Articles

Standards for metal Additive Manufacturing: A global perspective

As the metal Additive Manufacturing industry moves towards industrial production, the need for international standards covering all aspects of the technology becomes ever more pressing. In the following exclusive report for Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine, Fraunhofer IFAM’s Claus Aumund-Kopp and Frank Petzoldt review international progress to-date, summarise existing standards for metal AM and consider the challenges that lie ahead [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 2, Summer 2016] ... Read more »

GKN Sinter Metals: Global Tier 1 automotive supplier anticipates opportunities for Additive Manufacturing

GKN Sinter Metals, with more than 6,000 employees at 30 locations worldwide, is the world’s leading Powder Metallurgy group. The company produces 11 million PM parts per day, with around 80% going into the automotive industry. The company started its metal Additive Manufacturing activities at its Innovation Centre in Radevormwald, Germany, in 2013. Dr Georg Schlieper visited the centre on behalf of Metal AM magazine and reports on the company’s AM activities and ambitions [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 2, Summer 2016] ... Read more »

Metal AM in the automotive industry: New vehicle structures, series components for the luxury market and beyond

The automotive industry has successfully embraced metal Additive Manufacturing as a prototyping technology for a number of years. As the technology advances, however, the possibilities for the use of metal AM for series component production are now starting to be explored. In the following review the challenges and opportunities for metal AM in the automotive industry are presented, including a radical concept to use AM parts as key structural elements in the next generation of automotive spaceframes [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 2, Summer 2016] ... Read more »

Material selection for the production of injection moulding tooling by Additive Manufacturing

As one of the first major markets for metal additively manufactured products, the importance of the tooling industry has long been recognised. There is still, however, limited information available on what mechanical properties can be expected for the various materials used. This report by Harish Irrinki, Brenton Barmore, Kunal H Kate and Sundar V Atre reviews the published data on various steel powders and processing conditions as well as the mechanical properties that have been obtained using the Selective Laser Melting process [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 2, Summer 2016] ... Read more »

Planning, preparing and producing: Walking the tightrope between additive and subtractive manufacturing

In the following article Delcam’s Kelvin Hamilton explores the current possibilities for design, topology optimisation, simulation, process planning and process preparation in metal Additive Manufacturing (AM). Exploring the three Ps, Plan, Prepare and Produce, all the processes involved in transforming three airbrake bracket designs into final products are revealed. As well as explaining how important it is to appreciate and plan for the significant amount of subtractive manufacturing in metal AM, a number of the lessons learnt in this project are discussed as the author reflects on the experience of planning, preparing and producing parts [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 1, Spring 2016] ... Read more »

Renishaw: Global Solutions Centres offer end-users an alternative route to develop new metal AM applications

This year the UK’s Renishaw plc will further expand its global network of Solutions Centres for metal Additive Manufacturing. The centres are designed specifically to provide a secure environment for end-users to trial the company’s metal powder bed fusion technology and establish the viability of a project before committing to major capital investments. Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine’s Nick Williams reports on a recent visit to Renishaw’s flagship Solutions Centre in Stone, Staffordshire [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 1, Spring 2016] ... Read more »

Titanium powder pyrophoricity, passivation and handling for safe production and processing

As Additive Manufacturing moves out of the prototyping space and into production facilities with multiple machines, the importance of handling and processing powders, particularly titanium, becomes ever more relevant. In this article Dr Andrew Heidloff and Dr Joel Rieken, from Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., review best practice when handling and storing titanium powders for AM. Titanium powder can be safely produced, processed, stored and shipped using appropriate precautions, however under certain conditions it can become quite hazardous. These hazards can be mitigated by following the suggested precautions reviewed below [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 1, Spring 2016] ... Read more »

Process and quality control for AM: Sigma Labs PrintRite3D® methodology for overall quality assurance

Despite the outstanding promise of metal Additive Manufacturing technologies, inconsistent quality, process reliability and speed are currently holding back industry growth and impacting on the cost-effectiveness of new applications. In the following article Sigma Labs’ Dr Vivek R Dave and Mark J Cola review the technical challenges that are faced in enabling metal AM to reach its full potential and the systems that are currently available to address a number of critical issues [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 1, Spring 2016] ... Read more »

Metal AM in Finland: VTT optimises industrial valve block for Additive Manufacturing

VTT, based in Espoo, Finland, is one of Europe’s largest research and technology centres with a long track record in metal powder processing technologies. In the following case study VTT’s Erin Komi reviews the development of an additively manufactured valve block for demanding industrial applications. The project, in conjunction with industrial partner Nurmi Cylinders, looked at the optimisation of the valve block in terms of size reduction, weight saving and performance gains [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 1, Spring 2016] ... Read more »

Formnext 2015: Product launches take centre stage at Europe’s new exhibition on Additive Manufacturing

The much anticipated inaugural formnext exhibition took place in Frankfurt from November 17-20, 2015. Squarely aimed at an industrial audience, the event succeeded in attracting almost all the major metal Additive Manufacturing technology suppliers. Whilst taglined as the international exhibition on additive technologies and tool making, there was a real sense that it was the Additive Manufacturing community that most fully embraced this new exhibition concept. As Metal AM magazine’s Nick Williams reports, AM technology suppliers took the opportunity to make a number of new product launches and announcements [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 4, Winter 2015] ... Read more »

Hot Isostatic Pressing: Improving quality and performance in AM parts production

Processing
December 1, 2015

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) has been used for a number of decades as a method to consolidate metal powders and metal matrix composites to produce fully dense components, to eliminate porosity in sintered parts, to produce metal clad parts through diffusion bonding, and to eliminate defects in castings. HIP is now also playing an important role in assuring and increasing the quality of critical components produced by powder-based Additive Manufacturing. In the following article Magnus Ahlfors and Johan Hjärne describe the HIP process and its influence on the microstructure and properties of AM Ti-6Al-4V alloys [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 4, Winter 2015] ... Read more »

The current status and outlook for metal Additive Manufacturing in Japan

Despite playing a significant role in the early development of Additive Manufacturing technologies, there is a belief in Japan that the country’s industry has fallen behind in the wider adoption of metal Additive Manufacturing. In this report for Metal AM magazine Professor Hideki Kyogoku, of Kinki University, and a project leader of the country’s Technology Research Association for Future Additive Manufacturing (TRAFAM), reviews the history of the technology in Japan and its current status. He also presents the work being undertaken by TRAFAM on the development of the next generation of metal AM systems and materials [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 3, Autumn 2015] ... Read more »

In the latest issue of Metal AM magazine

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Extensive AM industry news coverage, as well as the following exclusive deep-dive articles:

  • Metal powders in Additive Manufacturing: An exploration of sustainable production, usage and recycling
  • Inside Wayland Additive: How innovation in electron beam PBF is opening new markets for AM
  • An end-to-end production case study: Leveraging data-driven machine learning and autonomous process control in AM
  • Consolidation, competition, and the cost of certification: Insight from New York’s AM Strategies 2024
  • Scandium’s impact on the Additive Manufacturing of aluminium alloys
  • AM for medical implants: An analysis of the impact of powder reuse in Powder Bed Fusion

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