More than 600 international metal AM professionals gathered in October for the 1st Munich Technology Conference. Organised and sponsored by Oerlikon, the aim of this unique event was to provide a dedicated platform for the discussion and sharing of best practices in AM production and applications, along with the business models needed to drive the industrialisation of AM. We invited Prof Dr-Ing Michael Zäh, Chair of Machine Tools and Production Technology at the Technical University of Munich, to consider the status of metal AM as revealed over the event’s two days of presentations and discussions [First published in Metal AM Vol. 3 No. 4, Winter 2017]
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X-ray Computed Tomography (micro CT) is just one option for the inspection of metal AM parts. Other options include using eddy current, ultrasonic technology, white-light interferometry and non-interferometric optics. However, given recent developments, it is micro CT that has the most potential in view of its unique capability for the inspection of complex internal structures and geometries without destroying the part. The capabilities of this inspection method are presented by Andrew Ramsey and Herminso Villarraga-Gomez of Nikon Metrology Inc. [First published in Metal AM Vol. 3 No. 2, Summer 2017]
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Additive Manufacturing promises huge benefits for industry, but exploiting these in practice can prove difficult. For example, although truss-like component forms will often be found to be much more structurally efficient than traditional forms, identifying these has thus far been laborious and time-consuming. However, a new optimisation approach means that engineers can now directly identify optimised truss forms for AM components, saving time and effort. Prof. Matthew Gilbert of LimitState and the Advanced Additive Manufacturing (AdAM) Centre at the University of Sheffield outlines the technology and its application [First published in Metal AM Vol. 3 No. 1, Spring 2017]
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One of the most promising aspects of Additive Manufacturing is the design freedom it enables. One manifestation of this design freedom lies in our ability to manufacture cellular structures such as lattices and honeycombs. Implementing cellular structures with AM, however, poses a range of design and manufacturing challenges. In this article Dr Dhruv Bhate, from Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies, Inc. (PADT), focuses on a key area connecting design and manufacturing to final part implementation – the mechanical behaviour of these structures and the challenges and approaches to developing a reliable way to predict it [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 4, Winter 2016]
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Additive Manufacturing gives industrial designers the freedom to create ever more complex and customised products. However, with the increasing adoption of the technology by sectors such as aerospace, where product failure can have catastrophic consequences, component verification is becoming a critical issue. In the following article Dr Chris Hole, from the UK’s TTP Group plc, reviews the challenges of verification in an industry that is associated with low volume runs of complex, often highly customised components with sophisticated hidden internal structures [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 4, Winter 2016]
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There is no doubt that the Additive Manufacturing of series components is quickly becoming a reality. From high-profile applications in the aerospace industry to performance components for the automotive sector, there are now numerous examples of the successful implementation of metal AM. However, the route that a company chooses in order to adopt AM technology could have a significant impact on a component’s development time and cost. As Nick Williams reports, Germany’s FIT AG sees opportunities in leveraging its expertise to supporting companies with the outsourcing of component development and production. To achieve this, the company has created a model AM factory that it plans to replicate worldwide [First published in Metal AM Vol. 2 No. 3, Autumn 2016]
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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]
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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]
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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]
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Metal Additive Manufacturing promises to enable smaller organisations to compete with global corporations in the development of new products. Expensive tooling and traditional production lines, it is suggested, need no longer be a barrier to market. As US-based designer and engineer Spencer Wright reveals in this insightful report, the reality of developing a low volume AM titanium part for production exposes a number of challenges that the industry needs to overcome if it is truly able to serve a new generation of product developers [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 3, Autumn 2015]
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Concept Laser, based in Lichtenfels, Germany, is a leading provider of manufacturing equipment for metal Additive Manufacturing using its patented LaserCUSING® technology. In this article the company reports on the development of the next generation of its quality assurance monitoring system, QMmeltpool 3D, which will be available on its M1 and M2 cusing machines from 2016. The system, states Concept Laser, promises to make a significant contribution to detecting process defects at an early stage as well being an indispensable tool for process optimisation [First published in Metal AM Vol. 1 No. 2, Summer 2015]
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