Articles
The 3D Printed Part Protecting Drivers in the Indy500
The 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place on May 26. This year, the cars on the track feature a new 3D printed component: the next generation of the titanium top frame that holds the aeroscreen and protects the driver in the event of a rollover.
Read More
Video: AM for Repair of Large Shafts
Wind power shafts that might once have been scrapped are now returned to service. See the robotic directed energy deposition (DED) and shaft preheating system developed by Ikergune, Izadi and Talens.
Watch
Make Every Shot Count: Mold Simulation Maximizes Functional Parts From Printed Tooling
If a printed tool only has a finite number of shots in it, why waste any of them on process development?
Read More
3 Attributes of the “Second Wave” of AM Part Producers
Successful contact manufacturers in additive look more and more like successful contract manufacturers in general.
Read More
NPE 2024: Additive Manufacturing Assisting, Advancing the Plastics Industry
Exhibitors and presenters at the plastics show emphasized 3D printing as a complement and aid to more traditional production processes.
Read More
3D Printed NASA Thrust Chamber Assembly Combines Two Metal Processes: The Cool Parts Show #71
Laser powder bed fusion and directed energy deposition combine for an integrated multi-metal rocket propulsion system that will save cost and time for NASA. The Cool Parts Show visits NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Watch
Cryogenic Tanks for Space Refueling: The Cool Parts Show All Access
NASA's Paul Gradl describes an important application of AM beyond the spacecraft itself: refueling the spacecraft. Directed energy deposition offers the most practical way to produce aluminum tanks to keep fuel supercool.
Watch
Robotics Integrator Leverages 3D Printing for Faster Automation Deployment
Rapid Robotics helps manufacturers get up and running with automation quickly, by providing robots that arrive pretrained and already equipped with tooling which is often 3D printed.
Read More
Additive Manufacturing Versus Cavitation
The design freedom possible with laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) metal 3D printing is making it faster and easier to produce complex anticavitation devices for valves.
Watch
How to Rapidly Calibrate 4-Laser Production LPBF Machines
Multi-laser machines introduce an additional source of variation; the separate lasers have to synch with one another. At this Indiana additive manufacturer, one-third of the laser powder bed fusion machines are multi-laser. Here is is the AM calibration tool this company uses.
Read More
Freeform: Binder Jetting Does Not Change the Basics of Manufacturing
Rather than adapting production methodologies to additive manufacturing, this Pennsylvania contract manufacturer adapts AM to production methodologies. In general, this starts with conversation.
Read More
Video: Binder Jetting Production Workflow at Freeform Technologies
Additive manufacturing via binder jetting includes a sequence of downstream steps. During a visit to the Pennsylvania metal 3D printing part producer, I had the chance to walk through this process.
Watch
