Sintavia LLC, an independent metal additive manufacturer, acquired QC Laboratories Inc. (QC Labs), a nondestructive testing (NDT) services company based in Hollywood, Fla. The acquisition enhances Sintavia’s NDT capabilities for commercial aerospace applications, particularly with respect to surface-finish conformance testing. QC Labs specializes in radiographic (X-ray and gamma), fluorescent-penetrant, ultrasonic, magnetic-particle and eddy-current inspections. The company holds approvals for these processes from Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Cessna, Eaton, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Rolls-Royce.

Sandvik acquired a 30% stake in privately owned Beam IT, a provider of metal additive-manufacturing (AM) services and advanced end-use components. Italy’s Beam IT supplies metal AM end components to demanding industries, including automotive, energy and aerospace, and holds several relevant quality certifications to serve these industries. The company has more than 20 powder-bed-fusion printers installed.

Protolabs launched production capabilities for its metal 3D-printing service. The new capabilities use secondary processes to improve the strength, dimensional accuracy and cosmetic appearance of metal parts. Protolabs uses direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology, which is ISO 9001- and AS9100D-certified, to 3D print metal production parts. Once parts are built, several secondary options like post-process machining and heat treatments are possible, and quality-control measures like powder analysis, material traceability and process validation are taken.

Metal additive manufacturing or metal 3D printing are terms that everyone in the metal-processing industry is seeking to understand. The “what” and the “how” are becoming clearer every day.

In the past, the applications of metal additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing, have primarily been confined to prototyping.