Moldmaking
Video: Controlled Porosity Can Be Functional Advantage Realized via 3D Printing
A wall of metal that looks solid is actually 90% dense, allowing gas to pass through. Mold venting is one application.
August 23, 2019 - Peter Zelinski
Sponsored
A Total Plastic 3D Printing Process Designed for Production
Fast, predictable and precise, HP’s Multi Jet Fusion additive manufacturing process is ideal for production applications. Now there’s a new addition to the family of printers designed for even higher volume environments, taking HP’s portfolio of digital manufacturing solutions to a new level.
August 22, 2019
Materials
Material Extrusion: Now with Metal
Challenging our thinking about materials in metal additive manufacturing and the possibilities with material extrusion technology.
August 21, 2019 - Timothy W. Simpson
Basics
Video: The STL File Can Produce Surface Defects in 3D-Printed Parts
Timothy Simpson of Penn State University discusses the influence of model definition in additive manufacturing and what to do about its effects.
August 19, 2019 - Peter Zelinski
Inspection
CT Scanning Reveals What Isn’t There in 3D Printed Parts
3D Engineering Solutions offers CT scanning as a powerful nondestructive testing (NDT) solution for inspection. For 3D printed parts, sometimes revealing the space inside can be just as valuable as mapping what was printed.
August 16, 2019 - Stephanie Hendrixson
Production
Additive Manufacturing Conference Speaker: Forecast 3D
At the Additive Manufacturing Conference, taking place August 27-29 in Austin, Texas, Ken Burns of Forecast 3D will cover digital transformations in manufacturing and the impact of integrating 3D printing into manufacturing facilities.
August 15, 2019 - Katelyn Arnold
Videos
Video: Support Structures Are Misnamed! How to Understand Anchors in Additive Manufacturing
Supports or anchors can account for a significant share of both the engineering investment and material use in metal additive manufacturing. Michael Hansen of SLM Solutions discusses the role and importance of support structures.
August 14, 2019 - Peter Zelinski
Polymer AM
The Results Are In: Autoclave Tooling and Large Format Additive Manufacturing
SABIC and the University of Dayton Research Institute studied large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) for metal autoclave tooling. The results are promising.
August 12, 2019 - Brent Donaldson
Videos
Video: Metal AM Affects Plastics Production via Conformal Cooling
Additive manufacturing allows cooling channels within mold tooling inserts to follow the form of the tool rather than being straight drilled holes. Here’s why this matters.
August 9, 2019 - Peter Zelinski
Design for Additive
Video: The Impact of Part Orientation on Cost and Build Time in AM
A different build orientation might mean fewer layers and less support structure, though the part might need to be redesigned to take advantage of this different orientation.
August 7, 2019 - Peter Zelinski
Tooling
Why Robots and Additive Manufacturing Go Together
3D printing and robots enable one another. We miss the possibilities of one if we do not consider the other. The combination includes AM for end effectors, robots for 3D printing parts, and different modes of metal and plastic production.
August 5, 2019 - Peter Zelinski
Videos
Video: How Simulation Assists Directed Energy Deposition
Scrapping an AM part is potentially as costly as scrapping a machined part. Directed energy deposition is an additive process that can benefit from a resource that safeguards machining: simulation software.
August 2, 2019 - Peter Zelinski