Page 34 - 3D Metal Printing Fall 2017

3D Grimm’s Tales
EDM, part of the complete process chain offered by 3T RPD, features 5S workplace organization for process efficiency.
“What we have done over the past 10 years,” reflects Halliday, “is build an aerospace-production-capable AM business.”
According to Halliday, strong R&D capabilities also must be part of the AM infrastructure. “Our R&D team supports the process chain to make us better at what we do,” he says, “and enables tech- nical excellence. We believe that is criti- cal to our success.” R&D efforts at 3T RPD address materials development, as well as investigation of build parame- ters, finishing techniques, testing and powder management.
Ideal Parts and Projects
After overcoming the barriers to change, AM companies then must seek the ideal candidates for metal AM. Halli- day says, “Choosing the right parts is the first and most important step, without question, and understanding the bene- fits of producing the parts with AM. Where are the benefits coming from? Is it mass, lead time, multifunctionality, complex geometry? Identify the chal- lenges, and then select the parts where AM can help the most.”
Avoid the trap of thinking that metal AM is a solution for every challenge. “If
with satisfactory mechanical properties and accurate part dimensions.”
Fortunately, Halliday has seen an evolution of this mindset, at least within the more advanced industries. “Today, more companies are looking for assur- ance of control over what matters, which is great,” he says. “They get what they want, much more quickly.”
Infrastructure Needed
For those seeking to implement change, whether through metal AM or any new technology, Halliday draws on his experience to offer another key insight.
“You have to build an infrastructure around the technology, one that adapts to it and with it,” he says. Success, then, requires much more than a metal-AM machine and a skilled operator; success requires people, processes, procedures and equipment to support AM opera- tions, and upstream and downstream activities.
“If you narrow-mindedly focus on buying and installing a metal-AM machine, you don’t see the full spec- trum. It is only later that you realize that success demands a sound infrastruc- ture,” Halliday says, “that’s built on activities such as powder management,
porosity measurement, heattreatment validation, post-processing and quality systems.”
The ultimate goal, then, is to develop a complete process chain that takes companies from design consultancy and materials development, all the way through to heattreatment, EDM work, CNC machining, specialist finishing and quality assurance.
32 | 3D METAL PRINTING • FALL 2017
3DMPmag.com
3T RPD operates 12 EOS DMLS systems, and reportedly represents 40 percent of the metal-AM market in the United Kingdom.