EnvisionTEC CEO: 3D Printing Is About to Disrupt Plastics February 1, 2021 EnvisionTEC CEO Al Siblani—whose firm is being purchased by Desktop Metal—discusses photopolymers’ move from prototyping to production. He gets into how he sees the sale will impact his company, as well as Desktop Metal and the 3D printing market in general. For the uninitiated, he also patiently explains how the 3d printing of polymers has progressed over the years. Last but not least, he details EnvisionTEC’s plans for growth—and asserts that the cost of 3D printing has reached a point where it is disrupting plastics.
Eliminating the Post-Processing Headache January 8, 2021 Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has been a game changer in how products are designed, produced and manufactured. But 3D printed parts don’t just come out of the machine ready to use, sometimes intensive manual post-processing is required. Jeff Mize, CEO of PostProcess Technologies, sits down with Chris Mahar, Associate Editor, to discuss their automated post-processing technology and how fully digitalized additive manufacturing is further benefiting the industry.
Adopting AM to Drive Organizational Value September 2, 2020 John Deere’s Eric Johnson discusses the company’s additive manufacturing journey—with an eye toward helping small and medium businesses get going in AM. Learn about the early days of getting one of the first AM parts, as well as unrealistic expectations of the technology and how John Deere is creating value with the technology today. Finally, Johnson provides tips on unlocking the value of AM for your business in five key applications.
Digging Deeper into Additive Manufacturing -COVID-19 and more April 3, 2020 Mark Kirby, Registered Professional Engineer and Additive Manufacturing Business Manager for Renishaw Canada and Bruce Morey, Senior Technical Editor for Manufacturing Engineering Magazine discuss the pluses and minuses of the still-emerging 3D printing technology that is sweeping the business press. We will take a look at common misconceptions and what, in our opinion, could be things to watch out for if any of our listeners are thinking about adopting 3D printing for their applications.
The Growing Use of Additive Manufacturing in Medical February 6, 2020 Terry Wohlers, a renowned expert on additive manufacturing, and Bruce Morey, Senior Technical Editor for SME’s Manufacturing Engineering Magazine, discuss the present and future of AM in the medical and dental fields. Applications are discussed and skepticism addressed as the industry anticipates RAPID + TCT in Anaheim April 20-23 and the Additive Manufacturing for Medical Yearbook SME will publish in April.
How Does FFF Metal Printing Differ From DMLS? December 21, 2019 Kevin Smith, senior commercial application engineer at Markforged, explains how the Markforged Metal X 3D printing process works, for starters. He also gets into how FFF metal printing differs from DMLS and other processes. And he goes over materials that can be printed on the Metal X, as well as the applications that are best suited for metal 3D printing.
New Developments from MakerBot January 17, 2020 SME interviewed onsite at FABTECH Shawn Miely, Senior Marketing Manager for Pro Segment of MakerBot. Founded in 2009, MakerBot was one of the first companies to make 3D printing accessible and affordable with its first 3D printer, the Cupcake CNC. This podcast features a discussion about the new MakerBot Method X in general, new materials available, and additive manufacturing for professionals.
Tackling Downtime and Inefficiencies with Software November 20, 2019 Turning to software over paper reports does more than just save trees. Chris Mahar, Associate Editor of Manufacturing Engineering, talks with David McPhail, President and CEO of Memex Inc., about how manufacturers can utilize technology to improve efficiency, reduce downtime and boost productivity and profits across their business.
Automation Cell Integrates 3D Printing with Post-Process Machining July 10, 2017 Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA), a leading supplier of precision machine tools, 3D printing technology and automation, recently introduced an automation cell designed to greatly boost 3D manufacturing throughput.
New 3D Printer Makes Fully Isotropic Parts, Virtually Eliminates Post-Processing July 11, 2017 One of the “dirty secrets” of 3D printing is the universal need to take additional steps to render the output usable, including removing the part from its support, curing the part, or improving the surface. Aside from additional cycle time and cost, these steps often require or emit toxic chemicals, necessitating special ventilation and making them unsuitable for a standard office environment. For example, parts built with fused deposition modeling (FDM) must spend about four to eight hours in a heated, agitated sodium hydroxide bath.