Production: Automotive - Implants - Space - Prosthetics - Sporting Goods Even Brewing Equipment

additivemanufacturing.
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PRODUCTION
Automotive | Implants | Space | Prosthetics | Sporting Goods
… even Brewing Equipment
May 2021 Vol. 10 No. 3
I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H
A property of Gardner Business Media

May 2021 Vol. 10 No. 3
10 26 28
FEATURES IN EVERY ISSUE
22 More Than Meets the Eye to Cobra’s 3D Printed Putter Something to Add 04
Cobra Golf drew attention in November 2020 with the launch of
a limited-edition putter with a metal 3D printed head. News 06
26 Better Cooling, Better Data: Upgrading an Technology Review 36
Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider Check This Out 40
Experiment at CERN’s particle accelerator will better detect
evidence of antimatter thanks to efficient cooling delivered by
metal 3D printed tubes.
28 How AI Enables Affordable, Bespoke Prosthetics @AddMfgMedia

Meticuly provides custom bone implants for local patients in facebook.com/addmfgmedia
Thailand who otherwise would be dependent on standard, gbm.media/amlinkedin
imported devices.
youtube.com/c/additivemanufacturing
32 How A Digital Manufacturing Workflow Is Making instagram.com/addmfgmedia
Orthoses, Prostheses More Accessible
EastPoint Prosthetics and Orthotics has a track record of
changing lives with limb prostheses, orthoses, helmets
and more.
10 Taking Shape
• How Tilt Hydrometer Fights Supply Chain Disruption
Tech Trends 17
with 3D Printing
• Three Elements of a Micro 3D Printing Platform AMT News 20
• Cadillac Blackwing Models Are First GM Cars Using
AM for Full-Scale Production Additive Manufacturing is a registered
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ABOUT THE COVER: Selective laser sintering of these brackets provided by Shapeways
has enabled Tilt Hydrometer to adapt its product for home brewers based on the components
that are available, rather than staying locked into one design in story on page 10.
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2 MAY 2021 Additive Manufacturing

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A P R O P E R T Y O F:
Something to Add
Why I Am Bullish on the Way Ahead

Additive’s shortcomings are being overcome. The advantage is nothing
less than freedom. Only the pace of the advance is uncertain.
I recently recorded a conversation 2. The opportunities for AM are transformative.

with Mike Vasquez for his podcast, A contrast to the previous point: Whereas the shortfalls are
“3Degrees Discussions.” Stephanie numeric, the advantage of AM is not just a measured improvement
Hendrixson was his guest as well. At but a fundamental change. The chance to realize part designs not
one point, he asked us to make the possible with another process is an aspect of this. Perhaps even
case for additive manufacturing to more important is the removal of tooling, meaning the chance to
a young person contemplating the delay or even avoid the moment when the design and production
future. Will the continued advance quantity must be locked in. Additive is freedom, and freedom is a val-
of this technology cover an arc that ue people commit to fervently once they appreciate its full worth.
can sustain careers? Will its adoption
provide for an array of opportunity 3. Adoption waits on the persistence of what works.
to those who invest in making themselves knowledgeable in AM? “Good enough” is powerful. Generally, we do not abandon what
We both responded, and I stand by my spontaneous answer. is working well, for good reason. Doing so leads to disrup-
But the question had me thinking long after our taping was tion that costs peace and time. Conventional manufacturing
done. He was asking, basically: Does this additive thing really processes in place today are performing well, and thus will
have legs? How do you know? Good questions. remain for now, even where AM promises new freedoms. This
My answer to the first part: Yes! Legs, arc, opportunity — fact more than any other will set AM’s pace. A certain slowness
the future of AM adoption and maturation offer all of this. of adoption owes strictly to the momentum of the now, even
But as for why am I this bullish, my answer to that part of the as the merits of AM are proven and seen. Additive will tend to
question draws on various points. In a fuller response than make its way forward in cases where a new product or plant
what I gave Mike, here is the case I see, and the reasons why I offers the chance to choose the means of production on those
expect AM applications and our reliance on AM to continue merits, without an incumbent to consider.
to advance:
This month, we have the word “production” on the cover. That
1. AM’s current shortcomings are differences of degree. theme — the use of AM for production of end-use parts — is
In general, it is no longer a matter of dispute whether additive getting harder for us to build an issue around. The reason is not
can make the part. 3D printing can be trusted to realize the because the topic is a challenge, but because AM as a production
consistency, integrity and geometric fidelity even a highly en- resource is getting to be so accepted and the theme is getting
gineered production part requires. When AM is not adopted, to be so broad. In this issue, nearly every staff-written article is
the reason typically is not capability, but rather a number. about a successful application of 3D printing for production. Is
That is, too high a price, too small a production rate or maybe additive winning acceptance? Is it laying a broad enough foun-
a performance spec not yet available in a material applied dation upon which to build the future? For further signs that
through 3D printing. That this is the nature of the shortfall is the answer is yes, read this issue.
important, because the advance of the technology is improving
all these numbers. And the movement of the numbers brings
adoption thresholds closer for one manufacturer after anoth-
er. (The exception to this point: formal quality standards and
the lack of clear metrics for qualifying additive parts. This
shortcoming is different from a mere number. But even so, the
point stands: The trend is in the direction of this problem, too, Peter Zelinski / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
getting worked out.) pzelinski@additivemanufacturing.media

NEWS
For Stratasys, Origin Acquisition Part of a Strategy

Focused on Production and Polymer Materials
By Peter Zelinski
What does it mean that Stratasys us where we are is not the model that
purchased Origin? The two com- will get us where we are going.”
panies became one at the end of But fully serving production AM
last year, and another more recent in polymer requires having access
acquisition followed (more below). to all the potential solutions. This
In part, the answer is obvious: is where Origin comes in, and this
The move represents a commit- move is part of a larger picture.
ment by Stratasys to serving Out of the polymer AM processes,
end-use part production. Scale fused deposition modeling (FDM),
production is the purpose of the is the one Stratasys has — the one
AM platform Origin developed. it has led in. Now, Origin brings
But in part the answer is also vat polymerization, or digital light
more subtle. For Stratasys, this processing (DLP). Meanwhile, a
move relates to a clarifying of major investment in Xaar brings
goals, along with the prospect of powder bed fusion 3D printing;
current and future culture change and, the most recent acquisition
for this established supplier of 3D of all of these, RP Support brings
printing technology. stereolithography.
I recently spoke with Rich For Stratasys and Origin, the
Garrity, president for the Americas move from relationship to purchase
with Stratasys, about the acquisi- happened quickly, and essentially
tion. The move is part of a strategy happened both during and thanks
spelled out by company CEO Yoav to the pandemic. The two compa-
Rich Garrity, president for the Americas Zeif to “lead in polymer 3D man- nies worked together on 3D printed
with Stratasys, seen here with an Origin ufacturing,” Garrity says, adding swabs for COVID-19 testing. Origin
machine. Photo credit: Stratasys that this vision “offers a clear North was able to rapidly develop a work-
Star for our way forward.” able swab design and Stratasys
Describing Stratasys as an “es- had the organizational reach to
tablished” 3D printing equipment market the swabs to hospitals and
maker is inarguable. For a time, the other institutional users. It became
company was synonymous with clear this model for working together
industrial polymer 3D printing for offered a way forward. Origin,
tooling and prototypes. However, a Silicon Valley startup, excels
the scope of credible applications at product innovation, and has
for AM has significantly changed continued to refine its platform for
— to the extent that Stratasys has polymer part production and for
committed to pursuing different rapid materials development for
applications of 3D printing now DLP. Stratasys, meanwhile, has
than it once did, and serving those the 3D printing sales organization
customers in a different way. Origin might never have had the
“Production AM will be our focus,” ability to grow on its own. That
Garrity says. “Future investment will much made for a promising fit. The
be in that area. The model that got concern then became cultural.

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NEWS
Garrity says the Origin lead- both software control over parame- so that its team can help change
ership “wanted to make sure the ters important to material behavior the larger organization. Indeed,
DNA of Origin stayed in place, and a level of access and openness the important differences between
that they wouldn’t get ‘sucked enabling independent material the two companies go beyond an
into the Stratasys machine.’ And companies to use this platform to open approach to materials (RP
we wanted that, too.” He says realize their own aims. Support brings something like this
Stratasys responded in the way it That openness does not match as well), as Origin’s software-based
designed the organization around Stratasys’ historic approach; the approach to machine development
the acquired company — keeping company has developed FDM ma- and control is even more distinc-
with a product line or business unit terials internally. But the success tive. So is its entrepreneurial team.
model for internal organization, to of AM for production depends on Citing the company’s “cultural
enable Origin to continue operating enabling customers to work with DNA,” Garrity frames the opportu-
as it has been. exactly the material they want, and nity with the question, “How do we
Yet Garrity says he sees a cul- Stratasys cannot develop all these get Origin to rub off on the broader
tural opportunity as well. The focus options on its own. Stratasys?”
of Origin’s production AM system Thus, Garrity hopes Origin is not origin.io
is materials. The platform offers too isolated within its new owner stratasys.com
AMEXCI, SLM Solutions develop topological optimization “factory” housed in a shipping

Strengthen AM Collaboration that accounts for heat transfer. container. Now under development,
AMEXCI, a company founded by 11 The research project on this the rugged 3D printing factory
Nordic-based industrial companies, novel thermal application is titled pod would be set up in a standard
and SLM Solutions, a selective “Research for Virtual Design and shipping container, up to 40 feet
laser melting equipment supplier, Qualification Process for Additively long, to be deployed directly in the
are strengthening their partnership Manufactured Parts Optimized for field via land, sea or air to manufac-
to accelerate the industrialization Multi-Laser Machines.” Working in ture parts to support war theaters,
of metal-based AM. As part of their conjunction with Raytheon Tech- disaster relief or other remote oper-
efforts to increase productivity and nologies, Penn State’s Applied ations. By enabling a military team
part quality using AM, AMEXCI has Research Lab, Johns Hopkins on site to 3D print parts as needed,
invested in the SLM500, a selective University and Identify3D, the goal the downtime in a crisis can be
laser melting machine equipped with is to optimize a component relative reduced from weeks or months to
four 700-W lasers. The partnership to an Army modernization product only a few days or less, while also
aims to boost industrialization and to maximize cooling and improve reducing military costs.
support companies to successfully overall system performance. exone.com
implement AM technologies for serial 3dsystems.com
production of complex metal parts.
slm-solutions.us Bell Textron, Ingersoll Machine
ExOne Developing Portable Tools Produce 3D Printed Tool
3D Printing Factory for Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc. and
3D Systems Chosen for Army’s Defense Department Bell Textron Inc. successfully
Thermal Application Project The ExOne Co., a manufacturer utilized a large-format 3D printer to
3D Systems’ DMP Factory 500 has of industrial sand and metal manufacture a 22-foot-long vacu-
been selected by Raytheon Technol- 3D printers using binder jetting um trim tool for production of main
ogies and the Combat Capabilities technology, has been awarded a rotor blade components. The effort
Development Command (DEVCOM) U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) utilized Ingersoll’s hybrid large-
Army Research Laboratory (ARL) contract to develop a fully opera- format MasterPrint gantry-type
to be part of a research effort to tional, self-contained 3D printing 3D printer and five-axis milling

AM / News
machine housed at Ingersoll’s global trade organization created In addition, the center will
headquarters in Rockford, Illinois. to promote the environmental collaborate on a $4 million award
This production tooling effort benefits of AM. This brings the to the Oak Ridge National Labo-
3D printed 1,150 pounds of ABS group’s membership up to 20 ratory to apply robotic deposition
material with 20% chopped carbon current members. Joining as a new of continuous reinforcing fibers in
fiber fill. The printing process was founding member is ExOne. Joining wind blades.
completed as a single part in a the AMGTA as new participating composites.umaine.edu
continuous 75-hour operation. members are: BASF 3D Printing
ingersoll.com Solutions, DyeMansion, Fraunhofer
Institute for Laser Technology Esprit, CETIM Collaborate
(ILT), HP Inc., Rusal America, on Binder Jetting Technology
Sintavia Acquires More GE Trumpf and 6K. Esprit CAM has expanded its
Additive Arcam A2X EB Printers 6kinc.com hp.com partnership with France’s Technical
Sintavia has acquired three more basf.com/us ilt.fraunhofer.de Centre for Mechanical Industry
GE Additive Arcam A2X electron dyemansion.com rusalamerica.com (CETIM) to include AM. In collab-
beam (EB) printers. With 30 high- exone.com us.trumpf.com oration with CETIM, Esprit teams
speed printers alongside precision validated the support of binder
postprocessing equipment, a full jetting. By preparing data in Esprit
complement of mechanical testing Stratasys Direct, Xometry Additive Suite products, CETIM
equipment, and a full metallurgical Partner to Deliver 3D Printed was able to build a job made of six
and powder laboratory, Sintavia says Parts on Demand impeller parts with a binder jetting
it is able to optimize parameters, se- Stratasys Direct Manufacturing machine from Sweden’s Digital
rially manufacture and audit quality is now providing several new Metal. Although Esprit additive
parts for aerospace applications. high-performance nylon material support for binder jetting technolo-
geadditive.com options for selective laser sintering gy is not yet commercially available,
sintavia.com (SLS) to customers of Xometry’s this success demonstrates what’s
global custom manufacturing possible when both teams collabo-
marketplace. Xometry’s customer rate closely.
Xact Metal Partners with base of startups to Fortune 100 espritcam.com
GoEngineer for Sales, Service companies is now able to tap
Xact Metal is partnering with Stratasys Direct’s deep expertise
GoEngineer for an exclusive sales and substantial manufacturing Armor AM Supports
and service partnership in the capacity in SLS 3D printing. Railway Maintenance
western U.S., focusing on bringing stratasysdirect.com French manufacturer Armor and its
affordable metal 3D printing to xometry.com AM brand Kimya were able to assist a
small- to medium-sized companies railway supplier with
and decentralizing AM. GoEngineer replacement parts produced through
will provide Xact Metal sales and UMaine Awarded $2.8 Million AM. The supplier needed hood parts
service to customers who are for AM Wind Blade Research for which molds dating from 1982 no
looking into metal AM. The University of Maine Advanced longer existed, so it turned to Kimya
xactmetal.com Structures and Composites Center to produce small runs of the plas-
has been awarded $2.8 million from tic part which needed to meet the
the U.S. Department of Energy requirements of fire and smoke regu-
Eight Organizations Office of Energy Efficiency and lations. Kimya was able to produce a
Join AMGTA Renewable Energy to develop a plastic part solely from a paper plan
Eight AM organizations have joined rapid, low-cost AM solution for and the 3D file of a train part original-
the Additive Manufacturer Green fabricating large, segmented wind ly made out of PVC.
Trade Association (AMGTA), a blade molds. kimya.fr/fr
TAKING SHAPE
For home brewers, a hydrometer is an eye on the inside of

How Tilt Hydrometer Fights the tank. The device measures the specific gravity of a batch
Supply Chain Disruption of beer, offering clues as to how fermentation is progressing.

When a beer reaches its expected final gravity, brewers can
with 3D Printing feel confident about its flavor, body and alcohol content.
While not a required piece of equipment, a hydrometer can
By Stephanie Hendrixson be an invaluable tool for ensuring recipe success.
“It brings all this information to home brewers they
wouldn’t have access to otherwise,” says Noah Neibaron,
co-founder of Tilt Hydrometer and an avid home brewer
himself. While it’s possible to take samples from a batch
of beer and derive this information manually, the testing
process is lengthy and opening the fermenter risks
contamination. Tilt offers an alternative with its product,
an affordable wireless digital hydrometer that floats in the
beer itself and delivers this data automatically, with no
need to open the tank until fermentation is complete.
Tilt has been able to develop and produce a key com-
ponent of its hydrometer through 3D printing provided by
The colored bracket inside each hydrometer Shapeways. But the development isn’t done. Although this part is in continuous produc-
is key to holding all the components in place. tion now, Tilt accepts and expects that it will change — and, for this reason, 3D printing
Photo credit: Tilt Hydrometer will continue to be the right manufacturing method.
The company offers two main products today, its original hydrometer aimed at home
brewers and the Tilt Pro for small- to medium-sized craft breweries. In both cases, the
device is cylindrical, only a few inches tall, and “deceptively simple,” Neibaron says. The
devices consist of an accelerometer and temperature sensor; a Bluetooth antenna to relay
the data to a user’s smartphone; weights to serve as ballast; a battery; a bracket that holds
these internal components in place; and a watertight, cylindrical capped case to keep
everything enclosed.
While most of the components are off-the-shelf parts, the one that has proven
critical is custom: the plastic bracket that holds the other pieces in place. If the instru-
ments move, or the weights shift and affect the way the device floats, its accuracy will be
thrown off. In product development, Tilt had these brackets milled from plastic at a cost
of about $30 each. The co-founders always saw this cost as a difficulty that would need to
be overcome to offer their product at a price point attractive to home brewers. Injection
molding was considered, but would have meant molding the part in two pieces, intro-
ducing an assembly step to glue the parts together and potential weakness at the joint.
Tilt Hydrometer decided instead to go into production with a technology that had
served it well in prototyping: selective laser sintering (SLS). Rather than investing in
mold tooling or continuing to pay the high cost of milling, Tilt is now able to source
The brackets are 3D printed in nylon this bracket directly from Shapeways through the company’s on-demand manufacturing
using selective laser sintering (SLS), then services. The part is 3D printed as a single piece from durable nylon and dyed a range
depowdered as shown here before being of colors. (Brewers using multiple hydrometers select different colors to distinguish be-
dyed. Shapeways can produce small tween batches.) Shapeways can provide the printed parts within just a few days, enabling
batches of the part as needed, reducing Tilt to order them as needed, rather than keeping brackets in inventory. Although the
the need for Tilt to stockpile inventory. SLS process results in a slightly higher price per part, it comes without an expensive
Photo credit: Shapeways investment in tooling, the need for glue, and the cost of labor to assemble the bracket.

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TAKING SHAPE
Since its first sale in 2015, Tilt Hydrometer has sold tens of thousands of its product for
home brewers. It recently launched the Tilt Pro, which offers similar data and insight to
commercial breweries without the time or cost associated with manually collecting samples.
Not long after the introduction of the Pro line, however, Tilt Hydrometer found
that the battery holder was failing to keep the battery in position. The company sourced
a new holder, but its design made it possible to put the batteries in backwards, which
would fry the device. Working with Shapeways, Tilt developed a 3D-printable polarity
protector to prevent misinsertion of the battery.
This small alteration to the Tilt Hydrometer Pro speaks to the company’s larger
philosophy around production. Rather than work toward developing the final, “best”
version of the product, Tilt sees greater opportunity in staying flexible. Supply chain
SLS enables the custom bracket to be disruptions are less disruptive to Tilt because of this software-like, continuous devel-
made in just one piece, which saves time opment mindset. Working with Shapeways’ user application team makes it simple for a
in assembly. A “cage” fixture printed with small business like Tilt to make changes and scale production as needed. 3D printing of
the parts organizes them into groups of 10 custom parts means that Tilt is never locked into a particular supply of sensors, weights
for easier handling. The cage is later cut off or enclosures because the product can be adapted on the fly to use what is available.
with scissors. Photo credit: Shapeways “We don’t have to stock out or pay huge prices because there’s not much available.
We can source an alternate part and 3D print something to make it all work,” Neibaron
says. “Having flexibility with 3D printing can save you.”
Three Elements of a Micro Micromachining is a very specialized, challenging operation, so it’s natural that
3D Printing Platform companies that require it are looking for an alternative. Those companies include
both makers of tiny parts and the producers of molds with tiny features for tiny
By Julia Hider parts. “In micro-parts, sometimes the features and details are nearly impossible,
or very difficult, or very expensive to produce,” notes Avi Cohen, executive vice
president at Nanofabrica, which produces the Tera 250
micro AM system. At first, 3D printing might not seem like
an obvious alternative process for producing such tiny parts,
given that machining is an operation more associated with
precision and fine detail. But, according to Cohen, the Tera
250’s optical system, its machine platform and the company’s
specialized materials have all been developed to address
specific challenges of micro 3D printing.
Optics: Digital light processing (DLP) systems such as
the Tera 250 rely on an optical system that projects onto a
resin vat and cures the part layer-by-layer. The resolution
of this system determines the resolution of the part and, at
the small scales of micro 3D printing, this becomes critical.
Nanofabrica’s co-founder and CEO, Jon Donner, used his
Producing a micro part such as this drug background in optics to develop a smart, adaptive optical system for the Tera
delivery device via traditional machining 250 that enables the machine to print very small, highly detailed and accurate
methods is very challenging. Specialized parts. “Every print, the machine adjusts itself and confirms, so it’s a closed
optical systems, machine components and loop,” Cohen says. “We are confirming the focus and then projecting, not just
materials have made 3D printing a viable projecting regardless to what happens.” This optical system sharpens detail to a
alternative to micromachining. pixel size of 1.9 microns and a layer thickness of 1 micron for accurate, high-res-
Photo credit: Nanofabrica olution micro parts.

AM / Taking Shape
Machine Design: In addition to a specialized optical system, 3D printers that

operate on a microscale also need to be very stable and capable of making fine, accu-
rate movements. To address these challenges, Cohen says the Tera 250’s construction
includes a granite table for rigidity and accuracy. The granite itself doesn’t expand and
contract like metal, ensuring the machine remains accurate. In addition, the machine
itself has specialized servo elements and controls that enable precise movements.
“The maximum error in the movement will not exceed 100 nanometers,” Cohen says.
Materials: Nanofabrica currently produces two materials in-house for the
system. The company started with an ABS for its popularity, chosen to “attract as
many customers as we could,” Cohen explains. The second is a composite material, a
polymer reinforced with nanoparticles made of glass, ceramic, zirconia or a mixture
of the materials. “Our technology allows us to develop and print different types of
composite materials,” Cohen explains. “You can generate new levels of materials and
families that didn’t exist before.” This is because DLP doesn’t use a nozzle that could
be clogged by the particles. The nanoparticles are also small enough that they stay
dispersed throughout the vat of resin instead of sinking to the bottom. The composite
material is stronger and more stable than ABS, and can withstand higher tempera-
tures and wear better as well. The original goal for the development of this material
was to produce more durable micro mold inserts that could last for thousands of shots
instead of hundreds, although applications extend to production parts as well.
These three elements have helped 3D printing expand into industries where
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TAKING SHAPE
micro parts are common, such as electronics and medical. Examples Cohen cites
include the tooling used in making computer chips, components that need to be
made to much the same precision as the chips themselves. He also gives the exam-
ple of a micro 3D printed drug delivery device — it’s the diameter of a match and
has 580 holes that are 50 microns each.
Micro 3D printing is also finding applications at different stages of the part pro-
duction process, he notes. It enables companies to iterate at the prototyping stage
before investing in tooling and processes involving more costly micromachining.
From prototyping, companies can easily make the jump to short-run production.
“Since the parts are so small, it doesn’t matter if you place hundreds on one print-
ing job,” Cohen says. “And, in terms of cost, each part is maybe one gram, so the
material consumption is relatively low.” Furthermore, these parts generally don’t
require much postprocessing — just a rinse in alcohol and removal from the build
plate. And any support structures on such small parts are also small and, therefore,
easy to remove either in the alcohol or with air pressure. The result is multiple valid
paths to mass production using micro 3D printing. Directly making a large run of
parts this way is a possibility “becoming much more valid,” he says. The other path:
Companies can 3D print micro molds. In fact, Nanofabrica initially released the
Tera 250 as a platform for printing micro mold inserts. However, Cohen says that
currently just half of the company’s customers are using the system to print micro
molds, while the other half are using it for part production.
Cadillac Blackwing Models Additive manufacturing for full-scale production at the part quantities major auto-
Are First GM Cars Using makers see is still a way off. However, General Motors sees that day coming, and is
getting ready by seeking “pathfinder” additive manufactured parts that will enable
Additive Manufacturing
the company to start facing and answering the questions that come from applying
for Full-Scale Production
3D printing for production. Far off though it might be, AM for automotive produc-
By Peter Zelinski tion is also near enough and viable enough that the parts GM found did not have
to be subsidized. The company’s 2022 Cadillac Blackwing V-Series cars — the most
powerful Cadillac models ever introduced — are also the first GM vehicles to use
Two HVAC ducts and a wiring bracket are AM at production scale. The manual-transmission versions of each of the
the production parts made through 3D V-Series models has three functional components made through 3D printing, and AM
printing on the new Cadillac Blackwing paid its way in each case. It offered GM the most cost-effective way to manufacture
V-Series models. Design for AM made the each of these parts.
production of the aluminum wiring bracket Production volumes that are low for automotive make this possible,
particularly efficient. notes Ali Shabbir, product application engineer and global inno-
Photo credit: GM vation lead in additive design and manufacturing for GM. The
Cadillac Blackwing is a track-capable car — usable for street driving,
but also engineered for top speeds in the vicinity of 200 mph. The
parts made additively for this car might not have been cost-effective
to produce this way at the scale of one of
the company’s more standard cars. Still,
the suitability for Blackwing production
is a mark of 3D printing’s progress so far:
First (decades ago), it was accepted for
prototyping, then it became a means for

AM / Taking Shape
making production tooling, and now it is an appropriate choice for end-use part produc-
tion at lower quantities. GM is developing habits, experience and expertise in production
AM because of its expectation that this trajectory will continue.
The 3D printed parts on the Blackwing models are these: two nylon-12 HVAC
ducts, one for the rear cabin and one for the car’s phone charger, both made via HP’s
Multi Jet Fusion process; plus an aluminum bracket made from laser powder bed
fusion for securing a wiring harness to the body of the manual transmission. A fourth
3D printed part, a medallion on the car’s gear shift knob, is for show rather than
Not a car for the typical driver: The 2022 function, but what it shows is important. The stainless steel part is made through
Cadillac Blackwing CT4-V, seen here, is binder jetting, and it preserves some of 3D printing’s layered texture to proudly mark
a higher priced, track-capable vehicle. the car’s pioneering place in GM’s advance into production AM. (The medallion also
Low production volume (relative to what is has unseen conductive fins preventing it from getting too hot to touch on a summer
typical for automotive) accounts for why day — geometry that 3D printing also made easy to incorporate.)
3D printing was the most cost-effective Of all these parts, the wiring bracket arguably goes the farthest in demonstrating
process for some components. Still, GM the transformation that is possible with AM. The form, process and material for this
is using its experience with this car to part all significantly changed, Shabbir notes. “Initially, the part was designed to be a
prepare for the day when more capable 3D sheet metal stamping,” he says. Doing away with stamping tooling made additive the
printing will mean that many more less expensive process, while attention to design for additive manufacturing (DFAM)
production parts are made this way. made the 3D printed version as economical as it could be. “By tuning in the design, we
were able to eliminate the need for heat treat,” he says, and that
was just the start of the process streamlining. Also eliminated:
machining. While CNC machining is common for metal parts
made additively, DFAM considerations enabled GM to avoid all
machining in the production of this one. The teardrop shape of an
otherwise drilled hole enabled it to be 3D printed accurately
instead of machined, and conical support structures only delicately
linked to the part enable these supports to break away by hand so
that machining is not needed for support structure removal.
This part, and the others manufactured through 3D print-
ing, are now teaching GM’s manufacturing teams the lessons
the company will need to learn as AM advances to address larger quantities and an
increasing share of the company’s production in the future. The lessons are real and
numerous. Shabbir describes them:
“We need to develop specifications on additive materials,” he says. “Who are our
sources for material, how do we instruct them, and how do we validate and qualify
the materials they provide?”
Then, particularly for a part like the bracket, “How do we design this so that
it lines up with the parts adjacent to it in the assembly, and can we repeatably get
this form without needing to machine it? Then, how do we evaluate and certify the
performance of printed aluminum as an alternative to machined steel?” Modeling via
computer-aided engineering (CAE) in part promises to provide the answer. Therefore,
he adds, “How do we apply CAE to generate materials data for AM?” The answers
learned for the Cadillac Blackwing parts likely will also apply to many other parts on
other GM vehicles in the future.
This is fitting, he says, because “Cadillac, as a brand, has always been at the forefront of
our innovation.” Its place at that forefront today — in this case, leading innovation in manu-
facturing — is something the car signifies with the stratified lines on its shift knob.
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TECH TRENDS
CATEGORY: M Manufacturing Technology
Why Modeling and Simulation Matter in AM
Manufacturers may be encouraged Design: Both approach AM design with the certainty that
to know that scientists and software the part should benefit from the AM process. To generate the
engineers in America’s national labo- best result, they use inverse design programs that are compu-
ratories and leading engineering sim- tationally or simulation driven with topology optimization and
ulation companies are making strides machine learning. By telling the program the desired function-
in both modeling and simulation to ality, anisotropic properties and other specific constraints, the
lock down new software that will computer evolves the structure.
enable metal laser powder bed additive Materials: Both have developed their own set of properties
By Benjamin Moses machines to self-correct, helping man- for materials. Ansys has a mature library with a validated set
AMT Manufacturing ufacturers work smarter and faster. of properties for the eight most common alloys used in laser
Technology Director powder bed fusion (LPBF) – the biggest area of AM investment
Science-based AM across all industries, from biomedical to aerospace.
“We are using modeling and simu- Process: Both model the interaction of the process with
lation, sensors and data science to material, the material transformation and the final component.
understand the physical phenomena at By recognizing that distortions arise when cooling and heating
play in the metal laser powder bed AM material hundreds, if not thousands, of times, simulations are
process,” says Christopher Spadacci- able to better consider the geometry, distortion prediction and
ni, division leader for the materials compensation to print the correct shape.
engineering division at Lawrence Liv- Qualification and Certification: LLNL conducts rigorous
ermore National Laboratory (LLNL). qualification processes to ensure a high degree of confidence
Kathy Keyes Webster “For manufacturers, we want the parts that the component works as expected for its stated function.
AMT Content Manager – to come out right the first time. It’s not Modeling and simulation are used for performance evaluation,
Correspondence easy to do, but we are working on it.”
In the past five years, the indus- Ansys heat map for power bed fusion build prep
try has made tremendous advances in powerful
engineering simulation software. “(This software)
is transforming the metal laser powder bed AM
process, making it easier for designers and techni-
cians to build better products with less prototyping,”
says Brent Stucker, Ph.D., an AM engineer at Ansys
and co-author of “Additive Manufacturing Technol-
ogies,” a leading reference and textbook on the 3D
printing technologies and industry.
Here are some highlights from recent conversa-
tions with Spadaccini and Stucker. Both shared how
they incorporate modeling and simulation at each
phase of AM, information on their models and how
they might be helpful to the AM industry.
In Every Phase
“Modeling and simulation allow us to explore phe-
nomena at multiple length and time scales that you
couldn’t explore in any other fashion – saving time
and money later in the process,” Spadaccini says.
amtonline.org 17
TECH TRENDS
CATEGORY: M Manufacturing Technology
analysis and behavior predictions. Experimental work involves Ansys provides customers with an end-to-end workflow
testing parts, nondestructive evaluations, destructive analyses solution. They also have the option to choose just portions of its
and systems-level integrated tests. software, some of which is already embedded within various AM
machines. Using an open interoperability system, Ansys can be
LLNL Models read in and written to all other tools and within some machines.
LLNL models evaluate how the laser interacts with the ma-
terial, how it transforms and re-solidifies, and the material On the Horizon at LLNL
properties. LLNL is working to create Intelligent Feed Forward (IFF)
Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian three-dimensional analysis control schemes, where a machine’s parameters are prepro-
(ALE3D) is the most complex model. It includes code developed grammed from modeling and simulation results to mitigate
over decades for multiple applications. ALE3D models every defects via its build strategy. This, combined with in-situ
individual powder particle interacting with the laser (melting diagnostics, will result in high-quality, low-defect metal
and solidifying) in 3D. Physics captures all the fluid dynamics components, according to LLNL.
within the melt pool, including sparks and spatter flying
beyond the pool. If you are interested in more information What’s Coming from Ansys
about ALE3D for Industry (ALE3D4I), please email LLNL at Ansys is working to make the power of simulation and data
SoftwareLicensing@lists.llnl.gov. accessible to the AM designer and technician. While chasing
Diablo is a thermal mechanical code. It is abstracted to a speed and accuracy are always part of the goal, Stucker foresees
length scale of 10 cm of material. As the laser moves over the Ansys releasing improvements to its tools for Directed Energy
material, it captures the final shape of the component, identify- Deposition (DED), extrusion and sintering AM processes soon.
ing residual stress from distortion.
Microstructure Model looks at the microscale inside the Need an AM Partner?
metal illustrating the grain structure and evaluates how to Want the power of awesome programmers, great simulation
change or control the microstructure through the laser power, and massive computers? In 2019, LLNL opened its Advanced
speed or other parameters. Manufacturing Laboratory facility outside of its high-security
Ultimately, LLNL will link these models together to extract perimeter to better collaborate with academia and industry.
useful information for insertion into an AM machine, creating Visit engineering.llnl.gov/collaboration/advanced-manufac-
reduced order models and feed-forward algorithms for turing-lab.
improved machine control. You don’t need to have a huge business to get value out of
Ansys tools. The simulation company provides software on a
Ansys Models sliding scale, depending on the size of your business. While the
By combining its traditional solvers with physics estimations (as software is free to students, it does require an investment that
well as novel numerical and analytical approaches) to predict pays tremendous benefits, including the reduction of failure
outcomes, Ansys models predict the microstructure, thermal margins, enhanced and speedy employee training, and retaining
distortions, stress distributions and the part’s final properties. of company knowledge.
Ansys deconstructs the physics and math problems simul- Just as modeling and simulation can anticipate potential
taneously, reuses previously solved and repetitive information, problems prior to CNC production, it is now proving useful with
and only solves the unique problems. In this way, they are not metal laser powder bed AM machines.
starting from scratch for every calculation. To create the accu- Has simulation changed the way you do business? We’d
rate material property assumptions, Ansys builds small samples love to hear about it. Share your simulation experience with
according to certain conditions, simulates those exact con- Benjamin Moses, AMT director manufacturing technology,
ditions using known physical properties, and then calculates at BMoses@AMTonline.org, or Kathy Webster, AMT content
unknown physical properties. Some physical properties can’t manager, at KWebster@AMTonline.org.
be calculated from first principles, and so they fit unknown
coefficients using experimentations – scaling up from the Learn more about simulation at LLNL.gov, Ansys.com,
known data to gain a robust process set of material assump- IMTS.com and on the AMT Tech Trends podcast.
tions based on experiments and simulation.

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In 1902, in the midst of the Second

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FEATURE / Production By Stephanie Hendrixson, Senior Editor
More Than
Meets the Eye
to Cobra’s
3D Printed
Putter
A golf club is essentially just three A golf club is a deceptively simple object. Each club
parts: the head, shaft and grip. But is really just three parts: a head, shaft and grip. But to
the head alone can require up to 200 build just the metal clubhead alone requires no less
steps to manufacture between casting or than 200 human touches, says Mike Yagley, vice presi-
forging, machining, assembly and finishing dent of innovation/AI at Cobra Golf.
touches. Photo credits: Cobra Golf Investment casting and forging are the two primary ways
of making golf clubheads; Cobra is also advancing the use of
metal injection molding (MIM) for building these components.
But, in all cases, these are preliminary steps; the near-net shape
metal forms must then be further processed.
Cobra Golf drew attention “You’ve got to grind and polish and finish and cut grooves,”
in November 2020 with the Yagley says. “There’s machining. There’s handwork. It could
need PVD [physical vapor deposition] or chrome. You have to
launch of a limited-edition add medallions to make it look pretty, and maybe some weight
putter with a metal 3D printed pieces. If you’ve got little engravings, you paint fill. It’s a very
labor-intensive process.”
head. What this club says When Cobra introduced the King Supersport-35, a putter
about product development, with a 3D printed head developed with Parmatech and HP, in
November 2020, much of the buzz was about the design. With
reshoring manufacturing and its open lattice framework and extremely high moment of inertia
the future of consumer goods. (MOI) — a measure of weight distribution that affects twist
— the club both looks and feels different than conventional
putters. Golf publications, review vloggers, pros and amateurs
alike weighed in on the sound of the head, the way it feels to

AM / Cobra’s 3D Printed Putter
hit a ball with this putter and their personal

track records of success or failure with the club.
But the design was only one half of the
challenge in producing the King Supersport-35.
As Yagley puts it, “We were developing a
product and process at the same time.” For
more than a year, his San Diego-based Cobra
innovation team closely collaborated with
both HP’s Metal Jet group and contract man-
ufacturer Parmatech to develop the putter
design while also proving out the technology.
Their efforts have resulted in the first com-
mercially available 3D printed putter on the market, but will The 3D printed putter head received almost as much machining
bring new manufacturing options to future endeavors. and finishing as a standard clubhead, but this may not always be
the case. As consumers become more acclimated to seeing rough,
50+ Design Iterations in 12 Months unfinished 3D printed surfaces, manufacturers could save time
Cobra Golf was founded in 1973 and since 2010 has been owned and cost by applying these processes only where necessary.
by Puma, a supplier of sportswear and accessories such as
athletic shoes and apparel. Puma Golf already had a standing The idea of making a putter through Metal Jet 3D printing
relationship with HP’s polymer 3D printing facility in Southern was appealing on both sides. For HP and Parmatech, the project
California, having leveraged its Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) printing was an opportunity to develop a Metal Jet process on a part
process to make plastic prototypes. This arrangement eventually with lower stakes than an aerospace or automotive component,
led to Cobra’s introduction to the Metal Jet team at HP and, for example. For its part, Cobra was interested in creating a
through them, contract manufacturer Parmatech. (The latter unique, innovative club design that couldn’t be made through
was one of the earliest partners for Metal Jet, a binder jetting conventional technologies — something that could give golfers
3D printing technique which applies binding agents to metal an experience not possible with any other club.
powder to form green parts. These are then sintered to their On top of the benefits to the golfer, though, Yagley and his
final forms, losing about 20% of their size in the process.) team saw another opportunity in finding an alternative means
of manufacturing the near-net metal shapes of clubheads,
Just a handful of the 56 different design iterations Cobra which are generally made outside the U.S. Cobra specifically
explored before landing on one. Without 3D printing, so many sources metal parts from casting and forging houses in China,
design changes would have been prohibitively expensive and Vietnam and Japan. Other parts of the clubs might be made in
time-consuming. other parts of the world, such as grips manufactured in Mexico.
FEATURE / Production
Obtaining parts from suppliers abroad is generally cost functional purpose; the design distributes more of the head’s
effective, but the distance and reliance on conventional, tooled weight to its perimeter, increasing the club’s MOI 20% over a
manufacturing processes can add significant lead time to comparable shape made conventionally — a significant effect
product development. It can take up to three months to create likely to translate to improved consistency in putting.
a single design iteration for a new club working with overseas Aside from the standard Metal Jet requirements of de-caking,
suppliers, Yagley says. Moving the product can also be a sintering and powder removal, the other postprocessing steps
challenge; air shipping is faster, but costs significantly more performed on the putter head are not strictly necessary, Yagley
than transporting goods via boat. says. In fact, they add cost to the process, but the addition is
The 3D printed putter head avoided most of these challenges. worth it for the sake of preserving some conventional aesthetics,
Parmatech is located in northern California, putting it in the at least for now. In a sense, this club is an ambassador for
same state as Cobra’s development and assembly facility in future designs, one that will help golfers get used to what a 3D
the San Diego area, which allowed for in-person meetings and printed head could look like in the future with fewer smoothed
collaboration that simplified the product development process. and polished surfaces.
Additionally, the speed, lack of tooling and batched nature of “We’ve trained ourselves to like shiny chrome and machined
Metal Jet 3D printing which make it suitable for production things. If we did an entire clubhead with an as-printed surface
also enabled rapid iteration, sometimes with multiple designs right now, people would say, ‘I don’t know if I like the look of
printed at once in the same machine. Engineers on the Cobra that’,” he says. “But as 3D printing becomes more common in the
innovation team, most of whom are golfers themselves, were mainstream for other objects, I can envision a day where the face
able to have prototypes made and delivered quickly for testing is the only truly finished surface.”
and refinement.
“We went through 56 different versions of the final design With Maturing Technology,
within 12 months,” Yagley says. “If we were to do that many Opportunities Will Expand
iterations in a conventional casting or forging or machining The King Supersport-35 became available in limited quanti-
process, that would be years and years of work.” Once the ties on Nov. 20, 2020, with a price tag of $399. Putters often
desired design was selected, the teams spent time refining it to command higher retail prices than other clubs, which made a
improve both printability and performance. The production putter the natural place to begin experimenting with a costlier
clubheads were also made at Parmatech, effectively reshoring metal 3D printing process.
manufacturing for these items. But Yagley anticipates that the costs of making clubheads
this way will drop, as the Metal Jet process matures; as Cobra
3D Printing Plus Conventional Postprocessing becomes more adept at designing near-net shapes that minimize
The final design for the King Supersport-35 combines new and postprocessing; and as consumers become more open to clubs
old elements, for an experience that is both novel and familiar with as-printed surfaces.
to the golfer. The head has a “modern traditional” rectangular In the short term, Cobra sees opportunities to apply Metal
shape common to many putters. Faceplates on the front of Jet for other limited run products, possibly including custom
the clubhead make use of licensed technology from SIK Golf clubheads. The ability to batch parts inside the printer could
to control the loft of the hit. (This Descending Loft Technol- enable many different design configurations to be made at
ogy is popular with golf pros, including Bryson Dechambreau, once, tailored to the needs and preferences of individual
winner of the 2020 U.S. Open and a Cobra staffer.) The front, golfers. Large-scale mass production is not likely just yet, as
top and bottom of the head have been machined and finished it would be difficult to produce clubs at scale for a price that
just like any other clubhead, with smooth surfaces, paint infill consumers would be willing to pay. But, over the long term,
and other design elements that any golfer would expect. Yagley also expects a future where most or all clubheads could
But it was important to the stakeholders involved that be made through 3D printing.
this club not only utilize metal 3D printing technology, but “When we started dreaming of this 10 years ago, the cost of
showcase it as well. The back of the stainless steel putter head making a single part was probably 10 times what it is now,” he
leaves its lattice structure visible; the surfaces have been PVD says. “We’re not quite at a point where we could make a set of
coated but not polished, preserving the soft roughness charac- irons or metal woods cost effectively, but we’re getting much
teristic of the binder jetting process. The lattice showcases the closer. As fast as this technology is going, it may be only a couple
capability of the manufacturing process, but also serves a very of years.”

WHY THE FAILURE?
Build failure is a common part of

the learning curve of metal AM.
In this new video series hosted
by Pete Zelinski, Editor-
in-Chief of Additive
Manufacturing Media
and Dr. Tim Simpson,
Penn State Professor
of additive manufacturing, we
examine examples of build failures
and discuss the lessons they teach.
S P O NS O RED BY We want to hear from you!

Follow the #AMWTF hashtag on
LinkedIn to review and comment on
each new failure, before the episode.
Model-Based Inspection & Measurement Software

One Common Metrology Platform
for all 3D Measuring Devices
Scan to Watch #AMWTF Now!

or visit short.additivemanufacturing.media/WTF
BETTER COOLING, The Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe posits that,
immediately after this event, there should have existed equal
BETTER DATA: amounts of matter and antimatter. Yet the observable universe
appears to consist almost entirely of matter, and scientists have
succeeded at producing antimatter with particle accelerators
only in small quantities. Is there an imbalance between the
Upgrading an two and, if so, why? What exactly happened in that fraction of
a second after the Big Bang?
Nikhef, the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics,
Experiment seeks to help answer these questions through its participation

in the LHCb experiment. One of seven detectors at the CERN
at the Large
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva, Switzerland, this
experiment measures the decay of the “beauty” or b-quark by
capturing both the ordinary b-quark and its anti-b-quark cor-
Hadron Collider ollary as they are created through collisions inside the particle
accelerator. The LHC is currently closed for maintenance, but
when it reopens next year, the LHCb detector will be equipped
with an upgraded tracker better capable of capturing these par-
An experiment resuming in 2022 ticles; and its improved performance will be, at least in part, the
at CERN’s particle accelerator result of a cooling solution made possible by metal 3D printing.
will be better able to detect Better Resolution Through More Efficient Cooling
evidence of antimatter thanks Each detector is essentially a microscope; the finer the detail
researchers need to see, the larger the microscope and its lenses.
to efficient cooling delivered by But larger and more sensitive instruments run hotter, and that
metal 3D printed tubes. heat introduces “noise” that interferes with observation.
This was the challenge facing Antonio Pellegrino, a leader
of Nikhef’s scintillating fiber (SciFi) tracker
project, a new tracking device for LHCb that
will reveal the path of particles in the accel-
erator. “In order to see these photons, you
have to use a very large amplification, but it
also amplifies whatever background there is,”
Pellegrino says.
The critical piece of the LHCb exper-
iment is the photon detector strip, which
runs about 140 meters along a portion of
the LHC. If kept sufficiently cool — about
40°C — the device can detect individual
particles that manifest themselves as very
faint light.
The SciFi (“scintillating fiber”) tracker on

the LHCb experiment uses optical fibers
that emit light when a particle interacts with
them. The bars made by 3D Systems will
cool the silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs)
that convert this light to electrical signals.
Photo credit: CERN

AM / Better Cooling, Better Data
Pellegrino’s team at Nikhef began

working on a cooling solution for the
photon detector strip more than three
years ago. These cooling bars need to
fit into a limited space and maintain
their flatness along the length of
the detector strip. Thin walls were
desirable to minimize the amount of
material between the surface and the
carbon fluoride coolant, but the bars
also need to withstand pressures of at
least 7 bar without leakage.
The organization developed a
cooling solution it believed would
work, but the design would have been
too expensive and complex to produce
conventionally. Rob Walet, the head
engineer on Pellegrino’s team, already The final cooling bar design features a Parts were printed vertically using 3D
had some familiarity with polymer 3D “spring” and easily removable support Systems’ DMP 350 Flex metal 3D printer.
printing and, after surveying a number structures limited to just two areas. Photo credits: 3D Systems
of metal options, decided to collaborate
with 3D Systems’ Application Innovation Group, which has 50-micron flatness across their length. Typically, this could
a Customer Innovation Center located in Belgium. be achieved with milling, but the risk of introducing leakage
into the thin-walled tubes was too great. 3D Systems had to
Getting to Production dial in the print parameters to achieve this flatness with no
Nikhef and 3D Systems collaborated to refine the cooling bar postprocessing. The cooling bars also experienced shrinkage
design through FEA, physical prototypes and testing. Each defects in some areas of the functional cooling surface, which
bar contains three channels running in parallel; the multiple was removed by countering the actual deformation in CAD.
channels create more surface area and greater turbulence A 3D Systems DMP Flex 350 direct metal printing machine was
for better cooling. The tubes are also designed to flex as the ultimately used for production. For the greatest chance of success,
material expands and shrinks. With metal 3D printing, it was the 263-mm-long cooling bars were 3D printed vertically, which
possible to essentially build a “spring” into each part without allowed for many parts to be packed onto each build plate and
any additional work or assembly. minimized the need for support structures. Each bar has supports
Nikhef and 3D Systems knew that the final bars would be in just two places. Parts were stress relieved after printing and
produced in metal, but selecting the right material ultimately cut from the build plate with a wire EDM; compressed air forced
became dependent on the design requirements. After proto- through the tubes cleared any loose powder.
typing in stainless steel, 3D Systems found that it would not be 3D Systems produced more than 300 cooling bars in total,
possible with the print parameters then available to achieve the which have been validated by Nikhef and are currently being
desired thin walls while guaranteeing leak-free operation. Rather installed at the LHC. Being able to print long sections of cool-
than settle for thicker walls and reduced cooling capability, the ing bars as a single assembly limited the overall part count for
collaborators changed the material to LaserForm TiGr32 (A), a the cooling solution and the need for joints, reducing the risk
3D Systems titanium alloy. of leakage. The final 3D printed cooling bars are expected to
“The weld pool for titanium is quite stable during the print last a minimum of 10 years, based on stress testing.
process, and laser parameters were very well-developed for the Experiments utilizing the SciFi tracker are set to begin in 2022,
material at the time,” says 3D Systems application engineer and Pellegrino is hopeful that this instrument will help reveal new
Thomas Verelst. These factors enabled 3D Systems to achieve information about matter and antimatter. “This is fundamental
the desired wall thickness of just 0.25 mm. research,” he says. “It is so important because it affects the way we
Once the design and material were set, the long, thin think about our universe and about physics. That’s the reason we
parts still posed manufacturing challenges. The bars require set up the experiment in the first place.”
How AI Enables Affordable,

Bespoke Prosthetics
Meticuly was founded to provide custom bone implants for local
patients in Thailand who would otherwise be dependent on
standard, imported devices. The concept could be a model
for medical treatment in other emerging economies.
Dr. Lohwongtana and Dr. Tipachart

Punyaratabandhu achieved clinical use of a
3D printed titanium thumb prosthesis in 2015.
The success of this implant and subsequent
cases helped inspire Meticuly’s founding
and mission. Image credits: Meticuly

AM / Bespoke Prosthetics
3D printing of custom medical devices has the potential to reshape the health
care industry globally. But currently, these devices are disproportionately
available throughout the world, tracking with larger trends in health care
spending and availability.
“90% of the health care spending serves only 10% of the world
population,” says Dr. Boonrat Lohwongtana, a metallurgical engineer-
ing professor at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University and co-founder
of a business that aims to shift this ratio. His company, Meticuly, was
established in 2017 to bring affordable, custom medical implants to Thai
patients. Using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms,
simulation software and metal 3D printing technologies, Meticuly’s process
can deliver custom bone prostheses in just seven days, at costs only 10-30%
higher than conventional, off-the-shelf implants.
Challenges of an Emerging Economy

Custom medical implants bring benefits to both the patient and the surgeon. A device Meticuly’s local and affordable
designed and made to suit the patient’s specific anatomy can result in easier surgeries, manufacturing workflow means that
shorter time spent in the operating room, faster healing and better health outcomes Thai patients now have access to better
overall. These advantages carry over to the Meticuly model, but there is more at stake in care and devices. This custom implant
Thailand, where medical devices are generally imported from abroad. Hospitals cope by for a cranioplasty is just one example.
keeping large amounts of implants in inventory. But only common implants are readily
available, and these are not necessarily the best solution for Thai patients. Below, Meticuly’s implant design and
“Off-the-shelf, standard-sized bone implants are mostly based on Western ana- manufacturing workflow utilizes AI and
tomical data, so most standard-sized implants require a lot of work and time to adjust cloud-based collaboration to speed the
the shape to match Thai patients’ bodies,” Dr. Lohwongtana explains. “Moreover, steps from CT scan to 3D printing.
these probably mismatched implants often result in surgical fabrication (FFF) surgical guides. Thai surgeons and patients
failure and revision surgery.” now have an option for custom implants much closer to home,
There are some Western companies that sell custom implants accessible at lower cost and shorter timelines.
in Thailand, he notes, but these are much more expensive than “The name of Meticuly came from the word ‘Meticulously’
off-the-shelf options and add time to the treatment process, which has become our golden standard for high precision man-
causing patients to wait weeks for surgeries. “In many cases ufacturing,” Lohwongtana says. “Patients will always receive a
patients choose not to wait,” Lohwongtana says, which may meticulously crafted implant device and surgical guide system
mean accepting an amputation or other treatment that can be that is designed and personalized just for them.”
performed more quickly. Personalization is only part of what Meticuly represents
Meticuly was founded to provide a local, custom and and aims to offer, however. “We want to make personalized im-
affordable option to Thai patients and surgeons. Lohwongtana plants and surgical solutions affordable for everyone, anywhere
learned about the need for such an option through his research in the world,” he says. “We aim to make our technology truly
in high-precision manufacturing with a focus on 3D printing. affordable and accessible by paying close attention on ways to
He had been approached by several medical doctors with save cost and expedite the manufacturing processes.”
requests for custom-made prosthesis and, in 2015, created the
world’s first titanium thumb prosthesis with medical professor From Scan to Implant in One Week
Dr. Tipachart Punyaratabandhu. Together the two continued Rather than use an ill-fitting, off-the-shelf implant or wait
to use metal 3D printing technology to save more fingers and weeks for a custom device made abroad, surgeons now have the
arms from amputation, but their capability was limited through option of obtaining bespoke bone implants from Meticuly at a
research funding. Lohwongtana co-founded Meticuly along with reduced cost and in a matter of days. A surgeon uploads a patient’s
Dr. Chedtha Puncreabut in 2017. CT scan to Meticuly’s cloud server and then uses collaborative
The company works with surgeons across the country to software to work with the company on the surgical approach and
design and manufacture metal 3D printed bone prostheses, implant design. Once confirmed by the surgeon, the design is sent
made with either direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) or to a manufacturing facility (either Meticuly’s own facility or that
electron beam melting (EBM), as well as plastic fused filament of a local partner’s) where the implant and corresponding surgical
guides are 3D printed. The final items are packaged, sterilized and
delivered to the hospital’s surgical theater.
To date, Meticuly has provided implants to The entire process — from receiving the CT scan data to
350 patients for 42 different bone delivery of a 3D printed implant — can be accomplished within
locations, including the jaw. just seven days, Lohwongtana says. Some part of this time savings
comes from the metal 3D printing process itself; EBM and
DMLS can deliver the implant in fewer steps than required by
conventional machining. Part of it comes from location; the
ability to manufacture bone prostheses in Thailand avoids the
shipping and potential pitfalls of importing them.
But the real savings is in what happens before the 3D print
ever begins. According to Lohwongtana, there are two keys
to the accelerated timeline. First is the design
process, aided by AI. Custom-made algorithms
automate the labor-intensive modeling tasks
typically performed by design engineers.
Additionally, Meticuly’s implant solutions
and design workflow have been developed to
ensure sufficient biomechanical properties over
a wide range of anatomy variation using a wide
range of clinical information and cadaveric
data; there are very few cases that go out
of range that might require special design

AM / Bespoke Prosthetics
consideration. Post-operative results are compared with pre-op campaigns with leading public hospitals to subsidize their
planning to continually improve these predictive algorithms. out-of-pocket expenditure for our solution.”
Second is simulation-supported build preparation. Once As Meticuly continues to produce implants, its AI-based
the metal 3D printing process is determined, Meticuly uses design strategy and build simulations will become smarter
a combination of off-the-shelf and proprietary software and the company will be able to help more patients, perhaps
to simulate various aspects of the build for more efficient in different ways. One possible route that Lohwongtana and
manufacturing. “We use simulation to optimize the support his colleagues are exploring is the customization of off-the-shelf
structure needed and orientation for each form of 3D printed implants in lieu of producing each device from scratch. This
solid metal part to achieve desired printing quality under strategy could leverage the same benefits of 3D surgical
planning and digital implant shape
design, but would allow surgeons and
“...everyone should be able to afford manufacturers to work with existing
inventory. The ability to adjust
personalized implants and health care anytime, standard-sized implants could help
advance the adoption of 3D printing
anywhere in the world.” technology as well.
But looking beyond Thailand,
Meticuly’s model and tools could be
minimum support structure and part height,” Lohwongtana applied to improve health care and make implants more
says. Not only does this strategy shorten the timeline from accessible in other parts of the world. Its automated design
design to build, it also reduces the time needed for the actual process overcomes many of the current challenges with
print by limiting the use of supports and total number of implant manufacturing workflows, while on-demand 3D
layers necessary. printing consolidates and localizes production. The strategy
The speed of this planning and 3D printing process helps to could enable medical devices to be made anywhere in the
keep the implants affordable, alongside cost savings from other world where there is a certified facility equipped with a
measures. Meticuly’s online collaboration platform reduces the suitable 3D printer.
number of middlemen involved in sourcing a custom implant “We believe that 3D printing technology can also help
and any necessary surgical guides. Batching implants together surgeons and patients in other emerging economies,”
in the printer and reusing unsintered titanium powder creates Lohwongtana says. “In early developing countries in Asia and
savings in machine time and material. And the on-demand Africa, where many people have no reimbursement or insur-
nature of manufacturing custom implants avoids the inventory ance support, we see that the focus on affordability is more
costs associated with off-the-shelf devices. important than ever.”
The ability to make or adapt implants locally quickly
3D Printed Implants for Thailand and Beyond frees hospitals and patients from the costs, timelines and
To date, Meticuly has provided bespoke implant solutions for constraints of importing these devices. Furthermore, those
more than 280 patients treated in Thailand, for 42 different custom implants are more suitable solutions for the patients
bone locations in the body. Patients have ranged from a boy they serve. People living in emerging economy countries all
afflicted by bone cancer in his shoulder to a mother who over the world could have access to better medical treatment
needed a cranioplasty after suffering a severe blockage to her options and better orthopedic surgery outcomes as a result.
brain. Thanks to Meticuly’s work, these patients were able to “By accelerating the shift from volume to value in the
receive custom implants quickly and at affordable cost. health care industry, we hope we can make the industry more
“We have stayed true to our goal to provide surgeons and accountable for individual health outcomes,” Lohwongtana
patients with better surgical treatment options under more says. “Ultimately, we want to set a new standard in providing
affordable price than other custom-made implant providers,” fully personalized and high-precision treatment for patients,
Lohwongtana says. “Our products are priced at just 10-30% surgeons and health care staff, while managing costs efficiently
above standard implants, lowering the bar for entry. As under a personalized medicine concept. In our ideal future,
public hospitals do not have a reimbursement scheme for everyone should be able to afford personalized implants and
custom-made implants, we have also set up donation health care anytime, anywhere in the world.”
How A Digital Three years ago, Brent Wright had a hunch

that 3D printing could transform the way
Manufacturing that his industry operates. Wright, an

orthotist and prosthetist based in Raleigh,
Workflow Is
North Carolina, had been experimenting
with desktop fused filament fabrication
(FFF) in his work at EastPoint Prosthetics
Making Orthoses,
and Orthotics Inc. The technology was
useful, but it wasn’t a match for end-use
devices in terms of strength and durability.
Prostheses But when Wright first learned about another

3D printing process, Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)
developed by HP, he saw a technology that
More Accessible could deliver these properties — if perhaps

the price could be dropped.
He was intrigued enough to reach out
to one of the technology’s users. Through
EastPoint Prosthetics and Orthotics has a LinkedIn, Wright connected with Zac Hol-
track record of changing lives with limb comb, who was then working for a machine
shop and service bureau in central Ohio, to
prostheses, orthoses, helmets and more. ask if MJF could deliver affordable 3D printed
The digital workflow it has built with Additive prostheses and orthoses. Holcomb said yes
— and believed in that promise enough to
America to 3D print these devices is now relocate to North Carolina and found a new
enabling this mission to go farther. company, Additive America Inc., along with
Wright and a third partner, Paul Sugg.
What these three have discovered is
that MJF is not only a viable option for
building these devices but also a tool for
fundamentally shifting how and where
these devices can be delivered. Additive
America today supplies bespoke 3D printed
prosthetic limbs, helmets, orthotic
devices and more, alongside industrial
prototypes and production parts — more
on that in a moment. But beyond a new
business model, Wright and Holcomb see
their work coalescing into a new type of
workflow for prostheses and orthoses,
one that can be streamlined, digital and
even distributed around the world.
Scale Production of One-Offs

Orthoses and prostheses have historically
been made through manual processes
because of the highly tailored nature of
these products. “It’s a scalable industry,
but the solutions are one-offs every time,”

AM / Digital Manufacturing for Prostheses
Holcomb says. Every patient has different needs and anatomy,

which means every device is bespoke.
“Everything we make is the only one in the world,” Wright says.
With a conventional workflow, this means relying on analog
methods such as casting to capture patient anatomy and create
tooling that can be used to manually build devices (not unlike
the processes traditionally used to make mouthguards and other
dental items). A socket for a leg prosthesis, for instance, might be
developed by first casting the patient’s leg in plaster of paris, then
using that cast as a kind of layup mold to build the device’s form
by hand with composite fabric and resin. Manually placed fixtures
and padding would complete the device.
Building the final socket with 3D printing changes the end
process, but it also dictates a different workflow from the To keep costs affordable, Additive America has adopted a
beginning. Unlike a hand layup process where it is up to the “build share” model. The 3D printed prosthetic and orthotic
medical professional to place and shape material, MJF needs vox- devices shown here shared a build with parts meant for other
el-by-voxel instructions to know where to deposit binder across the industries and applications. Photo credits: Additive America
bed of powder. Arriving at this part map calls for a digital manufac-
turing workflow beginning with the patient.
To support that workflow, EastPoint Prosthetics and Orthotics now A digital workflow makes these devices more
relies more heavily on 3D scanning, specifically a Structure.io scanner which accessible by enabling clinicians to create them
attaches to an iPad. A patient’s anatomy can be captured as easily as taking from afar. Less time spent manually producing also
a video or series of photos, and the data is delivered to the orthotist or means more time can be spent with the patient,
prosthetist via email. Rather than manipulating a physical mold or building getting the fit right.
material, Wright or another designer can adjust the data in 3D Systems’ Geo-
magic Freeform before sending it to Additive America for manufacturing.
Artistry Up Front
Once a device has been 3D printed, Wright will finalize it with the patient
to check the fit and add any necessary padding. If there are significant changes
to be made, he can modify the design and have it reprinted. This is a shift
from the way orthotists and prosthetists have traditionally approached the
collaboration with the patient.
“When you’re working with traditional fabrication, there is an artistry
to it. You can take a little bit more material off, smooth a little bit there —
but a lot of that work needs to be done on the backside,” Wright says. “That
takes away some of the time you have with the patient, where you should
be fitting and optimizing. With 3D printing, your quality time with the
patient is significantly increased.”
The digital workflow essentially frontloads the artistry, calling for
creativity up front and bringing design freedoms that help to minimize
changes down the line. There is still skill involved in the fitting step, but
the overall manufacturing process can be consolidated with 3D scanning
and 3D printing. That means patients get their devices more quickly, and
they tend to fit better than conventionally manufactured solutions. When
there is a larger design issue, the clinician can simply tweak the digital file
and quickly have the device printed again, rather than starting completely
from scratch.
This agility between clinician and manufacturing is a America, fuller builds run on a regular schedule also translate to
factor that sets EastPoint and Additive America’s collaboration cost savings. “We’re able to ‘build share’,” Holcomb explains. “We
apart and makes this digital workflow possible. 3D printing take industry parts from automotive, aerospace, consumer goods,
is achieving wider adoption in prosthetics/orthotics, “but it’s short-run production, bridge production and use them as filler
still probably just 40 to 50% of service providers that have parts to go around some of the large prostheses or sockets that go
the scanning capability, and maybe just 10% that are doing into the build. The fact that we’re mixing all types of parts together
manufacturing this way,” Wright says. Other service providers into one build really helps us to reach an economical figure that’s
might have the manufacturing technology to print something palatable.”
like a prosthesis, he notes, but they wouldn’t have the anato- “We distribute that pricing across the whole build, which
my knowledge to tweak the design and fit a device properly. then brings the price of the whole build down,” Wright says.
Likewise, other prosthetic/orthotic firms do have the anatomy
knowledge, but don’t necessarily have the digital technologies Digital Manufacturing for a Flat World
close at hand to make the devices quickly and cost-effectively. The business model seems to be one that works. Since its launch
in 2019, Additive America has grown from three founders to nine
Affordability Through Part Diversity employees. It has built a steady social media following (not by
Speaking of cost, one important thing to note is that MJF accident, Holcomb says) on platforms including LinkedIn and
alone isn’t the whole answer to the “fast and affordable” Instagram. And it has successfully manufactured numerous
question. MJF is fast compared to hand layup or even some orthoses and prostheses, including unique cases such as a helmet
other polymer 3D printing processes, but prostheses and used to protect a cochlear implant during martial arts training.
orthoses tend to be larger parts that use more material and (Learn more about this device and the woman who wears it in a
occupy a bigger footprint inside the build volume. Their forthcoming episode of The Cool Parts Show. See sidebar below.)
size alone makes them more expensive to 3D print, to the The business is proving out the promise of 3D printing that
point that a business making only these items would have a Wright and Holcomb saw from the beginning. But their success is
difficult time justifying their cost. not exclusionary. Instead, Additive America’s founders see what
“Printing these parts alone would be outrageous,” Wright they’ve built as a proof-of-concept workflow for other compa-
says, recounting one of his early conversations with Holcomb. nies and collaborators. It’s also a foundation that enables them
“But, if you print other things alongside, it can work.” to pursue meaningful work elsewhere in the world.
This is why Additive America doesn’t limit the kind of work With digital manufacturing technology, “The world is
it takes on, and why any given batch of parts could contain becoming flat,” Wright says. 3D scanning makes it possible for
industrial prototypes, robot end-of-arm tooling and consumer professionals located in North Carolina to design and produce
products alongside ankle braces and prosthetic sockets. With MJF, parts for patients globally. Wright has already worked on several
each layer is cured all at once — so if print time is dictated by the projects for people located in other parts of the world. In one case,
layers needed for the tallest part in a build, a batch with a large a local contact in Guatemala scanned a group of patients needing
prosthesis will take the same amount of time whether there is just prostheses and sent the data back to Wright in the U.S. (see page
that one part or a hundred others packed in with it. For Additive 35). Additive America printed the needed devices, which Wright
carried with him in a suitcase on a trip to deliver the devices and
perform the needed fittings.
When 3D printing capacity is accessible nearby, the process
can even be done fully remotely. In another instance, Wright
designed a prosthesis for the father of a doctor in India. The two
were able to find local providers with scanning and MJF capability,
so Wright coordinated the manufacturing from afar and walked
the doctor through the fitting process over a Zoom call.
Coming Soon: 3D Printed Headgear That Can Take a Hit As the technology becomes more readily available, Additive
For Sarah Piersanti, receiving a cochlear implant was life-changing in more
than one way. The device restored her hearing, but took away something
America wants to take the digital manufacturing workflow glob-
core to who she is: martial arts. This custom 3D printed helmet enabled her al and see other orthotists and prosthetists applying 3D printing
to resume training without fear of damaging the implant. Hear her story in an
to make these devices. “We want to get the most people help for
upcoming episode of The Cool Parts Show. Subscribe at gbm.media/tcps.
the least amount of money,” Wright says.

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Register Today!
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TECH REVIEW
EOS Introduces NickelAlloy IN939 for Turbine,

Energy Applications
EOS has added a new nickel alloy material to its portfolio
of metal powders available for use in powder bed AM.
EOS NickelAlloy IN939 is a nickel-chromium alloy which
provides a good balance of strength in high-temperature
settings, resistance to corrosion and oxidation, fatigue
performance and creep strength at temperatures up to
850°C (1,560°F).
The material offers greater tensile properties, validation,
reliability and crack-resistance than similar materials
currently on the market, the company says. Parts produced
using EOS NickelAlloy IN939 can also be hardened after
being manufactured by applying precipitation-hardening
heat treatments.
eos.info
3D Systems Introduces High ExOne’s Metal Designlab 3D Printing System

Speed Fusion 3D Printing Features Two-Step Process
3D Systems’ high-speed fusion ExOne’s Metal Designlab printer and X1F advanced furnace is a complete
(HSF) industrial 3D printer platform metal 3D printing system, which features a two-step method of 3D printing and
and material portfolio was devel- sintering water-bound metal parts. ExOne developed the system in partnership
oped in a collaboration with Jabil with Rapidia, a Vancouver, Canada-based technology company founded by Dan
Inc. This HSF family of products, Gelbart, who now serves as a technology advisor to ExOne. The company says
including the Roadrunner 3D printer, the 3D printer operates with the ease of an entry-level plastic printer by utilizing
is designed to provide superior a nozzle to build designs in HydroFuse, a water-based paste containing metal or
economics for throughput industrial ceramic powder. The process efficiency is made possible because HydroFuse does
fused-filament AM. not require debinding before final sintering, which enables water-bound metal and
Through the use of advanced ceramic parts to go directly from a printer into a furnace.
electric motion control, the system exone.com
operates at speeds and precision rapidia.com
levels well beyond current production
platforms, the company says. With
temperature capability and available
build areas greater than many com-
peting systems and combined with
an exceptional materials portfolio,
the Roadrunner system is designed
to address the most demanding
aerospace and advanced automotive
applications.
3dsystems.com

AM / Technology Review
Stratasys’ Carbon Fiber Material is Stronger, Stiffer ABS

Stratasys’ FDM ABS-CF10 is an ABS-based carbon fiber material for its
line of F123 Series 3D printers. It’s the first composite material
developed for that platform. The material properties of FDM ABS-
CF10, featuring 10% chopped carbon fiber,
make it a compelling alternative to
metal parts, the company says.
The material is 15% stronger
and more than 50% stiffer
than standard ABS, without
the weight of metal, and can be
printed with a high degree of accuracy. QSR
Support water-soluble material makes it possible to
3D print intricate and complex parts without time-consum- Inkbit Vista 3D Printing
ing manual support removal. Carbon fiber materials have proven System Offers Vision-
popular on Stratasys’ industrial-scale FDM 3D printers for a variety of Controlled Jetting Solution
end-use applications such as jigs, fixtures and tooling. Inkbit Vista is a first-of-its-kind,
stratasys.com closed-loop feedback additive
manufacturing (AM) ecosystem with
a platform based on scalable inkjet
Desktop Metal’s Studio System 2 Simplifies deposition and 3D machine vision.
Low-Volume Metal 3D Printing Developed at the Massachusetts
Desktop Metal’s Studio System 2 is a simplified, office-friendly metal 3D printing Institute of Technology (MIT), the
technology that makes it easy to print metal parts in low volumes for preproduc- system features a Vision-Controlled
tion and end-use applications. The system is designed to deliver high quality Jetting (VCJ) solution and mul-
end-use metal parts through a more streamlined and accessible process, and timaterial design software which
with a smaller footprint. enables manufacturers to bridge the
The system features Desktop Metal’s Bound Metal Deposition (BMD) tech- gap between prototyping and full-
nology, which is a powder metallurgy-based process in which bound metal rods scale production. The VCJ solution
are used to shape parts layer-by-layer. The system eliminates the use of sol- takes AM to production by enabling
vents through material formulations that enable parts to be transferred directly real-time, in-process, voxel-level
from the printer into the furnace. The company says the result is an accessible control to meet the reliability and
two-step process with a nearly hands-free experience that also reduces con- performance demands of volume
sumables usage. manufacturing, the company says.
desktopmetal.com The technology converges advanced
computational techniques with a
scalable hardware architecture and
materials chemistries to enable ex-
ceptionally low cost-per-part for final
part production.
inkbit3d.com
TECH REVIEW
3D Control Systems’ Zap Workflow Software Graphmatech’s Graphene

Integrates Disparate 3D Systems Technology Enhances Copper
3D Control Systems’ Zap is an AM workflow software powered by AI that inte- Processability
grates disparate 3D printer systems. The company says the software frees users Researchers at Uppsala University
of risk for future technology integrations and eliminates costs for system migra- collaborated with Graphmatech to
tion, deployment and upgrades. improve the printability of copper
The Zap operating system eliminates the burden of dealing with multiple 3D for laser AM. The result is graphene
printing systems that do not talk to each other. The software platform works like technology, which significantly
an operating system which is agnostic to any printer manufacturer software and lowers the reflectivity of copper
design tools in use. The system is designed to integrate and connect disparate 3D powder to achieve more dense
printing systems in a fully automated way that gives managers one easy-to-use printed parts.
software interface. Pure copper has been a challenge
According to the company, the system reduces costs, increases operational in AM due to its high reflectivity. At
efficiency and improves quality through centralization of 3D printer manage- the wavelengths commonly used in
ment, consolidation, integration of disparate systems, printer equipment and laser powder bed fusion (PBF) — a
software platforms. dominant technology in metal AM
This automated workflow platform is said to be well suited for AM factories — only a small part of the energy is
that are looking to address requests that range from automating internal 3D absorbed by the material, resulting
printers to managing external production more efficiently. Zap eliminates cost in low-density printed parts.
variables through integration of all components to provide seamless automated Graphene technology offers a
interaction, resulting in reduced time and cost. solution. By modifying the surface of
Zap is designed to encompass everything operators need to run a factory, the copper powder using graphene,
including ERP, MES, CRM and PLM. This extensive partnership ecosystem has researchers reduced its reflectance
driven full automation, giving users one agnostic cloud-based decentralized by up to 67%, the company says.
manufacturing operating system. The incorporated graphene also
3dcontrolsystems.com survived the printing process to
positively impact the density of the
printed copper graphene parts,
Xuron Hand Tools Cut Filament Flat, Remove Supports significantly reducing their porosity.
Xuron pairs two hand tools for fused filament fabrication-style 3D printers to The research was undertaken by
cut the filament for feeding and for removing postprinting supports. The Xuron Professor Ulf Jansson’s research
Model 170-II Micro-Shear Flush Cutter produces a clean, square cut using group at Angstrom Laboratory,
shear action for trimming filament and cleaning up printed parts. It is ergonom- Uppsala University, with doctoral
ically sized and shaped to fit comfortably in the student Simon Tiden, who recently
hand, while its ultraslim profile increases access won a poster prize at the Swedish
into high-density areas. Xuron’s Model 450 Arena for Additive Manufacturing of
Tweezer-Nose Pliers is an ultra-precise needle Metals Conference for the work.
nose plier capable of grasping and holding wire Graphmatech is now scaling
less than 1 mm thick with the strength for wire up this technology, having already
forming. The tool is strong and durable with made advances in other graphene-
precison-tip alignment and radiused edges to metal composites and coated
protect wire. Both tools are ergonomically powders for AM with other project
designed, and have contoured, nonslip soft partners.
rubber grips and a light touch return spring. graphmatech.com
Made from alloyed steel and hardened for
high reliability and long life, these tools have a
glare-eliminating black finish.
xuron.com

AM / Technology Review
BMF, Materialise Partner on 3D Printing File Editing Software

Boston Micro Fabrication(BMF), a provider of microscale 3D printing systems, has
created a software partnership with Materialise, a global provider of AM printing
solutions. The result is Magics Print for BMF, a tailored, turnkey solution for build
setup and data preparation for BMF’s Projection Micro Stereolithography (PSL)
micro-precision 3D printing systems from Materialise.
This 3D file editing solution improves support structure generation, enabling
more support structure types and styles which are customized for the user’s
unique geometries. The result is greater build success, even more accuracy and
a large reduction of overall preprocessing times, the company says.
Magics Print for BMF performs all
software build preprocessing with Solukon Upgrades Automated
one tool, including STL file import; Powder Removal Units
translate, rotate and scale parts; and for Large Parts
duplicate parts with arrays and orient Solukon is equipping its SFM-AT1000-S
parts using automatic placement. It and SFM-AT800-S depowdering
also supports structure generation units with several new features for
with customizable profiles for point, optimizing the production handling of
line, block, cone and tree support even larger and more complex com-
structures; and creates high-resolu- ponents. Both systems are based on
tion build data (slices/layers) using the Magics Build Processor. The collaboration Solukon’s Smart Powder Recupera-
combines the strengths of Materialise’s 3D file editing software with BMF’s PSL 3D tion (SPR) process, which removes
printing technology to help BMF customers achieve the highest level of residual powder from complex metal
precision and accuracy in AM. The software is designed to deliver a first-class parts by unlimited and programmable
importing, fixing and editing tool for 3D files for BMF customers. Magics Print for part rotation and controlled vibration
BMF gives customers a smooth workflow to easily interface between 3D file in a safety-controlled atmosphere.
generation and the microArch line of micro-precision 3D printers, the company says. Both systems are now reinforced to
bmf3d.com handle parts with larger dimensions.
materialise.com The SFM-AT800-S can now handle
parts with a size up to 600 × 600 × 600
mm (XYZ) and a weight of 300 kg. The
Digital Metal Adds Pure Copper to Metal Binder Jetting System SFM-AT1000-S can now move parts
Digital Metal, a provider of high-precision metal binder jetting systems for with a size up to 600 × 600 × 1,000 mm
industrial use, has added pure copper (DM Cu) to its material offering. Pure (XYZ) and with a weight up to 800 kg.
copper’s excellent thermal and electrical conductivity A remote gimbal control in the form
properties make it well suited for a wide range of of a joystick has been added to both
applications. systems to improve and individualize
A key benefit is that printing with 99.9% pure controlling. By using this device, the
copper brings out the best of the material, compared part can be easily moved along any
to copper alloys commonly used in laser-based imaginal path with variable speed, the
systems, the company says. company says.
Good conductivity, or heat transfer, is a require- The moving path and speed can be
ment in electronics, heat exchangers, heat sinks recorded simultaneously and later be
and engine parts. 3D printing of components in copper used as an automatic
offers more design freedom, enabling design for optimal program for serial cleaning. As in
functionality with very few restrictions. In addition, copper is known for its previous versions, the systems can
antibacterial properties. also save single positions.
digitalmetal.tech solukon.de/en
CHECK THIS OUT Brent Donaldson, Senior Editor
A Giant Leap for 3D Printing

A technician inspects the 3D printed pogo In May 2019, NASA awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a $1.79 billion contract modification
accumulator assembly on an RS-25 devel- for the production of six new RS-25 engines as well as updates to several existing
opment engine at the Aerojet Rocketdyne engines that will be used to propel NASA’s newest heavy lift launch vehicle, the Space
facility located at NASA’s Stennis Space Launch System (SLS).
Center. Photo credits: Aerojet Rocketdyne NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne have already completed hot-fire testing of the new
RS-25 engines outfitted with 3D-printed
vibration dampening devices known as pogo
accumulator assemblies. On their surface, these
“pogos” resemble giant metal balloons. Func-
tionally, they serve a vital role as shock absorbers
that dampen oscillations caused by blasts of
propellants between the vehicle and the engine.
A pogo accumulator assembly stabilizes this
so-called “pogo effect,” which makes it critical
to astronaut and vehicle safety. In fact, it is this
thrust vibration phenomenon that occurred so
violently on the Apollo 6 that it shook off panels
of the lunar module adapter during flight.
The pogo assembly consists of two compo-
nents: the pogo accumulator and pogo-z baffle.
Aerojet Rocketdyne has additively manufac-
tured both components via powder bed fusion
— a feat that eliminated more than 100 welds
and reduced costs by nearly 35% and production
time by more than 80% on the pogo accumu-
lator alone. The company turned to EOS and Concept Laser machines
for the bulk of its metal AM parts — including the pogo, which it prints
with Alloy 718 (also known as Inconel 718) — because this high-strength,
nickel-based super alloy can reliably withstand operating environments,
including not only high pressures but also temperature gradients that
range from negative 423°F to more than 2,400°F.
Alan Fung, senior engineer and additive manufacturing team leader
for Aerojet Rocketdyne, says that one of the greatest benefits of AM ties
directly to the development cycle and lead-time risks that the company
mitigates through simulation software and careful machining processes.
“When you get into SLM (selective laser melting) or when you talk about
these additive processes, you realize, oh, I can increase this blade angle a
little bit,” Fung says. “You can do that in development. You can incorpo-
rate it and you’re not locked into the geometry.”
RS-25 engine inspection inside the engine

assembly room at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s
Stennis Space Center facility.

THE COOL
PARTS
ARTS
P
showw
sh
sho
PRESENTED
S BY
Y
n
Sea so
From Deep Space to
Inside the Human Body
4
The Cool Parts Show Season 4 is
exploring the outer limits of what 3D
printing can do. The award-winning
show is back with more episodes than
ever before.
Join us as we discover how

additive technology is
changing manufacturing
and why it’s so cool.
I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H
carpenteradditive.com
Carpenter Additive is a fully integrated metal
additive manufacturing (AM) partner, working with
customers throughout their additive production.
Watch Season 4 at:

TheCoolPartsShow.com
A PROPERTY OF:
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Easy finishing thanks to reduced sand adhesion
AUTOMATED DESANDING STATION

reduces unpacking time by up to 95%
WATCH THE VIDEO:

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