The demand for titanium components by the aerospace industry began as a whisper about 15 years ago and steadily grew to a sustained, raucous shout over the last five and likely won’t quiet for several more.
Additive manufacturing lets companies think “outside the box.” Engineers can now start to look at a part without restrictions on size, shape or material. Instead of taking 15 different CNC milled parts and brazing them together, these companies have reimagined the part entirely—to be built as one part.
Vibrations, chatter marks, and tool failure are all problems that can be prevented with intelligent monitoring and feedback systems.
Additive manufacturing (AM) once was called “rapid prototyping.” Its earliest forms made prototype parts—and nothing else. However, manufacturers were intrigued by the prospect of using it to make cost-effective metal parts in production. That day is here.
I’m among the first to dive into the latest manufacturing innovations and see how they can improve our customers’ operations. Yet, I’m also among the first to advise them to pause and ensure that the fundamentals of their manufacturing processes are in place before adding something new into the complex mix of functionality and desired outcomes.
CAD/CAM helps auto racers employ CNC machining to maximum advantage.
It’s time to redefine AM and DfAM by what is possible from advanced LPBF systems—and to look ahead with the same determination the semiconductor industry used to better our lives.
The increased use of CT scanning for metal powder bed fusion parts is usually associated with high-value parts and elevated quality requirements. There are increased requests for CT scanning on parts made of engineering-grade polymers like PEEK, PEKK or ULTEM and for fiber-reinforced composites like Nylon 12 CF.
As 3D printing becomes integral to modern manufacturing operations, it must become integrated into supporting enterprise systems and interwoven with the latest industrial manufacturing methods
It’s easy to become dazed by the continuing stream of buzz words. For those of us in manufacturing, all this buzz creates a sense of impending change, but no clarity on what that change might be. Uncertainty means anxiety.
