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AMUG Newsletter December 2011

By December 25, 2011October 12th, 2016

A Word from the President

Gary Rabinovitz AMUG President

Gary Rabinovitz
AMUG President

2011 is just about to pass into history as AMUG is poised to make history. It is only four months to this highly anticipated event. As you read this December issue of your AMUG Newsletter, please pay close attention to the European update from Graham Tromans. Graham not only walked the floors of EuroMold, he joined Kevin Ayers in staffing the AMUG booth. I would like to thank both for showing such passion for the group and additive manufacturing, in general.

I cannot say “thank you” enough to Stefan Ritt of SLM Solutions, and the entire SLM Team, for showing AMUG what German hospitality is really all about. SLM went out of its way to see that we had everything we needed for EuroMold, and that was very much appreciated.

The 2012 AMUG agenda is starting to take shape with tracks in consumer products, metals, medical and aerospace. Hands-on certificate training sessions will also be a highlight of the agenda. Our Diamond Sponsors are currently planning activities for their demo suites, so stay tuned for more details. A working agenda will soon be added to our website (www.am-ug.com), so check back often.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you happy holidays and a healthy, prosperous New Year.

Best Regards,

Gary Rabinovitz

AMUG President

president@am-ug.com

Our Mission: AMUG educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies.

AMUG in SLM's stand at EuroMold. Pictured (left to right) are Stefan Ritt, Gary Rabinovitz, Graham Tromans and Kevin Ayers.

AMUG in SLM’s stand at EuroMold. Pictured (left to right) are Stefan Ritt, Gary Rabinovitz, Graham Tromans and Kevin Ayers.

VP Report

Exhibitor Expo Filling Up Fast …
Mark Abshire Vice President

Mark Abshire
Vice President

As we end the year, we are encouraged with the overall response we have received for our Exhibitor Expo. With the AMUG expansion to include all additive manufacturing technologies, we have increased the number of available tables over last year’s show. Our current commitments have already claimed half of the available space, and 25% of these are new, first-time participants.

Scott Schermer Vice President

Scott Schermer
Vice President

Registrations represent all aspects of our industry, including equipment manufacturers, service providers and ancillary products.

The AMUG Exhibitor Exposition will be held for two evenings during the 2012 AMUG Conference: Sunday, April 22 from 5 – 10 PM and Monday, April 23 from 6 – 10 PM. Sunday evening will be in conjunction with the Welcome Reception. Monday evening, the exposition will be in conjunction with the Additive Manufacturing Parts and Technical Awards Competition. Food and beverages will be included at each of these events for vendors, conference attendees and guests.

Please don’t wait until the last minute to register your space for this unique opportunity to display your products and services to a focused market segment of additive manufacturing users. And if you know of a supplier or vendor to the industry, please encourage them to check out this opportunity at www.am-ug.com/vendor-information.htm.

If you are interested in being an exhibitor or if you have a recommendation for a company you would like to see exhibit, please contact us at vicepresident@am-ug.com.

Regards,

Mark Abshire &

Scott Schermer

Conference Workshops

Ed Tackett Director

Ed Tackett
Director

RapidTech to Educate Once Again

RapidTech is the “National Center” for Rapid Technologies (RapidTech). Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program and administered by Saddleback College, the center is housed on the campus of University of California Irvine (UCI). The center focuses on additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and processes. RapidTech assists industry and education in material research, manufacturing processes and technology applications of additive technologies.

RapidTech is once again bringing its expertise to the AMUG conference. For 2012, it has three workshops planned. These workshops are free for all conference attendees.

1. Composites in Additive Manufacturing

This hands-on workshop will show the components of composite manufacturing. Three types of composite lay-up will be presented and participants will have the opportunity to explore the various techniques associated with each. AM tooling will be utilized for each of the three processes showcased: wet lay-up, pre-peg and VIP (vacuum infused processing) of carbon fiber, Kevlar and hybrid materials.

2. Finishing Workshop

This is an advanced finishing workshop focusing on specialty coatings for AM products. The topics covered will be surface preparation, conductive coatings, metal plating, electroless nickel, nickel electroforming and low/high temperature powder coating of FDM & SLS parts.

3. Hydro-Printing

Our popular hydro-printing workshop returns once again to AMUG 2012. This year we will be featuring more complex geometries and a larger dip tank. Hands-on demonstrations on a variety of AM produced parts. NEW patterns this year.

Throughout its five-year history as a National Center and fifteen years of experience in the additive manufacturing industry, the center has assisted hundreds of companies and educational institutions in the adoption of additive technologies.

RapidTech assists researchers at universities and companies by providing them with the expertise and tools to tackle challenging technical problems through the use of additive manufacturing.   Since relocating to the campus at UCI, RapidTech has provided assistance to over 200 university projects and interfaced with over 153 companies around the country, providing valuable insight on the skills and knowledge base required in the workplace. This information is processed and disseminated through national and regional workshops, conferences and other outreach activities. This has enabled RapidTech to build a sound foundation for a technically competent workforce and a national network of research institutions. RapidTech attends numerous industry events each year and conducts hands-on workshops at those events.

Ed Tackett

Director, RapidTech

2012 Sponsors

spn

Sponsor News – Stratasys

On-Demand Webinar: Myth-Busting 3D Prototypes: Does High Resolution = High Accuracy?
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Click to watch the webinar

Listen as Bonnie Meyer, senior applications engineer at Stratasys, discusses 3D printing and some of the myths about parts made using additive manufacturing systems. Are high-resolution parts always accurate? Not necessarily – join us and you’ll find out why. You’ll also learn how additive manufacturing systems have evolved and put to rest the myths about surface finish, tolerances and repeatability.

What You Will Learn:

  • Why accuracy is critical to 3D prototypes.
  • The difference between resolution and accuracy.
  • The difference between accuracy and repeatability.
  • What you should consider when evaluating additive manufacturing systems.

Who Should Attend:

  • RP Lab Managers
  • Design Engineers
  • Production Engineers
  • Manufacturing Engineers
  • Operations Managers

Duration: 20 Minutes.

TIME: On demand (at Stratasys.com). Watch now.

Rather read the white paper? Download it here.

Sponsor News – Objet

3D Printing Helps Create Real Steel – Latest Hugh Jackman Action Film

Recently released, Real Steel is an American science-fiction action film starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy. The film is based on the premise that by 2020 the sport of boxing is no longer played by humans, but robots. Hugh Jackman’s character, Charlie Kenton, plays a former boxer who builds, trains and manages his own robot boxers for illegal matches. After a couple of his robots are destroyed, Charlie repairs an obsolete robot called Atom, which he found in a junk yard. He then trains the robot to fight… and of course, the rest you’ll have to watch for yourself. In the meantime here’s a clip of Charlie training Atom to box.

Real Steel - Charlie Teaches Atom To Box
Real Steel – Charlie Teaches Atom To Box

To make the robots as real as  possible, animatronics were built with motion-capture technology. Legacy Effects was commissioned to build the robot models for the film. Legacy’s senior systems engineer, Jason Lopes, relied on Objet’s 3D printing technology to bring the robots to life.

Atom from the movie Real Steel
3D printed model from Real Steel

 

Being able to print high-resolution models on the 3D printers allowed Legacy’s designers to go from concept to final design and into full-size production in the shortest possible time. This is an important factor in the film industry, where special effects and technical enhancements often come at the cost of increasing time delays. In order to remain competitive, studios are constantly searching for ways to be more efficient, such as beginning their casting and special effects while they are still rewriting the screenplay or validating an effect in real-time during the filming process.

 

Using 3D printing allows studios to save on reshoots, editing and post production – all of which results in a shorter time-to-market and lower overall costs.

European Update:

EuroMold Recap
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Graham Tromans

European Liaisson

EuroMold 2011 took place in Frankfurt, Germany, from November 28th to December 2nd. The exhibition was well attended with what seemed like numbers equal to last year’s. Additive technologies were the second largest sector of EuroMold with 10.1% of all stands.

There were some exciting releases at this year’s show, none more so than the world’s first Pico printer. Developed by Asiga (Santa Ana, Calif.), it has a mode-dependent envelope of 30x 40 x 100 mm (1.2 x 1.6 x 3.9 inch) or 19 x 25 x 100 mm (0.7 x 1.0 x 3.9 inch). Resolution is either 50 microns (0.002 inch) or 37.5 microns (0.0015 inch). The Pico uses 50,000-hour UV LEDs to cure a resin. These printers are available now for $6,990.

BluePrinter (Copenhagen, Denmark) announced its namesake product that uses selective heat sintering (SHS). Foregoing lasers, BluePrinter uses a thermal print head to sinter thermoplastic powder, which is 100% reusable. This desktop system has a 200 x 160 x 140 mm (7.9 x 6.3 x 5.5 inch) envelope. The product is planned for release in the second quarter of 2012 at a price of €9,995 ($13,250).

There were a number of 3D printers shown that are based on the extrusion process, including Sintermask’s (Lupburg, Germany) Fabbster. This machine, which comes in kit form, has several options, including a heated build platform and a range of extruder nozzle. Beijing Tiertime Technology Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China) showed its Inspire S200 and S250.

Rapid Shape GmbH (Friolzheim, Germany) showed its S60 mini, S60 midi and S60 maxi, which have varying resolutions. These look and operate a bit like Perfactory machines. The company notes that its systems are capable of 10 mm (0.4 inch) of part in 10 minutes.

SLM Solutions GmbH (Lübeck Germany), released its new 280HL system with a build chamber of 289 x 280 x 350 mm (11.4 x 11.0 x 13.8 inch). The 280HL incorporates a unique double-beam technology that improves the beam profile and quality of parts. The system comes with a 400 W fibre laser or an optional 1 kW laser. It also incorporates a new bi-directional loader.

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Stefan Ritt and Gary Rabinovitz at EuroMold.

(A big “thank you” to Stephan Ritt for giving the AMUG some space on his stand to promote next year’s conference. We had a lot of interest, and it was nice to have a home for conference information and somewhere to sit down on occasion.)

For the first time since the acquisition of MTT Technologies, Renishaw (Gloucestershire, UK) showed off its additive manufacturing capabilities (selective laser melting) at EuroMold. EOS GmbH (Krailling, Germany) released the M280 with the new glove box configuration, which allows non-contact handling of metal powders.

Concept Laser GmbH (Lichtenfels, Germany) showcased its MLab Cusing system, which is targeted for dental and jewellery markets. With its modular platforms, changing materials (precious metals) is easy and secure. It also introduced the Quality Management Module that enables users to track build quality on the fly during processing. Also on hand was Matsuura (Japan), who had its European debut of the Lumex Avance-25 metal system. This hybrid system combines metal sintering and CNC machining.

Stratasys introduced its soluble SR-100 support material. This material provides soluble supports on polycarbonate parts. As always, Stratasys had a wide range of very impressive models on there stand and some very interesting case studies on applications of their technology.

Objet showcased its extensive range of machines along with some impressive models. Most impressive was a complete car dashboard printed in the ABS-like digital material. Due to its size, the dashboard was made in 19 pieces. It incorporated movable air vents and real electronic parts, highlighting the tight tolerances that can be achieved using Objet products. The company also showed an engine air box that had been used in testing that was manufactured in the ABS-like material. Also in the ABS-like material was an example of an injection mold capable of producing 30 to 50 parts.

3D Systems’ stand featured a wide range of their products. It also featured Freedom of Creation’s designs, many which were available for purchase.

For the fifth year, there was a corporate stand for “Design Talents.” Here students, young professionals and young designers showcased their innovations, developments and their own creativity in order to establish contacts and to generate jobs.

Also included in this year’s EuroMold was the 13th Wohler’s Conference. This year’s focus was “Design Innovation from Additive Manufacturing.”

Overall, EuroMold was a great success for the additive industry; there were a lot of positive comments from both delegates and exhibitors. I’d recommend putting next year’s event (November 27 – 30, 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany) on your calendar.

Graham Tromans

G P Tromans Associates 

The Sorovetz Report

Tom Sorovetz Event Manager

Tom Sorovetz
Event Manager

It’s the holiday season, and I hope that everyone has a very merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year!

With the holidays upon us, that means that we are only four–yes, four–months away from our BIG, historic, first-ever annual AMUG Conference and Exposition. Wow, where does the time go?

The board of directors is working very hard to make this historic event a huge success. However, we cannot do it alone; we really need your help. One of the best ways to help make the conference a success and to keep it thriving is to “give back” to the community. “How?” you ask; by getting more people to attend, getting more vendors to participate, getting speakers (including yourself) to present, or volunteering while onsite. After being a part of the user group for over 21 years, let me assure you that the feeling you get when you help is far more rewarding than words can ever say. “Paying it forward,” so to speak, is a pure adrenaline rush. So, please pitch in and give the board of directors a helping hand.

I’ve had one person contact with interest in extracurricular activities for his spouse at the 2012 AMUG Conference. We agreed on an excursion to Catalina Island for a day of shopping, sightseeing, eating and drinking. If anyone else is interested, please send me an email (eventmanager@am-ug.com). I will also continue to work on other venues for the remainder of the week, so please send me your suggestions for spouse/guest excursions.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thomas A. Sorovetz

From the Editor

Todd Grimm Editor

Todd Grimm
Editor

The holidays are a time when friends and family come together. They are a time of giving and sharing.

The same can be said for the AMUG Conference. It is an annual gathering of old friends (and soon-to-become new friends) that truly has the feel of family. There is a sense of caring amongst all that attend and an environment where giving and sharing are the norm. While the gifts aren’t physical and wrapped with bows, they have long-lasting value that carries well beyond the event. The gifts are insight, information and experience.

I sincerely hope that you can experience the magic of AMUG’s annual “holiday.”

May you have a very happy holiday season. Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Sincerely,

Todd Grimm

About AMUG

3DS Users Group has become AMUG, an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. The transition to AMUG supports the expansion of the user group to include all commercial additive manufacturing technologies for companies such as 3D Systems, EOS, Objet Geometries, Stratasys and Z Corporation. AMUG meets annually to provide a forum for technical presentation on processes and new technologies. This information addresses operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make.
Connect with members on the organization’s websitebog, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube networks.