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

Additive manufacturing’s promise to revolutionize industry is constrained by a widespread problem: tiny gas pockets in the final product, which can lead to cracks and other failures. Research published recently in Science, led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory, identified how and when these gas pockets form, as well as a methodology to predict their formation.

Bright AM was designed to manage and support additive manufacturing’s unique challenges – tracking the process of disparate parts 3D-printed together on a single plate as well as everything from incoming orders to work-in-progress to delivery confirmation.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is changing how we think about making parts from metal.

Registration is open for IHEA’s Fundamentals of Industrial Process Heating online learning course, which begins on April 15. The course is ideal for students who wish to further their studies at home or work in a flexible web-based, distance-learning format. It’s an affordable alternative to campus-based classes and allows students to go at their own pace.

Here are 12 tips that you will find extremely helpful when attending Thermprocess, GIFA, METEC and NEWCAST 2019 June 25-29 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

How many hours per week do you work on average? How satisfied are you with certain elements of your job? What will be the biggest challenge for your company in the next 12 months?

GE Additive, under terms of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Sydney, will invest a maximum of $1 million annually over the next 10 years in research and development to accelerate the adoption of metal additive manufacturing in Australia. The MoU reinforces the university’s commitment to establish a new 1,000-square-meter Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Processing research facility and supports the creation of the first metal AM ecosystem in Australia. The 10-year agreement also covers materials and powder technologies, including alloy design, alloy modification, powder characterization, post-processing optimization and materials gaps in repairs.

Vacuum sintering is one of the unsung heroes of industrial metallurgy. In this crucial process, materials are heated in a vacuum environment until they are almost at the point of melting.

Germany’s SMS group won the German Design Award in the “Industry” category for an additively manufactured spray head used to cool dies in the forging industry. The award recognizes innovative products and projects and the companies or individuals who have fabricated and designed them. In this case, it was not only the spray-head component that was noteworthy, but also that additive-manufacturing (AM) techniques were used to produce the part.