Burloak Technologies Inc., a division of Samuel, Son & Co. Ltd., established an additive-manufacturing center in Camarillo, Calif. With the addition of this facility, the company becomes North America’s first multi-site AM services provider. The new 25,000-square-foot facility bolsters the manufacturing capacity available at Burloak’s 65,000-square-foot Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Oakville, Ontario. Between the two facilities, the company offers laser powder-bed fusion, electron-beam powder bed, metal binder jet, and powder and wire DED technologies. In addition, Burloak offers post-production services including design, engineering, CNC machining, heat treatment and finishing.

Sciaky Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries (PSI) and a supplier of industrial metal 3D-printing solutions, received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from NASA. The objective of the SBIR is to enhance Sciaky’s electron-beam additive-manufacturing (EBAM) process with new machine-learning algorithms that automatically identify and eliminate defects with titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) 3D-printed parts and structures. The machine-learning algorithms will utilize Sciaky’s patented interlayer real-time imaging and sensing system (IRISS) to monitor titanium deposition, identify anomalies and fix them. These intuitive adaptive control features will help manufacturers deliver consistent results.

The Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) is currently working on several digital-manufacturing projects. In this piece, we feature two material manufacturing research projects with far-reaching impact.

Quintus Technologies delivered a hot isostatic press (HIP) to full-service additive manufacturer Burloak Technologies. The Oakville, Ontario-based company will use the HIP to significantly increase production and deliver new levels of mechanical performance and strength properties in parts for mission-critical applications. The unit combines high pressure, heat treatment and cooling in a single process, which removes several operations from the AM production line. The HIP’s highly customizable cooling cycle can be programmed to stop at a specific temperature while maintaining the desired pressure setpoint. Rapid cooling under pressure minimizes thermal distortion and non-uniform grain growth in components, producing finished parts with optimal material properties.

Swedish heating technology company Kanthal and metals research institute Swerim will invest in ultra-modern atomizing equipment. The investment is worth approximately $2.39 million. The new equipment is designed for research and development of both materials and the atomizing process in the area of powder metallurgy (PM). It allows for atomizing of powder batches up to about 187 pounds (85 kg), both for additive manufacturing (AM) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) applications. The unit has high material and process flexibility, which means great possibilities in development of materials and processes aiming toward both AM and PM.

3D Systems announced a planned expansion of its Rock Hill, S.C., facility. The company will add 100,000 square feet to the existing campus in an effort to consolidate its materials manufacturing, quality and logistics operations with new and expanded materials-development laboratories to improve operational efficiencies, accelerate solution development and reduce time to market. In addition, 3D Systems will expand its customer collaboration and training facilities, as well as its advanced-manufacturing capabilities for both metal and polymer components. These capabilities are critical to accelerating the move from proof-of-concept for new customer applications to full-scale workflow definition and initial industrial production.

A review of recent news certainly highlights some interesting stories. For our industry, additive manufacturing/3D printing is regularly in the headlines. Let’s take a look at these reports and some others making technological impact.

Desktop Metal has been awarded Phase I of a three-year, $2.45 million project from the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop an additive-manufacturing (AM) process capable of mass producing cobalt-free hardmetals developed by the U.S. Army. The company’s Production System with single-pass jetting (SPJ), a proprietary AM technology developed by Desktop Metal, will mass manufacture complex-shaped, cobalt-free hardmetal parts without tooling. It is expected to lead to the development of a dual-use technology with numerous applications for the DoD as well as in the civilian sector, including parts for the steel and aerospace industries.

SMS group received an order from Outokumpu for the supply of an atomization plant for the production of high-quality stainless steel powder used in additive manufacturing. The plant, which is scheduled to become operational in early 2022, will be designed for an annual production of up to 330 tons of stainless steel powder. It will include an induction melter, atomizer, two cyclones and filter elements. The powder atomization plant will be designed for the complete process to take place in an inert atmosphere.

Sintavia, LLC, a metal additive manufacturer, entered into an agreement to collaborate with Siemens Digital Industries Software on the development of an end-to-end additive-manufacturing (AM) software solution as a part of Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio. Sintavia will provide testing and technical feedback on pre-released software that will be part of future AM solutions. In exchange, Sintavia becomes a preferred AM partner of Siemens and gains access to the software in advance of the market, along with technical support for its implementation.