Editors Peter Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider discuss discoveries and observations about 3D printing materials, processes, applications and scale from RAPID + TCT 2022, held in Detroit, May 16-19.

This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS.

Mentioned in this episode:

• RAPID+TCT
• Slideshow and blog post about the 2022 event
• RAPID 2021 recap
• GKN Additive
• Jabil's PK5000, a possible alternative to PA12
• Machine builder and material supplier EOS
• Carbon self-extinguishing resin
• Another right-sized application for Braskem's polypropylene
• Stratasys materials collaborations with Kimya, Covestro and Mechnano, to name a few
• GE Additive and Kennametal collaboration on binder jet for tungsten carbide
• Materialise CO-AM platform for serial production
• Inkbit coverage
• Quantica, developer of an 3D printing jetting head
• Ceramic piston created by XJet
• AM-Flow's automated sorting system on display
• C1 system from AM Solutions for automated support removal from photopolymer prints
• The Mosaic Array in action
• AM Forward initiative announced at United Performance Metals

Additive manufacturing is creating new opportunities for fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials. This has implications for the promise of AM and implications for the composites industry. In this episode, Peter Zelinski of Additive Manufacturing Media is joined by Jeff Sloan of sister brand CompositesWorld. They talk about composites replacing metal, large-format 3D printing for tooling, and other aspects of the overlap between these two worlds. Also, what does the acceptance and adoption of composites into part production, and the way this played out in previous decades, signal about the way ahead for an even newer disruptive technology, additive manufacturing?

This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS.

Mentioned in this episode:

• CompositesWorld
• 3D printing changing composites manufacturing: a Q&A with Jeff Sloan
• Composites replacing metal: an example
• Aerospace applications for 3D printed composites on a previous episode of AM Radio
• Large-format composites 3D printing for tooling: Articles involving Cincinnati Inc., Thermwood and a provider focused on this work.
• Additive Engineering Solutions’ move from 3D printed tooling into production parts
• 3D printed composite tooling making precast concrete forms
• Podcast for the composites industry: CW Talks with Jeff Sloan

Julia Hider shares 3D printing for production and various kinds of tooling spotted at the first-ever Plastics Technology Expo. Then, she and Pete Zelinski discuss new methods of 3D printing with polymers that deliver greater freedoms in terms of layer width, layer height, material viscosity and more.

This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference at IMTS. The call for papers is open through April 29, 2022.

• The Graduate plastics clip
• PTXPO
• AM 101: Multi Jet Fusion
• Another example of 3D printed plastics replacing metal
• Mantle’s technology for 3D printed injection mold tooling
  • Medical tweezers case study
• Xact Metal
  • What is laser powder bed fusion?
• Fortify
  • Ceramic fiber filled DLP
• 3D printed Innovent ejector pins from Next Chapter Manufacturing
  • Video of the demo from Next Chapter Manufacturing’s booth
  • 3D printed porous copper filter
• 3D printed cutting tools
• 3D printed end of arm tooling
  • 3D printed end of arm tooling section compared to traditional EOAT
• Where to find pictures and videos from PTXPO: Twitter and Instagram
• Sculpman’s variable nozzle FFF
• Adaxis’ technology for variable layer height
• Examples of robots and 3D printing
• Vatless vat polymerization from BCN3D
• Inkbit’s material jetting process for more viscous polymers
• Seven types of AM from ASTM

Can 3D printed polymers reinforced with chopped or continuous fibers be a suitable replacement for metal parts? In this episode, Julia Hider and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss at least three scenarios where this is taking place--and two of them happen to involve training devices related to aerospace. (Possibly a precursor to printed composites replacing metals on flight-worthy aircraft?) Then, our hosts dive into blockchain and its usefulness for protecting and distributing 3D printable files.

This episode is brought to you by CompositesWorld.

Mentioned in this episode:

• How Werco replaces metal aircraft components with 3D printed composites.
• A flight simulator body 3D printed with chopped carbon fiber-reinforced ABS on The Cool Parts Show
• Our previous episode of AM Radio on finishing of 3D printed parts with Scott Francis of Products Finishing
• The Cool Parts Show episode that put a 3D printed composite bracket up against its machined steel counterpart
• A characterization of blockchain technology by Modern Machine Shop editor emeritus Mark Albert
• CoreLedger's blockchain-based system for distributed manufacturing via 3D printing
• How VeriTX aims to build a blockchain-based marketplace for aerospace parts
• A recap of the controversy between Disney and TikTok creator Andrew Martin

3D printing is valuable as a means of bridge production—that is, manufacturing that is less than scale production, and likely temporary, but nonetheless filling a production need. Sometimes it comes between prototyping and serial production, or to cover a supply chain gap. Pete Zelinski and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss several examples where manufacturers are performing 3D printed bridge production to great advantage, as well as the cases where it makes sense to fully embrace AM for production instead.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Our 2018 story on Resolution Medical
• Subscribe to our newsletter here to receive the 2022 Resolution Medical update and our article on Smith Metal Products when they are published
• Tangible Solutions, an Ohio manufacturer of spine implants through 3D printing
• 3D printed foam pads for Wilson baseball mitts
• Adam Clark on stage at the 2017 Additive Manufacturing Conference
• (Be there for the next quotable moment at our 2022 event in September) 
• The GE fuel nozzle
• Fitz Frames, maker of custom 3D printed glasses frames
• Aetrex, footwear company with a line of 3D printed custom insoles
• Our previous podcast episode on 3D printing and inventors
• Maxwell June, a producer of razor accessories with desktop 3D printers
• The Periscope case, a niche phone accessory
• Pengraff, a UK-based manufacturer of mounting brackets for routers, modems and other consumer electronics
• Behind the scenes on our March/April cover shot and the full story on Aerosport Additive

Additive manufacturing makes it possible to begin to make a new product cost-effectively at small scales through 3D printing, and both change the product design and scale up its production in response to market acceptance. This means inventors of new products can be their own manufacturers, and it’s why inventors producing their own product is becoming a new category of manufacturer. Julia Hider recently visited an example: Maxwell June, maker of a new razor system for shaving. She and Peter Zelinski discuss what she found, and the reasons why additive manufacturing expands the possibilities for inventors.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Maxwell June
• The "mold moment" and AM's paths to production
• The Dustram and Jack King, its inventor, on The Cool Parts Show
• The Periscope phone case
• Ultimaker 2+, one of the machines used at Maxwell June
• Creality Ender-3 V2, the newer printers at Maxwell June
• More on extrusion 3D printing (FDM/FFF)
• More on vat photopolymerization (stereolithography [SLA]/digital light processing [DLP])
• More on Multi Jet Fusion
• Tooling for publishing

A 3D printed part is rarely complete straight off the printer, and many additive manufacturers are accustomed to performing some level of cleaning and surface finishing. But postprocessing need not stop there. Electroplating, powder coating, anodizing and other processes can add improve the appearance, provide greater resistance and add functionality to 3D printed parts. On this episode of AM Radio, host Stephanie Hendrixson welcomes the show’s first guest expert: Scott Francis, editor in chief of Products Finishing (a sister brand to Additive Manufacturing, published by Gardner Business Media).

Mentioned in this episode:

• Products Finishing
• CompositesWorld
• Macaw with a 3D printed and anodized titanium beak
• Products Finishing Top Shops program
• REM Surface Finishing
• Faraday Technology
• Axalta Mobility Coatings

Additive Manufacturing Media, the brand behind AM Radio, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2022. In this episode, Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski take a look back at the last decade in 3D printing and additive manufacturing and then offer 6 predictions for the next ten years in AM.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Past issues in our digital archive
• The Additive Manufacturing Conference
• Our latest update on Linear AMS, including links to past stories
• 2015 story with Dr. Tim Simpson of Penn State University
• Deka Research and Development's work with Mar-M 247, a nickel-based alloy
• Lockheed Martin's work to 3D print satellite parts
• Tilt Hydrometer's use of 3D printing for a critical component of their device for beer monitoring
• A look at the lattice hidden inside Hilos' 3D printed shoe platform
• Cobra Golf putter with a lattice design
• IKEA's Flamträd 3D printed home décor line
• The Cool Parts Show episode on 3D printed magnets
• The Cool Parts Show on a carbon fiber-reinforced composite part made by 9TLabs
• 3D printing ceramics using a gel bath for support
• How Mantle's TrueShape process works and case studies from a user
• Email us: [email protected]
• Find us on Twitter at @AM_StephanieH and @Z_Axis_MMS
• Reach out on LinkedIn: Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski
• Connect with the Additive Manufacturing Media brand on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram

SHOW NOTES

Additive manufacturing is realizing new possibilities for components at the extremes of size range. In this episode, Peter Zelinski and Julia Hider discuss micro 3D printing via DLP as well as large scale 3D printing enabled by robots, FDM, wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and more.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Nano Dimension’s Fabrica 2.0 (after this article was written, Nanofabrica was acquired by Nano Dimension, and the Tera 250 was renamed the Fabrica 2.0)
• Micro 3D printed electrical connectors from Boston Micro Fabrication
• Micro 3D printed eye stents for glaucoma surgery by Boston Micro Fabrication
• Micro injection mold shop Accumold’s use of the Fabrica 2.0
• Wire-arc additive manufacturing at Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions
• Additive Engineering Solutions using a BAAM machine from Cincinnati Incorporated for tooling
• Autonomous underwater vehicle hull sections 3D printed by Additive Engineering Solutions using BAAM
• Flight simulator cockpit 3D printed by Additive Engineering Solutions using BAAM
• Aerospace AM company Sintavia designed its facility with the expectation that laser powder bed fusion machines will become larger

Julia Hider and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss the benefits and use cases for 3D printed lattices as a replacement for conventional foam materials. Then, they count down Additive Manufacturing's top 10 stories from 2021.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Rawlings' REV1X baseball glove featuring 3D printed inserts
• Carbon's Design Engine for lattice generation
• HEXR, manufacturer of custom bike helmets
• Hilos recyclable heels on The Cool Parts Show
• Aetrex 3D printed insoles on The Cool Parts Show
• Lubrizol and Colorfabb's VarioShore TPU foaming filament
• CNC Kitchen's video on VarioShore TPU
• Additive Manufacturing Media's Top 10 Stories from 2021