ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Object printed on metal 3D printer . Close-up of a model created in a laser sintering machine .
As AM technologies continue to develop and secure a stronger foothold in production scenarios , there is simultaneous development ongoing across the sector to refine associated parts of the AM ecosystem , with a great deal of emphasis being placed on in-process monitoring for traceability and validation purposes , as well as automated postprocessing technologies . A further , vital area of development is materials , particularly metal powders for AM that meet — and exceed — the functionality and performance of existing production materials , as well as meeting the requirements of specific applications .
Design determines production
In traditional manufacturing , many costs are hidden in the supply chain . Additive manufacturing will have significant impact on the design and size of this system , reducing its associated costs . Industry experts forecast that additive manufacturing market value will reach U $ 50 billion between 2029 and 2031 while reaching US $ 100 billion between 2031 and 2044 . This explosive growth will undoubtedly disrupt how users think , plan and execute existing manufacturing process .
Potential alternative processes may include :
■ Additive manufacturing processes , including additive layer , powder jetting , selective melting and wire-fed variants .
■ Enhanced rolling , drawing and forging processes , including rotary forging , flexible forming , flow forming , cladding and vacuum forging .
■ Promotion of wrought properties in Near Net Shape manufacturing .
■ Hybrid forming processes .
The strengths of additive manufacturing lie in those areas where conventional manufacturing reaches its limitations . The technology is of interest where a new approach to design and manufacturing is required to come up with solutions . It enables a design-driven manufacturing process -
While COVID-19 impacted the business operations of nearly 70 % of the respondents , 56 % said that it did not impact their investment plans in 3D printing
where design determines production and not the other way around .
Additive manufacturing allows for highly complex structures which can still be extremely light and stable . It provides a high degree of design freedom , the optimisation and integration of functional features , the manufacture of small batch sizes at reasonable unit costs and a high degree of product customisation , even in serial production .
MakerBot , a global specialist in 3D printing and subsidiary of Stratasys Ltd ., released results in September 2020 from its 3D Printing Trends Report , which includes over 1,200 responses from professionals across multiple industries . Key findings in the report reveal that nearly three-quarters ( 74 %) of respondents are planning to invest in 3D printing technology in 2021 , with 50 % planning to spend up to US $ 100,000 .
According to the report , customisation is the main reason that respondents use 3D printing . Respondents wanted the ability to create custom , low-to-mid-volume production parts ( 68 %) and print complex geometries
( 57 %). However , 3D printing continues to play a much larger role in the research and design phases . Concept modelling ( 70 %), functional prototypes ( 66 %) and research and development ( 44 %) were the main applications for respondents .
“ Respondents expect the technology , materials and applications to develop over the next three-five years . 61 % of respondents expect more materials to emerge , while 58 % expect the cost of using the technology to decrease ,” said the report .
“ While COVID-19 impacted the business operations of nearly 70 % of the respondents , 56 % said that it did not impact their investment plans in 3D printing . In fact , when respondents were asked what their investment plans were for 2021 , 74 % stated that they still had plans to invest in 3D printing . This is an incredibly positive response which , we believe , signals growing confidence in 3D printing ’ s ability to improve resilience , responsiveness and , ultimately , the profitability of business operations ,” concluded Nadav Goshen , CEO of MakerBot , in response to the results . ■
50 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR July / August 2021