end user.

The introduction of new materials, then, is not without its challenges. There is also the fact

that materials are, in essence, brands that are trusted to carry out the job and there is decades’ worth of data points to back up their capabilities. To compete with a tried and trusted PEEK or 316L takes a lot of testing, a lot of data and a lot of time. But it all comes back to solving problems. If you can do that, the manufacturers will be interested, and there are benefits to be had all round.

“We are trying to take problems in additive, materials and production parts, and come up with solutions,” Matt Torosian, Director of Product Management at Jabil Additive, said at RAPID + TCT. “When you do that, it’s not hard to switch people at all. It’s much harder to take something out there and say, ‘here’s a me too, why don’t you use this?’ Then you’re in a price game that downward spirals to nothing.”

The best approach, for Jabil and others, is to address market problems –of which there are many – with novel solutions. Yes, there is an extensive workload required to bring those solutions to fruition, but the end results are worth it. What’s more, 3D printing technology is perhaps best placed to provide many of the answers.

“AM is re-inventing material development,” Ulrik Beste, CTO at VBN Components, said. “When you’re using additive manufacturing, you don’t have this production constraint that we talk about, and you also have a very high yield in your process, and you can print it near net shape. When you have a high yield, then you can also choose much more expensive elements that hopefully will result in a fantastic property. You have an enormous opportunity here by thinking outside of the box.”

“Instead of looking at what’s possible to make by, say, casting or forging, it is becoming possible to look at what you would like to have, which is not something people have been able to do before,” Pär Arumskog, Field Application and Development Engineer at VBN Components, finished. “Now, you can imagine your ideal material and you can probably find a way to produce it. And that really wasn’t possible.”

SHOWN: ELEMENTUM 3D HAS BEEN AWARDED NASA SBIR PHASE 1 FUNDING TO DEVELOP SOFT MAGNETIC MATERIALS FOR AM

“You have an enormous opportunity here by thinking outside of the box.”

Ursa Major recently delivered its first copper-based 3D printed engine components. The combustion chambers were created in the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Lab in Youngstown, Ohio, which began producing and delivering various other rocket engine parts in May of this year.

Speaking to TCT, Thomas Pomorski, Additive Manufacturing Development Engineer for Ursa Major, said: “Our additive manufacturing team is tasked with advancing 3D printing processes for working with metal alloys like copper. They use a large format laser powder bed fusion 3D printer that is designed to work with metal alloys.

“The builds using copper powder feedstock can take up to a week to complete. After some additional processing, including heat treatment and bead blasting, the part is shipped out to our Berthoud, Colorado facility for final machining, inspection, and proof testing. Finally, the chamber is installed on an engine and tested for space launch and hypersonic applications.”

Copper traditionally presents difficulties when used in additive manufacturing due to its highly conductive nature. Pomorski spoke about how Ursa Major attempted to tackle such challenges: “The learnings from our research and development facility are helping to mature the knowledge in the industry around this type of 3D printing. We work with a specific copper alloy that is optimized for additive manufacturing.”

Elaborating on some of the issues Ursa Major is tackling in the industry through its developments in copper, Pomorski said: “The existing copper alloy supply chain is limited, which leads to long lead times for turning around a needed revision when producing and procuring parts by traditional manufacturing methods. Thanks to 3D printing, Ursa Major is able to compress the production and delivery cycle for its copper-based 3D printed rocket engine combustion chambers to one month, compared to a minimum of six months using traditional manufacturing processes.”

Emphasizing the importance of additive manufacturing to Ursa Major, Pomorski continued: “3D printing is one of the reasons why Ursa Major exists as a company today because it allows us to iterate designs quickly and cost effectively. In the early days of Ursa Major, 3D printing allowed a handful of engineers to design, build, and test a pump-fed oxygen-rich staged combustion engine.”

Ursa Major is the only privately funded company in the US that has a sole focus on rocket propulsion. The company has ambitions to speed up the rocket engine production process in an attempt to relieve restricted access to space and hypersonics testing in the US.

Pomorski shared how he envisions AM will impact the space exploration supply chain: “There is a new hardware rich mentality in the aerospace industry, and this is only possible due to additive manufacturing. It allows Ursa Major to speed up engine production and apply improvements gleaned from testing in real time, lowering costs and speeding through the development cycle.”

Additive manufacturing is used in all three Ursa Major rocket engine programs: the Hadley, a 5,000 pound thrust, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine used in small launch and hypersonics; Ripley, a 50,000

pound thrust engine; and the recently announced Arroway, a 200,000 pound thrust engine designed for medium and heavy launch.

Ursa Major is scheduled to deliver 30 rocket engines in total by the end of the year. Speaking about the frequency with which Ursa Major can deliver for its customers, Pomorski concluded: “3D printing lets Ursa Major bring high-performing rocket propulsion to market for its customers in months, not years. Once in production, Ursa Major can build about two engines in a week. In fact, we were recently able to deliver three engines in one week.”

Oliver Johnson speaks to Ursa Major about the application of copper for rocket engines.

“3D printing is one of the reasons why Ursa Major exists.”

SHOWN: URSA MAJOR ENGINE DURING TESTING

SHOWN: THE FACILITY IS BASED IN THE YOUNGSTOWN BUSINESS INCUBATOR

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

Privileges:

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

SME Helps Advance AM Community

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

IIt’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

n May, I was honored to open RAPID + TCT, North America’s largest and most influential additive manufac turing event, in front of thousands of in-person attendees and an expanded digital audience. The attendees included top AM experts, many of whom are also members of SME that I represent daily as senior director of membership.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17 19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s mar quee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

SME members are provided with invaluable connec tions to industry peers, trusted knowledge and resources, solutions to the industry’s most pressing AM issues, and career-enhancing opportunities. In fact, I’m proud to say our organization has played a pioneering role in shaping the conversation about additive manufacturing and recognizes the importance of introducing the next generation of talent to the vast universe AM has to offer.

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17 19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s mar quee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

During RAPID + TCT, it was clear that women have an im portant seat—and a growing platform—at the AM table. This was demonstrated with the introduction of SME’s partnership with Women in 3D Printing and keynote presentations from SME President Dianne Chong (SME’s 90th president and 25year member of the organization), as well as Barbara Hump ton, president and CEO of Siemens Corp., who highlighted how AM is helping to localize more production, increase resiliency, and inspire a new generation of industry leaders.

In 2023, we will expand SME Membership’s involvement at RAPID + TCT, bring new AM virtual programming to the industry produced by the SME member-led AM Community, and contin ue to focus on the growth of diversity within this sector.

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

One of the programs SME Membership introduced at RAPID + TCT was the Bright Minds College Student Experience, during which hundreds of students participated and discovered everything they need to know about emerging 3D technologies. They viewed hightech manufacturing demonstrations; participated in an invitation-only presentation with Brian Baughman, chief engineer at Honeywell Aerospace; connected with colleges and universities with robust engineering programs; and explored opportunities with leading global companies hiring in the AM field. Through early engagement with students, SME creates a path to learn, grow, and explore the AM industry’s many opportunities.

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufac turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met al AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufac turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met al AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the com pany’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the com pany’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

This edition of Voices AMplified features Dr. Ellen Lee, an AM expert and SME member. Lee, a chemical engineer by trade, is putting her vast expertise in materials science to use as the technical leader of Ford Motor Co.’s additive research team to help the automaker develop innovative 3D-printing applications. She also is working with other industry leaders to identify and close technical and communications “gaps” to help AM reach its full potential.

The second feature spotlights Velo3D, a participant of the Bright Minds college experience program that provides stu dents with greater access and opportunity within the industry. The team at Velo3D won this year’s Aubin AM Case Study Award for its work with IMI Critical Engineering.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

I hope you enjoy their stories!

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities

SME

Sheronda Carr Senior Director of Membership SME

Creating Value

Paging Dr. O

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

Olga Ivanova has 3D-printed plenty of interest ing parts during her time in manufacturing.

Rocket nozzles. Turbine blades and impel lers. Neonatal tracheostomy tubes. There are more, which we’ll get to in a moment, but to Star Wars fans, it’s the Static Dissipative Yoda that’s most intriguing.

Imagine the look on Henry Ford’s face if he walked into one of his factories today. Now try imagining his reaction if he toured the 3D-printing area. After peeking into the build chambers and seeing the products that emerge from them, the old mechanic would undoubtedly approve. He would also approve of Dr. Ellen Lee’s work at Ford Motor Co.’s research lab in Dearborn, Mich., where she and her team are continually searching for novel ways to utilize additive manufacturing at the 119-year-old automaker.

“We printed a bunch of Yoda and Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) figurines for high school students who visited our facility recently,” said Ivanova, director of technology at Mechnano, an additive manufacturing materials

developer near Phoenix. “It’s our way of getting young people interested in additive manufacturing.”

Padawan Learning

“Our intent is to use additive technology in all its many forms wherever it can create value for the company,” Lee said. “That currently includes prototyping, tooling, and other traditional AM uses, but what our research team is focused on is how we can use it for volume-production applications.”

Decades of Service

Lee serves as the technical leader for Ford’s Additive Manufacturing Research team. She’s done so since 2015,

She’s quick to point out that those educational give aways were made of a gray-colored base resin, not the more expensive static dissipative material (which is black) that she spends much of each day working with—and yes, which she occasionally uses to print Yodas that are just as resistant to electrical charge as they are to the Dark Side of the Force.

From 3D-printed figurines for students to “quantum dots” and nanocomposites, Olga Ivanova is a force to be reckoned with in the AM universe

Although their movie counterparts possess awesome superpowers, the 3D-printed Baby Yodas (at left) and Groots (right) that Olga Ivanova gave to visiting high school students are unable to do so much as dissipate electrical charge--but they’re still very popular with the kids.

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

Ellen Lee steers automaking in new directions with additive manufacturing

Dr. Ellen Lee Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee Advisor

Ford Motor Co.

Dr. Ellen Lee, technical leader for Ford’s Additive Manufacturing Research team, has 24 years of service with the automaker.

Voices AMplified

about the technology and eventually launched a research program focused on polymer AM development, which grew to include metals.”

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

building on her past positions as a technical specialist in plastics research and then team lead for that group. In all, Lee has spent 24 years with the automaker. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University’s bachelor’s program in chemical engineering, then earned her doctorate in the same subject at the University of California, Berkeley. She also was an adjunct professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, where she taught a graduate-level course in polymer solutions.

Simply put, Lee knows plastics. A quick review of her curriculum vitae will tell you she also knows nanomateri als, fiber-reinforced composites, supercritical fluid polymer processing, and more fundamental aspects such as “sin gle-chain polymer dynamics in steady-state flow conditions.”

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities SME

Suzy Marzano

Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

That introduction came care of Harold Sears, Ford’s technical leader for additive manufacturing technologies at the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Mich., one of five facilities worldwide at which Ford builds AM parts. Knowing of Lee’s extensive experience with polymers, along with some projects she’d led on materi al sustainability, Sears asked her for help finding ways to reduce, recycle, and reprocess the large amounts of waste powder he and his team were generating in what was then a prototyping-only facility.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

And now, thanks to her involvement in all things additive, Lee is becoming quite knowledgeable on metals as well.

“Soon after my first introduction to additive manufac turing, I saw a big opportunity to expand its potential use cases,” said Lee. “I started learning as much as possible

Closing the Gaps

Lee was intrigued by the challenge, and the more she learned about AM, the more she wanted to learn. She soon found herself in charge of a dedicated research program at

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17 19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s mar quee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufac turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met al AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the com pany’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries,

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified.

Widely used for automotive high-performance racing components like the manifold shown here, additive manufacturing is gradually making its way into production vehicles.

Automation will play a crucial role in taking additive manufacturing from a prototype and low-volume process to one that can support automotive production levels.

Ford, where she and her team develop AM strategies and technical roadmaps for materials, as well as finding appli cations that will create value for the automaker. And, yes, they’ve discovered innovative ways to utilize spent powder more effectively.

Paging Dr.

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

“Our responsibility is to support the company with deep expertise on the various AM technologies used at Ford,” Lee said. “If the production area has questions that require a higher level of understanding, we’re here to help. Similarly, if a technology emerges that might benefit the enterprise in some way, we’ll investigate it, identify materials and pro cesses that might require additional development work, and see if it makes sense to invest in further research. We have a long-term, far-reaching focus, one that extends out over the next decade or longer.”

O“Consider our current design tools,” she said. “Software de velopers in the industry have done a good job with generative design and topology optimization for AM to inform the idealized placement of material to meet the part’s geometry constraints and functional requirements, but what’s missing is to do so in a way that accounts for anisotropies encountered during the build process, as well as for maximizing printing throughput.”

Working Toward True 3D

Olga Ivanova has 3D-printed plenty of interest ing parts during her time in manufacturing.

Rocket nozzles. Turbine blades and impel lers. Neonatal tracheostomy tubes. There are more, which we’ll get to in a moment, but to Star Wars fans, it’s the Static Dissipative Yoda that’s most intriguing.

“We printed a bunch of Yoda and Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) figurines for high school students who visited our facility recently,” said Ivanova, director of technology at Mechnano, an additive manufacturing materials

During her time as technical team lead and before, Lee has also discovered that AM has numerous “gaps,” and Ford, working with external providers, is on a mission to close as many of them as possible.

developer near Phoenix. “It’s our way of getting young people interested in additive manufacturing.”

With that comes the need for better build simulations. Lee explained that today’s product designers put their best foot forward, print a few sample parts, and evaluate the physical results, often building multiple iterations until arriving at the final, optimized design. It’s a time-consuming process, she noted, suggesting that “rapid prototyping” would be much faster if manufacturers could make such iterations in an en tirely digital manner. “We need CAE tools able to accurately predict the build process as well as the performance of the printed parts afterward.”

Padawan Learning She’s quick to point out that those educational give aways were made of a gray-colored base resin, not the more expensive static dissipative material (which is black) that she spends much of each day working with—and yes, which she occasionally uses to print Yodas that are just as resistant to electrical charge as they are to the Dark Side of the Force.

From 3D-printed figurines for students to “quantum dots” and nanocomposites, Olga Ivanova is a force to be reckoned with in the AM universe

Olga Ivanova Master networker

RAPID + TCT Director of Technology Mechnano

Although their movie counterparts possess awesome superpowers, the 3D-printed Baby Yodas (at left) and Groots (right) that Olga Ivanova gave to visiting high school students are unable to do so much as dissipate electrical charge--but they’re still very popular with the kids.

Voices AMplified

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

set of tools in the manufacturing toolbox—and must therefore “play nice” with its counterparts. To this end, industry needs to do a better job of integrating it into factories and produc tion floors.

Suzy Marzano

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

Lee said this capability will be especially important as more equipment manufacturers move away from the current horizontal layer printing approach in favor of multi-axis depo sition, as seen in hybrid additive five-axis machining centers and robotic 3D printers, an increasing number of which print polymers. This evolution will open even more doors to automotive engineers at Ford and elsewhere, provided they can design for the process, ef ficiently generate the required toolpaths, and then simulate the build as just described.

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

“As with machining, casting, and plastic injection molding, you have to design for 3D printing’s manufacturing constraints,” Lee said. “So how do you make sure that a part is printable when you’re simultaneously moving both the print platform and deposition head in multiple axes, while also trying to meet the part’s packaging and performance constraints? I don’t think the right software tools exist yet to master what some are now referring to as ‘true’ 3D printing.”

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17 19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s mar quee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17 19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s mar quee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Communication is another gap. In the early days of additive, some predicted it would eventually replace many traditional technologies. Now we know that it’s just another

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufac turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met al AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the com pany’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

For example, AM must communicate with ERP (enter prise resource planning) and MES (manufacturing execution systems), and be easier to au tomate. Above all, a common language is needed.

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities SME

Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities

“We have so many different providers right now in the additive space and there’s still no widely accepted standard language or file exchange format,” Lee said. “Because of that, communication between them and all the other manufacturing tools in use today is still relatively difficult.”

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

Difficult or not, Lee and her colleagues are making it work. Ford has invested in multiple AM technologies: metal and plastic powder bed, vat photopolymerization, material extru sion, and binder jet among them. As you might expect, these are used for the usual suspects, such as design development and functional prototyping.

In addition, Lee and her research team are interested in where additive can lend value to the factory floor, for potential production of warranty and service parts, and 3D printing of low-volume custom components. The Holy Grail of AM, though, is scalability toward “automotive level” quantities, what Lee calls “serious production” of vehicle parts.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

Conquering Variability

Before that can happen, re searchers must continue making headway on another requirement: eliminating process variability.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Granted, it’s a goal shared by all who make parts for a living, but— thanks to 3D printing’s relative im maturity—is of particular concern for those in the AM community.

While conceding that she hasn’t evaluated the entire universe of printer and material combinations,

“Our responsibility is to support the company with deep expertise on the various AM technologies used at Ford.” — Ellen Lee

This parking brake bracket was produced on one of Ford’s Carbon 3D printers.

Although their movie counterparts possess awesome superpowers, the 3D-printed Baby Yodas (at left) and Groots (right) that Olga Ivanova gave to visiting high school students are unable to do so much as dissipate electrical charge--but they’re still very

Lee places a sizable share of this variability at the feet of 3D-printer manufacturers. She also emphasized that any who wish to scale their technologies to automotive production lev els must do all they can to make their systems as predictable and repeatable as possible.

But the burden of variability reduction also falls on the shoulders of Lee and others with a background in chemis try and materials science. “With powder-bed printing, for example, the particles must be of a specific size and shape if you’re to achieve consistent part quality,” she said. “These and other variables are very dependent on the type of mate rial, the supplier, and what steps they used to make it, but all have an impact on the final product.”

Another critical variable is how much time the feedstock spends in the printer. Lee pointed to a material with some admirable qualities in its virgin form, PA12 nylon, making it one of the most commonly used polymers in selective laser sintering (SLS) powder bed systems. But because each workpiece consumes only a small percentage of the total material contained within the build box, the powder that remains behind must endure repeated heating and cooling cycles, changing its microstructure and mechani cal properties.

More Materials, Improved Methods

This situation is exacerbated by the relative shortage of qualified 3D-printing materials. Where plastic injection molders

Paging

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

First edition owners of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E received one of these 3D-printed wireframe sculptures.

have literally thousands of different chemical compositions to choose from, additive manufacturers have only a few handfuls, many developed to support prototyping rather than functional, end-use products.

The scarcity of materials that meet the automotive world’s stringent requirements further narrows the field. Engineer ing grade polymers such as PEEK and Ultem, for instance, boast some excellent physical properties but are far too expensive for most vehicle components. Similarly, titanium, cobalt-chrome, and nickel-base super-alloys are great for medical and aerospace uses but are both costly and difficult to machine, the latter of which is a requirement for virtually all 3D-printed metal parts.

The challenge, she said, is the development of materials that meet the wide range of AM applications, followed by standards that govern their use. Referencing her early days with 3D printing and attempting to meet Harold Sears’ re duce, recycle, or reprocess challenge, she’s found it possible to conquer at least some portion of part variability through robust print management.

Olga Ivanova Master networker

Olers. Neonatal tracheostomy tubes. There are more, which we’ll get to in a moment, but to Star Wars fans, it’s the Static Dissipative Yoda that’s most intriguing.

“We printed a bunch of Yoda and Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) figurines for high school students who visited our facility recently,” said Ivanova, director of technology at Mechnano, an additive manufacturing materials

developer near Phoenix. “It’s our way of getting young people interested in additive manufacturing.”

“If you develop standards for monitoring feedstock usage and therefore controlling their replenishment cycles, you will not only achieve better utilization but also realize improved quality in the finished components,” Lee asserted. “That’s our mission here. We obviously care about producing the best vehicles available, but just as important is to make them affordable to the masses. We see additive manufacturing playing a big role in that going forward.”

Padawan Learning

She’s quick to point out that those educational give aways were made of a gray-colored base resin, not the more expensive static dissipative material (which is black) that she spends much of each day working with—and yes, which she occasionally uses to print Yodas that are just as resistant to electrical charge as they are to the Dark Side of the Force.

It’s a familiar strategy, dating back to the automaker’s ori gins and Henry Ford’s dictum to build affordable cars for the “great multitude... constructed of the best materials.” While he may not recognize the technology, the Ford patriarch cer tainly would be proud of AM’s continued innovation and Lee’s ingenuity in developing new applications.

From 3D-printed figurines for students to “quantum dots” and nanocomposites, Olga Ivanova is a force to be reckoned with in the AM universe

RAPID + TCT Director of Technology Mechnano

Dr. Ellen Lee, technical leader for Ford’s Additive Manufac turing Research team, discusses some 3D-printed compo nents with a colleague.

Voices AMplified

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held May 17 19 in Detroit, is proof positive as to how far AM has come in recent years. The 31st edition of the industry’s mar quee event featured more than 400 exhibitors, hundreds of speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities

networking opportunities, and attendees from 38 countries.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and

Some of the 3D-printed components to come out of the IMI Critical Engineering project with Velo3D, shown here after machining.

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

The AM community took center stage throughout the show. This includes the passing of the baton in two key leadership positions. John Barnes assumed the chair of the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee, succeeding Christopher Williams; and Sarah Rimini now chairs the Medical AM Advisory Committee, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and Amy, who provided exemplary leadership and vision during their tenures, and welcome their replacements.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

Award Worthy

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufac turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met al AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

John, who heads The Barnes Global Advisors and Metal Powder Works, has been involved in metal additive manufac turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met al AM parts, and developed a pilot metal production facility.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the com pany’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

As senior manager of Ricoh’s Healthcare Center of Excellence, Sarah is developing a curriculum for the com pany’s Learning Institute that focuses on medical managed

The additive manufacturing industry has no short age of pioneers and notable contributors. One of these was Richard Aubin, a United Technologies/ Pratt and Whitney engineer who once beta-tested a novel technology known as stereolithography (SLA) from a small startup firm, 3D Systems. The year was 1988, and within four years, Aubin and his team would be among the first to also try fused-deposition modeling (FDM) from Stratasys Ltd. and selective laser sintering (SLS) from DTM Corp.

Dozens of papers and years of research followed, during which Aubin was named manager of rapid manufacturing at the United Technologies Research Center. He also chaired the National Science Foundation’s Rapid Mold Tooling Consortia and became a founding member of the Rapid Prototyping Association of SME (RPA/SME). In one early publication, Aubin said manufacturers that continue their stubborn adherence to traditional prototyping methods are like frogs placed

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities

SME

Voices

Velo3D takes home the prestigious Aubin AM Case Study Award for its work with IMI Critical Engineering.

Benny Buller

Aubin AM Case Study Award Winner

Founder & CEO, Velo3D

SME

in a pan of cold water; he noted that, unless they began embracing this new thing called 3D printing, they would likely suffer the “Boiled Frog Phenomenon.”

Sadly, Aubin isn’t here to see how many manufacturers avoided this unfortunate result; he died just five years later in 1997. Yet a small piece of his legacy lives on. The Aubin AM Case Study Award from SME recognizes exceptional examples of additive adoption and implementation, while inspiring others to continue in his footsteps.

investment costs and time required to design and build O&G facilities, there’s often neither the opportunity nor willing ness to explore newer technologies. This sets up a cycle of less-than-optimal reliability and eventual equipment failure, followed by repair with decades-old componentry, all sup ported by the expensive, bloated inventories necessary to keep legacy platforms running.

A Collaborative Effort

Velo3D founder and CEO Benny Buller, together with his team in Campbell, Calif., are doing just that. A joint case study, “Laying the Ground work for Industrial 3D-Printed Parts in Oil & Gas Appli cations,” documents their work with global flow-control solution provider IMI Critical Engineering, and earned them the Aubin prize over dozens of competing entries.

Paging Dr. O

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

The paper starts by de scribing a few of the oil and gas (O&G) industry’s many challenges. For instance, the operating pressures and tem peratures on O&G platforms are extremely hard on drilling, pumping, and control equip ment, making component failures inevitable. And because lead times are typically quite long for replacement parts, with many of them no longer available from the OEM, facility op erators must maintain a large supply of components, driving up costs. Having to expedite emergency parts from central warehouses to the middle of the Arctic or 50 miles offshore only adds to the challenge; failure to do so, however, could lead to a hugely expensive shutdown.

A 3D-printed manifold made of Scalmalloy, a high-strength aluminum-magnesium alloy that contains a trace amount of the rare earth element scandium.

IMI Critical Engineering’s O&G customers are painfully aware of this. The Birmingham, U.K.-based company designs, manufactures, and installs a broad array of valves and actuators for this demanding industry and many others, including power generation, metal production, and petro chemical processing. Some of these solutions are custom designed to meet specific operating requirements—to gether with the need for rapid replacement of legacy compo nents, it’s easy to see why IMI decided more than eight years ago to invest in metal additive manufacturing.

What Came Before

Olga Ivanova has 3D-printed plenty of interest ing parts during her time in manufacturing.

Rocket nozzles. Turbine blades and impel lers. Neonatal tracheostomy tubes. There are more, which we’ll get to in a moment, but to Star Wars fans, it’s the Static Dissipative Yoda that’s most intriguing.

“We printed a bunch of Yoda and Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) figurines for high school students who visited our facility recently,” said Ivanova, director of technology at Mechnano, an additive manufacturing materials

And yet, the situation is even more challenging. As in many industries, today’s metals, electronics, and engineer ing capabilities are superior to those used when many of these platforms were first deployed. But due to the massive

There’s no need to rehash the case study and resulting Aubin award, except to say that the flow-control provider needed more than it was get ting from existing 3D printers. Those interested in the details can download the case study from the Velo3D website. There you’ll find information on design optimization, multistage flow paths, and choke-valve cages 3D printed from Inconel 718.

Olga Ivanova Master networker

developer near Phoenix. “It’s our way of getting young people interested in additive manufacturing.”

What readers won’t find is the story of Benny Buller and his company’s evolution. Though he might not have started at the kitchen table like Scott Crump of Stratasys, building plas tic toys for his daughter with a hot glue gun, Buller has con tinued to raise the bar on what’s possible with AM, taking his company from an early vision of “support-free” 3D printing to a publicly traded manufacturer of “end-to-end metal additive

Padawan Learning She’s quick to point out that those educational give aways were made of a gray-colored base resin, not the more expensive static dissipative material (which is black) that she spends much of each day working with—and yes, which she occasionally uses to print Yodas that are just as resistant to electrical charge as they are to the Dark Side of the Force.

Although their movie counterparts possess awesome superpowers, the 3D-printed Baby Yodas (at left) and Groots (right) that Olga Ivanova gave to visiting high school students are unable to do so much as dissipate electrical charge--but they’re still very September 2022 | sme.org 65

From 3D-printed figurines for students to “quantum dots” and nanocomposites, Olga Ivanova is a force to be reckoned with in the AM universe

RAPID + TCT Director of Technology Mechnano

Voices AMplified

manufacturing solutions” with more than 200 employees, dozens of customers in the aerospace, energy, and medical industries, and a growing global presence.

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

Ironically, Buller once vowed to never invest in metal 3D printing. “After many years in the semiconductor industry, I spent some time in the investment community and heard sto ries about how 3D printing was this great technology that you could make whatever you need, and the only thing that needs to improve is the cost,” said Buller. “However, I knew from previous experience that when you’re in a race to reduce cost, it’s a race to the bottom. No one wins.”

AM Community Shows Off at RAPID + TCT

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

Buller changed his mind after investing in a rocket com pany with some “very innovative designs” of parts they’d intended to produce via metal 3D printing, only to find the results were unmanufacturable. Using DfAM (design for additive manufacturing) techniques, they eventually mod ified their designs to accommodate existing 3D-printing

It’s official. Additive Manufacturing is thriving and con tinues to gain momentum with successes across di verse applications. In addition to ongoing technology advances, AM’s growth is fueled by a host of engaged companies, organizations, and dedicated professionals, all of whom are energized and passionate about developing, implementing—and sharing—new ideas and best practic es throughout a collaborative community of innovators.

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall

3D-printing services. At RAPID + TCT, she moderated a panel discussion on 3D printing for point-of-care medical applica tions. The panel was one of several during a special town hall hosted by the Medical AM Advisory Team.

A 3D-printed reaction control system for the Artemi rocket as manufactured in a Velo3D AM system by Aerojet Rocketdyne.

technologies, but at the cost of lower performance. Buller decided to do something about it.

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

Other highlights included the winners of the 2022 SME Additive Manufacturing Community Awards: Slade Gard ner, founder of Big Metal Additive (Industry Achievement); VELO3D and IMI Critical Engineering (Aubin AM Case Study); and Virginia Tech students Daniel Chirvasuta, Nathanael High, Matthew Martin, Benjamin Nguyen, Omkar Shinde, and Nicolas Tomanelli (Digital Manufacturing Challenge).

“I asked myself, ‘What if we could solve that? What if we could eliminate these design and manufacturing con straints?’ I knew that it would completely disrupt 3D print ing, but at the same time, many told me it was completely impossible. This combination of disruptive and impossible challenged me, so I decided to commit the next decade of my life to solving the problem.”

A Matter of Trust

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

To help foster the next generation of innovators, the SME Education Foundation’s Bright Minds Program welcomed nearly 1,000 middle and high school students to RAPID + TCT. There also was a special networking lunch for young profes sionals and a Career Forum Panel. The initiative is led by Ellen Lee and Jennifer Coyne, who are both advisors on the Additive Manufacturing Technical Community Leadership Committee.

succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that

The recent RAPID + TCT conference, which was held speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions, succeeding Amy Alexander. I’d like to thank Christopher and turing throughout a distinguished career. He’s led teams that qualified the aerospace industry’s first series production met

It was Buller’s background in semiconductor manufactur ing with its rigorous quality standards that brought him to the solution known today as the Sapphire family of printers. And while he’s happy to explain the many proprietary technolo gies that have made his company successful—among them a non-contact recoater system, powder bed height mapping, stringent control of laser parameters and the atmosphere within the build chamber, and software systems that help streamline the build process—Buller also has plenty to say about the industry’s many challenges and foreseeable future.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

SME Media also interviewed dozens of AM leaders during RAPID + TCT as part of its Voices AMplified initiative that showcases the people behind the technology. This month’s Voices AMplified report profiles two such visionaries: Olga Ivanova and Carl Dekker. Known as “Dr. O,” Olga has worked on innovative projects for the medical and defense industries, and is a tireless crusader for advancing AM.

“There’s much more to additive manufacturing than the technology,” he said. “We and other manufacturers have done a good job in this respect and will continue to do more. But you also need institutional trust in the metal 3D-printing process and the components it produces. Trust and tech nology must work in tandem if you’re to achieve the higher levels of success needed to move the industry forward.”

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl puts the emphasis on people. He leads a talented team at Met-L-Flo, which produces a wide range of 3D-printed prod ucts. He also chairs the Direct Digital Manufacturing Advisory Team and moderated a panel at RAPID + TCT.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Carl and Olga represent the spirit behind Voices AMplified. I hope you enjoy their stories.

Much of this trust will come from the establishment of accepted and well-documented manufacturing standards.

speakers and expert panelists, dozens of technical sessions,

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities SME

Suzy Marzano Senior Manager Industry Development and Technical Activities SME

Velo3D’s Zach Walton (left) recieves the Aubin AM Case Study award from Chris Williams of Virginia Tech.

That’s according to Zach Walton, director of energy solutions for Velo3D, who worked closely on the project with IMI Criti cal and was named several times in the case study. He point ed to the American Petroleum Institute’s API Standard 20S, “Additively Manufactured Metallic Components for Use in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries,” as one example, and a crucial first step toward widespread adoption of metal AM in this and similar applications.

Paging Dr. O

Kip Hanson Contributing Editor

“Industry standards are going to open more conversations about what additive can do and, ultimately, will create even more trust in the manufacturing process and the technology behind it,” said Walton. “The aerospace industry has led the pack on this and made some excellent progress, but we’re now seeing greater interest from other areas, oil and gas included.”

Olga Ivanova has 3D-printed plenty of interest ing parts during her time in manufacturing.

Rocket nozzles. Turbine blades and impel lers. Neonatal tracheostomy tubes. There are more, which we’ll get to in a moment, but to Star Wars fans, it’s the Static Dissipative Yoda that’s most intriguing.

“We printed a bunch of Yoda and Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy) figurines for high school students who visited our facility recently,” said Ivanova, director of technology at Mechnano, an additive manufacturing materials

The Coming Transformation Education will also play an important role. Walton noted that IMI Critical used metal 3D printers even before Benny Buller started building them. He suggested the recent project may have introduced the manufacturer to design freedoms they were missing previously, but they came to the table with extensive AM experience. Not so with many late-stage

adopters, which is why he and his colleagues at Velo3D are committed to making 3D printing and part design as straight forward as possible.

Said Walton, “That means continuing to simplify the process, refining the different pieces of our solution, and as sisting with part and material qualification wherever we can— all of these things will make it easier for the next generation of companies to adopt additive manufacturing, which will ultimately transform their businesses.”

developer near Phoenix. “It’s our way of getting young people interested in additive manufacturing.”

Buller agreed, but added that AM will also transform the supply chain. “We’ve seen that many OEMs do not wish to become vertically integrated,” he said. “They just want to work with a contract manufacturer that can deliver parts—3D print ed or otherwise—at scale, on time, with quality and culpability. Achieving this will require the democratization of additive man ufacturing, with a greater number of skilled, localized suppliers who can produce parts consistently and accurately.

Padawan Learning

She’s quick to point out that those educational give aways were made of a gray-colored base resin, not the more expensive static dissipative material (which is black) that she spends much of each day working with—and yes, which she occasionally uses to print Yodas that are just as resistant to electrical charge as they are to the Dark Side of the Force.

“Once that’s in place,” he continued, “the industry will enjoy a newfound ability to shorten development cycles and provide products that offer greater performance than was previously possible, at a fraction of the time and cost, thereby accelerating innovation in this business.”

From 3D-printed figurines for students to “quantum dots” and nanocomposites, Olga Ivanova is a force to be reckoned with in the AM universe

Olga Ivanova Master networker

RAPID + TCT Director of Technology Mechnano

Although their movie counterparts possess awesome superpowers, the 3D-printed Baby Yodas (at left) and Groots (right) that Olga Ivanova gave to visiting high school students are unable to do so much as dissipate electrical charge--but they’re still very popular with the kids.

A future hypersonics spacecraft (image courtesy Second Bay Studios) for which Purdue University is researching the resilience of Velo3D AM parts in hypersonic-equivalent ground testing.

North America’s largest and most influential Additive Manufacturing event.

IF TRUTH BE TOLD

No. Not really. Absolutely not. These were the pointed answers to a pointed question: Would you consider the additive manufacturing (AM) industry a safe and welcoming space for Black people and people of color?

This question was not part of an in-depth survey, nor does this article rely heavily on statistics. Instead, it brings forth the personal accounts of a select few people who have worked in the industry for several years and were willing to share their experiences. Because, while we could ask this question to every Black person and person of color in the industry, that even one single person could feel this way about their professional environment is reason enough for a conversation to be had.

During his interview for this feature, Vivek Krishnamurthy paused to caveat that everything he had said and was about to

say should be framed in the context that he loves the AM industry – several others expressed similar feelings. He feels very grateful towards AM since it is the place in which he finally realized what he wanted to do with his career. Today, he is the Sr. Business Development Manager at Sakuu, but he has worked in 3D printing for several other leading brands and enjoyed those eight years – for the most part.

“I only want to bring these things to light because I love this industry and I care about it,” Krishnamurthy told TCT. “I want people younger than me to have a better experience.”

Krishnamurthy is a first-generation American, born and raised in the Northeast US. At various points of his personal and professional life he feels he has been made to feel like an outsider. During his time in the AM industry, some peers have refused to attempt to pronounce his surname, asked him where he is ‘really’ from and what his nationality is.

But none of that has shaken his pride in being an American nor distorted his perception of the value that he, and those with similar backgrounds to him, bring to the country he calls home.

“Immigration is the backbone of the Western World,” he said. “It’s what helped push entire economies forward; the dream of having a better life. My father came to the US in the mid-60s with nothing but six dollars in his pocket and a dream. His contributions to science are immeasurable and I am his legacy. That’s what I believe immigration should be associated with in my opinion.”

“We are working on the most cutting-edge technology,” SJ Jones, a metal AM engineer, said in their assessment of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in AM. “We’re probably one of the technologies that are as close to magic as we’re ever going to get. So, when you have that much power, you have a responsibility to all groups and to all people.”

AM professionals on the DE&I landscape as it pertains to Black people & people of color in 3D printing.

WORDS: SAM DAVIES

“Having perspectives from different areas of the world helps connect parts of the world that otherwise may not connect,” Krishnamurthy added. “It is my belief that collaboration fosters the exchange of ideas and the formulation of newer and better ones. So, when you add in people coming from diverse backgrounds, there is a multiplier effect.”

The same can be said of people of different genders, race, and socioeconomic backgrounds – anyone who might think differently and bring alternative perspectives. And where better to share the ideas born from that different lived experience than in formal team meetings? Except, this is another setting where people are made to feel like they can’t be their true selves. Jones says they often find themselves holding back on emotion or passion in meetings, so as not to be judged against the ‘angry black woman’ stereotype – a source of much frustration for Lisa Block, the most recent addition to Women in 3D Printing’s Board.

“Meetings are where the passion should be, meetings are where we express the ideas that further the company,” Block said. “But I don’t think we should detract from everyone feeling that they can express their true feelings in a meeting without consequence, and we have not gotten to that place just yet. There is a perception that if a black woman elevates her voice at all, if she does not agree with you, that she’s confrontational, she’s being argumentative. Well, she may just be telling you the truth about something, and you’re not prepared to hear it. That’s a real reality of our time now. We’ve got a whole lot of truth that we’re not prepared to hear, we’re not prepared to deal with. It’s like, I want you to be seen, I want you to feel accepted, but don’t be transparent about your experiences because that says something about me and I’m not ready to deal with me.”

“It’s got to get worse before it gets better,” Jones emphasised, “because people who were doing wrong or people who are creating these toxic spaces are not just going to wake up tomorrow and be like, ‘oh my God, I was toxic, I’m so sorry.’ That’s not going to happen. People will go kicking and screaming into the truth.”

“When we innovate, we do things a specific way until technology proceeds us and says, ‘there’s something better, there’s a bigger way to do this,’ and then we evolve,” Block added. “But humanity has not made that evolution possible. We are so upset that the authority figures in our lives possibly could not have informed us in the correct

way that we say to go against them is to go against who I am, and I can’t do that. If I had any problem with race or gender or creed or anything like that, it would be that it’s the only environment in which we’re willing to operate on absolutely archaic technology. It’s the only area of our life we’re willing to stop advancing.”

While changes to the culture won’t happen overnight, and to some extent are out of the control of those speaking passionately about the experiences of Black people and people of color in industries such as AM, there are efforts that can be made and are being made.

In August, the Greater Than Tech (GTT) initiative set up by Jasmine LeFlore and Dr Brittany Wheeler coordinated a ‘Girl Meets Additive Manufacturing’ program, which was designed to expose underserved high school students to a blend of engineering and business. During the four-day workshop, the students were taught how to use CAD, learned about the costs associated with AM versus traditional manufacturing, and were tasked with pitching their designs. They also took in presentations from industry experts and participated in a facility tour of a GTT partner organization.

The intention of GTT’s ‘Girl Meets…’ programs are to ‘make the uncommon common' by introducing young women of color to STEM and entrepreneurship, emphasizing that careers in these fields are possible. Partnerships with the likes of Collins Aerospace, where there may be future apprenticeship opportunities, will go some way to providing a pathway for students to become engineers and business leaders.

But right now, there isn’t a clear enough route for people of certain backgrounds to make it, and LeFlore has ideas as to why.

“I think a lot of opportunities come into play based on, I’ll say, affinity bias, where if you’re familiar to me and you remind me of myself, I’m more likely to give you an opportunity than someone else,” she said. “This is something that plays out often in the workplace […] and I think if we have more leaders who understand the journey of what it’s like being a woman in STEM or a woman of color in STEM, so on and so forth, we will be able to have better equitable opportunities because everyone isn’t able to start with the same tools to learn. The more we realize and recognize that, the [more] we will have people get into positions of power and being decisionmakers to help others.”

GTT is not alone in contributing to these efforts, with several other organizations working to give young people access to STEM education, specifically targeting underserved communities and occasionally focusing on AM. There are also those like Women in 3D Printing and Black Women in Science and Engineering (BWISE) which allow underrepresented groups to connect and network, while the annual TIPE Conference platforms a diverse range of speakers in AM. Xometry, meanwhile, has established a scholarship scheme with Howard University, a Historically Black College and University.

But for all these efforts, there are still barriers to break down from within AM. Left out, excluded, and unwelcome is how Black people and people of color in this industry often feel. Some can’t help but feel isolated when they walk a trade show floor, others feel marginalized because their parents are immigrants, and there have been instances where people are confronted with surprise when they deliver their words in ‘wellspoken’ English.

Whether it’s outright discrimination, veiled racism or cases of ignorance, there is enough hostility and ostracism to make people – who are sufficiently qualified and care just as much as anyone else about additive – feel like they don’t belong.

It is one thing to build the pipeline, but it is another to foster a culture that maintains a diverse range of talent. Some fear AM, like other STEM industries, isn’t doing that well enough.

Detoxifying spaces within AM is the responsibility of each of us occupying a position in the industry. Like any other, this industry’s culture is made up of the thousands of individual attitudes and values each person brings to the table,

“When you have that much power, you have a responsibility to all groups and to all people.”

with simple actions like including colleagues in conversations and not making crude jokes at their expense going a long way to making people feel welcome.

Addressing such behaviour is not a big ask but is of big significance. To varying degrees, everybody working within AM believes the technology has vast potential. But to reach that potential, studies would suggest a need for input from a broad range of perspectives.

“AM, even as a concept, is so beautiful,” Mina Lee, Manager of People and Culture at MakerBot, said. “You’re literally making something by adding layers and layers and layers until it’s this final product. And I think having that diversity and inclusion and having diverse voices should also be in that DNA. You’re layering people’s experiences. You hear all the time about how lack of diversity in test groups leads to very racially complicated things, so you see these gaps that end up making a product in tech that is not inclusive. You decrease the amount of disparity by increasing the levels of diversity and diverse thought and diverse experiences. Having that adds more to the innovation and will only propel us to the future in creating incredibly innovative technologies.”

“A lot of start-ups fail because of the founding team because there’s no dissonance, there’s no diversity of thought, whether that’s background or race, things that make people different,” Makelab CEO Christina Perla analogized. “You see companies go down because every single founder came through the exact same school at the same time. In fact, they were roommates. That can be problematic because you fall into that level of comfort. And comfort can be a killer of a lot of things, including culture. It’s something you always need to stay on top of and be cognisant of, you always need to make an effort towards it. It’s more about the actions you don’t take rather than the actions you do take. The key to a successful future of this industry [is] diversity of thought. We just need it.”

In her role as Manager of People and Culture at MakerBot, it is within Lee’s remit to source talent to come and work with MakerBot. She accepts committing to providing a diverse range of people with the opportunity to work for a technology brand such as MakerBot requires a lot of time and bandwidth,

but she does believe there are smart ways to factor in this requirement when recruiting. Lee uses a saved search on LinkedIn which presents alumni from HBCUs and women's universities when she is struggling to find diverse talent on an unfiltered LinkedIn search. Perla, meanwhile, is seeing the value of looking outside of the AM space in MakeLab’s search for a new member of its leadership team. While CVs have come in from fellow 3D printing brands, she is finding a more diverse pool of talent – and potentially thought – in the managers serving tech conglomerates and food and beverage franchises.

Internally at MakerBot, Lee is committed to outlining career pathing and career development for all employees, but the same opportunity needs applying to everyone everywhere.

Krishnamurthy, Jones, Block, LeFlore, Lee, and Perla all share a passion to usher in a more diverse cohort and see them thrive with less of the prejudice, exclusion, and discrimination that they know exists. They do so because they care –about people and about this industry.

“We are in an industry where we are constantly looking at our numbers – how we can satisfy investors, how we can make sure we’re profitable, how we can make sure that we’re here to stay,” Block finished. “And the truth of the matter is, I think we’ve been looking at the wrong thing. All the money will come when we care as much about humanity as we care about financial gain.

“At the moment we care about people to the degree that we care about money, we will see additive explode. But we have facilitated environments where, just because people are talented, they don’t have to be appropriate, they don’t have to be inclusive, they don’t have to be kind.”

RESEARCH ROUND-UP

UMASS AMHERST AND GEORGIA TECH – 3D PRINTED ULTRASTRONG AND DUCTILE ALLOY

Researchers at Universty of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) and Georgia Tech developed a 3D printed, dual-phase, nanostructured, high-entropy alloy (HEA) that they say exceeds the strength and ductility of other AM materials.

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - SATELLITE SENSORS AND AI ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

MIT alone has seen a handful of 3D printing developments over the last few months. A new programmable 3D printed material that can sense its surroundings, 3D printed sensors for satellites, and using artificial intelligence to correct AM errors in real time.

In late July, MIT announced that a team of researchers had created the “first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors” for orbiting spacecraft. The sensors are known as retarding potential analysers (RPAs) and are used by satellites to determine the chemical composition and ion energy distribution of the atmosphere.

Researchers at MIT also trained a machine-learning model to monitor and adjust the 3D printing process to correct errors in real time. The scientists used artificial intelligence to develop a system which uses computer vision to watch the manufacturing process and correct errors in how it handles the material.

HEAs are comprised of five or more elements and allow for the creation of near unlimited numbers of combinations for alloy design. The researchers combined an HEA with laser powder bed fusion technology during the development of the new material.

Wen Chen, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at UMass, stated that the atomic rearrangement of the microstructure the team created gives rise to ultrahigh strength and enhanced ductility.

A big problem that has been present in the past when developing bioinks is having high fidelity whilst not compromizing porosity. Penn State researchers approached this by increasing the stickiness of microgels.

PENN STATE - GRANULAR HYDROGEL FOR TISSUE BIOPRINTING

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have made a potential breakthrough in biomaterials. A team developed a novel nanoengineered granular hydrogel bioink that makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles and hydrogel microparticles, or microgels.

The way the microgels cling together removes the need for them to be tightly packed, preserving microscale pores.

The researchers plan to explore how the newly nanoengineered bioink can be further applied for tissue engineering and regeneration, models of organs and possibly in-situ 3D bioprinting of organs (the direct printing of bioinks to create or repair at a defect site).

Oliver Johnson collects standout 3D printing developments from three U.S. universities.

THE LAY OF THE LAND

Candice Majewski & Erin Walsh assess the culture of 3D printing academia.

Earlier this year, Erin Walsh [EW] –a University of Glasgow medical student who previously carried out PhD research in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals – sat down with University of Sheffield Mechanical Engineering Senior Lecturer Candice Majewski [CM] at the request of TCT.

The pair met online while Walsh was working on her PhD. Through that PhD, Walsh was exploring the integration of design features into a pharmaceutical tablet, which introduced her to 3D printing technology. In need of some guidance, she reached out to Majewski, who has worked with 3D printing materials and processes throughout her career in academia.

With the PhD now complete and Walsh now pursuing an undergraduate degree in the Medical field, they reconvened to share their insights on the additive manufacturing research landscape, including the culture of competitiveness and the need for more collaboration.

EW: I think it's critical that anything that you think can add value that you share, and that you share openly. Particularly with technologies that are new and upcoming, people can be a little bit protective of sharing. When you're doing literature reviews, what really becomes apparent is everyone wants to share the shiny things that work, nobody will say here's the 1,000 things that we've tried in the meantime that didn't work. And by sharing those things that didn't work, those are still learnings. And that saves a lot of time for the rest of the community to say, ‘we tried that, it didn't work, this is what we learned from it.’ If someone was to publish everything that they had tried that didn't work and what they had

learned from that, I think that adds more value to the community and to the technology and what we know about it than just what did work.

I always have seen that it feels as if it's my responsibility as a researcher, to not just share the successes and it's something that is made more challenging by the academic culture.

CM: I completely agree. It is part of the academic environment that I think people become perhaps scared to admit they've made mistakes. Because we think of something that doesn't work as a mistake, but if you had a good hypothesis, you test it and it doesn't work, that's not a mistake. Sometimes good ideas don't work. You learn from that, and you say, ‘okay, why did that not work?’

Now that I'm leading a group of researchers, I feel that is really important because if I don't admit to mistakes, and if I just pretend like everything's always perfect, then all those people who are coming through the system, that's all they're exposed to. I think it's important for the community to understand what's been tried and hopefully save time in the long term, but it's on all of us to make it clear that science is about trying stuff.

EW: If you were to try and name all the different subtypes of AM, you'd

be here all day and it feels as if what we've done is we've went really broad, but what's missing is still some of that fundamental understanding. So, for example, I was working with liquids, so rheology is not something that's been hugely studied for liquid photopolymers but makes a huge difference to things like print quality. And that's a core chemical property. Because it's been such an explosive interest in this technology, it feels as we've almost missed that really; the lowest tier basic understanding. And it's something that people then don't study when they publish about things. So, you’re then trying to go out and looking at the research out there, and there's nothing there, which is a real challenge because that kind of study takes time. And it's the kind of study that you just need somebody to do once and do properly and share and then we're not all having to do it, but it seems as if that's an afterthought for some of these technologies.

CM: I think you're right, Erin, we have missed a lot of that fundamental understanding. Because there's always this rush to be the first to get this out there, and let's get it known, and then almost backtrack to figure out how it actually works.

I think we [also] have a real challenge in terms

of people. We have a real issue with early career people, there's been a lot all over the news and with the ongoing strikes and stuff about precarity in academia. It is so difficult for someone to make each career jump. You might do a PhD but that doesn't mean there's a guarantee of a postdoc position straight afterwards. And if you're a postdoc who wants to make a jump into being an academic, you get so many applications for every academic position. Again, there's so much competition there, it's becoming very difficult. Even if you get that postdoc position, you aren't guaranteed the next one. There’s this ongoing process of until you've got that permanent position, you're always like, 'what's next? I've got a contract for two years, so what am I doing after that?' Regardless of your situation, that's really difficult, like, can I buy a house? Can I settle down? Because of that, we lose really good people, and we lose that continuity of people.

On a positive note, there's a lot more people doing research. There's a broader range of research going on. And I think that is important because if you've got still relatively new technologies, you need to keep figuring out where the boundaries are and what we can do. I think that diversity of research can be a really good thing. We have got a lot of areas of overlap where lots of different people are working on the same thing and that has led to what I would say is a very negative competitiveness in some cases because you have two options, you say, 'oh this Erin person is doing some cool research that's similar to mine, I could get in touch and see if we can work together' or I can say, ‘well, what I need to do is keep everything quiet.’

We definitely have more women than we did. There's a Women in 3D Printing network and all that kind of stuff. I think what we need to do next is say, 'who else are we missing?' We still see a lot of very white panels. That's an ongoing thing. We have issues, especially on the experimental side, for example, with disabled people. So, how do we accommodate disabled people in a way that they can do these jobs that they can be really good at? Someone said once, they were fed up with always being put on computer-based projects because there was an assumption that they couldn't do experimental work. I think we're still combating a lot of those things that we don't yet know how to fix. So, I think we have more work to do there. But we're heading in the right direction.

EW: The really critical one for me is collaboration, and that is entirely cultural, but it's something that we need to instil from undergrad. We are bringing young individuals into the world of education and academia, we are training them to be hyper competitive, to be overprotective, but it's not helping us to grow and to learn as a wider community.

It is a bottleneck in terms of the amount of people that will do an undergrad, that will do a postgrad and will go on to postdoc and academia, we're filtering. And there are major issues within even that filtering process with diversity and equality. But by just filtering in that way, we are losing value. Every time you go up a level, it becomes more competitive and what you're doing is you're honing what you've taught that individual, what you've trained them to be, and then you get less and less and less communication the further up you go.

PhD students are far more willing to ask for help and to reach out the same way that I did to Candice. If I had been at academic level, that wouldn't have been as simple. I think that would have been less culturally normal. And it's almost as if the minorities in this society and this kind of culture are having to create

things like Women in 3D Printing, which is phenomenal, but why do we need it? We've [also] got other groups that are not shown in the same way that they should be. We need that diversity but it's about keeping that momentum and driving it forward. And really, I think it needs to start from the bottom. By starting from the bottom and changing the culture that we have in academia, that will also spill over into industry because of your undergrads, if you teach it then a lot of those undergrads are going to go into industry. You’ve got to start there so that you get this collaborative approach across both.

Having also come from an EPSRC Future Manufacturing hub, I've seen the benefit of having academia and industry work side by side. But it shouldn't have to be this fancy grant to encourage that, we shouldn't be having to have really competitive grants that are paying us a lot of money just to try and put these together, it should be becoming a standard.

[Editor: The discussion has been edited for brevity and clarity].

MACHINE LEARNING FOR CORRECTING AND PREVENTING ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING ERRORS

While additive manufacturing processes provide unique opportunities, they are generally complex and slow. This leads to many ways for things to go wrong and makes it costly when they do. Typical errors range from small geometrical inaccuracies or mechanical weakness to complete build failures.

Usually, a skilled worker observes the process to prevent or correct errors. The worker needs to recognize an error, stop the print, remove the part, and make a judgement on how to adjust settings for a new part. Workers need training to carry out this task as well as time to gain experience when working with new printers or materials. Even so, a human cannot constantly watch multiple printers at the same time, especially not for very long prints. Nor can a human correct printer settings in real-time. And there are common errors, such as warping, where it is often unclear how to update settings to prevent future occurrences.

This has motivated a lot of work in integrating sensors into additive manufacturing systems to automatically detect errors. This has included acoustic, inertial and current sensors, but camerabased approaches are most widely adopted given their versatility and datarichness. Coupling cameras to traditional computer vision approaches has been successful in explicitly detecting specific errors in parts and 3D printing systems for which they have been calibrated. But it is very difficult to handcraft algorithms that work for different errors, parts, printers, materials and printing setups.

Machine learning, particularly deep learning, approaches have shown unprecedented performance in many applications including vision. This has led to several recent examples of applying machine learning to detecting errors in additive processes, but usually still only in a single part and for a single type of error. The greatest potential advantage of machine learning though, to enable robust error detection and correction that works across different parts, materials and printers, remains unexplored.

In work recently published open-access in Nature Communications, we made intelligent 3D printers that can rapidly detect and correct errors, even in new parts, materials and printing systems, via learning from other printers. We did this by developing a machine learning algorithm that can both detect and correct diverse errors in real-time, and can be easily added to new or existing machines to enhance their capabilities. The algorithm was trained by showing it approximately 950,000 images taken from a printheadmounted camera during the printing of 192 different parts. Every image was labelled with relevant printer settings, for example the temperature of the nozzle and the flow rate of material from the nozzle. The algorithm was also shown how far those settings were from appropriate values. This combination enabled the algorithm to learn not just when things go wrong, but also how to fix it when they do, just by looking at an image of the process.

During the training phase, the algorithm was only shown images from a single type of FFF 3D printer using PLA polymer. But the algorithm was able to correct errors in different polymers and even unfamiliar systems such as direct ink write ketchup and mayonnaise. This suggests that the algorithm is able to pick up features that are general to extrusion 3D printing.

A future system could significantly improve the productivity and reliability of additive manufacturing in general, leading to new markets including in safety-critical applications. We are commercializing this technology through Matta, a spin-out. We are especially interested in developing learning systems to prevent errors in highvalue parts including in the aerospace, automotive and energy sectors. The loss in machine time, energy, material and from discovering an error during final inspection in such applications would amplify the benefits from our learning approach.

The potential for machine learning technologies in additive manufacturing is vast and we are only scratching the surface of what it is capable of. Given machine learning’s increasing power, accessibility and the need for better solutions to complex manufacturing challenges, machine learning is poised to play a key role in driving additive manufacturing to ever greater heights.

WORDS: Douglas Brion, Sebastian Pattinson, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

Celebrating ten years of accelerating the adoption of additive

AM FORWARD: THE INDUSTRY RESPONDS

Earlier this year, President Biden announced the launch of the AM Forward initiative, in which a select group of large-sized manufacturers pledged to support their small and medium sized suppliers in adopting and applying additive manufacturing technology.

As part of this initiative, GE Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Siemens Energy, Boeing and Northrop Grumman have outlined their commitment to purchase additively manufactured parts from their SME suppliers, train workers and engage in standards development.

Since the announcement, we have gathered the thoughts of several leading additive manufacturing professionals.

TALI ROSMAN, FORMER GENERAL MANAGER OF XEROX ELEM ADDITIVE

“I think the ability to encourage reshoring or at least developing the capability of a backup generator in the case of need to be able to produce parts domestically, that's an incredible initiative, and certainly a much needed one these days. It was just announced, so the impact to the industry and where will the bulk of the impact go, where will the money flow, we'll see. But I think as an initiative, it's spot on.”

DAN HEALY, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, FAST RADIUS

“Adopting new technologies can be challenging when there's already these entrenched technologies that everyone is familiar with. So, the ability of this to help accelerate adoption is there. Now the challenge is, is that we can't just say, 'hey, let's go out and make more additive parts,'

you have to be able to have partners that have the technology that enables additive to be competitive, to produce quality parts repeatably. So, if we're going to go out and start to drive this shift, you want to make sure that those experiences that those have that are participating in it are high quality, they're repeatable, they're in line with what they see with traditional.”

RIC FULOP, CEO, DESKTOP METAL

“One of the key benefits of 3D printing is supporting localized manufacturing that reduces reliance on global supply chains. Parts can be stored as digital files and easily sent around the world to be downloaded and printed as needed. By allowing manufacturers to quickly produce parts when and where needed, the need for global shipping, large inventories and overproduction is greatly reduced. Additive manufacturing is the modern manufacturing technology of the future, and it’s the right time for American industry to support this transition to the next era of production.”

DIDIER DELTORT, PRESIDENT, PERSONALIZATION & 3D PRINTING, HP

“We believe the initiative is a bold step forward for additive manufacturing, particularly if it revitalizes the US supply chain by enabling more companies to take advantage of the intrinsic benefits of AM. Our hope is the program helps the many small and medium-sized businesses working to unlock new business opportunities and scale sustainable production with AM. We will work closely with our Government Relations team to stay closely involved and be a voice for our partners and customers as AM Forward evolves.”

JOSH MARTIN, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, FORTIFY

“I think it's a great signal. There's a tremendous amount of visibility on additive through that. And I know that the people involved, particularly LJ Holmes and the group that have come out of the DoD space, have had the industry's interests in mind and can make stuff happen. I would love to see more specific deliverables and commitment from some of the large OEMs that have signed on as partners and sponsors because it seems to be very unclear - even if you go ask some of the additive leaders within those domains what exactly that means for additive and how they're going to adopt it at a greater scale.”

LAUREN TUBESING, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, MILITARY PROGRAMS, GE ADDITIVE

“Public-private initiatives like the recently announced ‘AM Forward’ initiative will help to address DoD’s sustainment and readiness challenges head on. Strengthening US supply chains by encouraging small and medium sized manufacturers across the United States to adopt metal additive technology will create a nationwide network of qualified additive manufacturing suppliers.”

ELLEN KULLMAN, CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, CARBON

“The AM Forward program is further validation of the urgent need to rebuild agile manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. We're at an undeniable inflection point — bringing digital manufacturing to U.S. businesses will be a critical component to the success of the American economy both now and into the future. The administration's acknowledgment of 3D printing to boost the economy is a solid step forward and a proof point that digital manufacturing is critical in addressing our ongoing supply chain challenges and beyond.”

JOHN WILCZYNSKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICA MAKES

“As America Makes continues to build the foundation for the acceleration of additive manufacturing, the AM Forward program represents a proof of concept for the original vision of the instituteto utilize the public-private partnership model in collaboration with private sector innovation to propel advanced manufacturing industries forward. We look forward to working to engage our membership as the program evolves.”

FRIED VANCRAEN, CEO, MATERIALISE

“As a member of the additive manufacturing community, I can only be happy about the fact that there is support for our industry. At the same time, I hope that the money is well spent because the industry has suffered in the past already from quite a few rounds of inflated expectations. And, again, the slow revolution will remain a slow revolution.”

AM FORWARD PARTICIPANT PUBLIC COMMITMENTS INCLUDE:

■ GE Aerospace will target 30% of its total external sourcing of additively manufactured parts from US-based SME suppliers.

■ Raytheon will seek SME manufacturers involvement in over 50% of its requests for quotes on products manufactured using additive technologies.

■ Siemens Energy will engage 10-20 US SME suppliers to help improve their AM capability and train 10-20 SME suppliers on inspection and post-processing best practices.

■ Lockheed Martin will further participate in university and technical college programs for additive workforce development, including coursework and apprenticeship.

■ Honeywell will offer technical assistance in part design, data generation, machine operation, post-processing, part inspection / quality management to its SME suppliers.

■ Boeing will increase its qualified small and medium-sized supplier capacity by 30%.

■ Northrop Grumman will target 50% of RFQ packages sent out for products, machinery, manufacturing tooling, and/or manufacturing process development utilizing additive or related technologies to be completed by SME suppliers.

HP UNVEILS METAL JET S100

It was a cold, grey Monday morning when a sleek black cloth was pulled away to unveil the results of four years’ hard work.

As the cloth hit the floor, the presenters stepped out of the way and there was an audible cheer as HP’s metal 3D printing system was unveiled.

In September 2018, the last time IMTS was held, HP announced its move into metals with Metal Jet binder jetting technology. But it wasn’t your typical trade show launch. Rather than introduce a machine that was immediately commercially available, the company rolled out the technology via a service offering in partnership with GKN Powder Metallurgy and Parmatech. Through this service, HP would soft launch Metal Jet, providing up to 20 customers with access to the technology for application development and harnessing the learnings to build out the S100 platform it commercialized in September.

Per HP’s Global Head and General Manager of 3D Metals Ramon Pastor, it has been a success. The company has introduced its flagship Metal Jet machine – after years of GKN and Parmatech printing parts on a ‘hacked’ Multi Jet Fusion system – and has already seen four applications enter production at significant volumes.

“There are four applications right now that are at scale with the Alphas, which by the way, I’m pleasantly surprised,” Pastor told TCT at IMTS. “It was not the intent, when we launched the minimum viable product, to do production. It was to do application development. For me, it’s a success story – huge.”

Now having launched the S100, HP is anticipating a steady increase in the number of Metal Jet applications it has at scale. Pastor noted that it will take a process of ‘months and months’ to identify applications, assess the economics, carry out process development and then move forward. But he and HP are confident that, gradually, the technology will have a sizeable impact.

“It’s not that this will be a ramp [with a steep ascent],” Pastor said. “And by the way, some of the 3D printing technologies, you have this step change [but] with a ceiling. Our approach is different. It actually will take time, but we will break this glass ceiling that 3D printing has right now.”

The Metal Jet process leans on several facets of HP’s wider product portfolios, including printheads from its Thermal Inkjet business and chemistries from its Latex business. HP has adapted the internal architecture to HP’s Metal Jet printheads to improve the robustness for metal powder particle ingestion. The Latex-based binder, meanwhile, is a long-polymer that is said to bind metal particles in a ‘much stronger way’ to yield stronger green parts, eliminate the need for de-binding, and allow HP to tackle metal components up to one kilogram.

All in, the HP S100 set-up features four core systems. The metal 3D printer is flanked by a Powder Management Station for the mixing, sieving, and loading of powder to the build unit; a Curing Station which features controllable vacuum flow and uniform head distribution; and a Powder Removal Station for the automated removal and recovery of loose powder.

Read the full interview here >>

HP Metal Jet S100 printer performance

Effective building volume: 430 x 309 x 200 mm

Building speed: 1990 cc/hr8

Layer thickness: 35 – 140 µm

Job processing resolution (x,y): 1200 dpi

Printer resolution (x,y): 1200 dpi

Printhead system: 2 print bars/ 6 HP Thermal Inkjet printheads (63,360 nozzles)/ Automatic nozzle health detector and nozzle replacement

Print redundancy: 4-times nozzle redundancy at 1200 dpi resolution3

NEXA3D LAUNCHES QLS 820

On the opening day of IMTS, Nexa3D distributed the announcement that its QLS 820 platform was commercially available. Its name references the technology’s capacity to print at 8,000 ccm per hour with up to 20% average packing density, while it has been designed to enable production at scale. Though the QLS technology was only integrated into the Nexa portfolio in 2021, it has been in development for much longer.

“For me, it was a journey,” Graczyk began. “I was [involved] since the project’s inception, I was CEO for eight years of a company called NXT Factory, and then through the acquisition, we get into Nexa. It’s like my dream’s come true, materialising today, and there will be another milestone when we install the machines on the production floor of those companies and much more to come.”

Those companies are Quickparts and JawsTec, two service providers who have signed up to be foundational partners of the QLS 820 Manufacturing Network Program. This represents Nexa’s primary target audience, but the company also has eyes on opportunities in bridge manufacturing – helping manufacturers build up to their optimum production volumes while tooling is being procured.

WORDS: Sam Davies

“There’s always this grayscale when you want to invest in tooling and whether your design’s final and finished,” Graczyk said. “So, we believe this perfectly fits into launching your product, validating it, it’s the safest way to release your product out there and if something goes wrong or, all things considered, the product wasn’t the best, you’re not left with tooling [being] scrapped. You just change your design and have a different product. We see more and more people validating their product with the use of additive manufacturing and then you get the volumes of 100,000, 200,000, whatever it is, then you switch to the hard tooling. I think it’s a huge promise.”

Automotive is another market Nexa wants to penetrate with this technology, and as early as RAPID + TCT 2019 the company was fielding interest from the industry. As such, Nexa is aiming to reach a Six Sigma standard to align with the injection moulding and extrusion processes already widely used in automotive. Graczyk, along with several of his team, has experience working in automotive, which they feel will stand them in good stead to introduce QLS into that vertical market. With these users, the aim is to sell and install multiple printers onto the same shop floor, enabling fleets of machines that facilitate manufacturing in significant volumes.

The QLS 820 is equipped with four 100W CO2 lasers, a 350 x 350 x 400 mm build volume and a 50-200-micron Z resolution. The four lasers work simultaneously to ensure productivity, while Nexa also has a built in capability that allows users to swap out build units 15 minutes after the build is complete to keep production running around the clock. An inert atmosphere enabled by a nitrogen purging system and an ability to sinter up to 240°C in the build platform allows Nexa to process materials such as PBT and PA613, materials common in injection molding. The machine is also supported by several modular material processing stations (MMPS) that contain, blend, breakout, reclaim and sieve powders.

Supplementing the hardware is the NexaX software which acts as the ‘command center’ to help run machines efficiently. With key performance indicators, users can measure success rates, system utilization, number of parts printed and average print speed. The software is also compatible with Ximplify, to select the ideal parts for AM, and can integrate other software tools that facilitate generative design, part-costing, and MES.

Read the full interview here >> https://mytct.co/NexaQLS

SHOWN: NEXA3D QLS 820

DFAM: THE 4TH FOCUS TO STIMULATE WIDEST AM ADOPTION

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) is not a new discipline but recently there has been more focus on this vital, yet sometimes vague, subject.

I am a member of the UK DfAM Network steering committee, established at the end of 2020. I suspect that the network has been one driver of this renewed focus on DfAM with a series of application specific workshops attracting international speakers and audiences online and in-person. This work has opened my eyes to the breadth and depth of DfAM expertise both within the UK and globally.

I have also become aware that within the AM community, there is a strain of ambivalence, verging on hostility, towards the discipline of DfAM. I have heard opinions from AM practitioners and educators that I deeply admire, that they find DfAM esoteric, effete (an effete choice of vocabulary!) and an unhelpful mystification of what is fundamentally traditional designing. Stronger opinion was expressed in a recent instalment of Duann Scott’s excellent DfAM Substack series that tried to nail down a definition of DfAM from a group of experts. One of them stating that advocates of DfAM deliberately mystify this design practice to excuse AM’s limitations and elevate their status within the AM industry.

I do have a certain sympathy with this view, having had to pick up the pieces after a “guru” has led clients down a blind alley.

However, dismissing the constantly evolving design understanding of a relatively new manufacturing technology is foolhardy. This understanding has been hard earned through trial and error by thousands of designers and rejecting this knowhow condemns anyone exploring AM to waste time reinventing the wheel.

It is uncool to talk about design rules for AM when for so long it has been associated with the fantasy of “total design freedom.” It certainly offers the possibility to manifest new geometries but that alone is technical shape making. DfAM is not only about how thick or thin, large or small you can print with a different technologies. That is printability. Imperative for sure, but just the start of DfAM.

My definition of DfAM is straightforward. First select the appropriate AM technology and material applicable to you and your project. Then absorb a series of principles and lessons belonging to that technology. Finally, apply that to

designing something that functions and is valuable enough to manufacture. Many regard DfAM as the use of optimization software, generative design and parametrics. All of these should augment this basic DfAM grounding; the Klingon aesthetic is sexy, but it doesn’t automatically make a part valuable.

This approach is what promotes widest AM adoption. Where adoption is simply procuring AM parts, never purchasing AM hardware (sorry salesfriends). When using AM is commercially viable, you’ll do it again. Then one gains the confidence to explore more technologies and eventually buy hardware if it really makes sense.

Let us review a simplified sequence of the development of AM (with clear overlaps) over the years:

1. Hardware and Materials Development: AM starts with the evolution of the di erent hardware technologies and materials that we have today.

2. AM Software Development: This took a step back in the production sequence. It was identified that to realize the potential of AM, designers first required the tools to produce the geometries that were now possible and file fixing automation to make files print ready and more reliable to produce.

3. Post-Processing, Finishing, Production Automation and Qualification: Focus then turned to the end of the production sequence, accelerating postprocessing, improving the quality of finishes available, integration and automation in a manufacturing environment and certification standards.

With tools, technologies, quality and productivity being firmly established, I hope that a new attention on DfAM heralds a fourth stage of

development focus placed at the very start of the production sequence.

From here, when the lessons are clearly disseminated, they can be absorbed by new and existing users alike, to improve the output of AM. Many of the advances in AM that open new applications and markets are the result of informed DfAM, making all of AM’s systems look better.

Better designed AM parts have optimal productivity, print reliably, are consistently post processed, function and can include beneficial performance. Crucially, they commercially stack up.

Some believe that DfAM is simply Design for Manufacturability (DfM.) Just because you can manufacture something with AM does not mean that it is worth manufacturing. This is what DfAM aims to resolve.

Looking ahead, I hope that DfAM does merge into DfM as future generations of designers properly select AM as second nature. When that day dawns, DfAM will have completed its job.

WORDS: Jonathan Rowley,

North America’s largest and most influential Additive Manufacturing event.