At Rapid: A 73-Year-Old Machine Shop’s Journey into Metal AM
Imperial Machine & Tool Co. presents at Rapid 2017 about incorporating metal additive manufacturing into a traditional machine shop environment.
“A 73-Year-Old Machine Shop's Journey into Metal Additive Manufacturing” is the title of a talk that Imperial Machine & Tool will give at Rapid, the annual conference and tradeshow dedicated to 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Rapid this year is May 8-11 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Imperial Machine & Tool is a fourth-generation family manufacturing business with a long history of investing in leading-edge capabilities. The shop was using jig grinders in the 1950s and it was an early adopter of numerical control. Current President Chris Joest sees additive manufacturing as a logical step on that trajectory; the company now has two selective laser melting machines from SLM Solutions. We’ve covered the shop’s journey into AM most recently in this article detailing how additive has come into its own in this shop, now following most or all of the same planning and workflow procedures as the traditional manufacturing operations.
Imperial’s presentation at Rapid is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, at 10:15 a.m. The company will also have a booth on the show floor, exhibiting components made from the combination of SLM and precision machining.
Related Content
-
3D Printed Brackets Secure Fuel for Nuclear Power: The Cool Parts Show #45
Can additive manufacturing improve the design of nuclear power plants? These steel brackets are the first step.
-
3D Printed Metal Component for CNC Machining Center: The Cool Parts Show #47
Machine tool maker DMG MORI improved this coolant delivery adapter by making the part through additive manufacturing instead of machining. One of the viewer-chosen winners of The Cool Parts Showcase.
-
Additive Manufacturing Is Subtractive, Too: How CNC Machining Integrates With AM (Includes Video)
For Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing, succeeding with laser powder bed fusion as a production process means developing a machine shop that is responsive to, and moves at the pacing of, metal 3D printing.