Page 8 - 3D Metal Printing Spring 2017

3D INDUSTRY NEWS
Norsk Titanium to Deliver
3D-Printed Structural Titanium Components to Boeing
Norsk Titanium AS has received a production purchase order for 3D-printed structural titanium components from Boeing—the 787 Dreamliner soon will become the first commercial airplane to fly with certified additive-manufactured (AM) titanium parts in structural applications. The parts will be produced using Norsk’s proprietary wire-based Rapid Plasma Deposition process. To certi- fy the structural components, Boeing and Norsk Titanium undertook a rigorous testing program, with FAA-certification deliverables completed this past February.
RFQ Report Shows Metal-Printing Market on the Rise
According to a report from 3Diligent, an online AM-services marketplace, the percentage of AM RFQs for metal parts nearly dou- bled in 2016, representing 27 percent of all AM RFQs. The market share for plastic and resin printed parts shrunk from 76 percent of all RFQs in 2015 to 65 percent in 2016. 3Diligent also stud- ies pricing behavior, finding that the spread between supplier bids can be quite high, with the average high bid nearly three times that of the lowest bid.
Download the full report at www.3diligent.com.
Concept Laser Metal-AM Machine Lands at Air Force Institute of Technology
The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has invest- ed nearly $1 million to pur- chase its first 3D metal print- er, a Concept Laser model. Installed at the Wright-Patter- son Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, the machine will be used by student researchers in the Graduate School of Engi- neering and Management as they seek to learn how to manufacture aerospace parts using 3D metal printing. They’ll focus on three primary aerospace materials— Inconel, titanium and alu- minum alloys.
FIT Additive Manufacturing Group and Caterpillar Inc. Announce Strategic Alliance
FIT AG and Caterpillar Inc. have entered into a 3-yr. strategic alliance to focus on AM of aluminum and titanium parts. Cater- pillar will contribute product-specific knowledge, while FIT AG will lend its expertise in design for AM. The relationship will complement the ongoing work at Caterpillar’s Additive Manu- facturing Factory in Mossville, IL, while strengthening FIT AG’s commitment to the industrial-equipment market.
Kobe Steel Acquires Quintus
Swedish company Quintus Technologies AB, manufactur- er of isostatic presses, has been acquired from private- equity firm Milestone Part- ners by Japan-based Kobe Steel, Ltd. Quintus equip- ment is used to press-sinter and form metal, ceramic and carbon materials used in the manufacture of aircraft parts, power-generation turbine blades, semiconductor mate- rials and other high-perfor- mance products.
Oerlikon to Open
AM Facility in NC
New Renishaw Digs to Feature
AM Solutions Center
Renishaw Inc. will soon move to a new 133,000-sq.- ft. office and warehouse facility in West Dundee, IL.
It will serve as the company’s North American headquar- ters and house its new U.S. Additive Manufacturing Solutions Center, where cus- tomers can gain hands-on experience with 3D metal- printing equipment and gar- ner engineering support for design optimization and post processing.
Linear AMS
Joins the Copper 3D-Printing Game
A copper EDM sinker, 3D- printed with internal channels, is just one example of the copper-printing expertise now being offered to customers by Linear AMS, Livonia, MI. The firm is busy printing test builds, says Paul Breeding, director of engineering/addi- tive, “to hone in on the process parameters not only with metal AM, but also hot isostatic pressing and heat- treating to meet if not exceed part requirements.”
Charlotte, NC, soon will be home to Oerlikon’s first U.S. AM facility, housing research-and-development and production teams in a $62-million manufacturing hub. The company expects create 93 new jobs during the next 5 yr.
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Arcam AB announced that the company's electron-beam-melting (EBM) AM business will be separated from Arcam AB and placed in a new unit, Arcam EBM. In addition, the company named Karl Lindblom as general manager of the new unit, based in Mölndal, Sweden, effective April 3, 2017. Lindblom has more than 25 years of experience with Swedish based international industrial businesses, most recently as CEO of Hägglund Drives and as head of Bosch Rexroth Nordic.
Lindblom Appointed General Manager of Arcam EBM
6 | 3D METAL PRINTING • SPRING 2017
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