3D PRINTING & ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INTELLIGENCE

MAG 3D Systems
breaks the
EUROPE EDITION
VOLUME 29 ISSUE 4
mould on
www.tctmagazine.com
plastic AM
production.

REDEFINING
PRODUCTION
Heavy culture diversity
industry Digital technologies in The story of the original
Shell, Aidro & GE talk additive cultural heritage women in 3D printing
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VOLUME 29 ISSUE 4
ISSN 1751-0333

EDITORIAL
HEAD OF CONTENT
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FROM THE EDITOR
SAM DAVIES
You can’t
be what you
can’t see
Increasingly, typing those seven
words into your preferred search
engine is returning more and more
results. There are opinion pieces
titled with the phrase, books and
TEDx Talks too. And it’s a point
being applied in several industries,
from politics to the media to STEM.
Though the phrase may be at risk
of becoming cliché, it contains an
abundance of truth for so many
women, people of colour and
other typically underrepresented
demographics in a range of
environments. Through the work
of groups like Women in 3D
Printing, the myriad of articles that
have carried the discourse in this
publication and others, and the
discussions at industry events, it
won’t have escaped your notice
that the additive manufacturing
(AM) industry – like many others –
isn’t as diverse as it might be.
This edition of the magazine, while
focusing on AM in heavy industry,
looking at cultural applications of
the technology and honing in on
colour 3D printing, also highlights
diversity as an ‘industry challenge’.
Previous editions have featured
‘business case justification’ and
‘standards’ as industry challenges,
while future editions will look at
‘sustainability’ and ‘education’. We
feel as though diversity is of equal
importance in this space as all of
those other issues.
Under the diversity banner
within this magazine, MakerBot’s
Manager of People and Culture
Mina Lee does a great job of
spelling out why that is, citing
some worrying statistics relating
to the number of women who
leave STEM sectors after five years
and pointing out that only around
from the editor
one in ten of us working in AM are
female. She also goes on to outline
how companies can do more to
retain women and people of colour,
emphasising the importance of
cultivating a sense of belonging for
all. In a single company, she writes,
that responsibility falls to the people
at the top.
But in an industry, it’s on all of us.
Over the next 35 pages, you’ll
be able to read about Shell’s
application of AM, led by 3D Printing
Technology Manager Angeline
Goh (Page 12); the impact of Valeria
Tirelli’s decision to integrate the
technology into Aidro Hydraulics’
production methods (P15); and
how Edwell John Jr, a Tlingit clan
leader, is bringing together Native
Americans, museums and the
latest technologies to facilitate
repatriation efforts (P22). We’ve also
been speaking to several women
who have been working in additive
since the early days (P30); and
there’s many more diverse voices
across the rest of this mag’s heavy
industry, design AM and culture
content.
In Mina Lee’s column, she
emphasises the importance of
embracing difference, and the
people who have contributed
their voices to this magazine are
testament to why that’s a good idea.
If the environment is inclusive, talent
will come. If talent is comfortable,
then it can prosper. If the AM
industry is diverse, then it has a
much better chance – now and in
the future – of breaking down the
barriers of those other industry
challenges.
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 05
3D PRINTING & ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INTELLIGENCE

28

29

30

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Discover your application
Learn from user success stories
Understand capabilities and limitations
Choose the right solution
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Consider enterprise adoption
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 ISSUE 4
VOLUME 29
33

COVER STORY
22 CULTURE
8
08. REDEFINING
PRODUCTION
3D Systems highlights
22. REPATRIATIONS &
the progress being made
RESTORATIONS
with AM applications
TCT 3SIXTY
thanks to production-
Senior Content Producer Sam Davies
talks to museums, researchers and
33 PREVIEW
grade resins.
Native American clan leaders about the
use of digital technologies in cultural 33. A 360-DEGREE VIEW
11 NEWS
heritage.

27. SMOOTH SAILING

11. ADDITIVE INSIGHT ROUND-UP
The latest additive manufacturing
industry developments.
HEAVY 12
INDUSTRY
12. SHELL, SPARE PARTS
AND SUPPLY CHAIN
Shell’s Angeline Goh shares thoughts
on the energy company’s use of AM.
15. EMBRACING CHANGE
Aidro Hydraulics CEO Valeria Tirelli
discusses the company’s pioneering
efforts with AM in the hydraulics sector.
We preview the must-see exhibits
and conference highlights at the UK's
How 3D technologies are being used leading additive event: TCT 3Sixty.
in the conservation of the oldest known
colonial Australian-built boat ever to be
excavated. Expert 38
Column
28 38. STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT
DIVERSITY IS AN ACQUIRED TASTE
28. INTENTIONAL INCLUSION ASTM’s Mohsen Seifi provides his
MakerBot’s Mina Lee outlines how insights into the development of AM
AM companies can develop a more standards.
inclusive and diverse workplace.
30. THE ORIGINAL WOMEN OF 3D
Laura speaks to several women who 8
were developing technologies and
using machines in AM's early days.

17. ‘CRISIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY’

GE Additive and GE Aviation discuss
the additive manufacture of like-for-like
turbine components.

18 DESIGN AM
18. SETTING THE TONE
We take a look at developments
in full-colour 3D printing.

22
 REDEFINING P
AM production with high performance plastics and batch productivity.

W
hile additive
manufacturing has SHOWN:
traditionally been used TOYOTA GAZOO RACING MANUFACTURED THIS AUTOMOTIVE
GRILL CNC FIXTURE USING 3D SYSTEMS’ NEW ACCURA AMX
as a prototyping tool, RIGID BLACK – ACHIEVING A LONG-LASTING PRODUCTION PART
its rapid maturation in recent years WITH SMOOTH SIDEWALLS & SUPERIOR ISOTROPIC STRENGTH
has encouraged many manufacturers
to adopt the technology for end-
use production parts across a range
of applications. Much has changed
with the technology, including the
development of additive manufacturing
processes and materials that are
capable of meeting manufacturers’
standards for factors such as
repeatability, reliability, accuracy,
surface finish, and more. Specifically,
advancements from 3D Systems are
making it possible to rapidly iterate
and produce durable, repeatable parts,
not just using thermoplastics, but now
also with advanced photopolymers
with long-term stability of mechanical
properties in both indoor and outdoor
environments, which was previously
not possible.

3D Systems’ materials scientists

are engineering materials that are
expanding the applications for additive
manufacturing. Its rapidly growing
portfolio of production-grade industrial
resins for the Figure 4 printing solution
are designed specifically for both batch-
run, end-use part manufacturing, as
well as functional and design aesthetic
prototyping applications. These
materials feature long-term mechanical “This is a real
performance and stability – up to eight
years indoor and one and a half years
game-changer
in outdoor environments – and are
suitable for demanding applications in
for production
industries such as consumer electronics, manufacturing.”
automotive and motorsports, healthcare,
industrial goods, and aerospace and
defence.

These advancements go beyond the manufactured parts with exceptional

Figure 4 platform. 3D Systems is also
bringing these new material capabilities
to its stereolithography (SLA) platforms
with new production-grade acrylate
resin, Accura AMX Rigid Black, which
was inspired in part by the advanced
production application requirements
of TOYOTA Gazoo Racing (TGR). This
tough, long-lasting material is the
first to produce large-scale additively
resolution, accuracy, and surface quality
capable of withstanding the rigours of
long-term mechanical use.
According to Alexander Liebold,
Group Leader, Production Engineering
& Future Technologies at TGR-E, Accura
AMX Rigid Black allows TGR to deliver
larger, complex stereolithography parts,
including full-scale manufacturing aids.

08 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4

PRODUCTION
6BELOW:
HIGH-DENSITY VERTICAL STACKING
IN 3D SYSTEMS’ 3D SPRINT ENABLES
BATCH-RUN PRODUCTION ON ITS
FIGURE 4 TECHNOLOGY
6BOTTOM LEFT:
FIGURE 4 SOLUTION WITH 3D SPRINT
STACKING FEATURE ENABLES BATCH-
RUN PRODUCTION AT DECATHLON
“Using Accura AMX Rigid Black
we achieved 90% time savings and
60% cost savings in comparison to
the previous handwork processes
for a batch of 40 parts,” said
Liebold. “Unlike other additive
production technologies, parts in
Accura AMX Rigid Black provide
very smooth sidewalls and
superior isotropic strength, critical
for accurate jigs and fixtures that
are in constant use. Now we can
turn around any large-scale part
and be confident it will perform as
required, for as long as we need.
This is a real game-changer for
production manufacturing.”
Efficient Batch-Volume
Production with Additive
Manufacturing
Even with these advancements,
there is more to being production-
ready than material properties.
Production volumes are also a
significant piece of the equation.
3D Systems has solved this as well
with a software feature it calls high-
density stacking, and it has been
tested and validated as a viable
production technology by the largest
sporting goods retailer in the world.
When faced with a mould injection
problem on a small component for
shooting glasses that connects
the frame to the lenses, French
company Decathlon opted to test 3D
Systems’ new 3D stacking solution
to evaluate additive manufacturing
for production. The stacking
feature helps users print high
volume batches with an efficient file
preparation workflow that results in
more parts out of the printer in less
time.
Decathlon’s additive manufacturing
lab (ADDLAB) uses 3D Systems’
Figure 4 solution across a range
of applications, and according
to Decathlon materials engineer
Gregoire Mercusot, stacking has
reduced print preparation time by
as much as 80 percent: “By stacking
parts we are able to print in batches
of 100, and have reduced the time it
takes to prepare a build from 30 to
60 minutes to just six to ten minutes,”
said Mercusot.
Additive Manufacturing Provides
Depth and Breadth to Traditional
Manufacturing
While additive manufacturing is
unlikely to entirely replace traditional
manufacturing modes used for
the highest production volumes,
advances in production-grade
materials, technology and software
have made it economically viable for
manufacturers that require greater
breadth of production; significant
quantities of initial series production,
post-series production, and spare
parts production. This technology
is also making it possible for
manufacturers to increase the depth
and flexibility of their production
process, even as they are delivering
parts with greater cost efficiency.
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 09
COVER STORY
The mould injection problems
Decathlon was having during
previous production runs of its
shooting glasses component are
something it is now equipped to
avoid. After conducting a feasibility
study on the Figure 4 solution
and stacking feature, Decathlon’s
teams confirmed the productivity
and economics of additive
manufacturing and decided that
this solution could be considered
for batch-run production of the final
product.
The high-density stacking
capability of Figure 4 brings
efficiencies of scale to post-
processing as well as part building,
allowing Decathlon to treat a batch
of parts the same as a single part.
This means the time it would take
Decathlon to clean, cure, and
remove the supports from a single
part remains the same, even for a
batch of 100 parts. Decathlon uses
the Figure 4 Modular system to print
stacks of 100 parts in 85 minutes,
which is equivalent to just 42
seconds per part. For Decathlon’s
safety glass application, it takes six
minutes to clean all 100 parts, 90
minutes of hands-free time to cure
them, and ten minutes to remove
supports from the entire batch.
“The combination of stacking and
production-grade materials makes
Figure 4 ready for production,”
remarked Mercusot.
The growing speed, accuracy, and
versatility of additive manufacturing
positions it more and more as an
ideal solution for modern industrial
production needs — either for
complex, multi-part assemblies
or small yet vital single plastic
components. With 3D Systems’
innovative additive manufacturing
technology, as well as its wide
portfolio of tough, durable,
production-grade plastics, it’s time
to consider incorporating AM into
your production workflows.

Rawlings & Carbon: Innovation for Ultimate Performance
Introducing the
Rawlings’ REV1X
Ultra-lightweight, form-fitting
and game-ready –– a glove
that consistently gives you
unmatched playability across
the field. The Rawlings
REV1X rewrites glove history,
while shaping its future,
made possible with the
Carbon DLS™ process.
Additive manufacturing
continues to revolutionize
the performance and
protection capabilities
of products through
new designs previously
unmakeable by traditional
manufacturing methods.
The latest company to
unlock new innovation in
their products is Rawlings
Sporting Goods, with the
development of the Rawlings
REV1X.
Innovation for Ultimate
Performance
Rawlings wanted to make
a new glove that would
revolutionize defensive play
with several innovative,
performance-driven
technologies. Traditional
gloves can take weeks or
even months to become
game-ready, but Rawlings
sought to reduce this time
without compromising on
durability so that the glove
would maintain its shape
and playing form longer.
Additionally, it’s critical that
the catching pocket be soft
and complemented by a
stiff pinky and thumb to give
the player confidence and
control while securing the
ball on the diamond.
Traditional methods of
glove construction utilize
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
felt inserts to reinforce the
thumb and pinky but in
order to meet these new
high-performance standards,
Rawlings needed a material
that would allow fine control
over the stiffness without
increasing weight
Rawlings turned to Carbon
and the DLS process to
design and print precision-
tuned lattice stabilizers that
would achieve this. Carbon’s
FPU 50 material provides
the optimal stiffness-to-
weight ratio. FPU 50’s
malleability allows the glove
to conform to the player’s
hand and maintain its ideal
shape longer than traditional
materials. The result is an
ultra-lightweight, professional
glove that can be game-
ready faster and stay game-
ready longer.
Rawlings’ REV1X
performance stats
30% Reduction in Weight
2X Stiffness to Weight Ratio
21% Tougher than Felt
Carbon DLS: A Platform
For Success
The Rawlings’ REV1X is the
physical embodiment of
Rawlings’ desire to enhance
player performance across
the diamond with new
methods of construction and
advanced technologies. It’s a
game-changing technology
that’s here to stay and thanks
to Rawlings’ relentless
pursuit of innovation and the
Carbon DLS ecosystem.
High-performance
products faster
Even with over 130 years
of glove-making expertise,
Rawlings realizes that
challenging the existing
standards of design is
no small task. Carbon’s
application development
team collaborated closely
with Rawlings’ team of
designers, blending their
creativity and Carbon
DLS design expertise
with Rawlings’ in-depth
knowledge of glove
manufacturing.
Visit the Carbon website
www.carbon3d.com to learn
about Rawlings’ story, and
download a free copy of the
Carbon DLS™ Playbook to
discover insights on how to
bring innovative products to
market faster.

ADDITIVE INSIGHT
ROUND-UP
Laura Griffiths provides a rundown of the biggest AM news and developments.
ADDITIVE GOES PUBLIC
The list of AM companies going
public continues to grow as Freemelt,
Fathom and Fast Radius join the likes of
Markforged, Xometry and Desktop Metal
on the stock exchange. It points to the
continued maturation of the industry but
what’s notable about this most recent
cohort is an emphasis on decentralised
and on-demand manufacturing
capabilities. After pandemic related
disruptions caused companies to rethink
their supply chains, and AM’s potential
role within it, these listings suggest it’s a
trend set to continue and is perhaps why
companies like Colorado-based Precision
Additive have recently decided to launch
an industrial 3D printing service citing
the “enormous potential of 3D printing
is to reshape supply chains, reduce
manufacturing costs and lead times.”
AM HITS A HOME RUN
Speaking of Fast Radius, the digital
manufacturing provider was recently
enlisted by baseball glove manufacturer
Rawlings to 3D print a new optimised
design using Carbon technology. The
ultra-lightweight, form fitting REV1X
series is said to represent a "significant
evolution" in glove design.
Glaze Prosthetics is also reaping the
benefits of a digital workflow by bringing
its prosthetic arm production process
in-house. The installation of a HP Multi Jet
Fusion 580 is said to have significantly
reduced development time with Glaze
now able to produce and deliver
customised prosthetics within 7-14 days.
Elsewhere in medical, Desktop Metal’s
Desktop Health brand has announced the
acquisition of PhonoGraft, a technology
that is being developed for damaged
eardrum reconstruction. It follows a string
of acquisitions from the company including
takeovers of EnvisionTEC, Adaptive3D and
most recently Aerosint.
Further emphasising AM’s widespread
adoption, this month, Farsoon revealed
that its global install base of polymer and cutting-edge technology” for the
metal systems has surpassed 500, with
more than 80 large-format metal systems
installed with aerospace and automotive
customers, two sectors where Farsoon
Global Director, Don Xu said the company will supply components to the
is seeing “increasing demand of large
volume functional parts fabrication.”
SHOWN:
SPEE3D TO START 3D
PRINTING ROCKET ENGINES
SPACE RACE
As the space tourism race heats
up, AM is also getting in on the
action as SPEE3D bags $1.5m+ in
funding to produce rocket engines
with its super-fast cold spray metal
3D printing process. It’s an area
AM is poised to tackle thanks to
expanding materials portfolios and
build chambers which now make it
possible to manufacture large-scale
assemblies. In a recent interview
with TCT, TRUMPF Industry
Manager Eliana Fu emphasised the
trend and said AM is “opening up
the possibility of more spaceflight
for more people.”
Bringing it slightly back down
to Earth, AM Global GmbH has
launched its Aviation AM Centre
in a bid to provide “tailored
solutions, efficient processes and
aviation industry, while Burloak
Technologies has announced the
opening of a second AM facility
with Carpenter Technology which
aerospace, transportation, defence
and energy sectors. Here in the UK,
news

SHOWN:
FARSOON’S INSTALL FIGURES
SURPASS 500 MACHINES
TCT took an exclusive tour of another new facility,
the Digital Manufacturing Centre, which aims to
provide digital solutions to customers in motorsport,
aerospace and beyond.
WHAT’S NEW?
Despite a lack of opportunities to show off
new wares in-person, the AM launches have
kept coming. Roboze has announced its ARGO
1000 platform which has been designed to
produce large-scale parts with “super polymers
and composites.” Meanwhile, 3D Systems has
introduced a new Accura AMX Rigid Black SLA 3D
printing material for long-term end-use parts, which
you can read more about in our cover story (and,
at the time of writing, has announced the sale of its
Medical Simulation Business, Simbionix, in order to
focus solely on AM), and Nexa3D has announced
the launch of an automated washer system along
with a new dental material developed by BASF
Forward AM. As you’ll see on page 33, there’ll be
plenty more to come at TCT 3Sixty this September.
For more, subscribe to our Additive Insight
podcast: mytct.co/TCTPodcast
Read these stories in full: mytct.co/AMnews
SHOWN:
THE PHONOGRAFT DEVICE
COULD ENABLE LONG-LASTING
EARDRUM RECONSTRUCTION
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 011
 SHELL, SPARE P
WORDS: LAURA GRIFFITHS

& SUPPLY CHAIN

O
il and gas giant Shell has been
deploying 3D printing at its Lloyd’s
Register-qualified Amsterdam-based
facility since 2011. Here, Angeline Goh
(AG), Shell’s 3D Printing Technology Manager
speaks to TCT about supply chain, digital
warehousing and introducing new technology to a
traditional industry.

TCT: Shell’s 3D printing focus is on spare parts,

novel designs, and visualisation. Can you talk
about any particular components or projects that
have shown the advantages AM affords?
AG: The case we worked on in Shell Nigeria is an
example of how one could extend equipment life
by replacing just what is absolutely needed and in
doing so, reducing production downtime and risk
in performing the maintenance work. [Editor: For
this particular case, engineers used 3D scanning
and printing to replace the polymer seal cover
on the mooring buoy of an offshore structure in
just two weeks and achieved a maintenance cost
saving of 90%.]

At a different site, we experienced a few valves

that were obsolete and where repair kits were
not available. We were able to successfully
print the valve internals and continue to use the
valves, instead of throwing these away as scrap
metal. This presents an agility for us to respond
to our operational needs as we have assets that
are aging and reaching end of life. AM presents
an option to extend the use of equipment and
reduces precious resources to produce new
spare parts. We are therefore very keen to review
repairing parts via 3D printing.
Another way that AM supports our operations
with the shorter lead-time to obtaining parts, is
that it creates a shift towards buying just-in-time
as opposed to just-in-case. The traditional way of
buying spare parts at the onset of installing new
equipment, may not be necessary if we could
print the required parts with the same or improved
quality. Spare parts stored in a warehouse require
proper storage and preservation and do not
provide agility when operating conditions change
and the original spare parts may no longer be
suitable.
TCT: How easy or challenging is it to get a new
AM part from design to production and finally
installed at Shell?
AG: This is dependent on the type of spare part as
well as location. We have a preference to source a
3D printed part for our end users closer to the site
of the repair and maintenance. The distribution
of qualified service providers could be limited in
some regions.
For example, the non-critical and polymer part
that we executed for Shell Nigeria took two
weeks from scanning the part to printing, to
testing and packing for shipment, even though
no technical drawings or documentations were
available. However, for functional parts with high
criticality, we ensure rigour is built into starting
with a build process qualification and this takes
additional time in the process. The administration
of the procurement process requires time, so the
ideal situation is when this is already established
upfront.
TCT: Shell’s 3D printing strategy is not to
manufacture parts itself. How are you qualifying
partners and OEMs to source 3D printed
components?
AG: Shell has a quality management system in
which we qualify vendors for materials that we
use in our operations. This process already exists.
In the case of 3D printing, we adhere to the build
process qualification with vendors as per the DNV
standard for additive manufacturing of metallic
parts [DNV GL ST 203]. There are many service

012 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4


PARTS
N
providers for 3D printing but not many
with experience to print functional parts
for the energy sector and it is important
that we have confidence that the service
providers can supply quality parts for our
operations.
3LEFT:
3D PRINTED PRESSURE VESSEL
TCT: Can you talk about the benefits that
digital warehousing and AM can provide
within Shell's supply chain?
AG: Having in-house 3D printing capacity
6BELOW:
was an advantage for us during the
ANGELINE GOH, SHELL
pandemic as we could support the
community with printing medical devices
required by front-line workers.
Digital warehousing combined with
distributed manufacturing will provide
delivery time reduction for spare parts
required by our operations and allows
for buying and manufacturing what we
truly need. Having a digital copy of the
spare parts ensures that we have a way to
produce what we need, and not run into
obsolesces.
TCT: Are there any challenges that may
prohibit the acceleration of AM within the
energy sector?
AG: Standards bodies and organisations
that are responsible for international
standards and legislation are still playing
catch up to provide the necessary
guidance and approve for the use
SHOWN: of 3D printed parts in energy sector.
3D PRINTED MODEL OF A HIGH-
PRESSURE ELECTROCHEMICAL For example, work is still ongoing in
COMPRESSOR our service conditions and pressure
equipment, etc. As an industry, we do not
yet have a standardised way to qualify
AM service providers yet.
TCT: Can you talk about the process
of converting a traditional industry to a
digital mindset?
AG: Tremendous effort is taken to ensure
a high level of technical assurance when
introducing new technology, including
3D printing. We are a heavily regulated
industry and introduction of technology
needs to be done with a management
of change process, and risk mitigation
is detailed and thorough. We take our
time where needed in implementing
technology. Here is where knowledge
sharing across the industry can help in
providing a level of confidence on what
has been investigated and proven to
work.
We pride ourselves on our engineering
skills. We would rise to the challenge
of commissioning the world's largest
floating liquefied natural gas platform
and apply the same penchant of detailed
HEAVY INdustry
“Having a digital
copy of the spare
parts ensures that
we have a way to
produce what
we need.”
planning, analysis, and data acquisition to
devise a perfect solution. Diversity in the team
and multi-disciplinary approach, including
the involvement of external partners towards
introduction and scaling up of new technology
helps us to gain external perspective and
ensure risks have been evaluated from
different angles and managed.
TCT: What opportunities for sustainability do
you see AM bringing to Shell?
AG: One may argue that in AM, transportation
of the raw materials such as powder and
wires are still required, so the emission issue
remains. The game changer here is instead of
shipping multiple spare parts to a warehouse
only when we need it, only a fraction of the
weight in powder is shipped to print what
we really need. Ideally, the design has also
been optimised so less material is required
and higher integrity and performance of the
part can be achieved. It is about extending
the equipment life, being able to repair a
part rather than to throw away a piece of
equipment because a small spare part is not
available. These steps add up quickly towards
responsible use of resources.
Additionally, we see AM as a possible
technology to recycle materials, such as end of
life windmills whereby blades can be grinded
to create feedstock back to 3D printing instead
of going to a landfill. This applies to electrical
as well as organic waste material.
TCT: To date, Shell has installed over 50 3D
printed spare parts. Can you give us a sense
of Shell’s ambitions with 3D printing and how
much you envision that number growing?
AG: We move away from setting a hard target
for 3D printed parts as we believe it should
be value-driven and achieving the objective
of solving problems for our operations. Right
now, the demand and growth in the number of
parts have grown exponentially [compared to]
when we started and we are moving onwards
digitalising the inventory at our sites.
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 013
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EMBRACING CHANGE
Senior Content Producer Sam Davies talks to Aidro Hydraulics CEO
Valeria Tirelli about the company’s five-year journey with metal AM.
I
n the office of a small Italian hydraulics
manufacturer lies an American trade
magazine, left open on a double
page spread where one company
has celebrated a special anniversary by
placing two adverts, side by side, of the
same product. One was from 70 years
ago, the other from the present day,
not that you would be able to tell the
difference by the design of the part.
This, along with a constant ‘spirit
of innovation’, served as inspiration
for Valeria Tirelli, the CEO of Aidro
Hydraulics, as she looked to evolve the
company’s manufacturing methods.
Aidro, a team of just 15 people based
in Italy’s Lombardy region, has been
producing hydraulics products and parts
since 1982. In 2012, Tirelli took the reins
from her father, Paolo, and five years
later she would make the bold move
of integrating additive manufacturing
technology into the business to produce
some of its end-use products.
“At that time, there were no other
companies in hydraulics using 3D printing
for hydraulics parts,” Tirelli told TCT.
“There were companies using 3D printing
for tooling or sand moulds, for example,
but to create functional parts with additive
manufacturing was completely new. We
were a kind of pioneer.”
As the company – who for 35 years had
used conventional means to manufacture
its hydraulics products – blazed
the additive trail, it pitched up at
Hannover Messe. Its modestly
sized booth, however, didn’t put
off the wide eyes of some of the
biggest industrial companies
around. Tirelli’s rolodex grew
by the hour, as attendees from
the motorsports, robotics
and energy sectors queued
up to learn how the
company was using
additive manufacturing
to produce its parts.
After nearly five years of
using the EOS M290 platform with
its 400 W laser, the company can now
tell interested parties about its 3D printed
hydraulic spools, hydraulic valve blocks,
heat exchangers and high-pressure
hydraulic manifolds. With redesigned
products like these, weight reductions
up to around 75-85% are common, part
“Since we
introduced AM, we
have faced a real
transformation.”
consolidations too, as are a range of
performance benefits.
A pressure reducing valve body, for
example, was consolidated down to
one component with a weight reduction
of 60% and printed in stainless steel,
maraging steel and aluminium. The
stainless-steel version offered a high
corrosion resistance, making it suitable
for application in the oil & gas and
maritime sectors, while the maraging
steel product provided extra strength
and toughness. Meanwhile, the addition
of new holes forms in a hydraulic spool
product enabled the passing area of
oil inside the spool to be increased
to improve performance, and newly
integrated internal channels inside a
hydraulic valve
block ensured
better flow and
space savings.
Aidro has
HEAVY INdustry
also enjoyed designing curved channels
with additive to replace the 90-degree
intersection angles that had to be produced
with traditional methods.
“When you have to connect to a channel
in conventional machining, the intersection
is at 90 degrees, and there is less pressure,
some pressure drops, some dead zone,”
Tirelli said. “With additive manufacturing,
we are able to create the coolant channel
exactly how we need, and we have a better
performance, less pressure drops, and we
avoid the auxiliary [drillings] that are normally
a potential leakage of the oils in conventional
machining. So, we have a safer part.”
These design changes, Tirelli believes,
have resulted in products that are safer for
the agricultural industry, because they’re
less likely to leak; more environmentally
friendly for the transport sectors, because
of the weight reductions; and matching or
bettering the performance of the traditional
products across the board. The company
has also committed to carrying out lifecycle
assessment analysis to accurately measure
the carbon footprint impact, while its ISO
9001 certification ensures the quality of
each product it manufactures. Aidro is also
exploring virtual warehousing and is part of
F3nice’s efforts to recycle obsolete parts as
raw material.
Introducing additive manufacturing into
the business has been significant for Aidro,
whose optimism for the future is rooted in the
performance demonstrated by additive
manufacturing over the last five
years. It has helped to achieve
important design changes
and product enhancements;
drawn the interest of the
likes of Porsche, Equinor,
Shell and Boston Dynamics;
and resulted in the company
signing more than 150 NDAs in
five years. Oh, and it will mean
that Aidro is never likely to be
found advertising the same
product with the same design 70
years apart.
“Since we introduced additive
manufacturing,” Virelli finished, “we have
faced a real digital transformation. This is our
experience. But it’s not only a new way to
produce parts, it’s really a new mindset and
this changes the way we work every day.”
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 015
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‘CRISIS IS AN
OPPORTUNITY’
C
OVID-19 is sweeping across
the globe as the decision
makers at GE Additive and
GE Aviation convene in one
of many urgent meetings. Such were the
ranging impacts of a pandemic gathering
momentum, production was being
suspended in GE Aviation factories and
external suppliers were making tough calls
on which products to discontinue.
It led the services personnel, design
engineers and additive engineers in
that meeting to have a think about how
things could be done differently; how to
positively impact their engine programmes
when the world was being turned upside
down. It led to the production of four land/
marine turbine bleed air components to
be switched from casting to metal additive
manufacturing.
Despite GE’s renowned history with
metal 3D printing, as GE Additive’s
Customer Success Engineering Leader
Steve Slusher explains, this is not the kind
of decision that the company takes lightly.
“The story has to be really compelling
for us to switch over traditionally
manufactured parts of existing product
lines to additive,” he says. “And those
factors can be a cost play, it could be a
supplier is no longer quoting the parts, so
they’re no longer going to make the parts,
it could be a yield problem with the current
process.”
WORDS: SAM DAVIES
“Additive
technology
benefits the
company on
multiple levels.”
In this instance, it was a bit of
everything. The project was born
out of an availability/ sourcing issue,
but quickly became a cost play too.
Supplying the parts for the LM9000
land/marine turbine to Baker Hughes,
GE was able to print four components
– all measuring around 3.5 inches
in diameter and 6 inches in height –
within the same build on a Concept
Laser M2 machine. This allowed GE to
‘get our machine hours per part into a
very desirable state’ and ensure the
parts were cost competitive. Moreover,
each component was a one-to-one
replacement of the traditionally made
part, with no part consolidation and
little-to-no redesign. They were also
built vertically with only two of the
four components requiring support
structures, helping to ensure a
seamless transition from a casting
configuration to an additive one.
“This sounds almost unbelievable for
an additive part, but we started with
HEAVY INdustry
the models for the casting itself and built those
internally, processed them and we had very little
to no nonconformances based on the geometry
coming out of the gate,” says Jeff Eschenbach,
Senior Project Manager and Project Lead at
GE Aviation’s Auburn facility. “Design did want
to do some tweaks to make it a little bit more
appropriate to meet their design needs, but they
were not wholesale changes, and we were able to
accommodate those and print exactly what they
want. And the parts looked very good almost first
time.”
Eschenbach is considered the first point of
contact when wanting to bring an additively
manufactured part into high volume production
at GE Aviation’s Auburn site in Alabama. This
facility is the ‘high-volume additive facility’ for
GE Aviation, with applications being developed
elsewhere and passed onto the team at Auburn
when deemed ready to go into production. That
was the journey the LEAP fuel nozzle tip went on
just a year after the Auburn site opened, and it has
been the same for many other components since,
including these turbine bleed air parts.
With most other production at the site
suspended, the project team moved much quicker
through post-processing, inspection and ‘getting
the application to the finish line.’ They did so inside
ten months, while it might previously take as long
as 18 months when developing turbine parts, and
project cost savings of around 35%.
“The reduction in the design phase enables
the additive technology to benefit the business
on multiple levels,” offers Kelly Brown, now the
Engineering Operations Leader for GE Additive
after leading the bleed air component project at
the beginning. “It saves cost in the implementation
– that’s a simple time and money conversation
of less development time, less people working
on the programme – but then you really absorb
those savings as a business from the minute it’s
ready to move forward. So, you look at reduction
of costs for the casting itself, depending on which
parts can also require less energy, less materials,
less plant space, less resources to produce the
same parts additively. If you look holistically, those
are all good things and that’s how you make the
decision.”
Having accelerated the programme during the
pandemic, GE is now set to use this project in
Auburn as a template with a ‘bank of parts to go
after next.’
“Crisis is an opportunity,” says Slusher, “and
that’s what we took advantage of down there.”
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 017
 SETTING TH
T
he turn of the millennium brought about
many changes. While our aeroplanes
remained in the sky despite fears of the
Y2K bug, advancements in technology
would see the rise of the internet, and with it
things like social media and mobile apps. Buying
music would become a thing of the past, as would
our tendency to read words like these in print
publications. It also coincided with the launch of
colour 3D printing, meaning rapid prototypers would
soon have an alternative to building parts layer-by-
layer in monochrome.
Pioneering that particular movement was Z Corp.
By the time the company had been acquired by
3D Systems 12 years later, its colour 3D printing
technology was enabling the likes of LAIKA to start
applying colour during the build rather than painting
parts in post-production. But LAIKA’s Director of
Rapid Prototyping Brian McLean would tell TCT
in 2018 that, even by the time it was working on
Paranorman (2012), they found colour 3D printing
technology to be inconsistent ‘from print to print.’
It wasn’t just the users who had reservations about
the technology. RIZE CTO Eugene Giller worked as a
Senior R&D Chemist at Z Corp between 2005-2010,
and he too had been unsatisfied with the quality of
the parts Z Corp’s colour technology would output.
“I always thought it should be a technology that
could provide a fully functional colour part, not just
form,” the RIZE founder told TCT. “For me, it was all
about strength.”
Today, there are a host of companies supplying
colour 3D printers to market, including RIZE,
Stratasys, HP and Mimaki. The latter launched the
3DUJ-553 platform with its capacity to print ‘more
than 10 million colours’ in 2018 and followed it up
with the smaller format 3DUJ-2207 system in 2020.
Its larger 3DUJ-553 machine boasts a build volume
of 500 x 500 x 300 mm and uses a UV-curable
inkjet process to print parts in full colour. White and
clear inks can also be mixed with colours to add
transparency, while water-soluble materials enable
post-processing times of just a couple of minutes.
Dutch service provider Marketiger was among the
first users of Mimaki’s colour 3D printing technology.
As of late 2019, the company was producing up
to 20,000 custom figurines every year, though a
second 3DUJ-553 was installed in early 2020. With
the machine’s automatic cleaning sequence and
queuing capabilities, Marketiger is able to print at up
to 72 hours in a row without touching the printer, but
generally sticks to overnight print jobs.
Because of the nature of its core business –
custom figurines based on 3D scans of people – the
company targets 100% yield. To ensure everyone
who scans themselves gets a 3D printed full colour
model, Marketiger only starts manufacturing models
018 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4
once it has confirmed the quality of the scans and
editing of the models. But once the print button is hit
at Marketiger, it barely stops.
“My company is built on this machine running
24/7,” Marketiger Director Maikel de Wit told TCT at
Formnext 2019. “It causes some issues because it’s
a new technology, but we’re able to get this machine
above 80% utilisation on a 24/7 basis.”
Evidently, much progress has been made in colour
3D printing over the years. With the inaccuracies
and supposed brittleness of early colour 3D printed
parts, building a business around the technology
as Marketiger has with Mimaki’s tech was hardly
possible. Yet, the companies bringing the technology
to market know there is still more to be done.
Giller has always been of that mindset. He
founded RIZE, in part, because he wasn’t happy
with the quality of components coming off Z Corp
printers. Yet, he has always had faith in the potential
of colour 3D printing. In starting RIZE, Giller has
aimed to deliver a printer that can operate in any
environment to deliver functional parts in full colour
that require minimal post-processing. His answer is
XRIZE, which uses the patented Augmented Material
Deposition technology to build parts by jetting a
formulated release agent between layers of extruded
materials. While the extrusion process allows carbon
composites to be printed, the jetting aspect of the
process enables the voxel-level application of full-
colour graphics.
For RIZE, the potential applications go beyond
prototyping and figurines. Multi-coloured medical
models – as we detailed in volume 29 issue 2 of TCT
Magazine – is a key play for this technology, as are
jigs and fixtures. For manufacturing aid applications,
the use of high-performance polymers and
composites ensure parts can withstand the factory
floor, while colour can be used to indicate when a
part needs replacing, as with the manufacturing aid
pictured at the top of the page. These are just some
of the ways RIZE’s customers are using its full-colour
technology, and they’re not shy of telling the Boston-
based firm how they can still improve.
“They want new materials,” Giller says. “And that’s
why we are working really hard to introduce a new
set of materials. They’re really happy with [the
current materials] right now, but there are a subset
of customers that really want parts to go inside of
vehicles where they are exposed to oil. They also
ask for elastomeric materials.”
As a result, RIZE is working to add such products
to the and Rizium One, Rizium GF (Glass Filled),
and Rizium Carbon materials it already offers.
Unsurprisingly, the company is not alone in building
out its colour 3D printing portfolio to meet rising
customer demand.

HE TONE
WORDS: SAM DAVIES
Stratasys has been prolific in that regard. It
SHOWN: now offers more than half a dozen full-colour
MANUFACTURING FIXTURE
PRINTED WITH XRIZE
3D printing systems in its J Series portfolio,
with some designed specifically for the dental
and medical markets. In June, it introduced the
J55 Prime, an office-friendly full-colour system
that operates as quietly as a refrigerator
(less than 53 DB), alongside a range of new
functional materials. The expansion of material
offerings, despite the wealth of machine
options, is seen as the primary way to nurture
the company’s colour printing offering.
In line with the J55 Prime, Stratasys rolled
out the Elastico Clear and Elastico Black
rubber-like materials, the Vero ContactClear
translucent Biocompatible material for
prolonged skin or bodily contact, Digital ABS
Ivory for high impact designs, and ultra-opaque
colours enabled by the VeroUltra family. Other
materials in the Stratasys colour portfolio
include the flexible VeroFlex and the versatile
VeroVivid.
With advancements also being made with
the 3MF file format and Stratasys aligning
with KeyShot, the company is confident in its
capacity to deliver the details and aesthetics
that any designer could want, but like RIZE is
continuing to push on the performance side
“Right now, through ongoing materials development.
colour is nice “When it comes to mechanical properties,
this is still in the works,” says Zehavit Reisin,
to have, but Stratasys Vice President, Head of Materials
Business and Design Segment, ROW. “When
we want to we discuss PolyJet materials, it’s about
acrylic-based photopolymers and they behave
make it must- differently versus, let’s say, thermoplastics.
have.”
SHOWN: SHOWN:
PACKAGING APPLICATION ENABLED BY STRATASYS MEDICAL MODELS PRINTED ON STRATASYS' J5 MEDIJET.
COLOUR 3D PRINTING. CREDIT: KINETIC VISION PHOTO BY YORAM RESHEF
design AM
Their heat conditions or their dimensional
stability is subject to change if you put the part
under stress, under heat, under aggressive
environmental conditions and that’s where
durability is questionable. That’s where [there
is a question mark around] manufacturing
end use parts with PolyJet. But we are
continuing to work very hard on improving
the material properties of what you see today
on the J Series, meaning the colours, the
transparency, the mechanical and thermal
properties are better to withstand the required
environmental conditions.”
As colour 3D printing establishes itself in
the medical and prototyping sectors, there
is now a glance towards other opportunities.
For a surgeon or a designer, the benefits of
colour 3D printing are obvious, but in other
markets the uptake is slower. That may not be
a problem since there will always be medical
procedures to carry out and parts to design
and redesign, but in this industry, there is
always an appetite to push the boundaries.
And Giller is optimistic about the impact full-
colour 3D printing can have moving forward.
“The way I think about it, we all have
colour TVs, and nobody wants to go back
to black and white,” says Giller. “But I’m old
enough, I did have a black and white TV and
I remember some people saying, ‘I don’t
need colour, TV is an art’, and now, no one
thinks this way. If we can get it to a [lower]
price point, I think people would get used to
printing in colour. Right now, colour is nice to
have, but we want to make it must-have.”
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 019
 Stratasys 3D printing is moving deeper into the manufacturing space with the introduction of three
new technologies including the H350 offering Saturated Absorption Fabrication (SAF),
Stereolithography (SLA) with the Neo® 3D printer range and P3 polymerisation with the Origin One
3D printer.

For unrivalled product realism the J850 Prime has been joined by the new J55 Prime and desktop
J35 Pro Polyjet 3D printers. The J850 Prime - and J850 Pro printer platform - ideal for customers
looking to meet a range of project needs with one printer, gives user's unique flexibility in the types,
colour and functionality of the parts produced. Whilst the J55 Prime retains the Pantone® validated
full colour modes of its larger sibling, the desktop J35 Pro utilises printing in 3 materials
simultaneously. The new Elastico rubber-like material, with its superior 400% elongation at break, is
available on both the J55 and J35 printer platforms.

FDM technology, synonymous with Stratasys and Laser Lines Ltd since our partnership was formed
over 25 years ago, sees the arrival of the F770. This 3D printer provides consistent, accurate and
reliable printing of large parts with a fully heated and thermostatically controlled build envelope of
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match your requirements and budget.

THE TOTAL SOLUTIONS PROVIDER

Over 25 years’ experience helping companies
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See us on Stand Nos. F41 & G31

 Stratasys, the additive
manufacturing leader, has
further enhanced an
enviable portfolio. Learn
how their innovations help
the world�s leading
companies gain business
agility and competitive
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At TCT 3Sixty we are

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See us on
Stand Nos. F41 & G31
UK & EIRE
 REPATRIATIONS &
The growing role of digital manufacturing technology in cultural heritage
S
everal times a year, Edwell
John Jr., the leader of the
Tlingit Dakl’aweidí clan of the
Alaskan village of Angoon,
finds himself travelling to important
ceremonies in other Native American
communities. At these gatherings,
speeches may be given, stories told,
songs sung, and dances performed.
Whatever is on the agenda, it is almost
certain that John would take with him his
Kéet S’aaxw (Killer Whale Hat), a sacred
object known as At.óow that embodies
the Dakl’aweidí’s history and ancestral
spirits.
But should that hat be damaged
or broken in transit, not only would
it cause much distress for John, but
arrangements would have to be made
for its repair or replacement. Per Tlingit
tradition, a carver from an opposite clan
would be commissioned to fix or create a
new hat, giving them the opportunity to
make modifications to the design to mark
the hat’s next chapter, or to precisely
mirror the original.
“[For me,] the repair of that hat
becomes part of that story, so it’s not
necessary to make an exact replica,”
John tells TCT. “I can't speak on behalf
of the Kaagwaantaan or the Kiks.ádi
[two fellow Tlingit clans], I can only
speak on behalf of my clan house. It’s
up to the individual clan leader if they
want something exact or if they want a
slight variation. And the reason for the
variations, for me personally, is there
could be an added story to that hat.”
It’s a principle that John has held ever
since – as he became the caretaker
of the Dakl’aweidi clan’s crest objects
– he began working closely with the
Smithsonian Institution to repatriate
sacred items back to the Tlingit
community. In 2005, a Killer Whale Hat
was repatriated to John’s predecessor,
Mark Jacobs Jr., who passed away just
11 days later. Seven years on, John took
the hat back to the Smithsonian, allowing
them to digitise and then fabricate a
replica that would be exhibited in their
National Museum of National History.
The replication of the hat using digital
technology was highlighted by University
of Brighton researchers Myrsini
022 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4
Samaroudi and Karina Rodriguez in an
article published on theconversation.
com in 2019. The thrust of the piece
was to proffer 3D technologies as tools “We should
to support and facilitate repatriations,
reuniting people with cherished items approach the
and replacing lost knowledge in affected
communities, while still allowing subject of
museums to inform the public about the
culture behind the objects.
decolonisation
and repatriation
with an open mind,
By repatriating and later replicating
the Killer Whale Hat, the Smithsonian
Institution hit on a couple of those
values. Having managed to send the hat accepting other
back to Jacobs, the then Dakl’aweidí clan
leader was able to communicate through
people’s voices and
it with his ancestors before he passed. work towards the
benefit of all.”
With the subsequent creation of the
replica, the Smithsonian is also able to
continue informing its visitors of the hat
and Jacobs’ story.
“I don’t remember exactly when,
but we began having conversations
about digitising the hat and the
multiple purposes that could serve,”
Eric Hollinger, a Tribal Liaison for the
Repatriation Office of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of Natural History,
says. “One, a level of security for Edwell
in case something happened to the
original hat and then we also asked
Edwell for permission to make a replica
to be able to tell the story in the museum
of the repatriation to Mark, because
in repatriation, we often don’t have
anything physical left to put on exhibit.”
With John’s permission, the
Smithsonian used laser scanning
to capture the shape of the object,
photogrammetry to capture the colour
information and file processing to
blend the data together. Using alder
wood – the material the original hat was
made from – supplied by the Tlingit, a
replica was carved via CNC milling, with
the object being placed in a freezer
in between phases of machining to
ensure it didn’t crack or warp. It has
been on display at the Smithsonian
Natural History Museum ever since; it
was talked about at subsequent Tlingit
clan conferences; it is loaned to Tlingit
dance groups to wear in performances
in Washington D.C; and it has helped to
accelerate conversations between both
parties around repatriation.
 CULTURE

& RESTORATIONS
WORDS: SAM DAVIES

3LEFT:
DAKL'AWEIDI CLAN LEADER
EDWELL JOHN JR. (CENTRE),
WEARING THE REPATRIATED
KILLER WHALE HAT IN 2013.
PHOTO BY JON ALEXANDER

6BOTTOM:
REPLICA KILLER WHALE HAT ON
EXHIBIT IN THE SMITHSONIAN'S
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY. (CATALOG
NUMBER E433020. DEPARTMENT
OF ANTHROPOLOGY,
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.)
PHOTO BY JAMES DI LORETO

NEEDS AND WANTS

Such discussions are of increasing importance,
with Samaroudi telling TCT that “museums have to
evolve to remain relevant to society” and “enable
people to make their voices heard.” Pitt Rivers
Museum in Oxford, UK is one museum that has come
under pressure from academics, authors and protest
groups to address the origins of many of its exhibits.
Recently, Pitt Rivers posted a statement on its
website outlining its ‘commitment to change’ in which
it will actively pursue repatriation and decolonisation
opportunities.

Yet, the museum’s Head of Conservation, Jeremy

Uden, tells TCT that there is some hesitance
around the idea of using digital or 3D technologies
to support those efforts. In a scenario where it is
returning an artefact back to an affected community,
the museum would prefer, if possible, to instead
exhibit traditionally made replicas. Meanwhile, in an
instance where the original cannot be returned, to
send a 3D printed replica in its place, for example,
may not suffice because the interest in the object is
more to do ‘with the connection with their ancestors
and the spiritual significance of the original object,’
than the look, feel or function.

Just down the road, though, ThinkSee3D has

different experiences. In the Basse Yutz Flagons – a
set of Iron Age ceremonial drinking vessels bought
legitimately by the British Museum in the 1900s – the
Oxford-based company 3D scanned, 3D printed
and finished two replica objects before sending the
identical copies to a French salt museum who missed
out on buying the artefacts some 200 years ago.

29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 023

EPP_202107_AZ_TCT-European_192x136_3DP-Infinam-TPC-helmet_RZ_ZW.indd 1 01.07.21 10:59


SHOWN:
TLINGIT SPEAR THROWERS 'SHEE AAN' WITH 3D PRINTED
REPLICAS (FAR RIGHT AND FAR LEFT). (CENTER, CATALOG
NUMBERS E20771 AND E07899) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY. PHOTO BY BRITANNY
HANCE
A community in Donegal, Ireland has also
accepted a 3D printed copy of an eighth-
century pilgrim bell – which is exhibited
in their community museum and taken
with them on their annual pilgrimage to St
Connell’s Island – because of damages to
the original, while a Nigerian community
agreed to take replicas of some rare
eighth-century bronzes that were cast
from 3D printed moulds as they haven’t
the means to look after the originals.
While these projects may not quite do
enough to be considered real repatriation
– since neither the original artefacts,
nor ownership of them, have been
returned – the affected communities
have at least been able to utilise the
replicas in some of the circumstances
that the originals would have been, as
with the St Connell’s bell, or have been
able to reclaim and retell the story of
the object, as with the Nigerian bronze
replicas. These efforts are more likely to
be referred to as sharing surrogates with
communities, while Hollinger has also
leveraged 3D technologies for ‘a new form
of cultural restoration’ in his role with the
Smithsonian.
A Tlingit Sculpin Hat project, like with
ThinkSee3D’s Irish pilgrim bell, leant on
digital technologies because of damages
to the original, with a replica being milled
by a member of a Tlingit opposite clan
– as is custom in the community – and
dedicated in ceremony to put spirit into the
new hat, making it at.óow of the Kiks.adi,
the clan to which the broken hat belonged.
Meanwhile, the Smithsonian has also –
as Samaroudi and Rodriguez suggested
– used 3D technologies to replace lost
knowledge in the Tlingit community by
replicating a number of ancient spear
throwers. The few known Tlingit spear
throwers can only be found in museums
or private collections, so the Smithsonian
used laser and CT scanning to digitally
capture the hunting tools, before 3D
printing replicas in high-strength nylon.
They have since been put to use in
culture camps so Tlingit children can be
reintroduced to the spear throwers’ use
as hunting tools and carved artistry.
In the instances of the Tlingit clans –
and the communities that ThinkSee3D
has worked with – the use of 3D
technologies to support repatriation,
surrogate and cultural restoration
efforts have been welcomed. But, in
each Tlingit case at least, the process
has taken several years. There are
conversations aplenty to be had just
to foster respect and relationships
before the digital processes even get
underway. Objects then have to be
treated with care, cultural protocols
agreed to, while there are also
permissions to garner and ownership to
be established. A further consideration
is whether any replica object should
be identical, or whether the community
would prefer some distinction in the
design between traditionally made
objects and the digitally fabricated
versions. ThinkSee3D has actively
looked to make its replicas identical to
the originals, and while John has his
preferences, he can see both points of
view.
“I think there are some clan leaders
– and I haven’t heard, so I’m just
guessing – who would want somebody
to physically make a hat [for example]
for them,” John says. “So, rather than
having the machine make the hat, they
want to commission a person to carve
the hat and dedicate the hat. For me,
in my clan, it doesn’t have to be exact.
I would prefer it a little bit different
because that’s the story building part
of the hat. If it’s an exact replica, we
don’t have the story. It’s like somebody
getting a scar. Maybe in future
technology, that can be repaired, but
some people might say, ‘I don’t want
that repaired because it’s part of my
story now.’”
CULTURE
A 'GREAT POTENTIAL'
As the work between the Tlingit
community and the Smithsonian
continues, there are set to be many more
stories added to the heritage of the
Dakl’aweidí, Kiks.ádi and other Tlingit
clans. And as the discussion around
repatriation intensifies, there may be
many more opportunities for 3D printing
and other digital fabrication technologies
to satisfy both the source communities
and the museums.
Hesitancy around the use of such
technologies is only natural, with many
communities placing immense value in
tradition. Yet, the Tlingit have ensured
traditions and cultural protocols – such
as the relevant clan participating in
the creation of a replica or surrogate;
the opposite clan witnessing it; and
ceremonies for the objects being
carried out – are upheld. As such,
the community is embracing modern
technology and the opportunities that
come with it.
Acknowledging these efforts,
Samaroudi and Rodriguez suggest there
is great potential in cultural heritage for
3D technologies, which are currently
undergoing a ‘negotiation phase’ with
regards to the range of their application
and the establishment of best practices.
Rodriguez also points out that, while
museums need to keep pace with new
technologies, 3D printing in particular
needs to offer better materials, colour
and texture capabilities, while also
being more accessible for museums.
Should that happen, it opens the door,
as the Smithsonian and others have
demonstrated, for museums to use the
technology to ‘engage and collaborate
with diaspora communities and
international communities; reinterpret
collections; embrace missing voices; and
open up access by sharing 3D data and
facilitating interaction with 3D printed
replicas of artefacts.’
“As far as it concerns the physical
manifestation of artefacts through digital
fabrication,” Samaroudi finishes, “we
have to understand that discussions
should not only focus on ‘who owns
replicas’ or ‘who gets what’, but on
what the possibilities are to establish an
honest dialogue with the communities
while taking advantage of the potential
of digital technologies to support and
take that discourse further. We should
approach the subject of decolonisation
and repatriation with an open mind,
accepting other people’s voices, work
towards the benefit of all and attempt
to consider a variety of alternative
solutions.”
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 025
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SMOOTH
SAILING
T
he late 1700s saw the onset
of European colonisation in
Australia, with the transportation
of British convicts and free
settlers to the largest land mass in the
Pacific. While initially set to reduce
overcrowding in British prisons, eventually
it also led to European settlement with the
construction of additional roads, buildings
and farms.
More than 200 years later, people like
Renee Malliaros – a marine archaeologist
with Silentworld Foundation in Sydney
– spend their days looking for remnants
of that period to better understand and
conserve colonial Australia’s story.
When Sydney Metro discovered a
boat believed to date to the 1820s while
excavating for a station box in the city,
maritime archaeological firm Cosmos
Archaeology was engaged to undertake the
excavation. Once removed from the ground,
Malliaros was brought in to assemble a
team and quickly get to work conserving
the timbers.
The Barangaroo Boat is potentially the
oldest known colonial Australian-built
craft ever to be excavated. Measuring 9x3
metres, it is believed the boat was used to
carry out small ferrying jobs along rivers. It is
not the most eye-catching find, or the most
well-put-together craft, but that is exactly
why Malliaros is interested in the discovery.
“It’s significant because it shows us not a
very glamorous part of what it was like for
the Europeans that came here early on,”
she tells TCT. “They were trying to establish
some sort of system here and that boat is
like a little detail of that system. It’s not the
big, flashy buildings. It’s not the jails. It’s
not what you normally think of when you
think early colonial stuff. It’s a detail but a
very important detail because it gives us a
picture that we would not normally get.”
After the boat was excavated piece by
piece, and before it was stored in tanks of
clean water and treated with chemicals,
Malliaros and her team commenced digitally
recording the find. On the back of advice
given by colleagues in the UK working
on the Newport Medieval Ship, the team
sought the expertise of Belgium-based 3D
WORDS: SAM DAVIES
“Structured light
scanning captures
the type of detail
that we’re after
in archaeological
recording.”
recording specialist Thomas Van Damme,
whose Annotated Scans Method utilises
the Artec Eva structured light scanner
and Rhino software. Said to be easy to
use and able to capture geometry and
colour, the Eva was used to scan large
and structural parts of the ship in as little
as 15 minutes, while some of the thinner
pieces were suspended to ensure scanning
could be executed in one go. Altogether,
the scanning and processing of the 300
pieces was completed in two months -
compared with up to a year with former
tracing processes - but it was not without its
challenges.
“The challenges were to do with finding
a balance between having a piece that you
can scan and not having too much noise,
while also keeping the piece wet. Any
water on the surfaces creates noise and
causes it to go a bit funky, but then on the
other hand you want to dry it to get a good
enough skin,” explained Malliaros, before
highlighting a positive. “Structured light
scanning captures the type of detail that
CULTURE
6BELOW:
SUSPENDING THE PLANK WITH CLEAR
TUBING OVER A PLATFORM WITH ADDITIONAL
GEOMETRY/TEXTURE YIELDED THE BEST
RESULTS FOR THE PROCESSING STAGE,
ALLOWING THE CREATION OF AN ACCURATE
3D MODEL IN THE SHORTEST TIME
we’re after in archaeological recording. So, we
could see the nail holes, we could see the tree
nails, we could even see saw marks.”
Having scanned the pieces, Malliaros then
processed the data in Artec Studio to clean
up the surrounding geometry and supports,
before aligning the scans. This information will
be used to help reconstruct the boat, which
is hoped to be exhibited in its full size at the
Australian National Maritime Museum. But
before that can happen, a scale model is to be
3D printed to ‘give us an idea of how to fit the
pieces back together, where to rebend them if
needed, and how it’s going to be supported so
that no strain is placed on the timbers.’
Per Malliaros, there is nothing like the
Barangaroo Boat – a 19th century ship that
has been excavated, recorded in 3D and then
conserved – in an Australian museum and
so getting the digital recording of the boat
right has been paramount. She recalls some
colleagues in Western Australia who, when
working on the conservation of the Dutch
ship Batavia, used polyethylene sheets to
record the timbers. Over 30+ years, those
sheets shrunk and rendered the entire record
dimensionally useless. As such, for Malliaros
and her team, the benefit of 3D technologies
cannot be understated.
“We’re in a massively better position than
anybody else who undertook this sort of
project in Australia has ever been, because [3D
scanning and 3D printing] makes our work so
much easier,” finishes Malliaros. “It makes the
record that’s going to follow this boat around
so much more accurate.”
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 027
 INTENTIONAL
F
orty percent.
That is the estimated
proportion of women and
minorities who leave the STEM field after
five years, according to Erika Jefferson,
the founder of Black Women in Science
and Engineering in Women in 3D Printing’s
2020 Diversity for Additive Manufacturing
Report. With only around 11% of those
working in additive manufacturing (AM)
actually women, we really need to assess
how we retain women and people of
colour in our industry.
AM creates an object layer by layer.
In much the same way, diversity, equity,
and inclusion should also be layered into
business practices to catalyse innovation.
This can only be done by creating an
environment that embraces differences,
encourages employees to speak up,
and empowers them to become more
engaged.
By now, nearly all companies (should)
know the benefits of a diverse workforce:
enhanced creativity, innovation, and
productivity, reduced employee turnover,
and increased revenue just to name a few.
Admittedly, attracting and hiring diverse
candidates can be an important albeit
necessary challenge that many companies
still need to be overcome. Even those
corporations able to succeed in recruiting
diverse talent often neglect inclusion as a
key part of the equation. In many cases,
actually fostering a sense of belonging is
almost an afterthought, if a thought at all.
Inclusion is where companies should be
thinking about the ways in which they can
dismantle systemic prejudices within their
organisations. It’s when you start thinking
about your employees as more than just
cogs in a wheel, but as members of your
company’s community. The purposeful
and proactive practices to embrace
differences, check unconscious biases,
unlearn discrimination, and regularly ask
“is this equitable?” is what makes the work
of inclusion so powerful and, quite frankly,
difficult. The other hurdle with inclusion is -
how do you measure belonging?
When it comes to fostering an inclusive
environment, managers are easily the most
impactful group of employees who can
ensure inclusion becomes and remains a
priority. Managers at every level influence
028 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4
WORDS: Mina Lee, Manager of People and Culture at MakerBot
the type of experience their direct reports
have in the workplace. This may be stating
the obvious, but it is a point that needs
to be explicitly said, remembered, and
repeated. There is an inherent level of
responsibility that managers take on and
they should be making sure that their
employees feel valued, respected, and
emboldened to be their truest selves.
So where do we start? Let’s take a look
at some actions that managers can take to
get the ball rolling.
Create a Safe Space for New Ideas
When people talk about a safe space,
they typically mean a space that is free
from bias and judgment. As managers,
welcoming and acknowledging dissent
is of the utmost importance. Neglecting
to do so can discourage employees from
speaking up or bringing new ideas to the
table. Much like a brainstorming session
where no idea is a bad idea, respectfully
discussing opposing views can help to
spark new ideas and different ways of
thinking, the two key drivers of innovation.
Encourage Proactive Engagement
Not everyone is comfortable sharing
their thoughts in a public forum, but that
doesn’t make them any less integral to
the team or company. There are many
reasons why people might be hesitant to
participate in public discussions at work,
but the first step is understanding where
the challenge lies.
Does one person, or more, typically
dominate the meeting? Are ideas and
different views encouraged or discouraged
in meetings? Once you identify the
problem areas, you can help your
employees be more engaged in a way
that shows them that their perspective is
valued. This proactive engagement also
promotes equity because you are giving
those who might not raise their hand an
opportunity for their voices to be heard.
Be Open to Honest Conversations
Something I have realised both in my
professional and personal lives is that
there is real beauty in having honest
conversations. These conversations give
you an opportunity to actively identify a
problem and try to find a resolution. Honest
and oftentimes difficult conversations can
be a catalyst building relationships, trust,
and communication. If someone on your
team is underperforming, try to understand
why. An unfettered space to talk honestly
will help you both walk away from the
conversation with a clear understanding,
different set of expectations, less stress, and
recalibrated priorities.
We are also mere mortals and needless to
say, nobody is perfect. We all still have so
much to learn about the language we use,
our own unconscious microaggressions,
and how they affect our daily lives.
Microaggressions are particularly toxic as
they often foster resentment that can build
up over time and have a harmful effect on an
employee’s mental and physical well-being.
There are a few ways that people typically
react to microaggressions: they either react
immediately to the transgression, address
it at a later time once they’ve had time to
think it through, or ignore it altogether. As
managers, we have a responsibility to identify
when microaggressions happen, and be able
to correct and prevent them from happening
again. It can be difficult work, but we need to
have these open and honest conversations
to challenge our biases, take accountability
for our mistakes, and learn from other
people’s experiences.
Lead with Empathy
Empathy is the key to building a more
diverse and inclusive organisation in a
productive and meaningful way. Have
open conversations about expectations,
emphasise the impact of personal obstacles,
strengths, and opportunities. Don’t forget
that your employees are human - ask how
they are doing both professionally and
personally. As a manager, your job is to
ensure their productivity but also to guide
them along their career paths. These ongoing
discussions will go a long way in building
trust and shaping your relationship with your
team, both of which are critical to an effective
team.
Ongoing inclusion requires significant
emotional capital, intention, and attention.
When these practices are layered into a
manager’s day-to-day management style,
they promote an inclusive environment that
empowers the team to be the very best
version of themselves.
Never forget to be flexible, be adaptable,
and regularly recommit yourself to active and
engaging encouragement.
 DIVERSITY

SPONSORED BY

L INCLUSION

Mina Lee

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion should

also be layered into business practices
to catalyse innovation.”

29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 029

 THE ORIGINAL
WOMEN IN 3D
According to stats from Women in 3D Printing, women make up just
13% of the entire AM industry. Here, Laura Griffiths speaks to those
who were there from the start.
W
hen Elaine Hunt was
called into the office of Dr
Larry Dooley at Clemson
University, the former
computer technician at the College of
Engineering presumed she would just be
fixing another run of the mill computer
problem. Instead, Dr Dooley handed over
a small clear plastic cube and asked how
she thought it was made. Elaine guessed
milling before Dr Dooley explained it had
in fact been created using a laser and
polymeric resin on a new machine he had
just purchased for the lab. He wanted
Elaine to run it.
“Of course, I said yes!” Elaine recounted
to TCT. “As I thought of all the things that
were handmade or even machine made
in our shops, I could see major benefits of
quickly making things.”
With just a handful of 3D printing
companies in existence, the technology
was very much in its infancy. Personal
computers were being installed on desks
at the university but, as Elaine recalls,
not everyone was ready to embrace the
change, and 3D printing was a technology
“struggling to find a name or niche that
fit.” Elaine began training in Valencia,
California in the summer of 1989 and by
August, an SLA 250, which had been
retrofitted from an SLA 1, was installed
inside the IDeRP (Intelligent Design and
Rapid Prototyping) lab.
Come 1994, the lab was renamed
as Laboratory to Advance Industrial
Prototyping with Elaine as Director. The
lab was supported by faculty and students
from the university’s Bioengineering,
Mechanical Engineering and Chemical
Engineering departments, which meant
the requests and files that came through
the door encompassed everything from
medical models to a trumpet mouthpiece.
“One of the first projects for the IDeRP
lab was building an entire nuclear power
mock-up,” Elaine shared. “These models
took days to slice and days to build. When
the customer came to receive the models,
I managed to drop and break one of the
030 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4
tubes. The old 5081 resin made models
that were brittle and easily broken. I
managed to save face by building a new
piece so the model could be shipped to
a huge marketing event for this company.
They received a large contract thanks to 6BELOW:
MARIE LANGER,
the new technology of rapid prototyping.” CEO AT EOS
Under the influence of Dr Dooley, ample
research was carried out around custom
prosthesis and in 1991, the lab was able
to use CT data from a donor to build its
first hip model. Getting access to that
data however, which arrived on a huge
magnetic reel intended for a mainframe
computer, presented its own challenge.
“We were dabbling in the outer edges
of trying to bring multiple technologies
together that didn't usually talk to each
other,” Elaine recalls, adding that it wasn’t
unusual for Dr Dooley to come into the lab
with two pieces of equipment and ask her
to get them to communicate.
Regardless of application, challenges
persisted around software. Not only was system and built a model that I knew the
most of the industry stuck using Autocad, build time of and the time was cut in half.”
with some resisting the move to 3D, but
the processing power available at the A SOLUTION MATERIALISES
time meant simply slicing a file could take Over in Belgium, another solution was
hours – that first nuclear power facility forming in a modest corner of the Catholic
model, for example, took around ten University of Leuven, where a small team
days to build and plenty of prayers said had also just installed its first machine from
to ensure the power wouldn’t cut out 3D Systems. Having visited two 3D printing
overnight. Turns out, there was a better companies, 3D Systems and Quadrax,
way. and secured support from two industrial
partners, a young Hilde Ingelaere and Fried
“One of the computers that came Vancraen set out to launch a company that
into the lab around 1991 was a 25 MHz would develop 3D printing applications
Compaq desktop computer. It was the and software to make the technology more
fastest desktop on the market and quite efficient.
costly. After a few months of use in the
lab, Dr Dooley asked me if I thought the “I was super enthusiastic. I wanted to call
Compaq would drive the SLA machine. I the company Idem, which in Latin means
did a few checks on the internal system ‘the same’ so you dream about something
and told him yes it could. We had a and you can basically print it,” said Hilde,
maintenance contract which was costly on now Executive Vice President Medical and
the SLA and tinkering with it could nullify one of the co-founders of Materialise. “Very
the contract, but Dr Dooley said, 'try it naïve!”
out.' Making sure there was no scheduled
maintenance call in the week, I removed But with a clear business hat on and
the SLA computer and placed the considering the economics of what was
Compaq in its place. I rebooted the entire still a very expensive technology, Hilde

“We were all kind
of entrepreneurs.”
concluded 3D printing would be an ideal fit
for prototyping and eventually spare part
production. Though, even years down the
line, it wasn’t so easy to convince others.
“There was a big difference between Europe
and US,” Hilde explained. “When we were
thinking about doing an IPO, end of 2013, we
did some testing the waters. We did that in
Europe, where every time we had to explain
what 3D printing was all about. In the United
States, however, where the customs officer
always asks you, what are your intentions?
Why do you come here? We would say, we
come for 3D printing and we were very much
thinking, here we go again, we'll have to
explain everything. But the officer just said,
‘Oh, that's good to hear. Who do you advise I
should invest in? Should it be 3D Systems or
Stratasys?’”
For the first few years, Hilde’s role at the
company was focused on business and
finance which, alongside another part-time
job, meant evenings and weekends spent
getting the young company off the ground.
But the atmosphere, Hilde says, was “just
fantastic.”
“There were always people there, regardless
of the fact the working day was done, and
there were students there who are currently
our COO and our CTO,” Hilde said. “Whether
it was about setting up a machine or emptying
bins, people just did what it took to keep the
company going to make it a success. We were
all kind of entrepreneurs.”
One of those early staff members was Lieve
Boeykens who joined the company in 1996 as
an Application Engineer for medical software
and now leads go-to-market strategies and
innovation programmes as Market Innovation
Director. Lieve recalls that same start-up spirit
which would often see staff members sleeping
next to machines just to get parts out of the
door.
“We just didn't care,” Lieve remembers
warmly. “We were so into that new technology
and that willingness of making it work, and I
think that that attitude is still there a bit in our
DNA.”
Today, Materialise has around 200 machines
in operation and, with its software tools, has
cemented itself as a backbone of the AM
DIVERSITY
SPONSORED BY
3LEFT:
THE MATERIALISE TEAM IN 1996
- HILDE INGELAERE (TOP ROW
– THIRD FROM LEFT) AND LIEVE
BOEYKENS (SECOND ROW –
FOURTH FROM LEFT)
6BELOW:
DIANA KALISZ, VICE PRESIDENT,
MATERIALS AT 3D SYSTEMS
industry. But, like Elaine back at Clemson,
Lieve and Hilde can attest that even
getting a part geometry to the machine
and prepared for printing was a challenge
they needed to solve, particularly in
medical where much of Materialise’s early
innovations and expertise lay.
“Many people think of software as a
necessary evil. Of course, I am a pure
software girl so I think it's definitely the
accelerator,” Lieve said. “We started out of
necessity with the software ourselves in
these early years. We just needed these
tools and we immediately put them in the
market […] it was about making it work.
[…] I think providing these fixing tools in
the beginning enabled the usage of the
machines a lot more.”
“If we have good applications but
machines that don't work, it doesn't
work, but it’s also the other way around,”
Hilde added. “We came up with things
like automatic support generation [..] I
remember the days you had to design each
and every one by hand. It takes forever.
If you have no way to actually nest the
things that you are printing, it's just not
economical. A lot of the value is in the
software and even today, machine vendors
are amongst our biggest clients.”
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 031
 DIVERSITY
GOING BIGGER
Meanwhile back at 3D Systems,
a vacancy had opened up for an
engineering project manager that would
take SLA hardware to another level. The
role was filled by Diana Kalisz who found
herself managing the SLA-500 large-
format stereolithography programme to
double the machine’s 250 mm cube build
size, in what Diana describes as a “great
lesson in the level of difficulty in scaling
both size and speed” and “the coolest
technical challenge” she had ever seen.
Early applications were those from
early CAD adopters in aerospace and
automotive, and some medical device
manufacturing. “Simply having data to turn
into part files was a real hurdle,” Diana,
now Vice President, Materials, said. But
in the years that passed, as CAD became
more common and capabilities grew, so
did the possibilities.
“Being in the industry from the
beginning, it’s been exciting to watch the
evolution of not only the technology but
the types of applications it can address,”
Diana elaborated. “AM has taken us
beyond prototyping into making parts
we see every day, in quantity, and with
the longevity of those produced using
traditional manufacturing methods.”
Diana points to materials developments
that have enabled the industry to
progress from brittle white prototypes to
applications that aren’t what you might
expect from plastics, including long-term
stability shown in 3D Systems’ recent
Accura AMX resin (More on page 8).
But like Elaine, Hilde and Lieve who
each highlighted AM milestones in the
mass manufacture of hearing aids and
surgical planning, Diana is most excited
by applications in healthcare, particularly
bioprinting and regenerative medicine.
“When I joined the industry, I never
imagined the bioprinting applications like
we’re doing today,” Diana said. “There
are plenty of challenges both from the
biology and 3D printing perspectives to
make it both real and viable. […] We know
so much about 3D printing now, we can
bring all that expertise to bear on this
new application. Biology and 3D printing
coming together as 3D bioprinting is an
amazing opportunity to positively impact
human beings, and that’s the best thing
ever.”
THE NEXT GENERATION
For EOS CEO Marie Langer, the origins
of the AM industry were told in stories
around the kitchen table as her father Dr
Hans J. Langer, founder of EOS, brought
home parts and anecdotes from early AM
users. Now at the helm of the company,
diversity is one of EOS’s strategic pillars
thanks to Marie’s commitment to equity
and inclusion.
032 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4

SHOWN:
ELAINE HUNT, FORMER DIRECTOR OF
LABORATORY TO ADVANCE INDUSTRIAL
PROTOTYPING AT CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
“Both academic and corporate research
have shown that diverse teams lead
to better outcomes, financially and
professionally,” Marie told TCT. “Diversity
for EOS is not just about male and female.
It is much more.”
Marie points to women like Monika
Gessler who joined EOS’ material
development department in 2000 as one
of 18 women out of a staff of 110, just as
the company had decided to exclusively
focus on powder-based polymer laser
sintering technology and, as Marie
describes it, as customers “started to
think bigger – beyond rapid prototyping
and towards manufacturing.” At the time,
Monika was often the only woman in the
room but believes change is evident, not
only at EOS but with customers too. Now,
with a firm belief that diversity can “drive
productivity and innovation,” the CEO
envisions a team that’s inclusive to all but
emphasises it’s “committed to shaping
a new future together, at the same time
recognising that we still have a lot to
learn.”
How the wider industry achieves that,
is largely down to education. For Elaine,
who remembers being one of only a
handful of women out of 70 members
at early AM user group gatherings and
even standing up and asking, “where
are the women?” during male-dominated
department meetings, the key is to inspire
at an early age: “We need to break the
educational notion that boys are better
at math and science and help young
SPONSORED BY
“To encourage more
women to pursue this
path, it’s important to
start early.”
girls achieve competence in those
skills. I firmly believe that the earlier a
technology is provided to children and
the more comfortable they become
with using it, the more competent they
become. Connecting 3D technology
whether it be CAD, desktop printing
or even basic manufacturing, girls
will have a chance to break the cycle
of male dominance in science and
technology.”
Hilde agrees and argues there’s
an “evolution” happening across all
engineering disciplines. It’s about
encouraging all children, not just
girls, and the company receives
many requests from schools for tours
around Materialise HQ.
For Diana, the entry of more women
into the AM industry has been a
natural progression which reflects the
industry’s growth, and while that 13%
hasn’t drastically shifted, the idea of
educating early is a common thread.
“To encourage more women to
pursue this path, it’s important to start
early with good STEM education,
making science accessible, interesting
and fun,” Diana offered. “People
who love those subjects will find
the wonder of AM. It’s such an
amazing combination of mechanics,
electronics, light sources, software,
and chemistry.”
 TCT 3SIXTY PREVIEW

A 360-
DEGREE
VIEW
T
he hum of machines, anecdotes
from keynote speakers,
applications that spark new
ideas, meeting new faces,
reconnecting with old ones, new business
deals made; there really is nothing quite
like live events.

After almost two years of Zoom calls

and less than perfect online networking,
TCT 3Sixty is ready to welcome the 3D
printing and additive manufacturing (AM)
community back to the halls of the NEC,
Birmingham, UK on 28-30th September.

For many of us, TCT 3Sixty will provide the

first in-person chance to get a real look at
some of the technologies launched over
the last two years. And as you’ll recall
from the way the industry responded
to challenges faced throughout the
pandemic, from producing PPE to
plugging supply chain gaps, the AM
sector has kept itself very busy.

This year’s event has been shaped to

deliver a full 360-degree understanding
of the AM adoption journey. Evaluation,
Adoption and Optimisation are the three
pillars you’ll find woven into our exhibits,
features and conference content, and will
allow you to make the most out of your
visit, wherever you are on that journey.

Here, we take a look at what you can

expect to see on the show floor.

29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 033

 For a quick one stop look at the end-
to-end AM process, Matsuura (D11) will
be demonstrating the entire workflow,
from concept to CAD to 3D printing and
finishing, for a series of HP Multi Jet
Fusion components.
It’s been an exciting 12 months for
Stratasys thanks to the launch of its
Selective Laser Absorption process and
acquisition of Origin’s P3 technology.
UK partner Laser Lines (F41 & G31) will
have the full story on each of these new
platforms alongside the latest in FDM
and Polyjet including Stratasys’ J55, J35
Pro and J850 machines, plus new F770,
which features the longest fully heated
build chamber on the market. Platinum
partner SYS Systems (E22) will also be
on hand with a full range of Stratasys
products and materials which have been
adopted by customers like Speedo, Volvo
and YKK.
Photocentric (F14) is set to launch
its LC Opus printer which promises
fast, highly accurate prints for a huge
variety of industries alongside the large-
sale LC Magna printer and Core 4D
software package, which the UK-based
manufacturer believes will “revolutionise
part design and production.”
RP Technologies (B41) plans on
showing what it’s calling “the next step
in the product development process”
on its biggest stand to date. In addition
to showcasing aluminium tooling
applications and injection moulding
capabilities with a live Borche Bi130
system running on the stand, the
company is inviting visitors to ‘Walk the
Plank’ on a virtual reality adventure that
lets you experience the fear of walking
hundreds of feet above the ground on a
skyscraper.
EOS (H46) promises a valuable visit
wherever you are on the adoption
journey. The laser sintering pioneer will
be emphasising the opportunities for AM
in Industry 4.0, distributed manufacturing,
digital warehousing and improved
sustainability.
With a new AM-focused strategy
centred on production-scale AM and
new frontiers in regenerative medicine,
3D Systems (B21) will be there with its
latest hardware, software, materials, and
end-use applications. Visitors will be
able to learn more about 3D Systems’
scalable Figure 4 process and range of
production-class materials over on the
CDG (A23) stand too.

“TCT 3Sixty will

provide a first
chance to get a look
Laura’s Presentation Picks
at technologies
Evaluation
Making Sense of 3D Printing: A Business
launched over the
Diagnostic Workshop
Oliver Smith, RETHINK ADDITIVE
last two years.”
Adoption
How is AM Transforming Commercial
Jet Engine Design & Production
An Duong, ROLLS-ROYCE

Optimisation
Emerging AM Technologies Panel
Nikolaos Tapoglou, AMRC; Anna-Marie Stobo, CPI;
Dr William Rowlands, MTC; and Elizabeth Bishop,
UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

034 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4


Sam’s Presentation Picks
Nick Pearce, ALEXANDER DANIELS GLOBAL;
Dr Supriyo Ganguly, CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY;
The Challenges We Face in a Large Industrial
Extended Applications & Benefits of Additive
Four new 3D scanning solutions will
make their TCT debut with T3DMC (The
3D Measurement Company) (G11). The
engineering company will be offering
live demonstrations of the the fastest,
smallest and lightest 3D scanning system
on the market, the SIMSCAN, along with
the KSCAN Magic, TrackScan P42 and
cost-effective 3D portable colour scanner
iReal2.
Over on the Materialise (D31) booth,
visitors can get a demo of the latest
Magics software and see recent
innovations in sustainability with Bluesint
PA 12, a technology that uses 100% reused
powder. Speaking of recycling materials,
3devo (G25) will be on hand with its
filament makers, dryer and shredder which
cover the whole filament extrusion cycle.
3DPRINTUK (J28) will be showing what
ten years of experience in low volume AM
production looks like with demonstrations
of its SLS and MJF capabilities, while
visitors looking to explore solutions
from the likes of Formlabs, Markforged,
Ultimaker and Essentium can get advice
from experts at Additive-X (D21),
which was recently named as
exclusive UK partner of
Additive Manufacturing
Technologies (AMT).
Evaluation
Why Do Current Learning & Development
Offerings not meet the Needs of AM
Businesses?
and Colin Bancroft, MTC
Adoption
Company When Moving from Many Years of
Prototyping to Production with AM
Tom Jaeger, GRUNDFOS
Optimisation
Manufacturing
Sherline Wunder, JABIL
AM equipment provider CREAT3D (E31)
promises insights and success stories
from companies such as LISI Aerospace,
Sellafield, Curtiss-Wright and Williams
F1 Racing, and 3DGBIRE (C51 & B51)
will be demonstrating its “360-degree
service” to help businesses integrate
3D printing with ease. Advent 3D (G51)
will also be ready with a full range of
Formlabs equipment including the Fuse
1, which promises a “new benchmark in
accessible and affordable” SLS printing.
In software, 3YOURMIND (F26) will
be detailing how its tools drive end-to-
end digitised workflows, and ANSYS
(F23) will be showcasing its range of
Discovery products including Spaceclaim,
Simulation and Additive, the latter of
which is designed to make the end-to-
end metal AM workflow more efficient.
On the subject of metals, binder
jet pioneer ExOne (E34) will be
demonstrating its extensive portfolio
of machines and qualified materials
including its recent aluminium 6061
breakthrough. Laser and machine tool
manufacturer TRUMPF (F28) will be
exhibiting its Laser Powder Bed Fusion
systems which have been successfully
installed in highly regulated environments
such as aerospace and medical, while
TCT 3SIXTY PREVIEW
Xact Metal (F31) will be showcasing an
accessible approach to printing metals
in the form of its XM200C system.
Materials supplier thyssenkrupp
Materials UK (D43) will also be there
to discuss its sustainably sourced
metal AM powders and full post-build
machining and turning service on all
AM metal parts.
At the other end of the value chain,
Rosler (E12) will be showing its AM
post-processing technologies which
have already been adopted by the
likes of Alfa Romeo Racing and HP,
and ABB (G1) will be proving how a
reliable power supply can improve AM
efficiency and eliminate downtime.
Over on the TCT 3Sixty Conference
stages, you’ll be able to select tracks
based on where you’re at in the AM
adoption process. There’ll be live
workshops to help you build a business
plan for 3D printing, application stories
and panel sessions from companies
including BAE Systems, Alpine
F1, Aectual, Northrop Grumman
Aeronautics and many more
across our three-day CPD-certified
programme.
Register for free
at tct3sixty.com
29.4 / www.tctmagazine.com / 035
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TO ADVERTISE HERE CONTACT CAROL COOPER ON + 44 1244 952 386 OR EMAIL CAROL@RAPIDNEWS.COM
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27.1 / www.tctmagazine.com / 049
 Expert Column
STANDARDS
DEVELOPMENT IS
AN ACQUIRED TASTE
Words: Mohsen Seifi, ASTM INTERNATIONAL
S
tandards development is an
acquired taste. Often a dry topic,
it can be as exciting as one makes
it to be and sometimes go beyond
expectations.
I first stepped into the world of standards
development for additive manufacturing (AM)
back in 2013 as an observer in the ASTM
committee on AM. There were lots of technical
discussions between expert members who
seemed to be in their own world. While it did
bore me initially, I soon realised the deep-
dive nature of such discussions on various
topics. There are subcommittees such as
Test Methods, Design, and Materials and
Processes, to name a few.
I switched gear and attended discussions
in the Test Methods subcommittee, where my
forte and interests lie. Hearing and observing
firsthand information sharing from practicing
engineers around the world amplified
my senses. Unknowingly and naturally, I
participated in some of the discussions as an
observer. That became an uh-huh moment
for me, and the rest is history – I wanted to
contribute and shape this industry.
I see this as an exciting platform to advance
my knowledge beyond just what I am good at.
Progressively, I saw myself becoming an active
member participating in other subcommittees
such as Materials and Processes. It allows
me to interact with like-minded members, to
discuss standards needs and how they can be
addressed. Although there were some heated
discussions, they always get resolved over a
drink at the end of the day.
The ASTM standards development journey
I have experienced is more than standards
development. The professional membership
provided me opportunities to influence and
lead the development of world-class, high-
quality, market relevant standards. Being a
part of standards development for AM means
you become disruptive rather than getting
disrupted.
Additionally, I was provided training
and education in the form of workshops,
professional training, short courses and
capacity building. Along the way, I further built
leadership skills and expanded my network. I
started as a volunteer member and eventually
joined ASTM International full-time because
038 / www.tctmagazine.com / 29.4
“Effective R&D
can significantly
accelerate the
development of
standards.”
I believe so much in its mission – helping
our world work better. That’s our motto.
Yet, it is not without its challenges.
Industry can only get true value from
standards when the pace of development
is on par with the advancement of AM
technologies. This spurred us to think
of a mechanism to accelerate standards
development. One such mechanism is
conducting focused R&D projects targeted
at closing standards gaps. We call it
research to standards (R2S). One thing led
to another and eventually we established
the ASTM AM Center of Excellence (AM
CoE) in partnership with some world-
class organiations. Beyond research, the
ASTM AM CoE is a vehicle to disseminate
knowledge to the global AM community
via education and workforce development
programmes, support development
of certification services, and provide
advisory services on AM technology
implementation.
Evidence of the AM CoE success is
compelling. Over the past three years
we have demonstrated that conducting
effective R&D can significantly accelerate
and improve the development of
standards. The results and data
generated from R&D projects can
lead to new standards being
developed and contribute to
the revision of existing ones.
The same process can be
adopted for other emerging
technologies that we are
actively supporting such as
exo technologies, robotics,
commercial space flight
and many others. That is
the beauty of the ASTM
R2S model.
Now you can understand why standard
development is an acquired taste.
Enthusiastic and passionate members are
the ones who keep the pot boiling at each
ASTM committee. Yet, it is the very same
passion that results in ASTM’s heavily
scrutinised, consensus-based process that
goes into the publication of a standard.
Research articles in peer reviewed journals
usually undergo three to four reviews by
subject matter experts before they can
be published. For a standards document,
it will undergo review by more than a
hundred experts with diverse perspectives
across the industry. The comments from
all of these experts need to be addressed
before such a document can be accepted
for publication. A single negative
comment could stop the
publication of the
standard until it is
resolved.
Imagine the
level of focus
required and
efforts that go
into drafting
a standard.
Being a part of
drafting such
a document
is certainly
an amazing
experience.
 Messe Frankfurt Group

16 – 19 NOVEMBER 2021
FRANKFURT / GERMANY

Enabling
the impossible!
We know that additive manufacturing offers
undreamed-of potential. Only, however, if all the
upstream and downstream processes are taken
into account – from design to material and qual-
ity assurance.
Does your technology contribute here?
If so, do secure your space in Frankfurt.

formnext.com

Where ideas take shape. #formnext