TCT Europe 22.6 by TCT Magazine

NOVEMBER 2014

3D PRINTING | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING | PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

STRATASYS GOES

BIGGER & BOLDER AT EUROMOLD

3D PRINTING, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

ISSN 1751-0333

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

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

NEWSDESK +44 (0) 1244 680222

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Todd Grimm | T. A. Grimm & Associates | tgrimm@tagrimm.com Joris Peels | www.voxelfab.com | joris@voxelfab.com

GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Carol Hardy | carol@rapidnews.com t: + 44 (0) 1244 680222

NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Jonathan Priest | jonathan.priest@rapidnews.com t: + 44 (0) 1244 680222

DESIGN

Sam Hamlyn Tracey Roberts

C.O.O. / PUBLISHER Duncan Wood

C.E.O. Mark Blezard

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

Published Prices Print Subscriptions - Qualifying Criteria UK - Free Europe - Free US/Canada - £79 ROW - £99 Print Subscriptions - Non Qualifying Criteria UK - £79 Europe - £89 US/Canada - £99 ROW - £119 FREE on iOS and Android devices – including back catalogue and Buyers’ Guides.

The TCT Magazine is published bi-monthly by Rapid News Publications Ltd Carlton House, Sandpiper Way, Chester Business Park, Chester CH4 9QE, UK. t: + 44 (0) 1244 680222 f: + 44 (0) 1244 671074 © 2014 Rapid News Publications Ltd While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information contained within this publication is accurate, the publisher accepts no liability for information published in error, or for views expressed. All rights for The TCT Magazine are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

BPA Worldwide Membership

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

THE EDITOR

Winding Down for Winter… …used to be a thing. At least so the gnarly old business media veterans tell me. These days however the end of the year is as busy as the rest for Team TCT — which is to say flat out. On the horizon we have a one-off special project to organise, a trip to Frankfurt for Euromold, final preparations for the 3D Printing Marketplace and 3D Printing conference at International CES in Las Vegas, ongoing planning for TCT Asia + Personalize 2015 in Shanghai, and the occasional magazine to write. No pressure then!

On the horizon we have a one-off special project to organise, a trip to Frankfurt for Euromold, final preparations for the 3D Printing Marketplace and 3D Printing conference at International CES in Las Vegas, ongoing planning for TCT Asia + Personalize 2015 in Shanghai, and the occasional magazine to write.

To make matters more challenging, we’re spending a lot more time away from our desks these days too. I had my first (and please let it be last) one-night trip to New York this month. About as glamorous as beige slacks but lacking their inherent comfort. The results were worth the effort as I got to see first hand the (re)entrance of Hewlett Packard into the 3D printing world and speak to the team behind the new push. I also got to play with a Sprout… More on the HP announcement starting page 24.

Also in this issue we recap the most successful TCT Show + Personalize to date, speak to the team behind the Netflix documentary ‘Print the Legend’, and get a first look at Autodesk’s new Spark platform. That’s a lot of reading. I’d suggest you plow on through though, since we’ve gone to the effort, but if you’d rather take a different route you can watch videos of the TCT Conference on www.tctmagazine.com and — for the first time — listen to the Print the Legend interview in the first TCT Podcast, which will be available online soon.

First up however we get a peek into what to expect from Stratasys at Euromold. On the back of a successful TCT Show, the veteran company is going big — real big — right across Euromold. It’s all on pages 8 and 9. Keep on creating,

Jim Woodcock Group Editor & Conference Director

Design today... ...build tomorrow Unlock the potential for Additive Manufacturing Renishaw’s laser melting system is a pioneering process capable of producing fully dense metal parts direct from 3D CAD. Find out more at www.renishaw.com/additive

www.renishaw.com Renishaw's additive design today Strip ad TCT 1014.indd 1

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com | 10/17/2014 3:25:37 PM5

Make a difference Renishaw is a UK company, which employs around 3,600 people in 32 countries. As one of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful and progressive engineering companies, our people and products make a real difference to the world in which we live. From jet engine and wind turbine manufacturing, to dentistry and brain surgery, we apply innovation to solve tough engineering and scientific problems. We recently made headlines following a collaboration with leading British bicycle design and manufacturing company, Empire Cycles, which resulted in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first 3D printed metal bike frame. Our Additive Manufacturing Products Division based in Stone, Staffordshire, currently has a number of jobs available. The varied roles range from machine operators, working with additive manufacturing technology, to technicians and engineers with a variety of specialist skills. The company is looking for qualified and experienced professionals, as well as promising graduates.

Make a difference: visit www.renishaw.com/careers or call 01785 285000 Hear about jobs at Renishaw first, follow @renishawplc on

CONTENTS tct + personalize | November 2014

01 COVER STAR

Stratasys are heading to Euromold with an expanded product range that will be displayed for the first time across three locations in Hall 11, Hall 8 and the Hall 11 Entrance. Jim Woodcock spoke with European GM Andy Middleton to find out more.

REGULARS 05

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

JORIS PEELS COLUMN

TODD GRIMM COLUMN

FEATURES 08 14

37 38

NEWS UPDATE

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

PROOF OF CONCEPT

RISE OF THE METAL HEADS

AUTODESK: BUILDING BLOCKS FOR INNOVATION

TCT SHOW REVIEW

TCT Show + Personalize 2014 was a huge success. See for yourself some of the highlights in our pictorial review, catch the best of the conference and see how BrightMinds UK is helping the next generation.

Dan O’Connor takes to the road to look in on Concept Laser’s bi-annual user group meeting. Could desktop — or at least accessible — metal 3D printing ever be a reality. Some engineers think so.

With the launch of the Spark 3D printing platform, Ember printer and significant investment fund Autodesk are taking things to a whole new level. Laura Griffiths investigates the company’s master plan.

HP ENTERS THE MARKET

Coming four years after their initial foray into 3D printing, the announcement of Multi Jet Fusion at the end of October sets the company on an entirely new and exciting course.

60 SECOND INTERVIEW: ASHOK VARMA

EFESTO’s CEO in conversation with Daniel O’Connor following a hugely successful TCT Show + Personalize debut.

TCT @ INTERNATIONAL CES

Highlights from the Paris Unveiled and CEO Summit events, along with a preview of the expanded showfloor and conference at next January’s Las Vegas event.

EUROMOLD PREVIEW, SPONSORED BY STRATASYS

This year’s Euromold is lining up to be a classic for the 3DP/AM fraternity, with a slew of products announcements, TCT BrightMinds at Euromold for the first time and, as ever, some surprises.

A DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY

TCT’s Laura Griffiths catches up with Optomec after the company’s TCT Show debut.

CONSUMER 3DP: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

Dan O’Connor has an epiphany when fitting out his cinema room and a 3D printer comes to the rescue.

PRINT THE LEGEND

A group of filmmakers followed some 3D printing stars around for a couple of years — the resulting documentary casts a light not just on the industry, but startups in general. Laura Griffiths investigates.

November 2014

REVOLUTIONISING INVESTMENT CASTING

DDM believes that it’s LAMP technology will change the way certain parts are made forever. TCT gets the lowdown.

LEAD NEWS BIGGER AND BOLDER

With 11 product updates to showcase, Stratasys have taken more space than ever at Frankfurt’s annual design, development and manufacturing showcase.

3D PRINTING THE SURGICAL REVOLUTION

Former TCT team mate Rose Brooke explores the uses of 3D printing in surgery.

www.tctmagazine.com

Jim Woodcock spoke with Stratasys’ European General Manager, Andy Middleton, to get the low down on the company’s plans for the upcoming Euromold event. New products, plenty of improvements and a considerable expansion in visibility throughout the event are all on the cards.

STRATASYS AT EUROMOLD:

BIGGERandBolder WORDS | Jim Woodcock

tratasys have been central to Euromold’s Hall 11 for some years now, retaining a central position and substantial ‘doubledecker’ stand. TCT started by asking what we could expect from the company for 2014’s event. “First of all it’s important to note that Stratasys has tripled its budget for Euromold this year compared to previous years. As opposed to being only in Hall 11 we will now have a presence in Hall 11, Hall 8 and the entrance way to Hall 11, which represents a different position for us. This expansion demonstrates the leadership position Stratasys has taken on within the industry over the last few years,” explained European GM, Middleton. “We will be having our main, two-tier booth which will be the heart of our presence at the show in Hall 11, in Hall 8 we will be demonstrating the production applications of Stratasys’ technologies — including end user parts and tooling. In the entrance to Hall 11 we will be showcasing a beautiful display of art and fashion to demonstrate the technical capabilities of Stratasys’ products in the creative world.” Plenty of space then, and from the slew of new and improved products that the company has to show it’s probably very necessary too, as Middleton explained: “We are going to be showing four brand new products and six evolutions or improvements to existing products. On the FDM side we will be launching two new production systems, the Fortus 380mc and Fortus 450mc. The PolyJet line up will now include a mid-range product called the Objet30 Prime as well as the Objet Eden260VS introducing for the first time a PolyJet system with soluble supports. We will also be expanding colour and digital materials to all Connex platforms — 260, 350 and 500 size — enabling colour, digital and multiple materials to come though all platforms.” Fortus 450mc and 380mc Replacing the Fortus 400mc and 360mc — the company’s ‘workhorse’ products that have been operating now for many years — the new machines are reported to be 20% faster, with the most noticeable improvements seen on complex geometries. The improvement is because the switching between build and support material has been made quicker, meaning that builds that require the most frequent switching will see the greatest improvement. A part built on the 380mc can be produced up to 20% faster than it’s predecessor, the Fortus 360. Middleton elaborated on the other developments: “We have enabled the Fortus range with three performance packages of options: standard, engineering and performance. Each of these will include a number of materials for different applications, rather than users having to specify materials one-by-one, which we hope will reduce the cost and make the specification process easier for users.”

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

The Fortus 380mc is up to 20% faster than the previous generation i| www.stratasys.com

Both the Fortus 450mc and 380mc will feature updated design to bring them in line with the rest of the range and a new user interface aimed at simplifying the operation: “Ease of use is a big focus right across Stratasys at the moment. Historically the skill of the operator of a machine dictated the quality of the part that was made. We want to break that link between operator skill and part quality by making the Fortus range easier to use.” Finding the audience The expansion from pure prototyping to production has been pervasive across the 3DP/AM industry over the last few years and Stratasys is no exception. Indeed they have positioned to push into true manufacturing quite aggressively, as the expansion into Hall 8 demonstrates. “With the new Fortus machines our target audiences will include prototyping of course, but will also be medium to large consumer goods manufacturers and into manufacturing companies. Prototyping will be continue to be important and the improvements to the machines will be very beneficial for that side of the market, but the new high-performance materials really open up the manufacturing aspects of the Fortus range. The 450mc especially with its wider range of high-performance materials will draw the focus of large companies, end user parts producers, and from those looking to replace some traditional manufacturing methods in the aerospace, defence and medical industries.”

LEAD NEWS: STRATASYS ULTEM 1010 ULTEM 1010 has the highest heat resistance, chemical resistance and tensile strength of any FDM thermoplastic on the market, with certification that opens up significant new opportunities, as Middleton explained. “ULTEM 1010 is biocompatible, withstands steam autoclaving and is the only food-contact certified thermoplastic for use with 3D printing. At the moment it is available for the Fortus 900mc and will be available for the Fortus 450mc as of 2015. We anticipate the material presenting new opportunities for the aerospace and automotive sectors but also the food production and processing arena where jigs, fixtures and even tooling can be created thanks to it’s certification for food-contact.” PolyJet Developments The new Objet 30 Prime replaces the Objet30 — at the same price point — but with more features and capabilities. The Objet30 is still available but with with the price point dropped by 30 per cent. The Objet30 Prime will have 12 material options including flexible materials such as Tango, biocompatible materials and clear transparent. Three print modes will also be available: high-quality, high-speed and a new introduction — draft mode.

Ultem 1010 is available now for the Fortus 900

Parts showing the range of the Objet30 Prime

Middleton explained: “Draft mode is the result of user feedback and will be suitable for quickly verifying the major elements of a part. Both the printing time and the part cost will be reduced. Draft mode runs at 36 microns which is sufficient for all but the very finest details. We believe the Objet30 Prime is the most versatile 3D printer in the world and will appeal huge range of industries from FMCG to medical. The €36,000 price point is very competitive and the reduction for the Objet30 pushes the 30 and 30 Pro down to starting prices of €20,000 to €26,000.” Another frequent user request, especially from anyone dealing with very fine prints or prints containing small cavities has been soluble supports for the PolyJet technology platform. The Eden260VS answers these demands. Middleton explained: “Cleaning parts with very fine structures can be tricky and time consuming with standard supports. The introduction of soluble supports reduces cost per part by removing the manual intervention needed for post processing, which is especially beneficial if a lot of your work contains fine features. Automatic support removal works with parts printed in both high-speed and high-quality modes. The Eden260VS will be available at €59,000 where the previous machine, the 260V, was €79,000. We believe this is a very competitive price point for such a powerful platform.” Finally for the PolyJet range, the triple-jetting technology first seen on the Objet500 Connex3, will be available on the 260 and 350 machine sizes. This will see all three PolyJet platform sizes able

Finally, soluable supports reach the Polyjet platform with the 260VS to print by combining, in the same part, anyting from the digital material range (including ABS-like for example) and with flexible, rigid and colour. The 260, and 350 platforms will also be available as Connex2 (digital materials without colour) and Connex1 (multiple materials, i.e., ability to use three different materials in the same part with mixed trays) Software “Our final innovation is something we have been keen to introduce since the Connex3 triple-jetting system was released. All Connex3 systems will now support files from CAD in VRML, allowing designers access to the colour palette that the Connex3 can print, with colour designation conducted within the CAD rather than identifying shells and attributing a colour. This is currently available directly from SolidWorks or Rhino Workstation, with other collaborations expected for the future. This compatibility removes the barrier for the operator to produce beautiful coloured parts.” The availability of Connex1, 2 and 3 in the Objet260, 350 and 500 platforms, along with VRML compatibility makes colour 3D printing more accessible than ever, and Stratasys hopes it will be come the de facto method of producing prototypes, as Middleton summed up: “Single colour prototyping will become a thing of the past.” To see the innovations at first hand, see Stratasys in: Hall 8, Stand H139; Hall 11, Stand D90; and Hall 11, Stand FN01 (Entrance).

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

NEWS UPDATE

TCT Show + Personalize 2014 may have been packed with brand new products and ideas across the board but plenty of other exciting news has been happening elsewhere in the industry. Universities across the globe are using additive manufacturing to further research in engineering and healthcare whilst updates in software are enhancing the digital side of 3D printing. For these stories in full click to www.tctmagazine.com. DASSAULT SYSTÈMES ANNOUNCES SOLIDWORKS 2015 Dassault Systèmes has announced the latest release of its 3D design application portfolio, SOLIDWORKS 2015. The most recent edition includes access to cloud-based features and a range of enhancements for improving workflow. Key features include; information sharing, simulation of multiple design scenarios, mode-based definition and SOLIDWORKS Treehouse.

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS UNVEILS NATIONAL FACILITY FOR INNOVATIVE ROBOTIC SYSTEMS

The University of Leeds’ new robotics facility has been set up as a platform for researchers to put the city at the forefront of robot design and construction in the UK. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) National Facility for Innovative Robotic Systems includes the world’s largest multi-material 3D printer, the Objet1000, a first for the UK.

MORE THAN HALF OF UK SCHOOL CHILDREN WANT CAREERS IN STEAM SUBJECTS

GRAPHENE 3D LAB SHOWCASES LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN 3D PRINTED BATTERY Graphene 3D Lab has been working on

graphene-enhanced materials that allow the fabrication of functioning batteries that may be incorporated into a 3D printed object during the build process. The company has now created a battery manufactured entirely on a 3D printer by combining thermoplastics with nanoparticles to produce nanocomposite material that can be turned into a 3D printing filament.

DELCAM TO LAUNCH NEW POWERSHAPE PRO CAD FOR CAM One of the world’s leading suppliers of advanced CADCAM solutions, Delcam, has launched the 2015 version of its PowerSHAPE Pro CAD for CAM system, for modelling, manufacture and reverse engineering. The new release includes improvements in direct modelling, surface modelling and reverse engineering, plus support for data from Creaform HandySCAN hand-held scanners. Research from Autodesk has shown that over half of UK school children aspire towards careers in engineering and technology. Out of 1000 asked, 52% of 11-18 year olds want to work in STEAM fields of science, technology, engineering, digital arts and maths. However, young people find that they are not being given the right tools to do so because of a lack of access to technology in the classroom with 57% of students claiming this lack of availability is preventing them from using it.

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

NEWS UPDATE

OPM AND YALE ANNOUNCE JOINT RESEARCH PROGRAMME

AM BRINGS TITANIUM UPRIGHTS TO ROAD Kepler Motors has brought titanium uprights to the road with the MOTION, a hypercar that can go from 0-60 in less than 2.5 seconds. Partnering with CRP Group, the design was created without limitations faced by traditional manufacturing methods. Sitting on a carbon fibre composite monocoque chassis and body, F1 style double wishbone and pushrod suspension with cast titanium uprights, these optimised parts ensure the car is strong, lightweight, elegant and performs to the highest level.

3D SYSTEMS LAUNCHES GEOMAGIC SCULPT AND TOUCH

Oxford Performance Materials Inc. has announced the beginning of joint research programme with Yale University to deliver innovative and cost-effective 3D printed biomedical technologies and applications. Projects include the development of new PEKK-based cranial and facial devices that support direct tissue attachment and 3D printed PEKK prosthesis for rib replacement. The joint research programme comprise of seven Yale faculty members who will explore a range of biomedical applications for 3D printing and PEKK.

3D Systems has announced the immediate availability of its new Geomagic SculptTM 3D modelling software with TouchTM haptic 3D stylus. Geomagic Sculpt mimics the sense of physical sculpting through a Virtual Clay Modelling tool and the Touch 3D stylus gives the user the ability to feel what is being created.

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD AMRC GROUP UNVEILS DEVELOPMENTS IN 3D PRINTED UAV

The University of Sheffieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Design and Prototyping Group at has developed an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with 3D printing. Using Stratasys Fortus900mc the Group were able to rapidly reduce the time and material costs of manufacturing and produce carbon fibre component jigs, fixtures and moulds.

For these stories in full, click to www.tctmagazine.com FORMLABS ANNOUNCES NEW CASTABLE AND FLEXIBLE RESINS Formlabs has announced a new suite of of high-performance functional resins designed for the Form 1 and Form 1+ 3D Printers, Castable Resin and Flexible Resin. Castable Resin captures precise details and burns-out cleanly without residue and is perfect for jewellers, engineers, and designers to go straight from a 3D design to a model suited for direct investment casting. Flexible Resin is a rubber-like material ideal for applications requiring a soft feel or impact resistance such as hinges, shock absorption and engineering applications.

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

TCT SHOW 02

03 05 04 01 On the 30th September 2014 the 19th edition of the TCT Show + Personalize opened its doors for a three-day extravaganza on 3D printing, additive manufacturing and associated technologies. 02 Dr Hans Langer of EOS kicked off proceedings to TCT Show’s outstanding line-up of conference sessions. 03 The Innovation Showcase was one of the many focal points of TCT with some of the best prints from the tech’s best applications… 04 … including the actual helmet worn by actor Chris Pratt in the summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, printed by IPF Ltd. and finished by FBFX Ltd. 05 One of 3D printing technology’s hyperbolic bedfellows drone technology got a lot of attention at TCT as both technologies converge. 06 MakerBot CEO incumbent Jenny Lawton explains to a packed out crowd what it takes to make a startup successful.

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

TCT SHOW IN PICTURES

07 TCT Bright Minds UK with a host of the next generation of TCT Show visitors, contributors and even exhibitors. 08 The quality through the door at TCT means that people come to do business. 09 Whether that business involves desktop consumer 3D printing… 10 manufacturing… 11 … or even hobbyist tinkering technology… 12 … TCT is the place to do business

07 09 08 11

in pictures November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

TCT SHOW CONFERENCE REVIEW

TCT SHOW

CONFERENCE REVIEW T

he 19th edition of TCT Show + Personalize took place over three days at Birmingham’s NEC in the heart of the UK’s midlands. Historically a two day event, the extra day was needed for TCT’s sister event, Interplas, which runs on a three-year cycle. The addition of a third day offered us the ability to fill both stages within the TCT hall with even more fantastic speakers — a challenge we accepted with thanks. The aim of the Conference is to provide inspiration and education on all things designing and making — be that in an international aerospace and defence contractor or for homemade prosthetics for children and young adults. The 2014 line up consisted of the leading lights from the companies that both provide and use the tools we’ve been covering for the last two decades. We have something a little different for 2015, but more of that later. Both the Main Arena and Seminar Theatre were larger than for 2013 and, coupled with a 40% larger show floor and 33% longer opening hours, ensured there were no repeats of the queues and fighting for seats we saw the previous year. Speakers reported excellent engagement from the crowds (so thank you if you were there in person) rather than the usual spread of open laptops and faces aglow with smartphone luminescence you would usually expect.

The Keynotes The first morning kicked off with two keynote speakers representing two of the longest-established companies in the industry: Dr Hans J Langer, Founder and CEO of EOS and Wilfried Vancraen, founder and CEO of Materialise. Both men were new to the TCT stage despite their veteran status and both delivered fantastic stories of swashbuckling on the high seas of 3D printing. Both companies have been around for more than two decades now and each have the war wounds from the protective, litigious, pioneering days of the industry, and both gave different insights on how to start and grow a successful company. On the morning of the second day MakerBot’s now CEO (then acting CEO) Jenny Lawton took to the stage. Having recently changed role from President following former CEO Bre Pettis’ move to parent company Stratasys, Jenny was able to talk comprehensively on the workings and potential futures of one of the industry’s superstar companies. Day three was kicked off by Andy Christensen — formerly of Medical Modeling and now VP Personalized Surgery & Medical Devices at 3D Systems — presenting what many today consider to 3D printing’s ‘killer’ application: healthcare. Andy touched on the many thousands of medical cases that already exist where the deployment of 3D printing has saved lives and many more where quality of life has been improved or restored. Following Andy, Diane Burton from the Warwick Manufacturing Group showed us how using 3D printing has enabled young disabled people to get involved in creating their own ‘personalised assistive technologies’.

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

TCT SHOW CONFERENCE REVIEW Michele Pasca Di Magliano of Zaha Hadid Architects on stage BAE Systems’ John Dunstan presented for the first time

Users and interested parties Across the three days sessions were filled with users like BAE Systems, Zaha Hadid Architects, Birmingham City University School of Jewellery and more. For the first time a number of large companies interested in the 3D printing space — and one that has since joined — presented their vision for the industry and their expertise on specific sectors.

Todd Grimm returned for a record fourth consecutive year

For example, software giant Adobe Systems now includes enhances support for 3D printing straight from their industrydefining Photoshop program. Their expertise in image manipulation lends itself to the world of colour, where they are working with the likes of Mcor Technologies, but also to developing workflows for the wider industry. Dr Jordan Brandt from Autodesk spoke not on the recently released Spark platform and 3D printer, but on the evolution of design tools and how that will impact manufacturing in the future. An interesting point raised was of self-modifying design algorithms that could start to reduce the need for human input in the design process.

As both a designer of, and user of, 3D printers, Yoav Reches offered unqiue insight The analysts This idea of desktop 3D printing being used at the point of need (or indeed by the person with need) to create healthcare solutions is something that was touched upon by Joris Peels in his presentation. Although, Joris explained, he was exposed to both desktop 3D printing and numerous healthcare applications while he worked at Materialise, he didn’t see a project like e-nable (www. enablingthefuture.org) developing as a result. Joris’ ability to cut to the chase, ruffle a few feathers and bring clarity to the muddy waters of the 3D printing world make him a firm favourite with the audience. Keen to show both sides of the coin, Joris dispelled a few myths about both desktop printers and the business practices of ‘Big 3D Printing’. We also welcomed back the familiar face and inimitable style of Todd Grimm, making an unprecedented 4th consecutive appearance at the event. Todd’s consulting work (most of which will never see the bright lights of a stage) takes him to all corners of the globe, helping firms from SME to Fortune 500 giants. Todd’s presentation focussed on SMEs, and those business units operating as SMEs, by demonstrating how they can make real and tangible difference to their businesses by embracing the more ‘mundane’ applications.

BAE Systems’ John Dunstan was something of a late addition of the line up but in his role as the Head of the Agile Product Development Centre had some fascinating insights as to how additive manufacturing fits into an organisation that can see the possibilities but has the legacy of ‘traditional’ manufacturing processes to contend with. 2015 Looking forward to 2015 (yes, planning began on the way home from the 2014 edition) we will be bringing something different again to coincide with our 20th anniversary. Twenty speakers will take to the stage over the two days, spanning the veterans and newcomers, to share their vision for the technologies and applications for the next two decades. How we make things today and how we made things twenty years ago has changed drastically thanks to the increased accessibility and power of computing solutions — will the same be true of the technologies on the TCT Show + Personalize showfloor? Missed something? All of the 2014 presentations were captured in HD by our expert film crew and will be available on www.tctmagazine.com over the coming months. At the moment you can see Jenny Lawton’s Keynote address — and it’s worth some of your time whatever field you’re in — at http://mytct.co/MBotKeynote. You can also see the whole of the 2013 lineup, including Avi Reichental, Dave Burns and Alice Taylor at: http://mytct.co/2013vids i| www.tctshow.com

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

“You are in safe hands”.

Laser Lines Ltd has been selling 3D printing and production systems to the UK market for 21 years. Whether you need to build parts in plastic or metal we offer an impressive portfolio of 3D Printers and 3D Production systems. The team at Laser Lines has a total of 112 years experience selling and supporting the Stratasys range of systems and compliment this by offering the SLM Solutions selective laser melting systems for metal parts.

“We understand how difﬁcult it is to make a decision when buying a 3D Printer. Perhaps we can help”.

01295 672500

Laser Lines Ltd Beaumont Close | Banbury | Oxon | OX16 1TH Tel: 01295 672500 | Email: 3dworld@laserlines.co.uk Website: 3dprinting.co.uk

TCT SHOW BRIGHT MINDS

Bright Minds

Brighter Futures L

ast year the British Government completed a report that stated: “3D printers have significant potential as a teaching resource and can have a positive impact pupil engagement and learning if schools can master how to use the printers in an effective and meaningful way.” As founders of the Bright Minds programme TCT has known this for some time.

On the back of a hugely successful 2013 edition, in which over 200 school children got a handson experience with 3D printing amongst the largest dedicated 3D printing tradeshow, Bright Minds’ game was not only upped in the UK but the programme is being adopted in Germany too in Novemeber at EuroMold. With the barrage of mainstream media 3D printing features the technology has seeped into the public consciousness and according to Jing Lu this was evident at the TCT + Personalize 2014 Bright Minds programme: “There was definitely better knowledge of 3D printing by most of our teachers and students. However both are still looking at ways to use the technology meaningfully in the classroom. Bright Minds gave them a really good insight to different types of projects they could run and a better understanding of how 3D printing can be embedded in the curriculum.” If 3D Printing were to enter the curriculum Jing thinks there’d be no shortage of enthusiasm towards the technology.

This issue of TCT comes sandwiched in between the end of long-standing Bright Minds UK programme and the debut of Bright Minds in Europe at EuroMold. Associate Editor Daniel O’Connor spoke with Black Country Atelier (BCA) CEO Jing Lu to see how the event went and how it is shaping the next generation of additive manufacturers. “The whole BCA team were impressed how engaged and competent the students were. In a relatively short space of time, they picked up complex 3D design and printing concepts and used them in their project. “ Explained the CEO. “What has also amazed us is the continued impact of the event. Schools have asked BCA for extra project work and resources that students can do back at school, prompted by the students themselves. “Another step change we noticed at TCT this year,” Jing continued, “was teachers and schools are now serious about investing in 3D printing. Where there has been a lot of scepticism in the past about 3D printing in education, through events like Bright Minds, teachers can see how much students are engaged. They can also demonstrate that 3D technologies can lead to solid learning outcomes, especially in STEM subjects.” This is never more evident than one of the schools involved at last year’s Bright Minds programme, “Sir Thomas Fremantle school have invested significantly in 3D printing including a curriculum that lets every single student at the school work with the technology in Key Stage 3.” Said Jing. “Students will then have the opportunity to take accredited qualifications at higher levels where 3D technologies are embedded. This is a path many schools are now similarly following.” November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

Paper puts the OMG in 3DP Lowest Cost. True Colour. Eco-Friendly 3D Printers.

Visit us at EuroMold stand 11.0/B109 and International CES stand 71529, Sands

unfettered innovation™

www.mcortechnologies.com

Resolution

Build Material

x, y & z axis: 12μ, 12μ, 100μ

A4 Standard Office Paper 80gsm

(0.0004in, 0.0004in, 0.004in)

(160gsm ply colour only)

Colour ICC colour map

US Letter Standard Paper 20lb (43lb ply colour only)

1 million+ colours (CYMK –

Layer Thickness

4 cartridges including black)

0.1 mm (0.004 in) and 0.19mm

x, y & z axis: 5760 x 1440 x

(0.007in ply colour only)

508dpi

Recyclable Parts/Materials

Build Size A4 Paper: 256 x 169 x 150mm Letter Paper: 9.39 x 6.89 x 5.9in © 2014 Mcor Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Mcor IRIS is a trademark and Mcor Technologies Ltd is a registered trademark of Mcor Technologies Ltd. All other company and product names are pending trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SHOOTDIGITAL CELEBRATES WITH WORLD CUP GIVEAWAY One of the show’s newest exhibitors, Art In The Age Of, brought the World Cup Trophy along for its debut – well a 3D printed exact gold-plated replica worth in excess of £4,000 that is. A subsidiary of the revered New York creative studio shootdigital, home to a unique collection of designer objects and upscale jewellery, celebrated its launch by giving away the World Cup Replica Trophy to one lucky winner during the show. TCT SHOW SPARKS STRATEGIC ALLIANCE With a collective history of 50 years experience in the additive manufacturing industry, G. P. Tromans Associates, and T. A. Grimm & Associates, formalised a transatlantic strategic alliance at the 19th annual TCT Show. Headed by Graham Tromans and Todd Grimm, their seasoned backgrounds span machine operations, machine evaluations and selections, application development and business operations. LEADING INNOVATION ON ALL FRONTS

TCT SHOW INTRO & START UP

TCT – What’s new? TCT Show Reports Record Numbers

The 2014 edition of TCT Show + Personalize achieved record numbers as almost 8,000 attendees poured through the doors of Birmingham’s NEC. This huge number represents a growth of almost 30% against 2013’s intake and signals a bright future for the leading 3D printing, additive manufacturing and product development technology show.Visitors from 53 countries attended resulting in international attendance increasing for a third time underlining the importance of the event on the world stage. EUROPAC LAUNCHES BIGGEST RANGE OF ARMS AT TCT SHOW Europac made a huge impact at this year’s TCT Show by launching the biggest and newest range of measuring arms ever seen in the country. Focused on bringing affordable 3D inspection equipment to the market, the company unveiled four new pieces of equipment featuring high-precision blue line laser, aimed at lowering the entry barrier to high-quality arms. John Beckett, Managing Director for Europac, commented: “We’ve decided that it’s time the small engineering workshops get the chance to buy good quality metrology equipment at a price they can afford.” START UP SUCCESS

BLUEPRINTER RELEASES NEW MACHINE AND MATERIAL Blueprinter made a big impact at TCT Show with the launch of two new products: the M2 and M-flex.

The Innovation Showcase housed some impressive pieces with 3D prints from the toy store to Hollywood. One of the most popular attractions, was Star Lord’s helmet worn by Chris Pratt in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, designed by FBFX and printed by IPF. Sharing the spotlight was a 3D printed replica of King Henry VIII’s crown, complete with the actual velvet from Historic Royal Palaces and Design Reality’s 3D printed goggles. Precious objects included shootdigital’s gold plated skull and a 3D printed Han Dynasty Dog from the Fitzwilliam project. Also featured were; custom insoles and Kipling designer bag from Materialise, fan favourite Makie Doll, assistive design from Hereward College and The University of Warwick, architecture concepts from Wilkinson Eyre Architects and jewellery from WonderLuk.

Building on the Blueprinter model, the team developed the M2 to optimise Blueprinter’s unique SHS print process allowing more thermal heat control to determine the structure of individual 3D parts.

New this year was the TCT Start Up Zone, introducing visitors to the freshest 3D printing talent around. Super Tangible brought some super hero 3D printing power to the stands and 3Dom Filaments showed an impressive range of materials, printing live with Biome3D plant based filament.

M-flex, as it’s name suggests, is a material that allows for increased flexibility in prints based on a chemical formula that ensures strength and elasticity The combination of the two technologies makes it possible to create thinner and more delicate parts.

Omni Dynamics turned heads with its desktop filament maker Strooder, a compact design that allows users to create their ideal colour filament and Delta-Trix showed its Kickstarter launched 3D printer.

ARE YOU A NECTARIAN YET? One of the most talked about stands in the Dutch quarter was from start up Nectar with its delta 3D printer, the Nectar One. Debuting at TCT Show with a range of intuitive features, the machine garnered a lot of interest from all important crowd-funding backers.

Tethon 3D, Layer Labz, Fillamentum, Iconic Engineering Solutions and akemake also debuted making the Start Up Zone such a success it will be back next year.

UK DEBUT FOR STRATASYS TRIPLE-JET TECHNOLOGY Visitors got a first hand look at the Objet500 Connex1 and the Objet500 Connex2 3D printers when Stratasys brought them along for the very first outing in the UK.

The Nectar One is a minimalist ABS 3D printer that includes a simple one touch interface, filament recognition and webcam. Along with teaming up with Printr on the software front, Nectar is also working on an interesting cloud option to give users more freedom in how and where they can print.

The Objet500 Connex1 can combine up to three distinct materials from 14 base materials in a single part. The Objet500 Connex2 allows users to print with a range of 120 different digital materials and offers up to 27 material properties in a single build. Earlier this year, Stratasys launched the Objet500 Connex3, a combination of these two machines but with the added benefit of vibrant colour capabilities. November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

HP MJF LAUNCH

CEO of soon-to-be HP Inc., addresses the crowd at the NYC launch event.

Here Come the Ink Jets:

HP Enters the 3D Printing Market If you’re a regular reader of TCT you could be forgiven for thinking that you’ve seen this headline before. And, in a way, you have. Back when current Editor Jim Woodcock joined TCT in 2010 his first assignment was a trip down to one of HP’s UK offices in Bracknell, Berkshire where HP announced that they were entering the 3D printing market. That didn’t last so long though, and this time around things are very different, as he discovered when he attended the 2014 launch event in New York.

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

HP ENTERS THE INDUSTRY

is synonymous with many things: garage startups, PCs and early ‘tablet’ computing. Since the 1980s HP has also been intrinsically linked to inkjet technology, specifically through their consumer 2D printers. It was for this reason that the company’s 2010 3D printer launch — which saw HP partner with Stratasys to sell re-badged uPrints — caused a few raised eyebrows. FDM is a reliable and well-tested 3D printing technology, but it seemed obvious given the number of other inkjet-based systems, from Z-Corporation to Objet (as they were both known at the time), that it would be this more familiar technology that HP would take to the battle ground.

Blended reality centres on breaking down physical and digital barriers to allow creativity to flow between both worlds seamlessly. One of the obvious ‘off ramps’ for this new workflow is 3D printing, taking representations of the 3D world off 2D screens and making them tangible. Interestingly, of the two products launched by HP at the event, the 3D printer came first. It was also the better-kept secret as Sprout, HP’s first input device for the new blended reality ecosystem, had been previewed online several days ahead of the main announcement.

The DesignJet 3D series, as the HP products were known, weren’t a significantly different enough proposition from Stratasys’ uPrints to gain them real traction in the market and by the time TCT Show 2011 rolled around they had already started to wind down operations. While the uPrint remains central to Stratasys’ ‘Ideas’ range of 3D printers, HP are taking a different, perhaps more logical route. A route that will pique the interest not only of their former partners, but the rest of the industry and its now significant investor community.

Again, Weisler pointed out that, as an output device from the digital world, 3D printing was too slow, too poor in quality, and too expensive. Then came the big unveiling… of the name. In the best traditions of the 3D printing lexicon, an easy three letter acronym ensued (though at this early stage in the game I haven’t seen HP refer to the process in anything but the full name. And a TM of course) with Multi Jet Fusion, inevitably we’ll call it MJF. The technology takes what HP knows from the 2D printing space, and they know an awful lot, to tackle some of the most obvious issues with 3D printing. A brand new technology with a familiar feel.

New direction

Multi Jet Fusion — the process

Multi Jet Fusion in brief. This outline of the process is subject to change for future developments notes the FAQs.

Shades of grey abound with the considered but workmanlike design. The first concrete hint at a new direction came from HP CEO Meg Whitman on stage at an investor event. Here Whitman explained that ‘HP labs are looking at [3D printing]’ and that HP wanted to ‘lead this business’. The initial prediction was for a June 2014 launch, though that was quickly amended to October. Whitman also alluded to the slow speed of current systems, which she compared to ‘watching ice melt’ and the prohibitive cost of many processes. Cost, speed and quality were therefore high on the list of targets for HP’s new 3D printing platform. With the new direction stated the rumour mills kicked into action, with ‘mainstream’ sites like ZDNet asking ‘3D Printing’s Great Mystery: Where is HP?’ only as far back as August 2014. Arguments raged as to whether HP would buy its way into the industry — after all, it is plenty big enough to snap up a 3D Systems/Stratasys sized company without wincing — or whether Whitman’s claimed solution came entirely from in-house development. On the 29th of October, we got our answers.

Multi Jet Fusion is a powder-bed, ink jetting-based system with a couple of significant twists. Firstly, two carriages sweep over the build area; one on the X axis and one on the Y axis. The X axis holds an HP Thermal Inkjet Array, and it is this that takes the lion’s share of the plaudits in the speed, scalability, and print quality improvements. On the Y axis travels a carriage that handles both the recoating and fusing functions. Both carriages are functional in both of their directions of travel, allowing them to complete one layer in a single pass, changing direction for the next layer. The thermal inkjet array uses multiple agents to help create the sharp edges and crisp features, colour and enhanced functionality. A fusing agent (or presumably in future any one of a number of fusing agents) is deposited on the powder that is to be fused. In other areas a layer of ‘detailing agent’ is applied, which either stops the fusion of particles in this area, or in other circumstances enhances fusion, allowing very sharp features to be created. The third class of agents are ‘transforming agents’, which are used to manipulate the specific characteristics of the print at the voxel level. This may be the use of CMYK colour, modulating elasticity, electrical or thermal conductivity, roughness or texture, opacity and translucency. Continued on page 27

Where the technology fits It’s important to start at the beginning of the new HP journey, with a concept the company refers to as ‘Blended Reality’. Dion Weisler, CEO of the newly formed HP Inc., explained that there was a “technology chasm” between the 3D world, where mankind has used hands in a 3D space to create since time immemorial, and the digital world, which is still largely two dimensional. “Physical and digital interaction at the speed of thought is our aim. We call it blended reality,” Weisler continued. A bold ambition. November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

Design for the Freedom of Additive Manufacturing

Assign Materials and Loads

Generate Ideal Shape

Produce with Additive Manufacturing

23.5% Weight Savings

What if you could start your design process with the ideal structural part and then use the freedom of additive manufacturing to make that part a reality? With solidThinking Inspire 2014, this is now possible.

ď&#x201A;Ź Request a free trial at solidThinking.com/TCT

Images courtesy of HardMarque Future Factories

Company

HP ENTERS THE INDUSTRY A number of models, including this ubiquitous dino head, demonstrated the fine details and sharp points achievable with Multi Jet Fusion. The level of post-processing of these parts cannot however be verified.

Parts on display at the launch event included colour models, representing one of the future developments HP have for Multi Jet Fusion technology.

The thermal inkjet array produces some truly impressive statistics: 350 million drops per second at 21µm accuracy. Talking with some of the HP tech team after the event the flexibility of inkjet technology became obvious. Alongside the resolution and throughput is the ability to react to issues on the fly. For example, a clogged nozzle could fail to create a droplet where needed and over the course of a whole build produce an area of weakness. Through constant monitoring however such a problem can be negated by one of the other nozzles producing two drops rather than one and filling in the gap. A detection and correction cycle that takes something in the order of 1/1000th of a second. This is an exceptionally ‘dumbed down’ version of the real process (blame the exceptionally dumbed down nature of your correspondent for that) but gives a glimpse into the seriousness of the proposition.

“HP’s foundation of the core technology is unparalleled, but now we need to involve the community in the next stages of development — as we plan to do with Shapeways — and have done very successfully in other businesses. We believe the Multi Jet Fusion concept, with close customer interaction, will deliver the 3D printing platform that the industry has been waiting for.”

This seriousness was echoed when talking with one of HP’s launch partners, Shapeways’ Peter Weijmarshausen, who has been one of HP’s development partners since earlier this year. Peter explained that any user of current 3D printing technology almost expects to have issues including failed builds, software glitches, materials anomalies and so on. Giving the accepting nature of the target market it may be difficult to understand why HP, which has a functioning platform today, would wait until 2016 to launch. It’s clear that they don’t want failed builds and imperfect parts. They’re looking at selling to new demanding customers as well as those jaded by decades of imperfection and have decades of reputation to uphold.

Agile development Another reason for the 2016 launch date is the Open Customer Engagement Program, whereby HP will work with selected customers to quickly develop specific capabilities in a way akin to the ‘agile’ development associated with software. Scott Schiller, Worldwide Business Director, HP 3D Printing, explained at the event: “This launch really represents HP demonstrating the fantastic work our team has done to date but also acts as an invitation for customers and partners to join us the next phase

of the development programme. HP’s foundation of the core technology is unparalleled, but now we need to involve the community in the next stages of development — as we plan to do with Shapeways — and have done very successfully in other businesses. We believe the Multi Jet Fusion concept, with close customer interaction, will deliver the 3D printing platform that the industry has been waiting for.” What could these developments be? On the materials front alone HP has stated that: ‘Beyond the current use of thermoplastics, HP aims to lead the market by developing new 3D print materials, using colour, biocompatible, ceramic, metal and other materials. Over time, HP plans to deliver colour capabilities for the same set of full-colour solutions it currently offers in the traditional printing space. In addition to HP-developed materials optimised for the HP Multi Jet Fusion solution, we will provide a certification process for partners to develop versatile materials and drive innovation in this area, helping quicken the manufacturing revolution.’ An open platform for materials development, not only allowed but supported by the printer OEM, will be music to the ears of many users and will cause pause for thought for any current 3D printer manufacturing business that relies heavily on closed systems and proprietary materials (or at least proprietary costs) to make money.

How fast, how cheap? So HP has some potentially powerful hardware up its sleeve, and an attitude to development that will win some friends in the industry, specifically those involved in the process. For others the promise of a process that is at least ten times faster than existing 3D printing technologies will be enough to make Multi Jet Fusion a serious proposition. Using an inkjet array will always be quicker than a single-point process and the singlepass-per-layer of Multi Jet Fusion speed things up again. For service bureaux — one of the targets HP has lined up — this could open up the opportunity for next-day delivery on some parts, a significant competitive advantage in an increasingly cut-throat sector. Beyond the speed, HP are promising that the Multi Jet Fusion platform will be ‘competitively priced compared to existing machines’ but that the cost-per-part will be a factor in driving ‘best-in-class total cost of ownership’. Continued on page 29

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

3D PRINTING SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS connect applications to 3D printing technologies

Enhance capabilities for printers large or small Solutions for every step in your Additive Manufacturing process Start, improve, expand your Additive Manufacturing business

For more information visit our website software.materialise.com or contact us at software@materialise.be

HP ENTERS THE INDUSTRY As Terry Wohlers remarked in the promotional material: “[HP] is going to rewrite the rules of 3D printing. I can envision companies purchasing expensive equipment and then putting it in moth balls when the new HP equipment becomes available.” A little showmanship To demonstrate the capabilities of the new technology, HP filmed a sequence with a car being lifted by a crane where one of the links in the chain was 3D printed using Multi Jet Fusion. The part reportedly weighed ¼ pound (113 grams) and was printed in 30 minutes. You can see the full video at http://mytct.co/MJFcarlift.

The colour parts on display could also be construed as showmanship as the first systems to ship in 2016 are likely to be able to print in black thermoplactic only, with colour coming further down the line and the other options and materials following on. The tip of the iceberg? HP’s initial indecision on the date of the announcement, or preannouncement, initially had some analysts worried that this was a knee-jerk reaction to an investor question and that behind the scenes the company would be scrambling to deliver something worthy. From speaking with some of the team behind the Multi Jet Fusion platform however it’s obvious that this has been in the HP skunkworks for a long time, and dozens of potential methods have been researched and discounted. With the inherent flexibility and scalability of inkjet and the enormous resources at the company’s disposal (and that’s generally rather than ‘for a 3D printing company’) HP have the opportunity to land themselves right in the middle of an industry at just the right time.

The ¼ pounder with clout: this part, taking less that 30 minutes to print, can support up to 10,000lb. Potential Key Advantages 1. Immediate or announced

■

Open materials development

■

Speed — at least 10 times faster then existing technology

■

Better powder recyclability

■

Colour — already in development

■

Uniform part strength in all three axis

■

Uniform build across the entire platform

■

Reduced overall energy usage

2. Potential future developments

■

Flexible materials

■

Opaque, translucent and real full colour

■

Electrical and heat conductivity

■

Metals / metallic materials

Yes, 2016 is a while off yet, but Gartner’s recent update to the hypecycle shows enterprise 3D printing starting to climb the ‘Slope of Enlightenment’ after a couple of years stuck in the ‘trough of disillusionment’. With some materials and workflows development to be undertaken with partners and no doubt plenty of work with existing software providers to find out how best to utilise the many different properties possible (HP has already said that the humble STL files pretty much sucks), we could be in for something of a seismic shift in what we make, and how we make it. i| www.HP.com

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

CES PREVIEW

INTERNATIONAL CES 2015 –

the preview

In the first week of 2013, our venerable editor and publisher trudged off to International CES 2013 in Las Vegas to see a handful of 3D printing companies popping up on the CES show floor, the following year TCT + Personalize was sponsoring the 3D Printing TechZone - hosting in excess of 40 3D Printing companies - as well as packing out conference rooms, so much so that we were required to move to a bigger room.

uilding on that success the 3D Printing TechZone is now the 3D Printing Marketplace and has doubled in size from 7,000 square feet to 14,000. Located at the newly formed Tech West section of CES, which includes wearable tech, robotics and smart sensor technology, the 3D Printing Marketplace will be on Level 2 of Sands Expo. This evident growth in the consumer 3D printing market is reflected in CEA’s most recent U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast report, which claims sales of desktop 3D printers are expected to reach 67,000 units in 2014, earning $76 million in revenue, an increase of 43 per cent over 2013.

“With huge advancements in digital technology, 3D printers are moving toward more compact units that are more suitable for consumers and capable of printing a variety of consumer goods, from toys and electronics to clothing, shoes and even food,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, International CES and corporate business strategy, CEA. “The vast expansion of the 3D printing footprint at the 2015 CES speaks to the category’s potential to become a major disruptor in the global economy, and confirms that CES is the platform to see the future of printing come to life.” The first 3D printing company to cause a stir at CES were MakerBot back at the 2010 edition, they arrived on the scene with another NYC startup and their wooden machines printing off plastic parts raised a few intrigued eyebrows. Who’d have thought that four years later Bre Pettis, having sold the company for $400m, would have been doing one of the single biggest product launches at the whole event? CES has become the place for desktop 3D printer manufacturers to launch their machines; the aforementioned MakerBot launched three new replicators at the 2014 edition while 3D Systems launched a new wave of 3D printing in what they called “3D Printing 2.0”. There were newcomers like XYZ Printing who showcased their sub $500 plug-and-play 3D Printer the DaVinci. With the major players like Materialise, 3D Systems, MakerBot, EnvisionTEC, DWS returning; a CES 3D Printing Marketplace debut for Autodesk with their Spark platform; and plenty of debutants including crowdfunding successes Zeepro there’s sure to be a host of new and upcoming tech to see at International CES 2015.

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

CES PREVIEW

CES — CONFERENCE

PREVIEW

In 2015 TCT + Personalize will once again run the 3D Printing conference during International CES in Las Vegas. Expanded to encompass a full day of content the conference will deliver information pertinent to the consumer electronics industry including the realities and opportunities of 3D printing as a consumer experience, and also where the opportunities lie for deployment of 3D printing within existing manufacturing and distributions supply chains.

hen TCT first visited International CES in 2013 there was a small and somewhat dispersed representation for the 3D printing industry. Leading the charge were MakerBot who saw the benefit of attending as far back as 2010. They were joined by the likes of 3D Systems and Sculpteo, though some considerable distance separated the three. Fast forward to 2015 and TCT + Personalize is proud to take a central booth within a much enhanced 3D Printing Marketplace, alongside over 50 3D printing focussed companies. The phenomenal growth year-on-year is representative of the industry as a whole. Many of the companies now exhibiting were either not in the 3D printing space or not in existence back in 2013! The growth is mirrored by the newly-expanded conference that will take place on the 7th of January in Marco Polo 702. At the time of writing five speakers have been confirmed, with more to be added very soon. Kicking off the day we are delighted to have CEO of Autodesk, Carl Bass. Carl’s passion for making is well known, as is Autodesk’s unique approach to its work. The launch of the Spark platform, 3D printer and $100 million 3D printing investment programme coupled to over 30 years experience in the design software industry make Autodesk individually placed within the industry. As the leader widely respected for the diversification of Autodesk’s portfolio, and someone with such demonstrable respect for creation and creators, Carl will get the conference going with a bang. Analyst and consultant Phil Reeves joins the line up, bringing with him a diverse experience and in-depth knowledge of 3D printing and additive manufacturing. From academia to the consumer to blue chip companies, Phil’s work has helped organisations decipher the 3DP/AM world and has guided their uptake of the technologies in a coherent and productive manner. A regular at TCT in the UK, Phil’s previous presentations can be found on tctshow.com and tctmagazine.com.

Two debutants from the 2014 TCT Show + Personalize will once again join us in Las Vegas; MakerBot’s CEO, Jenny Lawton, and founder and CEO of Materialise, Fried Vancraen. MakerBot’s involvement with CES goes back further than any other 3D printing-focussed company and as such Jenny is thankfully well versed in the unique experience that awaits! MakerBot’s role in the promotion, popularisation and increased uptake of 3D printing are plain to see, and Jenny’s insight into how the company has achieved so much, and how it is looking to develop will be invaluable. Fried’s role as CEO at Materialise sees him leading a company with diverse and exciting projects in the world of 3D printing and beyond. Materialise are at the vanguard of integrating 3D printing into surgical and biomedical settings — noted as one of today’s most important applications for additive technologies. With the consumer arms of Materialise in i.materialise and .MGX catering to an entirely different yet equally exciting market Fried’s insights into the real ‘killer applications’ as they stand today will likely surprise a few in the audience. Also on the list is Formlabs founder Max Lobovsky. Along with MakerBot, Formlabs were subjects in the recent documentary film ‘Print the Legend’ (more starting on page 38), which explored some of the challenges associated with not only 3D printing but also founding and expanding a high-tech startup. Formlabs’ success and widespread praise is testament to Max’s deliberate nature and undoubted technical ability. We’ll get Max’s take on what’s next for Formlabs and for 3D printing in general. If you’re thinking of joining us in Las Vegas in January I would suggest you first have a slightly less indulgent Christmas than you might, and then register for the 3D Printing Conference at www.cesweb.org. Alongside the 3D Printing Marketplace it offers a unique insight into the industry with a different tone that you will find anywhere else.

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

CES UNVEILED

CES Unveiled I

PARIS

f you’ve seen the recent Luc Besson movie ‘Lucy’ you may be familiar with the surroundings of the Westin Vendôme Paris as Morgan Freeman’s pioneering cerebral capacity lecturer takes up residence in the hotel for the duration of the action. The grand old hotel opened as the most luxurious hotel in Paris in 1878, and was home to CES Unveiled Paris and the annual CEA CEO Summit. Last year TCT’s partnership with one of the world’s largest trade shows, International CES, was just blossoming when the team trudged off to the London event and set up shop to show the national press the joys of 3D printing with a first generation 3D Systems Cube and Beijing TierTime Up Plus. The printing of rooks and 3D CES logos suitably impressed the press in 2013 but such is the speed this industry moves that that would astonish nobody in 2014. Rather than lugging the out-dated tech to Paris, TCT partnered with a cutting edge, local, 3D printing service provider to bring in their considerable operational expertise to showcase the latest and greatest of 3D printing… as well as help out with the language barrier facing team TCT, who can just about stretch to ordering a croque monsieur not speaking in depth about wall thicknesses and layer resolution. LeFabShop, not only are France’s number one MakerBot reseller but they also work on 3D modelling projects with institutes such as Château de Versailles and in-house materials development like the production of filament made from seaweed. LeFabShop crew pitched up at the Vendôme with a trusty MakerBot Replicator 2 and a truly consumer machine in the MakerBot Replicatior Mini, which, like many of the other items at the table top exhibition, can be controlled using a smartphone.

TCT continues its partnership with the world’s largest tradeshow, International CES, as the team hop across the channel to dish out some 3D printing advice to the press and gathered big wigs.

Hoards of international and French press gathered at the TCT stand to see what was possible with the technology. Interestingly, the key talking point had moved on from last years “wow! It prints plastic” to a more in depth and thoughtful discussion of “what can we do with the technology?” The progress in the public knowledge of the technology is palpable. Reaching the summit Much like the drug accidentally implanted in Scarlett Johansson’s titular character who runs amok in Paris, day two was TCT’s role to unlock the ‘cerebral capacity’ of some of 3D printing’s industry leaders in order to give an overview of the industry to a gathered room of CEO’s from the likes of Panasonic, Netflix and other consumer tech giants. The assembled panel was the perfect mix of industry consultant and realistic optimist, Dr Phil Reeves, consumer 3D printing service provider, Sculpteo’s Clement Moreau and machine manufacturer in Blue Printer’s Niels Appel. Though a friendly bunch their three contrasting views on where the consumer industry is headed served up lively and thought provoking debate. One particularly lively debate centred around the technology’s uses in the current consumer electronics sector with Niels saying that the majority of parts being printed on BluePrinters today are still prototypes, with Clement going that extra step further saying that consumer electronic startups are using services like Sculpteo for their first run of products and Phil Reeves suggesting that there was no one solution that would suit all, the only option is to see where the technology fits into a business rather than how a business fits the technology. i| www.cesweb.org

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

OPTOMEC

Our philosophy about 3D printing Lens repair

IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT

When it comes to 3D printing, “Everybody likes to think they’re different.” That’s the belief from Ken Vartanian of Optomec, leading specialists in production grade additive manufacturing services.

n a climate where the majority of 3D printing is primarily based around plastics, you hear a lot of ‘world’s first’s coming from companies and start-ups making the slightest alteration to their product, pushing some form of uniqueness just to generate that all-important buzz around being the first. Speaking to TCT at TCT Show, Ken, Marketing Vice President, said: “Our philosophy about 3D printing is a little bit different.” Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Optomec is located close to the Sandia National Laboratories, the place where a lot of the technology that the company commercialises originated. The company is rapidly growing and can already count over 150 sales of its systems globally. “We have two distinct technologies,” says Ken. “One for printing structural 3D metals and the other for printing electronics which is really at the leading edge of 3D printing. Metals is just beginning to come into its own and pretty soon people are going to look at ‘how do I functionalise plastic?’, ‘how do I put in sensors, antennas and integrate them?’. We have that technology today.”

WORDS | Laura Griffiths Optomec’s leading print process allows for the addition of materials on complex surfaces, which was demonstrated using the surface of an egg at TCT Show to help visualise how the technology can be deployed on an uneven surface. Ken told TCT: “We look at additive manufacturing across the entire product lifecycle not only looking at the front end design processes and how we can realise new designs but also how can we repair parts, hybrid manufacturing and how we can add resistant material parts that make them perform better.”

Metals is just beginning to come into its own and pretty soon people are going to look at ‘how do I functionalise plastic?’, ‘how do I put in sensors, antennas and integrate them?’. We have that technology today.”

Optomec certainly does appear to have a different attitude towards additive manufacturing. With its LENS and Aerosol Jet technology, it is no longer just about being able to print a 3D structure but also other crucial benefits in areas of repair, electronics and functionality that this form of manufacturing can offer.

“Our approach to 3D printing is three distinguishing ideas,” explained Ken. “To us 3D printing means not only being able to print a complete object in 3D but also being able to add material to existing objects that might have been produced through a conventional manufacturing process. This requires the ability of your 3D printing technology to print in 3D space not only building up but being able to print on a pre-formed object.”

Naturally, there are a range of opposing opinions throughout the industry on the future of 3D printing. Optimistic images where rows of 3D printers will fill factories floors pit against others sceptical about the impact of the technology with talk of IPs and the toll on traditional manufacturing processes. Yet Optomec has a very practical outlook on the future of the additive manufacturing industry.

“We think about additive manufacturing as coexisting with current manufacturing methods,” Ken clarified. “It’s not, in our view, going to replace machines. It’s not going to replace all of the current processes but it is going to coexist. That concept drives us to the notion that our technology must integrate with existing manufacturing processes. So we think about this as open system architecture where the technology can integrate freely with existing processes.” This means that customers will find it much easier to adopt additive manufacturing technology into their current workflows to not simply replace their existing machines but to improve their processes by introducing new processes gradually.

November 2014

AJ 5X printing on a golf ball “We think this is extremely important for adoption especially in manufacturers,” said Ken. “Manufacturing companies are very conservative when it comes to bringing in a disruptive technology, it must be proven over time. So by taking this approach of co-existence we can allow the technology to be adopted and embraced and show its benefits to our customers in a gradual form. They don’t have to shut down a complete production line they can put it in a place where it can add value. That’s what it’s all about.” Optomec highlighted a new LENS product at this year’s TCT Show, the LENS Print Engine, a modularised version of the LENS 3D Printing system for metals which can be integrated with standard metal cutting machine tools. “We sell standalone systems with LENS but we want to be able to integrate this with other manufacturing methods,” says Ken. “So we took the core technology out of LENS and packaged it in a way that it can go inside of a CNC machine tool. Now with the same machine you can subtract materials or you can add materials and our customers don’t have to go and buy a separate machine. They can use their existing assets.” Optomec recently revealed that it had more than doubled its order bookings throughout the first three quarters of 2014 resulting in a record number of orders for its LENS and Aerosol Jet products in the third quarter alone. As far as the future is concerned, business looks promising. Ken firmly believes that sensors, connectivity and the Internet of Things will play a significant role in driving the integration of electronics into parts made with additive manufacturing. “This is very exciting for us. The market is starting to really mature, looking for solutions that go beyond plastic and now moving into metals and we think electronics. We’ll be there when the market is ready to move into electronics.” |

www.tctmagazine.com

PRINT THE

LEGEND Starting up in the shadow of Steve Jobs WORDS | Laura Griffiths

“If you’re a leader, every day there is something new that you didn’t count on that comes up and smacks you in the face.” That’s the opening line of Print The Legend, a documentary that follows the race to put 3D printing on the desktop and casts a telling light on the complex nature of start up culture and building a successful business. Print The Legend’s co-directors Clay Tweel and Luis Lopez, with producer Steve Klein, talk to TCT about their time behind the scenes in the competitive desktop industry.

Print the Legend promotional poster

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

PRINT THE LEGEND

Luis shooting Cody, shooting a target

The team followed key characters closely over several years

“The

story we were trying to tell was one of the challenges it takes to build a business and the trade offs, the compromises and ways in which you have to adapt in order to grow your business,” explained Tweel. “A deeper almost philosophical layer would be the shadow of Steve Jobs looming over start up businesses. We read the biography of Steve Jobs right before we started filming and that kind of inspired us to analyse into ways in which he was a leader and how that was kind of either a inspiration or cautionary tale for a lot of these entrepreneurs.” The influence of Apple and the legacy Steve Jobs left for this generation of entrepreneurs is clear in the 3D printing start-up world. The film opens with dialogue from former MakerBot CEO, Bre Pettis about the inspiration Jobs had given him and the parallels he saw between Apple’s story and the rise of desktop 3D printers.

“What if there had been a film crew with Steve jobs when they made the Apple computer – could we be that film crew for the next Macintosh moment?”

“What if there had been a film crew with Steve jobs when they made the Apple computer – could we be that film crew for the next Macintosh moment?,” asks Klein. “As the story emerged it added these themes of exploring the American dream and how its influence on the world has some darker sides too about the sacrifices that success in the market place takes from the people who achieve it.”

Though 3D printing might be the focus point of the film, the real driving force behind the narrative is about the disruption a new technology can cause and the challenges those possible leaders face in getting that technology out there. During the team’s research phase, 3D printing was really starting to emerge as an interesting player in that arena. The crew focused in on the stories of two major upcoming contenders in the field, MakerBot and Formlabs.

“Our previous experience with 3D printing before we went into it was non-existent,” explains Lopez. “We were looking at other sorts of technology as well like augmented reality, just different things that might have that potential to explode as the next big thing. There was a lot of conversation about it being the next big thing and there was a lot of aggressive growth and moving and shaking in that space so that really caught our attention.”

“Start up culture was something we found interesting,” Klein adds. “It was around the time that Bre was on the cover of Wired with a MakerBot saying ‘this machine will change the world’ and we were already out in the field. We scheduled to go to MakerBot’s original offices and when we walked in we had a moment of real jaw dropping – just one of those moments where you see something that’s like magic being caused by technology. The vibe of that office with seventy people crammed into a tiny space, everyone staying late excited and working hard, that vibe felt like what the garage mythology is all about and so that was really exciting.” Continued on page 41

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

PRINT THE LEGEND

Bre Pettis of Makerbot ready to announce the company’s aquisition by Stratysys

There is a romanticised idea about the notion of start up culture. The image of the hacker, tinkering from a humble workspace to eventually move to a Google-style office where employees arrive on skateboards, is an appealing one but difficult to maintain when a start-up suddenly becomes a real business. Bre Pettis is the poster boy for those challenges standing at the front of a growing business when issues like privacy and competition come into play. As Bre puts it: “We can’t live in a fantasy world and run a business sometimes.” “People are very protective about their ideas and it’s a competitive arena so people are private about their making and developing and so it took some time and trust to build access so we could be around,” explained Lopez. The crew are renowned for producing documentaries on niche and indie subjects such as video games in King of Kong and young magicians in Make Believe. Yet there was a contrast between the openness of these fairly unguarded circles and the 3D printing world that proved more conscious of opening its doors to a set of cameras. “This is totally different, this is a group of people who are for very smart reasons saying we have to be very careful,” says Klein. “Each of the CEOs that were featured had a chance to see the movie at an earlier stage and have some dialogue with us about it and each of them in their own way influenced things that were in the film to help make them more accurate.” In the last couple of years, 3D printing has experienced a media buzz as a direct result of a dotted timeline of defining moments. Some industry names, whilst not quite household, have made themselves celebrities in their own field and have utilised this increased interest and relationship with the press to put this technology into the spotlight.

The image of the hacker, tinkering from a humble workspace to eventually move to a Google style office where employees arrive on skateboards, is an appealing one but difficult to maintain when a start-up suddenly becomes a real business.

“For me one of the things that changed since Steve Jobs ascended is the ubiquity of cameras, microphones and press outlets today that it isn’t really possible perhaps to do what Steve jobs did,” explained Klein. “It isn’t really possible to mesmerise the whole of the press to such a degree that you really can control the narrative.” Lopez added: “Bre is a wonderful storyteller, he’s able to tell a story and people eat that story up.” Though the film has ‘Print’ in the title it’s not solely about 3D printing and perhaps those viewing the film in hope of a story about the history of the technology are missing the point of its message. There are many themes that surround this industry, be that the media, start up culture or the business world. The film tackles those subjects whilst utilising 3D printing as the vehicle to tell that story. “If we could visit the living room of everyone that was going to watch it on Netflix right before they watched it, I think we would say – don’t sit down and watch this movie as a movie that is definitively about the history of 3D printing,” says Tweel. “We wanted to look at the people, the name brands, and the recognisable name brands that people were kind of talking about [especially those] based in the US who at the time we were filming were racing to put this industrial technology on your desktop. 3D Systems, MakerBot and Formlabs.” Continued on page 43

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

PRINT THE LEGEND

“Among his books on law and philosophy and anarchism there was your magazine,” reveals Klein.

If you have seen the film you may have noticed TCT’s 10 seconds of fame when a still of the magazine features in the footage. That magazine was found on the desk of no other than the infamous Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed who hit headlines in 2013 when he published plans online for a functional 3D printed pistol, the Liberator.

“It was sitting on Cody’s counter in Austin, Texas. Among his books on law and philosophy and anarchism there was your magazine,” reveals Klein. “We were right there when he put the liberator out and uploaded it. To see the media spin around it all was fascinating and Cody working that and the story and his agenda into the press and the press eating it up – that was really interesting to see.” Tweel said: “It’s more about the control and power of information and flow of information on the internet which I actually do believe strongly in and the democratising of information. So I kind of had a reversal of how I thought about Cody and really appreciated the sentiment about what he was trying to do. Now the means in which he did it by taking the most dangerous object that he could find and using an unregulated technology is pretty crazy but its also pretty smart of him.” Klein added: “There’s a scene in the movie with Cody that’s one of my favourites where he points out that a couple of years ago if you said to somebody ‘hey have you heard of 3D printing’ they were like ‘I don’t know what’s 3D printing?’. And now if you ask them they say ‘I’ve heard that and can’t you print a gun with it?’ The fact that that stuck so clearly in the public worldwide imagination shows how smart an idea that was from a propaganda perspective.” Intellectual property is another important issue explored in the film. With concerns like the availability of 3D printed guns down to much more simple questions of how to make money from 3D designs or the protection of patents, the debate about the movement and freedom of information is on-going. “We talked to Chris Anderson, the former editor of Wired and he said ‘How many polygons is privacy?’” explained Tweel. “So the copyright and intellectual property debate was something we explored a lot as well. The industry as a whole seems to be so unregulated at this point that it is, in my mind anyway, inevitable that structure and laws are going to be put in to place to try to manage the flow of information.” A lot changed in the time the crew were filming and even more so since the cameras were turned off. Bre is now heading up a new Stratasys project, Bold Machines, which interestingly is another blend of 3D printing and film. If all of that can happen in such a short space of time, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years as the industry continues to grow and adapt. Klein said: “We’re not by any means business insiders or 3D printing experts but it was fascinating just to see all of it. To see that aggressive growth and the change within the companies and the change with the individuals.” “I want to know what happens and how things change and how things develop,” added, Lopez. “It feels like it’s something that’s going through such epic growth that the adjustments are quick and often and I’d be fascinated to see where these companies are in five years.”

Print the Legend Netflix promotional poster

“It feels like it’s

Klein concluded: “There is this moment that sticks out something from when we were filming. that’s going We were in the New York (MakerBot) store not long through such after it opened and getting a epic growth that sense of what it was like there and there was a kid who the adjustments came in with his dad. He are quick and showed us these little Greek columns that he had printed often and I’d be because he was working fascinated to on a report about Greek architecture. He designed see where these and printed these little things on his MakerBot. companies are in That was a moment for me five years.” where I was like, ‘oh right when kids come up already comfortable in SketchUp and CAD – they’re going to start using it for things we wouldn’t even think of using a 3D printer for’ – that will be exciting and really interesting.” Print The Legend is available to watch exclusively on Netflix.

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

ALL NEW Large Build Volume: W255 x D205 x H205 mm

Enclosed Printing Environment & Air Filtration

Fully Automated Platform Leveling

New ABS Print Surface & Smart Support

Faster Printing with Higher Precision (0.1mm)

Powerful but Easy to Use UP SoďŹ&#x2026;ware

3D Printer

F e a t u re P a c ke d | L a rg e F o r m a t U P B O X

Best in Class Portable UP Plus 2

Out of Box UP mini

DDM SYSTEMS 2015 is set to be a crucial year for DDM Systems as the company debuts its patented LAMP (Large Area Maskless Photopolymerization) technology to the market. Suman Das, CEO of DDM Systems talks about how this technology aims to target the aviation industry and disrupt a manufacturing process that has been in existence for thousands of years.

Revolutionising Investment Casting

n the summer of 2006, Suman teamed with Professor John Halloran, his University of Michigan colleague, to conceive of and invent a technology that would revolutionise manufacturing of metal components through “lost-wax” investment casting. With funding awarded through the Defence Advance Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Disruptive Manufacturing Technologies programme, they set out to create an advanced additive manufacturing technology that would break the trade off between object size, feature resolution and process speed for the production of ceramic cores and integral-cored moulds used in the casting of aerofoils specifically for turbine engines in aviation. Suman explained: “The aim of that funding opportunity was to develop disruptive technologies that fundamentally changed the way a component or a family of components is made, whilst leading to dramatic reductions in costs and lead times, reduction in scrap, and the ability to produce advanced designs that were previously considered non-manufacturable.” The idea of making impossible objects is something that designers and engineers are pushing by transforming old processes and using additive manufacturing to make them possible. LAMP takes the 6000-year-old process of lost-wax casting, originally reserved for bronze figurines and jewellery and is used today to make precise and demanding high-value metal components. LAMP has the ability to rapidly manufacture precision parts and components with macro scale exterior dimensions and detailed micro-scale interior features through a process that reduces time, cost and up to 90 per cent of waste material when compared with traditional methods. With research funded by the US Department of Defense for the specific purpose of producing ceramic cores and moulds for investment casting of high-precision, high performance turbine engine hot-section components, LAMP is unlike other current commercial 3D printing technology with two key goals. “First, we aimed to develop an additive manufacturing technology that would directly print these very intricate, complex parts so that they could ultimately be rendered in ceramics having the right properties suitable

recognises the challenges that may lie ahead. Suman is confident that this technology has the ability to revolutionise the way the aviation and industrial gas turbine industries manufacture parts.

for casting nickel-base superalloys,” said Suman. “Secondly, we aimed to implement a new disruptive technology for manufacturing monolithic integral-cored moulds that have never before been used in the foundries and do not exist today.” Traditionally in investment casting, the tooling for making ceramic cores, wax patterns around the ceramic cores and the ceramic cores themselves are made separately and can often come from various suppliers. This can be a lengthy process with multiple steps and can produce a huge volume of unnecessary waste material. LAMP combats this through an all-digital approach by eliminating three out of 12 integral steps in standard investment casting with additive manufactured ceramic cores and conventional wax tooling, and a huge seven out of 12 steps with integral-cored moulds, relegating the need for tooling. Right now DDM Systems is building this technology from the ground up for a production environment to ensure the performance and architecture of the LAMP system is robust and reliable before it goes on the market next year. “I’ve been in this field long enough to know that you definitely do not want to place a half-baked product in the hands of your first customers,” said Suman. “I’ve seen that happen with many other technologies, overhyped and then when they get adopted and used, there is a massive wave of disappointment because they’re not performing as they should be.” The demand for this type of technology is evident as Suman describes how LAMP’s initial success came from the crucial first half of 2014 where interest in the technology expanded admittedly without a lot of marketing or press. DDM Systems believes it has found its initial market but as with any technology, Suman November 2014

“The aviation sector and the industrial gas turbine sector are both undergoing massive expansion right now,” said Suman. “We have positioned ourselves to be inline with this particular sector because, in terms of advanced technologies, history has shown that aviation always pulls first because they want to use the latest and greatest technologies. This is where one of the biggest challenge lies. It’s the highest risk and the highest pay off.” The aviation sector is one of the most talked about application domains for additive manufacturing. With companies such as GE and Boeing already applying the technology, it is proving to be a real game changer as manufacturers have the opportunity to produce parts for aircraft that lower fuel consumption and promote sustainability. Suman predicts that this market will continue to grow as the pressure and demand for turbines, parts and components in both civilian and military sectors increases over the next decade. “The pressure and the market pull on new components is so high today,” says Suman. “There’s also the demand for spare parts and upgrades to existing ageing aircraft. You can’t just take those planes out of service and retire them; you need to be able to make them last longer, perform at higher temperatures and be more efficient. All of that is lining up in the direction that more effective advanced manufacturing methods that cut out multiple steps are needed now.” Suman says that the interest in this technology is already very encouraging and could prove crucial for the future of its proposed industry and others as additional applications in titanium, aluminium and magnesium castings continue to be developed for use in real, functional parts. Suman explained: “There’s great motivation and excitement to be able to do that and at some point in the future say, look this aircraft is utilising parts made by this technology. For me being an engineer, that is a huge sense of pride to be able to claim that someday.” |

www.tctmagazine.com

CONCEPT LASER

PROOF OF

CONCEPT This particular issue of the magazine will be prominent throughout Hall 11 at EuroMold 2014 and there’s not a more apt story than the one we’re about to tell of a company whose four—strong team’s launch at the event 14 years ago has spawned, arguably, the largest dedicated metal additive manufacturing company on the planet. At the biannual Concept Laser User Group Meeting, Associate Editor Dan O’Connor caught up with the founder and CEO Frank Herzog.

WORDS | Daniel O’Connor

he setting is Bamberg, a town in Southern Germany the medieval and baroque architecture of which, according to UNESCO, “exerted a strong influence on urban form and evolution in the lands of central Europe from the 11th century onwards.” The company, though based 40km north in Lichtenfels, is Concept Laser, who it could argued, are ‘exerting a strong influence’ on the evolution of the additive manufacturing of metals.

CEO Frank Herzog

That strong influence is evident as 170 representatives from over 20 countries gathered at the Welcome Kongresshotel Bamberg to hear talks from the likes of Airbus, Daimler and Materialise on use cases as well as networking with fellow LaserCUSING users and offer feedback to the Concept Laser team. “It is important for us to be close to our customers, to meet them personally and take direct action from their feedback.” Explained CEO Frank Herzog. “It is a perfect opportunity to meet many customers and find out what they are doing with our machines. It is also an opportunity for customers to speak amongst themselves and see what processes they can adopt perhaps from different sectors.” The tranquillity of the UNESCO Heritage City and the organisation of the team is a far cry from the chaotic early days of LaserCUSING, which began back in 1999 when Frank first saw the laser sintering of plastics and thought ‘what is possible with plastics must be possible with metals.’ Continued on page 49

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

CONCEPT LASER

Concept Laser User Group

“The first prototype machine was a device platform with a spindle and a dispenser; I had to feed the powder on top of the platform by hand.” Recalls the CEO. “While I was working on the metal additive manufacturing process with CO2 lasers my wife was conducting research with one of the first 100 watt Solid State lasers. I was getting nice parts with my CO2 lasers but they were about 20-30 per cent porous. Together my wife and I had this idea to use the Solid State laser to treat the surface of parts and we discovered that we could melt the complete material to a depth of one tenth of a millimetre.

“That Euromold was a crazy situation because we were four young engineers with this product, M3 Linear, which we called “one laser, three technologies” because as well as being the first machine worldwide to do laser melting of metals or ‘LaserCUSING’ it could do laser appellation and laser marking. We had no idea how to present such a product, how to sell such a product even. We showed the machine at the booth and it “The first part I made was a sensation, people were running to the booth wanting to know everything and we tried our best to on it was a very present it. It is funny to look back at those times. “

simple tool insert,” he continued. “When it came out, this laser melted part, I can not describe the feeling, we implemented it into the tool and it worked, it was extraordinary.”

“The first part I made on it was a very simple tool insert,” he continued. “When it came out, this laser melted part, I cannot describe the feeling, we implemented it into the tool and it worked, it was extraordinary.” From that point Frank and his wife took the idea to her father Günter and his brother, her uncle Robert Hofmann, who happened to be the heads of Hofmann Tool Shop and Hofmann Model Shop respectively. They agreed, in 2000, to fund the idea on the agreement that the newly formed Concept Laser would have a working machine in one and a half years time to show at the 2001 Euromold, a show that will forever be engraved into Frank’s memory.

From those four engineers startled by the Euromold 2001 hoards, Concept Laser now lays substantial claim to being the largest company dedicated solely to the additive manufacturing of metal materials. There’s close to 100 people working directly at Concept Laser and another 40 or so at the Hofmann Innovation Group concentrating on the machine manufacture, this exponential growth, which Frank states as 40%50% each year for the previous three, can be traced back to the appointment of Oliver Edelmann in 2002.

“If you have the best product but no ability to sell it then you won’t sell it. Mr Edelmann had a comfortable job but he wanted a challenge and jumped into the cold water with Concept Laser. He has since built up lasting partnerships and the whole sales structure of Concept Laser to the point where we have gathered all these people at this event.” You only have to look at the names of the companies on the name badges of those gathered people at the Concept Laser 2014 User Group Meeting to see how far they’ve come in those thirteen years since pioneering the technology at Euromold. While the Concept Laser team’s undoubted hard work has paid dividends Frank does think that the media whirlwind that has surrounded 3D printing in the past few years has been beneficial to the industry as a whole.

Continued on page 51

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

PRODUCTION, WITHOUT THE LINE... Direct Digital Manufacturing solutions from Tri-Tech3D Imagine production without the oppressive costs and time requirements of tooling. Make changes quickly and affordably at any stage in the production cycle. For expert advice call Tri-Tech3D.

TELEPHONE: 01782 814551 VISIT: WWW.TRITECH3D.CO.UK

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

CONCEPT LASER

“The public 3D printing discussion has put the technology into the minds of many and in particular, for us, the minds of the boardroom.” Said Frank. “There has been a complete change in the last two years at boardroom level of big companies towards additive manufacturing, no longer are we “There has been chasing, they’re now visiting us. We’ve been rubbing our eyes at some of the important people we’ve had through a complete the doors at Concept Laser HQ, whom five years ago we’d never have thought it possible to even get to speak change in the to. The bigger companies have realised the importance last two years at of integrating the technology strategically for their future business plans.” boardroom level One of those bigger companies is Airbus, who recently announced that a bracket printed in titanium on a Concept Laser machine with the help of Laser Zentrum Nord will be onboard the Airbus A350 XWB. The eight year project finished second only to the BMW i3 project in the prestigious Innovation Award of the German Economy and according to Frank it won’t be long before the likes of BMW are implementing the technology onto their production line.

of big companies towards additive manufacturing, no longer are we chasing, they’re now visiting us.”

“With Airbus we have built an organic structure for a bracket, it has a bionic design, which not only improves strength but saves weight and therefore cost,” enthused the CEO. “People always told me that this technology will not enter automotive serial production but I have met experts working for car manufacturing companies who said that they would not agree with this statement because one day we will start to completely change the design of parts because of the freedom of design that digital manufacturing offers.”

Freedom of creation is one positive that will appeal to the designers in the automotive and aerospace sectors, but the benefit that could see the technology on the factory floor even sooner comes down to the moneymen. As government’s ramp up their environmental policies and offer grants for implementation of greener technologies in manufacturing Concept Laser are well placed to take full advantage.

“This technology is a green technology; with something like casting there is a lot of waste and a lot of energy is expanded when putting parts through the oven. The conversion from oven to laser is very green and then there is the matter of less waste. At Concept Laser’s home in Lichtenfels we are talking about integrating solar-powered technology to run our lab machines, we know it is definitely possible to run a smaller MLab Cusing off solar powered technology.” This sense of being kind to their environment does not stop at the ozone layer and polar ice caps, as a medium-sized German enterprise Frank Herzog is a keen believer in the code of honour that is the Deutsche Mittelstand. “Behind the companies there are owners and we have a responsibility to take care of the people; the people that work for us, who we have a responsibility to as a long-term employer; being a reliable partner the people that are our customers; and the people in our local surrounding, who we support by the sponsorship of social and sporting activities. We are not a company listed on the stock market and looking for only profit, we are a community.”

Airbus bracket manufactured with LaserCusing

As pioneers of the technology and with people like Frank Herzog at the helm it is clear that Concept Laser are in this for the long haul, after fighting through the 2008 financial crash they are expanding with offices in the US and China. By the time the next User Group Meeting rolls around in two years Concept Laser may well need to book out a bigger hotel. i| www.concept-laser.de/en/home

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

LOW–COST METAL PRINTING

Rise of the

METAL HEADS i| http://mytct.co/Metal3DP

f there was a clear trend that came out of this year’s TCT Show + Personalize it was that the additive manufacturing of metal is piquing interests of large industries. 3D Systems, Concept Laser, SLM Solutions, ExOne and Renishaw all reported back to us that they had hugely impressive shows with visitors particularly keen to know more on metal printing.

The process in action — would certainly get the neighbours interest...

Newcomers Efesto went one step further, with their CEO announcing on the TCT Introducing stage that Efesto expect to do about $10m as a direct result of TCT Show (more on page 63). Though each company has their own terminology for the process of additively manufacturing metals and the development of such materials, they are all variations on a theme; the printing of metal powders. These processes are, for 99 per cent of small to medium enterprises, too expensive. We’ve seen some projects such as Newton3D (http://newton3d. com/about), which requires prints to be fired afterwards, and Joris Laarman’s MX3D (http://www.jorislaarman.com/mx3d-metal. html) project attempt to find a new process for printing in metal.

Months of trial and error, developing software and perfecting the process they’re beginning to showcase what could be the next big thing in metal 3D printing. From top to bottom: Example parts; Printed part with exterior surfaces machined; Internal geometries and small overhangs possible

Internal

Unfinished and machined parts show comparison of surface quality

Once finished the surface quality looks similar to that of a part machined from billet — however the properties may be quite different

Weld3D (http://www.weld3d.com/), started as a couple of Aerospace Engineers camped in their garage nights and weekends trying to prove a concept for metal 3D printing, after spending a significant time printing in plastic and becoming frustrated with the lack of materials they could use. When developing a large format plastic extruding 3D printer they pondered what would happen if instead of an extruder head they put an arc welder to the motors. Months of trial and error, developing software and perfecting the process they’re beginning to showcase what could be the next big thing in metal 3D printing. The process is not dissimilar to FDMbased printing in that it is plotting out a layer of molten material and then moving up a Z axis to deposit the next layer. Though some of the layering of the prints looks a little rudimentary there’s a picture of a post machined part to the left that showcases how solid the Weld3D parts are. As of yet there are no pricing details or even talk of a commercially available printer, Weld3D remain a gang of garage innovators who are looking to test their printing process out and looking for partners to help the along the way. While partnerships like Shapeways and ExOne are starting to open access to metals processes for independent designers, consumers and small business, for the most part it remains unreachable to all but the deep-pocketed few. If the trajectory of the current ‘desktop’ ecosystem is anything to go by however, it’s genuinely possible to that we could see production of metal parts achieve the price and safety points for wider uptake. If not you can always buy a welder and have a go yourself… To see a video of the Weld3D system in operation and give us your thoughts on the future of ‘accessible’ metals systems, visit http://mytct.co/Metal3DP November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

AUTODESK

Building blocks FOR INNOVATION

Sometimes all it takes is a small spark of imagination to make a big impact. After speaking with TCT earlier this year about the launch of its new open source platform and machine, Autodesk is back and ready to do exactly that. WORDS | Laura Griffiths

ith a 30 year history in design and visualisation, Autodesk has been at the forefront of helping makers and creators realise their designs and solve challenges. Now with the launch of Spark, the company has its sights set on all three areas of creation – software, hardware and materials. “What we have been hearing from our customers the last couple of years is that in addition to helping them imagine and design a better world they also are looking to have us help them create things,” Aubrey Cattell, Director of Business Development and Operations at Autodesk told TCT. “They want to manufacture things. They want to build things and additive manufacturing in the form of 3D printing is really revolutionising that space.” Autodesk announced the Spark platform back in May as a multifaceted tool that would power the growth of the maker movement. “We see amazing potential for this 3D printing technology and really there is an opportunity here for us to move that technology forward,” explained Cattell. “The challenge is this workflow, this tool chain that extends from a 3D model all the way to the printed part. The problem today is there are points of failure along the way.” For the casual maker, CAD can seem like a different language reserved only for those truly engaged and wired in at a computer. The entire 3D printing process begins in the digital language and Autodesk recognises that there is a lot of scope for error and points of failure. “Those failure points along that tool chain mean that 3D printing just hasn’t lived up to its potential,” Catell told TCT. “So in that light we’ve developed Spark, an open and free software platform for 3D printing. What it’s intended to do is connect the digital information that comes out of the design applications though to 3D printers in a new way.”

“We want to create this as an open platform so we can give those building blocks for innovation to a variety of players within the industry. If we can really create this open platform with these utilities that all of these different players within the industry can build on we can push the boundaries of what 3D printing is capable of and really accelerate this new industrial revolution.” Autodesk have some pretty big goals and want to hit the industry on all levels. With a portfolio that includes software in both the app and web based arenas, the focus has shifted to accelerate material development and hardware. The company recognises that if the industry is to ever grow, there needs to be innovation on all fronts. “We even want to create this platform for materials companies as they have traditionally been closed out of the process because a lot of the existing hardware manufacturers have a proprietary approach to their materials within their 3D printers,” says Cattell. “The promise of Spark is around tightly integrated hardware, software and materials, if we can drive innovation on all three of those levels we’ll really move the industry forward.” Autodesk recently introduced its first 3D printer, the Ember, a desktop stereolithography printer that uses a DLP curing process. Though there may not be anything particularly ground breaking about the machine itself its low-key image is entirely the point. “It’s really meant to be a reference implementation for others to see what kind of user experience is possible if you build on the Spark platform,” explains Cattell. “We’re not trying to corner the market on hardware we’re really just trying to show the way so that others will see the potential and adopt. The machine is really designed around specific use case because we wanted to show that we can solve a real world problem.” Continued on page 57

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

AUTODESK

Ember 3D Printer 121 November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

AUTODESK

“If we can open up 3D printing and make it accessible to millions and relevant by lowering the barriers to entry, we expand the market opportunity and the demand for our core design offering.”

For now that specific use is jewellery and the lost waxing process. Cattell explains that they wanted to target a particular application to really prove the functionality of Spark and the possibilities that lie within it. This machine is by no means limited to just that one process and Autodesk are reigning in heavily on the open approach, that makers in the 3D printing community are more than ready to take hold of.

“In keeping with our open approach we’re doing the same thing with our printer so the designs themselves will be made available under a broadly permissive license,” says Cattell. “We want the Ember to be emblematic of the open platform that we’re building with Spark. Our hope is that others are going to develop on top of it.” “Software and hardware are really converging. There’s this end to end workflow from digital to physical that all of our customers are using and that goes across industry. If we can open up 3D printing and make it accessible to millions and relevant by lowering the barriers to entry, we expand the market opportunity and the demand for our core design offering.” On top of this, Autodesk has just announced the world’s first 3D printing investment programme for researchers and start-ups to come in and push the boundaries of the technology. With the Spark Investment Fund pumping a massive $100 million investment into empowering the Spark ecosystem, Autodesk is certainly putting a lot out there into the 3D community. So from a business point of view, you have to ask, what is the benefit for Autodesk itself? “This is about expanding the market opportunity for Autodesk but also expanding the value of our core software offering,” said Cattell. “In that sense Spark can really lead the way to the next stage of Autodesk where we really are powering that new industrial revolution. We want to make Spark accessible to someone who’s creating a new FDM printer on Kickstarter or maybe does something novel from a materials standpoint or from a multi access standpoint all the way up to the folks who are doing selective laser sintering and direct laser sintering. That accessibility and applicability across both use cases is a key tenant of what we’re doing with Spark.”

The Ember is the latest entrant into the ‘desktop’ SLA space

Autodesk are already in talks with other possible partners that will really show the depth of Spark when the company releases documentation later this year along with case studies that will enable a wider group to really come in and build on. “As we build our ecosystem of partners we really want to show the breadth of Spark. Right now we’re really focused on adding the key strategic partners that can prove out the value proposition for spark.”

“A lot of the excitement is around the hardware itself but a lot of the challenges around 3D printing are really design challenges at base”

Autodesk has already been working alongside some big names in the industry including Dremel who recently directed its power tools expertise to the 3D market and Local Motors, famous for successfully 3D printing and driving the innovative Strati car. The collaboration with the automotive expert was Spark’s first project in solving the challenges of large format 3D printing.

For developers and makers, 3D printing can have its challenges due to a lack of shared information resulting in makers tackling the same issues to generate their own processes and materials. What Autodesk hopes to do is bring all of that information together so that engineers won’t have to face these same repetitious barriers and charge the technology into the future.

“What we found when we started working with them was they, not surprisingly, had many of the same issues that we saw in smaller format printing. They were really pushing the envelope about what was possible, printing with this ABS plastic that was laced with carbon fibre but they had many of the same problems that we saw around support structures. Spark can really help them as they take the next step to streamline that process and really mainstream the availability of the Strati.”

“A lot of the excitement is around the hardware itself but a lot of the challenges around 3D printing are really design challenges at base,” explained Cattell. “That’s where having a software platform with a common set of standards that people can build on top of rather than recreating the wheel will really enable more innovation in the space. We don’t want people solving for the same things in every different company. We want to create this platform that others can add to that’s what going to carry the industry forward.” i| www.autodesk.co.uk

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

faster

better

Formiga P EOSINT P / P +

fair

GRR-X+ Objet Eden Form

Creabis GmbH Ammerthalstr.

www.tctmagazine.com

Kirchheim +++ + +++ +

November 2014

project management additive manufacturing small series production surface refinements www.creabis.de vertrieb@creabis.de

JORIS PEELS

Sharks, lawyers and other predators WORDS | Joris Peels

Many people are very afraid of sharks. These creatures are seen as ruthless assassins prowling the deep for a chunk of human flesh. Thousands of hours of footage have been shot of sharks being fed chunks of meat. Discovery Channel feeds us hundreds of hours of television of sharks being scary. Their bloodthirstiness and savage ferocity is celebrated and we are spoon fed these ideas and images continually.

et, many shark species are endangered and we are killing tens of thousands of sharks each year for shark fin soup. So how many humans have the sharks killed in revenge? Being the horrendous killing machines that they are? 569. Yes, there have only been 569 confirmed deaths due to shark attacks. Ever. Not this year, not the last ten years, but ever. For every human killed by the sharks we kill 25 million sharks. I’m willing to bet that there have been more shark attacks in movies than there have been in real life. We cower in fear of an animal that by and large ignores us. Meanwhile, you are more likely to die from a vending machine toppling over and crushing you than get attacked by a shark. But, a shark is a sleek creature with a lot of teeth and this makes for good TV. Because the visuals are good the fear mongering continues unabated. The demonisation of sharks started with Jaws and this lead to a generation of people fearing sharks and thinking of them as merciless man-eaters. If the media get hold of a good story with some fun visuals then it will only be a matter of time before a scary story embeds itself into everyone’s minds. Remember the 3D printed gun thing? That worked more or less the same way. Everybody likes 3D printing, we’re the popular kids in class. But, what if we got careless and in one fell swoop plummeted into being the ignored nerds we once were? What if we killed someone? 3D printing is new, it’s interesting and the media like to report about it. What if somewhere, somehow, a person was killed because of a 3D printer or 3D printed thing? The news value of this could cement our technology as being considered a dangerous one. Just one single graphic event could harm us all and deter further adoption of the technology. I feel

that across the industry there is too little regard for safety and the ensuing legal risk. I feel that there is not enough research being conducted specifically into material safety. I think that there are materials out there that have associated health risks. I also think that we should be cognisant of the fact that if you sell someone a product and it fails then there could be liability issues. Because of a huge variance in machine settings products could work coming off one machine and not work when they are made on an identical machine with different settings. Similarly environmental conditions such as ambient temperature and humidity could make a 3D printed product fail in a non-predetermined way. Opening a file in a particular CAD package may change it and slight design tweaks or remeshing could turn a functional thing into a nonfunctional one. Depending on the process different materials, colours and additives can significantly alter 3D prints. We do not have sufficient process control to ensure that everything that is 3D printed comes out as intended. Your 3D prints are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. We’re two sigma not six. Depending on where you are in the world a service bureau, designer and/or point of sale may be liable for a defective product. Product liability is not something many of us have looked into. To say nothing of personal injury or wrongful death. Patent infringement is something we know quite a bit about by now, but what about the 3D printed products we make and sell, what if they infringe on someone else’s patents? Our move from prototyping to manufacturing has in my opinion not come coupled with us implementing proper legal safeguards for ourselves, our customers and their end customers. Continued on page 61

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

T +44 (0)1270 216000

E sales@europac3d.com

W www.europac3d.com

The complete dental 3D scanning & printing solution Solutionix Rexcan DS2 ® 3DSystems ProJet 1200 ® 3DSystems ProJet 3510 DP

See the DS2 in action by typing europac3d into

As resellers of class-leading 3D scanning and 3D printing equipment, Europac3D are able to offer a perfect solution to create and print professional dental products.

Rexcan DS2

ProJet® 1200

ProJet® 3510 DP

High quality desktop scanner capable of scanning impressions.

Desktop printer for small, detail-rich castable parts.

High performance, large capacity, multimaterial printer.

The Rexcan DS2 is an automated white light desktop scanner which offers high speed, high quality 3D measurement for small, detail-rich objects such as dental components. The ProJet® 1200 from 3DSystems is a desktop 3D printer which is low-cost and can economically print small, detailed parts in a castable material suitable for wax-ups, casting and rigid prototypes, whilst the larger ProJet® 3510 DP is a high-capacity CAD/CAM printer designed for 24/7 usage. Call the Europac3D team on 01270 216000 for DS2 demonstrations and further information. Read more and download the specifications for all three products at www.europac3d.com

Equipment shown above is for visual purposes only and not to scale

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

JORIS PEELS

A few things that keep me up at night:

■

Several 3D printing materials sold to consumers have only been certified for industrial use.

■

3D printed products are being sold to consumers with materials that have not been certified for their uses.

■

People are selling jewellery made from materials that are not certified to be worn on the body.

■

Designers and engineers put designs online sell them, sell products made from them or share these files without adequate legal protection.

■

Fumes from ABS have been found to be toxic and lead to ill health effects but manufacturers and materials suppliers often do not warn users of these possible effects.

■

Everyone assumes that PLA is safe but there has been very little research conducted on the effects of it when printing.

■

The only safe way to use a 3D printer in a home is if it is under a fume hood. We are not doing enough as an industry to make this clear.

■

Additives such as colourants may have harmful health effects but are often not tested.

■

Resins contain photoinitiators, in small quantities, and these have been found to be harmful to health.

■

Some resins contain possible carcinogens.

■

Resins are a skin irritant and may cause skin sensitization issues.

■

Sintering materials consist of plastic or metal particles that are 40-60 micron in size. These could pass into the brain, bloodstream or lungs while being processed. Yet in most service bureaus people walk around and even depowder print jobs without masks.

■

Many 3D printing materials have proprietary formulations that keep people from knowing what exactly is inside the material and if it is harmful or not.

■

Many food receptacles and tools are being 3D printed using materials and processes that are not food safe.

■

Depending on where you are (and the transaction), you as a designer, service bureau or machine manufacturer may be liable for things produced by you or on your machines.

■

Labeling something as “for decorative use only” is in my opinion not adequate protection against any and all liability. Especially not if there are images of the product in use or text indicating that the product is functional. Also, if that worked as a sufficient legal safeguard everyone would do it. Hey, that firework over there? Decorative. Yeah, this is just a decorative helicopter. Just you know, put it on the front lawn or something. Oh yeah, that’s just purely decorative chair. Sit on it at your own risk.

■

With millions of products entering the consumer space it is only a question of time before use or misuse of the products we make lead to a US liability lawsuit.

Call a lawyer. Really, call a lawyer. I also believe Have them go through your that we need to contracts and terms of service. Many were made for a prototype as an industry age and are now being used for consumer products. Many new communicate companies coming into the space the fact that we are growing so quickly that they don’t get around doing details well, cannot guarantee such as warnings, warrantees or that a 3D printed terms. Look at them now. Because these are details that could give thing is functional. your company a headshot. Check your materials suppliers and MSDS’s because I’ve personally found lots of fishy stuff there. Protect yourself, protect your employees and protect your customers. I also believe that we need to as an industry communicate the fact that we cannot guarantee that a 3D printed thing is functional. For a 3D printed thing to exist there needs to be a file, material, settings and a machine. If we optimise a particular process for a particular file or family of files we can guarantee certain tolerances and can vouchsafe for a particular functionality. But, if this optimisation process does not occur we can in no way be sure that the object will be functional. There is simply too much variability that may occur in either file, material, settings or during the print job itself. So yes, we can do manufacturing but only if we optimise and have in some way certified our process for this application and part or family of parts. If you just download a file from somewhere (or make it yourself or buy it) and print it out on any machine, we cannot in any way guarantee that this object will be functional. Even if a file would include the settings then ambient temperature, how long the raw 3D printing material has been exposed to the air and other variables will mean that we cannot guarantee that the object will be functional. I think it is important for us to make this clear. If we do not do this we may find ourselves portrayed not as loving playful dolphins inventing the future but rather as evil sharks ruthlessly preying on the innocent.

About the Author Joris Peels is a business development, strategy, product development and marketing consultant to the 3D printing industry you can read his blog at http:// voxelfab.com/blog/, follow him on Twitter @ voxelfab or email him joris@voxelfab.com

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

60 SECOND INTERVIEW

One of the clear trends at this year’s TCT Show + Personalize was towards additive manufacturing with metal materials. With their huge metal prints and charismatic CEO, one company who received a lot of attention indeed was EFESTO. We caught up with CEO Ashok Varma post show…

60 Seconds ASHOK VARMA CEO OF EFESTO

WORDS | Daniel O’Connor Tell us a little bit about Efesto’s history and what the gap in the market is you feel Efesto fulfils. Efesto has been active in mor ethan ten international markets over the last six to seven years, and gathered invaluable feedback from hundreds of interested company executives around the world on what type of applications they envision addressing as they start to adopt metal 3D printing. As a result, Efesto discovered a strong unmet need in; large scale metal 3D printing of functional prototypes; low volume production ready parts; the repair and reclamation of expensive, complex and sensitive components; and where deep experience and expertise was required to address applications successfully. To the best of Efesto’s knowledge, no other metal 3D printing OEM or service bureau was able to provide the tens of thousands of hours of actual experience and the requisite production proven equipment platform except RPM Innovations. Metal printing was the real buzz during this TCT Show, do you feel in the industry is finally reaching a point where metal printing is being assimilated into manufacturing? If so what industries do you think are responsible for pushing the applications. Metal printing is definitely seeing high levels of adoption and the resultant growth. Wohler’s report describes this well, with the growth in metal printing equipment sales increasing 78% over last year. Efesto is seeing a much higher demand for large scale metal printing compared to 2012 and 2013, driven in equal parts by maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) and freeform fabrication applications. This demand is fueled across a broad range of industry verticals including oil and gas, aviation, defense and tooling.

Efesto’s equipment’s larger print areas, I’d imagine, allows for some pretty extraordinary prints. Is there anything you can tell us about that you were particularly amazed with? We have displayed the 84” high rocket part at Rapid 2014 and IMTS 2014, and it was definitely a showstopper! The amazing things about this capability include the fact that a complex thin wall structure with internal and external fins could be fabricated in high quality and mechanical properties, as well as the fact that making this part conventionally would take 10 times as long, 5 times higher cost, and still would not be a monolithic structure, i.e., several pieces of this part would still need to be welded together. It is fair to say after your TCT Introduces talk that Efesto had a fairly successful TCT show, it being your first show. Can you tell us anything about the business that you hope to close from the show? You mentioned $10m at your seminar session. Efesto was very impressed with the quality of the visitors at TCT. Many had a strong working knowledge of metal printing, and most were on a mission to discover and evaluate metal printing for future utilisation. Efesto had very strong response from several major aviation, defense, critical equipment and specialised prototyping companies. In sales, nothing is concluded until the invoices are paid….Efesto has a high confidence that its participation at TCT will result in multi-million dollars of new business, mainly from the UK and France markets.

i| www.efesto.us

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

EUROMOLD PREVIEW

SPONSORED BY

Euromold Preview NOV 25th-28th

FRANKFURT

On the 25th November the doors open to the final event in the TCT 2014 calendar and perhaps our longest standing partnership. As a magazine reporting on the event TCT has being going to EuroMold since 1997 and in 2003 we formed a more formal partnership with the the organisers DEMAT. Euromold remains one of the most important on the additive manufacturing calendar.

his year will be no different as once again Hall 11 of the Messe Frankfurt is home to the latest launches and big releases from all the major players as additive manufacturing plays an even bigger role in the annual manufacturing event. Not only will Hall 11 host exhibitors such as Stratasys, EOS, 3D Systems, ExOne etc but Hall 8.0 will host an Additive Manufacturing and Tool Making forum, which aims to demonstrate the potential opportunities of integrating additive technologies into current workflow processes, as well as a Stratasys stand. Of course, elsewhere during Euromold is the annual International Wohlers Conference, which this year focuses on the truth behind the additive manufacturing supply chain that, according to Terry Wohlers himself, is underdeveloped. Add to that the premiere of TCT Bright Minds program in Europe and it is shaping up to be a very AM focussed Euromold indeed.

Continued on page 67

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

EUROMOLD PREVIEW

SPONSORED BY

STRATASYS DEMONSTRATES THE APPLICATION VERSATILITY OF FDM AND POLYJET 3D PRINTING ACROSS THREE STANDS AT EUROMOLD This year’s Euromold will see Stratasys demonstrate the versatility of its 3D printing technology across a spectrum of industries and applications via no less than three stands. Making their European debut, Stratasys will unveil a host of new products to its portfolio of 3D printers and materials, with live demonstrations available to visitors in Hall 11, stand D90. From prototyping to production, the booth will showcase some stunning 3D printed parts from the world of aviation and automotive, as well as consumer electronics and entertainment. In Hall 8, stand H139, Stratasys will open up a world of Digital Manufacturing to visitors. On display will be live demonstrations of 3D printed injection moulds, jigs and fixtures, tools and end-use parts, demonstrating the huge efficiencies achievable by introducing Stratasys 3D printing into the traditional manufacturing process. Completing the line-up, Stratasys will also unveil its first ever art and design gallery in Hall 11.0, stand FN01 featuring collaborations with a number of leading artists. With an array of stunning, intricate pieces set to be unveiled for the very first time, the gallery will highlight the creative design capabilities unleashed through advanced precision 3D printing from Stratasys.

i | www.stratasys.com HALL 11, STAND D66 | HALL 8, STAND H139 HALL11, STAND FN 01

ARBURG TO EXHIBIT TWO FREEFORMERS AT EUROMOLD After the plastics giants made their additive manufacturing debut at last year’s Euromold they are returning with two Freeformers that will demonstrate the potential of Arburg Plastic Freeforming (AKF) for the industrial additive manufacturing of fully functional plastic parts.

3D SYSTEMS PARTNERS WITH TCT, BLACK COUNTRY ATELIER AND DEMAT TO BRING THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME, BRIGHT MINDS TO EUROMOLD After the huge success that was this year’s TCT Bright Minds UK (read about that elsewhere in the mag) the educational programme is branching out to Euromold event to put the power of 3D printing in the hands of 200 German school children. In the middle of Hall 11, Black Country Atelier will run the classroom sessions with equipment provided free-of-charge by 3D Systems. The Euromold edition will also add 3D scanning, a haptic based 3D mouse and new 3D printers to the mix of 3D printing technologies for youngsters to explore. Cathy Lewis, Chief Marketing Officer of 3D Systems, explained: “We are very excited about the new partnership with Rapid News, TCT and BCA on this powerful educational initiative and look forward to bringing them together with Euromold organiser DEMAT GmbH in Frankfurt.

The two Freeformers that will be on display at the Arburg booth are both equipped with a three-axis component carrier and two stationary discharge units. This version of the machine is the one, which has had the most enquiries since Arburg first entered the market last year. Brand new for the Freeformer is the option of building up watersoluble structures from a special supporting material. This makes it possible to achieve unusual or complex component geometries. An application of this type will be demonstrated by a Freeformer at the Euromold 2014 based on the example of a spare part made from ABS – in this case a two-part sliding lock which is used in the Allrounder injection moulding machines. The supporting structures can subsequently be removed in a water bath. i | www.arburg.com STAND D25

i | www.3dsystems.com STAND D69

Continued on page 69

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

Learn about the latest: • Vortex high-efficiency area clearance • Mill/turn programming techniques • Direct modelling capabilities • Multi-axis milling innovations • Reverse engineering tools • On-Machine Verification options and much more!

Unlock the power of Delcam software Visit www.delcam.tv/lz and see how Delcam software could benefit your business!

“PowerMILL’s Dynamic Machine Control gives us the confidence to run parts first time on our 5-axis machines.”

Small Heath Business Park, Birmingham, B10 0HJ T: +44 (0)121 766 5544 | E: marketing@delcam.com | www.delcam.com

Brian Kerkstra, Paragon D&E

Learning-Zone-Advert-2014-A5.indd 1

www.tctmagazine.com

10/06/2014 11:03

November 2014

EUROMOLD PREVIEW

SPONSORED BY

3D HUBS TARGETS STUDENT 3D PRINTERS CONCEPT LASER TO PRESENT UNMISSABLE INNOVATIONS AT EUROMOLD As detailed in the Concept Laser feature in this issue the German metal additive manufacturing specialists hold a special place in their heart for Euromold, it was, after all, the place where CEO Frank Herzog and co. launched the M3 Linear over a decade ago.

TCT isn’t the only 3D printing resource to help out students at EuroMold with the Bright Minds Programme as 3D Hubs – who connect those who need a 3D print with those with 3D printers – launch their new student programme.

This year they’ll be showcasing a host of new innovations to their LaserCUSING platform including a new machine design, multilaser technology, new materials and improved real-time monitoring of the build process.

In an attempt to further open 3D printing up to the masses 3D Hubs are setting aside $25,000 in free credit for students across the globe as well as permanently dropping the 3D Hubs service fee for students.

Multi-laser technology will make its debut at the show and promises much faster build rates and will increase the productivity of their machines, a significant leap according to Concept Laser: “The developed and optimised system technology highlights our expertise and pioneering work in all fields of laser melting system technology,” said Oliver Edelmann, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing.

The first 1000 students to sign-up will receive $25 worth of 3D print credit, referring the program to 3 other potential participants will earn sharers an extra $10. Once the initial offer runs out students still receive a 15% discount on all their 3D prints, effectively making the 3D Hubs service free.

i | www.concept-laser.de

Details of the student offer can be discovered at www.3dhubs.com/ students and on the 3D hubs stand. i | www.3dhubs.com/students

STAND D66

Continued on page 71

STAND F119

EOS DEBUT NEW METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM German additive manufacturing system specialist, EOS, has launched the new EOS M 290 with a build volume of 250 mm x 250 mm x 325 mm to succeed the M 280 for production of components from successive layers of metal powder fused by laser. Dr Adrian Keppler, Chief Marketing Officer at EOS said: “The system sets new standards and offers extensive quality management features as well as expanded monitoring capabilities. “It is designed to serve the requirements of customers that require serial production capability. At the same time, we have created new optimisation potential in terms of build quality for customers that require a prototyping facility.” i | www.eos.info STAND E148

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

When Precision Counts

www.solid-scape.com

EUROMOLD PREVIEW

SPONSORED BY

GERMAN REPRAP ANNOUNCES A NEW 3D PRINTER FOR LARGE MODELS

SLM TO LIGHT UP EUROMOLD WITH LATEST IN METAL AM It was hard to miss the SLM Solutions stand at Euromold last year if it wasn’t for the state-ofthe-art metal additive manufacturing techniques it was perhaps for the sound of seagulls and the beckoning of the lighthouse.

Last year German RepRap launched their new plug-and-play consumer 3D printer at Euromold and this year they’re launching a large scale printer to complement their hugely successful X400 printer in the Messe Frankfurt. The new printer is part of the professional series and boasts a printing volume of 1000 x 800 x 600 mm. The fused filament fabrication printer is ideal for producing prototypes, fully functional and demonstration models as well as prints for moulding.

SLM always make an extra-special effort for their national tradeshow and this year is no different as along with an even bigger beach-inspired booth they will be showcasing their latest developments in selective laser melting including; the biggest SLM 500 HL system with 4 x 400 Watt Lasers working simultaneously on a build platform of 500 x 280 x 325 mm being supported by the new PSX powder supply system. This system continuously supplies the machine with metal powder during the build and feed back the unused powder into the sieving unit for later use and recycling. All three platforms SLM 500 HL, SLM 280 HL and SLM 125 HL in their most up-to-date technical status will be shown in the confines of the seaside inspired booth. i | www.slm-solutions.com STAND D86

“Our goal is to offer a complete range of products for commercial customers”, explainsed Florian Bautz, managing director of German RepRap. The new machine is tailored to the requirements of professional customers and features multi-extruder-technology, intelligent filament management and an intuitive user interface. With a layer height of 0.5 mm even large models can be printed very quickly in draft mode. i | www.germanreprap.com STAND E99

OTHER STANDS NOT TO MISS

EXONE OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO THE FUTURE OF METAL PRESSURE The German arm of ExOne will once again be demonstrating the latest and greatest in industrial additive manufacturing at Euromold as the Augsburger machine builders present the M-Flex metal the fastest printer in its class. The Euromold focus this year will be on the new developments in the field of metal pressure. ExOne is here with the M-Flex, which prints stainless steel components, followed by a sintering and infiltration processes to attain their final strength. Complex geometries are particularly suited to producing finished metal parts. “In many industries ranging from automotive to aerospace the technology already saves valuable time and resources. It helps components to be developed both faster and without constraints and at the same time results in a higher productivity at a lower cost,” said Rainer Höchsmann, European

Managing Director at ExOne. “The fact that we now also offer the metal-printing option to our customers in Europe is an additional milestone in the success story of 3D industrial printing.” i | www.exone.com STAND D108

November 2014

There’s always plenty to see at EuroMold in terms of additive manufacturing and 3D printing and this year is no different, make sure you swing by the Mcor Technolgies booth (STAND: B109) to see the latest breakthroughs in SDL paper-based 3D printing. There will certainly be some intrigue at industrial plastic supplier igus’ booth (STAND: F98) as they launch their 3D printing filament said to be up to 50 times more abrasion-resistant than other filaments. The Materialise booth (STAND E28) is never one to miss as they present the latest release of their software Magics and, of course, host the popular Slot Car Championship. EnvisionTEC will be showcasing how their printers advance MCAS and bioprinting applications at STAND: C140, Solidscape are presenting a “disruptive manufacturing process” at STAND: B111 and, of course, be sure to swing by the TCT Magazine booth (STAND: F66) for a chat or even if you’ve spotted something interesting that we’ve missed!

www.tctmagazine.com

CONSUMER 3D PRINTING

Consumer 3D Printing: What is it good for?

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A 3D PRINTING ADVENTURE What came first the chicken or the egg? An unsolvable question, just like the one in the header of this story, right? Wrong, on both counts. Without going into irrelevant minutiae about evolution, the egg came first spawned from two chicken-like birds and by using a printer at home I have discovered what consumer 3D printing is good for.

WORDS | Daniel Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor

et me start with the problem; my father and I decided to turn the disused outhouse/garage into a cinema room in preparation for a Halloween premiere. Without the money to throw at expensive solutions we decided to do it ourselves, as cheaply as humanly possible. In order to turn this 10 m long x 3 m wide utility room into a screen Oscar Deutsch would be proud of we started by buying a projector and screen on the cheap from China as well as upcycling (hipster alert!) items we had lying around the house; a six-foot shelving unit to house the projector and Blu-Ray player an old modem as a repeater with a never used Chromecast to make the projector smart; some second hand posters complete with pound shop LED lighting. But along with the visuals a real cinema needs the audio to swirl around the room and slap you smack bang in the middle of Jurassic Park. To achieve this we needed a helping hand from a little plastic extruding friend. We had a Sony 5.1 speaker system sitting up in the attic, gathering dust for a good five years, over that time parts had gone missing, wires had broken and remote controls have vanished but it was a good sound system and the satellite speakers were sleek and stylish, there was plenty to be salvaged but they needed brackets, tentatively I turned to Thingiverse. Previous DIY Thinigverse adventures have included a door wedge - something a folded piece of paper could replicate - and a spare leg for a gaming keyboard, which turned out not to fit so 3D printing a good solid bracket seemed futile. However, worries were set to one side when I saw the perfect solution designed by University of Delft aerospace student Maxim Sachs. Continued on page 75

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

CONSUMER 3D PRINTING

Maxim’s 5.1 Speaker Wall-mount designs are a sliding two part mechanism; one that attaches to the wall one to the speaker. It is designed to be as sleek and close the wall as possible and though not designed specifically for Sony speakers simple measurements proved that, in theory, they’d fit.

Bracket printed in twenty minutes

So time to fire up the first generation Up Plus, a trusty old printer that is nearly three-years-old now yet still, time and time again comes up trumps. A sceptical father looked on impatiently, wanting to just screw the speakers in to the wall without a bracket, the moment of truth took just 22 minutes and voila! speaker bracket number one. Even my father seemed impressed.

The prints themselves look far from perfect and if you purchased these from a store you’d be disappointed in the surface finish but they do the exact job they’re needed for and are completely hidden from view. Materials cost is relative pence and for a good set of speaker mounts you’re talking £30-£50, it was a solution that worked quickly, efficiently and cheaply, it hasn’t finished there either.

Mounts printed as two parts

The projector was not quite at the correct angle for the screen and it was as high as it can go on the shelf, so it was being propped up by two DVD cases. Not the best looking solution so how about creating two feet that would heighten the projector at the back? Measure, head to Tinkercad, design in under an hour and 3D print in 30 minutes, the first iteration didn’t work because I’d not taken into account ABS shrinkage, after ten more minutes designing and another 30 mins printing the projector now is no longer propped up by untidy looking DVD cases but with feet that look like part of the machine in the first place. Home printing for home improvement The Up’s rugged look fits in so well next to the drills and spare nails that it almost seems like the essential tool for DIY projects. DIY is not a market to be sniffed at either; a recent report from Companies and Markets suggests that by 2017 the UK DIY industry would be worth £8.3bn. As consumer printers come down in price, who is to say that DIY will not be one of its primary markets? A decent drill can set you back the best part of £150, you can buy a 3D printer now for £250.

Mount attached to wall and speaker

Onno Ponfoort, a business consultant for Berenschot, recently described to me how a consumer electronics company are now seeing the befits of allowing consumers to print parts such as this that do not have a detrimental impact to the brand’s image, the company don’t have to manufacture, warehouse or ship these less important spare parts they can simply allow a customer to print at home. “There’s one extra element to 3D printing that some analysts fail to mention,” explained Ponfoort. “People are proud of what they’ve printed. A colleague recently showed me a part he’d printed, if he’d have got that part from a DIY store he would not have paid a dime for the quality of that part but because he did it himself he is happy, it does the trick so who cares? If that part had been in a shop window nobody would have bothered.” I couldn’t agree more, I am very proud of the prints and very proud of the cinema room.

Speakers mounted to wall

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

REPLICA 3D MEDICAL

3D PRINTING

THE SURGICAL

REVOLUTION WORDS | Rose Brooke

The development of new and cutting-edge materials goes hand in hand with new and cutting-edge processes, which is why Replica 3DM believes it is revolutionising surgery with innovative polymers and inert plastics using 3D printing.

anaging Director of Salisbury, UKheadquartered Replica 3DM Matthew Sherry spoke to TCT’s Rose Brooke in August about the company’s leading work in the field of surgery. The company has been operating for around 18 months and uses patient data sent from NHS trusts, which is then transformed into digital 3D reconstructions to be 3D-printed for surgical guides. Sherry explained that in the instance of a jawbone for example, the surgeon can then use the 3D-printed model to either prebend titanium plates, or they can use the model for pre-operative investigation. This allows them to rehearse the operation using a dummy, consequentially reducing theatre time, recovery time and the amount of post-op care the patient would then require. Moreover, by reducing theatre time, NHS Trusts are slashing costs. This side of the business, according to Sherry, makes up 80 per cent of Replica 3DM’s work, while the other 20 per cent centres around more commercial work such as architectural models. “No comparison” The business has two Stratasys Objet 3D printers (Stratasys Objet24 and Objet30 Pro) that print using photopolymer acrylics, which, according to Sherry, maxillofacial technicians prefer because it retrains its structural integrity but can be drilled easily for plate fittings. Replica 3DM uses a VeroWhite material allowing for high-accuracy printing of up to 28 microns, while surgeons prefer this material visually because it looks more like bone. The team at Replica 3DM, however, believe VeroBlue gives the most pleasing results to the eye. In addition, Replica 3DM produces models in PLA, building models both in white PLA and in a Ninjaflex rubber material. Before surgeons could use surgical guides produced to this degree of accuracy with real digital data, plate bending and other procedures were much more hands-on.

“There wasn’t a solution other than going to the operating theatre, opening up the patient and trying to bend a piece of titanium plate there, switching between workbench and patient until it fit. It added about an hour to surgery” Sherry explained. “For pre-op, you used to have to rotate the image made from CT data on a 2D screen but the problem is, there’s a lot of artefact with a CT and that can sometimes obscure the bone, whereas this gives you a real item in your hand. There’s no comparison, really.”

There wasn’t a solution other than opening up the patient

Working by hand cannot guarantee accuracy like 3D printing, ensuring surgeons only make the incisions they need to and have 100 per cent confidence the plate will fit. “It’s revolutionised this sort of surgery,” Sherry said. “We’ve done a number of facial reconstructions where the mid-face from the upper teeth to just above the eye sockets where the patient has a bone deformity or has had a road traffic accident. What we do is make two models and the surgeon uses one to demonstrate what the patient currently looks like and then the second is used to make incisions so the bone is readjusted to demonstrate how the surgeon will do the surgery. It allows the surgeon to practice and know what they need to do in surgery and if they don’t get that first one right then they’ll just work on the second model. It allows them Commercial to do reconstruction prototype on a model rather than practicing on a patient so they can go into surgery and now where to make the cuts. Also, maxillofacial technicians can make templates and stents off that model to help the surgery,” Sherry said. Continued on page 79

November 2014

www.tctmagazine.com

REPLICA 3D MEDICAL

Hip revision model

Innovation at a snip The cases Replica 3DM deals with are mostly very serious, but it is all in a day’s work for the team, with projects varying from facial reconstructions after accidents to large-scale cranioplasties and even building interim prosthetics for those with congenital digital deformities. But with 3D printing becoming increasingly mainstream, will NHS trusts not be investing in their own 3D printing laboratories? Sherry does not believe so. “We have about 15 trusts come to us for models and we are set up as a 3D hub for the NHS, but this is growing. We can cover those trusts for a fraction of what it would cost them to set up their own 3D printing operation themselves, when most trusts only need about 10 models a year,” Sherry said.

Facial reconstruction

In addition to producing 3D-printed models for NHS trusts across the UK, Replica 3DM is involved in its own research work that could further develop how plastics are utilised in the medical field. In collaboration with Southampton University, the company is developing a 3D printer that can print hydroxylapatite (ha), which replicates bone and has a programmable dissolution rate, and polyaryletheretherketone (PEEK), which is inert and can therefore be implanted in the human body. “Because you can set the rate at which ha dissolves, you can print small scaffolds with it. The ha dissolves and what you have left is bone.” The government-funded project will take up to three years to complete, but Sherry has ambitions of this Every week technology becoming part of the NHS.

we produce something quite new and exciting, we do a lot of innovation work and we’re always looking to 3D print items that are innovative.

This is the first job I’ve had where you feel like you’re doing something genuinely constructive

“It will revolutionise things like cleft palate surgery, which requires grafts such as bovine grafts or in some instances I’ve heard they can use coral. With this, though, we could revolutionise how cleft palates are treated.”

Cranioplasty without implant

Cranioplasty with implant

Sherry remarked: “Every week we produce something quite new and exciting, we do a lot of innovation work and we’re always looking to 3D print items that are innovative. “This is the first job I’ve had where you feel like you’re doing something genuinely constructive and useful.”

This article first appeared in our sister title, EPPM. See www.eppm.com for more from the european plastics industry. www.eppm.com/industry-news/3d-printing-the-surgical-revolution/

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

DIRECTORY To advertise here call Carol Hardy on 01244 680222 or email carol@rapidnews.com

3DPRINT-UK 3DPRINTSLS NYLON

10p PER CM3

November 2014

.co.uk

WOW!

www.tctmagazine.com

DIRECTORY To advertise here call Carol Hardy on 01244 680222 or email carol@rapidnews.com

BUREAU SERVICE & PRODUCT SALES Breuckmann 3D scanners Geomagic software Reverse engineering & inspection Best accuracy & resolution

Tel: 01420 88645 www.reveng.co.uk

Technology Metals | Advanced Ceramics

AMPERSINTÂŽ Gas Atomized High-alloyed Metal Powders for Additive Manufacturing Applications Contact H.C. Starck by calling +49 5321 751-3239 or sending an email to info@hcstarck.com to explore opportunities for future strategic partnerships. www.hcstarck.com

www.tctmagazine.com

November 2014

DIRECTORY To advertise here call Carol Hardy on 01244 680222 or email carol@rapidnews.com

IRELANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 3D PRINTING BUREAU SALES: Printers - Scanners - Consumables SERVICES: Design - Manufacturing - Prototyping www.inspire3d.ie Mobile: 00 353(0) 87 739 0226 Email: info@inspire3d.ie

We get things made Any part. Any process. T: 01452 386608 W: plunkettassociates.co.uk

Recreus print everything

FilaFlex

The most elastic filament for 3d printers

NOW YOU CAN PRINT YOUR SHOES AT HOME !!! www.recreus.com

November 2014

info@recreus.com

0034 865777966

www.tctmagazine.com

GRIMM COLUMN

By Design

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

has many unique characteristics that radically differ from conventional manufacturing methods, which means that it is not a substitute that can be thoughtlessly deployed. Deep reserves of experience and knowledge are needed. Build those information stores by design rather than waiting until the need arises. Series Production As new products progress through the development cycle to manufacturing, the demands on the process and output become increasingly stringent, and the risks associated with failure rise exponentially. So a good plan of action is to use the lower-risk applications, those earlier in the product development cycle, as an experience builder.

WORDS | Todd Grimm

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca, Roman philosopher

The preparation Seneca speaks of in the context of AM is a deep understanding of the capabilities, limitations and possibilities of additive manufacturing, in general, and specific technologies, which differ significantly. Sure, you can wait until an opportunity arises, but a much better plan, one executed by design, is to build the information coffers in advance.

This is best achieved by exercising AM technologies in the role of a product development tool or an aid for manufacturing. Use models, prototypes, patterns and fixtures as your learning tools. Discovery while achieving real value through necessary applications is the optimal way to increase knowledge and minimise risk. To be fully prepared, don’t simply stop at a successful application, keep pushing the technology and continually ponder other potentials. Move beyond the process defaults to experience the level of control that you have over products and processes. This approach allows you to gain the necessary preparation by design. Doing so places you in a position to say “Yes, we can,” when the need or opportunity arises. And this is more important than you may think. Necessity is a far more powerful force than innovation. Lacking the knowhow when necessity arises may mean that the right tool, AM, is not an option. Many of the successes over the years have resulted not from foresight but necessity. Faced with only two choices — remain unchanged and be guaranteed failure or try AM and have the possibility of succeeding — those that were prepared used AM to counter issues and challenges. Necessity will emerge, perhaps sooner than you think, so be ready to capitalise on what is possible rather than rolling the dice and hoping for the best.

www.tctmagazine.com

The time is now to prepare for series production with additive manufacturing (AM). For many, widespread use of AM as a production process is something for the future. Yet, there is no better time than the present to begin preparations. Whether actively exploring or tentatively considering, now is the time to expand your knowledge base.

November 2014

Design for AM Nowhere is preparation more important than in the area of product design. At best, it is wasteful to feed an AM machine a design originally intended for molding, machining or casting. At worst, it can guarantee failure by artificially driving up time and cost and neglecting to leverage all of AM’s potential. But preparation in this area is quite the challenge. There is little training available when learning how to design for AM. Also, the rules change on a platform basis. What’s good for laser melting may be bad for EBM, for example. So your only real option is to discover the rules through trial and error, firsthand attempts and general discovery.

Practitioners know that “everything is possible” has caveats, and the uninitiated suspect that to be true. The latter needs to understand to what degree that complexity is free. Without guidance and without rules, the designer may struggle to execute based on the supposed reality that you can make anything. That statement creates a universe of possibility, which can initially be overwhelming and daunting. Staring at this expansive world of opportunity, while lacking an understanding of the impediments, proves to be difficult for the average person since there are too many unknowns. Design for AM has a steep learning curve further hindered by the radical notion that the rules of the past no longer apply. Combined, this means that change is needed; change in goals, approaches and mindsets. Change requires a break from old habits and practices, which is often the greatest obstacle. So success is best achieved by changing design by design. Craft a plan that encourages design-rule breaking today so that the product development and manufacturing teams can devise their own rule books for tomorrow’s implementation. Couple that with intimate knowledge of the technology so that you can leverage every advantage and design around, or work around, all of the constraints. Start today to prepare for a future when AM becomes the right solution for your series production needs. Do this and you will be creating your own luck, by design.

Bring your ideas to life and reduce your time to market. Hyphen is the most comprehensive additive manufacturing and environmental testing facility open to the public in North America.

hyphenser vices.com

Introducing Renishaw’s PlusPac™ upgrade

at: See us old Eurom 128 stand E , 1 1 ll a

PlusPac - cleaner, faster, easier The AM250 laser melting system is ideal for many applications. Existing customers can now benefit from the PlusPac upgrade package to meet the ever increasing demand for faster process rates and cleaner process environments. Renishaw’s PlusPac includes: • New Optical Control Software (OCS) • Gas knife lens window protection system • High capacity filtration system These systems give the user tighter control over the build process and ultimately result in better parts faster, saving you time and money. PlusPac is available as an upgrade option on new AM250 machines or as an on-site retrofit upgrade to most existing AM250 machines.

Find out more at www.renishaw.com/additive

Renishaw plc Whitebridge Way, Whitebridge Park, Stone, Staffs ST15 8LQ United Kingdom T +44 (0)1785 285000 F +44 (0)1785 285001 E additive@renishaw.com