Should the US Copyright Office oversee whether 3D printer operators can use feedstock not approved by their machine’s maker to turn out medical devices or airplane parts, or is that the role of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), respectively?
When the Italian company JDeal-Form (Oleggio, Italy) started using additive manufacturing to apply a micronized polymer coating to the underwire tips and bra straps it sold to brassiere makers, CTO Davide Ardizzoia grew frustrated with his AM vendor’s constant lateness.
A fused filament 3D printer has saved a custom outdoor lighting manufacturer tens of thousands of dollars a year, improving operations and winning more business. The purchase also helped retain customers who would previously have gone elsewhere for specialized parts.
If NASA’s Journey to Mars project succeeds, the astronauts who make the 140 million-mile (225 million-km) trip to the Red Planet in the 2030s will need someplace to stay. The space agency is looking at 3D printing, using on-site materials, to manufacture humanity’s first deep space home.
AM is used in everything from aerospace and automotive to consumer products. But some of the earliest and most significant applications are in healthcare. To this end, the theme of this month’s Manufacturing Engineering is medical machining.
With Lantek MES, the entire manufacturing process can be tracked from planning through execution, allowing operators to group parts according to various criteria, such as machines, materials, thicknesses, customer and delivery date.
There could be a better way for manufacturing. One that teams additive manufacturing (AM) with green materials, while promising to erect structures much faster and cheaper.
Specifications alone don’t tell the full story of a machine’s value – discover three key areas to explore when making a machine tool purchase.
A Department of Defense cybersecurity mandate will affect suppliers. The founder of ProShop ERP explains how.
Claudia Jarrett, U.S. country manager at automation parts supplier EU Automation, explains why robots are more than affordable for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).
