In the digital world of Additive Manufacturing, just how cybersecure are your operations and your customers’ critical parts? A survey of AM producers has suggested that the answer is probably not secure enough. In this article, Auburn University’s Prof Mark Yampolskiy, and industry analyst Joseph Kowen, present a high-altitude overview of the security threats facing those in the AM community. Cybersecurity, they suggest, should be considered as no less important than metallurgy or ‘Design for AM’ and, with the development of AM-specific standards and third-party security solutions, it need not be an overwhelming task.
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When it comes to presenting a review of the world’s largest international exhibition for AM, one can go about it in two ways: very broad generalisations about the state of the industry or a more focused review of a handful of noteworthy developments. Given the 859 exhibitors at Formnext 2023, spread over some 54,000 m2, this review by Dr Martin McMahon takes the latter approach, offering broader context where possible. Whilst many more press announcements are covered in the industry news section of this issue, the following report provides an overview of how – and where – AM is evolving and maturing into a credible and dynamic technology.
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Metal Additive Manufacturing is rapidly gaining momentum across a broad range of industries and is often used for producing components for challenging applications such as medical implants and rocket engines. To maximise the mechanical strength and fatigue resistance of such critical AM parts, they must be processed by Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) to eliminate any residual porosity, and heat treated. Jim Shipley from Quintus Technologies provides an overview of HIP and High Pressure Heat Treatment technology for Powder Bed Fusion AM and considers the opportunities that a new generation of HIP equipment presents.
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While the Norwegian market for Additive Manufacturing has long revolved around prototyping and polymer materials, metal Additive Manufacturing has seen rapid development in recent years. This is in large part thanks to the opportunities that the country’s oil and gas industry is now seeing in the technology. In this article, Joppe N Christensen considers why it has taken so long to get started with metal AM in Norway and introduces companies and individuals who are now leading the way.
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While metal Additive Manufacturing is revolutionising industries from aerospace to healthcare, the need for efficient process development and the acquisition of validated material data is becoming increasingly important. In this context, a groundbreaking solution emerges – that of the platform-based exploitation of metal AM data assets to accelerate industrialisation and unlock new revenue streams. Here, Rosswag GmbH’s Philipp Schwarz and Gregor Graf delve into the significance of this concept and how it fits as a crucial piece in the AM industrialisation puzzle.
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France’s ADAXIS is tackling two of the most complex advanced industrial manufacturing disciplines head on — Robotics and Additive Manufacturing. Its solution aims to make robotic Additive Manufacturing more accessible to any company that wants it, including for metal processes, irrespective of background or industry sector. Rachel Park spoke with Henri Bernard and Emil Johansson, two of ADAXIS’ co-founders, as well as project partners, to discover their story and ambitions.
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Since the first conference on electron beam Additive Manufacturing in Nuremberg in 2016, the EBAM conference series has been the central meeting point for industry and academia to exchange knowledge on this dynamic area of AM. After the event was forced to go virtual in 2020 due to COVID-19, attendees were finally able to meet face-to-face again in Erlangen, March 22-24. Marie Franke-Jurisch and Dr Matthias Markl report on recent developments in materials, process, and machine technology, all of which serve to demonstrate that electron beam-based technologies are once again firmly established in the metal Additive Manufacturing world.
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Binder Jetting’s position as an accepted mass production technology for precision metal components is on the near horizon. The coming success will, however, rely as much on expertise in the sintering process as it does on expertise in jetting binder onto a powder bed to make ‘green’ parts. This article reports on how GKN Powder Metallurgy’s Additive Manufacturing division, GKN Additive, has leveraged decades of sintering expertise in high-capacity continuous furnaces, combined with its application development expertise, to deliver the series production of special filters by Binder Jetting for Schneider Electric.
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Two worlds collide in Additive Manufacturing. Consider that a Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machine completes its job fully automatically over many hours. Yet, before and after that, a multitude of manual tasks often still need to be completed. Employees may be required to perform these tasks while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect themselves from metal dust, compounded by the high labour costs that this manual work incurs. Is this the future of cost-efficient, 24/7 production? Christian Mittmann and Manuel Henser, from Volkmann GmbH, believe that the real solution can be found in the complete automation of powder handling.
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The growth of metal Additive Manufacturing has been held back, believes Oqton’s Dr Ben Schrauwen, by a specific set of challenges: repeatability, cost, and the need for a high level of expertise. This article considers how next-generation software solutions that leverage Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, and hybrid modelling are improving metal AM workflows. By addressing all three challenges, Schrauwen believes that metal AM can achieve faster and deeper adoption, leading to a more efficient and innovative future.
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Metal Additive Manufacturing is on a long journey, from the early technology concepts of several decades ago to its current usage in a relatively small number of markets with specific, highly-specialised application requirements. If the journey leads to the widespread adoption of metal AM technology by industry, can we ask, ‘Are we there yet?’ Dr Maximilian Munsch, Dr Eric Wycisk, and Matthias Schmidt-Lehr, from strategy consultancy and AM market analysis specialist AMPOWER, delve into the evolution, current status, and future prospects for the industry, seeking to uncover the true extent of its potential.
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Dr Adrian Keppler has been an active participant in the AM industry for close on fifteen years. Based on his past experience as the Managing Director, and later CEO, of EOS GmbH, and his current role on the advisory boards of numerous AM startups, Keppler believes that more can, and should, be done to advance industrial applications of AM. Are the industry’s efforts to develop new technologies without perfecting and industrialising existing technologies holding it back? Should the less exciting work of industrialisation be prioritised over the next shiny technology release? Joseph Kowen interviews Keppler for Metal AM magazine.
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