TCT North America 4.6 by TCT Magazine

NORTH AMERICAN EDITION VOLUME 4 ISSUE 6 www.tctmagazine.com

MAG

ONE VISION

ENVISIONTEC LAUNCHES LATEST CONTINUOUS DIGITAL LIGHT MANUFACTURING SYSTEM

THE MAGAZINE FOR DESIGN-TO-MANUFACTURINg INNOVATION

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 6

ISSN 2059-9641

Dozens of large parts to be functionally combined… One limited field-of-view to get the job done…

EDITORIAL

HEAD OF CONTENT

Daniel O’Connor e: daniel.oconnor@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 398 DEPUTY GROUP EDITOR

Laura Griﬃths e: laura.griffiths@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 389

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Samuel Davies e: samuel.davies@rapidnews.com t: 011 + 44 1244 952 390 NEWSDESK

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FROM THE EDITOR

started this piece off by writing, 'I'm a pretty decisive person' and then tried to think of an example to prove that. What I actually started thinking was, how if I'm told to pick something up for dinner, I'll stand for an age in the supermarket gawping at the chicken in my left hand and then to the beef in my right and back again like an incredibly slow game of tennis. What I'm discovering here is that I'm actually incredibly indecisive. I'm also undecided about how we move forward in additive. At TCT Show, I sat in an ASTM standards panel session nodding in agreement with the summation that we need to create standards so that SMEs can leverage the potential of additive manufacturing. Thirty minutes later, I'm giving affirmation to Europac 3D's John Beckett's assessment that we just need to get on with it, 'do you think the Victorians had standards when they built the Manchester Ship Canal?' (Think the Panama Canal). These two polar opposite schools of thought for progression in additive manufacturing are not new. Academics have been fighting for investment in skills and training programs from governments since the dawn of the technology but for every academic paper on bridging the skills gap, there is an abrasive voice saying we just need to get on with it. If this was an argument in which I had less investment, I'd always lean toward the academic side of thinking, 'they must be right they've done their research'. However, the folks I hear the ‘chuck 'em in the deep end’ approach from are experienced additive manufacturing engineers who themselves benefitted from learning on the job. Here's a direct quote from an unnamed member of the TCT Expert Advisory Board on this very issue: "In many cases, the advent of 3D printing is lowering the skills and therefore training requirements for the

world of manufacturing thus reducing the training burden for industry as a whole and not increasing it. For example, I can (and on many occasions have) trained people to competently use a PolyJet printer in less than an hour. I could not train somebody to be a competent machinist in anything like that time." Then there's the argument that we need to learn the new design principles set by additive, which I would contend we are starting to do particularly well and the presence of 3D printing in education from an early age could act as something of a reset button for industrial design. The new levels of education are thanks in part to those who have pushed for training but mainly down to, let's be honest, good (and sometimes overly-excessive) marketing from the OEMs into the education sector. Even then, newly learned design principles may be futile if the hype behind generative design is to be believed, we won't be modeling but instructing a computer to do so. To that point, the rate at which this industry innovates is a significant problem from a training and standards perspective. Take those seven ASTM classifications of additive machinery and tell me which Evolve's STEP technology fits into? However, you can't not prepare because something may come along and wipe all that preparation away and the chuck 'em in the deep end version only works when companies already have established process engineers to do the pushing. What about SMEs looking to start afresh with additive? How do they begin? Maybe we do need standards, education and training after all? So here am I once again, stood in the supermarket, bedazzled by the choices on offer, not making a decision, and by the time I do all the food will be 3D printed.

Druck on.

DANIEL O’CONNOR HEAD OF CONTENT

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 03

The MAGAZINE for

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MAG

TCT VOLUME 4 ISSUE 6

COVER STORY

6. ONE VISION

EnvisionTEC launches its latest Continuous Digital Light Manufacturing system.

DENTAL

SPONSORED BY

8. CATCHING UP WITH ALIGN Assistant Editor, Sam Davies gets his teeth into the additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities of the world’s largest aligner company.

11. Q&A –SPRINTRAY BETS BIG ON 3D PRINTED DENTURES

Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griﬃths speaks the the 3D printer OEM on its foray into the dental market.

15. A REMEDY FOR DENTAL ANXIETY

Sam takes a look at how a dental laboratory is implementing Carbon’s latest equipment into its workﬂow.

17. IN OTHER NEWS: DENTAL

News in brief on some the most recent dental AM announcements.

FORMNEXT SPONSORED BY

IP & FINANCE 19. EXPERIENCE COUNTS

Head of Content, Daniel O’Connor speaks to ExOne about its new system and how it believes that over two decades the company has developed the complete metal AM package.

21. M IS FOR MODULAR

Laura delves into GE Additive’s advancements in the Concpet Laser M LINE FACTORY process, which seeks to add further automation into AM.

23. TITOMIC: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

On its debut booth at formnext, Sam speaks to an Australian company making waves in the world of metal AM.

25. FORMNEXT 2018: A ROUNDUP Laura takes a look at a handful of the many announcements made at Germany’s largest AM event.

27. SIDE STEPPING THE PITFALLS

Dr. Lee-Bath Nelson, co-founder and VP Business at Leo Lane on ensuring safe and secure AM.

29. BELIEVING IN 3D PRINTED UNICORNS

Laura explores the growth of the billiondollar company in 3D printing and why ﬁnance is key to startup success.

POST PROCESSING

31. AWARD WINNING FINISHING

Laura speaks to the TCT Award winner Steros GPA Innovate S.L. about its automated ﬁnishing process for metal AM parts.

32. DON’T LET BAD APPLES SPOIL PROGRESS

Todd Grimm calls time on misinformation and dishonesties in the AM industry.

ONE VISION

ENVISIONTEC LAUNCHES LATEST CONTINUOUS DIGITAL LIGHT MANUFACTURING SYSTEM

nvisionTEC is starting off 2019 with an exciting new release, which has received tremendous interest during the handful of late 2018 events where it has been previewed. Created by an experienced team of 3D printing engineers, the Envision One is an end-to-end solution including brand new, easy-to-use design software. Its parameter optimization capabilities promise accurate parts every time with minimal supports. The Envision One cDLM (Continuous Digital Light Manufacturing) will launch with two models: the Envision One cDLM Dental and the Envision One cDLM Mechanical. Both systems have a native XY resolution of 93 µm and a dynamic Z resolution ranging from 25 to 150 µm, depending on the material being used. Meanwhile, EnvisionTEC’s patented Contour Gray Scaling technology allows for 60 µm XY resolution capability in both. The Dental model has a build envelope of 180 x 101 x 85 mm and the Mechanical model adds a higher Z-height capability of 175 mm. The Envison One boasts the ability to print large, flat surfaces quickly with incredible accuracy and high reliability. Traditionally, big and flat surfaces are more difficult to build successfully on DLP and SLA printers that print upside-down due to separation forces and gravity. One solution has been to hollow the parts and orient them at an angle to reduce surface area and therefore separation forces. However, by angling the parts, the accuracy is compromised, and the build takes longer

due to the increase in the number of layers. EnvisionTEC’s patented cDLM technology overcomes this problem by eliminating the separation forces. Large parts and/or multiple parts with ﬂat surfaces can be built easily and with no loss of accuracy. This allows the Envision One to print six average orthodontic full arch models ﬂat on the build plate, with no supports needed, within 15 minutes. The Envision One cDLM can print up to 50 mm per hour at 100 µm resolution.

“THE ENVISION

ONE BOASTS THE ABILITY TO PRINT LARGE, FLAT SURFACES QUICKLY WITH INCREDIBLE ACCURACY AND HIGH RELIABILITY.” BELOW:

ENVISION ONE CDLM DENTAL

Another detail about the Envision One is that the LED light source is utilizing a 385nm wavelength, delivering higher accuracy, especially on clear parts, than is possible with projectors running 405nm LED light sources. The shorter wavelength reduces the bouncing of light, producing crisper details. The UV glass optics also reduce inaccuracies associated with aging (yellowing) of plastic optics over time, so that the Envision One’s accuracy remains consistent. The Envision One also automatically self-calibrates the light so that an operator doesn’t need to do this. Remote diagnostics to the machine help to predict any potential failure before it happens, giving operators peace of mind when leaving the machine unattended. The Envision One cDLM joins several other cDLM options oﬀered by EnvisionTEC as the lowest-cost solution available. The cDLM technology was oﬃcially launched in early 2016, based on a patent-protected approach to continuous

RIGHT:

ENVISION ONE CDLM MCAD

06 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 4 ISSUE 6

cover story

RIGHT:

ORTHODONTIC ARCHES PRINTED IN E-MODEL LIGHT AND E-ORTHOSHAPE

3D printing developed over a decade earlier. One of the most important features of EnvisionTEC’s patents surrounding the cDLM method of continuous 3D printing is in the resolution of the dome effect. Continuous 3D printing relies on adding a layer of oxygen below a piece of oxygenpermeable film covering the build area. That film allows oxygen to penetrate and create a dead zone on which to free-print. However, there is a problem with this. That slight amount of oxygen pressing against the film causes a dome effect, therefore when free printing over this domed film, even the free space has a dome to it. Accuracy is affected by this because you are no longer 3D printing on a true flat surface. EnvisionTEC has developed a patentpending, cost-effective material tray to compensate for this dome effect and control the pressure of oxygen across the build area so that it is evenly distributed for a perfect flat build surface when continuous 3D printing. This allows the Envision One and other cDLM 3D printers to offer an astounding 1 µm accuracy in the Z direction. This domeless material tray has an average life of 250-300 jobs. The Envision One cDLM product line offers a world of possibilities at an entry-

level price for a professional 3D printer. With unbelievable speeds, amazing accuracy, and patented technology that will boost your productivity and still remain user-friendly, you’re going to want more than one. For more information: www.envisiontec.com

above:

DIAGRAM COMPARING COMPETING CONTINUOUS 3D PRINTING PROCESSES

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 07

CATCHING UP WITH ALIGN WORDS:SAM SAMDAVIES DAVIES WORDS:

hen a company applies for a patent, it does so to safeguard its innovation for a period of up to 20 years. But any firm with the aptitude for originality tends to have visions beyond a generation, and so must evolve, and continue to evolve so when those patents expire the company is in a healthy enough position not to succumb to the increase in competitors that will follow. In 1997, two Stanford graduates, novices in the world of orthodontics, were bringing to market a novel idea. Some 20 years later, the mass production of that idea would be wholly reliant on the advances in 3D printing, data management software, and other pieces of automation technology. Equally, millions of people around the world would be dependent on Align Technology, developer of Invisalign clear aligners. It wasn’t without its bumps in the road. It never is. Profligacy with marketing budgets was one jolt, while a warning from the FDA re the insufficient reporting of serious reactions to its products was another. In between, one of the founders departed, set up a rival firm and an IP infringement battle ensued, with Align and OrthoClear eventually signing a Binding Settlement.

company’s early patents are expiring. Those patents lit the fuse that over two decades has continued to burn bright, culminating in the company’s recent revelation that it has the capacity to manufacture up to 320,000 patient-speciﬁc

“STEREOLITHOGRAPHY IS THE BASE TECHNOLOGY WE’RE GOING WITH IN PRODUCTION.” aligners a day – that’s 1,600,000 a (ﬁve-day) week. It provides a buﬀer. As does the fact that those patents relate to the company’s earliest digital treatment planning process, and not necessarily the many iterations that followed, which today includes many of the innovations in Align’s subsequent patents – of which there are now 816 issued worldwide.

SPONSORED BY

“It took us many years to get to this point,” Srini Kaza, VP of Product Innovation, tells TCT, “and we needed to reﬁne as we go. Our technology and process have changed and advanced dramatically since those early patents were written. And there is a substantial experience curve involved.” That process begins with acquiring the patient’s dentition through a one-minute 3D scan, and then administered through a virtual treatment plan which dictates how the patient’s smile should look, whether they have an overbite or underbite, for example. Once this treatment plan is complete, Align communicates with the dental professionals through its ClinCheck software, uploading the treatment plan for them to modify and send it back. This all occurs from the company’s factories in Costa Rica, Chengdu, Cologne and Madrid, and once the go-ahead is given, fabrication commences in Juarez, Mexico, a bona ﬁde manufacturing hotbed, which also houses production facilities for GE Healthcare, Honeywell Aerospace, and Johnson & Johnson, to

The latest potential snag, as reported by Forbes last year, and as you might have worked out if your basic math is up to scratch, is that the

ALL IMAGES CREDITeD TO: ALIGN TECHNOLOGY.

08 / www.tctmagazine.com / VOL 4 ISSUE 6

DENTAL

SHOWN: ALIGN USES 3D SYSTEMS’ PROX SLA 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY AS PART OF ITS ALIGNER FABRICATION WORKFLOW

name a few. Align placed itself there to tap into the wealth of engineering talent. And it shows. In Juarez, Align has an automated workflow, featuring modular operations which manufacture, transport, post process and package the products ready to be shipped to the patient. Using 3D Systems’ ProX SLA systems, the molds are printed to the patient’s exact specifications using the CAD data generated within ClinCheck. Each mold has its own unique data label which is read by a digital management system to ensure the product is tracked throughout the entire process and goes through the correct production steps. Once on the assembly line, the printed parts stop off at various manufacturing points, like the forming and marking stage whereby a medical-grade polymer is thermal formed over the aligner mold, and then the mold goes through trimming, cutting and polishing stages, which have been defined by the digital treatment plan agreed upon between doctor and manufacturer. Thanks to the unique ID tags on each product, the aligners can then be located and grouped back together ready to be packaged and shipped to the correct person. The 3D printing aspect is only a single cog in a wheel that draws contributions from a plethora of technologies. Yet, without it, the mass customization of thousands of aligners at a time wouldn’t be tangible. And even then, the fact that each and every set of products to go around the facility’s production carousel is tailored to a different person, only raises the stakes in what is already a massively challenging task. “If we were making 320,000 [of the same] parts a day then I would challenge anybody, ‘why would you use 3D printing? If it’s the same shape, then let’s just use an injection molder or something like that,’” stresses Kaza. “They’re 320,000 different parts, so that means we have to have 100% of them made, it’s not like we can say we have 95.5% yield and that’s great. We have to make every single part. And you have to track every single part, and you have to eventually get them together the right way because they’re all different patients. You’ve got to get the right aligners for the right patient together at the right station, track them, keep control of the data. Taking care of all that is very complex.”

SHOWN: THE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SOLUTION IS USED TO CREATE SACRIFICIAL TOOLING, WHICH LEADS TO THE CREATION OF THE FINAL, PATIENT-READY ALIGNERS WHICH MATCH EVERY STAGE OF THE PATIENT’S TREATMENT PROCESS

And it’s of the utmost importance too. For 20 years, there has been regular investments on updates and upgrades. Indeed, the news that Align can clock up 320,000 aligners a day came about after the company announced it had increased its investment of 3D Systems’ ProX SLA machines. The stereolithography process has practically been a mainstay in the process, and although evolution will continue, it’s unlikely Align will ever move away from the ﬁrst commercially available 3D printing process.

be supplemented by an identical base in China which will be smaller and oblige the local customer needs in the local languages. It will harness all the IP in those 800+ patents, and duplicate the automated workﬂow in Juarez. This concentrated serving of the Chinese market has come about because the country is the company’s fastest growing region. With a new facility, expect another signiﬁcant increase in output.

“After all these years, we see that stereolithography is by far the most robust process in terms of production,” Kaza said. “We have done a lot of work turning that into a production process so going to the ProX is just going to the next generation of it. That’s how we look at it, just keeping in tune with the latest technology in the area, keeping in mind that stereolithography is the base technology that we’re going with in production.”

What started as a novel idea has grown through time into a mammoth workﬂow, but one that is never standing still. Over the years, Align has introduced its SmartTrack material, designed to better control tooth movement; SmartForce attachments and features that are tied into the design of aligners to make those movements more predictable; and plenty of other workings of the process. Most are patented, some patent pending.

The 3D printing machines, like the entire production workﬂow, run around the clock, providing a continuous output to serve the global demand for Invisalign products. Later this year, it will begin to

This evolution doesn’t stop. Align is consistently focused on investing in new technology to improve productivity and squeeze out more cost. Thus, as its early patents expire, there’s no haste or concern: “Someone may try to manufacture clear aligners, but we believe that would be similar to the technology that we had 10+ years ago,” Kaza assessed. Align has put in two decades of ground work to get to 320,000 parts a day. It didn’t come quick, it didn’t come cheap, and it didn’t come easy. Any supposed competitor has a lot of catching up to do.

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 09

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DENTAL

Q&A – SPRINTRAY BETS BIG ON 3D PRINTED DENTURES

SPONSORED BY

DEPUTY GROUP EDITOR, LAURA GRIFFITHS SPEAKS TO AMIR MANSOURI, CEO OF SPRINTRAY INC. ABOUT THE GROWTH OF 3D PRINTING IN DENTISTRY. Q: Since launching in 2014, SprintRay is now very much focused on the dental industry – why did the company decide to go after that particular sector? A: When we first launched the MoonRay on Kickstarter, we had no particular market in mind. 3D printing has changed a lot in the last four years, and one of the oddities we noticed was that Glidewell Laboratories was using our printers for producing dental models, crowns, and bridges. In speaking with dentists, we realized that they were in a unique position to use 3D printing to make a positive impact on end-users. This aligned with our original belief – that 3D printing can affect positive change in the lives of ordinary people – and so we began focusing more and more on dental. Q: What types of users are implementing this technology, are they primarily large dental labs or are you seeing individual practices get on board? A: We’re definitely seeing both. One of the first people in the dental industry to buy and use our printers was a dental surgeon with an individual practice. Compared with the six-figure investments

many individual/group practices make in things like cone-beam scanners, a four-figure 3D printer that gives them production capabilities is a no-brainer. We have practices that have totally overhauled their workflows as the result of integrating our printers. They’ve found so much more control over treatment plans that the dentists are more involved in-patient cases than ever. The future of the clinic is the in-office production of dental appliances. Workflow revitalization is a big piece of the puzzle, but it also benefits the patients - when clinics don’t have to have appliances made offsite and shipped, that’s a huge reduction in patient wait time. Q: So, patients themselves are also benefiting from this approach? A: Big time. One of our first dental customers is an Endodontist and a professor at the University of Southern California. Before he brought 3D printing into his practice, he performed root canal surgeries that would often take 1.5 hours of drill time. In particularly difficult cases, he would need to space this out over multiple appointments. Once he integrated a SprintRay 3D printer into his practice, the same surgery is typically performed with

only 10-20 minutes of drill time. And these were in the very early days. Last month, one of our dentists in Southern California 3D printed a full set of dentures and delivered them free of charge for a customer who couldn’t afford traditionallyfabricated dentures and hadn’t had teeth since the mid-nineties. Traditionallyfabricated dentures would’ve made this kind of charity cost-prohibitive, but 3D printing cut the cost enough to make it happen. Q: What are some of the most common hurdles customers are facing when first implementing 3D printing into their dental workflows? A: Far and away the biggest difficulty is software. Once a print is set up and initiated, a model comes out – that’s the simple part. Introducing a new piece of software into what is usually already a fragile ecosystem of disparate pieces is the biggest hurdle. This is why we put together so many partnerships for integration. Hooking all these programs up so that they can talk to each other is a huge part of making the workflow transition as easy as possible, because these handoffs from scan to modelling to printing are where most people run into trouble. 

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 011

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DENTAL

shown:

NIGHTGUARD 3D PRINTED ON SPRINTRAY MACHINE

Q: The market for desktop 3D printers within dental has grown considerably – how does SprintRay separate itself in this increasingly competitive space? A: Our biggest asset is that we can direct-print dental appliances with our certified open resin system. A lot of large 3D printing companies are dipping their feet into dental. There are some common dental appliances that most stereolithographic printers can crank out, but there are very few that can use FDA-cleared PMMA materials, and even fewer that offer tech support for those third-party resins. As a dentist, if I can’t print denture bases, I can’t print crowns, I can’t print appliances that are going to live in people’s mouths, then I haven’t purchased a dental printer. The free printed dentures we talked about earlier – there are only a handful of printers on the market that can print monolithic dentures in a supported ecosystem. And those that can typically cost double, triple, fivefold of what we charge. We’re working to add new resins all the time to our software, which means that our printer has the capacity to grow as rapidly as the materials. Q: Materials are one of the biggest areas of development for dental – can you tell us about the process of identifying and certifying dental-specific materials? A: Identifying materials often comes out of speaking with dentists and labs to see what they need. Our certification of NextDent came along because we wanted to provide dentists with directprinted, FDA-approved materials. The flexibility that brought was huge. Certifying these resins is a huge undertaking that involves printing over

and over with minor adjustments to our software – balancing speed with reliability is always a challenge. Dentists don’t have time for failed prints, so our certification process is very rigorous, and we don’t release new resin compatibility until we’re certain that it’ll work every time. Q: Last year, SprintRay struck a partnership with Patterson Dental – how has the business/ partnership grown in that time? A: In addition to their sheer size and reach, Patterson has a great history of bringing new technology into practices - and it was this history that really excited us. Their success with selling the CEREC system led us to believe that they had what it took to bring 3D printing into full implementation. Together, we’ve been able to bring 3D printing into the offices of dental practices and labs that we couldn’t have reached on our own. As we approach the one-year mark, we find that their team is really embracing 3D printing. Q: The dental 3D printing market is expected to reach 9.5 billion USD by 2027 – where do you see the biggest potential for the technology? A: Barring huge, unforeseen advancements in materials, we think that dentures and fully-printed teeth are going to be the next big thing. Right now, the

ABOVE:

FULL BUILD PLATFORMS OF 3D PRINTED MODELS

patient experience for denture fitting is a nightmare. It involves no fewer than three appointments (often many more) and months of waiting for fabrication, for shipping, for adjustments. 3D printing has the capacity to reduce that to just a few appointments over the course of a week or two. Printed dentures can be quickly adjusted for fit, they’re incredibly strong, and are significantly easier to repair than traditionally-fabricated models. We’re betting big on dentures.

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 013

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DENTAL

A REMEDY FOR DENTAL ANXIETY

SPONSORED BY

WORDS: SAM DAVIES

here’s nothing quite so daunting as a trip to the dentist.

machine meant a second purchase was made out of necessity.

The suspense spawns weeks in advance, builds in the seems-like-forever recess in the waiting room, and as the dentist dives into your mouth, mouth mirror in-hand, comes to a horrible climax as it is revealed work does indeed need doing.

“Suddenly, all the models were exactly the same, they were 100% reproducible, the cleaning was quick, it was easy, it wasn’t messy,” Byrne told TCT. “We could quadruple our volume with no additional stress. In fact, it reduced the pressure on the team.”

Yet, the same has been apparently true of the entire industry, at least it would explain why so many dental manufacturers have turned to additive manufacturing technologies increasingly so in recent years. There are the obvious pros: the time reductions, cost reductions, freedom of design, that have been hammered home ad nauseam, but in a recent chat with the Managing Director of Byrnes Dental Lab, it appears there’s also a remedy for the stress that is synonymous with this practice. Well for the manufacturers, at least. That was evident to Ashley Byrne after 24 hours of installing a Carbon M2 DLS system this summer. Another day passing, the sheer eﬃciency of the

That team is 31-strong, and in the three years prior had tried with machines from 3D Systems and Formlabs. When the ﬁrst Carbon system arrived, the company envisaged a period of transition, which would see the workload shared between various printers and outlets. “We were going to do a little bit on a Carbon, and then a few on other printers, and sub-contract [too],” Byrne explained, “but the Carbon was so good we realized we wanted to do everything on the Carbon, but there’s only so many parts you can print in a day and we realized within the ﬁrst three months we were going to run out of capacity.”

ABOVE:

DENTAL MODELS PRINTED ON THE CARBON SYSTEM



SHOWN: BYRNES’ CARBON M2 MACHINES

CREDIT: Byrnes Dental Laboratory

Hence, a second Carbon machine was ordered. The company is anticipating daily production of up to

200 parts and has also launched a labto-lab service. Byrnes is the only dental lab in Europe to own a Carbon machine – never mind two – and understanding that the average size of a lab in their sector is much slighter than itself, has established a sub-contract service so smaller practices can benefit too. In doing so, the company is now on the other side of the fence. Its first dealings with 3D printing were through services of this ilk overseas, but growing frustrated with the timeconsuming process, moved to bring the technology in-house. Before then, it was all silicone impressions, gypsum stone, plaster and wax, and exclusively so. Now, it’s not only quicker to produce parts, but replace them as well. If a patient had lost an anti-snoring device, for example, it would take around six hours to manufacture one from scratch, and the patient would be charged full price. Now, Byrnes already has the patient’s data, so the replacement can be printed in half the time at cost. “Everything is reproducible when it’s digital,” Byrne says. “It’s better for the patient, it’s better for the dentist, and it’s better for us.” In those cases, and only those cases – well and some educational courses too – are the same parts printed twice. The combination of intraoral scanning and 3D printing is enabling mass customization and means the grim process of having silicone impressions shoved in your mouth to ascertain the shape of your teeth is looking more likely a thing of the past. At the time of writing, Byrnes has just produced its 500th print with the Carbon systems. They include applications like bite registration parts, special trays, and surgical guides, and as Carbon continues to update its hardware, this UK dental lab is expecting a significant increase in their production capacity and a continued reduction in stress. It’s good timing too. “We’re trying to change the face of dental technology, and bring the industry in line with modern manufacturing, rather than being stuck in the dark ages.”

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 015

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3D SYSTEMS LAUNCHES DMP DENTAL 100 METAL 3D PRINTER In addition to its polymer-based Figure 4 NextDent solution, 3D Systems launched the DMP Dental 100 metal 3D printer offering entry-level metal 3D printing for dental applications. The direct metal 3D printing system offers double the productivity of its predecessor and has a build volume of 100 x 100 x 80 mm to produce small, complex dental prostheses in Ni-free CoCr materials certified for dental use.

The printer is designed to deliver maximum price/performance ratio, and produces high-quality, metal parts with what 3D Systems says is “the shortest post-processing time in the market.” Based on internal testing, the machine can print up to 90 dental crown copings in a single run in less than four hours, with only 25 minutes heat treatment.

CLEARCAPS USES STRUCTO 3D PRINTERS TO PRODUCE 250 CLEAR ALIGNER MODELS IN 24 HOURS Dental-speciﬁc 3D printers from Singapore-based Structo are being leveraged by clear dental aligner brand, ClearCaps, to accelerate its large volume manufacturing operations.

CARBON PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL DENTEX LABS Carbon has announced a multi-year agreement with National Dentex Labs (NDX) to deliver a complete 3D printing solution for dental applications. NDX, the largest network of dental labs by revenue in the U.S., has already been applying 3D printing for the production of dental models, casts and implant guides. However, increasing demand has led the organisation to seek a solution that can provide scalability, fleet management and report data and analytics “3D printing has become integral to the dental industry and NDX is at the forefront of using this innovative technology,” said Tom Daulton, CEO of National Dentex Labs. “As we evaluated the options, we needed a solution and a partner that could scale with us while offering efficiencies, quality parts, and excellent support and service.” The Silicon Valley company has recently installed its Carbon M2 printers in NDX labs and will continue to scale this throughout next year.

ClearCaps currently uses 3D software for planning and tracking of its cases including a 3D simulation of the patient’s treatment. Now Structo’s Mask Stereolithography (MSLA)-powered DentaForm 3D printers form an integral part of the Berlin company’s manufacturing facilities. Launched last year, the DentaForm is capable of printing up to 10 clear aligner models in 30 minutes thanks to its large-build volume measuring 200 x 150 mm and high print speeds. ClearCaps currently prints around 250 models every 24 hours but the company plans to scale up in the near future.

RENISHAW REDUCES DENTAL FRAMEWORK BUILD PREPARATION TIME BY UP TO 75% Global engineering firm Renishaw says its QuantAM Dental software can cut preparation time for dental frameworks from two hours or more with existing build preparation software to around 30 minutes. The software is designed to automate additive manufacturing (AM) build preparation for hundreds of dental frameworks in a single operation. The company claims the 75% reduction is enabling dental production facilities to produce patient-specific frameworks at a lower cost. QuantAM Dental automatically imports hundreds of dental frameworks, repairs STL files, automates orientation to eliminate the need for supports on the fitting surfaces and generates supports where necessary. It also automatically adds an identification tag to each framework. The software then groups framework types according to manufacturing requirements (e.g. heat treatment). Finally, the software reviews the files and gives a list of potential errors for any sub-optimal frameworks. The systems operator can then slice the build files ready to transfer them to the AM system.

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 017

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xOne is a company that has over 20 years' experience in the 3D printing method of binder-jetting, so when it launched its Innovent+ platform earlier this year which was capable of printing metal injection molding (MIM) powders, there was much buzz. So much buzz and interest that the company has already scaled that technology up into the new X1 25PRO platform, parts from which the company was showcasing at Formnext 2018. I caught up with ExOne's Chief Commercial Oﬃcer, Jared Helfrich at the show to talk more about the system:

"The X1 25Pro is essentially a scale-up of the Innovent+ system; it prints using very ﬁne MIM powders - you're talking nine microns - it is a midsize production machine, and it enables you to take all of your process settings, everything you've learned from Innovent+ and have a more volumetric output."

the big beneﬁt is the surface ﬁnish, the surface quality and full density single alloys."

ExOne has a long history in binder-jetting and with the X1 25PRO system and the likes of its sandcasting S-Max system, those looking to manufacture in metal now have a broad church from which to choose. "There is a crossover point where the size or the scope of your part lends itself more to casting," says Jared. "We are experts in both; we have the moulds and cores for castings that's aluminium,

irons and steels and then on our direct side you've got very high-end materials, diﬀerent part applications that lend themselves to that. With the spectrum of those two technologies, ExOne can cover a lot of manufacturing." ExOne will begin taking orders for the X1 25PRO system immediately. Customers will have the opportunity to see the X1 25 PRO on display at the RAPID + TCT 3D event in Detroit on May 21-23, 2019.

The system prints using the MIM powders such as 316L, 304 L, and 17-4PH stainless steels; Inconel 718 and 625; M2 and H11 tool steels; cobalt chrome; copper; tungsten carbide cobalt; and many more. It combines these powders with a binder to print a green part, that is then sintered leaving a fully dense part. "The powder metallurgy of MIM powders is well known," says Jared. "[When sintered] you're going to have a uniform shrinkage that is predictable, you'll make sure you know what the scale is but after that it becomes a repeatable process. You're looking at anywhere from 17-20% shrinkage, but it is uniform, well-known and repeatable." What is remarkable about the parts Jared shows me is the surface ﬁnish; the parts are smooth and involve a threading system that ﬁts together like a good quality nut and bolt from a hardware store. I asked the question, what postprocessing steps were taken after sintering? "None," explained Jared. "You're looking at parts printed in very high resolution with really tight tolerances. Along with a wide variety of materials,

ABOVE:

X1 25PRO PLATFORM

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 019

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M LINE HAS ARRIVED I WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

n November 2016, in a packed exhibition hall in Frankfurt, a well-known additive manufacturing (AM) company gave visitors a glimpse of what their factories of the future could look like; an automated machine concept transporting builds between metal AM and processing units for serial production. Now two years later, at the very same event, that same technology from Concept Laser, acquired by GE in the launch of GE Additive, was pronounced ready to be delivered to customers.

The technology in question, the Concept Laser M LINE FACTORY, is designed to deliver economical, scalable direct metal laser melting (DMLS). The modular system is made up of two parts; the M LINE FACTORY LPS (Laser Processing Station) and MHS (Material Handling Station) which allows part production and set-up and dismantling processes take part in independent units, resulting in reduced downtime and increased output. Since its debut, the M LINE, GE’s second hardware launch this year and said to be its most productive machine yet, has undergone rigorous testing which has culminated in a number of improvements to its architecture and automation capabilities. The build volume has been increased to 500 x 500 mm which is tended by four either 400 or 1000-watt lasers and the separation of individual processes means laser ‘on’ time (the time the laser is active) has been heightened. Speaking to TCT at Formnext 2018, Christine Furstoss, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at GE Additive, described how the system, due for delivery next year, will enable customers to create optimal configurations to fit their specific factory or product.

really a statement in what additive needs to be,” Furstoss told TCT. “It is our ﬁrst fully software driven machine for our new CL WRX 3.0. You'll be able to simulate the factory within the software. It really, for us, represents digital meets physical. We've said those words, they're very nice words but it means being able to do simulations that you can believe, it means being able to get to ﬁrst time yield from the point of view of having the part intent come out the way you want.”

Software was big news on the GE stand where the company announced its strategy and a number of industry partnerships. As Furstoss and several other vendors at the show told TCT, though all paths ultimately lead through the machine, vendors are increasingly learning that software is the key. GE began to address this last year with

the acquisition of GeonX to strengthen and speed up its simulation capabilities and this year revealed agreements with leading vendors, Autodesk, PTC, Siemens PLM, Vera Security and Dassault Systemes alongside improvements to its build preparation workﬂow.

Revolution? Not just yet

When GE Additive first landed on the scene it talked about “accelerating the additive revolution”. Two years on, Furstoss is refreshingly pragmatic about this approach and believes that while a revolution is possible, “revelation” is more fitting for where the industry is currently at. “We now have to figure out how do we industrialize it,” Furstoss commented. “When I can get a small auto repair shop to think about additive, because now they don’t have to have a bunch of spare parts on their shelf because they can print it, that’s when additive takes over. That's my mission, to make it accessible and easy to adopt for everyone, then it will be a revolution because it can truly change business models.” GE is in the unique position of having almost three decades of experience as an AM end-user. It is now applying that to offer not only engineering services through its AddWorks team but also industrialization services which go beyond design and into factory setup and quality control. “We usually talk about strategies for a whole factory or a big line, we can talk about it with one given part and then build the additive process around that. For me, as an engineer, that's so exciting.”

“M LINE is not only the factory of the future, but

ABOVE:

CONCEPT LASER M LINE FACTORY

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 021

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TITOMIC: SCRATCHING THE SURFACE WORDS: SAM DAVIES

around 250 USD per kilo, meaning on a particularly productive day using TKF, that’d cost a company 125,000 USD in materials alone. One of TKF’s advantages, though, is its ability to deal with irregular morphology powders, ones that don’t boast perfectly spherical particles, and cost closer to 50 USD per kilo. That particularly productive day using TKF now costs 25,000 USD in material usage. Earlier this year, Titomic signed a Memorandum of Understanding with shipbuilding ﬁrm, Fincantieri, with a view to using TKF for the manufacture of large mechanical ship components. The vendor has been testing sample applications, and through other relationships in the marine sector with Naval Group, BAE, and Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC), is looking at how to redesign ships and how to better preserve them too.

midst talk of the biggest metal additive manufacturing system in the world and bicycle frames being built and ﬁnished in under 30 minutes, is a company that, when you pull back the curtain, is indulging in plenty of action too. Titomic is what happens when a government wants to make better use of its rich titanium reserves, a fashion generated by widespread industrial use of the material, and the national research organization (CSIRO) develops a patented manufacturing technology able to process it. Those reserves, per the U.S. Geological Survey 2014, include 24,000 million metric tons of rutile, the most common titanium dioxide mineral, and 160,000 million metric tons of ilmenite, a titanium-iron oxide mineral – respectively the largest and second-largest totals in the world. The industrial use spans the aerospace, automotive, defense, marine, and consumer goods sectors. And the technology is a cold spray process being marketed as Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) after CSIRO licensed it exclusively to the Melbourne-based vendor. Instead of exporting those reserves as raw material or selling as titanium dioxide, an initiative was put in place to begin processing and producing with it in large quantities. “Rather than sell the resource, build industry around [it],” Jeﬀ

“We’re working initially on areas around coatings and hulls,” Lang said. “Currently, a normal ship has to be dry docked every two years to do a new anti-fouling coating. We’re working with our antiSHOWN: TITOMIC FORMNEXT STAND

Lang, Titomic CTO, summarized at Formnext. The commercialization of TKF is key to that ambition. It works by accelerating titanium or titanium alloy particles out of a nozzle onto a scaﬀold. When the particles collide, they fuse together. This process can be packaged into ‘solutions’ customized to the user’s demands, or sold as ‘oﬀ the shelf’ platforms with build envelopes up to 9 x 3 x 1.5 m, and typically comprises of a spray head attached to a Kuka or ABB Robotic arm. A larger TKF set-up can consistently build at 30kg of material an hour, and up to 500kg a day.

22 IN BLUE

It can make use of Australia’s titanium abundance, then, but what does it mean in practice? Lang oﬀered the marine industry as a target market: one where titanium is used plenty, but where the processing of such quantities of material may be cost prohibitive. Fine titanium powders can be priced

SHOWN: TITOMIC MIXED SAMPLES

fouling coatings that blends the metals, like copper and titanium, that will give a ship up to a 20-year life before it has to get dry docked. With copper, it doesn’t allow any marine growth onto it. Producing hulls is long-term, but we work with a lot of other areas [like] ﬁnding improvements in the propulsion systems, the large propellers and drive systems, and even on the turbine blades.” The marine industry is simply the tip of the iceberg, the scratching of the surface, for Titomic’s presence in industry, and Australia’s new-found use of its titanium resource. In addition to its naval partners, Titomic is working with Boeing, Airbus, Sonaca, Spirit Aerospace, TAUV, U.S. Raytheon, Northrop Grumann, Lockheed Martin, BAE, Callaway Golf, and even Louis Vuitton. Some want ballistic coatings, some want engine components, and some want luxury suitcases. All of them want strong, resistant, lightweight products, and Australia wants a bigger slice of the titanium pie. It’s why Titomic exists.

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 023

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FORMNEXT REVIEW

FORMNEXT 2018: A ROUNDUP WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

ith around 35 press events divvied up between the TCT editorial team, we prepared ourselves for the onslaught of superlatives and “revolution”s which have become commonplace at such events where a 3D printed metal lattice just doesn’t have the same pizazz as years gone by. However, as a whole the team reported a very different sense of excitement as conversations were more about “hey, look at how this SME is using our machines” compared to “my build plate is bigger than yours”. Of course, this shift didn’t mean big hardware launches were completely done away with. Over the last few pages Sam, Dan and myself have taken a look at just a handful of the launches announced during the four day event in Germany. Companies like GE Additive (more on page 21), EOS, Siemens etc were keen to showcase how additive manufacturing (AM) can fit perfectly into smart factory and industry 4.0 workflows. Digitization was a big theme throughout. Machine tool and laser manufacturer, Trumpf, said digitization is a key term for manufacturing.

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It’s addressing that with its own TruConnect Industry 4.0 concept and also in its Smart Factory in Chicago where people, machines, automation and software all interact together. Though Trumpf has typically used the Frankfurt event to launch AM hardware, there were no major launches here but it did announce updates to its TruPrint 5000 system, which can now be preheated to 500 degrees Celsius, and a new green laser concept, opening AM up to even more materials and applications. There were less concepts and “coming soon”s and more shipping dates (Desktop Metal, for example, is getting ready to ship an updated version of its Production System which oﬀers incredible detail and productivity) and customer stories which is a welcome change when so very often we come across machines that aren’t even close to being on the market or in some cases, we see once and never hear of again. 3D Systems, Arburg, Rize and BigRep also exhibited new machines. The exception here was Stratasys, which opted to share more details of its gradually teased metal 3D printing technology with some sample parts but no hardware on display. It now has a name, Layered Powder Metallurgy, and is based on a three-step process combining traditional

Speaking about the company’s decision to drip feed details rather than going all out with a big curtain drop launch, Rafie Grinvald, Director of Product Marketing and Management, Stratasys, told TCT: “This is Stratasys, we are not releasing technology which we don't believe in, we are not releasing technology which we don’t think will bring value to customers. So we are in development, we are developing the solution, we are working with our customers and we are now shipping our technology to those partners, they will test that technology, we will get the thumbs up from them and then we will go to the market.” In addition, we saw new medical grade materials from Solvay, incredibly soft SLS materials from Sinterit, new ceramic material and metal soluble support from Xjet, and material profiles from Ultimaker with DSM, BASF, DuPont and others. On software, Materialise and Simufact both showcased updated simulation tools to assist print right first time, saving development time, materials, costs, which are helping to push production, and MachineWorks demoed the latest version of its Polygonica software which is being leveraged by key industry players. This year felt different, we started seeing evidence of this at TCT Show in September where incremental developments, which may have once gone unnoticed alongside shiny new hardware, are now becoming all the more crucial. We’ve got the tools now and companies are putting considerable stock into developing the various parts of the value chain to ensure they can be successfully integrated into industry.

The evolution of a revolution See how the Spectra H is advancing the industry at ge.com/additive/spectra

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 025

IP & FINANCE

SIDE STEPPING THE PITFALLS: ENSURING SAFE AND SECURE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

ransitioning to production with additive manufacturing (AM) is a strategic move for large companies. It opens the door to huge efficiencies including, cost savings along with revenue-generating opportunities such as virtual inventory and emergency spare parts, to name a few. However, there are risks that come with the move to digital. Take virtual inventory (or digital inventory) for example. With a digital file, companies need not worry about the cost of batch manufacturing and storing of physical parts. There is also the added benefit of having the flexibility to react to market demands. Sounds ideal, so what’s the problem? Well, there are several issues that are manageable with traditional inventory but can become untenable with virtual inventory. For example, in a physical facility, should theft of an item occur, the company only loses income for one item. On the other hand, if someone steals or misplaces an unprotected digital file, which includes details of how to produce a part, then the company’s intellectual property (IP) is compromized and senior management will suffer many sleepless nights. Not only that, but the person in possession of the file can now reproduce and sell the part as often as they please, resulting in a noticeable loss of income to the company – yet another headache. Unfortunately, there’s more… Parts need to be produced correctly. One might think that if the perpetrator only took the STL (geometry) files and didn’t get their hands on the required printer/material settings, then they can produce only inferior parts. Problem solved? On the contrary, having faulty parts with the company’s logo available on the market is a CEO’s nightmare. This compromizes the brand’s integrity and can genuinely affect the bottomline.

SAFE AND SECURE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

The good news is that this doesn’t have to be the case. There are a number of forward-thinking companies with solutions that address the issues I’ve outlined. Ensuring IP protection, consistency enforcement, and quantity control allows brands to not only benefit safely and securely from AM in production, but also address any concerns that top management may have. Here are a few key things that companies should consider when they’re looking to address these issues: • IT matters. Check that all the IT procedures and policies are adhered to – IT will not change file handling just for AM files. So, companies need to make sure they can hold those files together with all the other files and treat them the same way (back up policy, disaster recovery, etc.). • The less software to install, the better. Of course, Software as a service (SaaS) cloud-based solutions are the preferred option as they are instantly accessible and updated. • Seamless integration. This is paramount, and the solution should be easy to fully integrate into an existing workflow. Remember, procurement will treat physical and virtual inventory the same. Before investing, ask

about previous integrations – how long did they take? How many people were needed? A solution that’s easy to integrate is a promising indication of a well thought out architecture that will stand the test of time and ecosystem changes. • Make sure all of the eggs are not in one basket. The best solutions make it difficult for unpermitted access to be success. For example, they’ll need more than a username and password to steal your assets. • Last but not least…Of course, you should add to these all the obvious checks (that the solution works well, covers everything, is flexible, etc). Starting with this kind of software basis, the workflow you are putting together will not only be good for business but also good for peace of mind – yours, your manager’s and your CEO’s. Additive manufacturing brings with it fantastic efficiencies. Partnered with the right SaaS solution, companies can rest assured that they’re not only reducing their inventory cost but also protecting their brand integrity and ensuring premium product consistency.

DR LEE-BATH NELSON

is co-Founder and VP Business at LEO Lane which enables IP protected, quantity controlled, consistent additive manufacturing any time and every time. She is a veteran in the AM ecosystem and a seasoned hi-tech sector executive.

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 027

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BELIEVING IN 3D PRINTED UNICORNS

f I said the words “3D printing” and “unicorn” to you five years ago, an image of a plastic polygonal model in a garish color would have been a fair enough deduction. A horse-like creature with a spiralling horn pointing from its forehead, unicorns are the stuff of myth, existing only in fairy tales and on novelty pencil cases. In the finance world however, the term unicorn, coined in 2013, is more the stuff of legendary status, used to describe a privately held startup company valued at over 1 billion USD. As of August, there were reportedly around 260 of these companies in the world, including the likes of Uber, Pinterest and Airbnb, and in amongst those household names, a trio of 3D printing unicorns.

Carbon, a Silicon Valley startup which can count Adidas and Ford amongst early adopters of its super-fast CLIP technology and programmable engineering-grade resins, surpassed the billion-dollar threshold early on, topped up with the launch of a 200 million USD Series D last year. Shortly after, Desktop Metal, manufacturer of oﬃce-friendly metal 3D printing systems, reached a billion-dollar valuation just two years in, after a 115 million USD Series D in July 2017 from New Enterprise Associates, Google Ventures, GE Ventures amongst others. Earlier this year, fellow Boston company, Formlabs joined the list after a successful Series C in April raising 30 million USD and an additional 15 million USD in August. It’s the ultimate Kickstarter success story, having started out on the platform in 2012 and growing into one of the world’s leading sellers of stereolithography systems.

WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

For manufacturing technology startups, unicorn status is perhaps even more challenging as the overall journey from the initial beg and borrow phase to positive cash flow bliss can take a long time. Those investing in or developing a manufacturing technology, rather than say a new app, Burns said, have to understand that cash flow comes much later, often taking 3-5 years. Seed rounds come later, and they’re usually larger due to the nature of the product, which can lead to startups taking technologies to market too soon. “We have a fundamental problem because to get from where we are holistically and globally with the large thing we're dealing with and get it where we want it to be, we need more investment dollars and we have a dynamic here that makes those investment dollars difficult to come by,” Burns told the TCT Show crowd. “But I remain convinced that the difference between where we are and where we want to go is just investment. It simply is R&D dollars, if we throw enough of them at these basic science problems we have, we'll solve them.” In the days of the trough of disillusionment, we saw companies make huge cuts, close retail points and disband entire business arms – largely in the consumer sector. Now, we’re on “the cusp” of something, as both Burns and Todd Grimm recently called it, as wistful ideals have been replaced by real production, meaningful applications and factory of the future concepts, validated by major investments from giants like GE. If unicorns are in fact a reality in the 3D printing universe, now might be a good time to start believing.

MYTH OR LEGEND?

The elusive unicorn however is hard to come by. In a brilliant keynote talk at TCT Show, Dave Burns, Principal and Founder at Global Business Advisory Services LLP, spoke about the challenges and realities faced by manufacturing technology startups. As someone who has spent 15 years directly interfacing with 3D printing and led a company all the way from startup to IPO, it’s no wonder a number of startups have sought Burns’ expertize when embarking on their next steps. Presenting on the TCT Show stage, Burns explained how at least seven out of ten startups fail (in fact, he believes it’s closer to nine). Why? Lack of market alignment, hiring the wrong team, and crucially, running out of cash.

VOL 4 ISSUE 6 / www.tctmagazine.com / 029

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post processing

AWARD WINNING FINISH WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

BELOW:

DENTAL PARTS BEFORE AND AFTER ELECTROPOLISHING

t Formnext 2018, splashes of purple could be spotted on a select few stands as this year’s TCT Awardwinning exhibitors proudly displayed their industry expert-approved tech to the masses. One such badge-holder was Barcelona-based, Steros GPA Innovate S.L. (GPA INNOVA), which took home the TCT Post Processing Award 2018 for its DLyte dry electropolishing system. Founded in 2015, GPA INNOVA specializes in machinery for metal surface finishing. Its DryLyte technology, which combines grinding and polishing in a one-step process to produce shiny finished parts, is said to be the first dry electropolishing system of its kind. Unlike traditional methods, DryLyte does not use liquid as the electrolyte but instead uses ion transport via free solid bodies which enable the removal material from only the peaks of roughness and without changing the part’s shape, tolerances or leaving any micro scratches on the surface. The process can handle complex geometries and penetrate all dead zones for a range of metals including steel and stainlesssteel, cobalt chrome, titanium, aluminium, nickel and precious metal alloys for dental, healthcare, aerospace, automotive and other industries. Depending on the application, the process time can be reduced by around 75% compared to mechanical techniques. Jaume Miras, Finance Director at GPA INNOVA explained: “Our system is working like digital polishing, we don't really need to press to create pressure on the surface, we don't need to create movement on the surface, we just need the ball to touch the surface and then it’s this ion transport from the piece to the media. The metal will remain inside the media and after some hours or after the

time of use, you need to replace with fresh media.” The process is completely automated and does not require programming, particularly beneficial for processing batches of customised AM parts. Though the technology is also aimed at more traditional processes such as CNC machining and casting, the company has partnered with a number of AM companies including EOS, Renishaw and 3D Systems to help provide a complete solution for producing finished parts with a surface roughness of under 0.09 micrometres. “When you don’t have really big volumes with the same part, for example in the dental field where every mouth is different, so every part will be different, you would need programming for each part,” Miras commented. “That's why our system doesn’t need programming, you can put several parts in the same batch and it’s just a standard program because it's not dependent on the geometry of the part.” With different machines designed for various sectors and materials, the company already has around 140 of its systems installed worldwide. The majority are based

in Europe with customers primarily in the dental industry but its machines are also being adopted by bigger firms such as French aerospace company, Safran Group and global medical giant, Johnson & Johnson. One mid-sized dental laboratory which produces around 50 pieces a day is said to be saving around 102,000 EURO a year, primarily in labour costs, compared to manual polishing and is averaging around nine finished parts per hour with the DLyte Dental system. Expanding that even further, at Formnext, its new DLyte 10000 Industrial Series machine (coming soon, GPA INNOVA says) could be seen coupled with a KUKA robotic arm, an example of how systems can be customized and adapted to fit into current production workflows. Miras added: “When we go to the industry we see that each company is different. This machine will also need to be included in the current production chain so of course, we need to adapt somehow. This will be a standard machine with some adaptations to meet the customer needs and that will be something that comes very soon for all industries and with really customized solutions.”

ABOVE:

TITANIUM MEDICAL PART FINISHED WITH DRYLYTE

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DON’T LET BAD APPLES SPOIL PROGRESS

grimm column

WORDS: TODD GRIMM

rom the TCT Show’s main stage, I spoke of being on the cusp of positive change reflected in a shift in attitudes, beliefs and actions. I believe that we are at a transition point from which the AM industry will continue to build momentum that builds in a way that makes advancing into the future easier with each passing day. Essentially, this shift will accelerate the arrival of the promised future. The crux of this observation is that we are experiencing an alignment amongst all the constituents in the industry. Instead of toiling to discover needed information or to make a technology work for the intended application, vendors are now collectively and proactively working to support the user community by supplying real information, real guidance and purpose-built technologies that open the doors to real opportunities. This is in stark contrast to the days of grand visions and bold claims that showed possibility but offered little support in making them a probability. Working in collaboration to meet a shared objective, information is being produced and exchanged and technologies are being developed to address the needs, wants and desires of the user base. Working in concert, possibilities emerge, and the probability of success grows. However, being on the cusp means that we are transitioning, which in turn means that not all of the vendors are abiding by this new discipline. There are still “bad apples” that will exaggerate the truth, mislead through omissions of fact, or blatantly lie. In a very competitive market where it is hard to stand out and be noticed, the motivation to deceive is comprehensible, but it is no longer acceptable. Those that behave badly to serve their interests alone, in stark contrast to the interests of the AM industry, jeopardize progress by undermining the momentum that we are building. While one bad apple won’t spoil progress, if we allow too many to exhibit this bad behavior, we will suffer from their actions. Rather than pushing beyond the cusp, we could roll backwards and have to regain lost momentum. So it is time to put all AM vendors on notice that we, the AM user community, will no longer

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tolerate this behavior. We will not overlook or excuse deceit. As a maturing industry, we expect participants to behave accordingly, maturely. I recognize that there is some degree of salesmanship that will have to be tolerated and that the actions of an individual should not condemn his/her organization. Therefore, I suggest that we start to communicate bad corporate citizenship where misinformation and dishonesties are part of an organization’s DNA. To get this movement started, I suggest that you start by telling your peers when you encounter a bad apple. Don’t keep it to yourself, allowing the same thing to happen to others, which allows the rottenness to spread and infect the perceptions of broad swaths of our user base. Alternatively, tweet your experience using the hashtag #AMBadApple. However, be judicious and don’t act with prejudice. Before conveying an experience, contemplate if the action is indicative of the

organization’s directives or just the character of an individual. For those that want to aﬀect change anonymously, message me through LinkedIn (www.linkedin. com/in/toddgrimm) to share your experiences. I have no intent of exposing deceit based on a single incident, but if a pattern emerges, I will investigate. Where warranted, I will make the information public. Additionally, I will report, without naming companies, the nature of common misdeeds to oﬀer insights on items that must be diligently examined. AM advances with the successes of the user community; solving problems and creating new opportunities. On the other hand, failures, disappointments and letdowns become setbacks. Working together, and working towards common goals, we will experience far more success. Let’s take control by encouraging and supporting AM vendors that are working with us while discouraging bad behavior that erodes the momentum that has been achieved.

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

tgrimm@tagrimm.com

International exhibition and conference on the next generation of manufacturing technologies Frankfurt, Germany, November 19 – 22, 2019 formnext.com

Thank you for the successful Formnext 2018 – see you next year!

New ideas. New opportunities. New markets. There are people who need you. So that ideas don’t remain ideas but become products. With your expertise. Present yourself at Formnext – the international exhibition and conference on additive manufacturing and the next generation of intelligent production solutions.

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