Additive Manufacturing is seen by the energy and maritime industries as having the potential to optimise supply chains and reduce the cost of spare parts through the use of ‘digital’ warehouses. The technology is used for both ‘like-for-like’ spare parts that were originally designed for machining, casting or forging, as well as new parts that have been optimised for AM. Here, Stian Saltnes Gurrik and Selin Erkisi Arici (DNV), and Onno Ponfoort and Mathijs van Poll (Berenschot), report on the latest findings of a Joint Industry Project that aims to understand the viability of such an approach in relation to a part’s carbon footprint.
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There is a growing interest in additively manufactured pure tungsten, primarily propelled by the expected demand for tungsten components in future fusion power plants. Here, Additive Manufacturing veterans and PBF-EB enthusiasts, Ulf Ackelid and Ulric Ljungblad – both of Sweden’s Freemelt AB – provide insights into the AM of tungsten and the benefits of using an electron beam as the energy source. This article is a standalone continuation of previous PBF-EB articles in Metal AM, published in the Summer 2020, Autumn 2022, and Summer 2023 issues
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AM is at a pivotal stage, evolving from a prototyping tool to a scalable manufacturing solution. This transition necessitates real-time, process-specific inspection to ensure consistent part quality. Phase3D is meeting this need with real-time inspection solutions specifically for powder-bed processes. Its technology enables manufacturers to inspect each layer during production, enhancing product development, optimising parameters, and improving process control for end-use production. Here, Niall O’Dowd and Noah Mostow dive into the specific applications of the company’s Fringe Inspection technology.
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The global semiconductor supply chain is under immense strain as a result of geopolitical and economic factors, putting significant pressure on Semiconductor Capital Equipment (SCE) manufacturers. In this article, Emily Godsey interviews Texas A&M’s Prof Alaa Elwany and Jiahui Ye, and Veeco Instruments Inc’s Dr Ahmed El Desouky, to explore the benefits of metal Additive Manufacturing technologies for semiconductor manufacturing and the SCE supply chain.
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Patents have had a major impact on the evolution of the Additive Manufacturing industry. They offer intellectual property protection, yet they also force the disclosure of expertise. Registering a patent also comes at a high cost, yet for those who are found to infringe a patent, the costs are even higher. But what can the data generated by the global patenting process tell us about AM? Here, Joseph Kowen and Gil Perlberg use Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB) technology as a case study to discover what patent data can reveal.
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With seven structural titanium parts flying on every Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a Master Supply Agreement with Airbus for the A350, and projects with the likes of Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, Norsk Titanium is setting the pace when it comes to the production of airframe components by Additive Manufacturing. By using wire instead of powder and its own proprietary version of the Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process, the company combines high deposition rates with aerospace-grade materials properties. Martin McMahon visited the company on behalf of Metal AM magazine.
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In the race to improve the productivity of PBF-LB Additive Manufacturing, machine OEMs have generally taken the path of adding more lasers. nLIGHT takes the view that it’s not necessarily just more lasers that are needed, but beam-shaping lasers. By using dynamic beam shaping technology, significant increases in the productivity, stability and metallurgical capabilities of PBF-LB have been demonstrated. Given the technology’s recent commercial success, with adoption by Aconity3D, AMCM, EOS and DMG Mori, we asked the nLIGHT team to review beam shaping technology and its potential impact on the AM industry.
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In this joint study by Carl Zeiss AG, AMiquam SA, and EOS GmbH, the performance of eddy currents as a tool for the in-situ detection of defects in Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) has been assessed. Process variations, including lack of fusion and keyhole formation could be detected in-situ, as well as individual defects as small as 0.3 mm post-build and post-polishing. Here, Jonatan Wicht, Harald Krauss, Frank Widulle, Julian Schulz, and Edson Costa Santos, Alain Berthoud, and Bernard Revaz present their latest findings.
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For many decades, North America’s Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) has organised its PM Design Excellence Awards competition in order to showcase the capabilities of the Powder Metallurgy industry. With the growing commercial success of metal powder-based Additive Manufacturing, the competition is seeing an ever larger number of entrants from this sector. Award-winning parts in this year’s competition include parts not only produced by Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion, but also a wide range of innovative sinter-based AM processes.
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The metal Additive Manufacturing industry has significantly increased machine productivity in recent years. In the case of Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion
(PBF-LB), efforts have primarily focused on what happens inside the build chamber. Here, Sebastian Becker, Head of Product Management Metal, EOS GmbH, reports on how, with Grenzebach Maschinenbau GmbH and Volkmann GmbH, the company is looking outside of the build chamber. Thanks to automation, machine time utilisation can be taken from an estimated 60% to nearer 90% through rapid automated build box exchange and fully automated powder removal and recycling.
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China’s Additive Manufacturing industry is growing at extraordinary speed, driven forward by intense domestic competition and AM technology’s role in the country’s national manufacturing strategy. Based on a recent visit to the TCT Asia 2024 exhibition, Joseph Kowen shares an outsider’s perspective on what is happening in the Chinese metal AM industry. Are Chinese AM machines now rivalling those from the West in terms of capability, and how is an increasingly complex geopolitical situation impacting the dynamics of the AM industry?
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Additive Manufacturing has experienced significant growth over the past thirty years. However, many market players have found themselves disappointed with current market volumes compared to earlier projections for the industry. Today, the AM industry is at an intriguing stage. Depending on your perspective, it can appear to be either declining or thriving. How do these perspectives align, and how is its current status represented by data and forecasts? AMPOWER’s Maximilian Munsch, Eric Wycisk and Matthias Schmidt-Lehr share their assessment and consider the challenges of predicting a highly-complex industry.
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