{"id":32518,"date":"2017-05-17T17:16:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T21:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/?p=32518"},"modified":"2017-12-26T10:42:06","modified_gmt":"2017-12-26T15:42:06","slug":"moving-additive-manufacturing-concept-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/2017\/05\/moving-additive-manufacturing-concept-production.html","title":{"rendered":"Moving Additive Manufacturing from Concept to Production"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining hundreds of additive manufacturing enthusiasts at the Dassault Systemes\u2019 first-ever Additive Manufacturing Symposium in Chicago, which was part of the larger SCIENCE in the Age of Experience event being held May 15-18. The goal of the event was to bring the world\u2019s leading experts and advocates of additive manufacturing (AM) together to share insights regarding the latest innovations, collaboratively address on-going industry challenges, and generate ideas to accelerate the widespread adoption and advancement of the technology.<\/p>\n<p>The agenda was jam-packed with leaders from industry, government and academia. First up was Derek Luther, an engineer with Adidas, who discussed the role 3D printing played in the creation of the company\u2019s first-ever 3D printed running shoe, the FutureCraft 4D, which features a highly complex lattice structure, shown in the video below here.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\">\n<div class=\"entry-content-asset\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DFtVF2DdSuM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" gesture=\"media\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The German company partnered with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carbon3d.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Carbon<\/strong><\/a>, a tech company that uses an additive manufacturing process known as Direct Light Synthesis. By moving to additive manufacturing, Luther says the engineers and designers have more design freedom, can iterate quicker due to faster part speeds and now have the ability to engineer every cell of the shoe\u2019s lattice structure per individual customer. The company plans to ship 5,000 of the shoes by end of year with plans to ramp up in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Next up was John Vickers from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/marshall\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>NASA\u2019s Marshall Flight Center<\/strong><\/a> who emphasized how critical AM is to NASA\u2019s missions, especially the Mars mission. Making the point that\u2019s it\u2019s impossible to bring additional supplies and redundant parts with the astronomical (pun intended) pay load costs for space travel, the ability to create parts through on-board 3D printing is essential to the mission.<\/p>\n<p>Troy Hartwig from the <a href=\"https:\/\/nnsa.energy.gov\/aboutus\/ourlocations\/kcnsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kansas City National Security Campus<\/strong><\/a> (NSC) discussed how AM has greatly increased designers ability to innovate has changed what was possible in design, introducing novel forms and shapes that were never possible before due to the constraints of traditional manufacturing methods. \u201cBreakthroughs come when you stop thinking about design constraints and you can add complexity to your designs without the additional costs normally associated with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32520\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32520 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/KCRC-615x473.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/KCRC-615x473.jpg 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/KCRC-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/KCRC-768x590.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/KCRC-728x559.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/KCRC.jpg 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">The NSC is using 3D printing for prototyping and material characterization, along with tooling and fixtures around different systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jerry Feldmiller from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orbitalatk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Orbital ATK<\/strong><\/a> talked on the importance of industry participation in shaping future hardware, software and materials for AM. Feldmiller said his company has been very involved with AM, beta testing the company\u2019s launch vehicle components using AM machines from Statasys, and believes that work has spawned many new areas of research at Orbital. He emphasizes the importance of internal user groups at companies to share important information on AM and to maximize machine use across teams and divisions. Feldmiller also believes that external user groups should be actively developing and sharing best practices for designing for 3D printing and that academia must play a role in STEM-related activities to address the growing skills gap, citing the 2 million jobs that will go unfulfilled over the next decade.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32521\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32521 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/orbital-atk-successfully-tests-3d-printed-hypersonic-engine-combustor-nasa7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/orbital-atk-successfully-tests-3d-printed-hypersonic-engine-combustor-nasa7.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/orbital-atk-successfully-tests-3d-printed-hypersonic-engine-combustor-nasa7-300x81.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Metal 3D printing allows for complex geometries and assemblies that previously would have required multiple components, to be simplified into a single, cost-effective assembly, without compromising on strength or structure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tim Simpson, a professor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Penn State University<\/strong><\/a>, spoke about the challenges and research opportunities for AM. Simpson said that AM has drastically changed the way we approach design. By using AM engineers can design very lightweight components using internal lattice structures, something impossible by traditional manufacturing methods. He used the example of a Titanium 3D-printed hip implant, which can now go from concept to FDA approval in just 14 months. Another advantage is that through use of AM, these implants eventually will be fully customized to each patient\u2019s body.<\/p>\n<p>Jack Rome from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aerospace.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>The Aerospace Corporation<\/strong><\/a> discussed process simulation for developing AM parts for space applications. Most might think of simulation being used to analyze individual components or assemblies of components, however, to validate parts for space applications, the process of AM must also be validated. When designing for AM, material variability must be taken into consideration during the design process. He also emphasized the need for AM industry standards, in additional to the efforts of individual organizations, such as ASME.<\/p>\n<p>Following up on the topic of standardization was Lyle Levine of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nist.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>National Institute of Standards and Technology<\/strong><\/a> (NIST) who spoke on additive manufacturing of metals. One of the reasons Levine believes that metal AM isn\u2019t more prevalent is its inherent complexities. The cooling rates of various alloys vary greatly, making the non-linear behavior of the material more unpredictable. To create metals parts with AM, users must use simulation to \u201cbridge the gap.\u201d His organization is working in a pillared approach to facilitate industry adoption; creating a \u201cknowledge box\u201d of tools to use for AM and an \u201cengineering box\u201d with standards, best practices, validation methods and benchmark tests.<\/p>\n<p>Jack Beuth, a professor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cmu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Carnegie Mellon University<\/strong><\/a>, discussed the challenges of AM for industry. He said that while not many companies are using AM for production currently, the technology is still making a significant impact on product development. Often companies start with service bureaus and in-house tooling and prototyping as a first step into AM. He used <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ge.com\/stories\/brilliantfactory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>GE<\/strong> <\/a>as an example of a company spearheading the use of advanced digital manufacturing and AM, in particular. The company is currently using AM for producing many of the subsystems for jet engines. GE estimates that by using AM it can reduce part counts by 800 on its new jet engines and nearly 30 percent of the parts on its new gas turbine engine are being 3D printed.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32522\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-32522 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/waterturbine.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"610\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/waterturbine.jpg 610w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/waterturbine-300x123.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Rather than cutting, milling and drilling engine components, GE is welding together thin layers of powdered metal with a 200-watt laser and build parts from the ground up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For more information on how the different types of additive manufacturing work, interesting articles and on-demand webinars, check out the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.solidworks.com\/am\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>new section on the SOLIDWORKS website<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solidworks.com\/am\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.solidworks.com\/am<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solidworks.com\/am\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-32530 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/SW_3D_Generation_Banner_961x250_FINAL-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"961\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/SW_3D_Generation_Banner_961x250_FINAL-1.jpg 961w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/SW_3D_Generation_Banner_961x250_FINAL-1-300x78.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/SW_3D_Generation_Banner_961x250_FINAL-1-768x200.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/SW_3D_Generation_Banner_961x250_FINAL-1-615x160.jpg 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/SW_3D_Generation_Banner_961x250_FINAL-1-728x189.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 961px) 100vw, 961px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the Additive Manufacturing Symposium, experts in additive manufacturing from industry, academia and government came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges of additive manufacturing.<\/p>\n... <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/2017\/05\/moving-additive-manufacturing-concept-production.html\">Continued<\/a>","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":32531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2402,18],"tags":[196,2363,172,2420,2267],"class_list":["post-32518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3d-printing","category-solidworks","tag-3d-printing","tag-additive-manufacturing","tag-manufacturing","tag-production","tag-prototyping"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/235"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}