Reverse engineering is conducted based on the analysis of an already existing product. The results of such an analysis can be used to improve the functioning of the product or develop new organizational, economic, information technology and other solutions that increase the efficiency of the 3D-printed products.

NASA, FDA, NIH and the Departments of Energy and Defense: These are just a few of the government actors in the increasingly growing space of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing

A partnership between the University of Northern Iowa, Youngstown State University and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) will leverage $10 million in first-year funding to increase the number of small to midsize enterprises using advanced technologies, bolster critical areas of the defense manufacturing supply chain and create jobs. The partnership will provide hundreds of businesses each year with support to remove barriers to adopting Industry 4.0 technologies, enabling a faster output of quality parts while expanding and strengthening the supply chain. Those technologies include 3D printing, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).

AM production enables the creation of parts not possible with traditional technologies through new design concepts, new materials and new applications. 

Airbus, Safran and Tikehau Ace Capital signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Eramet for the acquisition of its subsidiary Aubert & Duval. The three partners intend to acquire 100% of Aubert & Duval through a new joint holding company in which they would have equal ownership rights. Aubert & Duval is a supplier of critical parts and materials for the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries with a workforce of around 3,600 employees based mostly in France. The company supplies metal powders for additive manufacturing. Its Pearl Micro metal powders are used in electron-beam powder-bed fusion, directed energy deposition and metal binder jetting.

Sciaky Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries (PSI), will deliver what it says is the world’s largest electron-beam directed energy deposition (DED) 3D printer to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). The customized electron-beam additive-manufacturing (EBAM) system is going to TAI’s Ankara plant, where it will 3D print some of the largest titanium aerostructures in the industry. The machine’s work envelope stretches beyond 19.7 feet (6 meters) long x 6.5 Feet (2 meters) wide x 5.9 feet (1.8 meters) high. Deposition rates will exceed 20 kg of metal per hour for many metal alloys.

Resiliency concerns revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic are driving companies to embrace sustainable manufacturing for post-pandemic supply chains. Supply-chain sustainability is the management of environmental, social and economic impacts. Reshoring checks all of the sustainability boxes since it reduces environmental impact, has a positive societal effect and stimulates economic activity. 

Since January is the month we try to focus on new technologies and products impacting the thermal-processing industry, let’s take a look at some recent news items that have come across my desk (or rather appeared in my inbox).

Get answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about testing additive products.

Forward AM, the brand of BASF 3D Printing Solutions, opened an additive-manufacturing (AM) Applications Technology Center (ATC) in Detroit, Mich., in cooperation with Michigan State University (MSU). The new facility will serve as the hub of expertise for solutions in the North American AM market. This joint commitment will allow education and industry to combine their strengths to offer fully integrated 3D printing solutions. Forward AM contributes with a wide range of high-performance 3D-printing materials and engineering expertise, while MSU brings years of technical expertise and the drive to support the next generations of 3D-printing services and design solutions.