3D Metal Printing Newsletter

America Makes Awards Seven Teams
in Additive Manufacturing Project Call
Seven teams have been awarded a total of $11 million to pursue additive manufacturing (AM) R&D projects through America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. The projects are as follows:

Optimal Design and AM of Complex Internal Core Structures for High Performance Aerial Vehicle Production
This team, led by Carnegie Mellon University, will work to develop a computational system and educational materials for the optimal design and AM of 3D core (i.e., tooling) structures central in the aerospace industry.

Multi-functional Big Area AM (BAAM): BAAM with Multi-Purpose Wire Embedding
Led by University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the project team will strive to advance AM build volumes and production rates by exploring the combined capability of large-scale AM with wire embedding due to its ability to introduce wire harness features directly into structural components.

MULTI: Source/FeedStock/Meter-Scale METAL AM Machine
The project team, led by Wolf Robotics, will seek to position the AM industrial user base to take advantage of the lower cost and increased flexibility associated with scalable, multi-axis (nine and above) robot systems.

Biomimetic Multi-jet Materials
Led by 3D Systems Corp., this team will endeavor to develop physiologic-like printable materials for multi-jet printing to address the current lack of printable materials suitable for biomimetic modeling within the healthcare field.

A Non-Empirical Predictive Model for AM Lattice Structures
The project team, led by Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies, Inc., will focus on design and manufacturing of lattice structures by developing a robust, validated material model that accurately describes how they behave with the goal of elevating the performance of these complex structures while reducing material utilization.

AM for Metal Casting (AM4MC)
Led by the Youngstown Business Incubator, this project team will strive to transform the U.S. industrial base via the development of next-generation sand printers that offer line-speed production of printed cores and molds that also are economically viable for small- and medium-sized enterprises to procure and integrate into full production lines.

Multi-material 3D Printing of Electronics and Structures"
This team, led by Raytheon, will seek to advance AM from 2D-constrained designs to conformal and embedded solutions to enable multi-material printing of integrated 3D electronics and non-planar structures, leading to affordable 3D-printed electronic packaging.

Click here for more project details.
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BMW Huge on Additive Manufacturing Now,
and in the Future
With more than 10,000 additively manufactured (AM) parts built into the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the BMW Group has been using components from 3D printers in series production since 2012, and expects to expand in the AM arena in coming years.

As Udo Hänle, BMW head of production strategy and technical integration, explains at BMWBlog.com:

"Additive technologies will be one of the main production methods of the future for the BMW Group–with promising potential. The integration of additively manufactured components into Rolls-Royce-series production is another important milestone for us on the road to using this method on a large scale. By utilizing new technologies, we will be able to shorten production times further in the future and increasingly exploit the potential of tool-less manufacturing methods."

The automaker uses a variety of materials for AM of all manner of vehicle components, and stresses that it is constantly working to refine AM processes for series production. Visit the blog for details on BMW's AM successes and R&D efforts.
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3D Metal Printing Conference and Technology Tour
August 18-19, 2016, Livonia, MI

Interact directly with industry experts, learn about the latest technology developments for 3D metal printing and participate in exclusive plant tours to engage with company representatives and view 3D metal-printing machines in action. Learn more about the event and register today!
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