CNC West Oct Nov Web

38 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST October/November 2018 Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, has evolved rapidly in recent years. As new industries have begun to embrace the technology, they are dis- covering the many ways in which the technology is impacting their business. AM is helping them to re- duce development and manufacturing costs; increase production, speed, innovation and time-to-market; produce new structures and shapes; and decrease waste. Let’s take a look at six industries using addi- tive manufacturing to its full capacity. 1. Aerospace Always on the cutting edge, the aerospace indus- try was an early adopter of additive manufacturing. As you can imagine, aerospace companies must meet some of the industry’s most stringent standards, and parts and components need to be made of the high- est-performance materials. Using AM, engineers can design complex, high-strength parts. In addition, AM helps reduce weight of aerospace components by printing more efficient geometries, thus eliminating significant amounts of unnecessary material. This al- lows for lower fuel consumption, reduced CO2 emis- sions, and reduced costs (plus, better airfares). 2. Automotive Much like aerospace, the automotive industry is always looking to innovate with newer designs; their products are also subjected to high speeds and harsh conditions. AM printing allows them to develop com- plex, high-quality parts that can withstand these con- ditions, offering improved safety. Rapid prototyping also improves vehicle quality, enabling automobile manufacturers to test things like water resistance and high temperatures. In addition, 3D printing allow for parts consolidation, reducing inventory and enabling repair or maintenance to be done with a single part. 3. Consumer Products For marketing teams taking a product from con- cept to completion, often the biggest amount of time is spent on design. To be sure the product is just right, a great deal of time is spent on creating prototypes to prove concepts to stakeholders and ultimately de- liver a consumer-pleasing product. By embracing AM, marketing teams can develop iterations of their product much quicker, and then rapidly pivot to adjust design as needed. Six Industries Benefiting from Additive Manufacturing By: Steven Brand - CMTC 4. Energy Electrical power outages, surges, and spikes are es- timated to cost more than $150 billion in annual dam- ages to the United States economy due to labor down- time and loss of productivity and data. Experts at Eaton Energy predict a 5-10% increase in the total number of minutes customers are without power each year until the U.S. electrical grid is modernized. Using additive man- ufacturing, the energy sector can create lightweight, ef- ficient, and environmentally-friendly components that can also withstand extreme conditions. 5. Infrastructure Approximately 75% of U.S. infrastructure—roads, bridges and tunnels—will require renovation or com- plete replacement by 2035. It sounds like a financial nightmare, but the expense (not to mention the incon- venience to drivers) can be greatly reduced using addi- tive manufacturing. Because AM makes it possible to use no more than the exact amount of materials needed per project, waste is reduced and any surplus of raw materials could then be utilized for the next construc- tion project. In addition to these savings, AM can re- duce construction congestion. During any infrastruc- ture project, extra lanes need to be closed to allow large construction materials to move in and out. AM would allow for large-scale structural components to be print- ed right onsite, even in confined space. 6. Medical Additive manufacturing technology is delivering breakthroughs to doctors, patients and research insti- tutions. The incredible plethora of objects that have already been successfully printed in the medical field gives a glimpse into the potential that this technology holds for healthcare in the near future. The technology is being used by researchers to print human embryonic stem cells, which are then used to create tissue for test- ing drugs or growing replacement organs; to print skin that could replace skin that’s been burned or damaged; and to print cancer cells, in order to study them and test out new drugs on them. Surgeon Anthony Atala, Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has even been working on printing organs. Additive manufacturing is a game changer for manufacturers of all sizes. It can enable them to create products faster, cheaper, with less production waste.