AM Radio

Formnext resumed in-person in Frankfurt, Germany, for 2021. Held November 19-16, Formnext 2021 filled three halls of the Messe Frankfurt convention center with 3D printing equipment as well as materials, software displays, postprocessing equipment and more. In this episode, cohosts Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski share trends they found across the show as well as the news regarding Formnext USA. Gardner Business Media president Rick Kline joins to discuss the event, the result of a strategic partnership between Gardner, Mesago Messe Frankfurt and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

For more on Formnext 2021, read our trends article and watch 8 Cool Parts from Formnext 2021.

For more on Formnext USA, see this article (includes events timeline).

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Formnext trade show
• AddUp and PostProcess Technologies' cooperation
• MarkForged FX20 machine and Eiger distributed manufacturing system
• Arburg Freeformer 3D printing PEEK
• Replique digital inventory platform
• CEAD composite 3D printing with robots
• Anisoprint continuous-fiber composite 3D printer
• HP
• Stratasys
• XJet's Support Material Automated Removal Technology (SMART) Station
• Sandvik and its investment in BEAMit
• 3D printed speakers made of sand
• Syng triphonic speaker
• Stratasys's partnership with ECCO shoes on 3D printed tooling
• Multimaterial 3D printing with DED for metals; laser powder bed fusion for metals; and lithography for ceramics and/or metals

RMS is a large medical device manufacturer that started its additive journey with one metal 3D printer. Five years later, it has grown its additive division to include 30 laser powder bed fusion machines running around the clock to produce more than 10,000 implants per month. Earlier this year, hosts Pete Zelinski and Julia Hider visited the facility and learned how metal 3D printing operates on such a large scale. Then, they discuss RMS's additive machine shop—an area set up specifically to finish metal 3D printed parts—and explain why machining 3D printed parts is so different than machining parts from stock.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Read More

• How to Organize Additive Production

• An Additive Manufacturing Machine Shop

• Cutting AM Parts from Build Plate Turns Wire EDM Upside Down

Material take-back programs for 3D printing are on the rise, as are technology advances geared toward recycling used prints and scrap into printable feedstock. Hosts Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider discuss recent news and examples of recycling for 3D printing. Then, they look at examples of animals that have benefited from 3D printing and explore how these applications mirror and advance those in the human and industrial worlds.

This episode is brought to you by PTXPO.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Roboze take-back program
• Kimya and Armor Group's circular additive manufacturing strategy for polymers
• IC3D, printer manufacturer, parts producer, filament supplier and recycler
• GreenGate3D, producer of PETG filament from industrial waste
• 6K Additive, materials processer using mechanical milling and microwave plasma to create metal AM powders
• Metal Powder Works, creator of a fully mechanical powder production process
• Images of the animal applications discussed in this episode on Instagram or our website
• The Cool Parts Show episode on the enrichment device produced for the Cincinnati Zoo
• GE Addworks, which produced the device
• Sprocket the cat, recipient of a Formlabs-printed brace
• ActiveArmor, a company offering custom 3D printed casts for humans
• Patches the dog, a Dachshund that received the first known custom 3D printed cranial plate made for a canine
• An episode of The Cool Parts Show on a similar implant, a custom scapula for a human
• Meticuly, a company that has developed software tools to automate implant design
• Rattlesnake research at the University of Texas El Paso supported by 3D printed models
• Eve, a tripod dog who received a 3D printed limb prosthetic created by DiveDesign and Bionic Pets
• Additive America's work on custom 3D printed orthoses and prostheses
• Finalists in The Cool Parts Showcase including a scoliosis brace and a prosthetic socket

From October 12-14, additive manufacturing (AM) professionals and those interested in adopting this technology gathered at the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo held this year in Cincinnati, Ohio. Attendance was lower than typical for this event, but the quality of the program speakers, exhibitors and attendees shone through. During a day and a half of sessions, speakers covered everything from 3D printed tooling to reshoring manufacturing to how teams of people — not just technology — need to change for successful AM adoption. Peter Zelinski, Julia Hider and Stephanie Hendrixson discuss the themes and ideas that emerged.

This episode of the AM Radio podcast is brought to you by PTXPO.

Related to this episode:

• Additive Manufacturing Conference
• Dustless Technologies, a company that adopted polymer AM to reshore its manufacturing
• M. Holland, plastic resin distributor
• EOS
• Dimensional Innovations, creators of the Raiders torch
• Inside the additive manufacturing and design master's program at Penn State University
• Women in 3D Printing
• The Cool Parts Showcase
• Verdin Bell's use of the Cincinnati Inc. BAAM for bell patterns
• Vertex Manufacturing, new business founded by Greg Morris
• Siemens
• Plus MFG, creator of COSMO (cost over specific modulus) tool for evaluating metal manufacturing methods

Stephanie Hendrixson and Pete Zelinski explore why the people who know additive manufacturing the best tend to sound the most negative about it. Plus, why there's still reason for optimism in spite of difficulty. This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo.

Mentioned in this episode:

• GE fuel nozzle
• Morris Technologies, founded by Greg Morris and acquired by GE
• Modern Machine Shop
• C & A Tool, founded by Dick Conrow
• Cases of 3D printing used for brackets
• Why I Am Bullish on Additive: 3 Factors Favoring 3D Printing's Continued Advance
• What Your CEO Needs to Know About Additive Manufacturing

Machining is done in a shop, injection molding is done at a molder and casting is done at a foundry. But what do we call businesses that do additive manufacturing? Peter Zelinski and Julia Hider discuss why it's difficult to name these businesses (and suggest a few options). Then, we get to know more about Additive Manufacturing Media's newest editor.

This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo.

Mentioned in this episode:

• RPG, a machine shop that has expanded into additive
• Markforged Metal X
• Modern Machine Shop
• Production Machining
• Badass Civil War Beards
• Additive Manufacturing September/October issue
• Sciaky's use of AI for electron beam additive manufacturing
• Inkbit's polymer 3D printing technology

RAPID+TCT 2021 was distinctive as the first major North American trade show for additive manufacturing since 2019, but also for the themes and technological advances evident on the show floor. Pete Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider discuss what they saw, heard and learned at the event.

This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo.

Find our slideshow on the things mentioned in this episode at: https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/impressions-and-trends-from-rapidtct-2021

Mentioned in this episode:

• RAPID + TCT
• Exone, highlighting the use of binder jet to make molds and other tooling
• EOS, highlighting online training in AM and a new powder bed fusion platform with increased height
• Forecast3D, polymer 3D printing branch of GKN
• MarkForged, launching its Eiger Fleet software
• Thermwood, displaying the largest machine at the show yet the smallest in its portfolio
• Massivit, showcasing the Massivit 5000 with build volume of 4 × 5 × 6 feet
• Cincinnati Inc., launching the Medium Area Additive Manufacturing (MAAM) 3D printer
• Roboze, desktop printer manufacturer premiering the large format ARGO 1000
• Nanodimension, developer of micro 3D printing technology that now also includes Nanofabrica
• Boston Micro Fabrication, micro 3D printer developer showcasing high temperature ceramics
• Formalloy, introducing the DEDSmart software for traceability in directed energy deposition (DED)
• 3D Systems and its acquisition of Oqton, a cloud-based manufacturing operating system (MOS)
• Dyndrite, creator of software for intelligent build preparation and more
• The Cool Parts Show

Julia Hider and Stephanie Hendrixson address the phenomenon of additive manufacturers—those who apply 3D printing to make end-use parts and products—who invest in developing, building and producing their own 3D printing technology. Plus, how sustainable is 3D printing, and how can product creators adopt a circular economy mindset with this process?

The AM Radio podcast is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Gantri, designer-to-consumer lighting platform
• Model No., sustainable furniture manufacturer
• IC3D, filament, 3D printer and service provider
• Slant3D, print farm operator
• 3DEO, metal 3D printing company
• Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions, the wire arc 3D printing arm of Lincoln Electric
• MolyWorks, scrap to metal powder startup
• Sintavia, aerospace metal additive manufacturer
• Aectual, 3D printed architecture company
• HILOS, creator of custom, sustainable shoes using 3D printed platforms

Hosts Stephanie Hendrixson, Julia Hider and Pete Zelinski of Additive Manufacturing Media discuss what makes AM distinctive among manufacturing methods plus how startups are enabled by 3D printing in this first episode of the AM Radio podcast. This episode is brought to you by the Additive Manufacturing Conference + Expo.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Additive Manufacturing Media
• Modern Machine Shop
• RPG, machine shop with MarkForged capability
• 3D printed Covid-19 test swabs
• Smile Direct Club, dental aligner producer (A point of clarification: In the episode Stephanie states that Smile Direct Club planned to print 1 million parts in a year. The actual figure cited was higher--20 million!)
• Fitz Frames, makers of custom glasses
• Node Audio, creators of the Hylixa speaker
• Retraction Footwear, manufacturer of custom flip-flops
• The Future of Jewelry, maker of customer rings produced with 3D printed tools
• Tilt Hydrometer, maker of home brewing equipment
• Defox, inventor of the Periscope Case
• Tangible Solutions, contract manufacturer of medical implants

Is 3D printing for real? What's really going on in additive manufacturing? What does it take to succeed with AM?

AM Radio answers these questions and more. Additive Manufacturing Media editors Peter Zelinski, Stephanie Hendrixson and Julia Hider discuss the trends, the technologies and the real successes playing out in AM today, and what it all means for the future of manufacturing. Subscribe and tune in every other week for new episodes.