AMUG October 2020

President’s Report

I have been invited to yet another virtual meeting, and I really don’t know if I can take it. I understand the objectives and the constraints of the current situation. Virtual gatherings have become essential. But I, like many that I know, have become virtually exhausted by the quality of the web connections, content, and delivery…or the occasional Zoom bombing by Fido.

As I go about my AMUG duties, I am quickly reminded that we are ‘For Users, By Users’. This simple phrase is more than a motto, it is a paradigm. And it can possibly supply the antidote to digital fatigue and offer direction.

The paradigm acknowledges that we are not alone. We are part of a community, a community of users. If we all speak of what we want, what we need, and what we are not interested in, we can make a strong impact. This impact can be seen in the content of a conference, the actions of an association, and even the formation of a standard.

This impact originates from singular voices that come together as one. So I urge you to use your voice! Speak up to influence the AMUG Conference, as so many AMUG Members have done in the past. You can do this by telling us what you want in an event. You can also influence the sponsor portions of the AMUG Conference agenda by telling your suppliers what information you need to learn or telling them what you will NOT listen to. When you consider how we build an event ‘For Users, By Users’, you begin to understand how your opinion can be a determining factor. Please use this awareness to help us and your vendors understand how to make our limited time together more valuable.

Acknowledge that you are the key to everything…the key to great content, advanced technologies, completely new applications, or new processes…it all originates from one person with an idea, opinion, or inspiration.

While I can’t control the future, I can ask you to help shape it. Please continue to share with our team your ideas, your innovations, or your dislikes so we can make AMUG even greater!

Thank you for your engagement.

Conference Sponsors and Exhibitors

The AMUG Board extends thanks to everyone for their dedication, support, and understanding at this unprecedented time. In testament to the event and its value to the users and vendors, over 75% of the 2020 Sponsors and Exhibitors carried their AMUG support over to the 2021 AMUG Conference (March 14 – 18, 2021, Chicago, Illinois).

For others that wish to sponsor or exhibit in 2021, registration opened October 1. However, companies that want to participate will be put on a waitlist until we have a better understanding of the maximum capacity imposed by the social distancing guidelines and safety protocols local authorities provide. If you have not already registered your company’s interest and wish to do so, please visit 2021 AMUG Sponsor and Exhibitor Waitlist.

Should you have any questions regarding our sponsor and exhibitor options, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at vicepresident@amug.com.

Once again, thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you all in Chicago at the 2021 AMUG Conference.

Best wishes and #STAYSAFE

Andrew Allshorn & Jamie Cone
AMUG Vice Presidents

Digital Event Available On-demand

Last week DMG MORI hosted its Digital Event. Amongst the news and information was the U.S. premiere of the LASERTEC 30 Dual SLM machine.

If you didn’t attend, you can still watch the Digital Event here.

Watch the Digital Event on demand.

Design Innovation Month

You’re not too late to join CATI for our Design Innovation Month. Through the entire month of October, we will be hosting a variety of in-depth webinars, tips-and-tricks sessions, live demos, and panel discussions. Additionally, our expert team of Application Engineers are creating a lot of useful content on our blog portal that you can visit at your leisure. Access our blogs here.

Don’t miss out! Although our DI Live event is over, you can still sign up to access recordings of all the presentations including: What’s New SOLIDWORKS 2021, 3DEXPERIENCE WORKS, and 3D Printing and 3D Scanning, along with talks from industry leaders such as Rich Garrity, president of Americas at Stratasys.

Register here to get the information you need to move your business into the future.

Design Innovation (DI) Month continues throughout October.

ExOne: Raising the Bar in Binder Jet 3D Printing

ExOne recently released details about its newest technological advancements, including an InnoventPro metal 3D printer, which will be a major upgrade of the Innovent+, the world’s best-selling metal binder jetting system since 2016. The printer will offer two new build sizes, 3 liter and 5 liter, with print speeds topping 700 cc/hour.

Also, ExOne’s “inkjet-printable nanoparticle suspensions” are slated for commercial deployment in the InnoventPro. This all-new class of NanoFuse™ binders advances the field of binder jet 3D printing in critical ways. A live webinar, “Binder Jet 3D Printing with NanoFuse Particulate Binders”, will take place at 9am on Wednesday, November 4.

In addition, ExOne will offer the X1D1 automated guided vehicle to work alongside the X1 160Pro™ production metal 3D printer. The AGV will enable automated and efficient Industry 4.0 transport of 3D-printed build boxes through the binder jetting process.

“These new developments are critical in helping ExOne pave the way as the leader in binder jet 3D printing,” said John Hartner, ExOne CEO. “We are continuously improving our 3D printing processes in order to provide our global customers with cutting-edge products and services.”

The InnoventPro (left), an advanced entry-level metal 3D printer, and the X1D1 AGV (right) round out the family of production metal binder jetting systems.

Using Lattices to Design 3D-Printed Parts

Lattices offer new design and performance possibilities for 3D-printed parts. In this webinar, Dr. Hardik Kabaria, software engineering manager at Carbon, introduces the benefits of lattices and how a software-enabled “inverse design” process can allow designers and engineers to generate lattice structures that meet precise, user-defined specifications.

To complement the webinar, a new white paper from Carbon provides a more in-depth look at lattice-driven design for 3D printing. Real-world product examples, including bicycle saddles and a medical device for COVID-19 testing, illustrate design, product performance, and speed-to-market advantages harnessed using Carbon® Design Engine software and the Carbon Digital Light Synthesis™(Carbon DLS™) 3D printing process.

Download the white paper “How Lattices Revolutionize Product Development and Deliver Precision Performance.” Also check out our new video on RPU 70, one of Carbon’s high-performance Dual-Cure materials that serves as an exceptional ABS replacement.

Smooth transitions from one lattice pattern to another can create different mechanical responses within a single 3D-printed part using the same material.

DSM Partners with Nexa3D to Deliver New Class of Laser Sintering Materials for Ultrafast Series Production

DSM and Nexa3D, the maker of ultrafast polymer production 3D printers, announced a partnership to fast track the availability of Nexa3D’s QLS-350 systems with DSM’s supply chain-approved laser sintering powders for series production. Under this collaboration, Nexa3D plans to immediately include DSM’s first-ever PBT laser sintering material, Arnite® T AM1210 (P), with every Quantum Laser Sintering QLS™ 350 system it sells commercially starting in the first quarter of 2021.

This partnership underscores both companies’ strong commitment to accelerate the adoption of sustainable AM for series production of electrical connectors, automotive electronics, and lighting applications through innovative collaborations that are designed to unlock the full potential of additional performance polymers for AM.

Arnite T AM1210 (P).

Howco Group Orders Its First Metal AM Machine from SLM Solutions

Howco, the leading global distributor of raw material to the oil and gas industry, has made its first purchase of the latest metal AM technology for its brand-new AM facility in Houston, Texas. In regards to purchasing their new SLM®500 selective laser melting machine, Howco’s director of additive manufacturing, Conrad Kao, comments, “We went through an extensive selection process over a number of months to make sure we had the optimum technology for our new venture. We are expecting delivery in Q3 2020 and are working hard to have all our ancillary support equipment in place to allow us to start printing components.”

Read the full story here.

Dyndrite Day—Rapid-fire Announcements and New Products that Ignite the Power of Additive

When: Oct 29, 2020 at 11:00 am (EDT)/8:00 am (PDT)

Join us for Dyndrite Day, a virtual event announcing new products, technologies, and partners to the Dyndrite Accelerated Geometry Engine. Join Dyndrite Founder and CEO Harshil Goel and partners for a peek at software tools that enable a new level of capabilities and performance in AM software workflows.

Overall agenda:

• Dyndrite and The Dyndrite Ecosystem— Learn more about the Dyndrite architecture and how partner companies are deploying new solutions for end-users.
• New Product Announcement— Supercharging Voxels in Digital Manufacturing
• New Product Announcement—  ToolPathing Standardization
• And much more

Register now.

Timing is Everything

On a rather mild day for late October, the last commercial supersonic flight lifted off the tarmac at JFK airport in New York. Even in 2003, the Concorde’s sleek aerodynamic shape was ahead of its time. While it achieved the goal of supersonic travel, it wasn’t sustainable, economically or environmentally.

But a lot has changed since that aircraft was developed. So, on a rather mild day 17 years later, at an airport in Centennial, Colorado, a very different supersonic aircraft rolled out of a hangar as Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator made its debut. It’s the first major milestone in the company’s plan to develop Overture, the next supersonic commercial aircraft.

Recently, Mike Jagemann, Boom’s director of XB-1 production, talked with Stratasys about AM’s role in the development of the XB-1 and the plans for Overture. Additive wasn’t available for the Concorde, but fortunately for Boom, it’s a key technology that’s helping the company break multiple barriers.

See what Boom had to say here.

Boom’s XB-1 will fly away with multiple AM parts like this hydraulic line guide block.

FATHOM Propels the Future of Flexibility with Ultrasint^® TPU 88A

Forward AM has partnered with FATHOM, the largest privately held digital manufacturing company in North America. Together, we’re seeking to drive innovative product offerings fueled by BASF’s cutting-edge technology, and FATHOM’s speed and agility, to provide impactful on-demand manufacturing in the industry. FATHOM will now include the flexible, highly durable Ultrasint^® TPU 88A for Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) into its product offerings.

“FATHOM drives the digital additive manufacturing industry forward by continuously evaluating and enhancing our range of capabilities to provide a comprehensive suite of manufacturing services. With the addition of Ultrasint TPU 88A for SLS, we’ve further enhanced our ability to deliver parts in the exact specifications our customers require to propel their businesses forward,” said Ryan Martin, CEO of FATHOM.

Ultrasint TPU 88A benefits at a glance:

• High process stability
• High elasticity, rebound and resistance fatigue
• Excellent surface quality and level of detail
• Easy finishing, including smoothing, color dying, and Ultracur3D^® coating

For more information, visit Ultrasint TPU 88A.

Airless TPU tires by Forward AM.

New Design Techniques for the New Face of Modern Manufacturing

The combination of generative-design software, along with step-change improvements in 3D printing technology, have helped to create next-generation tools for designers. As a result, it has unlocked exciting new capabilities, enabling manufacturers to create complex and lightweight designs.

There’s no doubt that 3D printing is transforming the face of modern manufacturing. As manufacturers embrace industrial-scale AM, the spotlight is falling on design techniques that manufacturers can use to reduce print time and drive material savings without compromising part quality.

In Part II of Essentium’s Webinar on Designing for High Speed Extrusion, manufacturers can gain a deep understanding of how design techniques can be honed for High Speed Extrusion so that AM can shoulder a significant amount of manufacturing output. Techniques covered in-depth using real applications include: Z overhangs, cut-outs, and part interfacing. Starting from traditional fabrication and design, various parts are redesigned for faster print times with high quality and high repeatability.

Watch the webinar on demand.

Design techniques honed for the Essentium HSE 3D printing platform.

Renishaw Joins Project to Automate AM Post-processing

Renishaw is collaborating with UK start-up business Additive Automations as part of a project to automate metal AM post-processing, which involves using collaborative robots (cobots) to perform support structure removal. The project could reduce the average cost per part by 25%, furthering AM’s potential as a cost-effective option for large volume production lines.

Additive Automations is a Sheffield-based startup that creates robotic systems to automate AM. After obtaining funding from UK and Canadian bodies, its founder and CEO, Robert Bush, collaborated with both Renishaw and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). Since August 2019, Renishaw has been assisting Additive Automations’ progress by providing its industry leading AM expertise.

Read more here.

Metal AM post-processing with cobot.

Join us for Webinar Wednesday

October 21, 2020 – 10 AM EDT

How REJOINT is using EBM technology to push the envelope in orthopedics

During this webinar, Dr. Gian Guido Riva and Dr. Carolina Eleonora Lavecchia, both of REJOINT, will explore how the company is leveraging EBM technology to improve patient outcomes and push the medical industry to new heights.

Click here to register for this free session.

November 04, 2020 – 10 AM EDT

Insights from VBN Components: Redefining wear resistance through 3D printing of hard metals with high carbide content

Join this webinar, during which VBN’s Dr. Beste will explore the Vibenite^® materials and give real-life examples of achievable application benefits.

Click here to register for this free session.

For more information about GE Additive visit us at ge.com/additive.

Vibenite 3D-printed parts for high carbide content discussed in webinar.

Advanced Manufacturing Olympics, October 20-23: Register Today

Are you an engineer, entrepreneur, or STEM professional? Join us live October 20-23 at the inaugural Advanced Manufacturing Olympics for an immersive and personalized online experience focused on the latest technology in 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and more. Watch judges across the government, military, and academia award $1M cash prizes to the #AMO2020 competition winners, and welcome our very first AMO co-hosts, AM expert Peter Zelinski and former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin.

Speakers include Barbara M. Barrett, U.S. secretary of the Air Force, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., chief of staff of the Air Force, and Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force. NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison will be a featured speaker, as well as NASCAR Champion Brad Keselowski, legendary inventor Sebastian Thrun, and AMUG’s own Todd Grimm.

Wherever you are, discover new technologies and insights from thought-leaders across government, industry, academia, and small businesses delivered straight to your digital device! Reserve your free (virtual) seat now.

Advanced Manufacturing Olympics: October 20-23.

Special Focus Issue: AM Innovations

The new Special Focus Issue on AM Innovations from Digital Engineering includes coverage of CAD/AM convergence, 3D metal printing, design for AM (DfAM), materials, and distortion compensation simulation. You can download the special issue here.

Download Special Focus issue of DE.

Another Podcast for the 3D Printing Industry

For many, much of 2020 was experienced in relative solitude. So, perhaps understandably, people have started talking to themselves. At least this might be one explanation for the boom in podcasts!

So, what better time to launch yet another 3D printing podcast?

Another Dimension is our attempt to unpick and understand the spread of AM across the wider world. The first episode looks at recent news from Tesla and AM in the automotive sector.

Listen to Another Dimension from 3D Printing Industry here.

As always, we’re keen to hear your thoughts. So do get in touch with suggestions, feedback or just to say “Hi.”

Another Dimension from 3D Printing Industry.

Get the Latest Insights into Sinter-based AM Processes

From the publisher of Metal AM magazine, PIM International offers in-depth coverage of the MIM, CIM, and sinter-based AM sectors.

In the latest issue, Desktop Metal’s Andy Roberts offers his insight into how the company’s Live Sinter software can help users of sinter-based AM technologies to predict and account for sintering distortion.

Xerion Berlin Laboratories’ Dr Uwe Lohse considers how the unique combination of feedstock extrusion and sintering presents a range of component design concepts that enable previously impossible forms and functions.

And David Wolff, Stefan Joens, Bryan Sherman, Mike Montesi, and John Boyle take a strategic view on in-house sintering operations for MIM and AM, looking at gas supply and generation, gas storage infrastructure, and the implications for health and safety.

Explore these articles and more free of charge in the digital edition of PIM International.

PIM International publication covers MIM, CIM, and AM.

ADDITIV’s Free Virtual AM Event

A day full of expert panel discussions, networking, and more

Every year, key events in the AM sector are at the heart of developments in this technology. Over the last few years, 3Dnatives has had the pleasure of attending these events, understanding their significance in uniting the AM industry. Following the postponement of almost all of these annual meetings, a new format emerged to fill the void. Virtual events have become the only way to bring the 3D printing industry together during the pandemic. This is why 3Dnatives is excited to announce its own free, 1-day virtual event called ADDITIV digital World, which will take place on October 22 from 8 AM to 5 PM EDT. Exciting panel discussions and networking sessions are lined up during the day, with speakers from leading institutions and companies like NASA, MIT, Facebook, and Ford Motor Company to discuss current applications and the future of AM. You can register now.

For details, read the article on the event.

Covestro Buys DSM Additive Manufacturing: Analysis and Implications for 3D Printing

3DPrint.com Executive Editor Joris Peels analyzes the recent sale of Royal DSM’s 3D printing materials division to Covestro, speculating on the motivations for both parties as well as the implications for the deal.

Read Joris’ analysis here.

Covestro board members. (Image courtesy of Covestro)

AM Is Driven by Software

3D printers might be the first type of part-making machinery that both assumes and requires the use of 3D modeling software for its input. They are digital manufacturing devices that depend on software; in some senses this could be a limitation, but it is also an opportunity. As software advances, it brings AM along with it.

The September/October 2020 issue of Additive Manufacturing magazine speaks to this relationship. We cover topology optimization of a legacy part; simulation of powder bed fusion and DED processes; in-process layer height control; parameter experimentation; a digital workflow for casting; and the use of artificial intelligence to make 3D printers smarter. Find the issue here, and a playlist of companion videos on YouTube.

AM software for this issue (read) and companion videos (watch).

Reporting on Users and Suppliers of 3D Printing Technologies

Some of what’s trending on our website:

• The new digital issue of The Additive Report. Read it here.
• Survey on postprocessing practices of additive manufacturers. Read it here.
• Blog: Reassessing ‘junky’ 3D printers.

If you don’t receive the magazine, please subscribe at our website.

Q4 edition of The Additive Report.

Be Part of the TCT ‘No Show Guide’

Around this time of year, we’re usually prepping for last issues, compiling show reviews and previews, and racking up travel miles to color editor’s letters reminiscing on ground covered throughout that year.

But with the postponement of physical editions of industry events, our miles have turned to steps walked to the kitchen, and for those event previews, well, we’re doing something a little different.

This year, we’re introducing the TCT ‘No Show Guide’. If you’ve missed the opportunity to get in front of potential AM buyers and users, this new feature allows you to showcase your products to the largest captive AM audience on the planet. Included in both TCT Magazine’s European and North American editions and stylized like our popular trade show exhibitor highlights, the ‘No Show Guide’ is a condensed spotlight on your product offering with an accompanying spot in our online business directory.

Get in touch to find out more.

The ‘No Show Guide’ will be a feature in the latest editions of TCT Europe and North America.

Quality Control and More on 3D Metal Printing Platforms

Recognizing the need for material and process qualification, and assurance of a final AM part that meets or exceeds a host of requirements, 3D Metal Printing goes all in on quality control in our Fall 2020 issue, due out soon. And although Formnext becomes a virtual-only event in 2020, 3DMP’s print issues, newsletters, social media platforms, and website provide the latest news and technology in the rapidly evolving world of metal AM.

www.3dmpmag.com

Parts such as these mission-critical components, printed on Velo3D printers, rely on in-process metrology to ensure quality builds.

Meet 3D Systems New CEO

3D Systems has a long history in 3D printing (3DP)/AM, beginning when Chuck Hull developed stereolithography technology. Throughout the years, the company has expanded and adjusted its mission as the 3DP/AM industry has evolved. With the recent appointment in May of Dr. Jeffrey Graves as the new president and CEO, the company will be positioned for its next phase of growth. We recently interviewed Jeff to discuss his plans for the company.

Latest Technology Forward podcast hosts 3D Systems’ new CEO.