Page 64 - MetalForming April 2013

Tooling Technology
Additive
Manufacturing
Creates New Opportunities for Metalformers
The evolution of additive manufacturing and its 3D-printing subset brings the ability to create all
sorts of parts and products economically, for use on the shop floor and for custom or volume
supply to customers.
BY LOU KREN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
In his 2013 State of
the Union address,
President Obama touted
the new National Additive Manufac- turing Innovative Institute (NAMII), in Youngstown, OH. It’s the first of 15 such institutes planned in his $1 billion National Network for Manufacturing Innovation initiative. Central to the institute’s mission is the development of 3D printing and related forms of addi- tive manufacturing, as viable part-pro- duction methods for manufacturers.
Additive manufacturing, and espe- cially 3D printing, have been buzz- words in new-technology circles for a couple of years. For metalformers, 3D printing can be likened to the next gen- eration of rapid prototyping. But, instead of large and expensive
In the jigs and fixtures department at BMW AG,
Regensberg, Germany, a Fortus 3D production system from Stratasys is used to manufacture assembly tools. This tool is
used to affix the rear name badge.
machines run by specialty providers, all a metalformer needs is a desk, a 3D CAD file and just a few thousand bucks for simple setups to enter the additive- manufacturing business.
NAMII’s focus is the development of additive-manufacturing technology and processes so that laboratories, spe- cialty shops and factories can trans- late digital images into parts that you can hold in your hand. Research drives the technology forward, making it more affordable and enabling creation of parts and products from polymers as well as metallic alloys.
What does the evolution of additive manufacturing mean to metalformers? It means the ability to create all manner
of parts and products economically, for use on the shop floor and for cus- tom or volume supply to customers.
The Technology and Business Cases for Additive Manufacturing
“When we talk about real end-use part manufacturing, we see it coming.” So says Tim Shinbara, technical director of the Association for Manu- facturingTechnology(AMT)andexec- utive committee member at NAMII (www.namii.org). He’s talking about the use of additive manufacturing— 3D printing in particular—to actually produce parts. While 3D printing already makes parts from polymers, metallic parts are the exception rather than the rule right now. Barriers, he says, include the relatively high cost of machinery used to “print” metallic parts as compared to polymer printers, and speed issues that currently limit
volume work.
62 MetalForming/April 2013
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