Metal AM 2020

http://www.diva-portal.
org
This is the published version of a paper published in .
Citation for the original published paper (version of record):
Stampl, J., Asnafi, N., Hribernik, B., Hackl, G. (2020)

AM’s industrial impact celebrated as Sweden hosts ASMET’s fourth Metal Additive
Manufacturing Conference
METAL AM, 6(1): 159-167
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THE MAGAZINE FOR THE METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
METAL
Vol. 6 No. 1 SPRING 2020
AM
in this issue
SPEE3D: AM GOES SUPERSONIC
ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON AM
VENTURE CAPITAL INSIGHT
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Subscriptions Whilst every company has the right to distinguish itself from
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quarterly basis as either a free digital publication environment, perhaps the time has come for the industry to
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available on application. the same small number of processes.
Accuracy of contents
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the Over a year ago, we as a publishing house recognised the
accuracy of the information in this publication, confusion that we had inadvertently perpetuated, since our Metal
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errors or omissions or for any consequences
arising there from. Inovar Communications Ltd
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Reproduction, storage and usage

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AM
Vol. 6 No. 1 Spring 2020 Cover image
An aluminium bronze propeller
This magazine is also available for free manufactured by SPEE3D’s Cold Spray
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© 2020 Inovar Communications Ltd took sixteen minutes to build (Courtesy
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Published by Inovar Communications Ltd
Metal Additive Manufacturing | Spring 2020
www.metal-am.com 3
we are
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We are Oerlikon AM
We are integrating and scaling the entire Additive Manufacturing value chain
to handle your project from A to Z. We partner with pioneers like you to
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Come build with us. It’s time to rethink what’s possible in AM.
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Spring 2020 METAL
ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING
28 36 65 83 115
Contents 135 AM Ventures: An insider’s perspective

on venture capital for start-ups in
Additive Manufacturing
In an industry driven by innovation, start-ups play
111 Cheaper powders, faster build speeds a vital role in creating the next generation of AM
and no thermal stresses? How AM is technologies, applications, software solutions
going supersonic at SPEE3D and materials. Arno Held, Chief Venture Officer
at AM Ventures Holding GmbH, presents a statis-
In recent years, Australia’s SPEE3D has made
tical analysis of start-ups across the AM sector,
waves in the AM industry with its Cold Spray-
including success rates, geographic distribution
based metal Additive Manufacturing systems.
and key areas of focus, and offers his insight
Following successful projects with the US and
into venture capital as it relates to the Additive
Australian military, and multiple installations
Manufacturing industry.
at one of Europe’s most experienced metal AM
parts manufacturers, the world is starting to
take note. Alex Kingsbury visited the company 143 Binder Jetting and beyond: Optimising
at its Melbourne base for Metal AM magazine the use of metal powders for AM
and spoke with its founders and newly expanded
management team about its technology and 153 From lightweighting and material
international expansion. efficiency to energy consumption:
Where are we on AM’s sustainability
123 Current perspectives on metal AM: journey?
Hype, volume manufacturing and the
geographies of production 159 AM’s industrial impact celebrated as
Metal AM exists in a potentially confusing Sweden hosts ASMET’s fourth Metal
place between the world of 3D printing and its Additive Manufacturing Conference
‘maker’ movement, and Industry 4.0, with its
drive towards new economic models. Here, 169 Euro PM2019: Effects of humidity and
Dr Jennifer Johns contextualises metal AM storage conditions on AM powder
within broader narratives around technological
Regular features
change and economic development, Industry
4.0 and the Factory of the Future, to give us a
better understanding of what the outside world
expects. Drawing on recent empirical research,
7 Industry news
different, often contradictory, viewpoints are
presented on the key issues facing the move to 181 Events guide
volume manufacturing and the geographies of
production. 182 Advertisers’ index
Vol. 6 No. 1 © 2020 Inovar Communications Ltd Metal Additive Manufacturing | Spring 2020 5
Together
we lead the
Additive
Manufacturing
Revolution
www.materials-solutions.com
| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | Industry News
industry news
Boeing 777X takes flight with 300 probably come with some version of
that inducer.”
additively manufactured parts in The titanium aluminide (TiAl)
each GE9X engine blades on the low-pressure turbine

of the GE9X are also produced by
metal Additive Manufacturing. The
Boeing’s new 777X wide-body reported to include fuel nozzle tips, TiAl blades are said to be roughly
passenger jet underwent its maiden low-pressure turbine blades, heat half the weight of traditional
flight on January 25, taking to the exchangers and inducers. nickel-alloy turbine blades, and are
skies powered by two GE9X engines The inducer, used to remove dust, produced at Avio Aero using Arcam
from GE Aviation, said to be the sand and other debris in the engine, EBM systems.
largest and most powerful commer- is one such part which is difficult GE Aviation is reported to be
cial jet engines ever built. According to make without using AM, and has wrapping up certification testing for
to Eric M Gatlin, Additive Manu- never been used inside a commercial the GE9X and expects the engine
facturing General Manager at GE GE jet engine before. “The inducer to be certified later this year. It has
Aviation, each of the engines contains cannot be manufactured any other built ten compliant engines, eight of
around 300 additively manufactured way, except by 3D printing,” stated which will go on flying test airplanes,
components. Zach Studt, Senior Manufacturing plus two spares, for Boeing. GE has
GE Aviation has been working on Engineer at GE Aviation. “In this way, received orders for more than 700
the GE9X since 2013, and prior to the additive is unlocking performance of GE9X engines.
maiden flight the company stated the engine. A different manufacturing www.geaviation.com
it had carried out seventy-two test process can deliver a better product. www.ge.com/additive
flights of the new engine, totalling Going forward, most engines will www.boeing.com
more than 400 hours, on its Boeing
747 flying testbed. To date, the GE9X
programme has reportedly completed
more than 4,100 hours of ground and
air testing, as well as 6,500 cycles.
The GE9X’s fan casing is over 3.4 m
(134 in) in diameter, as wide as the
body of an entire Boeing 737, and
houses parts made from the a wide
range of materials, including light-
weight and heat-resistant ceramic
matrix composites, and components
made by Additive Manufacturing.
Almost 300 AM parts are reported
to be in each GE9X engine, including
many that combine multiple parts
into one component, as well as parts
that cannot be made in any other
way. AM parts are produced at GE’s
Avio Aero facility in Cameri, Italy and
GE’s Additive Technology Centre in Boeing’s new 777X wide-body passenger jet is powered by two GE9X jet
West Chester, Ohio, USA, and are engines (Courtesy GE Aviation)
VISIT US AT RAPID+TCT | APRIL 21-23, 2020 | BOOTH 205, HALL C
We’ve got Additive Personalities

Carpenter Additive’s team lives and breathes AM and we bring that passion to
support our customers each day, from powder to part. Thought leadership is
where we are. Manufacturing challenges are what we solve. Come talk with us.
www.carpenteradditive.com
F1 Alfa Romeo race ASL commissions

car features 143 new 400 kg
metal AM parts gas atomiser
specifically for AM
Additive Industries, Eindhoven, the
Netherlands, has reported that the
and MIM powders
recently-unveiled Alfa Romeo Racing
Orlen F1 race car features 143 metal Atomising Systems Ltd. (ASL),
additively manufactured parts. The Sheffield, UK, has expanded its Powder from a conventional gas
new C39 race car was introduced capacity through the installation atomiser (left) vs powder from ASL’s
at the Barcelona F1 race track in of a new 400 kg gas atomiser atomiser with anti-satellite system
Spain on February 19, 2020, where it aimed specifically at the Additive (right) (Courtesy Atomising Systems
underwent on-circuit testing prior to Manufacturing and Metal Injection Ltd.)
the start of the 2020 F1 season. Moulding (MIM) powder markets.
Of the 143 metal additively An additional melter is now being sieving and classification equipment,
manufactured parts, fifty-eight are installed for greater flexibility and means that we are able to keep pace
made from titanium, nineteen from capacity. The in-house-designed with the growth of our existing client
a high-performance aluminium atomiser, equipped with ASL’s base and the requirements of new
alloy and sixty-six from AlSi10Mg. proprietary anti-satellite and hot gas clients, especially in the AM and MIM
The parts were produced by Sauber system, produces high yields of MIM sectors.”
Engineering on Additive Industries and/or AM powders, enabling ASL to Rose added, “In these sectors,
MetalFAB1 systems. Sauber continue to serve its expanding AM the benefits of ASL’s Anti-Satellite
Motorsport AG, which manages and MIM customer base. technology are clearly recognised
and operates the Alfa Romeo Paul Rose, Commercial Director, through the excellent powder shape
Racing Orlen team, operates four stated, “The addition of another and flow properties.”
MetalFAB1 systems at its Sauber atomiser, along with the associated www.atomising.co.uk
Engineering facility and is a Tech-
nology Partner of Additive Industries.
The additively manufactured parts
include chassis inserts, cooling
circuit piping, safety structures,
BEAMIT plans expansion with additional
electronic component installations fifteen machines from SLM Solutions
and more. Using Additive Manufac-
turing, Additive Industries stated
BEAMIT, Italy’s largest Additive The commitment is reported
that a highly beneficial 2% weight
Manufacturing service bureau, has to be in line with the expansion of
saving was achieved.
signed a letter of intent to purchase BEAMIT’s plant, which will be more
www.additiveindustries.com
fifteen Additive Manufacturing than twice the size of the previous
www.sauber-group.com
machines from SLM Solutions over facility.
www.alfaromeo.com
the next three years. The order is Meddah Hadjar, CEO of SLM
said to comprise a range of systems Solutions, added, “We are very
from SLM Solutions, including the pleased to deepen our cooperation
SLM®280, SLM®500 and SLM®800 with BEAMIT and to be a long-term
models. partner in its additive growth. It
“Through the replacement of shows the trust and the confidence
single-laser products with SLM in our machines and in our
Solutions’ multi-laser technology we multi-laser technology. We are
are able to increase our productivity looking forward to a successful
and provide competitive pricing to our future and collaboration not only on
customers,” stated Mauro Antolotti, these products but also for future
Chairman and Founder of BEAMIT. NextGen products and technology
“By partnering with SLM Solutions, developments.”
The C39 F1 race car features 143 we can meet our customer’s www.slm-solutions.com
additively manufactured parts, saving requirements to build high quality www.beam-it.eu
2% of the car’s weight (Courtesy Alfa parts at increased productivity and
Romeo Racing Orlen) expand our facilities.”
Industry News | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
Pratt & Whitney announces

first MRO application for AM
aero-engine component
Pratt & Whitney, an aerospace manufacturer and division
of United Technologies Corp., will use an additively
manufactured aero-engine component for the first
time in its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of
commercial engines. The AM component is anticipated
to be part of the repair process by mid-2020 at Pratt &
Whitney’s repair specialist in Singapore, Component
Aerospace Singapore.
The use of Additive Manufacturing is the result of a Pratt & Whitney will use an additively manufactured
collaborative effort by the company’s engineering experts, aero-engine component for the first time in its MRO of
Component Aerospace Singapore, and the Land Systems commercial engines (Courtesy Pratt & Whitney)
division of ST Engineering, Singapore, to deliver faster
and more flexible repair solutions to support Pratt &
Whitney engines. Pratt & Whitney states that the part will now another step closer to scaling the technology to meet
first be used in a fuel system on one of its engine models. our growing aftermarket operations, and industrialising
The alternative material solution is expected to reduce 3D printing for the industry,” commented Brendon
dependency on current material supply from conventional McWilliam, Executive Director, Aftermarket Operations,
fabrication processes such as forging and casting. Asia Pacific. “This groundbreaking innovation is part
“Thanks to the out-of-the-box thinking by our of the wider technology roadmap by Pratt & Whitney to
employees at Component Aerospace Singapore, we are introduce advanced technologies that integrate artificial
intelligence (AI), robotics and automation across our
operations as part of our digital transformation. We are
well-placed to better meet today’s demands and anticipate
tomorrow’s customer needs, without compromising our
high standards of quality and reliability.”
“3D printing will be a game-changer for the MRO
industry worldwide, especially in servicing even more
commercial engines. This technology enables greater
flexibility in our inventory management,” added Chin-
Huat Sia, Principal Engineer, Component Aerospace
Singapore. “Following this trailblazing initiative, both
Pratt & Whitney and ST Engineering will examine how
Additive Manufacturing can be applied for other aviation
components and other engine types, and further developed
to enable hybrid repairs and realise the full potential of 3D
printing for commercial aftermarket operations.”
According to Pratt & Whitney, its engineering team
extended ST Engineering’s application of Additive
Manufacturing methods for ground transport systems to
produce the aero-engine component. Both organisations
worked closely to ensure that in-house quality and process
systems are certified to Pratt & Whitney’s requirements
for aftermarket applications.
“To 3D print an aero-engine component for a
working air turbine engine is a first for us,” explained
Tan Chor Kiat, Senior Vice President, Kinetics
Design & Manufacturing, ST Engineering. “This also
demonstrates our advanced capability to offer a full
turnkey manufacturing solution which not only includes
production-level 3D printing, but also post-processes such
as heat treatment and machining. Our customers expect
high standards of quality from us.”
www.pw.utc.com | www.stengg.com
10 Metal Additive Manufacturing | Spring 2020 © 2020 Inovar Communications Ltd Vol. 6 No. 1
achievable density and low surface

Ricoh’s new resin-coated powders and roughness. However, fine powders
cross-linking ink to expand range of can be more explosive than coarse

powders.
metals for Binder Jetting The new powders are coated with
resin selected to improve both the
minimum ignition energy and explosi-
Ricoh, based in Kanagawa, Japan, has developed from coating technology ble concentration, important param-
developed a new resin-coated metal acquired through electrophotography. eters in avoiding dust explosion. The
powder and cross-linking ‘ink’ for use A cross-linking material in the ink is resin-coating is said to prevent the
in the Binder Jetting process. Said to said to work with the resin to form the propagation of fire between particles.
increase the diversity of metals avail- green part. This allows the use of fine powders
able for Binder Jetting and improve According to Ricoh, a key and results in improved surface finish,
the quality of components, the new advantage of the new material is to reducing the need for additional post
range is aimed at those adopting remove the risk of dust explosions processing steps.
Binder Jetting as a manufacturing associated with fine powder particles A further advantage of Ricoh’s new
process. and potentially explosive powders, process is the ability to control the
The metal powders are coated with such as aluminium and titanium. permeability of the ink toward the
a uniform layer of binder resin around Fine powders tend to offer improved powder bed. If permeation is less than
100 nm in thickness, in a process sinterability and can lead to higher expected, for example, it can cause
increased porosity in the green part
and if the ink permeates too far, it af-
fects the dimensional accuracy of the
parts produced.
The control of ink permeability
is a key factor for the achievement
of the correct density and accuracy
for a part. Using its new materials,
Ricoh stated that it has achieved
the adjustment of the contact angle
between the ink and powder surface,
and a level of control over permeabil-
ity through a selected combination of
SEM images of a) uncoated powder, b) coated powder, c) cross-section of surfactant and coating resin.
coated powder of stainless steel 316L (Courtesy The Ricoh Company, Ltd.) www.ricoh.com
PIM binder specialist eMBe Director, stated, “The feedback we

received at the Formnext trade fair
rebranded Krahn Ceramics, targets confirmed that the market has a
filament-based AM great interest in such a broad-based

technology partner and source of
inspiration. We are very much looking
Germany’s eMBe Products & Service powders both by Powder Injection forward to realising the numerous
GmbH has been rebranded as Moulding (PIM) and filament-based product ideas of our customers
Krahn Ceramics GmbH following Additive Manufacturing. The company together.”
the company’s acquisition by Krahn reported that it can support its “In addition to the European
Chemie GmbH in May 2019. The customers through all stages of market, we also have an eye on
company’s headquarters have also the production process, from raw the USA and Asia,” he added.
been relocated from Thierhaupten materials supply to the finished “There, we can draw on established
to Hamburg and its machines and component. structures and networks of the Otto
equipment integrated into a new Services offered to Krahn Krahn Group, among other things.
technical centre in Dinslaken, Ceramics’ customers range from This means that we have internal
Germany. consulting to laboratory services, access to a lot of market-relevant
Krahn Ceramics states that it sees tailor-made product development information in order to be able to
its role as a project partner for those and small-series production. Dr develop business.”
looking to process ceramic and metal Stefan Stolz, the company’s Managing www.krahn-ceramics.com
ExOne qualifies fifteen new materials Laboratory, SGL Carbon, the U.S.
Army, the U.S. Department of Energy,
for use on its Binder Jet AM machines the University of Texas at El Paso, and
Virginia Tech.
The ExOne Company, based in North progress,” stated John F Hartner,

New materials qualification system
Huntington, Pennsylvania, USA, has ExOne CEO, in a message following
As of February 25, 2020, ExOne
qualified fifteen new metal, ceramic the announcement.
reported that it has three material
and composite materials for Binder “When we took the time to
qualification levels that recognise
Jet Additive Manufacturing on its re-evaluate where we were over
different degrees of material
machines, bringing the company’s the last few months, the numbers
readiness for customers with different
total supported materials to surprised even us,” he commented.
application needs, namely:
twenty-one. Among the materials “ExOne customers were printing an
qualified by ExOne to date are ten astonishing number of materials – Third-party qualified materials
single-alloy metals, six ceramics fourteen – that had not yet worked These materials have passed rigorous
and five composite materials. Over all the way through ExOne’s rigorous ExOne tests over multiple builds, and
twenty-four additional powders are qualification process. That included have verified material property data
also said to be approved for R&D six single alloys, six ceramics, and from an independent third party.
environments, including aluminium two ceramic-metal composites.”
Customer-qualified materials
and Inconel 718. “At the same time, we were ready
These materials have been qualified
“From the outside, it may look to announce new materials, such
by ExOne customers with their own
like ExOne’s metal printers jumped as M2 tool steel, had achieved our
standards and are being successfully
from six to twenty-one qualified highest qualified status, and other
additively manufactured today for
materials overnight. In reality, materials, such as aluminium and
their own applications.
ExOne’s engineering team and our titanium, were qualified for controlled
customers have been moving so R&D printing. So, a major reset was R&D-qualified materials
fast to print new materials since needed,” he stated. These materials have passed a
2013 – the breakthrough year when Partners that have assisted ExOne preliminary qualification phase by
we began printing dense single-alloy in qualifying materials include Global ExOne and are deemed printable,
metals – that we haven’t slowed Tungsten & Powders, H.C. Starck supported by ongoing development.
down to update the market on our Solutions, NASA, Oak Ridge National
ExOne’s family of metal AM
machines includes the Innovent+,
an entry-level system used globally
for R&D, design and small part
production; the X1 25Pro, a mid-sized
production AM machine that is large
enough for most metal parts manu-
factured today; and the X1 160Pro, the
company’s largest metal AM machine,
ExOne has qualified fifteen new materials for use on its AM machines, slated for delivery later this year.
bringing the total to twenty-one (Courtesy The ExOne Company) www.exone.com
Saratech acquires AM business from delighted to add our 3D printing

expertise to Saratech’s robust
TekPro Group product lifecycle management and
engineering services. We can now
Saratech, a provider of product Saeed Paydarfar, Saratech CEO. offer end-to-end solutions improving
development software, engineering “3D printing technology is quickly our customer’s product development
services and Additive Manufacturing becoming a very relevant technology cycle, resulting in reduced cost and
solutions located in Mission Viejo, for product development. 3D printing faster time to market,” added Jack
California, USA, has acquired the AM allows creative, cost-effective, time- Lisinski, President of Tekpro Group.
sales sector of Southern California- effective, and performance-effective Saratech offers Siemens CAD/
based TekPro Group. solutions.” CAM/CAE/PDM software solutions
“I am very pleased to welcome The acquisition is expected and a range of AM systems, including
TekPro, a company with a to boost technical and sales HP, Markforged, and BigRep for both
tremendous amount of 3D printing resources to Saratech’s Additive prototyping and production.
experience, to Saratech,” stated Dr Manufacturing business. “We are www.saratech.com
TO INDUSTRIALIZE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
THE RIGHT PARTNER IS EVERYTHING
History is important – as are innovations. An eye for detail is crucial, just like controlling the entire value
chain. Sandvik adds true value to your business through 158 years of material expertise, world leading
R&D and the widest range of metal powders on the market – now including Osprey® titanium, nickel-based
superalloys and ultra high hardness maraging steel. Truth is, there are many dreamers, but few masters
of additive manufacturing. We are metallurgists, world leading powder producers, post processing- and
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Aurora Labs raises $1.82

million following private
investment
SS-PREP
SS-PREP
SphericalPowder
Spherical Powder Aurora Labs, Bibra Lake, Australia, has successfully
raised $1.82 million following investment from Dutch
entrepreneur Tjeerd Barthen. Aurora intends to use the
★★ Ti6Al4V
Ti6Al4V ELI,
ELI, BT20,
BT20, Ti6242,Ti1023
Ti6242,Ti1023
funds to accelerate commercialisation of its rapid manu-
facturing technology (RMP-1) Additive Manufacturing
★★ Inconel
Inconel 718,
718, 625625 machines as well as for working capital.
★★ 316L,
316L, 17-4PH,
17-4PH, A100,
A100, Duplex
Duplex
Barthen, who founded a successful healthcare busi-
ness that was later acquired by management and private
★★ Co-Cr-W,
Co-Cr-W, Co-Cr-Mo,
Co-Cr-Mo, CrCrWMo
CrCrWMo equity, now invests globally in disruptive technologies
with scalable opportunities.
“I have followed the growth of the sector for some
time and quickly identified Aurora Labs as a technological
leader with the potential to revolutionise manufacturing.
I look forward to following the team on their journey,”
Barthen stated.
The deal will see 13,000,000 shares issued to Barthen
at $0.14 per share. The placement shares will reportedly
comprise approximately 12.5% of the company’s total pre-
placement issued share capital and approximately 11%
on a fully-diluted basis, and will rank equally with existing
ordinary shares.
www.auroralabs3d.com
Markforged achieves ISO

WireAdditive
Wire Additive 27001 certification
★★ Ti6Al4V
Ti6Al4V ELI,
ELI, BT20,Ti1023
BT20,Ti1023
Markforged, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, has
achieved ISO 27001 certification. The certification
★★ 0.8/1.2/1.6/2.0
0.8/1.2/1.6/2.0 diameter
diameter demonstrates that it has met rigorous international
One barrel with 100-300kg standards in ensuring the privacy, confidentiality,
★★
One barrel with 100-300kg integrity, and availability of the entire Markforged
One
One Spool
Spool with
with 10-25kg
10-25kg ecosystem, which includes its Eiger cloud AM platform,
AM hardware, fleet management software and informa-
tion governance policies.
ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is an Information Security
Management System (ISMS) standard published in
October 2013 by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotech-
nical Commission (IEC). According to Markforged, it is
the only AM platform to have achieved this certification.
The company explains that its cloud-first software
strategy is enabling enterprises around the world to
quickly adopt AM across a broadening set of applications
and use cases, from production assembly to defence,
military and aerospace.
“We believe that every product and engineering deci-
sion we make has a security component to it, and our
AS9100D ISO 13485 customers and their data are at the centre,” commented
AS9100D ISO 13485 www.c-semt.com
www.c-semt.com David Benhaim, CTO, CISO, Markforged.
gt@c-semt.com
gt@c-semt.com
www.markforged.com
Let's meet
AMUG: booth D6
Rapid+TCT: booth 1026 Ӡyourmind.com/customers
Ametek to sell its

Reading Alloys
business to Kymera
Kymera International, a speciality Titanium is widely used in medical applications (Courtesy Reading Alloys)
materials company headquartered
in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, has private equity firm with approximately Adam Shebitz, Managing Director
entered into a definitive agreement $3 billion in assets under manage- of Palladium, commented, “The
with Ametek, Inc., Berwyn, Pennsyl- ment, since 2018. The transaction acquisition of Reading Alloys,
vania, USA, to acquire its Reading is expected to close in the first Kymera’s second to date, is right on
Alloys business, a provider of highly quarter of 2020. The terms were not strategy as the Kymera management
engineered materials for mission- disclosed. team continues to build the company
critical applications in numerous “Reading Alloys is an outstanding into a leading speciality materials
markets. Founded in 1953, and company with highly skilled people and producer. Kymera represents another
acquired by Ametek in 2008, Reading an excellent product and endmarket great example of Palladium’s value
Alloys designs, develops and produces portfolio that we believe fits in creation framework, which pulls on
master alloys, thermal barrier perfectly with our existing business,” both organic and M&A driven levers.
coatings and titanium powders. The stated Barton White, CEO of Kymera We are excited about this opportunity
business is a preferred supplier for International. “For Kymera, we believe to enhance the Kymera platform with
producers of high-quality titanium and this is a transformative acquisition that Reading’s value-added products,
superalloy mill products that are used will give our combined company strong growing end-markets and its talented
in aerospace and aircraft applications. technical and commercial resources to employees.”
Kymera has been owned by help fuel our growth in the aerospace, www.kymerainternational.com
affiliates of Palladium Equity Partners, defence, medical and industrial www.readingalloys.com
LLC, New York, USA, a middle-market markets.” www.ametek.com
www.mut-jena.de
new
process
technology
in debinding
next
dimension
of heat treatment retort debinding furnace for high volume production
MUT ADVANCED HEATING

ASTM International launches personnel highly valued technical knowledge.”
certificate programme in AM Seifi commented, “The AM CoE

has made education and workforce
development a major priority for
The ASTM International Additive workforce to support the expanding creating a culture that accelerates
Manufacturing Center of Excellence field,” stated Dr Nima Shamsaei, AM adoption.” He added that the
(AM CoE) has announced its Additive Director of the National Center for programme requires attendees to
Manufacturing certificate programme Additive Manufacturing Excellence pass an exam to earn the ‘Basic
will take place from March 10–12, (NCAME) at Auburn University. “This AM Certificate’ that serves as a
2020, at the National Center for is a groundbreaking first step in foundation and prerequisite for
Additive Manufacturing Excellence meeting that need. To fill the AM future specialised role-based AM
(NCAME) at Auburn University, knowledge gap, we need world-class certificates through the AM CoE.
Alabama, USA. training from industry leaders who www.amcoe.org | www.astm.org
The standards organisation is can equip the future workforce with www.eng.auburn.edu
said to have conducted an extensive
landscape analysis to understand
the existing gaps in AM education
and workforce development and to
develop a comprehensive course that
will fill the current gaps according to
Dr Mohsen Seifi, ASTM International’s
Director of global AM programs. As
a result, he explains that the course
covers all basic concepts of the AM
process chain while also equipping
attendees with core technical
knowledge related to best practices,
including standardised methodolo-
gies.
ASTM International states that the
programme is open to anyone with
an interest in Additive Manufacturing
and welcomes participants from
government, industry, academia, as
well as those with prior experience in
AM. The standards organisation and
TÜV SÜD, a testing and certification
organisation headquartered in
Munich, Germany, recently signed
a Memorandum of Understanding
to jointly develop other types of
advanced educational certificate
offerings in AM tailored to specific
roles for various industry sectors.
Course modules will be taught
by globally-recognised experts from
industry, regulatory agencies, and
academia. Specific modules will
include terminology, AM process
overview, design and simulation, feed-
stock, post-processing, mechanical
testing, non-destructive inspection,
safety issues and qualification &
certification.
“With more and more industry
sectors adopting Additive Manu-
facturing technologies, there is a
growing demand for an educated
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Markforged adds pure copper ALD’s Heat Treatment

to its Metal X rapid Additive Services division to open
Manufacturing system facility in China
Markforged, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, has added Heat Treatment Services (HTS), a division of ALD Vacuum
pure copper to the range of materials processable by Technologies GmbH headquartered in Hanau, Germany,
its Metal X rapid Additive Manufacturing system. The has announced that it will establish a new heat treatment
company stated that the inclusion of copper will drive services centre in China, officially registered as ALD
new manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies for Thermal Treatment (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
customers, leading to reduced lead times and part costs, This will be the fourth ALD Heat Treatment Services
as well as eliminating the need for costly inventory. plant globally, with the others being in Germany, USA,
Copper is the latest metal to join the company’s lineup and Mexico. The new centre will be equipped with
of materials, which also includes aerospace superalloys ModulTherm, ALD’s heat treatment system, and will
like Inconel 625, 17-4 PH Stainless Steel, H13 Tool Steel, serve the domestic industry. The new production hall will
D2 Tool Steel, and A2 Tool Steel. be erected next to the company’s subsidiary ALD-C&K
“Copper powers our world,” stated Greg Mark, Mark- Vacuum Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
forged CEO and Founder. “It’s everywhere. It builds our ALD-C&K produces, sells and services ALD equipment
cars, enables phones, and keeps electrical equipment and is also experienced in the commissioning and
running. Copper has traditionally been an expensive and maintenance of heat treatment systems. The close
challenging material to machine and incompatible for 3D cooperation between these two units is expected to
printing in a pure form with other techniques. Now, we’ve contribute to the performance of the new heat treatment
made it easier and cheaper to produce. Markforged 3D services centre. Start of production is scheduled for
printed Copper will be a game-changer for the automo- Autumn 2020.
tive and electronics industries, and it will open the door www.heat-treatment-services.com
to innovation across many more.”
Mark added, “Every automotive factory in the world Spring Quarter Page draft 3.pdf 1 18/02/2020 11:06:43
uses copper for welding. Complex production parts are

required to weld tight spots of the car body. They cost
thousands of dollars to make and can have months-long
lead times. But Markforged is changing all of that by SIL rated O2 Measurement
Safe
enabling manufacturers to produce parts in-house so
they get them faster and for significantly lower costs.
With our 3D printed parts, automotive manufacturers can
Small
print the parts they need on-demand instead of holding
significant inventory and will be able to design new kinds
of welding shanks that were never before possible.”
Secure
Markforged states that its AM systems are deployed
at nine out of the ten highest-valued auto manufacturers C
globally, and the company has partnered with one of

M
these customers to conduct in-depth weld testing

using copper. The results reportedly showed the same
Y
resistance as traditionally manufactured spot welding CM The SIL Rated range of O2 analyzers
shanks, and the automotive manufacturer now plans to MY for Additive Manufacturing from Ntron
extend the use of the Additive Manufacturing parts to the
• OEM Versions
CY
production line and has reported reduced part lead times

by twelve times and part costs by six times. • 1ppm to 25%
CMY
“I’ve always been impressed with the technology

• Easy Calibration
K
behind the Markforged Metal X system, and our

experience with 3D printed copper has been incredible – • Designed for AM
especially when looking at its conductivity and structural
Contact our expert O2 measurement team:
stability,” commented the Maintenance Manager of
- Visit www.ntron.com/products/SILO2/
the unnamed automotive manufacturer. “And now that
- Call Ntron +353 (0)46 907 1333
we’ve successfully evaluated weld testing, we plan on
- Email sales@ntron.com
expanding our metal 3D printing capacity for this and
other metal components.”
www.markforged.com A PST Company www.ntron.com
Honeywell Aerospace to qualify “We are qualifying Velo3D’s

Sapphire system with the aim of
Velo3D’s Sapphire AM system for printing geometries that can’t be
aircraft parts fabricated on existing 3D metal

printers,” stated Dr Söeren Wiener,
Senior Director of Technology and
Velo3D, Campbell, California, USA, The Sapphire system will Advanced Operations for Honeywell
has partnered with Honeywell reportedly be located in Honeywell Aerospace. “Their technology
Aerospace, headquartered in Aerospace’s Phoenix facility. The will help Honeywell develop new
Phoenix, Arizona, USA, to qualify qualification process is underway and production-part applications while
Velo3D’s Sapphire™ metal Additive focused on Inconel, a nickel-based also meeting our material require-
Manufacturing system as a viable superalloy well-suited to extreme ments for qualification.”
platform for the production of aircraft temperatures. Velo3D states that it Wiener added, “We intend to
components. will provide its expertise in developing qualify this equipment through
The Sapphire system was report- suitable parameter sets for Honeywell repeatability testing in our produc-
edly selected for its unique ability Aerospace to complete material tion environment, including build
to additively manufacture highly qualification utilising the Sapphire and post-processing, to generate
complex geometries without support system, in order to achieve optimal an acceptable set of material
structures, said to enable customers material properties. The qualification property data and qualification of
to benefit from substantial time, cost process is expected to be completed flight hardware.”
and quality improvements. by the third quarter of 2020. Benny Buller, founder and
CEO of Velo3D, commented, “The
geometric enablement we are able
to offer customers like Honeywell
Aerospace allows them to print
what used to be ‘impossible
parts’ and, yet, do it with a strong
business case of improved cost
and better quality. We are excited
to partner with Honeywell to
demonstrate that 3D metal printing
is a viable production manufac-
turing method for a wider range of
A selection of Velo3D’s additively manufactured parts. These parts demonstrate end-use applications.”
how the company can produce geometries for applications such as aviation, oil www.aerospace.honeywell.com
& gas, aerospace and other industrial markets (Courtesy Velo3D) www.velo3d.com
Sumitomo Corporation invests in and Non-Ferrous Metal Group at

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas.
Elementum 3D “Elementum is pioneering new intel-
ligence related to the raw materials
Sumitomo Corporation, through Sumi- According to SCOA, it believes supply chain in Additive Manufacturing,
tomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) Elementum’s products have the and we see abundant opportunity for
headquartered in New York City, New potential to be utilised across several these applications in the near future.”
York, USA, has invested in Elementum of the company’s business verticals, Dr Jacob Nuechterlein, President
3D, Inc, Erie, Colorado, USA, via its including steel, mineral resources, at Elementum 3D, Inc., commented,
series A funding. aerospace and tubular. It states that it “We are excited to have Sumitomo
Elementum holds a patent for a is plausible that this technology could Corporation of Americas come on
metal powder blended with ceramics disrupt the current supply chain alto- board as an investor. It speaks vol-
that reportedly enables faster gether, seeing AM end-users working umes that a company of this size and
build speeds, stronger mechanical directly with Elementum rather than reach has such confidence in what we
properties and a wider usage of metal traditional materials manufacturers. are creating. With this series A fund-
grades that have not traditionally been “This investment is an excellent ing, we are eager to get our product
suitable for AM. It is believed that complement to our growing portfolio further out into the marketplace and
the investment will help expand the in the Additive Manufacturing space,” continue to grow our client base.”
marketing and sales of Elementum’s stated Kazuaki Tsuda, Senior Vice www.sumitomocorp.com
proprietary powder solutions. President and General Manager, Steel www.elementum3d.com
SPECIALIZED IN POWDER MATERIALS
Low Cost Aluminum Alloy Powders

• High Quality: Low Oxygen & Nitrogen, Reliable & Consistent
• High Yield & More Efficiency: Shorter Production Cycle
• Good Spherical Shape & Flowablity
With years of experience in the industry, CNPC POWDER is leveraging our advanced
technology to actively develop and improve our production process, which reduces
the cost of powder and promotes the industrialized development of emerging indus-
tries such as 3D printing in lightweight applications.
w w w. c n p c p o w d e r. c o m | i n q u i r y @ c n p c p o w d e r. c o m | + 1 - 9 0 2 - 3 1 6 - 0 2 1 8
©2020 CNPC Powder Group Co., Ltd.
Angus 3D receives Scottish Enterprise

funding to scale its AM services
Angus 3D Solutions Limited, an Ad- The grant will also reportedly
ditive Manufacturing start-up based enable the start-up to add bespoke
in Brechin, Angus, UK, has received carbon fibre manufacture and
a £39,000 Regional Selective As- vacuum-forming services to its list of
sistance (RSA) grant from Scottish AM capabilities. Angus 3D explains
Enterprise. The funding is expected that its premises at Brechin Business Andy Simpson, Managing Director of
to help drive the start-up’s three- Centre will be expanded to incorporate Angus 3D, poses with an additively
year growth plan. its new equipment and services by manufactured stainless steel highland
This funding announcement fol- expanding to a third unit. bull and calf (Courtesy Angus 3D
lows the start-up’s growth last year, “I’ve been talking about the huge Solutions Limited)
which was made possible by a grant opportunity the circular economy of-
from Zero Waste Scotland in 2018 fers the manufacturing and oil and gas
to purchase a Markforged Metal X sectors for years now,” stated Simp- 3D Solutions is a great example of
system. According to Andy Simpson, son. “Its ability to save on costs as well how entrepreneurial talent, skills and
Managing Director of Angus 3D, as time and materials is huge but still ideas can create a growing business
this latest grant will allow a second in the early stages of being exploited and new jobs. With our support, Andy
employee to join the company, in here, so it’s great to have backing from will be able to expand his operations
order to increase work supporting Scottish Enterprise and Angus Council and take full advantage of circular
the circular economy in North-East to pursue realising that opportunity.” economy opportunities in the North
Scotland by enabling rapid prototyp- Jane Martin, Managing Director of East of Scotland.”
ing and the remanufacture of parts Business Services and Advice at Scot- www.angus3dsolutions.co.uk
to keep machines in use. tish Enterprise, commented, “Angus www.scottish-enterprise.com
Farsoon expands into

Thailand through partnership
with Micap Machinery
Farsoon Technologies, headquartered in Changsha,
Hunan, China, has expanded into the Thai market through
its partnership with Micap Machinery (1986) Co., Ltd., an
industrial equipment supplier based in Bangkok, Thailand.
Micap will enter into the Additive Manufacturing industry
by exclusively distributing Farsoon’s metal and plastic AM
DIGITAL ADDITIVE
machines throughout the country, offering Farsoon AM
solutions to Thailand-based industrial users.
MANUFACTURING
Vipant Chayavichitsilp, Managing Director of Micap,
commented, “Micap is always looking for and working
with high-quality product suppliers around the globe,
and Farsoon is definitely one of the leaders in 3D printing
industry. I am glad that both Micap and Farsoon have seen Coherent provides diverse 3D metal printing
the same direction for the future of AM industry. With and laser cladding solutions. Our CREATOR
Micap’s strong connections for more than thirty years in
Series offers fast and cost-effective 3D metal
the Thai industry, we are confident that Micap and Farsoon
are in a very good position in the Thailand market.”
printing of high-quality parts directly from 3D
“The collaboration with Micap is very important to CAD data, with no need for third-party software.
Farsoon, it paves the way to further expansion of our For advanced 3D structure manufacturing,
Southeast Asian layout,” stated Vince Zhao, Global Channel surface enhancement, and hardening, our
Manager (AMEA) of Farsoon. “Being one of the most active high-power laser systems provide an excellent
economies in ASEAN, Thailand has a solid foundation in
solution.
traditional manufacturing, including aerospace, automo-
tive, medical, while keeping an open attitude towards
advanced technology. Learn More—
Zhao continued, “With over thirty years of experience coherent.com/oasis/additive-manufacturing
in distribution of industrial equipment and technology,
Micap has established an extended customer base in
varies industries. Through the partnership with Farsoon,
Visit Us at RAPID,
Micap will bring truly open and high-performance Additive
Manufacturing systems to customers, offering quality,
Booth #3623
efficient, flexible solutions for industrial design and April 21-23, 2020,
manufacturing.” Anaheim, CA
www.farsoon.com
www.micapthailand.com
From left to right: Don Xu, Global Business Group Director

of Farsoon, and Vipant Chayavichitsilp, Managing Director
of Micap (Courtesy Farsoon Technologies)
Exentis Group demonstrates process allows for complex designs

with undercuts and closed cavities,
industrialisation of its 3D screen printing without any supporting structures.
Additive Manufacturing technology Porosity can be adjusted to between

0 and 40% and surface roughnesses
of Ra ≤2 µm can be achieved.
Exentis Group AG, located in screen printing process followed by a According to the group,
Stetten, Switzerland, demonstrated final sintering stage. productivity is comparable to that
its 3D Mass Customization® Exentis’ technology can be of injection moulding (metal or
technology during the recent used to additively manufacture polymer), with a major advantage
opening of its new 1,200 m2 components for a wide range of being the rapid setup time thanks to
customer innovation centre. The applications and industrial sectors. the lack of need for expensive tooling
company’s industrialised Additive The eco-friendly cold printing which takes many weeks to produce.
Manufacturing technology offers process is said to generate ultra-fine Exentis can provide screens within
rapid series production of millions structures without reworking, just a few days.
of components, in either metal or with wall thicknesses and cavities Customers have the option to
ceramic based materials, using a down to 70 µm being possible. The purchase the Additive Manufacturing
systems for in-house production,
with guidance on the appropriate
materials, development and supply
of specific paste systems, screens,
process technology and training
provided by Exentis. Alternatively,
Exentis can manufacture compo-
nents for customers at its operations
in Switzerland or Germany.
Exentis reports that it has already
installed three inline 3D production
units at customer sites, each with the
A copper sample part (left), a metallic forcep for medical applications (centre) capacity to produce several millions
and a casting filter for low-pressure casting of aluminium rims (right) (Cour- of parts.
tesy Exentis Group AG) www.exentis-group.com
Renishaw Inc. appoints Denis

Zayia its president
Renishaw Inc., based in West Dundee, Illinois at Chicago. In the role of
Illinois, USA, the US division of president, Zayia succeeds Howard
Renishaw, headquartered in the UK, Salt, who is moving to a new role as
has announced the appointment of Senior Business Manager Encoder
Denis Zayia as its president. The Systems.
appointment was effective January 1, “Renishaw has been developing
2020. industry-changing products and
Zayia began working with end-to-end solutions for over forty Denis Zayia is the new president of
Renishaw as Coordinate Measuring years,” Zayia stated. “Our first Renishaw Inc (Courtesy Renishaw Inc)
Machine Business Manager in 1995 product was a touch-trigger probe,
and became National Sales Manager which was developed to solve a about the opportunity to lead the
for Industrial Metrology in 2008. He manufacturing problem on Concorde organisation through its next phase of
previously served as Vice President engines.” growth.”
Sales and Marketing, where he was “Today, we are helping manufac- The Renishaw Group currently has
responsible for Renishaw’s line of turers driven by the goals of Industry more than eighty offices in thirty-six
Industrial Metrology and Additive 4.0 with a wide range of technologies countries, with over 5,000 employees.
Manufacturing products. including additive, motion control, AM Solutions Centers are located in
He earned a Bachelor of Science healthcare, spectroscopy, quality the USA, UK, Germany, Canada, India
degree in Electrical and Electronics assurance and process control,” he and China.
Engineering from the University of continued. “I am incredibly excited www.renishaw.com
OPEN FOR INDUSTRY
FS301M
Design for Metal Production.
Enhanced User Operation.
Compact Machine Design.
> Learn more!
Gearbox Mount
Material: AlSi10Mg
Size: 275×245×191mm
Partner: Siemens
> Lightweight optimized by Siemens NX

> Fabricated on Farsoon FS301M
> Meet the required functional strength
Meet with us about our truly open AM systems.

www.farsoon.com
CONTACT US:
AMEA: globalinfo@farsoon.com
Americas: info@farsoonam.com VISIT us at Booth 45 ! VISIT us at Booth 2200 !
Europe: wehelpyou@farsoon-eu.com March 22-26, 2020 April 20-23, 2020
Formnext
Visit us atVisit us at Formnext
Hall 12.0 Hall
Booth:
12.0A121
Booth: A121
Full
Full
Series
Full
Series
Series
Debinding
Debinding
Debinding
andand
Sintering
and
Sintering
Sintering
Furnace
Furnace
Furnace
for Additive
for Additive
for Additive
Manufacturing(AM)
Manufacturing(AM)
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l Debinding
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l Graphite
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in theinworld
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l Graphite/Metal
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and sintering
and sintering
andfurnace
sintering
furnace
furnace E : xiangwei.zou@hiper.cn/W:
E : xiangwei.zou@hiper.cn/W:
E : xiangwei.zou@hiper.cn/W:
www.hiper.cn
www.hiper.cn
www.hiper.cn
l Tailormade
l Tailormade
l Tailormade
furnace
furnace
acceptable
furnace
acceptable
acceptable NO.521,Haitong
NO.521,Haitong
NO.521,Haitong
Road,Cixi
Road,Cixi
City,Zhejiang,China
Road,Cixi
City,Zhejiang,China
City,Zhejiang,China
European Powder Metallurgy

Association to establish new
secretariat in France
The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) has
announced that it will close its UK-based head office on
April 30, 2020, and will establish a new secretariat team
located in Chantilly, France.
The EPMA was founded in Brussels in 1989, and has
had its secretariat based in Shrewsbury, UK, since 1990.
A second office, established as a base for the EPMA’s
technical team, was opened in Chantilly, France, in 2018.
According to the EPMA, the decision has been made
in order to improve overall efficiency, as well as enabling
a better platform for cost optimisation. As of May 1, the
French office will become the association’s main admin-
istrative base and home to a new secretariat team. The
EPMA’s registered headquarters will remain in Brussels.
To ensure a level of continuity in the run-up to the
EPMA’s Euro PM2020 Congress & Exhibition, a number
of key UK-based staff members will reportedly continue
to work from home, with employment extended until the
event.
www.epma.com
Samuel acquires remaining

shares of Burloak
Technologies
Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, a metals distributor and
industrial products manufacturer based in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada, has acquired all remaining shares of
Additive Manufacturing company Burloak Technologies,
Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Samuel initially acquired a
minority stake in Burloak Technologies in 2017.
The company has appointed Simon Walls, Samuel’s
CCO, to the position of President of Burloak Technologies,
and Peter Adams, previously Burloak’s President and
co-founder, has been named co-founder and CIO.
“Our early belief in the transformative potential of
Additive Manufacturing is paying off,” stated Colin Osborne,
Samuel’s President and CEO. “The rapid development of
this team, its relationships with many of the world’s most
innovative companies and the reputation it is developing
as AM experts, reinforces the exciting future we see for
Additive Manufacturing over the long term.”
Adams commented, “We are proud of the progress
we’ve made to rapidly scale Burloak Technologies into an
industry leader in a very short time. As more companies
begin to fully leverage this technology, we will see additive
take off in a number of end markets. With Samuel’s
continued support, Burloak is uniquely positioned to
remain at the forefront of that growth.”
www.samuel.com | www.burloaktech.com
Racing ahead with
additive manufacturing
AM has the power to disrupt, enabling innovative product designs and new
agile business models
Atherton Bikes is taking advantage of these capabilities to break free from the rigid, labour-intensive conventional bike
manufacturing mould. AM gives Atherton Bikes the flexibility to hone their race bike designs, and to make high performance
custom bikes accessible to enthusiasts.
To find out more about the capabilities of our AM systems visit:

www.renishaw.com/amguide
Renishaw plc Brooms Road, Stone Business Park, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 0SH, United Kingdom
T +44 (0)1785 285000 F +44 (0)1785 285001 E additive@renishaw.com
www.renishaw.com
Particle Testing Authority

launches testing service for
AM powders
Particle Testing Authority (PTA), a division of Micromerit-
ics Instrument Corporation, headquartered in Norcross,
Georgia, USA, reports that it has created a comprehensive
physical characterisation service for the Additive Manufac-
turing industry. The testing service is expected to provide
fast and efficient access to the techniques routinely used to
optimise process performance and the attributes of finished
products.
PTA states that the relevant characteristics of AM
powders (including metals, polymers and other materi-
als) includes particle size and shape, density, porosity,
bulk powder flowability, surface area and topography and
environmental stability. According to PTA, it will quantify
these characteristics using state-of-the-art instrumentation
backed by in-depth materials characterisation knowledge.
The resulting service is said to provide remarkable value for
AM powder developers, manufacturers and users looking to
augment, enhance or replace in-house analytical services
with a more effective approach.
“We provide more comprehensive testing for AM powders
than many in the industry can sustain in an in-house lab,”
commented Greg Thiele, General Manager of PTA. “For
example, in addition to high-resolution laser diffraction
particle sizing, we offer other techniques such as gravity
sedimentation which can help to elucidate particle size dis-
tribution, to robustly quantify the fine and coarse fractions
that can be crucial to powder performance.”
“We also use the Freeman FT4 Powder Rheometer®, an
instrument used by leaders in the industry to sensitively
differentiate the bulk flowability of AM powders in a way that
correlates directly with printing performance,” Thiele added.
The properties that PTA measures in AM powders influ-
ence or quantify how they will flow, pack and respond to the
thermal energy used in AM. These are the characteristics
that define processability, whether a powder can be pro-
cessed by AM and the throughput that can be achieved, and
critical attributes of the finished product, such as resolu-
tion, strength and porosity. The resulting data support the
development of new powders for specific AM systems, the
effective differentiation of supplies, powder choice for a new
application and the evolution of effective powder manage-
ment and recycling strategies.
“Powder-based AM processes are exacting, and compet-
ing effectively relies on the application of a fairly extensive
analytical toolkit,” Thiele continued. “We’re delighted to
be able to offer access to all the instrumentation required
along with the know-how required to generate relevant
data of exemplary quality. Buying analytical services can be
extremely cost-effective when costs are robustly assessed
against the expense of maintaining a full in-house capabil-
ity, or worse, not being able to reliably predict or elucidate
AM powder performance.”
www.particletesting.com
PostProcess Technologies partners with

K.K. Irisu to reach the Asian market
PostProcess Technologies Inc., PostProcess Technologies explains
Buffalo, New York, USA, a provider of that its solutions automate industrial
automated post-production solutions Additive Manufacturing’s most
for industrial Additive Manufacturing, common post-production processes PostProcess Technologies has
has reported that it is expanding with a software-based approach, partnered with K.K. Irisu (Courtesy
into the Asian market with its first including support, resin and powder PostProcess Technologies Inc.)
distribution partner, K.K. Irisu (C. removal, as well as surface finishing,
Illies & Co., Ltd.), located in Tokyo, resulting in “‘customer-ready’ our growing global customer base in
Japan. additively manufactured parts. Japan.”
K.K. Irisu was founded in 1859 as Its technology reportedly delivers Dr Frank Oberndorff, President of
the first German trading house oper- transformative results, including K. K. Irisu, added, “K.K.Irisu’s main
ating in Japan. The company offers decreased manual labour, reduced objective is to educate the Japanese
comprehensive products and services cycle time, improved consistency and market in Additive Manufacturing and
portfolio for Additive Manufacturing, repeatability, and lower scrap rates. to continue to be the solution provider
including scanners, parts prototyping “PostProcess has been a pioneer for the Japanese 3D manufacturing
and production technologies. K.K. in our market segment, leading world. We feel that by adding Post-
Irisu states that adding PostProcess the way with a full-stack approach Process Technologies to our lineup,
Technologies’ full-stack solutions to to post-printing unlike any other,” will help assist the Japanese market
its portfolio will allow its customers commented Bruno Bourguet, to compete with other countries in
access to sustainable, data-driven Managing Director, PostProcess Additive Manufacturing as well as
post-printing technology enabling Technologies International. “That’s globally maintain the high standards
Additive Manufacturing at scale, with why we’ve chosen K.K. Irisu, another of the tag ‘Made in Japan’.”
local support now readily available in pioneer with an exceptional legacy, for www.postprocess.com
Japan. its experience and expertise to serve www.irisu.jp
OPTIMIZE YOUR AM Years of customer feedback to combine

innovation and reliability. Entrust to our cutting-
PRODUCTION edge know-how to enhance your production
with economical benefits in terms of cost and
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NIOSH and America Makes

partner to advance research
in Additive Manufacturing
The US’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH), a federal institute that conducts research
and makes recommendations for preventing work-related
injuries, illnesses and deaths, has partnered with America
Makes, Youngstown, Ohio, USA, to contribute to advancing
knowledge and practice in Additive Manufacturing.
With over 220 members, America Makes is a public-
private consortium working to advance and disseminate
understanding in AM. NIOSH is reportedly well-positioned
to contribute to the emerging knowledge and guidance
around workplace safety practices, for both employers and
workers.
According to NIOSH, the membership with America
Makes will allow the federal institute to increase
collaboration in scientific research, discovery, innovation,
education, and recommendations relating to workplace
environment, safety, and health. Some of NIOSH’s current
research is investigating potential respiratory health
effects from exposure to emissions from Additive Manufac-
turing, including exposure to ultrafine particles, evaluating
engineering controls, and providing good practise guidance
to protect workers.
“We are pleased to enter into what promises to be
a collaborative and creative partnership with America
Makes,” stated John Howard, MD, Director of NIOSH.
“By working alongside industry, academia and other
government partners, we can together leverage existing
resources, collaborate, and co-invest to advance manufac-
turing innovation.”
www.americamakes.us
www.cdc.gov
Unitedcoatings Group
becomes Lincotek
Unitedcoatings Group, headquartered in Rubbiano, Italy,
has now finalised its rebranding strategy, which sees the
company renamed ‘Lincotek’ across all individual group
brands. The group will be organised by divisions, similar to
its previous structure, consisting of Lincotek Surface Solu-
tions, Lincotek Medical, Lincotek Equipment and Lincotek
Additive.
It was stated that there are no changes in the group’s
business relationships and services, and that ownership of
the company remains with Linda and Nelso Antolotti.
Winfried Schaller, CEO of Lincotek, stated, “We are now
more global than ever before and the rebranding as Lin-
cotek signals that we are entering a new era at the start
of the 2020s. Management of the new company remains
exactly the same, which means there’s a sense of real
continuity for our existing customers.”
www.lincotek.com
Fraunhofer IWS & TU Dresden develop The project researchers are

now looking to the injection
AM rocket engine with aerospike system in a bid to further boost
nozzle for microlaunchers engine efficiency, as injectors

reportedly pose major design and
manufacturing challenges. This
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Fraunhofer IWS states that the work is being undertaken as part
Institute for Material and Beam aerospike engine’s fuel injector, of a collaborative project called
Technology (IWS) in Dresden, combustion chamber and nozzle CFDμSAT, and has been underway
Germany, and aerospace experts were additively manufactured using since January 2020 with the
from TU Dresden (Dresden University Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). Ariane Group and Siemens AG as
of Technology) have collaborated to The design consists of a spike-like associated partners.
develop an additively manufactured centre-body which is designed to “Fuels first serve to cool the
rocket engine with an aerospike nozzle accelerate combustion gases. engine,” added Müller. “They heat
for microlaunchers. The scaled metal “The technology behind up and are then induced into the
prototype is expected to consume 30% aerospike engines dates back to combustion chamber. Liquid oxygen
less fuel than conventional engines the 1960s,” commented Michael and ethanol are added separately
and has been tested by researchers Müller, Scientific Assistant at the to be blended via an injector. The
on the test stand of the Institute of Additive Manufacturing Center resulting gas mixture is ignited.
Aerospace Engineering at TU Dresden. Dresden (AMCD), which is jointly It expands in the combustion
According to Fraunhofer IWS, operated by Fraunhofer IWS and TU chamber and then flows through a
microlaunchers are an alternative Dresden. “But our ability to produce gap in the combustion chamber to
to conventional launch vehicles and engines as efficient as this is owed be decompressed and accelerated
capable of carrying payloads of up to to the freedom brought by Additive by the nozzle.”
350 kg. These mid-sized transport Manufacturing and its embedding in The additively manufactured
systems are designed to launch small conventional process chains.” rocket engine prototype is
satellites into space, and the market Mirco Riede, Group Manager of expected to be featured at
for them is expected to increase in the 3D Manufacturing at Fraunhofer IWS, technology trade fair Hannover
future due to movements by the UK stated, “Every gram saved is worth its Messe 2020, which will take place
to build a spaceport in Scotland, and weight in gold in space flight because in Hannover, Germany, on April
the Federation of German Industries less fuel has to be taken into orbit. 20–24, 2020.
(BDI) endorsing the idea of a national The heavier the overall system, the www.iws.fraunhofer.de
spaceport. lighter its payload has to be.” www.tu-dresden.de
This prototype of the aerospike engine has already been tested by project researchers on the test stand of the Institute
of Aerospace Engineering at TU Dresden (Courtesy Fraunhofer IWS)
IT IS our
ImagInaTIon
that inspires us to turn the
seemingly impossible into reality.
To make dreams come true, we trust in our imagination and creativity, which inspire us
to seek new solutions and processes. In this way, by committing today to such innovative
technologies as additive manufacturing – 3D printing with metals – we are paving the
way to the future. Turning passion into technology.
voestalpine High Performance Metals GmbH

www.voestalpine.com/additive
Stelia Aerospace and Bombardier to edge flap for testing by Bombardier.

Stelia Aéronautique Canada’s R&T
develop wing flaps with metal AM teams, supported by the France-
components based R&T team, will manage the

project and its design and scaling
phase. Manufacturing of the tooling
Stelia Aerospace, through its two l’Environnement or Intelligent and and the scale 1 demonstrator will be
Canadian subsidiaries, Stelia Light Wing for Environment (AILE), managed by Stelia Aerospace North
Aéronautique Canada in Mirabel, is part of the third phase of the America.
Quebec, and Stelia North America mobilising project for an eco-friendly Stelia Aerospace will be backed
in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, has aircraft, project SA2GE-3 (Systèmes on the project by two partners: FusiA
entered into a research project with Aéronautiques d’Avant-Garde Impression 3D Metal Inc for the
Bombardier Inc., Montreal, Canada, pour l’Environnement or Cutting- production and design of the metal
which will see the company produce edge Aeronautical Systems for AM hinges, and the Conseil National
a high-lift trailing edge flap in Environment). de Recherches du Canada – Canadian
thermoplastic composite with metal Supported by the government of National Research Center (CNRC),
additively manufactured hinges. Québec, the project will be part of a already a partner of Stelia Aerospace
The new project, titled Aile three-year partnership and will see for metal research projects.
Intelligente et Légère pour Stelia Aerospace produce the trailing Stelia Aerospace has already
been engaged with Bombardier for
three years in the context of a first
collaborative R&T project aiming at
reducing the cycle time necessary
to the production of a metallic wing
frame for business jets. Cédric
Gautier, CEO of Stelia Aerospace,
commented, “This new project with
Bombardier highlights our wish to
build strong links with our customer
and will enable us to pursue our
skill development strategy, while
developing our footprint in Canada in
terms of Research & Technology.”
Stelia Aerospace will develop high-lift trailing edge flaps for Bombardier www.stelia-aerospace.com
(Courtesy Bombardier) www.bombardier.com
Retsch Technology, Microtrac Europe characterisation in a size range

from 0.8 mm to 135 mm. Based on a
and Bel Europe merge to become variety of measurement techniques,
Microtrac MRB a wide range of particle properties

of dry powders and granulates, as
well as suspensions and emulsions,
Retsch Technology GmbH, Haan, dynamic light scattering, dynamic can reportedly be analysed using the
Germany, Microtrac Europe GmbH, & static image analysis, as well as equipment provided by the company.
Krefeld, Germany, and Bel Europe gas adsorption measurement to Its product portfolio also includes gas
GmbH, Krefeld, Germany, have determine the specific surface and adsorption analysers.
reported that they have merged to pore size distributions. Gerhard Raatz, Sales Director of
become the new Microtrac Retsch Retsch Technology has been part Microtrac Retsch, stated, “By merging
GmbH, under the brand Microtrac of the Verder Group since its founda- our companies we can now leverage
MRB. This move is expected to allow tion in 1998, providing solutions our combined capabilities, along with
users of particle characterisation for particle characterisation with our business and customer relation-
in the EMEA region to access the dynamic image analysis by devel- ships and profit from synergetic
broadest product portfolio globally oping the dual camera technology effects. With our comprehensive
from one single source. implemented in the CAMSIZER product range, we strengthen our
The companies explain that under series. global position as an innovative
the brand name Microtrac MRB, Microtrac MRB is now marketing and trustworthy partner for our
they will provide systems for particle itself as a leading manufacturer customers.”
characterisation by laser diffraction, of instruments used for particle www.microtrac.com
Automated
powder removal
- Reproducible cleaning results

- Examined protection against hazardous
& explosive metal dust
- Completely inert material handling
- Collection of residual powder for reuse
- Built to last with low maintenance costs
- Time saving up to 90%
engineered
and made
solukon.de in Germany
Rapid Application Group expands

capabilities with new Additive
Manufacturing facility
Additive Manufacturing service HUBZone, and delivers mission-
provider Rapid Application Group critical additively manufactured
(RAG), headquartered in Broken parts primarily in the aerospace and
Arrow, Oklahoma, USA, recently defence sectors, but also supports
held an opening ceremony for its other industries.
new 1,394 m2 (15,000 ft2) AM facility, “Rapid Application Group was
located at its headquarters as part of founded by seasoned military
the company’s growth strategy. The veterans and Additive Manufactur-
grand opening featured speeches by ing experts to meet mission-critical
state and local government officials, production work for manufacturers
a review of the AM industry, and the across all industries,” stated Hill,
ribbon cutting for the new facility. CEO, Rapid Application Group. “This Rapid Application Group co-founders
RAG was founded by Terry Hill, new facility enables both growth of and CEO Terry Hill and COO Jason
CEO, and Jason Dickman, COO, with the company and more opportunities Dickman in the company’s new AM
the aim of delivering the coun- to mentor and train military veter- facility (Courtesy RAG)
try’s best production services and ans in the advanced manufacturing
solutions to customers through a field.”
wide range of AM and traditional In its hiring practises, RAG aims outreach effort called the RAG Friday
manufacturing technologies. RAG to make 50% of its staff military Foundation which aims to improve the
is accredited with certifications veterans. The company has also quality of life for veterans.
for AS9100D, ISO 9001, ITAR, and established a non-profit veteran www.rapidapplicationgroup.com
AM Tool Steel Powder for Tools, Molds and Dies

• High Hardness, Toughness & Corrosion Resistance
• Prints Reliably, Efficiently and Crack Free
• Low Toxicity (Cobalt Free)
• Utilizable without Heat Treatment
Superior Performance/Price to M300 Maraging Steel
For more information contact us at info@formetrixmetals.com FormetrixMetals.com/MetalAdditiveMag.
Stratasys appoints tive technology across all industries

is just beginning,” stated Jaglom.
enabling companies across virtually
all industries to build and improve
Yoav Zeif as its “Yoav brings the strong combination their businesses through 3D printing
new CEO of leadership and global operational

experience to fuel our next stage
technology.”
“In particular, thanks to its
of growth. We are confident that as outstanding innovations and applica-
Stratasys Ltd, headquartered in CEO he will advance our offering tion engineering, it is clear that
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA, and and further our vision to reshape Stratasys is poised not only to reshape
Rehovot, Israel, appointed Yoav Zeif its the world of design, prototyping and product development and prototyping
CEO on February 18, 2020. Elchanan manufacturing.” but also to transform supply chains
(Elan) Jaglom, the company’s current Zeif commented, “Stratasys and manufacturing through efficiency
Interim CEO, will continue in his role pioneered and continues to power the and personalisation,” he stated.
as Chairman. Additive Manufacturing landscape, www.stratasys.com
Zeif reportedly brings global
experience in industry transformation
to Stratasys, having served in senior
leadership roles for both public
and private multi-billion-dollar
corporations, leading worldwide
operations across industries and
professional domains. Previously,
Zeif was President of the Americas
Division, Head of Product Offering
and Chief Commercial Officer at
micro-irrigation company Netafim,
from 2013 to 2018. Prior to that, he
Sintervac® AM debind and sinter
was Senior Vice President of Products
and Marketing at Makhteshim (now
vacuum furnaces for Additive
Adama Ltd.), a global crop-protection
company.
Manufactured parts
Since 2018, Zeif has been a partner Over 6,500 production and laboratory furnaces manufactured since 1954
in the New York office of McKinsey &
Company. He obtained an Executive • Metal or graphite hot zones
MBA from the Kellogg School of
• Processes all binders for
Management at Northwestern metals or ceramics
University and a PhD in International
• Sizes from 8-1500 liters
Economics from Bar-Ilan University. (0.3–54 cu ft.)
Zeif is said to have an extensive • Pressures from 10-6 mbar to
executive management background Atmosphere
in leading sales, product, R&D and • Precision heat treating post
manufacturing activity in complex processing available
competitive environments. At • Vacuum, Ar, N2 and H2
Netafim, he led the global develop-
• Max possible temperature
ment of an advanced irrigation 3,500°C (6,332°F)
system that leveraged Internet of • Worldwide field service,
Things (IoT) technology and artificial rebuilds and parts for all
intelligence. He also restructured makes
the organisation’s go-to-market
strategy and expanded its coverage
through an M&A strategy. With
responsibility spanning a number of
Sintervac® AM
global geographies and multiple lines WorkhorseTM AM
of business, Zeif reportedly delivered
growth rates significantly higher than Centorr Vacuum Industries
the surrounding market. 55 Northeastern Blvd
Nashua, NH 03062
“Stratasys has led the expansion USA
of the 3D printing industry for Tel: +1 603 595 7233
more than three decades, but the www.centorr.com Fax: +1 603 595 9220
Email: sales@centorr.com
potential impact of this transforma-
AM METAL POWDER
MANUFACTURER
CHARACTERISTICS APPLICATIONS
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Traceability Metal Injection Molding
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AS9100:D and ISO 9001:2015 Thermal and Cold Spray
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+1 819 820 2204 Chicago, IL Booth P10

TEKNA.COM 22-26 March
Significant weight savings in Arcimoto now able to create complex geomet-

ric structures which substantially
electric vehicle through metal lightweight vehicles, improve perfor-
Additive Manufacturing mance, lower production costs and

save on battery power. We welcome
this opportunity with Arcimoto to
Electric vehicle manufacturer Arci- weighting and Additive Manufacturing provide their drivers with the best
moto, Inc., Eugene, Oregon, USA, and experts,” added Mark Frohnmayer, possible in-vehicle experience,” added
XponentialWorks, Ventura, California, Arcimoto CEO. “Our mission to right- Reichental.
USA, have partnered to lightweight a size the footprint of daily mobility “In this new age of Industry 4.0
number of components in Arcimoto’s means a continued commitment to manufacturing, no one company can
pure electric Fun Utility Vehicle® optimising not just the vehicle plat- do it all alone. This project demon-
(FUV®). Among the redesigned parts, form architecture, but all of its con- strates the power of curating relation-
developed using ParaMatters’ soft- stituent parts as well. The speed at ships and building joint innovation
ware, is a metal additively manufac- which the XponentialWorks team has programs that pool together resourc-
tured steering knuckle and three cast made meaningful weight improve- es and expertise from complementary
parts built from additively manufac- ments to core components of the Fun organisations to create practical
tured patterns. Utility Vehicle is truly impressive.” tractable products in record time,” he
ParaMatters’ design software “With the powerful combination concluded.
offers artificial intelligence and of AI-generated designs and ultra- www.xponentialworks.com
computer generated design, and was fast 3D printing processes, we are www.arcimoto.com
used to completely redesign the com-
ponents with geometries mimicking
natural structures. If the new parts
prove successful, it is expected that
they may take the place of heavier,
conventionally manufactured parts,
enabling Arcimoto’s electric vehicles
to drive farther on a single charge,
improve acceleration, and deliver
better handling.
The lightweighted parts included
a rear swing arm, upper control
arm, brake pedal and the metal AM
steering knuckle. The conventionally
manufactured knuckle consisted of The metal additively manufactured steering knuckle (left) weighed 36% less
nine welded parts in mild steel and than the conventionally produced part (right) (Courtesy XponentialWorks)
weighed 2.7 kg. The redesigned part
was additively manufactured as a
single structure in MS1 steel, and
weighed 1.7 kg – a reduction of 36%.
It was also reported to be three times
stronger than the conventionally
manufactured part.
Avi Reichental, XponentialWorks
founder, stated, “We are very excited
to work with Arcimoto to leverage
our technological know-how to make
this incredible vehicle even more
outstanding. The entire redesign,
from concept to parts, took only four
weeks, further demonstrating how
3D printing technology is completely
changing how we design and manu-
facture products.”
“We are thrilled to open Arcimo-
to’s ultra-efficient vehicle platform A number of components in Arcimoto’s electric Fun Utility Vehicle were
to XponentialWorks’ team of light- redesigned using AM (Courtesy XponentialWorks)
GE, ORNL & PARC to accelerate AM part to automatically generate surrogate

models from additive producibility
design of turbomachinery components data and seamlessly integrate it with
multi-physics design optimisation
GE, in partnership with Oak Ridge how well its material composition techniques.
National Laboratory (ORNL), and responds to heat and stresses, or The team will use the Summit
PARC, a Xerox company, have been how its design impacts airflow or supercomputer at the Oak Ridge
awarded more than $1.3 million in aerodynamic performance. Pulling Leadership Computing Facility at
funding from ARPA-E’s DIFFEREN- this expertise together and later ORNL to create these AI-based
TIATE (Design Intelligence Fostering validating a part can take between surrogates with very high precision.
Formidable Energy Reduction (and) two and five years. In addition, ORNL’s High Flux Isotope
Enabling Novel Totally Impactful Researchers from GE, ORNL and Reactor will be used to analyse
Advanced Technology Enhance- PARC explained that they believe they additively manufactured components
ments) programme, for a project can reduce the overall timeline for and generate the data necessary
aiming to drastically reduce the creating and validating new AM part for training and evaluating AI-based
time for designing and validating designs by more than half, which models.
high-performance metal additively would make AM faster than traditional “This is the type of project that
manufactured components for use casting. Brent Brunell, leader of GE leverages the unique capabilities at
in turbomachinery applications. Research’s additive efforts, stated, ORNL – experimental and computa-
The goal is to reduce the design “One of the keys to enabling the tional facilities – as well as expertise
and validation timeline by some widespread use and benefits of 3D in computational science and Additive
65%, making this stage faster than printing is the reduction of the time it Manufacturing,” commented John
many traditional manufacturing takes to create and validate defect- Turner, Computational Engineering
processes and paving the way for the free 3D component designs. Using Program Director at ORNL.
much broader proliferation of the multi-physics enabled tools and AI, The programme will culminate
technology in turbomachinery product we think we can beat the timeline in the demonstration of a defect-
design. for some traditional manufacturing free, high-performance additively
Today, the design of new compo- processes by automating the entire manufactured multi-functional
nents for complex power products process.” design capable of withstanding
such as jet engines, wind turbines Brunell explained that the high temperatures and stresses
and gas turbines involves dozens optimisation of structural characteris- with improved performance vs
of experts in the various structural, tics has already been automated, but conventional casting. According
thermal and fluid properties that has not extended to a part’s thermal to Saigopal Nelaturi, Manager of
apply to them. When designing a new and fluid properties. On this project, Computation for Automation in
component for AM, a wide variety of researchers from GE and PARC will Systems Engineering area in the
factors must be considered such as seek to incorporate all three, using AI System Sciences Lab at PARC,
“The combination of model-based
and data-driven AI to accelerate
generative design is a key innovation
that will dramatically reduce the time
to synthesise and fabricate quality
parts.
“Surrogate models (built using
machine learning) that encapsulate
complex couplings between process
physics and part quality will help
guide the optimisation models
in feasible regions of very high
dimensional design spaces,” Nelaturi
explained. “This combination of
AI techniques enables automatic
multi-functional part synthesis to
meet real-world application demands,
for which AM can provide truly novel
solutions.”
www.ge.com
Researchers from GE, ORNL and PARC are collaborating to reduce the timeline www.ornl.gov
to design and validate metal AM components by as much as 65% (Courtesy GE) www.parc.com
GF Machining Solutions
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Production-oriented
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technology and GF Machining Solutions’ technical and
industrial knowledge, the DMP series is engineered for
repeatable part quality and high productivity with a low
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traditional metal manufacturing processes.
Unique vacuum chamber concept
High repeatability for

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3DXpert™ all-in-one software
Simplified metal AM
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DMP Flex 350 DMP Factory 500

Solukon introduces automated powder SFM-AT1000, the company introduces

two completely new formats, with a
removal system for large components component size of up to 460 x 460 x
1,000 mm and 500 x 280 x 1,000 mm.
Solukon Maschinenbau GmbH, by programmable pivoting of the The company states that the
Augsburg, Germany, has introduced components, including the building SFM-AT1000 is reportedly based on
the SFM-AT1000, an automated platform, around two spatial axes. the SFM-AT800 system but features
depowdering system for large In order to optimise the powder a reinforced slewing system with
additively manufactured parts. The flow, the powder is ‘fluidised’ with a novel and particularly compact
depowdering process is carried out adjustable frequency excitation design. The aim of the new design
which enables the cleaning of small was to move the higher loads with
openings and channels. Solukon ease but to keep the chamber volume
explains that due to the gentle and as small as possible in order to
contamination-free process, the minimise inert gas consumption.
released powder remains unchanged The swivel system has two endlessly
and can be discharged for reuse. The rotatable servo drives, so that the
process is fully automated and takes component can be moved into any
place in a protected atmosphere, thus position.
avoiding contact with hazardous fine According to Solukon, its systems
dust and saving valuable working meet the highest demands on
time. functionality and are approved for safe
Solukon’s portfolio currently processing of reactive and hazardous
comprises three machines, the metal powders thanks to its innova-
SFM-AT800, which was introduced tive safety technology. The systems
Solukon’s SFM-AT1000 system in 2014 is the largest machine, are CE-conform equipped with
for depowdering large additively offering a loading volume of 800 x UL-conform components and built to
manufactured parts (Courtesy 400 x 550 mm and 300 kg component meet the requirements of NFPA 29.
Solukon Maschinenbau GmbH) weight. With the release of the www.solukon.de
that his approach to materials design

QuesTek co-founder Prof Greg has been highlighted in numerous
Olson joins Massachusetts Institute technology reports, including a
National Institute of Standards and
of Technology Technology (NIST) / Materials Genome
Initiative success story on design and
QuesTek Innovations LLC, a leading through computational modelling deployment of Ferrium M54 steel into
developer of metal alloys based and simulation. As co-founder and US Navy applications.
in Evanston, Illinois, USA, has Chief Science Officer of QuesTek QuesTek explained that Dr Olson’s
announced that Professor Greg Innovations, his leadership and departure from Northwestern Univer-
Olson, the company’s co-founder, systems resulted in the development sity will not affect the company’s
Chief Science Officer, and a member of high-performance metal alloys, close relationship with the university’s
of its Board of Directors, has joined used in aerospace, defence, oil and industrial outreach programme and
the faculty of the Department of gas and high-performance automo- its Materials Science and Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering tive applications. His new affiliation department and facilities. “This is an
at Massachusetts Institute of with MIT is expected to expand the exciting time for Greg,” commented
Technology (MIT), as Thermo-Calc research assets available to QuesTek Dr Jason Sebastian, QuesTek
Professor of the Practice. Prior to and its clients. President. “His role as QuesTek Chief
this, Prof Olson was a full-tenured Prof Olson received his Doctorate Science Officer will be enhanced with
professor of Materials Science in Materials Science and Engi- more of his time devoted to working
and Engineering at Northwestern neering from MIT and has previously with the QuesTek team. In addition, in
University. been honoured with election to his new position at MIT, Greg will be
Called the ‘father of materials National Academy of Engineering collaborating with other top material
design’ by the American Academy of (NAE) and the American Academy of science researchers, which benefits
Arts and Sciences, Prof Olson and Arts and Sciences (AAAS), Fellow- everyone.”
his work have led to the rapid design ship in TMS, and the ASM Interna- www.questek.com
and development of materials tional Gold Medal. QuesTek states www.mit.edu
GF Machining Solutions
CUT AM 500
Unique EDM separation
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Horizontal cutting process
Easy setup, no part damage

Fast and robust separation process
High cutting speed, avoids wire breakage

Collection basket
Protects part integrity, improves traceability

Innovative wire-cutting EDM solution
for the fast separation of 3D-printed
metal parts from the build plate
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Project to build large-scale

multi-robot metal AM
machine reports results
The European Federation for Welding, Joining, and Cut-
ting (EWF), Porto Salvo, Portugal, has reported on the
results of a cooperative research project to create a multi-
ple-robot modular metal Additive Manufacturing machine
integrating both additive and subtractive manufacturing
The LASIMM project has developed a fully functional
capabilities, and capable of producing large components
prototype of a multi-robot additive and subtractive
directly from a CAD drawing. The project, titled LASIMM
manufacturing machine (Courtesy LASIMM Project)
(Large Additive Subtractive Integrated Modular Machine),
involved ten partners.
According to EWF, the end result of LASIMM is a fully The modular approach of the machine’s system archi-
functional machine that includes advanced software to tecture is said to enable flexible reconfiguration, making it
manage the entirety of the complex production process, possible to develop and assess several machine concepts.
integrating Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) tech- No other setup operations are believed to be required
nology alongside other advanced manufacturing process- apart from those necessary to load and unload the ma-
es and robotics that allow it to produce metal components chine at the beginning and at the end of the manufactur-
up to 5 m long and 3 m wide. ing/repair process.
To assess the machine’s feasibility as a production tool The LASIMM project also evaluated additional features,
in real-world scenarios, the project members have tested such as cold-work, metrology and inspection, to be added
the manufacturing of aluminium, steel and titanium into the machine. EWF explains that the possibility of
components, said to bring the concept one step closer to integrating these extra capabilities within the machine,
mainstream use. from rolling to peening and in-situ allowing, would enable
the production of fully functional parts with superior me-
chanical properties that, in parallel, could lead to major
cost and production time savings.
Another unique feature of the machine, reports the
EWF, is its capability for parallel manufacturing, featuring
either multiple deposition heads or concurrent addition
and subtraction processes. This parallel manufacturing
capability requires that the machine architecture is based
on robotics. To ensure that the surface finish and ac-
curacy needed for an engineering component is obtained,
POWDER FLOW CHARACTERIZATION a parallel kinematic motion (PKM) robot are employed for
POWDER SPREADABILITY TEST AND the subtractive step.
QUALITY CONTROL It is estimated that it will take up to one year for the
industrialisation of the project to take place, after which
the complete hybrid cell will be ready for commercial dis-
tribution. The deliverables are said to include a modular
self-contained platform with TRL (Technology Readiness
Level) 6 (on a scale of 1–9, with the latter as the highest).
The platform will extend the current build size of complex
parts to up to 6 m in length and hundreds of kilograms in
weight, in aluminium and steel, with excellent mechanical
properties that match, or even surpass, equivalent forged
alloys.
The ten project partners include the EWF, BAE Sys-
tems (Operations) Ltd., Foster + Partners Limited, Vestas
Wind Systems A/S, Cranfield University, Global Robots
Ltd., Loxin2002, S.L., Helmholtz-Zentrum, Geesthacht
Zentrum fur Material – und Kustenforschung GMBH,
Delcam Ltd. and Instituto Superior Técnico. This project
www.linkedin.com/company/granutools
received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
WWW.GRANUTOOLS.COM
research and innovation programme.
contact@granutools.com | +32 483 19 83 39 | Rue Jean-Lambert Defrêne, 107 - 4340 Awans - www.lasimm.eu
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have developed AMtrinsic® Atomized Tantalum and Niobium Spherical Powders and their alloys
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ADDere demonstrates the benefits of

Laser Wire AM for large-scale parts
ADDere, the metal Additive Manufac- titanium blocks are 15 cm x 15 cm
turing division of Midwest Engineered x 30 cm and weigh 32 kg. The 17-4
Systems Inc., headquartered in blocks (also known as SAE type 630 or
Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA, has UNS 17400) are of the same dimen-
reported the advantages of using sion but weigh in at 55 kg. According
Laser Wire Additive Manufacturing to ADDere, the production of each of
(LWAM) for producing large-scale, these blocks took just over six hours. One of the 17-4 stainless steel blocks
large-mass components for ADDere explains that, at over three with machined section that ADDere
industries such as energy, aerospace, times the size of most powder metal- produced using Laser Wire Additive
marine and defence. based systems on the market, the Manufacturing (Courtesy ADDere)
“Currently, the AM focus has been standard ADDere AM systems feature
on powder-based metal systems,” a build area of 2 m x 1 m x 1 m and blocks show we can 3D print parts
stated Scott Woida, ADDere President. 2,000 kg capacity. The ADDere Laser with substantial mass in a relatively
“That focus had a lot of potential Wire Additive Manufacturing system competitive timeframe with casting,”
markets stuck on the outside looking is said to specialise in producing commented Pete Gratschmayr, VP of
in, but those industries now see a additively manufactured large-scale, Sales & Marketing. “Now real conver-
legitimate 3D printing roadmap for near-net shape parts in a variety of sations can be had about printing
their parts through what we’ve been metals including titanium, stainless large, high-mass components like
doing with ADDere.” steel, Inconel and other superalloys, transmission cases, truck frames and
As an example of what’s now as well as most ferrous-based turbine engine mounts without adding
possible with wire-based AM, ADDere metals. ‘in the future’ to the sentence. We can
has additively manufactured titanium “We’ve already proven we can do it today.”
and 17-4 stainless steel blocks. The build things at large scales, these www.addere.com
Remembering Carl Deckard, Inventor

of Selective Laser Sintering
Carl Robert Deckard, recognised at Austin (UT), where he majored in
as the inventor of Selective Laser Mechanical Engineering and went on
Sintering (SLS), passed away on to study for a Master’s degree. During
December 23, 2019. Along with SLS, a summer internship, he started to
Deckard is also credited with inventing think about a new invention – a way to
the Deckard Engine as well as a fabricate parts directly from drawings
number of polymers for use in Additive by using a laser to fuse together Carl Deckard, recognised as the
Manufacturing. powder in the shape of the part and inventor of Selective Laser Sintering,
With twenty-seven patents, Deckard building up the piece, layer by layer. has died (Courtesy AMUG)
was profiled by Fortune magazine He worked with Dr Joe Beaman,
as one of five modern technology a young assistant professor in Deckard’s graduate work was so
pioneers, inducted into the Manufac- Mechanical Engineering, to develop successful that UT agreed to license
turing Hall of Fame by Industry Week, the process that became known the technology in 1988, said to be the
and named a Master of Manufacturing as Selective Laser Sintering, one first time that UT had entered into
by the Society of Manufacturing of the earliest and most enduring such an agreement. This started the
Engineers. Born in Houston on June forms of Additive Manufacturing. The process of Deckard transforming his
20, 1961, Deckard attended elementary result of his Master’s project was invention into a commercial product.
school in Michigan, Ohio, and Port an SLS plastic cube within another In recent years, Carl worked with
Arthur, Texas. After attending junior plastic cube, and with the help of his collaborators, Jim Mikulak and
high in Clear Lake City, he moved a grant from the National Science Vikram Devarajan, to invent new
back to Port Arthur and graduated Foundation, he continued working on polymers, making it possible to make
from Thomas Jefferson High School. his invention for his PhD under the better quality additively manufactured
He attended the University of Texas direction of Dr Beaman. 3D parts.
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Metallic3D introduces new bound metal

paste Additive Manufacturing machine
Metallic3D, based in Stuart, Florida, powders, industries and research
USA, has added a new metal teams can now explore entirely new
Additive Manufacturing machine, areas of applications.”
the M3D300. Utilising the company’s By building the complete system
bound metal paste deposition in-house, Metallic3D states it can
technology, the M3D300 is reported significantly lower the barrier of
to offer a safe, easy to use system entry into Additive Manufacturing. Metallic3D’s new M3D300 AM system
capable of manufacturing compo- “Our new desktop printer is up to (Courtesy Metallic3D)
nents in a wide range of metals. 10x less expensive than alternative
The bound metal paste process metal Additive Manufacturing
is said to be suitable for any office technologies and up to 100x less printer a higher ROI, less time making
or workshop environment, with than traditional fabrication technolo- parts and fewer worries over quality,”
no fumes or odours created in the gies like machining or casting. This added Defelici.
M3D300 machine. Due to the use gives the owner of a Metallic3D www.metallic3d.com
of a solvent-based binder in the
feedstock, the company states that
most of the binder evaporates during
the build. Any residual binder is then
removed during the sintering stage,
rather than an additional debinding
stage, which Metallic3D says makes
its AM process faster from initial
design to fully finished part.
“Additive Manufacturing has
now for some time been the
solution of choice when producing
highly diverse parts,” states Dan
Defelici, owner of the company. “3D
printing enables the emergence of
radical product innovation through
function-oriented design properties.
Paired with the outstanding material
properties of high-performance
ceramics and advanced metal A selection of parts built using Metallic3D’s AM systems (Courtesy Metallic3D)
Bassetti to integrate Senvol Database in oil & gas, heavy industry, medical
devices, and consumer products.
its TEEXMA for Additive solution Bassetti, founded in 1992 to
help companies manage their
The Bassetti Group, headquartered combining project management, technical expertise, has continued
in Grenoble, France, has signed an materials, manufacturing, quality and to expand globally across Europe,
agreement with Senvol to provide knowledge management tools and Asia, and North America. The
the Senvol Database of industrial processes in a single platform with a company’s TEEXMA platform is used
Additive Manufacturing machines and common interface. by more than 400 companies and
materials as an integrated source Integrating the Senvol Database is 125,000 users in various industries
of data in its TEEXMA for Additive said to provide the data necessary for around the world. Solutions are
platform. companies to investigate and compare modular and can be implemented
TEEXMA for Additive is an a multitude of AM material and individually or in combination in order
end-to-end solution supporting the process options. The Senvol Database to support each company’s needs.
complete AM product life cycle. The is used by many industries, including www.bassettiamericas.com
software offers full traceability by automotive, aerospace and defence, www.senvol.com/database
Dutch Aerospace Centre to install the beginning of 2020, is built by

Xerion Berlin Laboratories GmbH,
Xerion Fusion Factory Compact Berlin, Germany. With a footprint of
just 1.2 m², the unit is designed to
The Dutch Aerospace Centre Additive Manufacturing. This jointly debind and sinter parts additively
(NLR), based in Marknesse, the undertaken research reportedly manufactured with BASF Ultrafuse
Netherlands, in cooperation with focuses on defence applications 316L® filament, enabling the
the Dutch Ministry of Defence, will such as battle damage repair. processing of parts within twenty-
install a Fusion Factory Compact The Fusion Factory Compact four hours.
debinding and sintering unit for use debinding and sintering unit, In accordance with the BASF
in its development of sinter-based which began serial production at CATAMOLD® principle, debinding is
carried out by catalytic means, while
the sintering furnace can reach
temperatures of up to 1,450°C under
protective gas conditions. Sintering
under a 100% hydrogen atmosphere
is also possible.
With no powder bed used in the
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
process, and 100% of the metal
powder contained in the filament,
it enables the machine to be used
in particularly rough or hazardous
conditions, such as those found on
marine vessels. The overall size of
the unit, with external dimensions
of 1,200 x 1,000 x 2,000 mm, further
supports these application.
Xerion’s ultra-compact Fusion Factory debinding and sintering unit (Courtesy www.xerion.de
Xerion Berlin Laboratories GmbH) www.nlr.org
3D Systems President and CEO innovation across its portfolio of AM

hardware, materials, software and
Vyomesh Joshi to retire services to take digital manufac-
turing solutions from prototyping to
3D Systems, Rock Hill, South to serve in his current role until a production.
Carolina, USA, states that Vyomesh new CEO is appointed, after which “A lot of personal reflection and
(VJ) Joshi, its President and CEO, he will transition to the role of discussion with the board have
has notified the Board of Directors strategic advisor to the company. gone into my decision. The deciding
of his decision to retire and that the “On behalf of the Board of factor was our full confidence that
board has initiated the search for Directors, I want to personally 3D Systems is ready for the next
his successor. Joshi will continue thank VJ for his accomplishments level,” Joshi commented. “We are
at 3D Systems. He is a pioneer and poised for growth and we have built
a visionary in digital manufacturing a great team, a strong culture and
solutions and he has led this a powerful portfolio. I am honoured
company through a vital phase,” to have led 3D Systems through
stated Charles (Chip) McClure, such a pivotal stage and position the
Chairman of the Board of Directors. company for profitable growth in its
“I have such great respect for him next chapter.”
and his career. He is a man of 3D Systems offers Additive Manu-
integrity and I am grateful to have facturing machines and materials to
served alongside him.” address a wide range of applications
Joshi joined 3D Systems in April and performance characteristics.
2016. Under his leadership, the Materials include plastic, elastomer,
Vyomesh Joshi, President and CEO company is said to have stabilised composite, wax, metal and number
of 3D Systems, is to retire (Courtesy financially, significantly improved of bio-compatible options.
3D Systems) its product quality and reinvigorated www.3dsystems.com
The Pioneer of
Selective Laser Melting
Redesigned SLM®500 - The highest, safest performance

available in its class with cost reduction
Build envelope of 500 x 280 x 365 mm

Real build rate up to 171 cm3/h Visit us at
Rapid+TCT 2020, Booth 2422
Multi-laser SLM® technology increases productivity April 20-23, 2020
Focus on repeatability and machine uptime Farnborough Airshow, Chalet C28
Industry-leading gas flow for consistent quality July 20-24, 2020
Fully automated powder management for safe part production
For more information on the new SLM®500 visit:

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Heraeus AMLOY turns to AM for looks like new even after years.”
Nik Huber, founder and owner of
amorphous metal guitar bridge Nik Huber Guitars, has been building
guitars with his team for twenty-four
Heraeus AMLOY, a division of “One could also imitate the years and reportedly enjoys testing
Heraeus, Hanau, Germany, reports sound of other metals by changing new materials such as specialist
that it has successfully produced the structures inside the bridge,” woods or metals in guitar production.
an amorphous metal guitar bridge added Wachter. “A bridge made of Huber commented, “3D printed
by metal Additive Manufacturing. amorphous metal would then sound amorphous metals are a promising
The guitar bridge was designed and like a bridge made of brass, for material for guitar building due to
produced in cooperation with Nik example. The difference is that due their unique properties.”
Huber Guitars, a guitar manufacturer to its elasticity it keeps the sound www.heraeus.com
based in Rodgau, Germany. longer, does not wear out and still www.nikhuber-guitars.com
Heraeus AMLOY explained that
amorphous metals offer particularly
elastic properties, but are at the same
time very strong. In addition to their
elasticity, amorphous metals are also
scratch and corrosion resistant. In
contrast to conventional materials, it
is expected that a guitar bridge made
of amorphous metal will not wear out
and will not need to be replaced. The
material used is also biocompatible
and therefore, unlike nickel-plated
aluminium bridges, suitable for
allergy sufferers.
“Since amorphous metals are
significantly more elastic than
crystalline materials, they transmit
vibrations very well,” stated Jürgen
Wachter, Head of Heraeus AMLOY.
“Therefore, the material is ideally
suited for stringed instruments
such as guitars.” In addition to its
aesthetic appeal, the company states
that the honeycomb structure of
the bridge influences its vibration
period, dampening vibrations less
than closed, solid structures. This
changes the sound properties of the The amorphous metal guitar bridge is corrosion-resistant and customisable
instrument. (Courtesy Heraeus AMLOY)
BEAMIT opens agency in Japan strengthen both companies’

ability to deliver high value to their
customers. Today, BEAMIT is one of
Italy’s BEAMIT SpA has opened a ence in metal Additive Manufactur- the largest AM service providers in
commercial agency in Japan as part ing. It supplied advanced metal AM Europe, operating more than thirty
of its ongoing effort to bring its Ad- components to demanding indus- Additive Manufacturing systems in
ditive Manufacturing services to the tries such as aerospace, automo- its Parma facilities. The opening of
Japanese market. The company’s tive, energy and racing, and holds a a commercial agency in Japan is
Japanese representative will be Eiji number of relevant quality certifica- said to be in line with the company’s
Akita, a former Senior Chief Engi- tions including AS 9100 for aero- strategic vision to expand its
neer of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power space and NADCAP approval. international presence in highly
Systems. In 2019 Sandvik Additive technological geographic areas.
BEAMIT is based in Italy and has Manufacturing acquired a www.beam-it.eu
more than twenty years of experi- significant stake in BEAMIT, to
2020 AMUG Conference: The AM programme will deliver even more

training and hands-on experiences.
community gets set to regroup in The Training Lab, introduced in 2019,
Chicago will again offer an engaging learning

environment where AM tools are
the focal point of the information
The annual AMUG Conference is who chooses can ‘contribute to the exchange.
for many in the AM industry the conversation’, it does not mean that In addition to over 160 conference
first ‘must attend’ event of the you’ll miss the opportunity to meet presentations, the sixth annual Innova-
new working year; a place where with industry suppliers if you wish to. tors Showcase will feature an on-stage
participants are ready once again to The AMUGexpo, which the organisers interview with 2020 Innovators Award
discover, learn, share and network. are always keen to stress is ‘not Recipient Dr Hans J Langer, founder
Taking place in Chicago, Illinois, a tradeshow’, allows attendees to and former CEO of EOS GmbH and
USA, from March 22–26, 2020, the network with fellow participants and now CEO and Chairman of EOS Group.
thirty-second AMUG Conference speak with exhibitors over dinner and Previous recipients include Chuck
will at once retain the spirit of its drinks. Hull, co-founder of 3D Systems; Carl
‘Additive Manufacturing Users In the five years that the Metal Deckard, creator of Selective Laser
Group’ roots whilst continuing its AM magazine team has attended as Sintering; Scott Crump, co-founder
evolution into an event which is fully a media partner, the AMUG Confer- of Stratasys; Fried Vancraen, founder
relevant to a new generation of AM ence has not only steadily grown in of Materialise; and Gideon Levy,
professionals – who are entering numbers, but the organisers have leading developer of AM materials and
into a very different industry to that managed to keep the event’s focus ‘on technologies.
of previous decades. point’ as the industry moves towards For those thinking of attending
With an ever-busier global AM volume production. This is reflected AMUG for the first time this year,
events calendar, AMUG stands by the growing importance of metal some insider tips: book as early as
above the crowd to its regular Additive Manufacturing within the you can, as the event is likely to be a
participants as an event like no overall programme. sell-out; other than the surprise off-
other. Crucially, attendance is site party, be prepared to never have
restricted to those that operate or The conference that never stands to leave the venue – from breakfast to
own AM technology in a professional still… the early hours, each day is packed
setting. It is, therefore, a gathering This year’s AMUG Conference again with fully-catered social events and
of AM users, of all experience levels, offers a range of technical sessions free bars; and take a lot of business
who together provide and share and hands-on workshops designed cards – from ‘pick a table number out
insights and experiences to increase to help users get more from, and of a hat’ lunchtime seating to vibrant
AM’s value across industry. do more with, their AM systems. casino nights, you’ll meet a lot of new
Whilst this creates an immersive However, building on the success of faces. Hope to see you there!
environment where everyone last year’s event, the 2020 conference www.amug.com
SLM Solutions Group reports 2019 I want to thank the SLM team, our
partners and our customers in
order intake up 21% believing in SLM and in the multi-
laser technology.”
Germany’s SLM Solutions Group AG “As announced, we continue to He continued, “We still have
has reported that it achieved an order work on addressing organisational more work to do, but with the
intake value of €67.7 million for the gaps and positioning the company momentum of the second half-year,
full year 2019, up 21% compared to for long-term growth. Our interest we believe that we have taken the
2018. In the Q4 2019, order intake of is the long-term potential of SLM right first steps towards a long-term
€29.5 million was recorded, which Solutions’ technology, however, the successful future for SLM Solutions.
represents 100% growth year-on-year. team has worked hard and achieved Sam O’Leary, who is SLM Solutions’
The group states that, as announced great progress in the second half of COO since December 1, 2019, Frank
mid 2019, its revenue and adjusted 2019,” stated Meddah Hadjar, CEO Hülsmann, SLM’s CFO since January
EBITDA margin for 2019 will be of SLM Solutions. “The double-digit 1, 2020, and the rest of the leader-
significantly lower than the former growth in order intake in 2019 under ship staff that joined us in 2019 are
Executive Board team’s originally the current market conditions working together with full dedication
forecasted group revenue of €95 demonstrates that the multi-laser to position SLM Solutions as a
million and the originally expected technology is critical for additive market leader in our industry.”
break-even adjusted EBITDA margin. adoption in all market segments. www.slm-solutions.com
Our Laboratory is available for third party analyses, both for
powder customers and also for any other application and industry.
mimete.com/lab-offer
Meggitt invests in metal AM company

HiETA Technologies
Meggitt UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Director of Engineering & Strategy at
Meggitt PLC, which specialises in Meggitt. “This is an exciting collabora-
high-performance components tion with HiETA and we’re proud to
and subsystems for the aerospace, partner with them to push the frontiers
defence and energy markets, has of innovation.”
announced its investment in HiETA Clayton added, “We look forward
Technologies Ltd, a UK-based product to a productive partnership which will
design and development company shape our future: collaborating on
specialised in the use of metal AM. Additive Manufacturing and thermal Meggitt has invested in HiETA
Meggitt sees the investment system technology to enable the next- Technologies (Courtesy Meggitt PLC)
accelerating the development of generation of more sustainable aircraft
next generation thermal systems for propulsion systems and greener energy Ltd, commented, “This is an exciting
aerospace and energy applications. At systems; ensuring a sustainable future time for HiETA, as we follow our
a critical time for sustainable aviation for the generations to come.” strategy of partnering with strong
and lower-carbon power generation Meggitt’s experience in designing industrial players in key industrial
solutions, it believes AM will enable and manufacturing advanced heat sectors. The investment enables us
new, high-performance and light- exchanger technologies for aerospace to bring exciting new products to new
weight thermal systems to be brought and industrial applications comple- markets. It also shows the potential
to the market. ments HiETA Technologies’ experience for Additive Manufacturing of our
“With a 160-year track record in in designing and using AM to build world-class designs, when supported
bringing technology to the aerospace, high-performance components for by outstanding industrial knowledge,
defence and energy markets, aerospace, defence and motorsport experience and capability.”
innovation is at the heart of everything applications. Mike Adams, CEO and www.meggitt.com
we do,” stated Hugh Clayton, Group co-founder of HiETA Technologies www.hieta.biz
Improving Product Lifespan and Consistency for 3D Printed Metal Parts

• Aerospace • Electronics • Eleven (11) Units to 30” Diameter & 108” Long
• Automotive • Oil & Gas • Pressures to 30,000 psi (207 MPa)
• Biomedical • Power Generation • Temperatures to 2550° F (1400° C)
Booth 23
Booth 622
Pressure Technology, Inc.

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9001/AS9100
Concord, OH | 440-352-0760 Heat Treating Certified
Renishaw and BAE Systems

partner to enhance metal AM
for defence and aerospace
Renishaw has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with BAE Systems which will see the two compa-
nies partner on the development of Additive Manu-
facturing’s capabilities for the defence and aerospace
sector. The collaboration is designed to help improve
performance, reduce costs and speed up manufacturing
processes on the combat aircraft of the future.
The MoU was signed by Andy Schofield, Manufac-
turing & Materials Strategy & Technology Director for Renishaw and BAE Systems have signed an MoU to
BAE Systems, and Will Lee, Chief Executive, Renishaw, develop the capabilities of AM for defence and aerospace
during a visit to BAE’s manufacturing facilities in (Courtesy BAE Systems)
Samlesbury, Lancashire, UK. The agreement also opens
up opportunities for joint research and development.
BAE’s Samlesbury site is already home to several collaboration. We look forward to the exciting opportuni-
Renishaw AM machines, which form part of a dedicated ties that this strategic collaboration presents to further
New Product Development & Process Development develop AM technologies for demanding aerospace
Centre (NPPDC), where the latest emerging technolo- production applications.”
gies and processes such as AM and Virtual Reality are www.baesystems.com
explored and tested for application into aircraft design www.renishaw.com
and manufacture. With a particular focus on AM, invest-
ments into technologies like those provided by Renishaw
are expected to help BAE Systems remain at the cutting
edge of aerospace manufacturing, exploiting the latest
technologies and processes to continually improve its
Ry
advanced manufacturing capabilities.
n a
io
BAE began researching Additive Manufacturing
u t
techniques more than two decades ago, and is currently
using the technology to make production standard
o l
R ev
components for the Typhoon fighter aircraft. AM is also
being applied in the rapid prototyping of new technology
concepts as part of a drive to deliver the Tempest – a
Results demand RevolutionaRy powdeR
capable, affordable and exportable next generation
future combat air system. Due to the efficiency of our cutting-
“Additive Manufacturing has and will continue edge technology we can offer the
to deliver significant benefits to our sector,” stated POWDER lowest priced powder on the market
Schofield. “Renishaw is a world leader in Additive Manu- with no compromise in quality.
facturing and we have been impressed with the quality of Our powder is:
parts produced on its machines. This agreement allows • Spherical
• Free-flowing
us to create a more open and collaborative environment
• D50 of 35µm for most materials
to share ideas and knowledge. In an environment of fast • D50 of 20µm for titanium super alloys
developing technology and challenged budgets, collabo- • Has high tap density
ration and innovation are absolutely essential in order to
We process directly from:
retain cutting-edge capability. I’m really excited by the
• Raw elemental material
potential this partnership has to help us deliver that. ” • Pre-alloyed stock
“We have a great relationship already with BAE • Sponge
Systems, developed over many years through the appli- • Recycled chip
cation of our metrology products and have more recently • Recycled parts
worked with them on evaluating and understanding • Over-sized powder
• We can handle refractory and reactive alloys
the performance envelope of our AM systems,” added
Lee. “We are delighted that they have been impressed www.arcastmaterials.com
with our systems, and this, together with our vision for ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D Certified
AM development, has led to the strengthening of our A division of Arcast Inc.
Wipro 3D launches AM adoption and

acceleration programme addwize
Wipro 3D, Bengaluru, India, the The programme is designed for
Additive Manufacturing business stakeholders at all levels and is also
unit of Wipro Infrastructure thought to be ideal for academia,
Engineering (WIN), has launched supporting educational institutions
addwize™, an AM technology through technology awareness
adoption and acceleration sessions with Wipro 3D experts,
programme. The objective of and immersion tours offering direct
the programme is to enable insights into the operation of industry-
organisations and institutions to grade metal AM workflows, supported
systematically adopt and scale the by case studies and assignments.
use of metal Additive Manufacturing Ajay Parikh, Vice President and
for tangible business benefits. Business Head, Wipro 3D, stated,
According to Wipro 3D, addwize “Wipro 3D addwize is designed and
is designed to address all phases developed to support any organisation
of the adoption cycle, based on or institution who is either evaluating
learnings obtained from running a metal additive technology, has AM in
best-practice metal AM solutions their near-future technology roadmap
business. It is said to offer a balance or has already invested in AM, create
of competency in building content, business value using metal AM. There
practitioner level technical insights is no lower or upper limit to the size
and experiential elements, to ramp of the organisation who wants to
up Additive Manufacturing adoption evaluate AM.”
quickly and affordably. www.wipro-3d.com
KEX integrates Senvol Database into its

AM Knowledge Area
KEX Knowledge Exchange AG Platform is expected to extend the
recently licensed the Senvol KEX knowledge base by the addition
Database to integrate into its Additive of a broad range of market-available
Manufacturing Knowledge Area, a machine and material information,
tool for near-time technology and and on the other hand to benefit the
application monitoring in the field of Senvol data pool by adding a broad
Additive Manufacturing for Europe. set of application examples and
Together with research partners at exclusive research knowledge with
RWTH Aachen University campus and a focus on AM processes, machines,
elsewhere in European academia, and materials.
KEX connects market and research Patrick Wienert, Partner at KEX
information to identify future trends. Knowledge Exchange, stated, “KEX.
The Senvol Database, developed net empowers its users to connect
by Senvol, New York City, USA, is the AM machine and material
the first and most comprehensive data from the Senvol Database
database of industrial Additive Manu- to real application examples and
facturing machines and materials. exclusive research knowledge. The
The Senvol Database is free to use platform actively engages its users
on Senvol’s website, and the data to generate innovative application
within it is available for license and ideas and at the same time indicates
can be integrated into any type of AM possible partners, technologies and
software. materials for a fast implementation.”
The integration of the Senvol www.kex-ag.com
Database into the KEX.net Innovation www.senvol.com
Your partner for additive
manufactured components
3D printing services 3D post processing
rapid precise tailor-made
A brand of the Rösler Group www.solutions-for-am.com

Open Mind Technologies introduces Key applications for hyperMILL

Additive Manufacturing include the
AM capability for its hyperMILL CAM repair of damaged components,
software cladding of additional surface skins,

or creation of new components
from a substrate. This is also
Open Mind Technologies AG, a of integrated process chains, Open expected to create new options for
developer of CAD/CAM software Mind has optimised hyperMILL combining different materials in
solutions head-quartered in Additive Manufacturing technology AM, such as the addition of high-
Wessling, Germany, has introduced to boost the efficiency, precision and quality material layers to carrier
an Additive Manufacturing capability process reliability of additive and materials.
into its hyperMILL® CAM software to hybrid manufacturing.” www.openmind-tech.com
enable efficient hybrid processing,
with simultaneous additive and
subtractive manufacturing.
For highly complex 5-axis
simultaneous processing, hyperMILL
Additive Manufacturing reportedly
enables an array of flexible options
for Directed Energy Deposition (DED)
and Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing
(WAAM) processes. Both laser-based
powder nozzle machining heads
and WAAM energy sources can be
controlled using hyperMILL AM
for selective material deposition,
and can be programmed and
automatically simulated for collision
avoidance.
Alan Levine, Managing Director
of Open Mind Technologies USA,
Inc., stated, “As an early adopter of Additive Manufacturing on an aerospace nozzle, aided by Open Mind’s hyper-
driving forward the implementation MILL AM solution (Courtesy Open Mind Technologies AG)
NSL Analytical acquired by investment for NSL, our employees and our
customers. We are pleased to be
firm May River Capital partnering with a group in May River
that is like-minded and aligned with
Independent commercial testing locations in Warrensville Heights, us on both the cultural values and
laboratory NSL Analytical Services, Ohio, USA. Somrack will reportedly the strategic path necessary to meet
Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, USA, has been continue with NSL Analytical as our collective goals,” he concluded.
acquired by May River Capital, an President Emeritus, lending his Wesel commented, “Thanks to
investment firm based in Chicago, experience to the next stages of Larry’s decades of leadership, NSL’s
Illinois, USA. The company carries the company’s development. The expert team, and the value they
out a range of analytical testing leadership team will also include Ron provide customers around the world,
services, which include quality Wesel as Chief Executive, Carey Lewis NSL has experienced consistent and
control, failure analysis, product in growth and development and Andy impressive growth. We are excited
performance, and material selection Housley in finance and administration. to preserve and build upon that
and characterisation Somrack stated, “I am excited to work legacy, and to support the kind of
NSL Analytical was established in with Ron, Carey and Andy to drive continued investment in innovation,
1945 and, under the recent leadership innovation for our customers and scientific capabilities and talent that
of company president Larry Somrack, build upon the accomplishments and will drive NSL Analytical forward in
the company has expanded to strengths of our talented team.” the future.”
seventy-five employees serving over “The board and I carefully evalu- www.nslanalytical.com
1,700 customers globally from two ated the next phase of development www.mayrivercapital.com
Additive Industries
to open new
Process and
Application facility
in the UK
Additive Industries, Eindhoven,
the Netherlands, will open a new
Process and Application Centre at
Filton Aerospace Park, Bristol, UK.
The new Additive Industries Process and Application Centre is located at Filton
The centre is part of a global network
Aerospace Park, Bristol, UK (Courtesy Additive Industries)
of Additive Industries Competence
Centres, in Eindhoven, Los Angeles,
USA, and Singapore, which have Filton Airfield. The area is already and Daan Kersten, CEO of Additive
their own specialism in different the established home for a number Industries will open the centre in an
aspects of industrial Additive of world-class aerospace, advanced official ceremony on March 12. The
Manufacturing. The new facility will engineering and manufacturing event will include a presentation by
focus primarily on new materials and businesses including Airbus, Rolls- Paul Perera, VP Technology at GKN
process development. Royce and GKN. Aerospace, about the GKN Global
Additive Industries explains that Russ Dunn, CTO of GKN Technology Centre, also in Filton,
the location of the new centre was Aerospace; Dr Mark Beard, Additive of which Additive Industries is a
chosen due to the growing Additive Industries’ Global Director Process partner.
Manufacturing hub at Filton Aero- & Application Development and www.additiveindustries.com
space Park,and its proximity with General Manager of the Centre; www.gknaerospace.com
COMPLEXITY
BUILT SIMPLY
WITH A TRULY UNIQUE COMPLETE VALUE CHAIN
WE ARE YOUR RELIABLE PARTNER
IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
BEAMIT SpA, Strada Prinzera 17, 43045 Fornovo di Taro PR, ITALY
+39 0525 401281 www.beam-it.eu info@beam-it.eu
The Virtual Foundry names Sapphire3D

its first certified sintering partner
The Virtual Foundry, LLC, Stoughton, to achieve 100% success with copper
Wisconsin, USA, has announced and bronze.
that Sapphire3D, Inc., a metal and Tricia Suess, President of The
ceramic Additive Manufacturing and Virtual Foundry, stated, “In addition to
sintering company based in Chicago, their proficiency with our materials,
Illinois, USA, will be the first certified the team at Sapphire3D also shares Sintered FFF parts (Courtesy
sintering partner for its plastic- our vision, which is to make metal 3D Sapphire3D)
infused metal filaments, which can be printing attainable to everyone. Most
used in Fused Filament Fabrication manufacturers today are investigating requirements, you can always invest in
(FFF) Additive Manufacturing. metal Additive Manufacturing, but your own sintering equipment later.”
Sapphire3D states that it has they’re wary of the investment it David Lawson, founder of
developed expertise in the heat requires. For many companies, using Sapphire3D, stated, “Successfully
treating ‘green’ parts made from The a sintering partner like Sapphire3D is sintering a metal part involves some
Virtual Foundry’s open-architecture a very economical way to start.” trial and error. The decisions you make
plastic-infused metal Filamets™ to “They can help you work through during part design and printing affect
produce high-quality, high-purity a variety of part design, printing and the outcome of the sintering process.
finished metal parts. According to sintering issues to ensure that you That’s why my partner Joe Divizio and I
the company, it has maintained a can create the highest-quality metal will often work directly with our clients
database of every sintering cycle parts,” she continued. “As you become to help them optimise those first two
it has performed with The Virtual more knowledgeable about designing steps.”
Foundry’s metal Filamets™, which for Additive Manufacturing with www.thevirtualfoundry.com
has reportedly enabled Sapphire3D metal and its unique post-production www.sapphire3d.com
Thermal Process Equipment for

Metal Additive Manufacturing Thermoprozessanlagen GmbH
Continuous and Batch Furnaces HIP/CIP

(debinding and sintering) (for optimum
microstructure and
mechanical properties)
www.cremer-polyfour.de
QuesTek collaborates with

German Aerospace Center on
new Al alloy for AM VACUUM FURNACES DESIGNED
QuesTek Innovations LLC, Evanston, Illinois, USA, is collabo- FOR HEAT TREATMENT POST
rating with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt – DLR), Cologne,
Germany, to explore the full potential of its new aluminium
alloy, which was developed for Additive Manufacturing.
Questek states that this alloy is capable of high-strength
STRESS RELIEVING, SOLUTION TREATMENT &
performance at elevated temperatures (200–300°C) in its AGEING of ALLOYS PRONE TO OXIDATION
as-built condition. It is believed to be the first powdered Nickel, Titanium, Cobalt-Chrome-Molybdenum, Tungsten
aluminium material to meet those requirements without the
need for subsequent heat treatment.
M E DICA AU
T O M OT
AE
R O N AU
The new high-temperature Al alloy for AM is one of a
IV
TI
series which the company is developing under multiple US
CS
E
Navy-funded Small Business Innovation Research awards.
It is expected to enable the Additive Manufacturing of
lighter-weight precision components not currently produc-
ible using traditional manufacturing methods. Because of
the high-temperature strength of components additively
VACUUM & CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE TREATMENTS
manufactured using QuesTek’s new alloy, the new material
is also expected to make it possible to reduce weight in for MATERIALS PRODUCED BY 3D PRINTING
parts that must currently be made from titanium.
The new alloy was developed using QuesTek’s Integrated • Specifically tailored to alloys prone to oxidation,
Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) technologies
and Materials by Design® approach, which combines the • Perfect homogeneity thanks to our resistor’s patented
company’s computational technology with an exclusive design,
stage-gate design and development process. In an effort
• Clean treatment: molybdenum heating core and metal
to explore the full potential of the company’s new AI alloy,
QuesTek will partner with the DLR to additively manufacture
insulation,
demonstration components for aeronautics and space • Atmosphere control during treatment (optional),
applications and prepare a performance brief for European
aerospace manufacturers. • Productivity increased thanks to an accelerated
Greg Olson, QuesTek’s Chief Science officer, stated, neutral gas cooling.
“The accelerated design and development of a printable
aluminium alloy capable of meeting so many current needs Our Area Sales Manager -Nicolas VANOISE-
is especially exciting, as it will enable concurrent design Tel: +33 4 76 49 65 60 if i
ed
St a n d a r d s
no ECM TECHNOLOGIES - RCS GRENOBLE 478 969 173 - N° Siret 478 969 173 000 44 - Pictures Credit : Fotolia
of material composition and component geometry. Based
rt
info@ecmtech.fr
rm
Ce
AMS 2750
es
AMS 2769
on our internal test results, we see broad application of
this material in manufacturing components for aerospace,
satellite, automotive and high-performance racing.”
“We are particularly pleased to be collaborating with the
DLR,” he continued. “Their unrivalled reputation, expertise
and close relationship with industry needs will bring an
important new scope to our efforts.”
Heinz Voggenreiter, Director of the Institute of Materials
Research for the DLR, commented, “For Additive Manufac-
turing to become a production technology with the capacity
to produce components capable of performing in high-
temperature, high-stress applications, new extraordinary
printable alloys will be needed. The German Aerospace
Center, with its decades of experience in the development
of materials and structures for space and aeronautics, is an
ideal cooperation partner for QuesTek to explore intended
applications.”
WWW.ECM-FURNACES.COM
www.questek.com | www.dlr.de
Equispheres receives
$8 million in cleantech
funding to scale metal
powder production
Equispheres, a materials science company based
in Ottawa, Canada, has received $8 million of
funding from Sustainable Development Technology
Canada (SDTC) to facilitate scaling its metal powder
production capacity over the next two years. SDTC
is a government foundation that helps Canadian
entrepreneurs accelerate the development and
deployment of globally competitive ‘cleantech’ Equispheres has received $8 million from Sustainable
solutions. Development Technology Canada to scale its metal
As automotive and aerospace manufacturers powder production capacity (Courtesy Equispheres)
seek to reduce the carbon footprint of their products,
vehicle weight optimisation is a top priority.
Equispheres states that its metal powder is designed According to Equispheres, although Additive Manu-
specifically for Additive Manufacturing and has facturing is not new to the automotive and aerospace
been optimised for the automotive and aerospace industries, it was previously not feasible for use as a
industries. As such, this powder is said to allow parts mass production tool using aluminium alloy powders.
to be manufactured faster, and up to 30% stronger Since aluminium alloys account for a significant amount
and lighter than parts produced with traditional AM of material demand in these industries, a powder that
powders. allows for faster, more efficient production of stronger
and lighter parts has significant implications.
The results the company has achieved reportedly
impact not only production efficiency but also part
performance as related to carbon footprint. In the
automotive industry alone, it’s anticipated that Equi-
spheres’ powder could improve fuel efficiency by over
10%. Additionally, Equispheres reports that its powder
Integrated outperformed in aerospace-ready quality tests and
InductIon has “proven exceptional” in tests performed by McGill
alloyIng University.
and atomIzatIon
“We are excited to receive this funding award from
the SDTC Foundation,” stated Kevin Nicholds, CEO
SyStemS of Equispheres. “This support from SDTC speaks to
the importance of our powder technology as a key
to achieving significant emissions reductions in the
automotive sector. The funding from SDTC will help
Equispheres to continue to accelerate our production
capacity and support this important work by our
automotive partners.”
Arcast Atomizers are custom built and competitively Leah Lawrence, President and CEO, Sustainable
priced to meet the growing demand to produce high Development Technology Canada, commented,
quality, low cost, technically advanced metal powders
“Canadian cleantech entrepreneurs are tackling
fulfilling the requirements of today’s pioneering
problems across Canada and in every sector. I have
manufacturing processes.
never been more positive about the future. Equispheres
We can supply machines to atomize titanium alloys,
has developed a metal powder that acts as ink for
super alloys, refractory and reactive metals, and ferrous
and non-ferrous alloys in high vacuum purged vessels 3D printing and enables automotive and aerospace
with inert gas replacement atmospheres. manufacturers to reduce the weight of their products.
We have installed machines all over the world, from With Equispheres’ powder set to remove 100–200 kg of
1 kg research furnaces to 1000 kg production units. mass from an automobile, this would be the equivalent
to removing seventy-five million cars off the road!”
www.arcastinc.com www.equispheres.com
www.sdtc.ca
MTI
Specialized in AM metal materials
Ti Based
Ni Based Fe Based
Powder
Type
Customized
Co Based
HIP
Materials
SLM
R&D
Application Metal 3D
Printer
MIM
EBM
PVD
DEB BJ
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
MTI: (MTI is a Yuean group company)

Materials Technology Innovations Co., Ltd.
info@mt-innov.com
Tel: +86 (0)20 3104 0619 www.mt-innov.com
Nordmetall adds
Gefertec arc403
system for AM of
high-strength steel
parts
Nordmetall GmbH, a materials testing
specialist located in Neukirchen,
Germany, has acquired an arc403
system for wire-arc metal Additive Nordmetall logo additively manufactured on the Gefertec arc 403 system.
Manufacturing from Gefertec GmbH, (Courtesy Gefertec GmbH/Nordmetall GmbH)
Berlin, Germany. The addition of
the new machine is expected to handling wire feedstock as opposed stated Dr Norman Herzig, Nordmetall
improve its process technologies as to loose powder, and the feedstock’s CEO. “Now, with our new arc403, we
it undertakes R&D projects aimed comparative affordability. The arc403 can automate this process instead of
at advancing technologies for the enables 3-axis production of metal relying on manual operations. This
production of components from components to a maximum mass of Additive Manufacturing technique
high-strength steels. 800 kg. has great potential for reducing the
Gefertec’s arc403 uses the “We work on many customer time required to produce components
company’s 3DMP® process, a wire-fed projects that include components made from high-strength steels – and
arc welding technology. The advan- made from high-strength steels – and lowering costs at the same time!”
tages of wire-arc metal AM include build-up welding is one of our www.gefertec.de
the build speeds available, the ease of standard manufacturing techniques,” www.nordmetall.net
ENTWURF 1 - NANOVAL METALL AM
POWDERFUL
SOLUTION
Very ﬁne powders
Spherical powders
Flowability is high
Narrow par�cle size distribu�on
More than 1.000 alloys
30 years experience
NANOVAL GmbH & Co. KG

Kienhorststraße 61-65
13403 Berlin Germany
Tel. +49 30 - 3229022 - 0
Fax +49 30 - 3229022 - 29
Mail info@nanoval.de
www.nanoval.de
and further strengthen both

BEAMIT acquires stake in AM post- companies’ position in the metal AM
processing start-up PRES-X market. We see the need to simplify
the AM supply chain, to make it
more efficient, including highly
BEAMIT SpA, Fornovo di Taro, pressure, and incorporates specific advanced special processes. We
Italy, has acquired a stake in features for complete thermal cycle are convinced that this will further
PRES-X, a start-up specialising control, allowing users to perform enhance the value we offer to our
in post-processing for Additive Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) and customers.”
Manufacturing, in particular in heat treatment at the same time. Andrea Scanavini, President of
the field of surface finishing and This service goes alongside the PRES-X, says “We are extremely
advanced thermal treatments. innovative services already provided pleased about our strategic
According to BEAMIT, PRES-X is by PRES-X on surface finish partnership with BEAMIT, since we
the first European company that solutions. BEAMIT states that its share the same vision regarding
has made it possible to perform investment in PRES-X is in line what will be the key drivers for
high-pressure heat treatments on with its strategic vision to broaden the AM market in order to achieve
additively manufactured production its knowledge and special process excellence in all areas. Our
parts. offering, strengthening its position collaboration with a leading AM
In partnership with leading high as an Additive Manufacturing service provider like BEAMIT is a
pressure technology company service provider for the most strategic booster for our new and
Quintus Technologies, PRES-X has demanding industries. innovative services, which allows
acquired a HIQ60 system, said to Michele Antolotti, Chief Executive us to create a competence and
be designed specifically for the Officer of BEAMIT, stated, “We are production centre that can play a
high-pressure heat treatment of extremely pleased to announce this key role on the worldwide market
AM parts. The HIQ60 system is able deal and partnership with PRES-X, for metal Additive Manufacturing.”
to perform heat treatments at high which aims to leverage synergies www.beam-it.eu
Continuous high temperature pusher furnaces

for high volume 3D printed metal parts
The furnaces have both debind and sinter capabilities
www.cmfurnaces.com info@cmfurnaces.com 103 Dewey Street Bloomfield, NJ 07003-4237 | Tel: 973-338-6500 | Fax: 973-338-1625
Ford develops unique metal AM unable to make a wax imprint of the

pattern as the wax would break when
locking wheel nut designs based on pulled from the nut.
driver’s voice Ford stated that design options

for the metal AM nuts and keys are
not limited to the soundwave pattern.
Ford Motor Company, headquartered a minimum of one second. The Other designs could include the
in Dearborn, Michigan, USA, has recording is then converted into driver’s initials, or patterns inspired
partnered with EOS GmbH, Krailling, a physical pattern based on the by the driver’s interests, such as the
Germany, to develop a unique soundwave, which is used as the outline of a famous racetrack.
anti-theft locking wheel nut for its design for the locking nut’s indenta- Raphael Koch, Research Engineer,
vehicles. The design concept uses the tion and key. Advanced Materials and Processes,
customers voice pattern to define the The nut and key are metal Ford of Europe, stated, “It’s one of the
physical shape of the lock. additively manufactured as one piece worst experiences for a driver, to find
According to the automotive in stainless steel on an EOS machine. their car up on blocks with all four
manufacturer, as car security systems When complete, the two parts are wheels gone. Some alloy wheels can
become increasingly more sophisti- separated, with a small amount of cost thousands to replace, but these
cated, thieves are targeting car parts grinding being required to ready them unique rim nuts will stop thieves in
instead, including alloy wheels. While for use. The design also includes their tracks. Making wheels more
current locking nuts can be used to second level security features, which secure and offering more product
deter theft by requiring a key to loosen help to prevent the nut from being personalisation are further proof that
them, they are not invulnerable. cloned or copied. Because the design 3D printing is a game-changer for car
Ford’s new locking wheel nut features unevenly spaced ribs inside production.”
concept is designed using a recording the nut and indentations that widen www.ford.com
of the driver’s voice, speaking for the deeper they go, a thief would be www.eos.info
The anti-theft wheel nut is additively manufactured on an EOS machine (Courtesy EOS GmbH)
The two-day event will focus on

MAPP 2nd International Conference three key themes including:
to take place in June • Right first time manufacturing
and future manufacturing
technologies
Following on from the success of its as well as early-career academics
• From in-process monitoring and
2018 event, MAPP (Manufacturing comprising 180 senior academics,
control to in-service prediction
using Advanced Powder Processes), researchers and industry profes-
and performance
the EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hub sionals. Attendees are welcome from
led by the University of Sheffield, will sectors including suppliers to the • Tailored properties for enhanced
hold its second international confer- fields of materials science, automatic product performance
ence at Milton Hill House, Abingdon, control and systems engineering In addition to the conference
Oxford, UK, on June 1–2, 2020. and mechanical engineering, with a sessions and social events, there
The conference will bring together particular focus on powder materials, will be a drinks reception sponsored
key international decision-makers advanced in-situ process monitoring by Metal AM magazine prior to the
from across the powder design, and characterisation, or new conference dinner.
processing and manufacturing sector, approaches in modelling and control. www.mapp.ac.uk
NCAME researchers awarded grant “Today, Additive Manufacturing

is mainly focused on metallic and
for additive nanomanufacturing of structural components, which are
multifunctional materials not functional materials,” stated

Mahjouri-Samani. “What we proposed
here is to combine our knowledge of
Two researchers from Auburn The researchers explain that the Additive Manufacturing with a variety
University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing of nano-scale of multifunctional materials and, for
Additive Manufacturing Excellence multifunctional materials is chal- the first time, create multifunctional
(NCAME), Auburn, Alabama, USA, lenging because of minimal source devices that can be printed on any
have been awarded a $400,000 materials and inadequate fabrication conformal surface. We are hoping this
National Science Foundation (NSF) systems. As project leader, Mahjouri- technique can revolutionise the way
grant to advance the science of Samani plans to generate a stream of we are printing multifunctional and
additive nanomanufacturing of multifunctional materials, sinter them electronic devices.”
multifunctional materials and hybrid on a submicroscopic scale using laser Shamsaei commented, “We are
structures. technology and study their behaviours definitely excited about having this
The project is led by Masoud on various additively manufactured- technology and research at Auburn.
Mahjouri-Samani, Assistant surfaces. At our Additive Manufacturing
Professor of Electrical And Computer According to the researchers, one centre, most of our capabilities lie in
Engineering, and Nima Shamsaei, of the challenges of the project will be fabricating metallic materials with
Director of NCAME. The grant will to ensure the robustness and long- micro-level accuracy. This research
support research to develop an term functionality of these materials. will be a new addition not only to our
additive nanomanufacturing platform Shamsaei will reportedly lend his centre but also to the field of Additive
capable of producing multifunctional expertise by evaluating the durability Manufacturing.”
nanoparticles on-demand to produce and structural integrity of the additively www.eng.auburn.edu/research/
durable hybrid structures. manufactured hybrid structures. centers/additive
Knust-Godwin adds Velo3D Sapphire

metal AM system
Knust-Godwin, a precision-tool addition of SupportFree capabilities
and component manufacturer will enable it to expand its total
headquartered in Katy, Texas, USA, addressable market and enable it to
has purchased a new metal Additive be more competitive across a wider
Manufacturing machine from Velo3D, range of industrial applications.
Campbell, California, USA, the Michael Corliss, VP of Technology Knust-Godwin has added Velo3D’s
Sapphire® System. The metal AM for Knust–Godwin, stated, “We see so Sapphire System for metal Additive
system will be installed alongside many parts that have been manu- Manufacturing to its range of AM
Knust-Godwin’s existing fleet of factured with traditional methods machines (Courtesy Velo3D)
seven metal Additive Manufacturing that could take advantage of the
machines in the first quarter of 2020 benefits from AM. Our new Sapphire thrilled to partner with oilfield leaders
at its site in Texas. system provides the accuracy and like Knust-Godwin for direct-part
The company has recently low-print-angle capabilities that production,” commented Benny
achieved AS9100 certification and enable recreation of those parts via Buller, Founder and CEO of Velo3D.
is now said to be expanding its AM without having to go through a “Their extensive background of over
capabilities to address the needs of complicated redesign process. We can fifty years in precision machining,
the aerospace industry. Oil and gas finally print parts as-is, offering valu- combined with their additive produc-
and aerospace share requirements able cost-savings to our customers tion experience, means that they
for intense thermal management of and improved turnaround time for understand what it takes to close the
extreme temperatures and complex delivery.” gap between prototyping and serial
geometries, as well as expectations “The oil and gas industry is one manufacturing.”
of cost-control and rapid delivery of of the largest emerging market www.kgsbo.com
parts. Knust-Godwin stated that the segments to adopt metal AM, and I’m www.velo3d.com
Canadian FabLab
installs Rapidia
metal Additive
Manufacturing
system
The Kootenay Association for
Science and Technology (KAST)
based in Trail, British Columbia,
Canada, has installed a Rapidia
metal Additive Manufacturing KAST’s MIDAS Lab has installed the Rapidia metal AM system (Courtesy KAST/
system, at its MIDAS Lab. The MIDAS Lab)
Metallurgical Industrial Development
Acceleration and Studies – or MIDAS
Lab – is reported to be the first and wealth for the region. Our process to produce most parts in
rurally located FabLab (fabrication services are available to commercial under twenty-four hours. The system
laboratory) in Canada to install a members, unlike most universities is also believed to cut Additive Manu-
metal AM system. - these machines are so new and facturing time further by avoiding the
The MIDAS Lab provides access expensive that previous focus has need to produce a metal base plate
to the equipment needed for digital been on research and not neces- or most metal supports. It is capable
fabrication and rapid prototyping, sarily business needs.” of building a range of materials
as well as project work areas, a “MIDAS Lab is unique in Canada including stainless steel, Inconel,
research and development lab, a and has been since it opened its tool steel, ceramics and titanium.
metal shop, a woodshop, a computer doors in 2016,” added Whitehead. “While there are printers that
lab and a training centre. “We’re thrilled that it’s received can do what the Rapidia can do,
“Metal printing is a game- countrywide recognition and we’re we chose this one because of its
changer for fabricating parts and using some of the lessons learned to safe operation, the speed at which
prototypes,” stated Cam Whitehead, help other start-up fabrication labs you can operate and create the
Executive Director of KAST. “Lower and innovation centres across B.C.” designs and parts that our industry
costs and increased speed to The Rapidia system uses a partners and Selkirk College needs,”
produce prototypes means faster water-based metal paste which explained Jason Taylor, Instructor
innovation and more competitive- eliminates the debinding step, & Applied Researcher at Selkirk
ness. This all means more jobs enabling the two-stage Rapidia College.
KAST partner, Selkirk College
plans to launch Digital Fabrication
& Design, a two-year diploma
programme that trains graduates
for advanced manufacturing, in
September 2020. Daryl Jolly, School
of the Arts chair, stated that the
Rapidia system will be an exciting
new educational tool students will
be able to utilise. “As we launch
this new programme, it’s exciting
to again see that Selkirk College
students will be trained on and have
access to world-class equipment.
We expect our graduates will be
well-positioned to support continued
economic growth in our region,
bringing value to industry and
innovation,” he commented.
www.kast.com
The Rapidia system builds parts using water-based metal paste technology www.midaslab.ca
(Courtesy Rapidia) www.rapidia.com
Industry News
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MPP Ltd
PM Solutions by Design Titomic partners with Thales to
develop next-generation military
components for Australian soldiers
Titomic Limited, Melbourne, generation of soldier system
Australia, has signed MPP Ltd manufactures
an agree- products will ensure our armed
both large and
ment with global technology forcessmall
have the lots,
latest cutting-edge
Technical support to meet delivering powders in
company Thales, headquartered equipment that is lighter, stronger
in Sydney, Australia, to develop and higher performing, enabling
your powder requirements quantities as low as 5kg
Ÿ Powders optimised for AM
advanced Additive Manufacturing
through
methods to support Thales’s Medical
to
them to deliver mission success in
multi-tonnage
demanding and dangerous environ-
orders.
and other major processes
development of next-generation
soldier weapons systems for the Titanium
ments.”
Graham Evenden, Director of
Automotive
Magnesium
Australian Defence Force. Soldier Weapons Systems, Thales,
Ÿ Spherical, free ﬂowing, low Cobalt
The company states that as part commented, “Partnering with
of the agreement, it will use its Titomic to industrialise research
oxygen content powders Superalloys
Titomic Kinetic Fusion® (TKF) AM outcomes in the development
Ÿ We can arrange trials from

Aerospace
process to manufacture lighter,
stronger and better-performing
and manufacture of lighter and
stronger soldier systems equipment
R&D to pilot to production Silicon
soldier system components. That
MIM continues to demonstrate Thales’s
Titomic’s extensive R&D for soldier commitment to deliver capability
systems is now being commercial- advantage to the Australian
ised with defence primes such as Aluminium
soldier. While developing a resilient
Thales is thought to validate the Australian Sovereign Industrial
Nickel
unique capabilities of TKF and the
potential value chain of titanium
Capability that will pave the way for
future export opportunities.”
from Australian resources. The The Hon Melissa Price MP,
company added that its vision is Australia’s Minister for Defence
in line with the Australian govern- Industry, reported, “It’s great to
ment, which aims for the country see Australian businesses like
to be one of the top ten defence HIP
Titomic making the most of the
exporters globally. opportunities created through our
“We are proud to be partnering record investment in the defence
with Thales, a global technology industry. It proves we are developing
leader, in the critical design and world-leading capability right here
manufacture of military products in Australia – which has tremendous
for Australian and UK Defence export potential in global markets.”
HERMIGA - Vacuum Inert Gas
Atomiser (VIGA) supplied by
PSI Ltd
Aerospace
Forces,” stated Jeff Lang, Titomic’s
Managing Director. “This next
www.titomic.com
www.thalesgroup.com
www.psiltd.co.uk
Application of MPP Powders
Ÿ Automotive
Titanium
Ÿ Aerospace
Ÿ Energy Storage Nickel
Ÿ Energy Generation Superalloys
Ÿ Medical
Medical
Metal Powder & Process Limited
Cobalt
Tel: +44 (0)1323 404 844
info@metalpowderprocess.co.uk Silicon
Titomic will use its Titomic Kinetic Fusion AM process to produce next-
www.metalpowderprocess.co.uk Additive Manufacturing
generation soldier weapons systems (Courtesy Titomic Limited)
80 Metal Additive Manufacturing | Spring 2020 HIP Automotive

© 2020 Inovar Communications Ltd Vol. 6 No. 1
Magnesium
Aluminium
Smiths HP and Burloak Technologies

to supply additively manufactured
parts to Formula 1
Smiths High Performance (Smiths parts and applications that will be at
HP), a supplier of advanced the forefront of Formula 1 racing for
engineering materials to the global many years to come.”
motorsport sector, based in Bedford- The companies state that they Smiths High Performance and
shire, UK, and Additive Manufacturing will work together to apply design Burloak Technologies are working
specialist Burloak Technologies, for Additive Manufacturing principles together to supply AM components
Ontario, Canada, have signed an to the complex challenges of making to the Formula 1 sector (Courtesy
agreement to supply additively lighter, stronger and optimally Smiths HP)
manufactured metal and polymer designed parts that improve overall
components to the worldwide performance. Additive Manufac-
Formula 1 motor racing market. turing will allow design flexibility and to leverage and extend our leading
“We are excited to partner with modifications that are not available capabilities in Additive Manufacturing
Burloak Technologies, a world through traditional manufacturing into the world of Formula 1 racing.
leader in Additive Manufacturing,” processes. With their reputation and position in
stated Rob Kitchen, General Peter Adams, President and the market, we are looking forward
Manager, Smiths HP. “They will co-founder of Burloak Technologies, to the opportunity to apply Additive
enable us to provide unique value commented, “We are pleased to Manufacturing in innovative ways to
to our customers through Additive have signed this agreement with solve real-time needs.”
Manufacturing. We look forward to Smiths High Performance, we www.smithshp.com
working with Burloak to develop believe this is the best channel www.burloaktech.com
The perfect
debind / sinter
combination
for Metal FDM
www.xerion.de/fusionfactory
Avimetal Powder Metallurgy Technology Co., Ltd.
www.amcpowders.com
sales.amcpowders.com
Lexi Liu +86 18636327355 lexiliu@amcpowders.com
Optimisation of flow distributor

and mixer designs
Researchers at Australia’s RMIT uniform flow distribution and fluid
University, Melbourne, and the mixing further complicate the
Commonwealth Scientific and required geometry and challenge
Industrial Research Organisation conventional manufacturing
(CSIRO), Clayton, have utilised metal processes. However, according to the
Additive Manufacturing to develop research team, the maturing of metal
flow distributor and mixer designs Additive Manufacturing processes
which enable the uniform distribution has significantly increased the range
and mixing of fluids, a common of possible geometries, enabling the
functional requirement in a range of construction of high-performance
fluid handling applications. flow distribution devices which were
Flow distributors are needed not previously feasible.
in a number of industries, for fuel To exploit this opportunity, the
burners, heat exchangers, spray researchers have developed flow
manifolds, bubble columns and distributor and mixer designs based
spargers, and catalytic converters. on a recursively self-similar flow Additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V
In many applications, system bifurcation scheme, which achieves dual fluid flow distributor and mixer
performance is directly dependent very high outlet flow uniformity and comprising of 64 mixed outlets
on the uniformity of flow distribution. packing density. Studying systems (Courtesy RMIT University)
For example, in chemical reactors encountered in nature, such as
utilising catalytically coated monoliths in plants, blood vessels and lung
comprising many parallel channels, bronchial trees, the researchers from titanium and nickel alloys, with
variation in the flow distribution observed that these achieve good varying design configurations. Experi-
across channels results in non- performance due to generally mental testing is said to confirm
uniformity of catalyst utilisation. symmetric and repeating flow paths. the predicted high flow uniformity,
Similarly, in large-area gas burners, By using this symmetrical approach, and the resulting patented flow
maldistribution of fuel and oxidisers tailored for Additive Manufacturing, distribution system has the potential
and non-uniform mixing can result in the designs have achieved high flow to improve performance across many
uneven temperature distribution and uniformity across a broad range of industrial applications, particularly
combustion inefficiencies. channel diameters, number of outlet in chemical process applications
A range of flow distributor designs channels and flow conditions. such as milli/microchannel reactors,
have been used in practice, however The flow distributor designs can contactors and static mixers.
the ability of these to achieve high be manufactured efficiently due to the The team’s research was published
flow uniformity over multiple outlet use of an inherently self-supporting in Science Direct, Volume 143. For
channels and flow conditions has geometry, with no support structures further information, contact Dr Maciej
been limited by design constraints required and complete internal void Mazur (maciej.mazur@rmit.edu.au).
due to manufacturing by machining powder recovery. A range of devices www.rmit.edu.au
or casting. Applications requiring have been manufactured by L-PBF www.csiro.au
Flow distributor and mixer devices (i) Six-stage polymer flow distributor (64 outlets) (ii) Four-stage Inconel 625 flow
distributor (16 outlets) (iii) Six-stage Inconel 625 flow distributor (64 outlets) (iv) Four-stage Inconel 625 dual fluid flow
distributor and mixer (16 outlets) and (v) Four-stage dual fluid flow distributor and mixer in operation (Courtesy RMIT)
it became a sponsor, and has since

Bloodhound LSR, featuring metal provided its Additive Manufacturing
additively manufactured parts, reaches expertise to design and manufacture
parts for the supersonic car.
628 mph in speed testing The titanium steering wheel is
designed specifically to fit the hands
of Andy Green, assisting him when
The Bloodhound LSR, a supersonic South Africa. The team behind the driving the car. The Bloodhound’s
car incorporating a metal additively Bloodhound LSR, formerly Blood- nose tip, again manufactured
manufactured titanium nose tip hound SSC, are working towards from titanium powder, is a strong,
and steering wheel produced by breaking the world land speed lightweight component, capable of
Renishaw, achieved a speed of 1,011 record, set over twenty years ago. dealing with the extreme loadings
km/h (628 mph) during high-speed Renishaw began working with the that occur when the car is at high
testing at the Hakskeen Pan track in Bloodhound project in 2013 when speeds.
“Reaching 628 mph in South Africa
was an incredible achievement for
Bloodhound and it was exciting to see
Renishaw’s technology being a part of
it,” commented Chris Pockett, Head
of Communications at Renishaw.
“Additive Manufacturing gave us the
freedom to design the nose cone and
steering wheel specifically to undergo
the extreme forces involved in the
land speed attempt, which would’ve
been difficult with traditional
manufacturing methods.”
The Bloodhound team is
now working through its plan of
high-speed testing, followed by its
attempt to set a new world land
speed record in 2020/21. The current
land speed record of 1,227.985 km/h
(763.035 mph) was set in 1997 by the
Thrust SSC car, also driven by Andy
Green.
Renishaw additively manufactured a titanium steering wheel (top left) and nose www.renishaw.com
tip (top right) for the Bloodhound LSR (Courtesy Renishaw/Bloodhound LSR) www.bloodhoundlsr.com
Fraunhofer IFAM short courses on • Description and control of powder

properties
Powder Handling and Flow for AM • Powder flow measurements
• Density measurements and
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufac- Technology, University of Greenwich, particle morphology
turing Technology and Advanced Kent, UK, will be presented across • Basic overview of powder
Materials (IFAM), Bremen, Germany, two days and include the following evolution and quality loss
is set to deliver two short courses topics: • Control of flow properties
on Powder Handling and Flow for
• Recycling and quality issues • Segregation in processes
Additive Manufacturing in 2020. The
first is being held at its headquarters • Standards for AM Powders • Particle aggregation
in Bremen, Germany, April 22–23, and • Hoppers for storage and • Powder electrostatics
the second will be held at Carpenter discharge • Particle degradation
Additive’s facility in Widnes, Cheshire,
• Flow patterns, principles of
UK, on July 15–16. The courses, www.ifam.fraunhofer.de
reliable flow
organised in cooperation with Wolfson www.gre.ac.uk
Centre for Bulk Solids Handling • Powder flow properties www.carpenteradditive.com
L SO LUTIO
BA N
SF
GLO
OR YOUR P
E ED S
N
L OW
ER META D
About Kymera International:

With nine manufacturing sites in seven countries,
Kymera International is a global leading producer
and distributor of powders, pastes and granules of
aluminum, aluminum alloys, copper, copper oxide,
bronze, brass, tin and several specialty alloys.
© 2019 Kymera International www.kymerainternational.com

Discover the future

for sinter-based
Ti parts in PIM
International
The PM Titanium conference series
is a key international event for those
involved in the powder metallurgical Efraín Carreño-Morelli presented a binder-based AM technology
processing of titanium and its alloys.
In September last year, PMTi2019 was was lower than in previous years, Ebel production systems including an AM
held at the University of Utah, Salt notes a trend toward presentations machine, debinding and sintering
Lake City, USA. on ‘MIM-like’ AM technologies such furnace are now available to
In the December 2019 issue of as Binder Jetting (BJT) and Fused purchase.
PIM International (Vol. 13 No. 4), Dr Filament Fabrication (FFF). It is clear from these widely-publi-
Thomas Ebel reviewed a selection of These technologies enable the cised developments that sintering and
conference papers from PMTi2019 production of single parts or small the use of feedstocks comprised of
that suggest that progress on the series of parts without the need for metal powder and binder remain very
sinter-based processing of titanium a mould or tooling. Binder Jetting attractive manufacturing technolo-
and titanium alloys continues to is currently being developed into a gies. In addition, some, such as FFF,
mature, with cost reduction a major production technology, with the aim to are comparatively cheap to set up
focus of research. While the number facilitate the manufacturing of large and run, making them an attractive
of presentations focusing specifically numbers of parts; these efforts have entry-level technology for companies
on Metal Injection Moulding (MIM) been widely publicised, and complete new to metal Additive Manufacturing.
BOOTH 2120 KITTYHAWK

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Inovar Communications Ltd | Spring 2020 Metal Additive Manufacturing Vol. 6 No.
| WinterLtd2015
© 2020 Inovar Communications 91
However, not all of these technolo-

gies were originally developed for the
Fehrmann’s AlMgty
processing of titanium, the sintering brings colour to
of which remains comparatively
difficult. To reliably sinter this material
metal AM parts
and its alloys, specialist equipment
and processing considerations may be Fehrmann Alloys GmbH & Co KG,
required to achieve results equivalent Hamburg, Germany, has reported
to those attainable by non-powder- that its silicon-free aluminium alloy
based technologies. AlMgty has the ability to be anodised
The papers reviewed by Ebel in a variety of colours, bringing the The two AM test parts anodised in red
showed promising progress toward option to its metal additively manufac- and gold (Courtesy Fehrmann Alloys)
addressing these considerations, tured parts for the first time.
and reinforced the position of Components made of the standard image above were produced using
sinter-based AM again as one of the alloy AlSi10Mg cannot be anodised AlMgty by Andreas Wiesner, former
most important areas of research well due to its silicon content of 9 to head of R&D at SLM Solutions
in titanium processing. The key 11%, resulting in grey-brown coloured and now owner of the firm AM &
application areas highlighted, such parts. The company states that Research, on a standard SLM Solu-
as aerospace and medical devices, AlMgty does not require silicon and tions SLM 280 HL system. The test
offer a promising potential market for as a result, components which are parts comprised a converted and half
these technologies if the challenges of additively manufactured with AlMgty turned tension rod and a small plate
titanium sintering can be addressed. can be anodised in various colours as which were then anodised in dark
The full article is available to read corrosion protection and for decora- red or gold. The anodised layer was
for free online in the digital edition of tive purposes. approximately 25 µm thick and the
PIM International. The company explains that the platelet was then polished.
www.pim-international.com two components shown in the www.alloys.tech
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EWIE Group launches Additive shops that offer technologies they

do not, machine distributors, and
Manufacturing brand Azoth 3D partners with deep additive exper-
tise. They are also providing reverse
engineering and DFA services.”
The EWIE Group of Companies provide world-class products and ECG reports that its vision for
(EGC), a family of manufacturing global support. Lastly, benchmarking Azoth is to transform the physical
brands headquartered in Ann Abor, best practices and replicating them inventory of a plant into a digital
Michigan, USA, recently launched a throughout a customer’s manufac- one, thereby reducing the costs
new brand focused on the provision turing facilities. Azoth is leveraging of its customers. To this end, the
of Additive Manufacturing services to these same principles in the world of company has coined a new phrase:
its group companies and customers. additive.” ‘Take One Make One’ or ‘TOMO’.
Azoth 3D offers both metal and Azoth 3D’s Center of Excellence, “The problem Azoth seeks to solve
polymer Additive Manufacturing, as also located in Ann Arbor, is said to was ever-present in EGC’s existing
well as associated services such have grown from an empty warehouse customer base, and early adoption
as design and prototyping, and 3D into an impressive lab of the indus- of their business model has been
scanning and reverse engineering. try’s highest-performing technology in significant,” explained Mullick.
East West Industrial Engineering less than two years. The team stated “Since the issues surrounding
Company, the founding brand of EGC, that it envisions being able to support spare parts are common to all
was founded in the 1980s and has the bulk of orders from this HQ, manufacturing facilities, Azoth has
since focused on using technology to focusing primarily on Binder Jetting been able to grow beyond the group’s
reduce its customers’ operating costs for its metal AM offering. common customer architype,” he
and improve production efficiencies. To support its metal AM continued. “New customers choose
The group’s companies now service capabilities, the company has so far Azoth because of their ability to
300+ facilities in twelve countries. built partnerships with Digital Metal manufacture precision parts to
Explaining the decision to enter and its parent company Höganäs, blueprints, their vast knowledge of
the Additive Manufacturing market, Höganäs, Sweden; Desktop Metal, the additive tools available in the
EGC stated that, understanding the Burlington, Massachusetts; and market, and the ability to imple-
shifting landscape of manufacturing Elnik Systems, LLC, and its sister ment digital inventory on demand.
as part of Industry 4.0, the need to company DSH Technologies, Cedar Customers that choose to work with
diversify became clear. One of the Grove, New Jersey, USA. “Just as Azoth get more than a 3D printed
largest subcategories of items that a traditional manufacturing facility part. They get a team focused on
its brands are often asked to source could not procure all its tools from generating solutions, with access
are machine spare parts, with most one toolmaker; Azoth is diverse in to the latest technology in AM, and
production facilities stocking rooms its partnerships and holistic in its EGC’s manufacturing history.”
full of brackets, gripper fingers, services,” stated Mullick. “The team www.azoth3d.com
fixtures, motors, and automation has built up a network that includes www.ewie.com
components in order to minimise the
impact of machine downtime.
In many cases, when a machine
part fails, it is too old to locate an
original manufacturer to source a
replacement. This is further compli-
cated when submitting a one-off
emergency order to a local machine
shop, where lead times are long
and prices are high. This, EGC saw,
offered the perfect opportunity to
take advantage of Additive Manufac-
turing’s unique capabilities.
“The EGC’s success, and
consistent growth, can be attributed
to three things,” explained Joey
Mullick, Vice President, Azoth 3D.
“First, identifying the best technology
for a plant operation. Second,
consolidating the vendor base by Cody Cochran, Azoth 3D’s Key Account Manager, with an installed machine
identifying manufacturers who from Elnik Systems, LLC (Courtesy Azoth 3D)
McLaren MP4-12C performance prior to this, he had not considered

using AM to produce automotive parts;
improved with customised metal AM however, given the complex nature of
powertrain components the project at hand, AM was the ideal
solution.
Over a number of meetings, Yousef
In a project to boost the performance partners approached the company and the KAM design team reevaluating
of a McLaren 2014 MP4-12C having recently analysed a McLaren his designs to ensure the final CAD
supercar, a team of engineers have 2014 MP4-12C and found inefficien- designs would be optimised for
used metal Additive Manufacturing cies in the powertrain that it believed Additive Manufacturing. Inconel 625
to build a number of customised it could improve upon. The team and Aluminum 6061 were selected
powertrain components. Keselowski developed its own new powertrain as the materials to be used, and the
Advanced Manufacturing (KAM), a designs, but encountered challenges metal powders were analysed using
specialist in hybrid manufacturing in that, while the motor and transmis- KAM’s in-house lab prior to Additive
based in Statesville, North Carolina, sion for the vehicle would stay in Manufacturing to ensure they met the
USA, was recently approached by place, many other elements including required specifications.
ACME Hi-Performance Laboratories, the intercoolers, the intake manifold, Following the production of the
a custom design and engineering and more, would have to be dramati- parts by metal Additive Manufacturing
business developing components cally redesigned. on a Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF)
for automotive, aviation and military Because shaping the individual machine, Yousef stated, “We were able
applications, to assist in its project to parts ‘by hand’ using conventional to create these super complex shapes
improve the powertrain efficiency of manufacturing methods would and pieces into actual solid parts.
the vehicle. be both time consuming and They’ll perform the way we need them
According to KAM, the project cost-prohibitive, Yousef was advised to perform. The exterior shape that we
began when ACME Hi-Performance to contact KAM for advanced manu- needed to achieve was possible with
lead engineer Safa Yousef and his facturing support. Yousef stated that, 3D printing, but we could also optimise
the interior shape, so the inside shape
can be completely different than
the outside shape. So that was also
another great advantage of the 3D
printing. Complexities are absolutely
free.”
Each of the parts was then analysed
using KAM’s on-site CT scanning
machines to inspect their quality.
Those parts which required it were
also machined using KAM’s 3-7 axis
Mazak CNC machines. “Even if you
just want to go into KAM with just
an idea for a part design,” Yousef
commented. “They can take it from
a sketch off of a napkin and go to
full-blown finished production, a final
produced part. And that’s what’s great
about working with these guys.”
Yousef added that the additively
manufactured parts performed better
than he had expected. “It’s just a
complete overhaul and revamp of
the entire powertrain,” he stated. In
the coming months, the company
will conduct additional testing of the
McLaren parts in the field, including
road courses and standing mile and
two-mile testing at the Kennedy Space
Center.
Additively manufactured intake manifold for the McLaren MP4-12C, built at www.kamsolutions.com
KAM for ACME Hi-Performance Laboratories (Courtesy KAM) www.acmehpl.com
Hirtenberger. Ingenuity. Engineered
HIRTISATION®
FULLY AUTOMATED POST-PROCESSING
OF 3D-PRINTED METAL PARTS
Combination of electrochemical pulse methods, hydro- Removal of powder cake

dynamic flow and particle assisted chemical removal Removal of support structures
Reaching deeply into cavities and geometric undercuts Levelling of surface roughness while retaining
No mechanical processing steps involved edge sharpness
Hirtenberger Engineered
Surfaces GmbH
Leobersdorfer Strasse 31-33
2552 Hirtenberg/Austria
Phone: +43 2256 811 84-835
E-Mail: hes@hirtenberger.com hes.hirtenberger.com
Swansea University opens The Barnes Group Advisors

£35 million materials and reports on potential
engineering research facility economic benefits of
Swansea University, Wales, UK, has opened the Institute
Neighborhood 91
for Innovative Materials, Processing and Numerical
The Barnes Groups Advisors (TBGA), headquartered
Technologies (IMPACT), a £35 million materials
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, has released an
and engineering research facility, at the College of
impact study revealing the overall economic benefits of
Engineering on Swansea University’s Bay Campus,
an Additive Manufacturing production campus for the
reports Materials World magazine. The new facility is
Pittsburgh International Airport, currently in develop-
intended to cater for collaborative research projects
ment and known as Neighborhood 91.
between industry and academia. It will reportedly target
According to TBGA, its report substantiates that
five core research areas including future manufacturing,
a cluster concept like Neighborhood 91 can act as a
next-generation material property measurement,
catalyst for AM industrialisation and innovation with
advanced structural materials, thin films and coatings,
the creation of a cost-efficient ecosystem. Multiple
and data-centric engineering.
numerical data models with relevant industry data
The facility has 1,600 m2 of open plan laboratories
were reportedly complemented by economic theory to
and is fitted with cutting-edge equipment set to serve
analyse the impact. The following five key impact areas
projects in innovative materials, modelling and manu-
were identified:
facturing, and advanced engineering to support both
theoretical and applied research projects. The centre • Reduction in production costs – 25% for parts and
also features robotics, cobots and Additive Manufac- 30% for powder
turing capabilities, as well as a £1.2 million wind tunnel • Simplified supply chain with 80% reduction in
for testing airflow movements around solid objects. manufacturing lead time and 80+% reduction in
www.swansea.ac.uk transportation cost and miles for powder to part
production
• Workforce development and R&D boost productivity
and innovation
COMPLEX
• Agglomeration economies and labour market
pooling for reductions in learning curves and
under-utilised equipment
PART WANTED • Reduced energy consumption and emissions
Complete solution found Laura Ely, TBGA ADDvisor Services Leader and
the report’s co-author, commented, “The current AM
production supply chain is fragmented. This study
validates that Neighborhood 91’s centralised campus
will significantly reduce cost and the need to manage
parts across a dispersed supply chain.”
3D METAL PRINTING AT TOOLCRAFT – John Barnes, TBGA Founder and Managing Director,
stated, “A cluster does two key things: It enables
EVERYTHING FROM A SINGLE SOURCE
process owners to focus on developing and optimising
++ Most complex components made of high perfor- their core process, and it creates a skilled regional
mance alloys ++ Increase in economic efficiency labour pool.”
due to significant reduction in resources and weight The full economic impact report is available via the
++ Topology optimisation and FEM calculations ++ Neighbourhood 91 website.
Latest machinery, state-of-the-art analysis technology
www.neighborhood91.com
and vacuum heat treatment
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paul@inovar-communications.com
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U.S. marines in
Okinawa install
Metal X system for
AM of vehicle or
weapon parts
Members of the III Marine Expedi-
tionary Force (III MEF), stationed
at the U.S. armed forces base
Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan,
have installed a Markforged Metal
X Additive Manufacturing system to
produce vehicle or weapon parts in
the Indo-Pacific region, reports Stars The socket on the right was made with the unit’s new Markforged Metal X
and Stripes. (Courtesy M M Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The Metal X system is located at
the 3rd Maintenance Battalion shop at
Camp Kinser and became operational mean milling new parts out of blocks Reynolds added that with the Metal
in December 2019. The III MEF is of metal, a wasteful and time- X, marines can now take on as many as
reportedly the first expeditionary consuming process. four projects at a time. The battalion’s
force to receive one of the $150,000 The Metal X system is capable of goal is to be able to produce any metal
machines. additively manufacturing multiple part required. Currently, it has made
Staff Sgt Quincy Reynolds, Shop pieces at the same time, so that gauges for .50-caliber machine guns,
Foreman, explained that the shop has once a marine ensures the build’s sockets for wrenches and a piece to
twelve marines who are responsible base layers are correct, it can be left test weapon optics at the armoury.
for repairing components for vehicles unmanned, freeing up the marine for www.iiimef.marines.mil
and weapon systems, which can other tasks. www.markforged.com
AM start-up focuses on production

of titanium orthopaedic implants
with Arcam EBM
Amplify Additive, Scarborough, Maine, with this Electron Beam Melting
USA, a metal Additive Manufacturing technology, we can produce implants
start-up which specialises in that not only have never been able to
orthopaedic implants, is producing be designed and manufactured before
a range of titanium implants using but provide a better quality of care for
GE Additive Arcam’s Electron Beam patients.”
Melting (EBM) technology. The McLaughlin added, “Because we
company operates three Arcam EBM have experience on all sides of the Amplify Additive manufactures
Q10plus machines at its facility in industry – design & manufacturing titanium orthopaedic implants using
Scarborough. with one of the largest orthopaedic three Arcam EBM Q10plus machines
The Arcam EBM Q10plus is suppliers, clinical experience as (Courtesy Amplify Additive)
designed for the industrial production an orthopaedic implant distributor,
of orthopaedic implants, and operates unique and specific experience
under vacuum at elevated tempera- helping commercialise the 3rd product through the FDA and out to
tures to provide material properties generation Arcam platform, and the market. This complete experience
that exceed industry standards. having had an opportunity to provide is what separates us from other
Brian McLaughlin, President, CEO, guidance to the FDA on Additive suppliers.”
and Founder of Amplify Additive, Manufacturing – we fully understand www.amplifyadditive.com
stated, “By 3D printing titanium what it takes to bring an additive www.ge.com
Ellen Brooke named as CEO of

ImphyTek Powders
Following the formation of the standing of critical business drivers
new jointly-established company, in multiple markets and industries,
ImphyTek PowdersTM SAS in and holds a Bachelor of Law from
November 2019, Aperam S.A., Hull University, UK.
Luxembourg, and Tekna, a subsid- According to Aperam and Tekna,
iary of Arendals Fossekompani after pre-notification discussions and
ASA, headquartered in Sherbrooke, short-form CO filing, the companies
Canada, have nominated Ellen are in the process of obtaining
Brooke as CEO of the new company. European Commission clearance to Ellen Brook has been nominated as
Brooke has worked in senior create a full-function joint venture CEO for Aperam and Tekna’s jointly
roles at Aperam since 2002 and combining their expertise in nickel established company, ImphyTek
the companies state that she has and speciality alloy spherical Powders (Courtesy Aperam/Tekna)
demonstrated strong capabilities powders for advanced Additive
in achieving revenue and business Manufacturing technologies. to meet the growing needs of Additive
growth objectives within multiple Upon EU Commission clearance, Manufacturing and Metal Injection
environments, both in Europe ImphyTek PowdersTM SAS will be Moulding (MIM) in all industrial
and South America. Brooke has based in France and will market segments.
extensive experience in sales and the companies’ jointly-developed www.aperam.com
manufacturing, with a deep under- high-quality spherical metal powders www.tekna.com
Arcast begins year installing multiple gas industrial partners and government
agencies to develop new materials
atomisers in USA and Europe and applications.
At North Carolina State
Arcast Inc., Oxford, Maine, USA, has “The increase in metal powder University, the Center for Additive
announced it shipped and installed research for Powder Metallurgy and Manufacturing and Logistics
several new gas atomisers in January AM applications is significant in the (CAMAL) will use a VersaMelt gas
2020. The company, a producer of USA at the moment,” stated Arcast. atomiser for powder production to
advanced melting and metal powder “We currently have seven inert gas support its AM hub. The atomiser
atomisation systems, has supplied atomisers being supplied within is expected to allow the centre
atomisers to the Center for Manufac- the USA. It is good to see the USA team, led by Tim Horn, to produce
turing Research of Tennessee Tech, investing in this growing market. the source material for its Additive
USA; CEIT, San Sebastián, Spain; This is a big change from just a few Manufacturing projects, eliminating
South Dakota School of Mines and years ago when most of the growth long lead times for externally
Technology, USA; and North Carolina in this area was in Europe.” sourced powders.
State University, USA. Tennessee Tech has received Outside of the US, a large-scale
a VersaMelt multi-mode inert gas inert gas atomiser has been
atomiser. Due to its wide range of shipped to Spain’s Centro de
melting and processing options, Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas
this atomiser is expected to give the de Gipuzkoa (CEIT), for installation
research group the ability to cleanly at its new powder development
melt and atomise a large number centre in San Sebastián. CEIT’s
of diverse materials, including metal powder research includes
titanium, copper, iron, cobalt, the atomisation of metal powders
hafnium, tantalum, tungsten and for use in Additive Manufacturing,
other metal alloys. magnetic materials and the
An Arc 200 arc melting furnace, automotive aeronautic sectors; the
with gas atomising option, has been development of Powder Metallurgy
installed at the South Dakota School steels; the manufacture of hard and
of Mines and Technology’s Materials soft magnetic materials using PM
and Metallurgical Engineering routes; the design of metal powders
Arcast’s large-scale gas atomiser in department. The system will enable specifically for AM, and more.
action at CEIT (Courtesy Arcast Inc.) the research team to work with www.arcastinc.com
ASTM International developing new we need to determine the sensitivity

of these variations and assess
Additive Manufacturing standard repeatability across various users,
materials, and systems,” stated
ASTM International’s Additive Manu- turing process to be repeatable and Nima Shamsaei, a founding member
facturing Technologies Committee with minimal deviation in order to of ASTM International’s Additive
(F42) is developing a standard that confidently fabricate parts that meet Manufacturing Center of Excellence,
could help to quickly assess the specific quality standards. There are a professor in the Mechanical
quality of additively manufactured procedures implemented to qualify a Engineering department at Auburn
parts, as well as the performance of metallurgical process (QMPs), such University and the Director of the
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) as MSFC-SPEC-3717, but these are National Center for Additive Manu-
machines. time consuming and can potentially facturing Excellence (NCAME).
The F42 committee is comprised increase downtime during the The technical point of contact
of 725 members and eight technical evaluation period. Additionally, there for this standard’s development,
subcommittees, and all standards is little guidance on how to monitor Jonathan Pegues, of Sandia
it develops are published in the and understand build health during National Laboratories, explained
Annual Book of ASTM Standards. The the intervals between QMPs. that the standard could ultimately
committee welcomes representa- The proposed standard aims to use assist manufacturers, laboratories,
tives of industries, universities, and off-the-shelf tools to quickly generate government agencies and other
research facilities, that work in AM qualitative data related to dimensional stakeholders that produce L-PBF
technology, to participate in the accuracy and material strength, both parts for structural applications. It is
upcoming round-robin experiments of which serve as indicators of the believed that the applicability of this
to assess the robustness of the health of the machine and the part. method could potentially be extended
proposed standard (WK71395). “We are successfully working to other Additive Manufacturing
The high demand for reliable AM to capture variations in the Laser systems.
parts requires the Additive Manufac- Powder Bed Fusion process. Now www.astm.org
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Osseus introduces additively

manufactured titanium transforaminal
lumbar interbody fusion device
Osseus Fusion Systems, Dallas, According to Osseus, the Aries
Texas, USA, a medical device company family of lumbar interbody fusion
specialising in advanced technology devices features a proprietary mesh Osseus Fusion Systems has
products for minimally invasive lattice structure, which helps reduce launched the Aries™-TS, an additively
surgery, has launched Aries™-TS, the stiffness of the cage and maximise manufactured titanium spine implant
an additively manufactured trans- bone graft packability. The distinctive (Courtesy Osseus Fusion Systems)
foraminal lumbar interbody fusion mesh structure is optimised to create
device. a superior environment for bone cell
The company explains that its fixation and proliferation. “In January, we celebrated the
range of Aries devices are constructed The Aries-TS system is intended one-year anniversary of the first
from highly porous titanium, which is for intervertebral body fusion proce- implantation of the Aries-L lateral
optimised for bone fusion and biolog- dures in skeletally mature patients lumbar interbody fusion device so we
ical fixation using Osseus’ Additive with degenerative disc disease (DDD) are very excited to follow it up with the
Manufacturing technology, PL3XUS. of the lumbar spine at one or two launch of the Aries-TS,” stated Robert
This titanium technology utilises contiguous levels from L2 to S1. It Pace, CEO of Osseus Fusion Systems.
Powder Bed Fusion, specifically Laser also offers aid to Grade 1 spondylolis- “As a company committed to helping
Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), to create thesis or retrolisthesis at the involved those in need of relief from chronic
80% porous implants with increased level(s). The company states that its lumbar pain, we are confident that the
bone graft packability and lower stiff- next interbody to be released will the Aries™ family of lumbar interbodies is
ness compared to competitive devices Aries™-TC Transforaminal Curved a positive step toward that goal.”
on the market. Interbody. www.osseus.com
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ASTM International
Conference on Additive
Manufacturing
(ASTM ICAM 2020)
Organized by the ASTM International
Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence
Learn more about additive manufacturing technologies through
a greater understanding of application requirements, process
controls, and feedstock-process-structure-property-performance
relationships.
November 17-20, 2020 | Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel, Orlando, FL
Submit an Abstract or Register Today! www.amcoe.org/icam
Industry, academia, and government agency professionals in

the AM community are invited to participate and help address
the need for industry standards, design principals, as well as
qualification and certification challenges.
There will be several symposia organized For more information,
during this conference, including: contact the conference chairs:
– Structural integrity, qualification – Mechanical testing of AM materials Dr. Nima Shamsaei
Auburn University
and certification – 3D printed electronics Director, National
– Industry 4.0 (Cyber, AI, Robotics, – Application of AM in biomedical Center for Additive
Automation, Sensors, etc.) Manufacturing
– General additive manufacturing topics Excellence (NCAME)
– AM feedstock including design and simulation, shamsaei@auburn.edu
– Application of AM in construction materials and processing, post tel +1.334.844.4839
– 3D printed ceramics processing, and safety
– Application of AM in oil and gas industry – AM applications in general aviation Dr. Mohsen Seifi
ASTM International
– 3D printed polymers and composites – AM applications in commercial Director, Global Additive
space flight Manufacturing Programs
– Microstructural aspects of AM
– Student presentation competition mseifi@astm.org
– Non-destructive evaluation tel +1.202.904.2834
methods for AM – AM challenges and opportunities in the
defense industry
– Fatigue & fracture of AM materials
Register Today! www.amcoe.org/icam

Deadline for Abstract Submittal: May 1, 2020
For additional information, contact amcoe@astm.org
company/additive-manufacturing-center-of-excellence @astmamcoe
Grain structure control during metal exhibited columnar prior-β grains

several millimetres in length and
Additive Manufacturing by high- ~0.5 mm in width traversing multiple
intensity ultrasound deposited layers (Fig. 2a, c). In

contrast, the sample with ultrasound
showed fine (~100 μm), equiaxed
The Additive Manufacturing of metals Microstructural analysis revealed prior-β grains (Fig. 2b, d).
typically leads to the formation of a substantial difference between the The prior-β grain number density
columnar grain structures along the AM-fabricated Ti-6Al-4V samples was increased from 3.3 mm-2 to
build direction in most as-built metals with and without ultrasound (Fig. 2). 65 mm-2 by ultrasound, confirming
and alloys. These long columnar The sample without ultrasound that ultrasound enhances nucleation
grains can cause property anisotropy,
which is usually detrimental to
component qualification or targeted
applications.
In a recent article in Nature
Communications ((2020) 11:142),
an Australian research team led by
Professor Ma Qian and comprising
colleagues at the Centre for Additive
Manufacturing, RMIT University,
Melbourne, and the Centre for
Advanced Materials Processing and
Manufacturing, University of Queens-
land, reported on the development of
an AM solidification-control solution
for metallic alloys with an equiaxed
grain structure and improved Fig. 1 Cross-sectional schematic showing metal AM by laser-based DED
mechanical properties, which does onto an ultrasound sonotrode vibrated at 20 kHz. The formation of acoustic
not change alloy chemistry. cavitation and streaming in the liquid metal by high-intensity ultrasound can
Using the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V vigorously agitate the melt during solidification, thereby promoting significant
as a model alloy, the team employed structural modification or refinement
high-intensity ultrasound to achieve
full transition from columnar grains
to fine (~100 μm) equiaxed grains in
AM Ti-6Al-4V samples produced by
laser-based Directed Energy Deposi-
tion (DED).
The application of high-intensity
ultrasound to crystallisation from
liquid to solid can noticeably affect the
properties of the crystalline material.
Ultrasonic irradiation of liquids can
cause acoustic cavitation. Acoustic
cavitation during solidification of
metal systems agitates the melt to
activate nuclei naturally present in
the alloy, proving useful in promoting
fine equiaxed grains in welding and
traditional casting processes.
During the study, Ti-6Al-4V
samples with and without high-
intensity ultrasound were prepared. Fig. 2 Left; Optical microscopy images of the samples a) without b) with
The ultrasound was introduced into ultrasound. Centre; polarised light microscopy images showing c) large
the melt by directly depositing the columnar grains and d) fine equiaxed grains. Right; Histograms of e) the
alloy on the working surface of a prior-β grain size and f) prior-β grain aspect ratio for the samples with and
Ti-6Al-4V sonotrode vibrated at 20 without ultrasound. Measured from traced prior-β grain images. The prior-β
kHz (Fig. 1). grain boundaries in c and d are traced in white. Scale bars, 1 mm
during solidification. The distribution approximate Hall–Petch relationship build height. This was achieved
of both the prior-β grain size and is observed. This implies that the by simply turning on and off the
prior-β grain aspect ratio were resulting equiaxed prior-β grain size high-intensity ultrasound during
changed dramatically by ultrasound has played a major role in improving AM. The approach thus also offers
(Fig. 2e, f), reflecting the much- the yield stress (~7% out of the total an alternative means of fabricating
improved prior-β grain structure 12% increase). graded grain structures during AM.
homogeneity. To test the generality of this Although the reported work
Tensile engineering stress-strain developed approach, high-intensity was restricted to Directed Energy
curves (Fig. 3) showed that the ultrasound has been similarly Deposition for ultrasonic grain
yield stress and tensile strength applied to the AM of Inconel 625, refinement during Additive Manu-
of the as-built Ti-6Al-4V were using a custom-made stainless- facturing, previous studies have
both increased by around 12% by steel 4140 sonotrode. The sample shown that stimulating solidifica-
ultrasound (e.g., from 980 ± 13 MPa fabricated without ultrasound tion control during wire-fed welding
to 1094 ± 18 MPa for yield stress). exhibited columnar primary γ grains processes is possible by ultrasoni-
Both groups of samples showed a of 500 μm in length and 150 μm in cally vibrating the weld pool. Since
strain-to-failure value of around 5%, width with a strong <001> texture. both wire-fed welding and wire-fed
which is said to be typical of as-built In contrast, the application of AM deposition processes share
DED processed Ti-6Al-4V. ultrasound produced predominantly similar fundamental principles, the
To put the strength improve- equiaxed primary γ grains of only authors anticipate that the method
ment by ultrasound into context, a few microns in size (much finer can be extended to wire-fed AM
the change in yield stress of than for Ti- 6Al-4V) with a near- processes.
AM-fabricated Ti-6Al-4V by ultra- random crystallographic texture. However, the vibrating sonotrode
sound vs that achieved by chemical This confirms the generality of may risk disrupting the powder
approaches is plotted in Fig. 3b. the ultrasonic approach for AM of layers after recoating in a powder
Deploying ultrasound, without different metallic materials. bed fusion AM system. In this
modifying alloy composition, results To further showcase the context, an inoculation path for
in a greater increase in yield stress capability of this approach for grain refinement may be more
than alloying with B, LaB6 and C. solidification control during Additive applicable to metal AM by powder
Fig. 3c plots literature data Manufacturing, a microstructur- bed fusion processes.
and data from this study on the ally graded Inconel 625 sample Greater detail on this study is
yield stress of AM-fabricated α–β was fabricated that exhibited an available from Professor Qian, the
Ti-6Al-4V vs the inverse square alternating columnar/equiaxed/ paper’s corresponding author.
root of the prior-β grain size (d). An columnar grain structure along its ma.qian@rmit.edu.au
Fig. 3 a) Engineering stress-strain curves of the as-built samples with and without ultrasound. The error bars represent
one standard deviation of three tests. b) Change in yield stress of AM-fabricated Ti-6Al-4V by chemical addition
compared with ultrasound in this work. c) Tensile yield stress vs the inverse of square root of prior-β grain size from the
literature and this work. The solid line in c represents the Hall-Petch line (σy = σ0 + kd-1/2, σ0: friction stress; k: mate-
rial constant; d: grain size) of best fit, while the dashed lines define ±0.15σ0 (where σ0 = 710 MPa) along the linear fit
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Aurora Labs agrees certification services Aurora, and the terms and conditions
of delivery of these services. Aurora
framework with DNV GL announced in December 2017, that it
had signed a non-binding term sheet
Aurora Labs, Bibra Lake, Australia, processes in which parts or objects with DNV GL for the creation of an
has has entered into a Framework which are additively manufactured by independent certification process.
Agreement with DNV GL, a global Aurora can be independently quali- The companies state that they will
quality assurance and risk manage- fied or certified using the external explore opportunities with current
ment company headquartered in Oslo, qualification or certification services and potential partners to utilise DNV
Norway. As part of the agreement, provided by DNV GL. GL’s certification procedures.
DNV GL will provide certification “The use of an independent certifi- Brice Le Gallo, Regional Manager
services for Aurora’s metal Additive cation process for parts manufactured for South East Asia & Australia, DNV
Manufacturing machines. by our printers will strengthen the GL – Oil & Gas, commented, “3D
According to Aurora, the compa- competitive position of our technology printing has the potential to save
nies will work towards developing in parts manufacturing markets,” the industrial sector cost and time
stated David Budge, Managing worth billions of dollars and increase
Director of Aurora Labs. “Certification the sustainability of supply chains.
gives confidence to original equip- While it is currently in its infancy, the
ment manufacturers and consumers efficiency gains of shorter lead times
of parts that our printing technology for sourcing parts, and reduced
is able to meet the high industry need for storing stock, as well as the
standards of performance, quality, new design opportunities provide a
and reliability.” convincing argument that demand
Budge added, “We are very excited will develop rapidly.”
about the opportunity to work with “Issues of trust are key to 3D
DNV GL, being major players in the printing gaining acceptance. I’m
certification, ship registry and 3D delighted that DNV GL will be
printing certification space. Their partnering with Aurora to implement
certification services will help to systematic qualification and certifica-
fast track the adoption of Aurora’s tion processes that provide industrial
technology in our core industries and supply chains with assurance that
beyond.” Aurora’s metal printers meet high
DNV GL will provide certification The Framework Agreement standards of quality and integrity,” Le
services for parts built on Aurora’s reportedly sets out a general scope Gallo continued.
metal Additive Manufacturing of certification and audit services www.auroralabs3d.com
machines (Courtesy Aurora Labs) that may be provided by DNV GL to www.dnvgl.com
Dates announced for Additive

International Summit 2020
Dates have been confirmed for with interests in all the newest
the Additive International Summit, technological developments for the
formerly the International Conference AM industry. The event is targeted
on Additive Manufacturing and 3D at academic and industrial leaders
Printing, which will take place across in Additive Manufacturing and, since
three days from July 14–16, 2020. The 2006, has showcased next-generation Additive International will take place
first day will feature the pre-summit technology and the latest thinking. It at Nottingham’s famous Trent Bridge
event located at the University of provides a forum for practitioners to cricket ground (Courtesy NCCC)
Nottingham, Advanced Manufacturing build networks and drive innovation.
Building, Nottingham, UK, with the To accommodate the growth of The programme and speakers
main event based at Trent Bridge the event, the Additive International for the 2020 Additive International
Cricket Ground, Nottingham. Summit will be held for the first time Summit are yet to be announced.
Organised by Added Scientific Ltd, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Further information and registration
the Additive International Summit which is close to Nottingham City details are available via the event
regularly attracts over 250 delegates Centre, offering excellent transport website.
from more than 170 institutions links for visitors. www.additiveinternational.com
Project Workshop
Want to learn about innovative ways of improving the
sustainability of powder metallurgy processes?
The SUPREME project aims at optimising powder metallurgy processes

throughout the value chain, focusing on a combination of fast growing
industrial production routes and advanced ferrous and non-ferrous
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achievements!
The SUPREME experts’ workshop will cover a vast range of
subjects including:
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• 3D manufacturing
• Real time monitoring of energy and
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• Use-cases & impact demonstration
• Life cycle assesment & eco-innovation
Event Date: 09 July 2020

Location: Senlis, France
Standard Registration: €50
© GKN Sinter Metals Engineering GmbH
Registration Deadline: 15 June 2020
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This project has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020
Programme (H2020) under grant agreement no. 768612
Guhring UK reports 75% cost savings on AMRC appoints

AM tool steel milling cutter Steve Foxley
Guhring Ltd, Birmingham, UK, a at a time to form the part geometry,
Executive Director
subsidiary of cutting tool manufac- then debound and sintered. Alan
turer Guhring Group, has put into Pearce, PCD Production Supervisor The Advanced Manufacturing
production an H13 tool steel milling at Guhring UK, commented on Research Centre (AMRC), University
cutter additively manufactured on using system, “Within five days, of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK,
the Metal X Additive Manufacturing we had printed and sintered a fully has appointed Steve Foxley, former
system, developed by Markforged, functional metal cutter body/ Using Managing Director of Siemens, as its
Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. Markforged 3D printers just speeds new Executive Director. Foxley will
The new milling cutter features a up everything.” join the AMRC on January 20, 2020.
uniquely designed infill for increased “Guhring UK is doing something As part of his new role, Foxley will
efficiency, and is said to be 60% truly remarkable — they’re using lead the centre’s Management Board
lighter and 75% cheaper to produce additive to make subtractive to develop and strengthen relation-
than its conventionally-manufactured processes better,” commented ships with new and existing industrial
predecessor, allowing for faster tool Michael Papish, Vice President of partners; engage with government
changes in cycles and a reduction in Marketing at Markforged. “This is to identify opportunities for further
cycle times. the first time a company in our space strategic development of the AMRC,
Guhring UK specialises in the has had a foothold in the specialised and establish relationships with key
supply of made-to-order carbide and and early-stage production tooling stakeholders to ensure the continued
polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutting market. And instead of just replacing development and investment in the
tools for leading companies like BMW, their traditional cutting tool, Guhring City Region and Advanced Manufac-
Jaguar Land Rover, Airbus, and BAE has used our additive technology turing Innovation District.
Systems. The company made its initial to optimise the weight and interior Foxley takes on the role as
move into Additive Manufacturing geometry of the part, thereby creating Executive Director of the AMRC as
using a Markforged carbon fibre AM more efficient tools faster and it expands its footprint across the
machine to produce custom sample cheaper.” Midlands and the North, with new
parts and replacement parts for its “The Metal X removes the R&D facilities in Broughton, Preston
plant. Now, using Markforged’s Metal traditional design constraints of and Derby, supporting the govern-
X, the company is supplying a range conventional tool manufacturing while ment in achieving its goal of raising
of production-grade cutting tool providing the best that additive has R&D spend in the UK to 2.4% of GDP.
bodies for milling and special-purpose to offer,” he added. “The ability to Professor Koen Lamberts,
applications. reduce the weight of the part as well President and Vice-Chancellor of
The Metal X system produces parts as introduce completely new interior the University of Sheffield, stated,
using a process Markforged refers to features ensures Guhring UK will stay “We are delighted that Steve is
as Atomic Diffusion Additive Manufac- at the cutting edge of tool design.” joining us at this pivotal time for
turing (ADAM), in which metal powder www.guhring.co.uk the AMRC and the North. At the
bound in plastic is deposited a layer www.markforged.com AMRC we have an ecosystem for the
university to work with government
and industry to address productivity,
processes and skills in a range
of sectors – including aerospace,
energy, construction and all types of
manufacturing.”
On his appointment, Foxley
commented, “It is a privilege to be
appointed as Executive Director of
the AMRC. Coming from a company
that has a long history of research
collaboration with the University of
Sheffield and an even longer history
of involvement in innovation in the
city, I have long admired the truly
innovative work being done here.”
The additively manufactured H13 tool steel milling cutter was produced using a www.amrc.co.uk
Markforged Metal X system (Courtesy Markforged) www.sheffield.ac.uk
U.S. Metal Powders, Inc.
A M PA L | P O U D R E S H E R M I L L O N
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United States Metal Powders, Inc. has been a global leader in the production
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USMP
A M PA L | P O U D R E S H E R M I L L O N
Isostatic Toll
Services opens new
HIP facility in Spain
Isostatic Toll Services Bilbao
SL, opened its new Hot Isostatic
Pressing facility on 29th January,
2020, in Abanto Zierbena, Biscay,
Spain. With a total investment of
€14 million ($15.5 million), the new
plant reportedly offers the largest
available HIP systems in southern
Europe. The new facility will be officially opened this month (Courtesy ITS Bilbao)
Already installed and operational
at the Bilbao facility is an AIP52 HIP
unit, with a second identical system expected to serve the region’s growing In addition to providing toll
due to be installed in December medical implant manufacturing services, staff at ITS Bilbao will
2020. With a hot zone diameter industry. support a new AIP European
of 1100 and depth of 2500 mm at The new facility has been granted Competence Centre, established
103 MPa, the AIP52 is capable of EN 9100 approval by Bureau Veritas to serve the EMEA region with
processing large components, such and has been successfully audited installation, commissioning,
as engine blades, vanes and integral and approved by Rolls Royce and maintenance, inspection and repair of
rings used in the aviation industry. Pratt & Whitney. Safran approval is AIP’s range of presses and systems.
In addition to supporting the high- currently underway, with Nadcap www.isostatictollservices.com
tech aerospace sector, the facility is approval planned for mid 2020. www.aiphip.com
AMERICAN ISOSTATIC PRESSES, INC. ISOSTATIC TOLL SERVICES, LLC.
www.aiphip.com
www.isostatictollservices.com
Analysis. Trends. Forecasts.
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| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | Company profile: SPEE3D
Cheaper powders, faster build

speeds and no thermal stresses?
How AM is going supersonic at
SPEE3D
In recent years, Australia’s SPEE3D has made waves in the AM industry with its
Cold Spray-based metal Additive Manufacturing systems. Following successful
projects with the US and Australian military, and multiple installations at one
of Europe’s most experienced metal AM parts manufacturers, the world is
starting to take note. Alex Kingsbury visited the company at its Melbourne
base for Metal AM magazine and spoke with its founders and newly expanded
management team about its technology and international expansion.
SPEE3D co-founders Byron Kennedy SPEE3D CTO and co-founder Steven In 2010, they began investigating
and Steven Camilleri are no strangers Camilleri. “Regal helped us under- alternative manufacturing methods
to commercialising deep tech stand how manufacturing worked. You and were excited by the promise
innovations. It was during their time don’t normally have academic people of Additive Manufacturing, but the
working together on the Charles that worry about cost, lead time, excitement faded quickly when
Darwin University World Solar Car or customer experience.” Through confronted with the price tag. Calling
Challenge team that they developed exposure to international metal on their manufacturing training, they
a revolutionary high-efficiency motor supply chains and products, the pair knew this was due to the slow speed
for their car, the ‘Desert Rose’. The found sourcing quality metal compo- of the machines. “We set our minds
Desert Rose was awarded the world nents to be a very painful experience. to solve the scaling issue that Laser
speed record for solar cars in 2000;
and in 2001, Kennedy and Camilleri
established In Motion Technologies to
commercialise their electric motor.
A successful sale of the company in
2006 to NYSE-listed manufacturer
Regal Beloit made the motor
technology one of the most successful
spin-offs from solar car racing, and
the motors are now widely used in
many commonplace applications such
as pool pumps and air conditioners.
The sale to Regal gave the
co-founders the opportunity to
oversee commercial production of
their electric motors around the
world, and the pair embraced the new
knowledge and learning that came
with commercial production. “We’re
electrical engineers that come from
research backgrounds,” explains Fig. 1 Byron Kennedy, CEO, and Steven Camilleri, CTO, co-founders of SPEE3D
Company profile: SPEE3D | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
Powder feeder What is Cold Spray?

Particles In the Cold Spray process, metal
powder of a 5–45 μm size range
Low pressure Flow straightener Coating
is deposited onto a substrate by
gas supply
Valve accelerating the particles to super-
sonic speeds via a carrier gas. This
kinetic energy plastically deforms
the particles upon impact, forming a
‘particle splat’ on the substrate. The
Valve Gas heater Pre-chamber Supersonic nozzle plastic deformation of the particle
Substrate is shown in a change of shape in
the particle and substrate. Some
Fig. 2 Operating principle of low-pressure Cold Spray [1] mechanical interlocking occurs, and
a small amount of heat is produced;
however, the heat is not significant
(a) enough to change the microstructure
of the particles. In fact, the particles
largely retain their original micro-
structure, with the exception of some
peening or cold working effects.
Particle velocity Unlike many other AM processes,
profile Cold Spray can process a wide
d
Impact range of particle shapes; spherical,
Bow shock angle δ irregular or dendritic morphologies
Compressed gas h are all cold-sprayable by adjusting
layer spraying parameters.
Like many innovations, Cold
substrate Spray’s discovery was one hundred
years too early; true commercialisa-
(b) tion has only occurred in the last
thirty years. The key innovation in the
technology is the use of a de Laval
nozzle, a convergent-divergent nozzle
that allows metal powder to reach
Particle velocity supersonic speeds; this method
profile was first patented in the 1960s. In
d the 1980s, scientists at the Russian
Bow shock Impact
angle δ Academy of Science experimenting
with metal powders in a wind tunnel
Compressed gas
h were able to achieve coatings of a
layer
thickness and density that signalled
substrate that the technology had potential for
commercial use (Fig. 2) [1]. Since the
Fig. 3 Impact angle between gas-particle jet and surface and position of bow 1990s, it has been successfully used
shock in case of Cold Spray deposition of single tracks with low (a) and high (b) as a coating technology, but its use as
thickness [2] an AM technology to create near-net
shape structures has only developed
in recent years.
Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) faces, Scientific and Industrial Research What is key to understanding
but ultimately we realised that Organisation), they witnessed this technology is an awareness is
there was no way forward due to Cold Spray technology and saw that bonding between materials and
the laws of physics,” says Camilleri. the potential immediately. In 2015, particles does not require a thermal
Knowing heat was the limiting Kennedy and Camilleri decided to source, i.e. there is no melting and
factor, they looked at technologies pursue commercialisation of this cooling cycle; it is a solid-state
that could densify material without technology full time, and SPEE3D process. The cold sprayed deposit
heat. During a visit to the CSIRO was born. is therefore very low in oxides and
laboratories (the Commonwealth has little thermally-induced residual
stress. Unlike thermally processed

parts that are built in tensile stress,
cold sprayed parts are built in
compressive stress, which increases
the fatigue properties of built
parts. The absence of heat in the
process makes it ideal for use with
reactive materials such as titanium,
aluminium and magnesium.
Solid-state processing enables
thick coatings to be applied without
compromising the dimensional
tolerance or underlying metallurgy
of a parent part, making Cold Spray
ideal for reclamation and repair
processes. Cold Spray has, for
example, been widely used for the
repair of magnesium helicopter
gearboxes.
The ductility of the sprayed mate-
rial is an important consideration;
less ductile materials undergo less
plastic deformation and the built part
can exhibit a brittleness not seen in
thermally processed parts. Thermal
post-processing such as Hot
Isostatic Pressing (HIP) can negate
these effects. More ductile materials
such as aluminium and copper are
less prone to embrittlement and, Fig. 4 To most Cold Spray users, the SPEE3D machine design appears counter-
depending on the end use, do not intuitive. The nozzle is fixed at the base of the machine and a six-axis robot
always require a thermal treatment. controls, rotates and orientates the build platform
Cold Spray is a ‘line of sight’
technology similar to Directed Energy
Deposition (DED) processes and, as
such, the Cold Spray nozzle must be at the base of the machine and a
Cold Spray AM in SPEE3D
perpendicular to the sprayed surface. six-axis robot controls, rotates and
For this reason, intelligent toolpath
systems orientates the build platform (Fig. 4).
strategies need to be employed In fact, a moveable build platform
to create shapes with overhangs, Kennedy and Camilleri’s biggest task means that the Cold Spray machinery
internal, or complex features. In was to create a product that could is stationary within the machine,
general, the spot size of the nozzle leverage the advantages of Cold Spray reducing operational complexity.
limits the fidelity that Cold Spray while addressing the challenges of With this key piece of architecture
can attain, and highly complex taking the technology into the AM confirmed, Kennedy and Camilleri
features, sharp corners or smooth realm. The evolution of Cold Spray then commenced the arduous task
surfaces are only achievable with from coating technology to Additive of developing the Cold Spray Additive
post-machining. Manufacturing seems simple, but Manufacturing (CSAM) design rules
Despite these challenges, the it is not straightforward. Camilleri and build strategies that underpin
most exciting characteristic of Cold explains, “One of the problems with SPEE3D’s TwinSPEE3D software and,
Spray is the speed with which it Cold Spray is that shapes saturate; ultimately, the key value proposition
can deposit material. At rates of you build a cone and then you of their offering.
up to 6 kg per hour for small-scale cannot continue to build as the cone The LightSPEE3D was the
Cold Spray systems, it is clear that starts deflecting particles away, so company’s first machine release; with
Cold Spray can deposit material you have to be able to reorient the a build volume of 350 mm diameter
an order of magnitude faster than nozzle.” (Fig. 3) [2]. by 300 mm, this is the company’s
L-PBF systems, which was what To most Cold Spray users, the smallest format machine. The larger
drew Kennedy and Camilleri to the SPEE3D machine design appears WarpSPEE3D was released in 2019
technology in the first place. counter-intuitive. The nozzle is fixed and has a build volume of 1 m diam-
Fig. 5 The WarpSPEE3D system, released in 2019, has a build volume of 1 m diameter by 0.7 m and was designed with
robustness on a manufacturing floor in mind
eter by 0.7 m. Both machines have a integrates Cold Spray, heat treatment sation track record and deep founda-
similar design and layout, and were and machining operations in one tions in innovation and R&D, makes
built with a view to the robustness of product offering. “We have cut out the Kennedy and Camilleri a rare and
a manufacturing floor. “Our mission supply chain headaches. We aren’t formidable combination. From the
was always to make manufacturing going for the fun stuff, we are doing outset, they have had a razor-sharp
easier, it informs everything we do the hard work to attack the volume focus on their value proposition.
Where traditional Cold Spray utilises
inert gases such as argon or the
“Where traditional Cold Spray utilises even more costly helium, SPEE3D
systems use only compressed air.
inert gases such as argon or the even Likewise, rather than focus on exotic
materials, SPEE3D’s focus has been
more costly helium, SPEE3D systems use on the larger markets of aluminium
only compressed air. Likewise, rather and copper. Furthermore, metal
powder from conventional Powder
than focus on exotic materials, SPEE3D’s Metallurgy supply chains can be
focus has been on the larger markets of used with Cold Spray, dramatically
lowering the material cost when
aluminium and copper.” compared with L-PBF technologies.
Kennedy and Camilleri have always
seen casting as their competitor
at SPEE3D,” explains Kennedy. “We market,” stated Kennedy. To that end, technology and, throughout
are solving the issues that we faced SPEE3D’s machines are capable of their product development, have
when commercialising our electric additively manufacturing thirty tonnes continued to benchmark against
motor.” The company’s latest offering, of copper per year. more conventional manufacturing
the SPEE3Dcell, was also designed This manufacturing mindset, technologies to ensure cost-
with this mission in mind. The ‘cell’ combined with a strong commerciali- competitiveness.
A business model that

works for mid-size firms
SPEE3D’s key markets are defence,

transport, and marine, and it has
so far placed systems in the key
geographic markets of the US and
Germany. The company’s busi-
ness model has recently moved
to a subscription basis, allowing
customers the ability to access
equipment and services for a monthly
rate. Kennedy explains, “We are
selling capacity. People don’t want
printers; they want to be able to build
parts easily.” As the customers that
SPEE3D is targeting are primarily
mid-size manufacturing businesses,
the subscription model is proving to
be a popular option.
Indeed, with the groundwork
having been done on the robust
hardware, software with algorithmic
design rules, and intuitive user-
interface, SPEE3D machines are
designed to be run by an apprentice
with minimal training. The robust
equipment design means that most
of the support and upgrades come via
the software. As Kennedy explains,
“Fortunately the hardware is very
robust; most of the support require-
ment is for the software, which we
can do from anywhere.” This suits the
Australian-headquartered business
well. The machines themselves have Fig. 6 Rather than focus on exotic materials, SPEE3D’s focus has been on
an envelope which makes it possible the larger markets such as aluminium and copper. This aluminium bronze
for them to fit into a small shipping propeller is corrosion resistant in sea water and naturally anti-fouling, making
container or Conex box, allowing for it ideal for marine applications. The part weighs 1.4 kg and took sixteen
ease of deployability in and out of minutes to build
locations.
demand using SPEE3D technology the AM industry and, with SPEE3D

Success in the defence provided unparalleled operational technology, this may prove viable in
sector flexibility and accessibility. “We extend the very near future. The savings to
the lives of our boats for as long as an operation at sea are immense: “It
Deployability is something that the we can,” he stated, “and when spare saves logistics headaches, inventory
defence sector prizes highly, and parts are no longer stocked or hard to management issues, and very
SPEE3D’s technology has attracted source, that affects the availability of costly delays,” says Eggleton. The
interest from defence forces in our fleet.” robust design of SPEE3D’s systems
Australia at the highest level. In late While the ability to reverse engi- makes them potentially perfect for
2019, an AU$1.5 million investment neer spare parts provides operational expeditionary use – that is, use on the
in a two year pilot for the Royal flexibility at base, the ultimate aim front line.
Australian Navy was announced. For is to have Additive Manufacturing To that end, researchers in the
Captain Chris Eggleton, Patrol Boat capability at sea. Having a machine US have found that battlefield scrap,
System Program Office Director, the in the field and an inventory of digital when reclaimed and atomised via a
opportunity to trial building parts on files has been a long-held dream of ‘mobile foundry’, can be success-
from these markets requires a level

of flexibility in business structure.
Subsidiaries have been established
in both the US and Germany, and key
appointments have been made in each
region. “We need feet on the ground to
support customers in those regions,”
says Kennedy. “We are confident that
we have hired the best people and now
we need to build their teams up so we
have a full complement of service and
support in both regions.”
The first appointment was Bruce
Colter, who officially joined the team
in June 2019 as Vice-President of the
North American operation. Having
come from a background in growing
and building technology companies,
the attraction to SPEE3D was the
challenge of establishing a new AM
technology in an unproven market.
Colter was also drawn to working for
SPEE3D by its strong management
team, solid financial backing, and
clear strategy, but what particularly
impressed him was that SPEE3D had
Fig. 7 This aluminium part is a replacement drive wheel for an air compressor.
a differentiated and very competitive
This was an early demonstration of SPEE3D’s capability to produce critical
technology. “I wanted a Moore’s Law
replacement components on-demand. It weighs 200 g and took less than eight
for AM and I saw that Byron and Steve
minutes to produce
were really bending the cost curve,”
explains Colter. “With our build speeds
we can compete with traditional
manufacturing and have the advan-
tage of being able to easily do multiple
product iterations.” As someone with
an eye on software, it is SPEE3D’s
digital offering that he believes really
differentiates the company from other
providers in the marketplace. As to the
culture of the company, Colter says
the team at SPEE3D are “the smartest
and hardest working team I’ve worked
with, but without the ego, which is
really refreshing.”
Fig. 8 These aluminium door handles weigh 130 g each and took under five
The defence market in the US is
minutes to produce
the focus for Colter; a market that has
been made more accessible through
SPEE3D’s alliance with Phillips Corpo-
fully cold sprayed to repair parts, New appointments ration, Federal Division, a machine
or build spare parts at a forward supplier to US federal government
operating base [3]. For Eggleton and
support international departments. Phillips Corporation’s
the Australian Navy, the vision is expansion new $1.5 million Additive Manufac-
to have Cold Spray capability at an turing centre in Baltimore, Maryland,
‘organisational’ level. This means While success on home soil provides will feature SPEE3D equipment and
deploying a SPEE3D machine onto some validation, Kennedy is clear that can supply to defence forces such as
a large platform, such as a landing the key markets for SPEE3D are the the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force,
helicopter deck, to support a task US and Europe. Being Australian- and Coast Guard. A recent workshop
group operational deployment at sea. based and located at some distance with the US Army uncovered battery
Fig. 9 Left to right, Byron Kennedy, Stefan Ritt, Bruce Colter, Stefan Beyer, Simone Baxter, Prof Raoul Mortley, Steven
Camilleri, Grant Anderson and Phil Bowles
terminals as a perfect application for years working in the AM industry existing supply chains. We use known
Cold Spray technology, as terminals at a global scale and has been alloys, have more flexibility in the
corrode easily and require frequent instrumental in establishing metal powder feedstock, and integrate
replacement in the field. Together AM technology in new geographical well with known post-processing
with Larry Holmes at the University markets. It was the potential for AM technologies.” Past roles within the
of Delaware, the team manufactured
fit-for-purpose battery terminals
in ten minutes. Successful testing
demonstrated just how useful Cold “SPEE3D’s technology integrates well
Spray technology can be on the
frontline.
into existing supply chains. We use
To support US sales, Colter known alloys, have more flexibility in
will be establishing a SPEE3D
applications centre where customer
the powder feedstock, and integrate
benchmarking can be performed and well with known post-processing
spare parts stocked. “The US has a
high level of service expectation; it’s technologies.”
important that we can meet those
needs,” says Colter. As such, the US
team will be growing by two-to-three to become an everyday, industrial AM industry have made Ritt a regular
people in 2020, with the expectation it manufacturing tool that drew Ritt visitor to Australia, and he is excited
will double again the following year. to SPEE3D. “The reason AM is not to finally work for an Australian
The next key appointment was picking up exponentially as was company. “I am honoured that
Stefan Ritt, who joined the team in predicted is because it’s not fast SPEE3D are entrusting me to be their
January this year as Vice-President enough, cheap enough, or simple representative in Germany,” explains
of Europe, the Middle East and enough yet,” says Ritt. “SPEE3D’s Ritt. “This was a business relationship
Africa. Ritt has spent over twenty technology integrates well into that grew from a friendship”.
Fig. 10 Left: An industrial copper cable clamp weighing 970 g, which took under twenty-five minutes to produce. Right:
A pure copper rocket nozzle cover, 265 mm x 300 mm high, weighing 17.9 kg. The typical lead time for producing these
parts is about six months, but WarpSPEE3D manufactured this part in less than three and a half hours
SPEE3D has something of a cold sprayed copper water cooling Governance: Putting
head start in the European market, channels directly onto a battery
together an experienced
having sold a LightSPEE3D machine pack busbar for an electric vehicle.
to FIT Additive Manufacturing Group Using Cold Spray eliminated the board
in 2018. Since that time, the German need for a separate, complex water-
service bureau has been working to cooling system, while improving In addition to building out the team
understand the capabilities of Cold cooling performance and reducing internationally, SPEE3D has also made
Spray and now offers the technology weight. The part was built in twelve two significant board appointments.
as part of its AM portfolio. In minutes and was less expensive As of early 2020, Grant Anderson and
2019, FIT AG upgraded to the than the currently used system. Stefan Beyer have joined Chairman
larger WarpSPEE3D. The ability to Similar to its efforts in the US, Raoul Mortley to form the full board
additively manufacture large-sized the initial focus for SPEE3D in complement. These appointments
copper parts is the biggest selling Europe will be on educating the were strategic additions for SPEE3D
point for FIT AG and its customers. market on Cold Spray’s capabilities and each brings valuable skill sets
Ritt believes that the automo- and building trust in the technology. that will assist the company to scale.
tive and industrial markets will Demonstration parts such as the Anderson was previously CEO
be a major focus for SPEE3D’s busbar and battery terminals of ANCA, an Australian-based Tier
technology in Europe. The ability to are important for conveying the 1 supplier of CNC tool and cutter
process copper is a boon for electric end-use applications where Cold grinders. ANCA has successfully
vehicle manufacture, and the ability Spray technology makes sense. The achieved exceptional business growth,
to build multi-material components team will be generating more case with 98% of its revenue being export
has many applications in the studies as part of its increased focus derived. As Kennedy explains, “We
electronics industry. To showcase on market outreach. are mirroring ourselves on ANCA;
just how Cold Spray can be used in they are a machine tool company that
electric vehicles, Camilleri recently successfully scaled their business
Fig. 11 At Formnext 2019 the SPEE3D team additively manufactured sparkless copper hammer heads in six minutes
apiece, to showcase the scalable capabilities of the SPEE3DCell
from an Australian base.” Accessing the expansion of a business into technology. This was done by holding
Anderson’s experience will be key international territories, having a live demonstration in which the
to SPEE3D’s growth in international established a BigRep presence in the SPEE3Dcell was used to produce a
markets. “Grant brings an approach US and Singapore. 1.012 kg copper sledgehammer in
to business that we need to scale our It is clear from these appoint- just ten minutes and two seconds,
operations. He will help guide us to ments, both at the board and senior breaking the world record for the
put adequate processes and systems management level, that SPEE3D’s fastest ‘live print’ of a metal part.
in place,” says Kennedy. focus into the future is on strong In a great display of showmanship
Industry veteran Stephan Beyer is business growth via expansion. and spectacle, the hammer head
co-founder and former CEO of BigRep, Certainly, there is a quiet optimism was then attached to a handle and a
a provider of large-scale polymer AM and confidence that abounds in the Thor look-alike smashed a record,
machines. Kennedy and Camilleri SPEE3D Melbourne offices, and literally. For the duration of the show,
had always admired Beyers’ achieve- anticipation is building for a very the team additively manufactured
ments at BigRep, both in marketing promising few years. sparkless copper hammer heads
an AM product to a broad audience in just over six minutes apiece, to
and also in his significant success in showcase the scalable capabilities of
fundraising for BigRep. A focus for Future plans the SPEE3DCell.
the team in 2020 will be to increase “We printed hundreds of kilos
the market awareness of Cold Spray SPEE3D has already made a few of copper at Formnext. No other
technology, and to turn SPEE3D into a waves in the media, with its latest exhibitors could say the same for any
global brand. “Stephan is crafting our efforts at Formnext in November material,” says Kennedy. SPEE3D will
outreach strategy,” says Kennedy. “We 2019 catching the attention of many continue to exhibit at AM shows such
will be focusing more on promoting show goers. The team was keen as Formnext and RAPID, but will also
high-profile user case studies.” Like to impress upon the audience the look to move into larger manufac-
Anderson, Beyer has also overseen speed and functionality of Cold Spray turing shows such as EMO and IMTS
all Kennedy and Camilleri; however,

the duo remain undaunted by the task
ahead. The co-founders are confident
that their product solves problems that
they faced as manufacturers and that
many others continue to experience
on a daily basis. Their solution may
have roots in a hundred-year-old
technology, but if anyone can navigate
that valley of death, it’s the SPEE3D
co-founders, serial entrepreneurs and
innovators, Byron Kennedy and Steve
Camilleri.
Author
Alex Kingsbury
alex.kingsbury@rmit.edu.au
www.rmit.edu.au
Contact
SPEE3D
5 Wayne Court
Dandenong
Fig. 12 A multi-material heat sink created by depositing copper powder onto Melbourne, Victoria 3175
aluminium fins to create a heat sink that is high performance, low weight and Australia
inexpensive to produce. This 200 g part weight took two minutes to produce
contact@spee3d.com
Tel: +61 (03) 8759 1464
www.spee3d.com
in 2020, to access more conventional Given the importance of the
industry businesses. defence and aerospace markets,
While sales and marketing SPEE3D will also work with References
efforts will be ramping up at customers and suppliers to ensure
breakneck pace, that doesn’t mean full traceability through supply chains. [1] Singh, Harminder & Sidhu, T.S. &
the company won’t continue to It will continue to make its machines Kalsi, Sukhminderbir & Karthikeyan,
push technical boundaries with as easy to operate as possible, J.. (2013). Development of Cold
its technology. The team is busy increasing robustness and continuing Spray from innovation to emerging
working through a programme of to remove the manual handling touch future coating technology. Journal of
getting stainless steel ready for points of the operation. With increased the Brazilian Society of Mechanical
release to SPEE3D customers, digital capability comes the need for Sciences and Engineering. 35. 10.1007/
adding to its materials suite of data storage and analysis, aiding the s40430-013-0030-1.
aluminium and copper. Customers traceability that is critical for many
are driving many other materials customers. [2] Kotoban, D, Grigoriev, S, Okunkova
development programmes such as A, Sova, A. (2016). Influence of a shape
an aluminium bronze, and differing of single track on deposition efficiency
high-performance copper alloys. Wrapping up of 316L stainless steel powder in Cold
Applications will also drive powder Spray. Surface & Coatings Technology
sourcing. “We will be offering a The foundations for SPEE3D are now 309 (2017) 951–958
range of powders with varying truly in place. With solid governance
qualities for different applications,” and an experienced and knowledge- [3] Pepi, M, Zander, N, Gillan, M.
explains Kennedy. “For example, able team situated in strategic (2017). Enabling Expeditionary Battle-
we will offer a copper material for locations around the globe, 2020 field Manufacturing Using Recycled,
thermal and electrical applications, presents a clear runway for business Reclaimed, and/or Indigenous Mate-
and another copper material for growth. The task ahead is not being rials. RAPID + TCT 2017 Proceedings;
mechanical applications.” underestimated by anyone, least of 2017 May 8–11; Pittsburgh, PA. p. 1–23.
International exhibition and conference
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| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | Perspectives on metal AM
Current perspectives on metal

AM: Hype, volume manufacturing
and the geographies of
production
Metal AM exists in a potentially confusing place between the world of 3D printing and
its ‘maker’ movement, and Industry 4.0, with its drive towards new economic models.
Here, Dr Jennifer Johns, Reader in International Business at the University of Bristol,
UK, contextualises metal AM within broader narratives around technological change
and economic development, Industry 4.0 and the Factory of the Future to give us a
better understanding of what the outside world expects. Drawing on recent empirical
research, different and often contradictory viewpoints are presented on the key
issues facing the move to volume manufacturing and the geographies of production.
Recent years have seen consistent of this article is predominately on with some reflections on the evolution
media and industry interest in Laser/Electron Beam Powder Bed of metal AM and on the possible
Additive Manufacturing, fuelled by Fusion (L-/EB-PBF), as these are the outcomes of the dialogue between
reports of high growth rates and most mature metal AM processes those inside the industry and those
publicity around exciting new case and currently offer the highest outside it.
studies. The ‘hype’ surrounding AM level of technological readiness. For many external to the metal
has increased the external profile of Other technologies, such as metal AM sector, it is included under the
the industry but has also resulted Binder Jetting, are highlighted non-specific umbrella of ‘3D printing’,
in some damaging consequences. where interviewees raised them as and as such is more strongly associ-
One such consequence is the lack of presenting a potential deviation from ated with the ‘Maker Movement’ and
realistic approaches to understanding the development trajectories of L-/ ‘Makerspaces’ and their ubiquitous
the sector and the degree to which EB-PBF. The article will conclude plastic chess sets and 3DBenchies.
it can ever be as transformative
as pundits would lead the general
public to believe. This article does
two things. Firstly, it contextualises
metal AM within broader narratives
around technological change and
economic development, ‘Industry 4.0’
and the ‘Factory of the Future’, to give
us a better understanding of what
the outside world is expecting of the
technology. Secondly, it pays close
attention to two of the most signifi-
cant areas of projected change – the
volume and geographies of produc-
tion – and draws on recent empirical
research to present different, often
contradictory viewpoints. This will
offer insight into how well metal AM Fig. 1 For many outside of metal AM, it is included within the wider field of 3D
industry insiders feel it is able to printing, itself more commonly associated in the public imagination with the
meet external demands. The focus hobbyist plastic 3D printing of toys such as the pictured ‘3DBenchy’
Perspectives on metal AM | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
the role of metal AM is unclear, as ‘3D

printing machines’ are perceived as
multi-material (plastics, metals and
electronics) and multi-functional in
this narrative. With global economic
growth continuing to falter and no
easy solutions apparent, the weight of
expectation is likely to increase, not
decrease, and delivery is expected
to be in terms of years, not decades.
Much is being asked of AM.
These expectations are amplified by
academic work on AM. While engi-
neering and material sciences focus
on technological advances, social
science has begun to focus on what
it still calls 3D printing. Sociologists,
economists, management scientists,
geographers and political scientists
have been musing over the societal
impacts of 3D printing, focusing on
Fig. 2 3D printing forms part of the vaguely understood and much hyped
predictions of a narrowing of the gap
‘Industry 4.0’. The current rhetoric around Industry 4.0 and the Factory of the
between producer and consumer
Future is driving many national government strategies around manufacturing
as individuals design and print their
technology
own consumer goods. This work has
offered valuable insights into how 3D
printing could transform production
The diversity of different technologies, met in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss and consumption. Supply chain
materials and applications that make ‘Globalisation 4.0: Shaping a Global management has begun to model
up the world of Additive Manufac- Architecture in the Age of the Fourth scenarios around the length of supply
turing, and metal AM specifically, is Industrial Revolution’. The agenda chains based on known variables
not widely acknowledged. Nor is the considered how countries can related to different configurations of
scope of metal AM in industry (either respond to, and shape, changes in machines, their capacity and proximity
as a prototyping or a production tool) how goods are produced, distributed to suppliers and customers. One of the
widely understood. Instead, in the and consumed. This is based on most significant papers written in my
public – and often policy-making – the idea that the world is entering a field of international business makes a
imagination, 3D printing forms part of fourth industrial revolution, where a series of predictions about the impact
the vaguely understood Industry 4.0, wave of technological progress will of AM in manufacturing and suggests
as a tool of the ‘Factory of the Future’. launch us into a new era of globalisa- which sectors will be most likely to
As a consequence, the value tion. The world’s leaders are pinning experience transformative change.
and future trajectory of metal AM is their hopes for economic growth It is, unfortunately, based on several
bound up with the narrative of a wide on technological leaps, of which misconceptions of the sector, the
number of different kinds of techno- AM is expected to be one. These result of information sourced from
logical progress, including AI and big global discussions are mirrored secondary industry and media reports,
data. For those within the metal AM by national initiatives such as the and fails even to distinguish between
industry, who certainly view AM as widely-mimicked German Industry 4.0 technologies and materials.
having a significant role in the Factory strategy, the UK’s Industrial Strategy In consequence, I secured funding
of the Future, this can obscure the and Chinese action plans around from the British Academy to spend
identification of the change dynamics technology development. time talking to the AM sector, inter-
and particular industry and policy Pressure and expectation are viewing owners and senior manage-
demands of the sector. weighing on the AM sector as a whole ment in AM firms and their OEM
The current rhetoric around to make progress in machine capacity users in the UK, US and Germany.
Industry 4.0 is driving many national and speed, integration with other Between 2017 and 2019 I interviewed
government strategies around technologies and processes such as fifty-two individuals from across the
technology in manufacturing and robotics, AI and big data, and to trans- supply chain about their operations
the move towards full automation form supply chains to increase speed and business strategies, and what
of production lines and factories. In of delivery, often through localised they saw as the current and future
2019, the World Economic Forum distributive manufacturing. Unpicking directions for AM evolution. Around
half of the interviewees worked in,

or in roles connected to, metal AM
(e.g. metal powder suppliers), and all
interviewees spoke to the whole AM
sector. I attended the global industry
conference at Formnext, Frankfurt,
Germany, in 2017 and 2018, and
presented my initial research findings
at the Additive Manufacturing User
Group (AMUG) Conference in Chicago
in 2019, where I will present again
in March 2020. The rich interview
dataset available to me reveals many
interesting findings related to the
changes within this sector, including
common challenges and barriers,
underlying business models, regula-
tion and standards, policy-making
and innovation rates, as well as a
wealth of historical information on
the evolution of the AM industry. This
Fig. 3 There was a consensus that current build speeds are no longer a signifi-
article will focus on two current and
cant barrier to process adoption, with multi-laser machines offering dramatic
topical debates. First, that of volume
increases in productivity. This image shows the difference in productivity within
Additive Manufacturing and second,
a fixed build time using 1, 2 and 4 lasers on a RenAM500Q machine (Courtesy
the reshoring of production.
Renishaw plc)
Metal AM: From prototyping has created some challenges. “The Speed
to volume manufacturing? prototyping applications of technology Among my sources, opinions
have a very long background. They’ve diverged on the importance of
For several decades, AM has been got excellent diffusion in the manu- speed in Additive Manufacturing,
used primarily for prototyping, across facturing industry; everyone’s aware with a consensus that current build
all industry sectors. “We had tech- of it, everyone uses it for that, and speeds are no longer a significant
nologies that were OK for prototyping that’s fine,” explained one interviewee. barrier to adoption. Laser/Electron
parts but not for functional parts,” “Proposing this for manufacturing, the Beam Powder Bed Fusion parts
stated one of my interviewees. A story changes a little bit, and in many often have long build times, but
common source of commentary and companies who use it for prototyping, other factors such as functionality
debate within the sector – demon- they wouldn’t even consider using it were considered relatively more
strated by my research and also the for manufacturing, simply because important, along with total product
programme content of conferences of the associated experience with the development time. “We’d always
such as Formnext and AMUG – is the technology.” Despite the hype around take more speed. It does, however,
issue of how the industry can increase AM, within industry there remains a also have to perform. So, if it is
its production of functional parts perception barrier to overcome. This a trade-off against functionality,
and achieve manufacturing in larger is due to the increased demands being then no, we wouldn’t take it. No, we
volumes. A source of intense debate placed on the technology. “There have wouldn’t take it ever. Whatever it is
is how close AM is to high-volume, been some stories out there with folks doing, it has to perform,” one source
functional part production. This who have struggled for way too long commented. Build speeds have to
discussion will focus on some general simply because they didn’t get the be considered as part of the whole
trends and specific issues related to proper training or the decisions with production process. “When you
metal AM and place the debate within choice of materials versus process. It include the set-up time, 3D printing
the context of Industry 4.0 and the is taxing to get to the application you can be much, much faster than other
Factory of the Future. are looking to. Going to production methods. So speed is something
puts a spin on that because our that all of the 3D printer vendors are
From prototyping to manufacturing expectations are much higher than working to improve, but even so, 3D
The process of moving to parts with prototyping. You can make a printing has its place when you talk
for end-use applications is not prototype that is pretty strong, but if about speed.” A broader perspective,
straightforward, and the sector’s you make a production part it has to then, needs to be adopted when
long association with prototyping work,” they added. making manufacturing decisions.
75,000 a year, but a lot of things

will just be thousands, not tens of
thousands.” The race to high volumes
also risks overlooking potential areas
for growth. “We’re getting there in the
transformation from small volume to
high volume, but I think the small-
volume market is one of the markets
that’s underestimated. So everyone is
looking at the high-volume applica-
tion, for example, the eyewear or shoe
sole industry where you get millions
of parts a year, but actually what
makes the biggest amount when you
look at our revenue or the revenue
that our customers do, it’s more
serious, and that’s 50 to 500 parts
or something, and there are many
applications out there.”
Metal AM technologies
Conversations about the type of metal
AM process that will achieve indus-
trial scale manufacturing highlighted
the fact that there isn’t a single
trajectory of development. “The most
advanced technologies in the indus-
trial context are powder bed with their
Fig. 4 The move to higher production volumes is challenging for the industry, selective laser sintering processes,”
but opportunities exist. This optimised build enabled 384 automotive LED stated one interviewee, reflecting
heatsinks to be stacked on the same build plate. Coupled with a number of the wider global focus on L-PBF
parameter optimisations, the build time of each part was reduced from 1 hour AM. However, sources repeatedly
to under 5 minutes (Courtesy Betatype) acknowledged that there are alterna-
tive technologies becoming more
viable. One global OEM stated that it
has been holding back on investing
Production volumes thousands or millions. Aerospace heavily in a single technology, instead
Recently, the focus has been on and Formula 1 are heralded as preferring to observe competitors
whether metal AM can meet the leading the adoption of AM, due to and wait for alternative technologies
demands of industrial production. their comparatively low volumes but to mature. “They [competitor OEMs]
There is some disagreement about real-world use of the technology. have invested in powder bed laser
whether this is happening now, is a The leap to industrial-scale manu- fusion equipment and been playing
short- to medium-term possibility, facturing in other sectors familiar on it for some years. It is all very good
or remains a future goal. “To happen with AM prototyping will be harder. as learning, but the probability is that
on an industrial scale, we need to see “The automotive industry is a high it won’t be powder bed laser fusion
serial manufacture. One part may cost pressure industry, so they need techniques that drive the price point
be made at volumes of say 10,000 a low unit costs and high volumes, and down to a point at which our industry
year. This is becoming a possibility,” it’s not really a thing that additive is can seriously look at making metal
one source stated. However, there good at, at least at the moment,” one laser fused end-use components.”
are sectoral differences, and it is source noted. Binder Jetting processes
currently easier to ‘sell’ the business Indeed, many felt that the industry are viewed as having significant
model for smaller parts. “A lot of our needed to be more conservative potential in moving metal AM towards
repeat production customers are about both its claims for current and industrial production. “There are
producing relatively small things in future capacities. “We’re not at high opportunities with some of these new
quite high numbers.” volume,” stated one interviewee. “It binder jet processes coming out. As
Several interviewees expressed can be a few hundred a year or it the metals industry leverages the
confusion around what the industry can be several thousand. I think the Metal Injection Moulding industry, I
meant by ‘volume’; i.e hundreds, highest volume we will see is about think there will be opportunities to
Fig. 5 Binder Jetting processes are viewed as having significant potential in moving metal AM towards industrial produc-
tion, as can be seen at Indo-MIM’s metal Binder Jetting operation in San Antonio, Texas (Courtesy Indo-MIM Inc)
leverage metal parts at a much lower attractive for smaller runs of parts value of metal AM rather than cost
cost and maybe a higher throughput,” in terms of number of units, and per part. The potential time savings,
one stated. However, the suitability other methods are more attractive as suggested above, due to process
of these new technologies varies to larger volumes. So the question is and/or reduced logistics and also a
depending on function. “The main where the break-even between those wider concept of value. This includes
issue in the Powder Bed Fusion two happens, and that’s a matter of consideration of the whole lifetime of
process is the internal stresses. So it some debate. The break-even is very the part as considerable cost savings
will have its uses whether you build
multiple components or whether
you start using different hybrid
processes, [Binder Jetting could be
“Clearly 3D printing is more attractive for
the] perfect technology for particular smaller runs of parts in terms of number
types of components, not for us,
not for very complex thin walls, thin
of units, and other methods are more
wall heat exchangers, but for other attractive to larger volumes. So the question
components I see it as a way forward,
because of the build rate and the is where the break-even between those
post-production. At the moment the
Powder Bed Fusion process helps us
two happens, and that’s a matter of some
realise our design. The design is the debate.”
driver rather than the technology.”
Business models different, depending on what exactly may be made through the use of
Progress is being made in AM in it is that you’re fabricating.” Speed AM. The use of metal AM in building
relation to the break-even point in is not therefore independent of other functional parts for aircraft due to
comparison to traditional manu- variables. Significantly, though, there weight savings is an obvious example.
facturing methods. As one source are several indicators that a wider Greater strength and durability of
reflected, “Clearly 3D printing is more perspective needs to be taken on the products may also be a significant
around existing business models.

Many expressed extreme frustra-
tion at business models that were
marketed as successful but which
were increasingly questioned as
unfeasible and pushed to drive market
growth and the profile of particular
AM firms. Second, the tendency to
view metal AM (and AM in general)
as a unique and special technology
may be alienating potential users and
limiting application. “We think the
A-list celebrity status of AM needs to
be normalised,” one company stated.
Part of my research examined the
rhetoric around the replacement of
conventional technologies by AM. This
is not voiced at all within the industry,
where there is instead widespread
acknowledgement that metal AM
is one tool among many, sitting in
complement to established produc-
Fig. 6 This RF antenna system, designed and manufactured by AM as a single tion processes.
product, replaces and outperforms a previous 100-piece design. By viewing
an antenna assembly as an integrated structure in which all the parts are Barriers to higher volume
combined into a single functional one, lead times could be reduced from manufacturing
months to weeks, size and weight cut dramatically and costs reduced (Courtesy There are numerous issues for
Optisys LLC) metal AM to tackle with regard to the
shift away from prototyping. Table 1
outlines the four key factors. A
factor due to sustainability agendas. ‘Selling’ the business model firmly-voiced concern of several OEM
Vertical integration can allow the The sector is keen to emphasis the users was on the current capacity
whole production chain to be viewed potential of AM and to publicise the of metal AM machines. “Many of the
in full. “The value chain can be advantages that AM offers. As one machines around us are not really
optimised and costs manipulated. source put it: “Higher productivity, production capable. They are good
The discrete bits of tech all add up. better economics, lower waste. It’s for prototyping, they can be improved
You can then drive the economics really hard to see anything wrong with for niche applications, but as volume
of it. You can get costs down and it; it basically delivers on all fronts.” manufacturing equipment they aren’t
quality up which means that serial Part of this process, which relates there. What we need are lower cost,
manufacture comes onto the agenda. back to the race to high volume, faster, scalable platforms that can
This helps to overcome the overriding contexualised within conventional work with a variety of materials,”
perception of AM as low volume and understandings of how products stated one OEM. Others had a
for prototyping.” should be designed and manufac- different vision of how machines could
Many discussions of industrial tured, is emphasising that more be configured to produce the required
manufacturing noted the shift of focus systemic change needs to happen. outputs: “I believe the future is not
from polymer AM to an acknowledge- “Which I think is the crucial differ- necessarily a large machine that is
ment of the potential of metal AM ence with AM, isn’t it?” they stated. very expensive; as long as you can
at the industrial scale. “There is a “That’s what the selling point is, it’s print a part in a given build volume
much greater history of people using actually we’re not saying we can do it’s better for companies to consider
additive on the polymer side so what existing things better, we’re saying multiple machines so they can have
we are seeing is an increase in metal we can do totally different things. And true flexible manufacturing and
additive both in the volume and in the proving that there’s a business model scale.”
criticality of the parts that are being underlying it.” To summarise, there are divergent
pursued,” stated one interviewee on Two things need to happen in opinions on how far metal AM has
the topic. Awareness that ‘there are relation to how the metal AM busi- come in the shift from prototyping to
critical parts flying now’ is leading to ness model is understood within the volume manufacturing, from extreme
renewed confidence in the capacity of industry and externally. First, there scepticism of the claims that volume
metal AM in industrial production. needs to be greater transparency production is occurring through to
enthusiastic certainty. Much insight Factor Problem Solution

can be gained by stepping back from
Equipment Uncertainty around Greater evidence from those
our examination of the technology
capacity to build in claiming high volumes and/
and price-per-part to consider the
volume or improvements in machine
broader rationale for using AM. A key
throughput
necessity is greater transparency
around the business models under- Advances in different Metal
pinning higher volume AM production. AM technologies
Currently, publicised examples are
Automation of post-
treated with a level of distrust by
processing
industry, and this results in a more
uncertain and confusing environment Standard production matrices
for potential adopters.
Materials Too few materials Increase materials available
compared to traditional or justify why current range is
technologies sufficient
Geographies of production
Adoption Potential users unsure Education and knowledge
In addition to the focus on production of shift from prototyping sharing of concrete examples
methods, AM is expected by the and transparent business
general public, policy-makers and models
many in academia to not only trans- Product quality Issues around the Machine manufacturers
form how products are made, but also quality, accuracy and need to deliver controlled
where they are made. The technology reliability of parts, processes to reduce vari-
has the potential to radically change meeting standards ability
the geographies of where products
are designed, prototyped, produced Table 1 Problems and solutions to AM volume manufacturing
and distributed by radically reducing
supply chain length and delivery
times.
Reshoring is the process of with Donald Trump stating that he the industry also articulated strong
bringing offshore operations back to wants to see more manufacturing on opinions around how they envisioned
their originating country. It is viewed American soil. In the UK, it has been the future of production and metal
as a contemporary counter-balance cited as a possible solution to the AM, positing several different inter-
to the new international division of negative economic and trade conse- related factors as outlined below.
labour caused by the acceleration of quences of Brexit. The Economist
globalisation since the 1970s. This recently cited the Chartered Institute Dominance of traditional production
caused a wholesale shift in manufac- of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) as methods
turing to low-labour-cost economies their survey suggested that almost a Rather than seeing AM as a factor in
in the Far East. More recently, the third of British businesses that use reshoring, several interviewees cited
rising cost of labour in developing EU-based suppliers were seeking change in existing conventional supply
countries (including China), peaks in British replacements. chains as being due to concerns
oil prices, increased transport costs AM is intimately tied up in this around quality and delivery times. “I
and supply chain vulnerabilities have narrative, as the technology appears already have some customers that are
resulted in some evidence of a shift to offer a high-tech solution to the bringing it back from China because
back to advanced economies such problem of severed international of problems they had with the supply
as the US and Europe. Firms are supply chains caused by political chain around delivery uncertainty and
also driven toward reshoring by the actions and/or firm-based strategies. poor quality,” stated one. Other more
economic downturn, sustainability During my conversations with those strategic reasons were also cited. “A
agendas, customer demands for flex- in the industry, the vast majority lot of it is to do with the tax laws. A big
ibility and pressure to improve cost expressed scepticism about the corporation relocated here [to the US]
performance to consider where to degree of contemporary evidence of to take advantage of tax loops. They
undertake all parts of their production geographical shifts in production. are playing that game in Ireland too.”
process. However, a few anecdotal references These interviewees saw little or
The phenomenon of reshoring has were made to the return of some no role for AM in the short-term
gained greater prominence due to forms of prototyping and some in driving geographical changes in
political engagement with the topic. In injection moulding (both due to speed supply chains. This was due in part
the US, it became a campaign issue and quality issues) from China to to the dominance of existing supply
during the last presidential election, the US, Germany and UK. Many in chains by conventional production
Fig. 7 Metal AM technology suppliers are evolving their model AM factory concepts, in which full automation increases
productivity and reduces manual labour. Such scenarios, of course, depend on the ability to automate post-processing
(Courtesy GE Additive)
processes; metal AM has insufficient CEO. This interviewee saw potential the various parts of the production
power to drive those changes while for significant change, but this is process, from design through to
it is dwarfed by other technologies. predicated on systemic shifts in how distribution.
“Even in a single site, never mind production parts are designed and
multiple sites, doing diagnostics of manufactured. The decision to use Labour costs
the processes because I am using metal AM parts needs to happen The majority of interviewees
additive, I still at the moment have to at the design stage to maximise understood the location of production
use traditional supply chains for most the benefits of using AM. This too based on the analysis of costs, with
parts,” one interviewee explained. can influence where the actual the primary factor being labour costs.
“The ability to change a design within production takes place. As labour There was, however, tension between
a few moments and then make a part costs rise in developing countries, opinions on the impact of increased
within hours is significant. You can’t decision-making around which parts automation resulting in reduced
do that sourcing from Asia.” This was of the production chain drive location labour costs. Many in the industry
also due to the fact that metal AM decisions may alter. “The cost of aligned themselves with the political
parts often form only a small part of manufacturing, the cost of an AM discourses around AM leading to
a final product, again diminishing the machine is the same in China as it is reshoring to advanced economies,
capacity for change. in the UK, to cost the material is the arguing that reduced labour costs
same in China as in the UK, so in that would make production more feasible
Design for AM respect it levels the playing field,” in ‘home’ markets. This argument
The transformative potential of metal they stated. “So if that means that is based on the understanding that
AM is being curtailed by contemporary the design holder, the person that’s more advanced, high-tech technolo-
limitations on designing for AM. “The commissioning that work, is based gies do tend to stay closer to their
transition for designing for additive in the UK, then yes, it is more likely home markets, or lead firms. The
hasn’t really been established. Once to come over to the UK.” This adds vast majority of global firms retain
parts are optimised for additive then significant complexity in a still largely their core research and development
location for manufacturing is almost vertically disintegrated industry facilities in their home markets, often
meaningless,” stated one company’s around the locational demands of close to their headquarters. There are
good strategic reasons for this related

to the protection of IP, recruitment of
skilled labour and inter-firm interac-
tion, which are eased through greater
geographical proximity.
Relatedly, the home markets are
those that seek, and are prepared to
pay for, cutting-edge technologies. “In
the Far East, the demand isn’t neces-
sarily for the expensive multi-laser,
process monitoring machines, it is
much more for the cheap machine
and of course there are a number
of Chinese manufacturers who have
copied machines or invented their
own machines. The latest technology
tends to be consumed in the advanced
economies,” stated a source. Simi-
larly, metal AM machines are still far
from being ‘plug and play’, demanding
trained operators and maintenance
which are all presently easier to
access in advanced economies.
However, two counterpoints were
offered to this position regarding
labour costs. The first is the
Fig. 8 Adidas’ decentralised digital ‘Speedfactories’ were located in Germany
present-day limitation regarding
and the US before being moved to two suppliers in Asia (Courtesy Adidas)
the relatively high degree of manual
labour involved in metal AM, including
post-processing. This is a barrier
to full automation and sufficient in the metal AM machines, and on costs between China and the US is
reduction of manual labour to trigger support infrastructure. Therefore, shrinking. So I don’t see 3D printing
the recalculation of costs in different this is likely to first occur within OEM just completely transforming the
geographical locations. “As long as organisational structures, i.e metal economics of manufacturing high-
there is a lot of assembly needed, AM production sent to subsidiaries volume products overseas.”
which is labour intensive, then it in developing countries rather than There is a high degree of sectoral
will basically stay in the countries through outsourcing agreements. variation. Aerospace firms in the
where they stay. Once you remove the US pointed out that they have been
manual assembly work, then for sure Sectoral and volume variation prevented from offshoring by govern-
the production can go where the parts Interviewees felt that small, low- ment regulations. There are, however,
are needed or where the products are volume series of production are the some widely-cited sectors in which
sold.” most likely to reshore and suggested we can observe some reshoring. “AM
The second is that, over time, that the current limitations around has the potential to change where
labour costs will again become more the scale of production, as discussed things are manufactured, and maybe
significant, creating subsequent above, are limiting the potential for it depends on the applications… for
drivers towards lower cost locations. a significant shift in global supply sure, all our eyewear customers
“At the moment, the throughput and chains. As one interviewee explained, produce in Europe. None of them
cost-per-part and the technology is “In terms of high-volume production, produces the glasses in China or
such that the labour cost isn’t really we haven’t seen any evidence so far Asia. Would they have done in the
the issue,” a source noted. “However, where someone is taking high-volume past? They have done in the past, but
as we increase the throughput and production from China, moving it only the low-quality frames,” stated
as we bring down the cost-per-part, to the US or Europe, and saying a source. Similarly, the relocalisa-
then I am sure the labour rates will ‘because we can do this with 3D tion of dental implant and related
become more of an issue and then printing, now we’re moving it back,’ production has seen significant shifts
the machines will probably be taken because high-volume manufacturing over recent years, with dentists able
up more widely in those markets in China is increasingly automated to build implants in their own dental
where you get that advantage.” This itself and so the difference in what surgeries rather than subcontracting
is predicated on significant advances you can achieve in terms of labour production to centralised labs. If they
Reshoring factors Current role of AM Points of debate Future scenarios
Labour costs Manual costs still Automation will bring Significant reshoring of manufacturing to
too high for majority decreased labour costs advance economies
of activities to Increased machine speed Manufacturing does not reshore or we see a
reshore and throughput could return to offshoring to low-cost economies
increase significance of
labour costs
Proximity to high- Tendency for How much longer Continued dominance driven by greater demand
level firm functions innovative and most advanced economies for AM services in advanced economies. Or rise
(HQ, R&D) costly AM to occur in (Germany, UK, US, in expertise in low-cost economies like China,
home markets etc) will dominate AM which means firms can locate R&D functions
technological develop- outside home market more easily
ment
AM development Degree to which OEMs Large OEMs will distribute AM throughout their
and operation still with AM capacity will geographical footprint if the cost-benefit analysis
concentrated within continue to concentrate is positive
key centres of OEMs AM in core centres
Proximity to user/ AM firms and service Degree to which AM If users/clients reshore activities, AM is likely to
clients operations centres locate near will follow users/clients remain concentrated in advanced economies: if
to users /clients in throughout their global not it will follow its users/clients
advanced economies distribution
AM still concentrated Degree to which AM will If AM increases its position vis-à-vis traditional
within a relatively have a much larger share production methods it may have greater impact
small market of of the manufacturing on design, production and logistics decision
users and clients market making. This will likely force production closer to
the consumer
AM still relatively Industry evolution and Vertical integration will decrease the clustering
autonomous and trajectory will likely of firms in advanced economies, opening up the
vertically disinte- increase vertical integra- potential for different functions to be located
grated tion through merger and based on cost. Or it will concentrate activities in
acquisition a smaller number of geographical locations
Access to resources AM firm location Degree to which the AM continues to be concentrated in areas where
such as highly decisions driven by necessary skilled skilled labour is located due to inter-industry
skilled labour and accessing increas- labour will be present and outside industry interventions in advanced
materials ingly scarce highly in advanced or low-cost economies to boost the supply of labour. Or low-
skilled labour economies cost economies increase their supply of highly
skilled labour, raising the amount of higher level
AM functions outside advanced economies
AM production Degree to which the Decentralisation of AM reduced by vulnerable
predicated on access supply chains for material supply chains limited by extensive
to materials materials will keep pace global material supply chains. Or supply levels
with AM demand and supply chains match or outstrip demand,
which may be facilitated by increased vertical
integration with AM and/or OEMs
Faster time to AM still currently Degree to which AM Larger shares of manufacturing output could
market services the majority remains within traditional drive more significant, possibly decentralised
of users/clients in production and logistic production chains in which production and
advanced economies supply chains consumption are geographically closer
Government AM considered part This is not a current Advanced economy initiatives may clause
intervention of reshoring initia- point of debate within AM reshoring of manufacturing in advanced
tives. These policies but there are questions economies, which will increase opportunities
vary by nation about the degree to which for AM in home markets. Or the initiatives will
AM will be impacted by be unsuccessful due to budgetary restrictions
reshoring initiatives during economic downturn and little changes.
And/or low-cost economies introduce their own
incentives to prevent manufacturing reshoring
which will maintain status quo
Table 2 Reshoring scenarios and AM
do subcontract, it is more likely to be problems that will emerge, with a and simulation to manufacture, to
to an AM service bureau, although it particularly significant role for metal inspect, I really think the next frontier
should be noted that dental implants AM. is going to be software,” stated
never tended to be sourced using another source. In terms of timescale,
geographically extensive supply the automated factory of the future,
chains due to time demands. Metal AM, Industry 4.0 and understood as a lights-out factory
To summarise, there is currently the Factory of the Future containing AM machines combined
scarce evidence that AM is impacting with post-processing equipment,
the geographies of production. There The metal AM industry is evolving was estimated to be at least five to
are anecdotal examples of some rapidly. Some aspects of that change ten years away. This is later than
prototyping and injection moulding are clear and relatively uncontested, policymakers are anticipating. For
work returning from China, but at such as the diversification of applica- several interviewees, reflecting on
present, any reshoring that is occur- tions from prototyping to functional their own corporate and industry-wide
ring appears to be caused by broader parts. Others are more hotly debated, strategies emphasised the need for
shifts in the cost-base of manufac- including where improvements need long-term continuous improvements
turing rather than by AM technolo- to be made (equipment, materials, to alloys, powder quality, powder
gies. We are therefore in a period of supply chains, or all of these), where management and management
anticipation in which there are several the greatest growth potential lies systems to ensure process stability
directions of change. Table 2 charts (sectoral and geographical) and how and control.
the key factors involved in reshoring, the industry should be most efficiently At present, the metal AM industry
applying these to AM and outlining organised in the future. Given the is offering a compelling case for
the possible future scenarios. The huge pressure of expectation being increased public and policy interest
degree to which metal AM could exerted on AM – and metal AM in and support. It combines technolog-
transform existing geographies of particular – by policymakers, this ical innovation and is evolving quickly
production is dependent on machine article will conclude with some to develop the systems and standards
speed and throughput, material reflections on how metal AM may be that are needed to appeal to a wider
supply and access to skilled labour, part of this almost universally adopted user-base. Benefits may be gained
labour costs and the composition vision of our manufacturing future. from interaction with the ‘other kind
of the AM sector as a whole. In the Surprisingly, some members of the of scientist’ (social scientists), who
short term, it appears likely that the community still felt that the notion can offer a broader perspective on
status quo will remain. Longer-term, of AM machines being integrated on the industry; how it is changing,
it is likely that existing production the factory floor was in the distant competing and helping to redress
will remain dominated by traditional future. “I’ve never seen it. The cost the imbalance created by all the hype
organisational geographies but that of the machines is a barrier to this,” around Additive Manufacturing.
newer products that are designed for stated one. Others felt that changes
AM will be able to be produced closer were already happening as part of the
to the consumer – be that in advanced process of moving toward the Factory Author
or low-cost economies - using the of the Future: “AM is a big part of the
(projected) expanded global networks factory of the future. As new [prod- Dr Jennifer Johns
of AM firms and OEMs. ucts] are developed we see production Reader in International Business
As one interviewee sought to changing – the production line for Department of Management
remind us: “Money controls every- each generation of [our product] has University of Bristol
thing and unless there is an economic changed. Robotics, automation will Howard House
financial reason to change something, feature. AM is also used in supporting Queen’s Avenue
it doesn’t change.” It is most likely [our product] i.e. printer at mainte- Bristol
that a global transformation in the nance site. We can send the design BS8 1SD
location of manufacturing will be standard for printing on site.”
precipitated by larger global crises, Overall, metal AM is preparing jennifer.johns@bristol.ac.uk
such as peak oil and/or climate itself in numerous ways for the future,
change significantly increasing the anticipating that several aspects of The author acknowledges the
cost and vulnerability of long distance contemporary methods and processes contribution of the British Academy
supply chains. Here we would see a will have to change. “We are rapidly (award number SG162550) and
shift to more regionalised or localised heading towards AM’s role in the the contributions of the research
production, in which AM would play factory of the future with automation participants.
a significant role. We can therefore and robotics. I think the whole
suggest that AM may not cause transformation of the digital factory,
geographical changes, but it will where we can go all the way from
likely play a crucial role in solving the design to really looking at modelling
| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | AM Ventures
AM Ventures: An insider’s
perspective on venture capital
for start-ups in Additive
Manufacturing
In an industry driven by innovation, start-ups play a vital role in creating the
next generation of AM technologies, applications, software solutions and
materials. However, only a small percentage of these start-ups will survive,
and even fewer will thrive. Arno Held, Chief Venture Officer at AM Ventures
Holding GmbH, presents a statistical analysis of start-ups across the AM
sector, including success rates, geographic distribution and key areas of
focus, and offers his insight into venture capital as it relates to the Additive
Manufacturing industry.
When my long-time mentor Johann when they have to start with a blank to compare. I found reports, went to
Oberhofer and I started AM Ventures, sheet of paper? They research the conferences, got introduced to very
with great support from the Langer next steps on Google. helpful contacts and eventually found
family, just five years ago in January I think I spent more than three the next start-up to invest in, and then
2015, we knew very little of what the months doing almost nothing else the next, and then the next.
world of AM start-ups looked like. but researching every start-up that Today, almost exactly five years
I still remember my first day at the was developing or using Additive after we began to build AM Ventures,
desk, in an oversized office on EOS’s Manufacturing technology. I created I am very proud to have built a team
Krailling campus, very well. The story an archive, collected data and started of eight highly passionate AM experts
of AM Ventures, however, actually
began about six months before.
After meeting an inspiring team
of young entrepreneurs at a 3D
Printing Cluster meet-up in Munich
and convincing them to bring some Invested countries:
Funding rounds:
colour to our industry by founding Germany, Austria,
15 Seed | 9 Series A
what is today the huge success story Switzerland, UK,
of DyeMansion, I realised exactly what Sweden, Australia,
I wanted to do with my network, and USA
the technical experience I had built Ticket size:
up at EOS over almost seven years: I €0.5–5.0 million, Portfolio
wanted to found a start-up that helps minority share ventures:
other start-ups to start up. I pitched > 15
the idea to Dr Hans Langer and
Johann Oberhofer, who quite liked it,
and the rest, as they say, is more or
less history. Funding stages: Scouted start-ups:
So, six months later, there I was. Seed to growth > 1,400
Alone in a big office. A desk, a chair
and me. And what does a typical
representative of Generation Y do Fig. 1 Overview of the investment activities of AM Ventures
AM Ventures | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
that have conducted more than

two dozen funding rounds and now
Hardware Materials manage a portfolio of seventeen
AM-related hardware and Materials production, start-ups in seven countries. We
periphery such as material refining, or research for have always had the feeling that we
handling solutions, support metals, polymers, ceramics, were building great knowledge with
removal, heat treatment, glass, composites, graphene- every start-up that was added to the
surface finishing embedded plastics and bio-inks portfolio, but it was only once we
decided to build our own database,
from which we could extract
structured data and customised
views, that we truly appreciated what
we had created since early 2015.
Today, we know quite a lot
about the world of AM start-ups.
Our database currently contains
information on more than 1,400 of
them. In 2019 alone, we added more
than 220 companies, and I cannot
imagine that there is another team
in our industry that has gathered
a comparable amount of data
Software Applications spanning the entire planet. Since we
Software solutions for produc- Key verticals such as rocket are an investor that is very clearly
tion and automation, post- engines, E-mobility (motor, focused on a specific technology, we
processing, commercialisation, generator), eyewear, footwear, are not limited geographically in our
or licensing fluid applications and pistons, low- areas of engagement. Our current
volume and high-value cars portfolio is distributed across the
world, from Austria to Australia,
and just one year ago, AM Ventures
Fig. 2 AM Ventures’ general investment focus lies in the industrial side of AM, opened its first branch office in
namely hardware, software, materials and applications Busan, South Korea, in order to
scout the Asian continent.
AM Ventures’ general invest-
ment focus lies in the industrial
side of Additive Manufacturing
5% technology. More specifically, we are
looking for start-up teams which
are dealing with AM hardware,
software, materials and applications.
Particularly with regards to relevant
31% materials, we are by no means
36% limited to polymers and metals –
177 even if this is by far the largest field
of engagement.
What follows are insights into our
operations, along with data on the
sometimes hard reality of being a
technology start-up in the AM world.
28%
Distribution of start-ups
Hardware Software Applications Materials
across all AM areas
Looking at the distribution of

Fig. 3 Global distribution of start-ups across all AM areas, showing that start-ups across our four main AM
three of the main categories are similarly sized: hardware, software and technology categories, it is nice to
applications see that three of the main categories
| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | AM Ventures
are similarly sized: hardware,

software and applications (Fig. 3). 14%
For us, as Additive Manufacturing 25%
enthusiasts and participants in this
9%
industry, it is particularly encour-
aging to see quite a large number
of applications in development. This 777 153
means that our industry as a whole
59%
is reaching a level of maturity, that 16%
investment in AM-education is finally 77%
paying off, and that the technology
is finally starting to change the way Global rate of success across
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
future products are conceived of, all AM start-ups Gone Surviving Succeful
developed and – in the end – manu-
factured.
7% 11%
The fact that only very few
start-ups are dealing with the 11%
development of new materials is not 10%
very surprising, as this domain is
still heavily dominated by machine
vendors and – particularly in the 89 92
polymers business – occupied by
very large chemical companies.
These two facts alone represent very 82%
79%
high entry barriers.
Eastern Europe and Israel France and Benelux
Gone Surviving Succeful Gone Surviving Succeful
Survival rates and global
10%
distribution 19%
8%
When one looks at a technological
segment from a Venture capital
8%
perspective, it is always interesting
to know what the overall likelihood 165 119
is for a start-up to succeed. In our
world, we define survival as the
73%
ability to establish a company and 82%
keep it alive at least until a business
angel invests, or a so-called ‘seed- North America Northern Europe
round’ of financing can be under- Gone Surviving Succeful Gone Surviving Succeful
taken. A really successful start-up
is defined as one which progresses 4% 5%
4% 2%
to raising series A funding with a
professional VC investor, or even
conducting a so-called ‘exit’ by
selling the company to another
entity or taking the company public 58
90
through an IPO.
Our research has shown that,
across all countries and technical
categories over the past five years, 92% 93%
AM start-ups had a mere 23%
likelihood of survival (Fig. 4, top Southern Europe APAC
Gone Surviving Succeful Gone Surviving Succeful
left). This number might be quite
interesting information for a general
Successful Surviving Failed
first contact. However, it only starts
to become valuable once one starts
looking into the more specific Fig. 4 AM start-up survival rates globally (top left) and by world region
North America 27%
France & Benelux 21%
Eastern Europe & Israel 19%
Northern Europe 19%
Southern Europe 9%
APAC 7%
45%
40%
41%
35%
30%
25% 27%
20%
21%
19% 19%
15%
10%
9%
5% 7%
0%
Germany, Austria North America France & Benelux Eastern Europe & Northern Europe Southern Europe APAC
and Switzerland Israel
Fig. 5 Rate of survival and success by region for AM start-ups
distribution of survival rates across ups in German-speaking Europe. failure is much more accepted and
geographical regions and technical This fact can be explained by two the entrepreneurial spirit is more
categories. facts: firstly, a very strong technical wide-spread, the decision to start a
From a geographic perspective, infrastructure is in place, with company is taken much quicker.
there are two global areas which world-leading industrial players who
stand out in terms of the numbers can help incubate and accelerate
of AM start-ups that they have start-ups as pilot customers and An insider’s perspective on
produced over the past five years. development partners; and secondly, Venture capital in AM
At AM Ventures, our typical investment

target is a very early stage start-up. A
“...focus on your core competence, team of passionate entrepreneurs with
and do not try to do everything by a diverse set of technical, commercial

and financial skills makes a perfect
yourselves. There are great partners match for us. The field of business in
which the start-up operates should
for everything out there; especially for be within the industrial side of
the development and manufacturing of Additive Manufacturing – for example
a new type of hardware or software,
machines...” a unique material or an AM-based
application. Two points of advice for
a start-up to become attractive for
investors would be to firstly focus on
Northern Europe (represented by the a very risk-averse culture exists in your core competence, and do not try
UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and these three countries. to do everything by yourselves. There
Finland), the so-called DACH-region On the one hand, this leads to a are great partners for everything out
(Germany, Austria and Switzerland), much smaller number of start-ups there; especially for the development
and North America have each founded per capita, but on the other and manufacturing of machines.
produced far more than one hundred hand it increases the likelihood Secondly, know exactly where you
AM start-ups between 2015 and 2019. of success for those who find the are making a difference and build on
What especially stands out is the courage to found their own start-ups. this. High-tech investors do not like
extremely high survival rate of start- In English-speaking cultures, where copycats.
a North
North
North
27% America
America
America
North
NorthAmerica
America 27% 27%
27% 27%
27% 42% 50%
elux North
France
France
France America
32%
21%& Benelux
&
& Benelux
Benelux
France
France&&27% Benelux
Benelux
21% 21%
21% 27% 33% 21%
21% 33% 29% 11%
38%
ERINorthen
ERI
ERI
19% Europe
ERI
Eastern
| contents | news | events | Europe
19% &|33%
19%
19%
advertisers 38%|
Israel| e-newsletter
website 19%
19% 21% 8% AM Ventures
ope F-BeNeLux
Northern
Northern
Northern
19% D-A-CH
Europe
Europe
Europe
Northern
Northern Europe
Europe
19% 19%
19% 42% 19% 19% 32% 26%
NORTH NORTHEN F-BENELUX ERI SOUTHERN APAC
ope ERI
Southern
Southern
Southern
9% Europe Europe
Europe
Southern
Southern Europe
AMERICAEurope
9%9% 63%
9% EUROPE 9% 9%31% 6% EUROPE
Southern
APAC
APAC
APAC
7% Europe
APAC
APAC 7%7% 38%
7% 7%
7%13% 38% 13%
APAC
45%
45%45%
45% 45%
45% 50% 50%
63 45 24 19 16 8 4
40%
40%40%
40% 5% 40%
40% 100%
8% 6%
41%
41%41%
41% 41%
41%
11% 13%
35%
35%35%
35% 35%
35% 26%
21%
31%
30%
30%30%
30% 41% 30%
30% 29% 50%
38%
27%25%
25%25%
25% 25%
25% 27%
27%27%
27% 27%
27% 32%
38%
20%
20%20%
20% 20%
20%
21%
22% 33% 21%
21%21%
21% 21%
21% 13%
19% 19% 19%
19%19%
19% 19%
19%
19%
19%
19%
19% 19%
19%
15%
15%15%
15% 15%
15%
63%
10%
10%10%
10% 10%
10% 50%
42%
33% 38%
32% 9% 9%
9% 9%
9% 9%
9%
5%
5% 5%
5% 5%
5% 27%
7% 7%
7% 7%
7% 7%
7%
0%
0% 0%
0% 0%
0%
tria North America Germany,
Germany,
France
Germany,
Germany,
&Austria
Austria
Benelux
Austria
Austria
North
North
Germany,
Germany,
North
North
America
America
ERI America
Austria
America
Austria
France
France
Northern
North
France
North
France
&
& Benelux
Benelux
America
America
Europe
&&Benelux
BeneluxSouthern
France
France
ERI
ERI&&Europe
ERI
Benelux
ERI
Benelux
Northern
Northern
Eastern
Northern
Northern
APAC
ERI
Europe
Europe
Europe
Europe
Europe
&
Southern
Southern
Northern
Northern
Southern
Southern
Europe
Europe
Europe
Europe
Europe
EuropeSouthern
Southern
APAC
APACAPAC
APAC
Europe
Europe APAC
APAC
nd
D-A-CH
and
and Switzerland
and
Switzerland
andSwitzerland
NORTH
Switzerland and
andSwitzerland
Switzerland
NORTHEN F-BENELUX ERI
Israel
SOUTHERN APAC
AMERICA EUROPE EUROPE
Fig. 6 Specific areas of AM activity by world region
As to the question of whether a network within an industry. But do Examples of impressive

company should ‘go it alone’ or seek not be too generous with the shares
metal AM start-ups
an investor, a key consideration is you give away; there is no more
that – aside from the fact that devel- expensive capital than equity, and One example of a very successful
oping scalable industrial technology many deals have failed because applications-focused start-up is
requires a lot of great talent and certain angel investors or advisors Australia’s Conflux Technology,
costs a lot of money – in a digitised received too many shares too early run by a team of former Formula 1
and globalised world, those who in the company’s life. engineers masterminded by Michael
can convince the most customers, Fuller, which decided to revolutionise
quicker than their competitors, win. thermal management systems by
Building up global sales networks, An industry still hungry for developing highly-complex heat
hiring experienced talents and innovation exchangers. These use geometries
finding the right key partners which dramatically outperform
requires not only a lot of money, but Despite the growing maturity their conventionally designed and
also the right strategic advisors. Of of the AM industry, we at AM manufactured counterparts, not only
course, you can also build a network Ventures believe that there is a in terms of efficiency but also weight,
on your own and earn the money to continuing appetite for new process volume and lead time. Conflux was
scale your company by yourself, but technologies and we have all been seed funded just three years ago by
the right VC will help you with both impressed by the wide variety AM Ventures and is today a global
in a small fraction of time. of hardware concepts that have player, supplying the biggest names in
In our discussions with start-ups, emerged over the past year and a aerospace, oil & gas, motorsport and
we are hardly ever faced with the half: we see new ways of exposure industry with its highly innovative and
concern that accepting VC funding and recoating, we see the rebirth patent protected solutions (Fig. 7).
is in some way ‘giving away control’. of Cold Spray, and it is great to see Metal Additive Manufacturing,
Most entrepreneurs take the VC how new hardware enables new however, is not only a technology
route because they deliberately materials to be processed, which which is gaining market acceptance
want to give parts of the company again results in new applications in the industrial world. Even super-
to people who bring them value. It’s being developed. Although we high-volume consumer applications
nothing else but aligning interests have already been doing this for such as keys for residential housing
and giving something for a return five years, I feel as though we have are becoming viable and even strongly
in the form of very specific techno- only just scratched the surface of improved through AM. A perfect
logical know-how or an unmatched start-ups in our industry. example of this is Alejandro Ojeda,
promising significantly higher

productivity rates, and making
new materials processable. Very
well educated and highly creative
engineering teams are continuing
to develop new applications
based on Design for Additive
Manufacturing (DfAM), which will
strongly boost the acceptance of
our industry. It is on the established
machine vendors and the advanced
industrial users of our beloved
technology to pave the way into
the future by establishing quality
standards and infrastructural
interfaces in order to accelerate
this adoption. If this can be estab-
lished in the years to come, we will
all witness how AM technology is
Fig. 7 An AM heat exchanger designed and manufactured by Australia’s going to enable batteries to last
Conflux Technology, a company seed funded three years ago by AM Ventures longer, vehicles to consume less
(Courtesy Conflux Technologies) fuel, and implants to heal faster.
who founded Urban Alps, a Swiss- large and mature industry, is exactly Author
based start-up that has reinvented the reason why people at AM Ventures
the design of the key and, as a love to work in AM. Arno Held
consequence, also locks (Fig. 8). Chief Venture Officer
The company’s AM-derived solu- AM Ventures Holding GmbH
tion is not only copy-proof, but more Conclusion Petersbrunner Str. 1b
durable and even more cost-efficient, 82319 Starnberg
because of AM’s design freedoms. All in all, the world of Additive Germany
That this company, in which AM Manufacturing-related start-ups
Ventures has no investment, is is booming as it has never done info@amventures.com
making so many waves in such as before. New hardware concepts are www.amventures.com
Fig. 8 Urban Alps, a Swiss-based start-up, has reinvented the design of the key and, as a consequence, locks (Courtesy
Urban Alps AG)
4 A P R I L 2020
20 – 2
F O R M A T I O N I S
TR A N S E A R T
H E R E . I T S H
EVE RY W N N O V E R .
BEA T S I N H A d and accompanie
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we have driven OVER MESSE serv
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For over 70 years rm ation . HA N N
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the course of in g the w orl d of tomorrow.
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Be part of it: ha
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| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | Optimising powders for AM
Binder Jetting and beyond:

Optimising the use of
metal powders for Additive
Manufacturing
The high cost of metal powders for Additive Manufacturing makes them a
primary focus for cost management. Learning how to treat and store such
powders in order to maintain and optimise their performance and value
is one way to improve production economics. Here, Dr Rajeev Dattani,
from Freeman Technology, UK, and Dr Animesh Bose, Desktop Metal,
USA, review how to test powders in order to develop this knowledge, and
examine treatment and storage regimes that can be beneficial.
Metal powders for Additive Manu- impact critical powder properties. illustrates how these properties can
facturing are relatively expensive. A collaborative study carried out by be modified or controlled by baking
For example, a titanium powder for Freeman Technology, Tewkesbury, under air or nitrogen and by storage
Additive Manufacturing can cost up Gloucestershire, UK, and Desktop under different conditions. The
to £200 per kg, depending on market Metal, Burlington, Massachusetts, results highlight potential strategies
fluctuations. This is an order of USA, a manufacturer of commercial for optimising AM metal powder
magnitude more than solid material metal Binder Jetting AM machines, performance.
in the form of bar stock [1]. As a
result, powder feed represents a
significant proportion of the manu-
factured cost of additively manufac-
tured components. Easily measured
and highly visible, the expenditure
associated with powder feeds is
routinely a target for cost manage-
ment, making it vital to choose a
supply well-matched to the specific
application. Understanding how to
optimise powder performance, for
example through pre-treatment
or by effective storage, supports
this decision-making process and
can pay dividends when it comes
to minimising costs within the
constraint of meeting demanding
product quality targets.
In this article, we examine Fig. 1 Desktop Metal develops Binder Jet metal AM systems aimed at moving
the factors that contribute to the the industry closer to high volume AM production. As with all powder-based
costs of AM powders, comparing AM processes, an optimised and consistent starting material will pay dividends
the manufacturing methods used when it comes to process stability and repeatabilty in a machine such as the
in their production and how they Shop System (Courtesy Desktop Metal)
Optimising powders for AM | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
Fig. 2 Most AM metal powders are produced by gas atomisation (left); plasma atomisation (right) is a more costly
alternative but produces particles with superior morphology
The economics of metal Gas atomisation and the development of processes

Gas atomisation is typically carried such as Electrode Induction Gas
powder production
out using a chemically inert gas Atomisation (EIGA). In EIGA, which
Metal powders for Additive such as nitrogen, argon or helium. is principally used for reactive alloys
Manufacturing are produced from Air atomisation is also an option, or metals such as titanium, the
metal bar, ingots, wire or even but tends to give rise to relatively metal feedstock takes the form of a
another powder, predominantly by high levels of oxygen in the finished rod, which is melted by an induction
atomisation. Gas atomisation is powder [3]. Molten metal is forced coil, immediately prior to entering
the most common manufacturing through a nozzle into the atomisation the chamber, eliminating contact
technology, but water and plasma- chamber where it is broken up by with either the electrode or crucible.
based processing are also routine. the action of high-velocity gas jets, These characteristics make EIGA
The technology used has a direct as shown in Fig. 2 (left). The low a clean process, well-suited to
impact on powder properties and, heat capacity of the gas, relative the production of small batches of
by extension, the quality and cost of to water, results in slower cooling high-specification powders [4].
the product. of the atomised metal, providing
time for the formation of more Plasma atomisation
Water atomisation spherical particles, though satellites In plasma atomisation processes,
In water atomisation, molten are often observed, as with water the metal feed takes the form of
metal is atomised by the action atomised materials. It is common either a wire or powder, which
of water jets, which break up the for the particle size distribution of a is simultaneously melted and
metal stream and simultaneously gas atomised product to also span atomised within the atomisation
cool the resulting droplets; particles up to 500 µm, depending on the chamber through the action of
then collect at the base of the conditions applied, with higher gas plasma torches and gas jets, as
atomisation chamber. Powders flows associated with the production shown in Fig. 2 (right). The particles
produced by this technique, most of finer particles, at higher cost. The produced are highly spherical, with
commonly iron and steel, are used use of gas at elevated temperatures minimal levels of satellites. The
widely in the Powder Metallurgy has also shown promise for the Plasma Rotating Electrode Process
industry, but have a highly irregular production of finer powders [3]. (PREP) is closely comparable, but
morphology that makes them less The need to control interstitial the metal feed takes the form of bar,
suited to many AM processes. elements and reduce the risk of which rotates, melting as it contacts
Drying prior to use is a prerequi- contamination, particularly for plasma torches within the atomisa-
site, and particle size distributions high-performance applications, has tion chamber. The resulting droplets
for water atomised metal powders led to the greater use of vacuum solidify before reaching the walls of
span up to 500 µm [2]. induction melting in gas atomisation the chamber.
Plasma processes are inherently Chemical purity In Binder Jetting, a printhead

more costly than either water or gas The ability to control oxidation and deposits liquid binder into defined
atomisation, but, alongside superior levels of interstitial elements is also areas of a powder bed to selectively
particle morphology, offer the benefit process-dependent, but high-purity bond particles. Successive layers of
of finer particle size distributions. and more demanding alloys call for powder are dispersed across the build
These typically range up to 200 µm for powder production methods that platform, with binder deposited into
plasma atomisation and up to 100 µm are inherently more costly, typically each to construct the object layer-
with PREP, which is additionally prized plasma-based processes. by-layer. Binder Jetting is suitable
for product purity [2]. for a range of different materials, but
In combination, these atomisation In summary, there are sound particularly metal and ceramics. The
processes account for the majority reasons for the high manufacturing finished object is analogous to the
of AM metal powder manufacture, costs of AM powders, with tight ‘green’ body produced by the Metal
although alternatives, including constraints on consistency, for a Injection Moulding process and is
centrifugal atomisation, plasma validated supply, further intensifying subsequently heated to ‘burn out’ the
spheroidisation, the hydride-dehydride economic pressures. Maximising the binder, and then fusing the powder
method and TiRO™ process, are also value of an AM powder by optimising particles to form a dense, stable
applied, depending on the application its properties is therefore essential. component by sintering.
of interest [2,4]. Minimising feedstock costs relies on For processing to be viable, an AM
not over-specifying a powder for the powder for Binder Jetting – and the
application and understanding how to same is true for Powder Bed Fusion
Factors inhibiting significant maintain and use a chosen feedstock – must discharge readily and consist-
cost reduction effectively, including reuse. Any choice ently from a feed hopper and disperse
to pay more for a powder should be rapidly to a uniform layer. This is a
There are now a significant number based on a robust assessment of the defining requirement that underlines
of metal powders to choose from advantages it delivers. the importance of the flowability of
for AM and the number of suppliers AM powders, both new and recycled.
has proliferated over recent years, The need to characterise flowability
creating competition in the market. Defining the quality of AM is not unique to the AM industry and
However, certain issues inhibit powders there are a number of techniques
significant cost cutting [5]. These in routine use. For example, flow
include: Defining the quality of AM powders through a funnel in methods such
requires an understanding of those as Hall or Carney flow testing are
Particle size distribution properties that impact the efficiency standard for metal powders. However,
None of the processes discussed of the manufacturing process and there is a growing body of evidence
above directly produce powders with the attributes of a finished product. that such techniques cannot detect
an optimal particle size distribution for Beyond the chemistry of an AM subtle differences between AM
any AM technology. For example, for powder, its purity and suitability for powders that impact their perfor-
Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), a particle the application, how should the quality mance [6]. Powders with an identical
size of 15–45 µm is optimal; Electron of an AM powder be defined and Hall Flow Index may, in fact, go on to
Beam Melting (EBM) works well measured? What physical character- deliver different processing perfor-
with a wider particle size distribution istics impact processing efficiency and mance or components of inconsistent
in the region of 45–106 µm. A gas the quality of the AM product? quality.
atomisation process typically produces AM technologies that can use, The size and shape of particles
only 10–50% product in the 20–150 µm or which exclusively use powder within a powder both impact
range [4]. This fraction is accessed feedstocks include Directed Energy flowability, but so too do many other
via post-processing steps such as Deposition (DED), Binder Jetting particle properties including surface
‘scalping’, sieving or air classification, (BJT) and Power Bed Fusion. In DED, texture, hardness, cohesion and
but, ultimately, the usable yield for a powder is melted as it deposits on density. Regular, spherical particles
specific application can be very low. the substrate, with feed blown onto tend to exhibit better fluidity than
the work area at a consistent rate. irregularly shaped particles and also
Particle morphology Binder Jetting and Powder Bed pack more efficiently, minimising
Processes vary in terms of their Fusion, in contrast, both depend on voidage in the powder layer, which
ability to produce the regular, the rapid spreading of powders in fine, is important from the perspective of
highly spherical particles prized uniform, consistent layers. Desktop finished product density and porosity.
for the majority of AM applications, Metal specialises in the Binder Jetting The fine particle size distribution
with greater sphericity directly process, which is examined in more specifications for AM powders are
associated with the more expensive detail to elucidate the impact of also, in part, linked with the need for
manufacturing processes. physical properties of the powder. efficient particle packing. However,
powders that will perform reliably in

Particle size Baking conditions Storage
an AM machine, without performing
PSD1 N/A (Virgin) Desiccant a trial run, making it a powerful
technique for the assessment of AM
PSD1 N/A (Virgin) Ambient
powders.
PSD1 Air baked Desiccant The following experimental study
showcases the use of dynamic powder
PSD1 Air baked Ambient
testing to assess changes in the
PSD1 N2 baked Desiccant behaviour of stainless steel powders,
caused by changes in treatment and
PSD1 N2 baked Ambient storage conditions. The aim of the
PSD2 N/A (Virgin) Desiccant work is to demonstrate how testing
can be applied to determine strate-
PSD2 N/A (Virgin) Ambient gies for optimising the performance
PSD2 Air baked Desiccant and value of AM powders.
PSD2 Air baked Ambient

Investigating the impact of
PSD2 N2 baked Desiccant
storage and treatment on
PSD2 N2 baked Ambient
stainless steel powders
Table 1 Summary of a range of stainless steel samples created to determine
the impact of different storage and treatment conditions In a collaborative study between
Desktop Metal and Freeman Tech-
nology, stainless steel AM powders
were subject to different storage
finer particles are beneficial from the density (which helps to validate purity and treatment regimens to assess
perspective of response to thermal and influences bed formation and their impact on powder properties.
energy input. Finer particles sinter sintering behaviour), detailed surface Twelve powder samples were tested
more quickly and at lower tempera- and morphological characterisation in total, six samples of two different
ture than coarser ones, reducing the by Scanning Electron Micrography particle size distributions, PSD1 (D50
risk of slumping and dimensional (SEM) and relevant flowability = 12 µm) and PSD2 (D50 = 15 µm);
distortion of the additively manufac- measurement. The measurement of three sub-batches of PSD1 and PSD2
tured green part. dynamic flow properties has proven were created as shown in Table 1.
In practice, the quality of an AM particularly beneficial with respect to One sub-batch was maintained in
feedstock is rigorously assessed this last requirement, notably for the its ‘as-received’ virgin state and the
and maintained by monitoring prediction of processing performance other two were baked at 200°C for 12
multiple physical characteristics. [6,7]. Dynamic flow testing, in combi- hours, one in air, the other in nitrogen
Characterisation includes measure- nation with these other techniques, (N2). Each sub-batch was then further
ments of particle size, shape and makes it possible to securely identify divided, to produce one sample for
Total Flow Energy = Area Under Curve

Torque
H1
Energy Gradient mJ/mm
H2
H1 Height H2
Fig. 3 Schematic illustrating the measurement principle that underpins dynamic powder testing
600 6.5 900 5.5

PSD1 BFE, mJ PSD2
BFE, mJ
SE, mJ/g
6.0 SE, mJ/g
850 5.0
550 5.5
800 4.5
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
BFE, mJ
BFE, mJ
5.0
750 4.0
500 4.5
700 3.5
4.0
450 3.5 650 3.0

Virgin Powder, Ambient Air Baked, Ambient N2 Baked, Ambient Virgin Powder, Ambient Air Baked, Ambient N2 Baked, Ambient
Storage Storage Storage Storage Storage Storage
Fig. 4 Dynamic flow measurements contrasting the properties of virgin and baked (under air or nitrogen) PSD1 (left) and
PSD2 (right) powders (storage under ambient conditions)
storage under ambient conditions and are generated during a downward strongly influenced by the level of
a second for storage with a desiccant. traverse of the blade, which pushes mechanical interlocking between
Calcium oxide was used as the desic- the powder against the confining base particles and inter-particle friction.
cant, with 16.5 g stored in a pouch for of the test vessel. SE, in contrast, is These results suggest that baking
a sample of 1600 g of metal powder. measured with an upward traverse reduces these interactions and
All samples were stored in sealed and is more closely associated with promotes more efficient packing
bottles throughout the experimental powder behaviour in an unconfined in the powder bed. More efficient
study. environment, for example, during powder packing is typically associated
Dynamic properties were meas- gravity flow. Both BFE and SE have with higher values of BFE, since, in a
ured for each of the samples using an been shown to reliably reflect the densely packed bed, the compressive
FT4 Powder Rheometer®, Freeman performance of powders in AM action applied in this test transmits
Technology (see Fig. 3). Specifically, processes [6,7]. more efficiently, giving rise to a large
the samples were characterised in flow zone and a correspondingly high
terms of Basic Flowability Energy The impact of baking value of flow energy. The observed
(BFE) and Specific Energy (SE) using Fig. 4 shows the impact of baking on trends can be attributed to changes in
the standard test protocols for the the BFE and SE of PSD1 and PSD2 the surface properties of the powders,
instrument [8]. Dynamic powder samples, for samples subsequently caused by the baking process.
testing involves measurement of stored under ambient conditions.
the axial and rotational force acting Baking, in either air or nitrogen, The impact of storage conditions
on a twisted blade as it proceeds increases BFE and decreases SE, Fig. 5 contrasts the impact on BFE
along a prescribed path through a with baking in air having a more and SE of storing virgin powder
sample of defined volume. BFE values pronounced effect. SE values are samples under ambient conditions
700 800 5.8

PSD1 PSD2 BFE, mJ
BFE, mJ 6.6
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
650
6.2 750 5.4
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
BFE, mJ
BFE, mJ
600
5.8
700 5.0
550
5.4
500 5.0 650 4.6

Virgin Powder, Virgin Powder, Virgin Powder, Virgin Powder,
Desiccant Storage Ambient Storage Desiccant Storage Ambient Storage
Fig. 5 Dynamic flow measurements contrasting the properties of virgin PSD1 (left) and PSD2 (right) powders stored with
a desiccant or under ambient conditions
4.1 950 4.0

610 PSD1 BFE, mJ PSD2 BFE, mJ
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
850 3.8
3.9
590
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
BFE, mJ
BFE, mJ
750 3.6
3.7
570
650 3.4
550 3.5 550 3.2

Air Baked, Air Baked, Air Baked, Air Baked,
Fig. 6 Dynamic flow measurements contrasting the properties of air baked PSD1 (left) and PSD2 (right) powders stored
with a desiccant or under ambient conditions
or with a desiccant. For both PSD1 Fig. 6 shows comparable data stored under ambient conditions.
and PSD2 samples, storage with a for samples baked in air. The PSD1 However, the PSD2 sample mimics the
desiccant results in substantially sample displays the same trend as trend of the sample baked in air. For all
higher SE values than storage under the virgin powders, with BFE and SE the PSD2 samples, the impact of drying
ambient conditions. BFE values are values higher for the powder stored on SE is more pronounced than on
also higher for the powders stored with desiccant than for the powder BFE, which, in fact, varies minimally,
with desiccant, though, for the PSD2 stored under ambient conditions. depending on the treatment method
sample, the effect is marginal. The PSD2 sample also exhibits an applied.
These trends indicate that moisture increase in SE when stored with Fig. 8 shows the trends in flowability
is retained in the samples – the desiccant but a slight reduction associated with baking, for samples
desiccant clearly has a marked in BFE. This result highlights how stored with desiccant. A comparison
effect – and that the presence of the combined impact of baking and of these data with the results shown
water enhances the flowability of the storage can vary markedly from in Fig. 3 (for storage under ambient
powders, decreasing the resistance powder to powder, even for the same conditions) indicates that changes
of the powder to the movement of material. in flow properties due to storage
the instrument blade, particularly Fig. 7 shows a final data set conditions are significant, relative to
under unconfined conditions. A contrasting the impact of storage those associated with baking, and in
rationale for this is that the water conditions for samples baked under some instances are sufficient to alter
present at ambient conditions acts nitrogen. The PSD1 nitrogen baked flowability rankings. For example,
as a lubricant, reducing the levels samples display the same trends for the PSD1 samples, the marked
of friction between particles, a observed with both the virgin and air increase in BFE associated with
particularly important mechanism baked samples, with lower BFE and baking, particularly baking under air,
for SE. SE values observed for the samples is not observed in samples stored with
6.5 850 4.8

PSD1 BFE, mJ PSD2 BFE, mJ
SE, mJ/g SE, mJ/g
6.0
650 4.4
5.5 750
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
BFE, mJ
BFE, mJ
5.0 4.0
600
4.5 650
3.6
4.0
550 3.5 550 3.2

N2 Baked, N2 Baked, N2 Baked, N2 Baked,
Fig. 7 Dynamic flow measurements contrasting the properties of N2 baked PSD1 (left) and PSD2 (right) powders stored
with a desiccant or under ambient conditions
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700 7.5 900 5.5

PSD1 BFE, mJ
PSD2
BFE, mJ
SE, mJ/g SE, mJ/g
850 5.0
650 6.5
800 4.5
SE, mJ/g
SE, mJ/g
BFE, mJ
BFE, mJ
600 5.5
750 4.0
550 4.5
700 3.5
500 3.5 650 3.0

Virgin Powder, Air Baked, Desiccant N2 Baked, Desiccant Virgin Powder, Ambient Air Baked, Ambient N2 Baked, Ambient
Desiccant Storage Storage Storage Storage Storage Storage
Fig. 8 Dynamic flow measurements contrasting the properties of virgin and baked (under air or nitrogen) PSD1 (left) and
PSD2 (right) powders (storage under desiccant conditions)
desiccant. Changing the storage In conclusion storage strategies on the behaviour

conditions essentially eliminates the of stainless steel powders for Binder
differentiation introduced by baking. The high cost of AM powders stems Jetting. Dynamic properties, such as
This observation highlights the from the economics of production BFE and SE, are highly sensitive and
need to consider storage conditions and, despite increasing competition have proven capable of successfully
carefully to maintain any improvement in the marketplace, is likely to differentiating closely similar AM
in flow properties achieved through remain an ongoing focus for the powders in terms of their process
baking or via any other pre-treatment industry. Sound decision-making performance. These parameters
process. about feedstocks and recycling are therefore extremely useful for
More generally, this study high- relies on recognising the charac- assessing the quality of AM materials
lights the importance of measuring teristics that define AM powder and the impact of any treatment
the effect of storage and treatment performance and learning how to strategies.
strategies to assess their impact. A optimise them. The chemistry of The results reveal that baking
statistical analysis, a multi-factor AM powders is crucial, but so too under air or N2 impacts both BFE and
analysis of variance and effect tests are multiple physical properties, SE and would therefore be expected
carried out to further analyse the notably bulk powder flowability. to alter process performance.
data, confirms that baking and Safeguarding and enhancing the Contrasting the flow properties
storage conditions and PSD are
all statistically significant factors
in terms of influencing both BFE
and SE (significance level p < 0.01).
“Sound decision-making about
The mechanisms underpinning feedstocks and recycling relies on
the observed trends are complex,
influenced by changes to the surface recognising the characteristics that define
induced by baking, the lubricating AM powder performance and learning
impact of low levels of moisture,
particle size distribution and, how to optimise them. The chemistry
potentially, by other additional differ-
ences between the two grades; PSD1
of AM powders is crucial, but so too are
and PSD2 display markedly different multiple physical properties.”
relationships with baking and storage
conditions despite being only margin-
ally different in terms of D50 (12 cf. flowability of a powder through of powders stored under ambient
15 µm). Measuring the net result of appropriate storage and treatment conditions with those stored with a
these effects is the only practical is potentially a productive strategy desiccant suggests that, for these
way to determine their potential for value enhancement. materials, water acts as a lubricant
impact and requires characterisation The experimental study for particle-particle movement,
tools that can generate data that presented here showcases the use enhancing flowability. The results
correlate with process and product of dynamic powder testing to assess were clearly influenced by particle
performance. the impact of baking and alternative size distribution, although relation-
ships are complex. Predicting how a powder will respond

to a certain environment is not practical, but the described
study shows how samples can be relevantly differentiated
to provide insight for the development of sound powder
management strategies. Such strategies are important for
optimising the value of AM powders and boosting process
economics. Download our free
Authors dedicated app for
Rajeev Dattani
Applications Specialist
Apple and Android
Freeman Technology
Bristol devices and have
access to all back
United Kingdom
Email: info@freemantech.co.uk
Animesh Bose
VP Special Projects
issues
Desktop Metal
Burlington, MA
USA
References
[1] J. T. Ray ‘ Calculating the cost of Additive Manufac-

turing’ available to view at: www.linkedin.com/pulse/
calculating-cost-additive-manufacturing-jason-t-ray/
[2] J Dawes et al ‘Introduction to the Additive Manufac-

turing Powder Metallurgy Supply Chain’ Johnson Matthey
Technol. Rev., 2015, 59, (3), 243–256
[3] J Dunkley ‘Metal powder atomisation methods for
modern manufacturing’ Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev.,
2019, 63, (3), 226
[4] Powder production: Methods of AM metal powder

production. Web page available to view at: www.carpen-
teradditive.com/technical-library/powder-production/
[5] Controlling metal powder costs in Additive Manufac-

turing. Carpenter Technology technical article available to
view at: www.carpentertechnology.com/en/alloy-techzone/
technical-information/technical-articles/controlling-
metal-powder-costs/
[6] J Clayton et al ‘The application of powder rheology in

Additive Manufacturing’ Journal of Materials, March 2015,
67, (3), 544 - 548.
[7] A Klein ‘The importance of powder flow in 3D printing’

Insights from Industry interview available to view at: www.
azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=17453
[8] Freeman, R., Measuring the flow properties of consoli-

dated, conditioned and aerated powders — a comparative
study using a powder rheometer and a rotational shear
cell. Powder Technol. 2007:174:25-33.
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| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | AM and sustainability
From lightweighting and

material efficiency to energy
consumption: Where are we on
AM’s sustainability journey?
Additive Manufacturing has been heralded as a game-changing
technology of the future. But while many ‘green’ and ecological initiatives
have bloomed from the AM movement, the question remains: “Is AM
environmentally friendly?” As Olaf Diegel, Ray Huff, and Terry Wohlers
explain, the short answer is: it can be, in the hands of good designers and
well-informed manufacturers. As with any tool or process, knowledge and
experience are key. It is important to explore the many ways AM is applied
in sustainable ways and whether it is improving.
Amongst its many benefits, Addi- AM processes are also attractive stock becoming chips. With Additive
tive Manufacturing is becoming with regard to dramatically reducing Manufacturing, objects are ‘grown’
well-known as a weight saving scrap and waste. With subtractive from stock powder, producing little
manufacturing process. Strong, methods of manufacturing, the mate- waste by comparison. Support mate-
organic structures can be integrated rial for a part is often sourced using rial and partially sintered or melted
within parts, yielding significant the bounding box of the design. With powder are the exceptions, but these
reductions in weight. For example, machining, material is removed until may represent 10% or less of the total
the bracket shown in Fig. 1 was only the part is left. In many designs, material used. When producing parts
redesigned for metal Binder Jetting this results in 90% or more of the using high-value materials, such as
(BJT) by a major car manufacturer.
The work resulted in a 47% lighter
part compared to a conventional
design. The redesign also reduced
the necessary welding of the part,
saving further assembly costs down
the line. The long-term benefit is in
fuel savings; every gram removed
from a car’s weight translates to fuel
that is never burned, coupled with
less brake wear required to slow it
down. With aircraft, ships, trains,
mining vehicles, assembly robots
and all other moving machinery
and transportation systems, these
savings are felt in greater energy
efficiency over the service life of
a product. The contribution of AM
to weight reduction and reduced
material usage is therefore crucial
when considering its sustainability Fig. 1 Topology optimised bracket weighing about half of the conventional
credentials. design (Courtesy The ExOne Company)
AM and sustainability | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
Fig. 2 Left; Aircraft seat frame made by CNC milling. Right; Aircraft seat frame redesigned for AM using topology and
lattice optimisation (Courtesy Wohlers Associates)
titanium and cobalt alloys, the cost include gas, vacuum induction The relatively low volumes of AM
savings quickly add up. (EIGA), plasma, centrifugal and materials required, compared
It has often been said that the water. Most atomisation processes to those needed for other
best defence is a solid offence. The produce powders with the character- manufacturing processes, is also a
greatest offensive strategy in AM istics suitable for metal AM. These contributing factor to higher price
is design. Design for AM (DfAM) characteristics include spherical points.
is a framework for evaluating and particle shape, good powder packing
making design decisions that make density thanks to the spherical shape Greener powders?
the most of the many benefits of and particle size distribution, and Whilst the use of metal powders
AM, while balancing some of the good reproducibility of particle size to make net shape or near-net
shortcomings. In an example used in distribution. shape parts, be it by Additive
the DfAM training courses conducted In gas atomisation, a stream of Manufacturing, ‘press and sinter’
by Wohlers Associates, an aircraft molten metal is blasted with an Powder Metallurgy or Metal Injection
seat frame is considered. When made inert gas jet, which results in highly Moulding is inherently more energy
by machining, 67% of the billet is spherical particles. Such a process efficient than subtractive processes,
machined away to make the bracket adds several steps beyond those the Earth only has so many precious
shown in Fig. 2 (left). When topology required to make materials for metals near its surface. As such, the
and lattice optimised, as shown in conventional manufacturing. These recycling of materials has become a
Fig. 2 (right), a waste reduction of steps include melting, atomising, focus for many companies.
87% is achieved, while preserving the multiple sieving operations, and The high cost of extracting and
frame’s strength. then blending the powder to transporting weighty ore around
produce a suitable mixed powder the globe has been a motivating
grain size distribution. This adds to factor for the aerospace industry in
Raw materials the energy and cost requirements particular. As an example, about 30%
considerations for metal AM materials. Typically, of the minerals used to produce the
metal AM powders can be ten to world’s titanium are mined in South
The metal powder used in AM is most thirty times more expensive than Africa and shipped to other countries
commonly made using gas atomisa- their conventional manufacturing for refinement and transformation
tion. Different atomisation processes counterparts such as bar stock. into material suitable for manufac-
turing. Often, this material is then

purchased by South African manu-
facturing companies at a hundred
times the cost of the original ore.
For typical machining applica-
tions, particularly in the aviation
industry, up to 95% of the material
is machined away from the billet
of titanium, then recycled or taken
to the landfill. This is one of the
factors that makes the reduced
material usage profile of metal AM
so attractive.
When scrap material is produced
close to an AM production site,
recycling becomes an interesting
possibility. Premium AEROTECH,
a subsidiary of Airbus, has worked
on a recycling method for the
production of AM materials since
2013. In its process, scrap titanium
is compacted and gas atomised into Fig. 3 How the re use of scrap can drive the circular AM economy (Courtesy 6K)
spherical powder for use in metal
AM. The work has resulted in more
than 100 kg of titanium powder
passing quality inspection for use in
metal AM systems. Waste streams from part distortion. After the part is
6K, formerly Amastan Technolo- produced, this support material is
gies, is taking a different approach removed and recycled or trashed.
to metal recycling for AM. Rather The building of parts on typical
Despite AM’s relatively high material
than consolidating scrap into ingots metal PBF systems results in
efficiency compared to conventional
before atomisation, 6K uses a about 10% waste, largely due to
subtractive processes, metal AM
proprietary method of mechanically the support structures. With good
processes produce a number of
grinding scrap into fine particles that design, it is possible to reduce this
waste by-products that must be
can then be fed through a plasma number to around 2%. Whether
taken into consideration when
system to produce high-quality, one takes the best- or worst-case
examining AM from a sustainability
high-sphericity powder free of any scenario for support material waste,
point of view. Typical examples
satellites. This process is said to be it is generally much better than the
include:
economical at high volumes, with waste from machining. With casting,
commercially-available powders
expected this year.
A notable recycling project with
a heavy societal focus is Humanium
“The building of parts on typical metal
Metal. The Swedish-based move- PBF systems results in about 10%
ment collects and melts firearms
into ingots of a material that is ‘the waste, largely due to the support
equivalent of 316L stainless steel’ structures. With good design, it is
and can be used for other purposes
– potentially including atomisation. possible to reduce this number to
The organisation estimates that
$4 billion in gun-related damages
around 2%.”
occur annually worldwide and hopes
to create new value while offsetting
that cost. Guns themselves have Support material waste material is usually fed back
been produced by AM in recent Metal Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) into the crucible for remelting,
years, so the Swedish initiative could requires support material to anchor although most castings also require
help raise AM’s image as a respon- the parts to the build plate, and to machining, resulting in energy
sible and sustainable technology. act as heat-sinks to help reduce consumption and further waste.
AM and sustainability | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
orientations or with different support

strategies. Most service providers
Mining & Primary Production Printing / Rough Machining
have bins full of scrap parts that
Feedstock Mfg Post-Processing
were used to determine the best
build strategies. Whilst most AM
Laser Powder system manufacturers provide little
Bed Fusion 359.0
in the way of build guidance, the
Wire DED 439.5 effective use of the latest simulation
technologies and the development
Binder Jetting 278.1 of digital twins can go some way
towards addressing this issue.
Joule Printing 248.7
Spatter
CNC 1686.1
Machining As the powder is being melted by
the energy beam in PBF processes,
0.0 500.0 1000.0 1500.0 2000.0
some particulate and spatter is
kWh ejected from the melt pool and
sucked away by the constant flow
of inert gas across the powder bed.
Fig. 4 Manufacturing energy consumption for an example 1 kg titanium aero- This quantity of material is relatively
space part, based on various AM processes plus CNC machining, taking into low, at around 0.5%, but it should
account the energy used in mining and primary material production (Courtesy still be taken into account, if only
Digital Alloys) from an environmental perspective.
Consumables
Metal AM machines require the
use of consumables, chief among
them inert gas, which is used to
Machining
prevent material oxidation and to
remove spatter and particulate.
Reactive metals, such as aluminium
Casting
and titanium, typically require the
use of argon, while non-reactive
metals, such as steels, normally use
Forging nitrogen. This gas is pumped into
the machine from bottles or by a
nitrogen generator, and disposed of
Powder
Metallurgy after use. Take into account the cost
of the inert gas and its disposal.
0 4 8 12 16 As part of the powder spreading
mechanism, most metal AM
kWh/kg
systems use a wiper blade, a
consumable that may need to be
Fig. 5 Energy consumption per unit mass for various manufacturing processes,
replaced after every build. Consider
including Powder Metallurgy, which can broadly be seen as representative of a
not only the disposal of the wiper
range of sinter-based processes (Powder Metallurgy figure includes 2 kWh/kg
blades, but the energy and material
for powder production (From the paper ‘Energy Consumption in Powder Metal-
used in their manufacture.
lurgical Manufacturing’, Vladislav Kruzhanovand and Volker Arnhold (GKN
Sinter Metals), Powder Metallurgy, Vol. 55 No. 1, 2012)
Energy use in AM
Whilst metal Additive Manufacturing

Poorly designed parts and build quite right, or not a good fit for AM. encompasses a diverse range of
failures These parts are often redesigned and processes with varying energy needs
One of the largest streams of waste rebuilt, with the original part being and is by no means low-energy
in AM is poorly designed parts. This scrapped. When additively manufac- industry, it is significantly more
waste occurs, often at great cost, turing a part for the first time, it is energy efficient than most conven-
before users realise a design is not often built more than once in different tional manufacturing processes
How AM contributes
to energy saving in
conventional metalworking
processes
Looking at AM’s broader contribution

to energy saving, in the casting
industry, AM is used to make complex
ceramic investment casting moulds
and cores. They do not require casting
patterns and tooling, nor do they
need to be dipped multiple times in
a ceramic slurry and burned out, but
AM offers the potential to raise the
energy efficiency of even the most
long-established technologies.
The double-inlet nozzle casting
with internal channels, shown here,
was produced with an additively
manufactured ceramic mould and
cores (Courtesy Aristo-Cast)
(Fig. 4). In PBF systems, material Despite this, sintering-based Conclusion

is heated to its melting point by a processes have been shown
laser or electron beam. For high- to be significantly less energy Metal AM processes are complex,
temperature superalloys, such as consuming than forging, casting, and require experience, testing,
Inconel 718, this is at about 1,300°C. and machining, even when qualification and parameterisation
Additional energy may be required to taking the energy used in metal in order to use them as a reliable
heat the build chamber and maintain powder atomisation into account. method of production. With
an elevated temperature during the Fig. 5 shows data from research conscience, common sense, and
build. undertaken at GKN Sinter Metals, some ingenuity, the technology
Metal Binder Jetting systems use which is primarily focused on PM progresses toward becoming a
temporary binders to bond particles and MIM processing. It is possible sustainable solution.
prior to sintering. These binders are to use the data generated to
eventually burned out or chemically understand the energy consumption
removed, so they are another of mid-to-high volume sinter-based Authors
consumable. When sintering, parts AM processing.
are brought to elevated temperatures Energy costs are present in any Olaf Diegel, Ray Huff and Terry
just below the material’s melting forming process in which metal is Wohlers
point and held for extended periods of melted. AM’s energy advantage is Wohlers Associates, Inc.
time. For parts with thicker cross- the heating of minimal material to Fort Collins
sections, this time can be extended to form a part, harkening back the Colorado 80525
ensure sufficient densification. All of argument for DfAM to minimise part USA
this contributes to the cost of energy. mass. www.wohlersassociates.com
©Fraunhofer ILT, Aachen / Volker Lannert
Metal Additive Manufacturing

Conference Industrial Perspectives
in Additive Technologies
September 30 - October 2, 2020

Vienna, Austria
Do not miss the opportunity to become a part of

the Metal Additive Manufacturing Community!
www.mamc2020.org
| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | MAMC 2019
AM’s industrial impact celebrated

as Sweden hosts ASMET’s fourth
Metal Additive Manufacturing
Conference
The fourth Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference (MAMC 2019), organised
by the Austrian Society for Metallurgy and Materials (ASMET), took place in
Örebro, Sweden, from November 25–27, 2019. The event, which attracted an
international audience, covered a broad range of metal AM technologies and
considered the technical challenges that need to be overcome to make the
industry more economically competitive with conventional manufacturing. Prof
Dr Jürgen Stampfl, Prof Nader Asnafi, Dr Bruno Hribernik, and Dr Gerhard
Hackl review the event for Metal AM magazine.
MAMC 2019 was the fourth in the that was built over this ford. This well as numerous applications that
Metal Additive Manufacturing Confer- was historically a strategic location, have had a real and positive impact in
ence series organised by the Austrian because from here one could control industry. The opportunities connected
Society for Metallurgy and Metals traffic and trade with Sweden’s with such a dynamic technology are
(ASMET) and attracted over 220 interior. In 2015, the historic town raising interest in both the raw mate-
decision-makers, engineers, devel- celebrated its 750th anniversary. rials and manufacturing equipment
opers, industry experts, scientists The MAMC 2019 technical industries, and an indication of the
and students from more than twenty programme consisted of more than relevance of AM to Swedish industry
countries. For 2019, the event moved sixty oral presentations and identified was given in a welcome address by
from its previous home in Vienna, the latest trends and developments Anna Olofsson, County Director on the
Austria, to the city of Örebro, 200 km along the entire AM process chain, as Örebro Administrative Board.
to the west of Stockholm.
Örebro was for many centuries
one of the most important ports for
the trade of iron from the Bergslagen
mining district, and this long metal-
lurgical tradition, in combination
with Sweden’s current position as an
important player in metal Additive
Manufacturing, made the city a
natural home for an AM conference
that focuses exclusively on the
processing of metals.
The conference venue, Örebro’s
medieval castle, lies in a picturesque
setting on an island in the river
Svartån. The name Örebro comes
from the word for small stones, called
‘ör’ in Swedish, that are washed down
a river, with the second part of the Fig. 1 Örebro Castle, the historic venue for MAMC 2019
word coming from the bridge (‘bro’) (Courtesy John Chahrestan)
MAMC 2019 | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
Fig. 2 A Siemens SGT-700 industrial gas turbine, featuring ground-breaking additively manufactured burner solutions
developed and manufactured at the company’s nearby Finspång AM facility (Courtesy Siemens)
Opening keynotes highlight has invested heavily in the develop- surrounding EOS’s metal AM
ment of metal AM since 2006 and, in activities. On a technical level, his
AM success stories
2016, used additively manufactured presentation focused on the suitability
The conference’s opening keynote burner heads in its SGT-1000F gas of Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF)
presentations set the stage for turbines for the first time. Many other in comparison with metal Binder
the more detailed discussions on ‘mission-critical’ parts have since been Jetting technologies (BJT). With the
materials, processes and systems added to the company’s growing list advent of a number of new players in
for metal Additive Manufacturing that of successes, and metal AM is, in the both fields, potential users are now
seeking to understand which AM
technology is best suited for their
specific applications. Binder Jetting
“Binder Jetting technology offers an technology offers an interesting
interesting cost structure thanks to the cost structure thanks to the high
throughput offered by the process and
high throughput offered by the process the use of low-cost components, such
and the use of low-cost components, as inkjet heads, in comparison with

laser-based systems. Nevertheless,
such as inkjet heads, in comparison with the sintering process required to
obtain fully-dense metal parts by
laser-based systems.” Binder Jetting limits certain applica-
tions, especially for larger parts with
non-uniform wall thicknesses.
Highlighting applications in
would come later in the programme. meantime, at the heart of Siemens’ aerospace engineering (Fig. 3),
Andreas Graichen, of Siemens digitalisation strategy (Fig. 2). Allitsch pointed out the challenges
Turbomachinery, presented ongoing Edmar Allitsch, Managing Partner and achievements of the recent years,
projects and research efforts taking at AM Ventures Holding GmbH and resulting in EOS’s leading position
place in Siemens’ energy business Chairman of the Supervisory Board of in the metal AM market thanks to
unit, which also hosted a guided tour EOS Holding AG, Munich, Germany, its installed base of around 3,500
of its Finspång AM facility. Siemens gave insight into the eco-system machines.
In his keynote, Jürgen Stampfl,

TU Wien, Austria, spoke on the topic
of ‘3D Printable Materials: Design
principles for strong and tough
polymers, ceramics and metals’,
describing the common design
principles in AM fabricated polymers,
metals and ceramics, with a focus
on highlighting the importance of
fracture mechanics in the develop-
ment of AM materials.
Later, Tobias Brune, SMS Group,
Germany, presented the current
status of one of the most advanced
metal powder atomisation plants
developed by the SMS Group. SMS
provides turnkey solutions for the
production of metal powders with the
highest purity requirements, thanks
to in-house expertise that ranges
from CFD simulation to decades
of experience providing integrated
engineering systems to industry.
Fig. 3 An Ariane 6 Vinci Engine injector printed as one single piece, including
8000 holes, using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (Courtesy EOS)
MAMC 2019 ‘best paper’
awards
A highlight of the conference were

three presentations given by the
recipients of the MAMC 2019 ‘best
paper’ awards. In a paper titled
‘Automotive stamping tools, dies and
injection moulds made by L-PBF
AM’, Nader Asnafi and colleagues
from Örebro University focused on
automotive stamping tools, dies and
injection moulds made by Laser
Powder Bed Fusion. Following
the procedures of Volvo Cars, he
and his co-workers certified solid
and topologically optimised tools
additively manufactured in maraging Fig. 4 A punch in an industrial production tool for the stamping of 1 mm thick
steel 1.2709 for the forming and trim- hot-dip galvanised DP600 sheet. From left to right: the conventional design with
ming/blanking/cutting of 2 mm thick a honeycomb inner structure, topology optimised with LS-TaSC, and topology
hot-dip galvanised DP600 sheet steel. optimised using Siemens NX12. All three punches are additively manufactured
Asnafi also showed an additively in maraging steel 1.2709 (Courtesy Nader Asnafi)
manufactured punch from a produc-
tion tool that was designed both
conventionally and using topology
optimisation. This was produced optimised using two different software weight by 70% and to study how
using the same maraging steel and packages, LS-TaSC (LS-Dyna) and large the maximum displacement
used for the stamping of 1 mm-thick Siemens NX12. The purpose of the was during loading. All versions of
hot-dip galvanized DP600 sheet. topology optimisation using LS-TaSC the same punch are shown in Fig. 4.
The conventionally designed punch was to obtain reasonable maximum The team showed also a core
was first additively manufactured with displacement during loading. The used in the injection moulding of a
a hollow honeycomb inner structure, topology optimisation using Siemens medical container. This core was first
before a variant was topologically NX12 then aimed at reducing the tool’s optimised through simulations and
then additively manufactured using

a voestalpine material. Improved
cooling and reduced cycle time
were the targets of this optimisation
(Fig. 5). In production testing of this
core, cooling was improved by 15%
and cycle time was reduced by 8%.
In their presentation, ‘Low-defect
AM of high strength aluminium
alloy by Direct Energy Deposition’,
Anika Langebeck and co-authors
from BIAS Bremen, Germany,
presented results on the Directed
Energy Deposition (DED) of 7075
aluminium alloy, a material which
can be used in applications such
as roller bearings designed for
Fig. 5. Core for the injection moulding of a medical container: Cooling lightweight applications. The alloy is
performance was improved by 15% and cycle time was reduced by 8%. After sensitive to residual porosity when
optimisation, the core was additively manufactured in a voestalpine material it is processed using DED; however,
[Courtesy Anton Alveflo] by developing a dedicated setup
featuring multiple nozzles and an
additional gas shroud for shielding
gas (Fig. 6), the team was able to
gain a detailed understanding of its
processing and material properties.
The setup that was developed
was designed in such a way that
it can be operated without an
inert gas chamber, enabling the
manufacturing of large components.
The challenges presented by the
omission of a process chamber
are mostly related to a difficult-
to-control deposition atmosphere
within the process zone. An
additional gas shroud, which
protects the multi-nozzle head from
the surrounding atmosphere, is
one of the key elements to reduce
Fig. 6 Three jet nozzles for Directed Energy Deposition with additional shielding contamination with oxygen. Further
gas shroud measures to better control and
monitor the process conditions
helped to achieve a stable and
reproducible deposition state,
leading to alloys with 220 MPa
Ultimate Tensile Strength.
Finally, Mihaela Albu and
colleagues from Graz Centre of
Electron Microscopy, Austria,
presented their paper ‘Ex- and
in-situ microstructure investiga-
tions of powders and AM parts’, in
which they used Scanning Electron
Microscopy (SEM) and Scanning
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Fig. 7 Surface roughness directly after AM (left) and after AM and polishing (STEM) to investigate in-situ and
(right). Produced from AM Corrax on an EOS M290 (Courtesy Petter Damm) ex-situ how the microstructure of
Al-alloys and N700 steel powders 55

evolve during a heat treatment
procedure that matches the 50 AM Heatvar
processes that occur within a Laser
45
Powder Bed Fusion system.
Hardness [HRC]
STEM images made by high 40
angular annular dark field AM - 1.2344
AM - 1.2709
experiments and differential phase 35
contrast images, and Electron
30
Energy Loss Spectrometry (EELS)
spectrum images, were used to 25
localise and identify the elements 0 10 100
and their stable and metastable Holding time at 620°C [h]
phases. In-situ STEM observations
were used to gather information Fig. 8 The temper back resistance at 620°C for three different tooling AM
regarding the crystallisation of materials: AM Heatvar, maraging steel 1.2709 and 1.2344/H13 tool steel
amorphous phases and the develop- (Courtesy Petter Damm)
ment of metallic microstructures at
different temperatures.
Tools for hot stamping (or press Fig. 8 shows the temper back resist-
Success for AM tooling hardening) and High Pressure Die ance at 620°C for three different AM
applications Casting (HPDC) are two important hot tooling materials, Uddeholm AM
work applications. As far as HPDC Heatvar, maraging steel 1.2709 and
Production tooling made by AM is concerned, Damm addressed DIN 1.2344 / H13 tool steel. In rela-
processes has today reached a high downtime, maintenance and scrap tion to cold-work applications, Damm
manufacturing readiness level and rate reduction as well as product highlighted AM’s benefits as avoiding
tooling is becoming a competitive quality improvement. He described the need to stock bar material,
market for the AM industry. This how soldering and erosion constitute integrating advanced lubrication and
was reflected in a number of related
presentations at MAMC 2019. In
addition to the previously highlighted
presentation by Nader Asnafi, Petter
“Production tooling made by AM
Damm and Anton Alveflo focused on processes has today reached a high
why, how and where to use Additive
Manufacturing in tooling. manufacturing readiness level and
Damm addressed metal AM tooling is becoming a competitive market
powder made for tooling and
described the benefits of AM in for the AM industry. This was reflected
three different tooling application
areas: plastic injection moulding,
in a number of related presentations at
hot work applications and cold work MAMC 2019.”
applications. Conformally cooled and
additively manufactured cores and
inserts for the injection moulding
of plastic components reduce cycle challenges in HPDC, particularly venting, and superior process control
times and improve the part quality regarding part quality and die life. through integrated sensor.
through both direct improvements To improve die performance from Anton Alveflo described the AM
and by reducing scrap rate. Part these perspectives, he stated that the approach and solutions provided by
quality is highly related to mould following was of greatest importance: voestalpine along the value chain
quality, which in turn is determined for powders and parts. voestalpine
• A die material with high temper
by several factors, of which the carries out material development
back resistance, high hot
polishability of the mould material and powder production, design
hardness and low affinity to Al
is one. The high polishability of AM optimisation and component produc-
Corrax is shown in Fig. 7, where the • The ability to avoid hot spots tion. Besides Inconel L718, L625,
surface roughness is presented both and control shrinkage through 17-4PH and W722, Böhler and Udde-
directly after AM and after AM plus conformal cooling specifically holm, as divisions of voestalpine, are
polishing. where it was required. providing proprietary materials such
as E185, W360, M789, Corrax and

Heatvar for AM applications. Alveflo
showed industrial tooling cases from
HPDC and plastic injection moulding,
with the tooling for the plastic
injection moulding of a Polyamide 66
component for a car body application
being one of these cases (Fig. 9).
To reduce cooling time, warpage
and component weight, conformal
cooling and topology optimisation
were conducted (Fig. 10). After these
optimisations, the tool was additively
Fig. 9 Tooling insert for the plastic injection moulding of a separator piece
manufactured using the Corrax
in Polyamide 66 for a car body application. Part dimensions are 108 x 60 x
material. With this tool, cooling time
42.5 mm (Courtesy Anton Alveflo)
was reduced by 60%, cycle time by
40%, material usage by 35% and
machine cost by 31% (Fig. 11).
Conformal cooling to reduce Topology optimisation to
cycle time and warpage reduce mass
Drivers of AM innovation
Several contributions covered the

further development of advanced
systems and processes for metal
AM. Presentations made by Franz
Haas (TU Graz, Austria), Sebastian
Dirks (RWTH Aachen, Germany) and
Ulf Ackelid (Freemelt AB, Sweden)
highlighted opportunities and
barriers in the context of process
innovations for the further develop-
ment of the field. This topic is also
Fig. 10 To reduce cooling time, warpage and weight, conformal cooling and closely connected with the advances
topology optimisation were conducted. After these optimisations, the tool was achieved in the field of software and
additively manufactured in AM Corrax (Courtesy Anton Alveflo) simulation tools, as outlined in the
contributions of Andreas Markström
(Thermo-Calc Software AB,
Sweden), Johannes Zielinski (RWTH
Aaachen), and Tobias Ronneberg
(Imperial College London, UK).
• Cooling time
These presentations highlighted
reduced by 60% how crucial software’s role in the
evolution of AM is, from enabling the
• Cycle time optimisation of AM parts to meltpool
reduced by 40% simulations and the in-situ imaging
of microstructures.
• Material usage To further enhance the economic
and technical benefits of metal
reduced by 35%
AM, innovative and AM-targeted
materials, especially powders, are a
• Machine costs critical issue. This was reflected by
reduced by 31% the large number of contributions
covering powder production and
characterisation, a topic with a very
strong tradition in Sweden. Pres-
Fig. 11 The improvements achieved with the cooling and topology optimised entations given by, among others,
inserts additively manufactured from AM Corrax (Courtesy Anton Alveflo) speakers from Fraunhofer ILT, RWTH
The conference was formally opened by County Director The MAMC conference’s organisers, left to right: DI
Anna Olofsson Dr Gerhard Hackl, Prof Dr Nader Asnafi, DI Dr Bruno
Hribernik and Prof Dr Jürgen Stampfl
The best paper award ceremony, Left to right: Nader MAMC 2019 delegates in Örebro Castle
Asnafi, Juergen Stampfl, Anna Olfsson, Bruno
Hribernik, Mihaela Albu, Anika Langebeck and Anton
Aveflo
Two-day Design for AM

tutorial
Directly following MAMC 2019, Nader Asnafi,
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, held a
two-day course in Design for Metal Additive
Manufacturing in collaboration with Jürgen Stampfl,
Professor for Materials and Additive Manufacturing
Technologies, TU Wien, Austria, and Olaf Diegel,
Professor and Head of the Creative Design and
Additive Manufacturing Laboratory, the University of
Auckland, New Zealand. The course, which was held
at Örebro University, attracted participants from
Australia, Austria, France, Japan, South Korea and
Sweden.
Aachen, KTH Stockholm, Uddeholm
Tours showcase Sweden as a centre AB, Luleå University of Technology

and Mimete Srl can be seen as proof
of innovation in AM of the vibrant European metal powder
production scene.
Demanding and promising
applications, where features offered
by AM enhance the economic or
engineering value, are still the key
drivers for AM. In order to guarantee
the reliability necessary for such
applications, quality assurance and
process monitoring are instrumental.
Several sessions therefore covered
these topics, giving a broad insight.
The importance of further developing
this field is also indicated by the
presentation of one of the three ‘best
paper awards’ to a paper on this topic.
AMEXCI was founded by ABB, Atlas Coco, Electrolux, Husqvarna Group, Finally, since surface quality
Höganäs, Saab, Scania, SKF, Stora Enso, and Wärtsiläand FAM on the and defect control are both critical
principle of accelerating the industrial adoption of AM (Courtesy AMEXCI) in powder-based metal AM, post-
processing and final quality inspection
are key elements of the whole process
The morning of November 25 was world class AM facility. This began chain. Post-processing approaches
dedicated to visits to AMEXCI and operations in 2019. based on both electrochemical and
Lasertech LSH in Karlskoga, a The afternoon of November 27 mechanical routes were showcased in
thirty-five minute drive from Örebro offered a visit to Siemens Industrial a number of presentations, including
Castle. AMEXCI was founded Turbomachinery’s AM plant in those from Hirtenberger Engineered
by ABB, Atlas Coco, Electrolux, Finspång, located eighty minutes Surfaces, Sandvik Additive Manufac-
Husqvarna Group, Höganäs, Saab, from Örebro Castle. Siemens is a turing, the University of Trento and
Scania, SKF, Stora Enso, and global engineering powerhouse with DTU, reflecting the increasing levels
Wärtsiläand FAM on the principle of a focus on the areas of electrifica- of activity in this field.
accelerating the industrial adoption tion, automation and digitalisation.
of AM and helping to bring a new In infrastructure and industry
generation of innovative engineers solutions, the company plays a Conclusion
and products to the market. AMEXCI pioneering role.
has in-house capacity for both Siemens’ Finspång operation is When compared to MAMC 2014, 2016
metal and polymer AM and strives world-leading in the field of metal and 2018, the conference programme
to be the best partner in applying Additive Manufacturing and the at MAMC 2019 demonstrated
know-how throughout the product company has invested in a complete significant progress regarding
lifecycle in the field of AM. Design factory with all the necessary materials, the understanding of the
for AM, qualification, certification, physical and digital support Additive Manufacturing process, and
training and education are some of systems for series production using the exploitation of new applications.
the focus areas. L-PBF. More than eighty full-time For lightweight applications, such
Lasertech LSH AB began its employees at the facility work on as those in the aerospace and
operations in 2000 with the aim to the development, manufacturing space sectors and complex parts in
become a leading supplier of laser and quality assurance of advanced gas turbines, there is now a clear
welding services. The company gas turbine components, hybrid argument for using metal AM. The
now has nineteen employees and repairs, spare parts on demand final decision between conventional
its focus has evolved to encompass and other manufacturing activities. manufacturing processes and AM
other laser processing services Siemens uses single and quad remains a matter of economics
such as laser marking, laser laser L-PBF systems for the AM of for many applications. Yet, as
hardening, and laser cladding or primarily nickel-based superalloys recent presentations show, there
Laser Metal Deposition (LMD). for combustion systems, as well is a significant increase of effort
At the end of 2018 the company as stainless steels. Siemens also in all fields to implement AM for a
invested in an all-new ‘3D factory’ develops proprietary special alloys rapidly growing range of additional
with the ambition of creating a for its most demanding applications. applications.
Authors
Prof Dr Jürgen Stampfl

Jürgen Stampfl is Professor for Materials and Additive
E!
Manufacturing at the Institute for Materials Science and
U N N I NG TIM
DAYS RTUESDAY TO FRID
A Y
Technology at TU Vienna, Austria.
Tel: +43 1 58801 30862 NOW 4 FRO M
juergen.stampfl@tuwien.ac.at
Prof Dr Nader Asnafi

Nader Asnafi is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at
Örebro University, Sweden.
Tel: +46 19 30 14 93
nader.asnafi@oru.se
DI Dr Bruno Hribernik
Dr Hribernik is Member of the Managing Board at ASMET
– The Austrian Society for Metallurgy and Materials,
ESSED?
Leoben, Austria
Tel: +43 66411 01010
I M PR
bruno.hribernik@asmet.at
ANT TO BE M E TAV
W ME TO
CO
– TH E N
DI Dr Gerhard Hackl
Dr Hackl is Executive Member of the Managing Board
at ASMET – The Austrian Society for Metallurgy and
Materials, Leoben, Austria
Tel: +43 3842 402 2294
gerhard.hackl@asmet.at
Proceedings
Details of the presentations can be found in the MAMC

2019 proceedings, which can be ordered from ASMET
(please contact lisa.loeschnauer@asmet.at)
E UR ING
MAMC2020 VISIT TH E MANUFACT EA
DITIV
AD AR
The Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference 2020 will
take place at the Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, Vienna,
Austria, September 30–October 2, 2020.
www.mamc2020.org
21. International Exhibition
for Metalworking Technologies
An impressive lead – latest technology: The

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AREA presents answers
to all questions on innovative developments for AM
systems, hybrid machinery, materials, software, and
services. And that at laser speed!
Developing the Powder Metallurgy Future european powder
metallurgy association
International
Congress & Exhibition
4 – 7 October 2020
Lisbon Congress Centre (CCL), Lisbon, Portugal
Over 70% of Exhibition Space Already Reserved
Book now at www.europm2020.com/exhibition
www.europm2020.com
| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | Euro PM2019: Powder quality
Euro PM2019: Effects of humidity

and storage conditions on
Additive Manufacturing powder
quality
A technical session at the Euro PM2019 Congress, organised by the
European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) and held in Maastricht,
the Netherlands, October 13-16, 2019, focused on the impact of storage
conditions, particularly exposure to humidity, on the characteristics and
quality of powders used in Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing.
Dr David Whittaker reviews selected papers presented during this session.
Influence of humidity in moisture level on the build process characteristics are given in Table 1.
and the resultant mechanical The powder was recombined and
Ti-6Al-4V powder during
properties were considered. subsequently blended to remove any
storage – Part 1 The powder used in the study was possibility of batch to batch variation.
Ti64 grade 23, supplied in containers Two-litre, wide-mouth, low-density
A paper from K Dietrich, T Arun-
and sealed under argon to limit the polyethylene (LD-PE) bottles were
prasad and P Foret, of Linde AG,
possibility of any degradation during used to store 3 kg of powder. The
Germany; O Messe and B Szost, of
transportation. The supplied powder powder was sampled to fill thirty-six
Oerlikon AM GmbH, Germany; A
Schobert, of Airbus Central Research
and Technology, Germany; and G Witt,
of the University of Duisburg-Essen,
Germany, investigated the potential
degradation of powder flowability in
powder-bed AM through exposure to
humidity, specifically in relation to the
alloy Ti-6Al-4V [1].
Reactive metal powders such as
this alloy could be highly influenced
by humidity through the resultant
formation of oxides and consequent
degradation of flowability. If this
proposition holds true, it could lead
to inhomogeneity in the final product.
The authors’ study comprised two
parts; in the first part (reported in
this paper), the evolution of powder
attributes as a function of storage
duration was investigated, while, in a
second part (reported in a separate Fig. 1 The EPMA’s Euro PM congress and exhibition series is firmly established
paper in a later technical session as the leading European technical event on PM, MIM and metal AM (Photo
at the congress), the effects of the Andrew McLeish / EPMA)
Euro PM2019: Powder quality | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
Oxygen Hydrogen D10 D50 D90 Hall Flow AD TD PYC

(wt.%) (wt.%) (μm) (μm) (μm) (sec/50g) (g/cm3) (g/cm3) (g/cm3)
0.05 0.002 19 33 44 26 2.47 2.8 4.4
Table 1 Powder characteristics of the as-received Ti-6Al-4V powder [1]
a) 50 of these plastic containers. For every

twelve, the remaining powder was
45 blended to ensure homogeneous
D10x - 18% sampling through the entire process.
D10x - 58%
40 The containers were randomly
Particle size (μm)
D10x - 75%
D50x - 18% assigned and stored at three
D50x - 58%
35 D50x - 75% different moisture contents (MC)
D90x - 18%
D90x - 58% (18%MC, 58%MC and 75%MC). The
D90x - 75%
30 containers were stored as opened
to the box’s atmosphere. The boxes
25 were hermetically sealed and the
humidity content and temperature
20 were monitored using a humidity and
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 temperature transmitter probe. The
temperature remained stable at 22
± 5°C throughout the experiment,
whereas the humidity in each
b) 50
container was kept stable by using
different salts such as potassium
45
acetate (18%MC), sodium bromide
D10x - 18%
D10x - 58% (58%MC) and sodium chloride
Particle size (μm)
40 D10x - 75%
D50x - 18% (75%MC).
D50x - 58% One container from each of the
35 D50x - 75%
D90x - 18% humidity levels was taken from its box
D90x - 58%
D90x - 75% every three weeks to carry out an AM
30
build job in a Trumpf Tru-Print 1000
equipped with Linde’s ADDvance®
25
O2 precision to monitor oxygen
and humidity content in the build
20
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 chamber. The powder was sampled
from the top (directly exposed to
the humidity), after the powder was
c) blended and after the build on the
50
reclaimed powder from the baseplate.
Subsequently, these conditions were
45
referred to as ‘top’, ‘conditioned’ and
‘reclaimed’. Powders to be used for
Particle size (μm)
40
the build process were then stored
35 in sealed aluminium containers to
prevent any subsequent degradation.
30 Particle size distribution was
measured for each of the powder
25 storage conditions, to ensure that
powder in each of the containers
20 was identical and that no difference
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 was measured between the top and
Storage (days) conditioned states. The fact that
both the top and conditioned states
Fig. 2 Particle Size Distribution D10, D50 and D90 for (a) top, (b) conditioned displayed the same powder size
and (c) reclaimed powder [1] distribution, shown in Fig. 2 with
D10, D50 and D90, illustrated that no a) 0.35

18
granular convection occurred when the 58
75
containers were placed in the storage 0.3
box or during storage (Fig. 2a–b). This
Moisture content (%MC)

also demonstrated that, for the results 0.25
of each of the tests performed, no
normalisation was required for the
0.2
moisture content. A noticeable shift
in the PSD of the reclaimed powder
was, however, observed. The measured 0.15
moisture contents in the powder in
both the top or conditioned states 0.1
did not show any trend (Fig. 3a–b).
However, visual inspection revealed 0.05
loosely bound agglomerates on the 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
surface developing as the storage Storage (days)
duration increased (Fig. 3c). These
were most visible in the powder stored
under 75%MC and were not observed b) 0.35
18
at all for the powder stored at 18%MC. 58
75
The formation of these agglomerates 0.3
was also accompanied by slight but
Moisture content (%MC)
distinguishable darkening of the 0.25

powder (surface of containers only)
stored at both 58 and 75%MC. 0.2
Oxygen and hydrogen contents were
measured for all of the powders to
0.15
evaluate the presence of oxide, water
adsorbed at the particle surfaces or
hydrogen seeping into the particle 0.1
because of oxide formation. Both
oxygen and hydrogen contents did 0.05
not show any significant variation 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
over storage time, suggesting that Storage (days)
the powder sampled from the top
did not markedly oxidise (below the c)
detection limit) during storage, despite
the formation of the loosely bound
agglomerates and powder darkening
for both 58 and 75%MC (Fig. 4).
Particle shape was monitored as
part of the experiment. In this case,
powder circularity has been plotted as
a function of the storage time. The data
were discretised so that only C10, C50
and C90 are shown. Both Aspect Ratio
(not shown) and Circularity remained
constant, or within their initial range,
suggesting that the powder does not Fig. 3 Moisture content measured from a) top and b) conditioned states for
change or degrade during storage the powders stored under 18, 58 and 75 %MC. c) Picture of the loosely bound
and is marginally affected by the build agglomerates from the surface of the powder stored at 75 %MC for 273 days [1]
process.
Pycnometric density was measured
for the conditioned powder to assess powder. The results do not show any The combined data from PSD,
any change in the density that may trend over storage time or for specific Particle Morphology, Oxygen and
be linked to a change in the powder. humidity levels. The results obtained Hydrogen suggest that the powder
Table 2 shows the pycnometric are also similar to those for the virgin degradation, if occurring, is below the
densities measured for the conditioned powder. detection limit of these methods.
10-3 The results obtained are at odds

0.1 5
with the visual changes observed
Hydrogen concentration (wt.%)

0.09 4.5
Oxygen concentration (wt.%)
from the top surface of the containers
0.08 4.0 and suggest that any change in
18
0.07 58 3.5 moisture, oxygen or hydrogen may be
75
0.06 18 3 very local beyond the sampling and
58
75 instruments’ resolution or detection
0.05 2.5
limits. Also, these storage conditions
0.04 2
do not affect powder attributes, which
0.03 1.5 could affect, through varying powder
0.02 1 rheology, the build process and
0.01 0.5 bulk properties. The colour change
0 0 observed is presumably attributed
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 to small changes from the powder
Storage (days) surface located at the top of the
container. To test this hypothesis,
10-3
0.1 5 additional sampling was carried out
at the very top of the container for

0.09 4.5
0.08 4.0 SEM investigation for all the powder

18 which were stored for more than 150
0.07 58 3.5
75 days. These powders were sampled
0.06 18 3 by gently pressing an aluminium
58
0.05 75 2.5 stub covered with a carbon tape on
0.04 2 the powder to obtain only particles
0.03 1.5 located at the surface.
SEM micrographs showed very few
0.02 1
differences between 18 and 75%MC.
0.01 0.5
The overall powder morphologies for
0 0 these powders were nearly identical.
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Storage (days) The lack of a relationship between
the formation of agglomerates and
10-3 any measured powder attributes
0.1 5
during this study suggested that the
0.09 4.5
Ti-6Al-4V powder was not affected by

0.08 4.0 the storage condition.
18
0.07 58 3.5 It is possible that the observed
75
0.06 18 3 colour change may be attributed to
58
0.05 75 2.5 a TiO2 oxide layer increase combined
with impurities in the oxide. A few
0.04 2
parts per million of certain metals
0.03 1.5 (Cr, V, Cu, Fe, Nb, Al) can distort the
0.02 1 crystal lattice, generating defects. The
0.01 0.5 reported study demonstrated that, for
0 0 L-PBF and titanium alloys, specifi-
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 cally Ti-6Al-4V, storage condition is
Storage (days) not a process variable. Additional
Fig. 4 Evolution of oxygen (left axis) and hydrogen (right axis) concentration work would need to be carried out to
measured in the powder for each humidity level from (a) top, (b) conditioned, (c) evaluate the origin of the darkening
reclaimed states [1] observed at the powder surface.
Days 21 42 63 84 105 126 189 210 231 252
18%MC 4.414 4.412 4.406 4.406 4.407 4.409 4.409 4.418 4.403 4.409
58%MC 4.405 4.411 4.410 4.407 4.410 4.406 4.406 4.409 4.407 4.410
75%MC 4.409 4.409 4.415 4.405 4.409 4.405 4.406 4.420 4.407 4.410
Table 2 Pycnometric density for the conditioned powder prior to the builds [1]
The influence on additively 50°C,

80
90%
manufactured part quality 70
using AlSi10Mg powder
60
aged in different humidity
50
cH2O(g/m3)
levels
40
30°C,
Attention was next switched to the 30°C, 90%*
30
possible influence of humidity levels 30°C, 20°C, 70%
20°C, 50% 90%*
in aluminium alloys, specifically 20 20°C,
10°C, 70%*
10°C, 20°C,
AlSi10Mg, in a presentation from
10 30% 70% 50%
50%
Matthew Schultz-Sciberras of SLM virgin
Solutions Group AG, Germany. 0
Aluminium materials, including
Fig. 5 The experimental conditions used to age AlSi10Mg powder for 168 hours.
powders, form a native oxide film
Each column shows the temperature (°C) and relative humidity (%) of the test
on the surface once exposed to
conditions, which have been converted to absolute moisture cH2O (g/cm3) for
oxygen. This oxide layer is typically
comparison. Powder aged under conditions marked with an asterisk were dried
only a few nanometres thick and
in an oven [2]
acts to passivate the particle against
additional oxidation. While this holds
true for aluminium-based powders
in relatively dry air at ambient each experimental condition, 10 kg Samples of the virgin AlSi10Mg
temperatures, it is not necessarily of AlSi10Mg was used. Powders were powder were analysed to determine
the case for powders in humid air at aged in their original containers the PSD. The following D values
ambient or elevated temperatures. under different conditions in a climate were obtained: D10 = 24.84 μm;
When the metal powder is exposed chamber. The conditions used to age D50 = 43.68 μm; D90 = 72.66 μm;
to water vapour, the water molecules the powders are presented in Fig. 5. mean particle size = 46.65 μm.
adsorb onto the metal powder One method to mitigate powder When conducting powder flow tests,
surface and become either chemi- or exposure to environmental humidity the laboratory environment was
physisorbed. In the former case, is to add a desiccant bag to the 19°C with a relative humidity of
water molecules attach to the oxide powder container; for this reason, the 52.0%. The residual humidity in the
surface and chemically react to form desiccant bag was removed prior to powder container prior to the test
metal hydroxides. [2] ageing experiments. The containers was 4.0% at the same temperature.
The surface of the oxide layer is were placed open in the climate Flow tests indicated that 82.0 g
always hydroxylated to a degree under chamber for 168 hours (1 week) at of powder had good flowability of
typical powder storage conditions. It the specified condition. After this 47.0 s through the SLM® Flowmeter.
is, however, not known what exposure period, typically the containers were This amount of powder corresponds
limits to humidity exist for such metal removed from the climate chamber, to an apparent density of 1.45g.cm3.
powders before the surface layer a fresh desiccant bag was added and Following ageing experiments,
changes enough to influence powder the containers were sealed tightly by all powders showed visible signs of
and built part quality. In addition, hand. However, powders aged under exposure to the humid environment.
while reaction kinetics may be very the conditions 20°C, 70% RH, 20°C, For all conditions examined, except
slow at ambient temperature, they 90% RH and 30°C, 90% RH were 30°C, 90% RH and 50°C, 90% RH,
could become significant at elevated dried in a fan forced oven at 60°C for the static flowability and packing
temperatures. This has implications approximately 24 hours. density data were between 40
not only for build jobs with some Powder flowability was measured to 50 sec and 1.42 to 1.43 g.cm3,
water vapour in the build chamber, using an SLM® Flowmeter. This respectively. Powder agglomerates
but also for the various powder drying device follows a similar principle to formed during exposure to the
approaches using ovens in air. the Hall Flow test, but has a modified condition 30°C, 90% RH were
The reported study aimed to orifice in the funnel. Using this device, large and mainly confined to the top
show the changes in powder and the flow time and packing density volume of powder, while the top 4
part quality using AlSi10Mg powders could be determined. For each ageing cm of powder from the condition
exposed to humidity in their lifetime condition, if the powder passed the 50°C, 90% RH had sintered
and then dried before use. flow test, then it was used in a single together into a solid mass that
A single batch of gas atomised build job on an SLM® 125 machine. was difficult to break apart. For
AlSi10Mg powder was used. The The SLM® 125 was equipped with a these reasons, powders from these
PSD of the batch of powder was 700 W laser and the layer thickness conditions were not used in build
measured by laser diffraction. For used in the build was 60 μm. jobs.
Oxygen - virgin powder Oxygen - spatter Hydrogen - virgin powder Hydrogen - Spatter
1800 1000
Hydrogen analysis (ppm) (Log scale)

1600
1400
Oxygen analysis (ppm)
1200 100
1000
800
600 10
400
200
0 0
10°C 50%
20°C 30%
10°C 70%
20°C 50%
20°C 70%*
30°C 50%
20°C 90%*
30°C 70%
30°C 90%*
50°C 90%
10°C 50%
20°C 30%
10°C 70%
20°C 50%
20°C 70%*
30°C 50%
20°C 90%*
30°C 70%
30°C 90%*
50°C 90%
Not aged
Not aged
Fig. 6 The oxygen analysis (left) and hydrogen analysis (right) of AlSi10Mg powder aged under different conditions and
then dried (blue) and the corresponding spatter analysis from one build job (orange). The powders from conditions 20°C,
70% RH, 20°C, 90% RH and 30°C, 90% RH were dried at 60°C in an oven for about 24 hours (marked with an asterisk) [2]
Fig. 6 displays the results for each respective build job showed the in the hydrogen content of the
oxygen analysis in the virgin and rapid accumulation of oxygen in the powders aged under the conditions
aged powders, after drying, as well build chamber for such particles. 10°C, 50% RH, 20°C, 30% RH, 10°C,
as the oxygen in the spatter from There was no observable increase in 70% RH and 20°C, 50% RH, when
the respective build job. The oxygen the oxygen accumulation due to the compared with the value for unaged
level trended upward from an initial drying procedure in an oven at 60°C virgin powder. All the following
value in the unaged virgin powder of for about 24 hours. conditions showed a gradual increase
530 ppm to 1125 ppm for the powder The hydrogen analyses for aged in the hydrogen content of the sample
aged at 50°C, 90% RH. The oxygen virgin powders are displayed in Fig. 6. from 20.3 ppm in the unaged virgin
analysis of the spatter powder from No significant increase was observed sample to 48.9 ppm in the sample
aged at 30°C, 90% RH. Samples dried
in an oven showed a greater increase
in the hydrogen content compared
with samples dried at room tempera-
Rp0.2 Rm A ture with a desiccant. The sample
450 20
aged at 50°C, 90% RH showed a rapid
400 18 increase in the hydrogen content to
Tensile or yield strength (MPa)
350 16 691.9 ppm.

14 The hydrogen analysis of the
300
Elongation (%)
powder spatter after one build

12
250 showed an almost constant average
10 baseline of hydrogen content at
200
8 19.4 ppm across all samples. As the
150 solubility of hydrogen in aluminium
6
100 increases rapidly at the melting point
4
of the metal, the lack of a hydrogen
50 2 increase beyond levels seen in the
0 0 unaged virgin powder indicated
Not 10°C 20°C 10°C 20°C 20°C 30°C 20°C 30°C that the temperature of the ejected
aged 50% 30% 70% 50% 70% 50% 90% 70%
powder spatter did not exceed the
Fig. 7 The mechanical properties of tensile rods produced using AlSi10Mg alloy’s melting point.
powder aged at the given condition. The average reference values for each Analysis of particle surface
property from previous jobs using this parameter set and on the same morphology by SEM revealed
SLM® 125 are also given [2] differences in surface features
between unaged virgin powder and

D10 D50 D90
spatter after one build job from the
unaged powder. The latter showed the 316L 25,8 37,8 54
formation of nodules approximately AlSi7Mg06 27,5 44,9 78,29
50–100 nm in size, which are not
present in the original virgin powder. Table 3 Particle size parameters, determined by laser diffraction [3]
These surface nodules are probably
the result of oxide layer growth from
exposure to heat near the laser
scanning track during a build job. The these static mechanical properties did have established acceptance criteria
hot powder spatter is ejected from not show significant deviations from for aluminium powders based on
the powder bed and reacts with the the reference values, this study did the usual method of measuring
low residual oxygen and other reactive not investigate dynamic mechanical free moisture level. However,
gasses in the inert gas stream. This properties of the built parts. The since moisture in the presence of
observation fits with the increase in oxidation kinetics under the tested aluminium powder gradually binds to
oxygen content of the unaged virgin conditions are not well understood form hydroxides, these methods are
powder versus its spatter after one and it is considered likely that the only valid to show the free moisture
build job (Fig. 6). The corresponding exposure time of one week for each content of the powder at the time of
hydrogen analysis (Fig. 6) for this ageing condition may be too short to analysis. This means that the result
sample maintained the same level observe significant oxidation. should depend on the initial exposure
between the virgin and spatter parti- The author concluded that further of the powder batch to a humid
cles, indicating that the oxide growth research should be conducted in atmosphere, the condition of the
in the spatter is due to increases in order to determine the oxidation powder at that time and the storage
the Al2O3 amount, probably through kinetics under different ageing duration and conditions of the batch
the reaction 4Al(s) + 3O2(g) = 2Al2O3(s). schemes. following exposure, but also to the
In contrast, the increase in oxygen storage time of the samples analysed.
content of the samples aged under The goal of this reported study was
different conditions was not observ- Study of acceptance criteria therefore to establish acceptance
able here through changes in the and good practices to follow criteria to obtain better process
surface morphology of the particles. during powder handling to practice for aluminium powder
The density rods produced on the handling.
SLM® 125 and analysed in the as-built
limit hydrogen trapping in A single aluminium-silicon alloy
state revealed some minor porosity. aluminium L-PBF (AlSi7Mg06) powder was investigated
Parts produced using powder that in the study. A stainless steel type
was not aged resulted in a porosity Finally, a paper from Olivier Rigo, 316L powder was also studied, in
of 0.34% in the specimens. This level David Reuter, Nathan Routiaux, order to compare the reactions of the
dropped on average for specimens Regine Van Den Berge, Pauline two materials with moisture. The two
built using powder that was aged Tritiaux, Hanane Mekkaoui and powder samples were chosen to be
in the respective condition, up until Celia Parmentier, of Sirris, Belgium, as close as possible in terms of size
the condition 20°C, 90% RH where continued the focus on the effects range and morphology (Table 3).
the residual porosity peaked in the of humidity in the Laser Powder All moisture measurements were
sample at 0.48%. Bed Fusion (L-PBF) of aluminium carried out following the standard
Fig. 7 shows the mechanical alloys, considering the definition of test method for Loss-On-Drying
properties of parts built using acceptance criteria and good practice (LOD) by thermogravimetry by using
powder from each condition. The for powder handling to limit hydrogen an automated moisture balance. This
yield strength and tensile strength trapping. The L-PBF of parts made method measures the humidity level
values for all conditions tested from aluminium alloys, such as of the powder by heating a specimen
were similar to reference values for AlSi7Mg0.6, is extremely problematic of known mass at a constant temper-
AlSi10Mg, using the same machine due to porosity problems related to ature, while its mass is continuously
and parameter set. The ductility of the the tendency of such alloys to absorb measured as a function of time. At
tensile rods did vary between samples hydrogen when powder with traces of the end of a pre-determined time
from about 6% to 8% elongation, but moisture is used. The main source of interval, the specimen is recorded as
average values were either similar hydrogen is the reduction of moisture a percentage of the original mass,
to or better than the reference value. by the oxidation reaction of aluminium this value being identified as the LOD
It was considered likely that the [3]. value.
gradual increase in oxygen content Up to now, standardisation In the reported experiments, the
of the virgin powders through ageing organisations and large companies 316L powder and AlSi7Mg06 powder
did not exceed a critical limit. While active in Additive Manufacturing were exposed to two different climatic
AlSi7Mg06_95%rH 316L_44%rH
0.14 0.035
Powder humidity rate (%rH)

0.12 0.03
0.1 0.025
0.08 0.02
0.06 0.015
0.04 0.01
0.02 0.005
0 0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
Exposure time to climate atmosphere (min) Exposure time to climate atmosphere (min)
Fig. 8 LOD humidity rate evolution of LBM powder exposed for different durations to different atmospheres [3]
atmosphere conditions for a range adopted with the 316L powder, which conditions, the storage duration had
of durations. The first condition was is not subject to hydroxide formation. a direct impact on the LOD moisture
fixed at a high humidity level of 95%, Fig. 8b shows that, in the case content measurement. At the time that
to verify the sensitivity of the LOD of 316L powder, there was a clear the samples were stored, the reaction
method and estimate the time needed evolution of the powder moisture of the passivated powder grain surface
to expose a powder to force a drift. content during the first ten minutes of to bayerite was not yet complete. As a
The moisture content of the exposure. This led to the conclusion result, this reaction was completed in
AlSi7Mg06 powder reached 0.12%rH that, for a typical L-PBF powder, the container, continuously modifying
after one week of exposure (Fig. 8a). ten minutes of exposure to ambient the measurable free moisture content.
Particles deviated from the initial air would be sufficient to reach the Therefore, to have consistent meas-
spherical shape and the bayerite maximum moisture level. urements for all further analyses, a
surface layers started to form bridges To evaluate the effect of hydroxide storage time was applied for each
between particles. The scatter of the formation on the moisture measure- sample in the sealed container before
data led to the conclusion that prob- ment, firstly AlSi7Mg0.6 powder was proceeding with analyses. This step
ably the bounding reaction of water exposed to atmospheres with high was referred to as a stabilisation step.
with the aluminium alloy in hydroxide humidity level (95%rH) and controlled The next issue of interest was to
would have affected the measure- room condition (44%rH). All samples evaluate the impact of the hydroxide
ment. To highlight this link between were exposed for one day. Fig. 9a layer on quality after melting. Four
the measurement difficulties and and Fig. 9b show the evolution of free different AlSi7Mg0.6 powder batches
specific characteristics of aluminium humidity rate during different storage were exposed to different controlled
powder, the same approach was times in airtight containers. For both atmospheres (Table 4) with different
AlSi7Mg06_95%rH-1Day AlSi7Mg06_44%rH-1Day
0.14 0.08
0.12 0.07
0.1 0.06
0.05
0.08
0.04
0.06
0.03
0.04 0.02
0.02 0.01
0 0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
Storage time of powder sample (min) Storage time of powder sample (min)
Fig. 9 Evolution of AlSi7Mg powder free moisture content after different storage times in airtight containers [3]
Stabilisation rH% after

Conditions Fresh powder AR/22°C/24 h 44%/22°C/24 h 95%/22°C/24 h
(168 h) stabilisation
C1 x x 0.038
C2 x x x 0.039
C3 x x x 0.037
C4 x x x 0.043
Table 4 Conditions the samples were exposed to during preparation [3]
moisture levels from extra dry to Author References

extremely wet. The exposure period
was for twenty-four hours and this [1] Influence of Humidity in Ti-6Al-4V
Dr David Whittaker
was followed by a stabilisation time of Powder during Storage – Part 1, K
Tel: +44 1902 338498
one week. Dietrich et al. As presented at the
whittakerd4@gmail.com
The evolution of Hausner ratio
and apparent density was studied.
Climate conditions, shown in Table 4,
were chosen to represent process
conditions linked to real powder
handling in the L-PBF process chain a) ρ[°] H[n]
(e.g. 44%/22°C/24 h), but also to
1480 1260
consider extreme conditions (e.g.
1460 1240
95%/22°C/24 h). The sensitivity of the
1440 1220
physically measurable variables to
surface powder changes impacted by 1420 1200
hydroxide formation was studied. It 1400 1180
[g/ml]
[-]
seems that the drift due to hydroxide 1380 1160
layer formation is detectable by 1360 1140
controlling the combined evolution 1340 1120
of bulk density and Hausner ratio 1320 1100
(Fig. 10a). 1300 1080
Fig. 10b shows the impact of the C1 C2 C3 C4
conditions experienced by the different
Conditions applied on powder
powder batches on the mechanical
properties after using the resulting
powder in the L-PBF process. The
same build configuration in the b) σ0.2 (MPa) σmax
L-PBF machine was maintained, with 450 20000
horizontal tensile samples followed by 400 18000
a post-machining step. No impact of 350 16000
the first three conditions applied to the 14000
300
powder on the mechanical properties 12000
was noted. However, a clear increase 250
[MPa]
10000
[%]
in yield strength and an indication of 200

8000
a decrease in elongation at fracture 150 6000
were noted for the last condition, 100 4000
which corresponded to the longer 50 2000
exposure time in moisture. This result 0 0
was not anticipated. However, the C1 C2 C3 C4
authors intend to continue the investi-
Conditions applied on powder
gations; in particular, the analyses of
the specimen fractographs, in order Fig. 10 Variation of the physical parameters and impact on horizontal tensile
to understand the mechanism of this samples of the powder as a function of the different drifts applied to the
strengthening. AlSi7Mg06 powder [3]
Euro PM2019 Congress, Maastricht, the Netherlands,

October 13-16, 2019, and published in the proceedings
by the European Powder Metallurgy Association
(EPMA).
Association for
Metal Additive
[2] The Influence on Additively Manufactured Part
Quality Using AlSi10Mg Powder Aged in Different
Manufacturing Humidity Levels, Matthew Schulz-Sciberras. As

presented at the Euro PM2019 Congress, Maastricht,
Guiding the future of the Netherlands, October 13-16, 2019, and published
the metal AM industry in the proceedings by the European Powder Metallurgy
Association (EPMA).
[3] Study of Acceptance Criteria and Good Practices

to Follow During Powder Handling to Limit Hydrogen
Trapping in Aluminium Alloy During Laser Beam
Melting Process, Olivier Rigo et al. As presented at the
Euro PM2019 Congress, Maastricht, the Netherlands,
October 13-16, 2019, and published in the proceedings
by the European Powder Metallurgy Association
(EPMA).
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Additive Manufacturing Module
Additive Manufacturing Module ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING
Additive
24-28 August 2020
| Dresden, GermanyModule
Manufacturing Module
ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING
24-28 August 2020 | Dresden, Germany

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DEADLINE 10
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information at:
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Find out more information at:
Email: dn@epma.com || Website:
Email:dn@epma.com Website: www.pmlifetraining.com
www.pmlifetraining.com
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
REGISTRATION DEADLINE 10 August
10 August 2020
2020
REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
DEADLINE 10
10 August
August 2020
2020
Email:
Email: dn@epma.com || Website: www.pmlifetraining.com
dn@epma.com | Website:
Email: dn@epma.com Website: www.pmlifetraining.com
www.pmlifetraining.com
The leading additive manufacturing
event in France
3D PRINT is the only place in France which gathers experts
from all the industry sectors to discover industrial 3D printing,
and latest A.M technologies in all materials.
- Photographies : © Nicolas Rodet - Ce document est édité par

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| contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter | Events guide
Partner events
Pick up your free print copy of Metal AM magazine at the following partner conferences,
exhibitions and seminars. For our complete events listing visit www.metal-am.com
METAV 2020 3D PRINT Congress & Exhibition 2020

March 10-13, Düsseldorf, Germany June 16-18, Chassieu, France
www.metav.com www.3dprint-exhibition.com/en/
4th AM Forum Berlin 2020 EPHJ Trade Show

March 11–12, Berlin, Germany June 16-19, Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland
www.additivemanufacturingforum.com https://ephj.ch/en/
DDMC2020 HI-AM Conference 2020

March 18-19, Berlin,Germany June 25-26, Montréal, Canada
www.ddmc-fraunhofer.de http://nserc-hi-am.ca/2020/
AMUG 2020 Conference WORLDPM2020

March 22–26, Chicago, IL, USA June 27–July 1, Montréal, Canada
www.amug.com www.worldpm2020.org
Additive World ‘Industrial 3D Printing Conference’ Additive International

April 1–2, Eindhoven, Netherlands July 15-16, Nottingham, United Kingdom
https://additiveworld.com/Home www.additiveinternational.com
Manufacturing World Nagoya 2020 PM Life - Additive Manufacturing Module

April 15–17, Nagoya, Japan August 24-28, Dresden, Germany
www.japan-mfg-nagoya.jp/en-gb.html www.pmlifetraining.com/about/additive-manufacturing
RAPID + TCT 2020 Formnext + PM South China

April 20–23, Anaheim, CA, USA September 9–11, Shenzhen Shi, China
www.rapid3devent.com www.formnext-pm.hk.messefrankfurt.com/shenzhen/
en.html
Hannover Messe – Home of Industrial Pioneers
April 20–24, Hannover, Germany TCT 3SIXTY
www.hannovermesse.de September 29-October 1, Birmingham, UK
www.tct3sixty.com/event/en/page/home
The 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing Value
Chain Metal Additive Manufacturing Conference 2020
April 21–22, Geleen, Netherlands September 30-October 2, Vienna, Austria
www.3dprintingevent.com www.mamc2020.org
AKL’20 – International Laser Technology Congress Euro PM2020

May 6-8, Aachen, Germany October 4–7, Lisbon, Portugal
www.lasercongress.org/en/home/ www.europm2020.com
Space Tech Expo USA AMTC4

May 18–20, Long Beach, CA, USA October 20-22, Aachen, Germany
www.spacetechexpo.com www.munichtechconference.com/#!amtc4-preview.php
Additive Manufacturing for Industry Formnext

May 26-27, Ludwigsburg, Germany November 10-13, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
www.amforindustry.com www.formnext.com
MAPP 2nd International Conference

June 1-2, Abingdon, United Kingdom
mapp.ac.uk/events/mapp-2nd-international-
conference
Advertising | contents | news | events | advertisers | website | e-newsletter |
advertisers’ index
3D Lab Sp. z o.o. 76 LSN Diffusion Limited 10
3D Print Congress & Exhibition 180 Materials Solutions 6
3YOURMIND GmbH 17 MAMC 2020 158
Additive Manufacturing Users Group 152 Metal AM magazine 151
AKL’20 International Laser Tech. Congress 149 Metal Powder and Process Ltd. 80
Alphastar Corporation 88 Metallic3D 50
American Isostatic Presses, Inc. 108 Metalpine GmbH 31/33/35
Arcast Inc. 61/70 METAV 2020 167
ASME 74 Mimete S.r.l. 59
Association for Metal Additive Manufacturing 178 MUT Advanced Heating GmbH 18
ASTM International 100 Nanoval GmbH & Co. KG 72
Avimetal Powder Metallurgy Tech. Co., Ltd. 82 Nel ASA 19
Beam IT 66 Ningbo Hiper Vacuum Technology Co.,Ltd. 30
Carpenter Technology Corporation 8 NSL Analytical Services, Inc. 79
Centorr Vacuum Industries 41 Ntron Gas Measurement Ltd. 23
CM Furnaces Inc. 73 Oerlikon Additive 4
CNPC Powder Group Co., Ltd. 25 Osaka Titanium Technologies Co.,Ltd. 77
Coherent, Inc. 27 OTTO FUCHS KG 98
CREMER Thermoprozessanlagen GmbH 67 Praxair Inside front cover
Digital Metal 68 Pressure Technology, Inc. 60
DSH Technologies 103 Pyrogenesis Additive 94
ECM Technologies 69 RAPID + TCT 2020 110
Elnik Systems 22 Renishaw plc 32
EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems 11 Rösler Oberflächentechnik GmbH 64
EPMA PM Life - AM Module 179 Sandvik Osprey 15
EPMA Supreme Project Workshop 105 SECO/WARWICK, INC. 62
Euro PM2020 168 Shining 3D Tech 56
Farsoon Technologies 29 Sigma Labs Inc. 51
Formetrix Inc. 40 Sino-Euro Materials Tech. of Xi’an Co., Ltd. 16
Formnext 122 Sintavia 52
Formnext + PM South China 134 SLM Solutions Group AG 55
GF Machining Solutions Management SA. 45/47 Solukon Maschinenbau GmbH 39
GKN Additive 20/21 Steel Service Krefeld GmbH 87
Granutools 48 T-M Vacuum Products, Inc. 99
H.C. Starck Tantalum and Niobium GmbH 49 TAV Vacuum Furnaces SPA 34
HI-AM Conference 2020 142 Tekna 42
Hannover Messe 2020 141 The ExOne Company Outside back cover
Hirtenberger AG 91 toolcraft GmbH 92
HP Inc. 13 United States Metal Powders, Inc. 107
IMR metal powder technologies GmbH 26 VBN Components AB 93
Indo-MIM 63 Velo Inc.
3D
Inside back cover
Jiangxi Yuean Superfine Metal Co., Ltd 71 Voestalpine AG 37
Kittyhawk Products 86 Wohlers Associates 109
Kymera International 85 WorldPM2020 121
LÖMI GmbH 97 Xerion Berlin Laboratories GmbH ®
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This is the published version of a paper published in .

Citation for the original published paper (version of record):

Stampl, J., Asnafi, N., Hribernik, B., Hackl, G. (2020)

Access to the published version may require subscription.

Permanent link to this version:

with capacity, quality and experience.

It’s Tru2Spec™ is the leading custom alloy

Tru: formulation process for OEMs looking to

To order TruForm metal powders, contact us at:

Tel: +44 (0)1743 211991

Publishing Director, News Editor

Reproduction, storage and usage

Cambrian Printers, Aberystwyth, UK Managing Director

metal powders | prototyping | series production

Contents 135 AM Ventures: An insider’s perspective

each GE9X engine blades on the low-pressure turbine

We’ve got Additive Personalities

F1 Alfa Romeo race ASL commissions

Pratt & Whitney announces

achievable density and low surface

cross-linking ink to expand range of can be more explosive than coarse

PIM binder specialist eMBe Director, stated, “The feedback we

filament-based AM great interest in such a broad-based

The ExOne Company, based in North progress,” stated John F Hartner,

Saratech acquires AM business from delighted to add our 3D printing

MEET OUR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND POWDER EXPERTS AT:

Aurora Labs raises $1.82

Markforged achieves ISO

Ametek to sell its

MUT ADVANCED HEATING

ASTM International launches personnel highly valued technical knowledge.”

certificate programme in AM Seifi commented, “The AM CoE

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Markforged adds pure copper ALD’s Heat Treatment

uses copper for welding. Complex production parts are

globally, and the company has partnered with one of

these customers to conduct in-depth weld testing

production line and has reported reduced part lead times

“I’ve always been impressed with the technology

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Honeywell Aerospace to qualify “We are qualifying Velo3D’s

aircraft parts fabricated on existing 3D metal

Sumitomo Corporation invests in and Non-Ferrous Metal Group at

Low Cost Aluminum Alloy Powders

Angus 3D receives Scottish Enterprise

Farsoon expands into

From left to right: Don Xu, Global Business Group Director

Exentis Group demonstrates process allows for complex designs

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Renishaw Inc. appoints Denis

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