As metal Additive Manufacturing progresses toward more widespread industry penetration, the need for globally recognised and agreed upon standards increases. The day before Formnext 2021, key standards organisations and a cross-section of the Additive Manufacturing community attended the annual Standards Forum at Formnext. The forum’s programme illustrated the industry’s awareness of the need for standardisation and highlighted some of the challenges faced. Noah Mostow reports on the discussion on behalf of Metal AM magazine. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 4, Winter 2021]
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The Czinger 21C hypercar is a ‘tour de force’ of metal Additive Manufacturing. With over 350 AM components used in the vehicle’s structure, suspension, brake systems, drivetrain and beyond, this is the realisation of the bold vision of Kevin Czinger, CEO of Divergent 3D. Behind the headlines about the car’s record-breaking performance, however, is a far more important story: the development of the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), a complete software/hardware solution designed to replace traditional vehicle manufacturing. Jeff Kerns reports for Metal AM magazine. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 4, Winter 2021]
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Spare parts keep the world turning, and their complex supply chain is an industry in itself, specifically designed to get trains moving, ships sailing, and industry producing. But this is an expensive business, and one driven by calculated risk. Do you reduce your profits by stocking every expensive, highly engineered part that you might need, even though the chances are that most will never be used? Here, Joseph Kowen considers if digital part inventories, in conjunction with metal Additive Manufacturing, can transform how the spare parts industry operates. What are the opportunities, and how are early adopters already taking advantage of them? [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 4, Winter 2021]
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A technology such as Additive Manufacturing relies heavily on industry champions to drive awareness, promoting the capabilities and potential of the process within their circle of influence. In the hydraulics industry, AM has no greater champion than Aidro srl’s Valeria Tirelli, whose wide-reaching advocacy belies the company’s modest size. Luca van der Heide interviewed Tirelli for Metal AM magazine and discussed the company’s story, why the hydraulics sector is so well suited to AM, and, of course, the recent acquisition of Aidro by Desktop Metal. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 6 No. 3, Autumn 2021]
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Machine price and size, maintenance costs, production speed, safety, materials, metallurgy and quality – these are just some of the factors that will play a role in driving the development of metal AM over the next ten years. Concerns, such as repeatability, post-processing and ease of use, will determine whether the technology can fulfil the potential it promises. One thing is clear: many factors must improve before metal AM can become a true mainstream production technology. In this article, Olaf Diegel and Terry Wohlers, Wohlers Associates, draw on their expertise and experience to predict what the next decade may look like for metal Additive Manufacturing. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 6 No. 3, Autumn 2021]
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The uptake of Additive Manufacturing by industry, believes Autodesk’s Paul Sohi, has been both stratospherically high and confusingly low. In explaining and addressing this dichotomy, Sohi explores the multiple potentials of AM when approached by taking a more holistic view of design challenges. Whilst there is no doubt that the popularisation of AM technology is influencing how we design products by shifting the design language to embrace more complex or nonstandard forms, Sohi believes that this is where the application of AM seems to be stagnating. So, how can we close the loop from design to manufacturing? [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 2, Summer 2021]
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Metal Additive Manufacturing technologies offer the potential for true mass customisation, but in order to leverage this opportunity, new, complex workflows and business models have to be implemented. In this article, Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Ashley Eckhoff considers the challenges when addressing the topic, from the addition of further complexity, to an already challenging Additive Manufacturing workflow, to traceability and regulation. By adapting the AM process to meet these needs, companies can reap the benefits of new markets uniquely suited to this technology. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 2, Summer 2021]
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An unexpected consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been its impact on the multibillion dollar semiconductor microchip market: at the very same moment as demand for consumer electronics skyrocketed due to global lockdowns, the supply of semiconductors was bottlenecked by production disruptions. Now, supply chain shortages threaten the production volume of the industries dependent on these parts. Scott Green and Niels Holmstock, 3D Systems, and Lieven Vervecken and Gert-Jan Paulus, Diabatix, explore how metal AM can be used to increase efficiency in semiconductor fabrication and boost the speed at which these vital components can be produced. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 2, Summer 2021]
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This summer, a new player arrived on the AM scene: the Digital Manufacturing Centre, or DMC. Based on the edge of Silverstone, the UK’s most famous race circuit, home to numerous leading F1 teams, there could be no better place to launch a business aimed at offering AM support to the elite in performance motorsport. Jim Hadfield speaks with the DMC’s CEO, Kieron Salter, to explore how metal Additive Manufacturing is enabling innovation in the booming hypercar industry, and how a truly connected digital manufacturing operation can bring the DMC a competitive advantage in this field and more. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 2, Summer 2021]
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In highlighting the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, events such as COVID-19 have inspired renewed interest in alternative forms of organising production. Distributed manufacturing is now seeing early use in fields such as oil and gas and for on-demand spare parts manufacturing. For the first time, large-scale on-demand manufacturing was seen in the supply of emergency PPE at the height of the pandemic. Dr Jennifer Johns discusses how AM can help to address the challenges this new business model presents, and introduces the University of Bristol’s £1 million Brokering Additive Manufacturing project, which seeks to produce a revolutionary new brokering method for highly distributed and diverse manufacturing systems. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 7 No. 2, Summer 2021]
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