3D PRINTING Additive Manufacturing State of the … PRINTING Additive Manufacturing State of the...
Transcript of 3D PRINTING Additive Manufacturing State of the … PRINTING Additive Manufacturing State of the...
In 2013, Hybrid
Manufacturing
Technologies, based
in England, launched its
AMBIT tool-changeable
powder deposition head that
turns nearly any CNC machining
center into a hybrid system using
directed energy deposition.
Photo courtesy Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies
May 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 67
3D PRINTING
AdditiveManufacturingState of theIndustry
Tim CaffreySenior Consultant
This is an exclusive preview of the
Wohlers Report 2015, which has
provided an annual summary on the
state of additive manufacturing, with
estimates and forecasts, for the past
two decades
The additive manufacturing industry has entered a
new era, propelled forward by expiring patents,
bursts of new investment, and increasing de-
mands on quality, price, and performance from
every segment of a rapidly growing user community.
Evidence of this new era for AM can be seen in the
proliferation of emerging technologies, materials, markets,
businesses, collaborations, and services. The rate at which
the industry is growing and diverging into these emergent
segments is truly staggering.
Emerging Technologies
Many startup efforts around new materials and
processes are underway. Most are focused on versions
of existing AM technology, although some are novel and
could create entirely new markets. Among the most
interesting are printed electronics, hybrid metal systems,
and a new process from Hewlett-Packard (HP).
Terry WohlersPresidentWohlers Associates Inc.
68 AdvancedManufacturing.org | May 2015
Other new developments are similar to established pro-
cesses, such as laser sintering and stereolithography. The
opportunity to produce lower-cost versions of these processes
has stimulated innovation and brought startup companies
into the AM field. Using new or multiple materials is attractive
to groups that demand special properties from parts made
by additive manufacturing. It is
exciting to see so many devel-
opments occur in such a short
period of time.
The final foundation patent
for selective laser sintering, held
by the University of Texas at Austin, expired in June 2014.
More than a half dozen new machine developments have
emerged in the US, Europe, and China in the past year. One of
the most serious is China’s Hunan Farsoon, which recently en-
tered the North American market with machines and materials.
Vat photopolymerization, the “granddaddy” of all AM
processes, continues to be popular. Many of 3D Systems’
stereolithography patents have expired, and a significant
number of new manufacturers have entered the photopoly-
mer machine market. The trend accelerated in 2014, result-
ing in more than a dozen new offerings in the low-cost and
industrial machine segments. Much of the development has
been around small machines that use digital light processing
(DLP) technology for jewelry and
other small, intricate parts.
Ceramics are a material fam-
ily with tremendous untapped
potential when paired with the
freeform capabilities of AM.
Lithoz and 3DCeram (and by extension, Prodways) offer pho-
topolymer systems that produce precision ceramic parts. The
binder jetting process is a natural for producing ceramic parts,
so ExOne, Voxeljet, and 3D Systems have developed, or are
developing, ceramic materials for their binder jetting systems.
3D-printed electronics is developing rapidly, with many
recent investments. In October 2014, for example, the
3D PRINTING
Ceramics are a material family with tremendous untapped potential
when paired with the freeform capabilities of AM.
70 AdvancedManufacturing.org | May 2015
FlexTech Alliance awarded $1.3 million to nScrypt and NovaCentrix to co-
develop a new system for 3D printing integrated circuits onto 3D objects and
flexible surfaces.
Aerosol Jet technology from Optomec was one of the first commercially avail-
able methods of printing electronics. The process can produce line widths of less
than 10 µm on a
line pitch of less
than 20 µm, and
layers as thin as
50 nm. Aerosol jet
materials include
metal and nonme-
tallic conductors
and dielectrics,
adhesives, and
etchants. Aerosol
Jet print engines
are used in high-
volume production
applications to
make antennas
and sensors for
mobile electronics.
In late 2014,
startup Voxel8
unveiled its new multimaterial electronics printer. The company’s “Developer’s
Kit” 3D printer is a dual-extruder system that prints in PLA and conductive silver
ink. The company launched pre-sales of the $9000 printer in early 2015.
Hybrid Metal Systems
In late 2011, Matsuura displayed metal parts produced with its machine that
combines metal powder bed fusion with periodic CNC milling. Then came Hybrid
Manufacturing Technologies in 2013, with its AMBIT tool-changeable powder
deposition head that turns nearly any CNC machining center into a hybrid system
using directed energy deposition. DMG Mori Seiki followed shortly thereafter by
showing its Lasertech 65 hybrid system at EuroMold 2013.
This trickle of hybrid metal systems turned into a flood in 2014. Established in-
dustrial machine makers Mazak, Fonon Technologies, Sodick, Hurco, and Hermle
announced plans for hybrid AM metal systems. Lesser-known companies such as
RPM Innovations and Flexible Robotic Environment emerged with new metal or
metal hybrid systems developed over a period of several years.
The promise of combining near-net-shape metal deposition with precision
machining is immense, but still unproven. Potential issues include the quality of the
metallurgical bond between layers, control of the microstructure, and complex pro-
gramming and optimizing of toolpaths. Also, fine metal powder is at odds with the
operation of precision machine parts, which can potentially accelerate wear and
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3D PRINTING
Thermoplastic parts printed by HP’s Multi Jet Fusion.
Photo
court
esy HP
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72 AdvancedManufacturing.org | May 2015
cause other problems. With cutting fluids and metal chips,
the recycling of expensive powder could be problematic.
HP Multi Jet Fusion
HP introduced a new technology called Multi Jet Fusion in
October 2014. It produces parts from thermoplastic powder
that resembles laser sintering, but without a laser. The process
uses HP thermal inkjet arrays to print fusing and detailing agents
onto thin layers of thermoplastic powder. An energy source is
used to fuse the areas where the agents were deposited.
The inkjet arrays can deposit 30 million droplets per sec-
ond across each 25 mm of area, which means the process
is fast. Test parts—gears—pro-
duced by HP took three hours
using Multi Jet Fusion. The same
parts required 38 hours using
laser sintering and 83 hours us-
ing FDM.
The edges of the parts are
crisp, the features are well
defined, and areas that are sup-
posed to be flat are flat. Multi Jet
Fusion is capable of producing
multicolor parts—something that
has not been done before with
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3D PRINTING
CAD model showing conformal cooling channels (left), and steam iron housings on
injection-molding press.
May 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 73
nylon AM. Bringing together this speed, part quality, and multi-
color using thermoplastic materials is a first in the AM industry.
The AM industry will better understand the impact of
Multi Jet Fusion after customers have used the machine.
The technology could compete with
conventional plastics processing, such
as injection molding, for certain types
of parts and quantities, disrupting both
the 3D printing and plastics process-
ing industries.
Emerging Processes and Materials
High speed sintering (HSS) is a
combination powder bed fusion and
binder jetting that was developed at
Loughborough University and now at
the University of Sheffield. The process
is somewhat similar to HP Multi Jet Fu-
sion. Instead of using a laser, print heads
selectively deposit infrared-absorbing
ink onto a powder bed. Infrared lamps
irradiate the entire surface of the bed,
and the areas of the bed that have been
printed absorb sufficient energy to melt
the underlying powder.
HP’s Multi Jet Fusion could compete with injection molding for certain types of parts
and quantiities.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) and Lockheed Martin have
developed a technology called Big
Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM).
Machine tool maker Cincinnati Inc. is
further developing and commercial-
izing the BAAM technology. BAAM is
a material extrusion process, but it ex-
trudes thermoplastic at a rate of about
15.9 kg per hour. The build volume of
the BAAM prototype is 2.4 × 2.4 × 2.4
m and the next-generation proto-
types will be even larger. The nozzle is
capable of extruding a variety of materials, including PEKK,
ULTEM, and carbon- and fiber-reinforced ABS. The BAAM
system uses the same plastic pellets used in injection mold-
ing, making materials for the process relatively inexpensive.
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A foundation patent for selective laser melting (metal
powder bed fusion), held by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser
Technology, will expire in December 2016. This may lead to
a new wave of manufacturers entering the metal powder bed
market. However, the technical barriers to entry are much
higher than for the material extrusion, vat photopolymeriza-
tion, and even polymer laser sintering.
The number of third-party AM material suppliers is
increasing steadily, especially of metal powders. Nano-
steel, CVMR Corporation, ATI Specialty Products, Sandvik,
Erasteel, and Carpenter are a few of the metal powder
producers. Diamond Plastics and 3DP Materials have joined
the ranks of suppliers of polymers for industrial AM sys-
tems. Others include Oxford Performance Materials, SABIC,
Viridis3D, DSM Somos, Advanced Laser Materials, CRP
Technology, Exceltec, and Arkema.
Graphene and graphite are hot areas of development
in AM. Researchers at Imperial College London created a
graphene paste and extruded it on a 3D printer. 3D Graph-
tech Industries and Australia’s CSIRO have teamed to
research graphene for 3D printing. Graphoid Inc. announced
that it would build an atomization plant for graphene-based
powders. Graphene 3D and Taulman 3D are co-developing a
graphene-enhanced nylon filament, scheduled for commer-
cial availability this year.
Emerging Markets
Impressive new markets are emerging for AM, and several
existing markets are developing rapidly. Among them are the
printing of living tissue, flight-critical parts for the aerospace
industry, and interesting tooling applications. Work in these
areas has been underway for years, but momentum has
increased in the recent past.
Perhaps more than any other major OEM, Airbus is pushing the limits
of AM, especially in the production of complex metal parts.
Developing a capability to print living tissue is not some-
thing that happens overnight, or even in several years. Yet
the steady march toward commercial bioprinting continued in
2014, with many notable milestones. One startup company,
TeVido Biodevices, plans to 3D print skin and fat grafts using
the recipient’s own cells following breast surgery. The PrintAlive
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Bioprinter from MaRS Innovations, still in development, is said
to be capable of printing skin cells, including hair follicles and
sweat glands. Organovo has printed living liver tissue for medi-
cal and drug research and clinical trials using a 3D printer that
it has been developing and using for years.
GE Aviation is making history with its well-documented
development of fuel nozzles for the LEAP engine. The com-
pany is building a $50 million production plant in Auburn, AL,
and will be producing up to 40,000 fuel nozzles per year using
metal AM systems. GE is also building a $140 million Additive
Development Center in Cincinnati. Using laser sin-
tering equipment, Boeing has been quietly produc-
ing environmental control system ducting for many
military and commercial aircraft for years. More than
100,000 production parts have been installed.
These companies are not alone. Nearly
all major aerospace OEMs, including Airbus,
Bell Helicopter, GKN Aerospace, Honeywell,
Lockheed Martin, MTU Aero Engines, Northrop
Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon, and
Rolls-Royce, have built infrastructures within
their corporations to evaluate and implement
AM technologies. The sky is the limit for AM in
aerospace, where the attributes of near-free
3D PRINTING
Satellite parts made in ULTEM 9085 by FDM.
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May 2015 | AdvancedManufacturing.org 77
complexity, near-net-shape production, and low piece-part
volumes are a perfect fit.
Perhaps more than any other major OEM, Airbus is push-
ing the limits of AM, especially in the production of complex
metal parts. A complex and struc-
tural topology-optimized metal cabin
bracket first flew on an Airbus A350 in
June 2014. The company has worked
closely with Laser Zentrum Nord GmbH
(LZN) in the design and production
of metal parts. Experts at LZN have
used advanced methods of topology
optimization to reduce material and
weight in designs, sometimes by more
than 50%.
The company has also done con-
siderable work with the design and
production of plastic AM parts for its
aircraft. It has manufactured and is
flying 45,000–60,000 different types
of plastic brackets, clips, and other
devices for holding cables, wires, and
hoses in place. The first few thousand
were produced in ULTEM 9085 on
FDM equipment.
We live in an era where science fic-
tion becomes reality on a routine basis,
and perhaps we become desensitized
to the wonder of these developments.
One such amazing development oc-
curred in 2014. In collaboration with
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center,
Made in Space designed and built a
material extrusion system that oper-
ates in low/zero gravity. The 3D printer
was launched in September 2014 and
installed on the International Space
Station (ISS). Twenty-five test parts (14
unique shapes) were produced and de-
livered to NASA Marshall for inspection
in mid-March 2015.
The European Space Agency (ESA)
is also developing a 3D printer for the
ISS, and is scheduled to deliver its
system to the ISS in June 2015. NASA,
ESA, and the China Aerospace Science
and Technology Corporation have launched R&D initiatives to
develop AM systems capable of printing metal parts in space.
In the 1990s and 2000s, rapid tooling was a promise that
AM was unable to deliver. Most tooling initiatives fell short
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on speed, cost, surface finish, and dimensional accuracy.
Meanwhile, the toolmaking industry, using increasingly
advanced CNC machines and software, became faster and
more competitive.
CNC-machined tooling remains the preferred option
for most production applications, but AM has crept back
into the picture. Many toolmakers are adding metal AM
to their capabilities. Rowenta, a German manufacturer of
clothes irons, uses metal tool inserts made on Concept
Laser systems to injection-mold plastic parts. The inserts
include conformal cooling channels that improve part ac-
curacy and reduce molding cycle time. Unilever and Worrel
Design are two companies that are now producing mold
inserts on the Connex system from Stratasys for prototype
injection-molded parts.
Emerging Business Models
For many, 3D printing has created a new way of think-
ing and conducting business. It has become the genesis for
fresh ideas, startup companies, and new business models.
Also, it is leading to new types of educational and training
programs that offer hands-on learning, experimentation,
creativity, and invention. Many individuals and organizations
have launched new types of products, services, and busi-
nesses that were unimaginable 15 years ago.
Maker spaces are resources that have grown like wildfire.
Sometimes called hacker spaces, they are physical locations
where makers meet, socialize, and collaborate. 3D printing
is often the focus, along with software, open hardware, and
conventional machine shop tools. These open community
labs have emerged in cities around the world, as well as in
schools and educational institutions.
Online 3D printing marketplaces and communities are
also growing. These websites include libraries of digital con-
tent, available for purchase as a dataset or as a 3D-printed
model. Better-known marketplaces, such as Shapeways,
Thingiverse, i.Materialise, and Sculpteo, are being joined by
such names as Threeding, Layer by Layer, Cuoyo, 3DLT,
Archetype Z Studios, 3DShare, and Rinkak, to name a few.
Many of these marketplaces offer business-to-consumer
commerce, while others—particularly the larger marketplac-
es—sell to both individuals and businesses.
Roland, Dremel, and Ricoh each announced or have introduced 3D
printers. Kodak created a new business unit for 3D printing.
HP is not the only large manufacturer to enter the AM in-
dustry. Roland, Dremel, and Ricoh each announced or have
introduced 3D printers. Kodak created a new business unit
for 3D printing. Adobe added features to Photoshop CC that
it hopes will help streamline the preparation of data for 3D
printing. Microsoft is promoting its new 3MF file format as an
alternative to the STL and AMF formats. Dell, Home Depot,
Office Depot, and Staples are selling 3D printers.
Never before have we had access to such powerful
tools—and so many of them—for design, product devel-
opment, and manufacturing. This has resulted in creativity
and the expression of ideas that are at an all-time high. The
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