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 the machines 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 a 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 manufacturers has made some significant stride toward 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.
Latest industrial AM news:
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Though the benefits and promise of additive manufacturing are often touted, it is the concrete examples which are the most assuring. Today, Siemens announced that a 3D printed burner for an SGT-700 gas turbine has been in operation for a whole year, marking an exciting milestone for AM within the…
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Siemens Mobility GmbH, the mobility solutions division of Siemens AG, has announced the opening of its first digital rail maintenance center. The new facility, formally called the Siemens Mobility RRX Rail Service Center, is located in Dortmund-Eving in Germany and offers a range of state-of-the-art 3D printing and digital technologies…
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Endocon GmbH, a German medical device company, has turned to additive manufacturing to improve hip and knee replacement surgeries. The company utilized metal AM technologies from GE Additive to create the endoCupcut, an innovative medical device that makes hip cup extraction easier, more cost effective and more reliable. In an increasingly…
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Additive Manufacturing Technologies Ltd. (AMT) has officially launched its patented PostPro3D machine. The award winning technology, which automatically smooths and finishes 3D printed elastomeric or nylon parts, has been in development for time and offers a “fast and cost effective” post-processing solution for industrial production. The PostPro3D machine itself is…
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PostProcess Technologies, a New York-based specialist in automated intelligent post processing for additive manufacturing, recently showcased its capacity to deliver high quality surface finish standards and high accuracy for complex metal parts. Working in collaboration with industrial manufacturing company Ingersoll Rand, PostProcess utilized its Hybrid DECI Duo solution to successfully…
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Global technology company Aptiv has teamed up with 3D printing specialist Carbon to introduce a new commercial additive manufacturing program. The AM program, reportedly capable of delivering repeatable, high-quality products that achieve military standard qualifications, is currently being presented at IMTS in Chicago by Aptiv at Carbon’s booth. IMTS is…
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You know what they say: behind every successful additive manufacturing startup is an investor. In many industrial AM cases, that investor is AM Ventures, a German firm that has—since its founding in 2015—supported and financed a range of innovative companies developing hardware, software, materials and applications for industrial 3D printing.…
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Phil Hatherley, GM of Siemens Materials Solutions, had anticipated it in the latest exclusive interview with 3D Printing Media Network, but words and photos can only paint a part of the picture. Seeing things in person, especially when it has to do with AM, is an entirely different matter. That’s…
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Regardless of the enormous challenges it still needs to overcome, and the investments it will still require, the next generation of additive manufacturing technologies for automated, optimized, high scale production is coming. Within this scenario, the first NextGenAM facility in this collaborative project has been put into operation at Premium AEROTEC’s…
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UnionTech, Inc has opened a new stereolithography (SL) demonstration Center in the Chicago area. The center provides 3D printer evaluators with year-round hands-on access to equipment and application know-how. Given the ever-expanding range of options for 3D printing and additive manufacturing, Illinois-based UnionTech, Inc. wanted to facilitate potential buyers efforts…
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