Industrial Additive Manufacturing
Industrial additive manufacturing applications are primarily linked to prototyping in the automotive field and early adoption for production in the aerospace segment, which is by far the biggest user of polymer and especially metal 3D printing technologies.
As machine production throughput has increased in recent years, industrial adoption of AM is now beginning to extend to short and medium batch production for the automotive segment as well. Furthermore, as new metal and polymer technologies now enable the production of larger parts at reduced costs, the use of AM has begun to contaminate the energy segment (with applications in both traditional and sustainable energy production and transport) and the marine segment.
While the cost and time reduction benefits of AM technologies for weight and (topology) optimization, subassemblies and generative part design have been well documented, several hurdles still exist that are limiting the widespread adoption of these key technologies in full end-to-end digital and automated production cycles. Several of these hurdles are inherent to the AM technologies and related material availability, however, the biggest challenges remain linked to process standardization, part finishing and repeatability.
Today every major aerospace or automotive manufacturer has made some significant strides toward the adoption of AM both for internal R&D and production and by leveraging external 3D printing service bureaus as a key resource for outsourced supplies. Every AM-related industrial project is growing and the trend is clearly accelerating.
-
SPEE3D, the maker of some of the world’s fastest metal 3D printers, has unveiled its XSPEE3D printer – a containerized, ruggedized, and deployable cold-spray metal 3D printer that provides all of the necessary functions to print metal parts, from anywhere, in just minutes. XSPEE3D was designed based on extensive fieldwork…
Read More -
Fortify, a provider of advanced composite-photopolymer printers, has delivered a FLUX CORE 3D printer and Flux Developer materials onboarding software for the design and engineering of defense systems, to IERUS Technologies. “Placing a printer at the IERUS Technologies headquarters provides a critical resource to support the growing need for additive…
Read More -
GH Induction, a Spanish specialist in pure copper coils, has produced the largest pure copper coil, 3D printed by EBM technology, opening new boundaries in heat treatment processes. The company headquartered in Valencia, Spain, markets its 3D printed pure coil production methods under the brand 3D Inductors and has deployed…
Read More -
According to Arabian Business, the first prototype of a real-scale, five-meter long, 3D printed pedestrian Smart Bridge was unveiled at the Autodesk University (AU) 2022 conference, which took place on September 27-29 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bridge was designed in the UAE, in partnership with American software company, Autodesk,…
Read More -
CSEM is coordinating a high-profile EU-funded project to enhance the performance of thermal control systems by developing 3D printed pipes with embedded sensors. In addition to potentially opening up new avenues of fundamental research for both CERN and the European space industry, these smart pipes could have uses in areas…
Read More -
Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia, has announced that IperionX Limited, a US critical minerals company, plans to make a capital investment totaling $82.1 million to establish Virginia’s first titanium demonstration facility in Halifax County. The company’s project will develop over two phases, with phase one consisting of a $12.5…
Read More -
Essentium Inc., a leader in industrial additive manufacturing, has successfully completed its initial participation in the US Navy’s Repair Technology Exercise (REPTX) at Port Hueneme, California. At REPTX, Essentium demonstrated to government, academia, and industry participants the viability and efficacy of its AM solutions to expand the Navy’s ability to…
Read More -
Sakuu, the developer of one of the world’s first 3D printed solid-state batteries, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s NGK Spark Plugs CO., LTD., a global leader in electrochemical materials and a tier-one industrial automotive supplier. Under the MOU, NGK will co-develop and provide ceramic materials…
Read More -
Nuclear energy services and parts provider Framatome has completed the installation of the first 3D printed, stainless steel fuel component at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Vattenfall in Sweden. In collaboration with KSB SE & Co. KgaA, the ATRIUM 11 upper tie plate grids were designed, manufactured, and…
Read More -
A world-first study led by Monash University engineers has demonstrated how cutting-edge 3D printing techniques can be used to produce an ultra-strong commercial titanium alloy – a significant leap forward for the aerospace, space, defense, energy, and biomedical industries. Australian researchers, led by Professor Aijun Huang and Dr. Yuman Zhu…
Read More
