Oerlikon announced today that it will be building a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Plymouth Township, Michigan, USA, dedicated to producing advanced materials for additive manufacturing and high-end surface coatings.
Many precision grinding machines on the market already offer their users near-perfect tolerances, leaving one to wonder: What’s next in grinding? But tool builders still have plenty of room to add valuable new improvements, machine shop owners say.
The additive manufacturing revolution is in full stride, flying in aircraft and giving manufacturers a robust tool for design and production
Many industries have been making parts with micron dimensions for some time, but in the last few years, the market for miniaturization has expanded. The demand is not only for small parts, but also for small complex features on larger parts. This is due chiefly to the switch to modules in which the functions of several parts or subsystems are not handled by a single complex unit.
If a study by Deloitte from early this year was on target, 2017 will record a 2% increase in global aerospace and defense revenues and commercial aircraft production is likely to keep rising in the near future.
As the impact of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, on business continues to surge, the need for career development in this rapidly growing industry is also rising.
German auto supplier boosts use of 3D printing
One of the early applications for 3D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) was in the medical industry. As the machines and materials have improved, the use of these technologies expanded into almost every application. In medical, there are unique challenges as patient safety is paramount and government regulation and insurance issues structure what can and will be done.
The past 12–18 months have been more exciting than any similar period in the history of additive manufacturing (AM), more commonly known as 3D printing.
General Electric Co. (Boston) intends to sell 10,000 3D printing machines in 10 years, building upon acquisitions it announced last year.
