Page 12 - 3D Metal Printing Winter 2018

3D FEATURE
Eye-Opening New Metal-AM Technology
In just its third year, the 2017 edition of the annual formnext additive-manufac- turing (AM) expo and conference expe- rienced huge gains in the number of exhibitors and attendees, “bolstering form- next’s reputation not only as the industry’s leading exhibition but as a key source of inspiration for the sector,” says Sascha F. Wenzler, vice president for formnext. During our four days at the show, we spoke with attendees from all over the world representing companies in the aero-
space, automotive, medical, oil and gas, and other industries. All were equally excited about the new technology on dis- play, and perhaps even more excited about the bright future metal AM has for so many industries. And, of course, we walked the show’s aisles and visited with several exhibitors of machines, software, consumables and more for metal AM.
A few overriding themes emerged while discussing new products debuted during the show. Productivity and throughput is
10 | 3D METAL PRINTING • WINTER 2018
3DMPmag.com
in Abundance in Germany
The formnext exhibition and conference, held last November in Frankfurt, Germany, attracted more than 21,000 attendees who were treated to displays from some 470 exhibitors. Those exhibits included plenty of new machines, materials and software for 3D metal printing; here we offer some highlights. BY BRAD F. KUVIN, PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
a top priority—among the technology enabling this shift are larger powder-bed machines with as many as four lasers in action simultaneously, and with higher- power lasers; new process-automation technology; and optimized powder-han- dling systems.
Also spied on the show floor:
• Powder-bed machines capable of achieving higher build-plate preheat tem- peratures—to 500 C, which helps to over- come process limitations due to thermal effects. This enables printing parts with more complex designs and from a broader set of base materials.
• Impressive new software products capable of modeling and simulating the build process (even capable of modeling the build microstructure) to allow offline process optimization, and software for developing support structures that prom- ises to greatly streamline the art-to-part timeline.
Here’s a taste of what we saw; look for more in future issues of 3D Metal Printing.