Page 29 - 3D Metal Printing Fall 2017

recognized innovators, technology and collaborators behind the best examples of 3D-printing technology in use through- out the world.
As part of the program, TCT Group launched the TCT Hall of Fame to recog- nize pioneers and innovators in the 3D- printing industry. Inaugural inductees, as determined by TCT’s Expert Advisory Board, include Adrian Bowyer, founder of the RepRap Project; Scott Crump, inventor of fused deposition modeling; Chuck Hull, inventor of stereolithography; Hans Langer, founder of EOS; and Fried Van- craen, founder of Materialise.
In addition, the program featured 10 award categories, with a number of those related to metal AM.
Sciaky, Inc. (www.sciaky.com) and Lockheed Martin earned the 2017 Aero- space Application Award for production of titanium propellant tanks using Sciaky’s electron-beam AM (EBAM) technology, which resulted in significant time and cost savings. In this application, Lockheed Martin Space Systems reduced costs by
55 percent, material waste by 75 percent and production time by 80 percent via EBAM as opposed to traditional forging methods.
“This was truly a groundbreaking metal 3D-printing application for the aerospace industry that highlighted the tremendous possibilities of additive manufacturing,” says Bob Phillips, Sciaky vice president.
Sciaky’s large-work-envelope EBAM machines can produce parts, via deposi- tion, from 20 cm to 5.8 m long. EBAM boasts high-speed operation as well, with gross metal-deposition rates of 3.2 to 9.1 kg./hr. With IRISS (Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System), a real-time monitoring and control system that can precisely and repeatably sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition, the EBAM process can deliver consistent part geom- etry, mechanical properties, microstruc- ture and metal chemistry throughout a part run, according to Sciaky officials.
The Automotive Product Application Award went to Volkswagen Autoeuropa and Ultimaker. Using 3D printers from
TCT Show Takeaways 3D Ultimaker (www.ultimaker.com), Volkswa-
gen could, through inhouse work, quickly employ tools, jigs and fixtures on its assembly line, cutting costs and lead time for more-complicated-to-manufacture metallic tools. The application can pay dividends for manufacturers looking to economically speed deployment of such products in their facilities.
Philips Lighting and Materialise earned the Industrial Product Application Award for development and application of lamp- holding parts via 3D metal printing. Mate- rialise (www.materialise.com) probed production-line operations to determine 3D-printing applications, leading to man- ufacture of the holder brackets. These hold lamps in place and keep lead-in wires away from heat as torches melt and seal off glass exhaust tubes. Repeated exposure to high temperatures on a con- tinuous line, paired with a structure fea- turing welds across a four-piece bracket assembly, made breakage a common occurrence. Working with Philips, Mate- rialise co-engineered and printed a new
Quicker Production of Lighter Parts for Satellite App
3D Systems (www.3dsystems.com) used the TCT Show stage to promote its printing capabili- ties across a variety of markets and materials. On display was an antenna bracket for a geostation- ary telecommunications satellite. The bracket is part of a collaboration between 3D Systems and aerospace supplier Thales Alenia Space, Toulouse, France, and highlights the
growing role of AM in aerospace.
For example, note 3D Systems
officials, 80 percent of metallic
parts for satellites are pro-
duced using 3D printing,
replacing traditionally manu-
factured parts.
Thales Alenia Space
worked with 3D Systems’ Quickparts Solutions team (Quickparts is a 3D design- to-manufacturing service) to design and print the Ti6Al4V brackets, with each measuring about 190 by 230 by 290 mm. Each
of the four brackets used in a satellite required an individu- alized design, as they mount on the antenna’s reflector edges and screw onto a shaped surface. The brackets were printed on 3D Systems’ ProX DMP 320 machine, designed for heavy-duty metal parts production. It reportedly offers simplified setup and provides the ver- satility to produce all types of part geometries in titani- um (grades 1, 5 and 23), nick- el super alloy and stainless 316L. For this application, the machine produced parts in half the time required using
traditional processes (from order to shipping), with weight savings of 25 per-
cent and improved stiffness-to-weight ratios.
3DMPmag.com
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