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One of the greatest things about reporting on the world of 3D printing is learning about its more unusual uses. It’s obvious that 3D printing is changing the way many larger (and smaller) companies create, prototype, and manufacture today as they embrace the benefits of greater speed in production, affordability (often producing parts at a fraction of the cost), and the ability to design and print onsite rather than going through a third party. We continually follow serious developments within the industrial world, to include automotive, medicine, medical devices, aerospace, construction, art—and so much more—but 3D design and 3D printing together allow for an infinite amount of innovation. Because of that, you never know what’s coming next!

Here’s a good example: blue and white 3D printed porcelain. Delving into the world of textiles and materials, we are able to learn more about the process Olivier van Herpt, a Dutch designer, went through in creating his 3D version of the blue and white delftware which is the Netherlands’ national product—and one with a rich history too.

Blue Delft originally came about as designers in the Netherlands wanted to make a local knockoff similar to porcelain being imported from China. Because they lacked kaolin, however, the Netherlands version came off with what may have originally been an unintended look of its own. The earthenware was exotic but still retained the oriental and decorative style.

Van Herpt began using a ceramic 3D printer as he worked to improve the creation of porcelain, eventually making 14 stackable pieces. His printer is capable of producing ceramic objects up to 90 cm high, with thin walls and a hard clay body. Van Herpt has always been on a mission to ‘push the limits of existing 3D printing technologies,’ and has created collections that are meant to soften up the hard edges of industrial design. While also enjoying working with larger pieces and alternative materials such as paraffin, clay, and more, the impactful designer enjoys bringing a human element into industry.

“The consistent flow of material is proven by the fine layers that manifest in the precision of the printing process. The unglazed surface underlines the character of the material and is shown in the structure as a result of the movement of the printer. The tiled surface indicates the digital provenance of the object applied in a precise, sinuous form,” states van Herpt in the case study regarding the project.

“The blue pattern is the translation of human interaction by the machine. Cobalt pigment is applied by hand on the clay body before being inserted in the extruder. The pattern is then reconstructed by the 3D printer, resulting in a radial gradient celebrating cooperation between man and machine.”

Find out more about the designer and his functional 3D printed ceramic objects here.

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In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs (the last one this month, how is the summer going by so quickly?!), a few companies are announcing special honors and recognitions, and then we’re sharing stories stories about some interesting new 3D printing projects, and finally wrapping things up before the weekend with some business news. Renishaw’s Director of R&D has been honored by the Royal Academy of Engineering, while MakerBot earned an important designation for its 3D printing certification program for educators and Renovis Surgical Technologies received FDA approval for its new 3D printed implant. Festo is introducing three new bionic robots, one of which is partially 3D printed, and CINTEC is using 3D printing for its restoration of a famous government house. GE wants to use blockchains for 3D printing protection, and ExOne announced a global cost realignment.

Royal Academy of Engineering Honors Renishaw’s Chris Sutcliffe

Earlier this week, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) awarded a Silver Medal to Professor Chris Sutcliffe, the Director of Research and Development of the Additive Manufacturing Products Division (AMPD) for global metrology company Renishaw. This award is given to recognize outstanding personal contributions to British engineering, and is given to no more than four people a year. The Silver Medal Sutcliffe received was in recognition of his part in driving the development of metal 3D printed implants in both human and veterinary surgery, and also celebrates his successful commercialization of 3D printed products with several companies, including Renishaw, and the University of Liverpool.

“Throughout my career I’ve worked hard to commercialise additive manufacturing technology. As well as AM’s benefit to the aerospace and automotive sectors, commercialisation of AM and associated technologies has been lifechanging for those with musculoskeletal diseases,” said Sutcliffe. “The award celebrates the successes of the engineers I have worked with to achieve this and I am grateful to receive the award to recognise our work.”

MakerBot’s Certification Program for Educators Gets Important Designation

One of the leaders in 3D printing for education is definitely MakerBot, which has sent its 3D printers to classrooms all over the world. Just a few months ago, the company launched a comprehensive, first of its kind 3D printing certification program, which trains educators to become 3D printing experts and create custom curriculum for STEAM classrooms. An independent review of the program showed that it meets the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards, and it has earned the prestigious ISTE Seal of Alignment from the accreditation body. In addition, a survey conducted over the last three years of over 2,000 MakerBot educators shows that the percentage of teachers reporting that MakerBot’s 3D printers met their classroom needs has doubled in just two years.

“This data shows that MakerBot isn’t just growing its user base in schools. We’re measurably improving teachers’ experiences using 3D printing,” said MakerBot CEO Nadav Goshen. “Much of this impressive teacher satisfaction is thanks to the effort we’ve put into solving real classroom problems—like the availability of 3D printing curriculum with Thingiverse Education, clear best practices with the MakerBot Educators Guidebook, and now training with the new MakerBot Certification program.”

Earlier this week, MakerBot exhibited its educator solutions at the ISTE Conference in Chicago.

FDA Grants Clearance for 3D Printed Interbody Spinal Fusion System 

California-headquartered Renovis Surgical Technologies, Inc. announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its Tesera SA Hyperlordotic ALIF Interbody Spinal Fusion System. All Tesera implants are 3D printed, and use a proprietary, patent-pending design to create a porous, roughened surface structure, which maximizes biologic fixation, strength, and stability to allow for bone attachment and in-growth to the implant.

The SA implant, made with Renovis’s trabecular technology and featuring a four-screw design and locking cover plate, is a titanium stand-alone anterior lumbar interbody fusion system. They are available in 7˚, 12˚, 17˚, 22˚ and 28˚ lordotic angles, with various heights and footprints for proper lordosis and intervertebral height restoration, and come with advanced instrumentation that’s designed to decrease operative steps during surgery.

Festo Introduces Partially 3D Printed Bionic Robot

German company Festo, the robotics research of which we’ve covered before, has introduced its Bionic Learning Network’s latest project – three bionic robots inspired by a flic-flac spider, a flying fox, and a cuttlefish. The latter of these biomimetic robots, the BionicFinWave, is a partially 3D printed robotic fish that can autonomously maneuver its way through acrylic water-filled tubing. The project has applications in soft robotics, and could one day be developed for tasks like underwater data acquisition, inspection, and measurement.

The 15 oz robot propels itself forward and backward through the tubing using undulation forces from its longitudinal fins, while also communicating with and transmitting data to the outside world with a radio. The BionicFinWave’s lateral fins, molded from silicone, can move independently of each other and generate different wave patterns, and water-resistant pressure and ultrasound sensors help the robot register its depth and distance to the tube walls. Due to its ability to realize complex geometry, 3D printing was used to create the robot’s piston rod, joints, and crankshafts out of plastic, along with its other body elements.

Cintec Using 3D Printing on Restoration Work of the Red House

Cintec North America, a leader in the field of structural masonry retrofit strengthening, preservation, and repair, completes structural analysis and design services for projects all around the world, including the Egyptian Pyramids, Buckingham Palace, Canada’s Library of Parliament, and the White House. Now, the company is using 3D printing in its $1 million restoration project on the historic Red House, which is also known as the seat of Parliament for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and was built between 1844 and 1892.

After sustaining damage from a fire, the Red House, featuring signature red paint and Beaux-Arts style architecture, was refurbished in 1904. In 2007, Cintec North America was asked to advise on the required repairs to the Red House, and was given permission to install its Reinforcing Anchor System. This landmark restoration project – the first where Cintec used 3D printing for sacrificial parts – denotes an historic moment in structural engineering, because one of the reinforcement anchors inserted into the structure, measuring 120 ft, is thought to be the longest in the world.

GE Files Patent to Use Blockchains For 3D Printing Protection

According to a patent filing recently released by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), industry giant GE wants to use a blockchain to verify the 3D printed parts in its supply chain and protect itself from fakes. If a replacement part for an industrial asset is 3D printed, anyone can reproduce it, so end users can’t verify its authenticity, and if it was made with the right manufacturing media, device, and build file. In its filing, GE, which joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA) consortium in March, outlined a method for setting up a database that can validate, verify, and track the manufacturing process, by integrating blockchains into 3D printing.

“It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods for implementing a historical data record of an additive manufacturing process with verification and validation capabilities that may be integrated into additive manufacturing devices,” GE stated in the patent filing.

ExOne to Undergo Global Cost Realignment

3D printer and printed products provider ExOne has announced a global cost realignment program, in order to achieve positive earnings and cash flow in 2019. In addition to maximizing efficiency through aligning its capital resources, ExOne’s new program will be immediately reducing the company’s consulting projects and headcount – any initial employee reductions will take place principally in consulting and select personnel. The program, which has already begun, will focus first on global operations, with an emphasis on working capital initiatives, production overhead, and general and administrative spending. This program will continue over the next several quarters.

“With the essential goal of significantly improving our cash flows in 2019, we have conducted a review of our cost structure and working capital practices. We are evaluating each position and expense within our organization, with the desire to improve productivity. As a result, we made the difficult decision to eliminate certain positions within ExOne, reduce our spending on outside consultants and further rely on some of our recently instituted and more efficient processes,” explained S. Kent Rockwell, ExOne’s Chairman and CEO. “Additional cost analyses and changes to business practices to improve working capital utilization will be ongoing over the next several quarters and are expected to result in additional cost reductions and improved cash positions. All the while, we remain focused on our research and development goals and long-term revenue growth goals, which will not be impacted by these changes, as we continue to lead the market adoption of our binder jetting technology.”

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The W80 nuclear warhead is a small American thermonuclear warhead designed for deployment on cruise missiles. A program has been implemented to extend the life of the warhead, called the W80-4 LEP, or life extension program. Recently the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) gave passing grades to the plans to refurbish certain components as well as to the proposed approach to developing component cost estimates.

The warhead, once refurbished, will be paired with a new cruise missile that is being developed by the US Air Force. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is the lead nuclear design agency and is working with Sandia National Laboratories, the lead non-nuclear design agency. The work being done on the warhead is to satisfy military requirements to pair the warhead with the new delivery system and improve the weapon’s safety, security and operational logistics, as well as to maintain effectiveness without the need for additional explosive tests. The first production of the W80-4 is scheduled for 2025.

The national laboratories are now focused on making sure that the W80-4 meets requirements. The next step is a detailed weapon development cost report.

Firing Tank Operator Drew Carlson (foreground) safeguards the mouth of the 10kg spherical firing tank at LLNL’s High Explosives Applications Facility as Electronic Technician Raya Yy (background, left) and Ramrod Shawn Strickland wire a high explosive charge for an experiment. The experiment will provide data important to certifying that a refurbished nuclear warhead will work without conducting a full-scale explosive nuclear test.

“Costs are a pretty big deal for us,” said Alicia Williams, LLNL engineering design lead for the LEP. “We go through these detailed reviews of the costs associated with our scope to help management make informed decisions about whether course correction is needed. The net result with this milestone was confirmation that we’re on the right track.”

There are certain challenges associated with refurbishing the warhead. Some aged components and materials cannot be replaced in the same way that they were initially manufactured. The main explosive charge needs replacement, for example, but the original high-explosive constituents are not available and must be reconstituted. Several of the replacement parts are being 3D printed to improve quality and reduce cost – not the first time 3D printing has been used to construct warheads. Researchers at the labs are engineering specific material properties into these replacement parts by controlling the microstructure of the 3D printed material.

To verify that the 3D printed parts will perform as expected, the researchers have already performed a pair of hydrodynamic (full-scale non-nuclear) experiments, back in 2016. The data returned from those tests is being used to ensure that supercomputer simulations accurately represent reality. Thorough material-aging and compatibility experiments are also being undertaken to ensure that the 3D printed material will meet performance requirements for the lifetime of the system.

Those supercomputer simulations and other non-nuclear experiments are crucial to the success of the program. In addition to refurbishing the warhead, the researchers must make sure that it is safe and won’t go off by itself, secure in that it can’t be set off without formal permissions, and effective – all without conducting a full-scale explosive nuclear test. A supercomputer called Sierra is located at LLNL and will play a major role in certifying the replacement warhead. Code advances have also enabled a shift from 2D to 3D modeling, with a special focus on uncertainty quantification, alleviating the reliance on approximations as was required during the nuclear testing era.  Hundreds of tests and experiments are currently underway at LLNL and its experimental test site, Site 300.

“This LEP is driving significant innovation at LLNL,” said Des Pilkington, Weapon Physics and Design Program Director. “I’m seeing some really creative work in the options, focused on meeting established performance requirements and to minimize costs, always with an eye to what we can ultimately certify will work. That’s where the experimental and code innovations we’ve made under the Stockpile Stewardship Program come into play. They will be critical to the success of our certification plan.”

Electronic Technician Raya Yy (left) inspects the work of Ramrod Shawn Strickland as he wires a high explosive charge for an experiment.

Five of the 25 major milestones in the LEP are complete so far. Requirements are being refined by the DoD and NNSA, design concepts have been developed, business systems are being put in place to track schedule and budget, and NNSA has invested in the infrastructure at LLNL that will be needed to certify the warhead. In addition, LLNL is leading the effort to reconstitute the capability to manufacture the required insensitive high explosives. Manufacturing of production-scale quantities of the new explosives is proceeding on schedule.

The W80-4 program is scheduled to go into the development engineering phase in 2019. In this phase, researchers will test individual components to ensure that they will meet military requirements. The next phases are production engineering, first production, and full-scale production. To meet the needs of the program, LLNL has taken on significant hiring efforts; more than 100 scientists, engineers and technicians have been hired in 2018 already.

“Even with our Lab hiring at an accelerated rate, and even with the infrastructure improvements NNSA has made here, we could never complete this LEP alone,” said Tom Horrillo, W80-4 LEP Manager. “Our sister lab across the street (Sandia National Laboratories) is playing a central role in this, as are the production plants that are producing components across the country. The Air Force has been a great partner in defining requirements, and NNSA has been indispensable in helping us to roll out the infrastructure and processes we need to get the job done. I’m not overstating things when I say that there would be no LEP without the contributions of everyone on the team.”

The LEP is a collaboration between the DoD and NNSA, with LLNL working with all of the NNSA laboratories and production sites, as well as the Air Force and its missile vendors. Collaborators include Sandia, Kansas City National Security Campus, Y-12 National Security Complex, Pantex Plant, Savannah River Site, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NNSA Livermore Field Office, Albuquerque NNSA W80-4 Program Office, the missile program office at Eglin Air Force Base and Nuclear Weapons Center Kirtland Air Force Base.

“It is so important that we succeed with the W80-4 LEP,” Williams said. “These weapons need to be tremendously safe, secure and effective. We have to meet those expectations just as much as we need to meet the cost and schedule expectations. All told, I can’t help but feel that this is a very exciting time to work at the Lab.”

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Additive Works is known for its Amphyon software, a simulation tool that goes through the process of an additive manufacturing build before it actually takes place, highlighting and optimizing possible problem areas. The goal of the software is to find and address all possible issues before the 3D printer is even fired up, eliminating bad builds and enabling the user to get a flawless print on the first try. Amphyon is the focus of a new collaboration between Additive Works and metal 3D printer manufacturer EOS.

“Although the AM-technology itself is very mature, especially for unexperienced users it can be difficult to predict if a part will be 3D printed as expected,” said Dr. Nils Keller, CEO of Additive Works. “So when a part is manufactured with issues, e.g. surface defects, it means a waste of machine time and material costs. An answer to this challenge is Amphyon. Using simulation software is standard when it comes to conventional manufacturing methods. With Amphyon, simulation now also becomes a solution for additive manufacturing, underlining the increased use and changing requirements of industrial 3D printing for serial production.”

Amphyon software is easy to use, structured along the company’s “ASAP” principle: Assessment, Simulation, Adaption, and Process. The software has a couple of different modules and focuses on part assessment, support optimization and process simulation. In the Assessment stage, an examiner module evaluates the part geometry, assesses all possible build orientations, and automatically finds the best one.

Two modules are available in the Simulation stage: the Support module, currently in beta, and the Mechanical Process Simulation (MPS) module. In the Support module, optimized support structures are generated automatically. The module’s optimization routines adapt the support perforation as well as the interfaces between part and support based on the calculated process loads. The time and cost of manual support generation is eliminated, support material is saved, and process stability is increased, avoiding expensive build fails. The MPS module presents a fast, easy way to simulate process mechanics and calculate and compensate for distortions.

Under the new partnership, certain EOS metal materials are being integrated into Amphyon software and calibrated with regard to their material properties. Eventually, all metal materials from EOS will be calibrated and implemented into the software.

“While the vast majority of the public thinks that additive manufacturing allows for the creation of three dimensional objects from a digital design by just clicking a button, users of the technology know that the reality is more complex,” said Martin Steuer, Head of Product Management Software and Services at EOS. “United by the mission to make Industrial 3D printing even more intuitive and user friendly, EOS is happy to partner with Additive Works on the subject of AM-process-simulation. ‘Simulate before you create’ really is a key factor to ensure a successful laser sintering process with metal materials, right from the start.”

EOS will also be offering the Amphyon software to its customers as part of the partnership. Both companies will develop further enhancements for the software, and the Amphyon assessment, support and simulation modules will be integrated into EOSPRINT 2, EOS’ job and process management software.

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America Makes, the national accelerator for additive manufacturing and 3D printing based in Youngstown, Ohio, began working with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private non-profit organization, back in early 2016 to develop standards and specifications for the rapidly evolving 3D printing industry. Together, they formed a regulatory institution for the industry, called the America Makes and ANSI Additive Manufacturing Standardization Collaborative (AMSC), and in an effort to facilitate industry growth, immediately got to work developing a roadmap that could be used to identify necessary additive manufacturing standards.

The AMSC was specifically chartered to coordinate and speed up the development of industry-wide additive manufacturing standards that are consistent with stakeholders’ needs, along with setting up a possible approach to the future development process. Four working groups in the areas of design, maintenance, process and materials, and qualification and certification began working, and in December of that same year, the AMSC released the preliminary final draft of its Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 1.0) to the public for review and comment.

The completed roadmap was published last February, naming 89 ‘gaps’ – 19 of which were labeled high priority – where no standard or specification had been previously published for a specific industry need. Phase 2 of the project began not long after, and just a few months ago, the AMSC released its preliminary final draft of the Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 2.0).

The AMSC released the 260-page draft in order to receive public review and comments, and planned for its final publication this June. About 320 individuals, from 175 different public and private sector organizations, supported the development of this second document version.

This week, the group, which receives major funding from the US Department of Defense (DoD), has announced the publication of its completed Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 2.0), which is available for download here.

Jim Williams, the President of All Points Additive and Chair of the AMSC, said, “It’s been a privilege to be involved with the committed group of professionals who make up the AMSC and I want to thank all of them who contributed to this undertaking.”

This latest version of the AMSC roadmap offers a description of the existing additive manufacturing standardization landscape, and also lists progress updates on the gaps identified in the first version, many of which have been, as America Makes puts it, “substantially revised.” A total of five gaps have been withdrawn.

Rob Gorham, Executive Director of America Makes, which is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM), said, “We are extraordinarily pleased at the AMSC’s continued progress to define a coherent set of additive manufacturing standards and specifications that will benefit the industry.”

V2 of the roadmap has identified 93 gaps, of which 18 are listed as high priority, where no specifications or standards have been published to address an industry need. These new gaps include a lot about polymers, including topics such as laser-based additive repair, the use of recycled polymer precursor materials, NDE of polymers and other non-metallic materials, and heat treatment polymers. In a total of 65 of these gaps, the document lists additional pre-standardization R&D needs.

Joe Bhatia, President and CEO of ANSI, said, “Coordination of standards development activity in emerging technology areas is something that ANSI excels at, and we have been very pleased to partner with America Makes to define the standards needed to help grow the additive manufacturing industry.”

The Standardization Roadmap for Additive Manufacturing (Version 2.0) considers the entire life cycle of a 3D printed part in its standards, all the way from the design and selection of the materials and process through production, post-processing, finished material properties, testing, qualification, and even maintenance post-print.

The document reads, “As with the earlier version of this document, the hope is that the roadmap will be broadly adopted by the standards community and that it will facilitate a more coherent and coordinated approach to the future development of standards and specifications for additive manufacturing.

“To that end, it is envisioned that the roadmap will continue to be promoted in the coming year. The roadmap may be updated in the future to assess progress on its implementation and to identify emerging issues that require further discussion.”

This latest roadmap version is supplemented by a listing of standards, titled the AMSC Standards Landscape, which are either peripherally or directly related to the issues laid out in the document. Both this document, Version 2.0 of the roadmap, and additional information are available on the AMSC website.

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Further consolidation of the rail industry is proposed to occur with the potential merger of Siemens‘ and Alstom’s railway products businesses. Their proposed merger follows the sale of GE’s rail business to Wabtec. Siemens, headquartered in Germany, is the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe. Alstom is a French multinational company that is operating worldwide in rail transportation industries. The merger would create a European powerhouse in the railway industry. Both of these companies utilize additive manufacturing along with their regular manufacturing methods to improve on the way components are produced.

The Research & Development Tax Credit

Enacted in 1981, the federal Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13 percent of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:

• New or improved products, processes, or software
• Technological in nature
• Elimination of uncertainty
• Process of experimentation

Eligible costs include employee wages, cost of supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses, and costs associated with developing a patent. On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the bill making the R&D Tax Credit permanent. Beginning in 2016, the R&D credit can be used to offset Alternative Minimum tax and startup businesses can utilize the credit against $250,000 per year in payroll taxes.

Alstom

In 2015, Alstom had a conference that introduced additive manufacturing to its R&D department to help with rapid prototyping. Alstom has integrated 3D printing with prototyping various parts of a train such as the bogie; a bogie is a crucial part of a train that determines how much weight a carriage can bear. Additive manufacturing allows for the production of a single part that can replace several other parts. An example of such a part is an air vent that Alstom created by using polyamide, a flame retardant material. Alstom also likes the versatility of 3D printing; anything that can be made into a CAD model can be 3D printed from materials that range from flame retardant plastics to strong metals. Switching the materials used not only adds customization, but also serves the purpose of weight optimization. Christophe Eschenbrenner, Digital Supply Chain Manager at Alstom, introduced the idea of 3D printing spare parts to optimize time and money on a day to day basis. 3D printing spare parts solves two main challenges in the supply chain: the missing part situation; an essential piece of equipment would be missing which would lead to a train being stored in a depot, and the overstock situation, which would lead to cash being tied up as inventory builds rather than is consumed. Alstom believes that 3D printing is a rapidly advancing technology which is why they will continue to explore the integration of 3D printing into their business model.

Siemens

3D printing opens up countless new opportunities for a manufacturing giant like Siemens. Siemens already has a full facility dedicated to producing 3D printed parts located in Erlangen, Germany. Siemens realize that 3D printing allows for a quick and cost-effective way to print components that are rarely replaced. Maximilian Kunkel, head of research and development at the facility, says, “We can produce complex parts without having to worry about minimum volumes or the cost of tools.” With additive manufacturing, components can be made within days instead of waiting weeks for the delivery of the same part. Siemens had a predicament where 3D printing was quite useful; streetcar (trolley) drivers wanted switches on the driver’s seat armrest for turn signals and switching rails but it simply was not cost-effective to manufacture these new armrests due to the volume that was required. 3D printing technology solved this problem by redesigning the current armrest to accommodate the new switches and printing the requested number of armrests in a timely fashion. Siemens is working on perfecting their 3D print process by creating CAD models, improving design and materials then conducting tests on the new products. Siemens believes that 3D printing allows them to stay several steps ahead of the competition.

Conclusion

The proposed Siemens and Alstom rail merger produces new opportunities, not only in the European industry but in the 3D printing industry as well. Siemens and Alstom are both experimenting with 3D printing and its various benefits to their respective business models. 3D printing allows for the rapid prototyping of various parts and leaves room for the improvement of products already in circulation. To date, Siemens and Alstom are only using additive manufacturing on small scale components but they believe the technology will evolve to a point where 3D printing will be viable at all points in their manufacturing process.

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Charles Goulding and John Chin of R&D Tax Savers discuss the Siemens-Alstom merger.

The investment cast (left) proofs to have been successful.

Flying can be a sublime experience, especially when the plane’s design has been carefully considered and executed. Despite our human instinct to believe that supremely heavy objects such as planes or ships should neither fly nor float, their engineering allows them to do so and to the end user, it can seem nearly effortless. The reality is, however, that despite our decided ability to create planes and ships, there is still a great deal of human ingenuity being applied to the enhancement of their appearance and performance, from interior design to exterior styling and from inner engine workings to highly visible functional components.

It is in this vein that Sogeclair Aerospace, a French company with offices around the globe, has been working with voxeljet to unveil a new design for airplane doors, called the Optimdoor, that reduces their weight by 30%. The doors, which rely on 3D printed polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) models from voxeljet, were unveiled at the Paris Aviation Show, where they were hailed as the aircraft door of the future.

But if airplanes are flying perfectly well with the doors they have now, why modify their design at all? One of the key benefits from reducing the weight is an increase in fuel efficiency and as engineers have been working the problem of weight reduction for some time, the introduction of 3D printing’s capabilities to print in titanium or aluminum using material-saving geometries has been quite welcome. Thierry Herrero, West Europe Sales Director for voxeljet, described the benefits of utilizing this technology:

Metal coated PMMA model. This is how the door should look like after the casting process.

“In this case, 3D printing can be combined with well-tried precision casting. This combines the best of both worlds: the geometric freedom of 3D printing and the stability of classic precision casting.”

Clearly, making the doors out of styrofoam would reduce their weight significantly, but the tricky part about these kinds of designs is that there must be a perfect marriage between weight reduction and performance. The use of 3D printing has been a breakthrough and voxeljet has developed a large-scale 3D printer, the VX1000 3D printing system with a print bed of 1000 x 600 x 500 mm, that allows them to fully take advantage of the opportunities presented by 3D printing at a scale that makes it viable to work with components as large as these. Another benefit of 3D printing is the ability it provides for rapid prototyping and quick turnaround on iterations. Combine these two factors and the timeline for enhanced aerospace components is greatly advanced. As Herrero explained:

“For the development of prototypes, companies must make repeated refinements. It is certainly timely and cost consuming with each change requiring the production of a new mould for the precision casting.”

The door itself is fabricated by running the printhead over the blueprint in layers 150 micrometers thick, building up the precision casting model layer by layer. Once the model has been printed, it is then impregnated with wax to seal the surfaces, after which the piece is taken to the foundry where it is covered in layers of ceramic and smelted in a furnace. The ceramic mold is then filled with liquid aluminum which, once cooled, is beaten out of the mold and finished. The reduction in weight comes not in materials but from the creation of strength through a network of aluminum struts rather than relying on the heavy-duty strength of solid materials.

The door is currently still in its prototype phase, but was received with positive acclaim at the Paris Aviation Show, giving the green light to continue moving forward with its development.

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