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:
The U.S. Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (AFRSO) has awarded blockchain innovator SIMBA Chain a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant to develop a solution that will ultimately allow the Air Force to manufacture, test, and deploy critical replacement parts for aircraft and other weaponry on forward operating…
Read More
After conducting an in-depth study of the segment between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021, 3dpbm Research is ready to release its new, sector-defining report and forecast on the metal additive manufacturing market. The report, titled Metal AM Market Opportunities and Trends 2020-2030, was created by leveraging 3dpbm’s index of over 5,500…
Read More
DNV has released the new DNVGL-SE-0568 service specification document with the aim to support stakeholders across the additive manufacturing (AM) value chain, to ensure AM products, assets, and systems are safe and efficient. The specification can support the global oil and gas and other energy industries to adopt AM technology…
Read More
Inkbit, an MIT spinout that has developed a first-of-its-kind 3D printing platform with vision-based feedback control, has secured a $1.7 research grant from the United States Air Force. As part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, Inkbit will build three of its additive manufacturing systems, which will ultimately…
Read More
A maritime crane developed and additively manufactured by AML3D in conjunction with Austal Australia, has received formal verification from DNV, an independent expert in risk management and quality assurance. AML3D produced an aluminum personnel recovery 3D printed maritime crane (davit), intended for naval applications, with its proprietary WAM® additive manufacturing…
Read More
GRATZ Engineering boosted its prototype production by integrating sand 3D printing into its technical business units. The German automotive supplier from the northeast of Baden-Württemberg recognized 3D printing’s enormous potential back in the nineties when it was still a very young technology. Since then, GRATZ has relied on fast metal…
Read More
VELO3D‘s Sapphire system was selected by Chromalloy as its additive manufacturing solution. Chromalloy provides manufacturing and repair solutions for gas turbine engine manufacturers and operators worldwide. It will apply AM in its aviation and energy maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) projects. Industrial AM technology is increasingly being adopted by manufacturers…
Read More
The iconic British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin, and the engineering specialists at Cranfield University have partnered with Domin to develop a world-leading suspension system within a demanding six-month timeframe. Using Domin’s patented technology, this state-of-the-art system promises to shock the automotive industry. For some time, Domin has backed AM,…
Read More
Atol les Opticiens, a French optical company, is additively manufacturing glasses with HP’s multi jet fusion technology to provide cost-effective options for dyslexic children. The Lexilens smart glasses bring two trends together: the development of connected solutions designed to improve the lives of people with learning difficulties; and technical advances…
Read More
Italian precision manufacturing company Weerg was tapped to additively manufacture essential elements of the undersea Cubic Kilometer Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT). The telescope, which is run by Nikhef, the Dutch National Institute of Subatomic Physics, is located in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea and takes up more than a cubic…
Read More
