Additive Manufacturing

NOV 2017

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING is the magazine devoted to industrial applications of 3D printing and digital layering technology. We cover the promise and the challenges of this technology for making functional tooling and end-use production parts.

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AM / Taking Shape additivemanufacturing.media 51 have solutions for that," he said. "Within our region, we have a solution for the DOD to smash long lead time problems right now." What's missing is a certification process that allows AM to reach its potential in quickly delivering parts. "For small solution providers and early adopters, the process is an impediment," Lonardo said. "For the young people out there now who are used to buying things on the internet, they are not going to be satisfied being told it will be 700 days to get a part. They will say go pound sand. They're going to have a different set of requirements for obtaining parts." "Design for additive is one of those things that nobody knows," said Dr. Kirk Rogers, technology leader at GE's Center for Additive Technology Advancement. As a means of providing a broad-based primer on additive manufacturing, Rogers addressed various AM-related topics by their levels of complexity, starting with additively pro- duced jigs and fixtures (Level 0), through L4 complexities that tackle multifunctional requirements and advanced functions, including self-assembling technologies such as those being pioneered by MIT's Self-Assembly Lab. Mike Peretti, director of Materials & Manufacturing Advanced Programs at GE Aviation, said that overcoming misconceptions about additive manufacturing—espe- cially in the defense industry—was key. "One of the barriers early on was that when we talked to generals and admirals, they thought that AM was going to be like Star Trek replicators. But they've really started to understand what AM can do for the DOD." Brian Rice, distinguished research engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute, pointed to ongoing costs to maintain legacy hardware within the Air Force fleet. He said its aircraft, some of which are 50 years old, represent a major opportunity to address repair needs through additive manufacturing. As for new AM-produced aerospace technologies, GE Additive principal engineer Dave Abbott said that 40 per- cent of the new GE93 advanced turboprop engine, which has been selected to power the new Cessna Denali, is being manufactured additively with no structural castings. "We started from scratch," he said, adding that 3D printing allowed more than 850 compo- nents to be replaced by 12. "We took a new center line design and applied AM to that design from the start. It shows what can be done from a design perspective with AM." Mike Garvey, president of M-7 Technologies in Youngstown, Ohio, said that the development of AM technologies is outpacing the industry's ability to educate end users. The AM industry, he said, has done a poor job of pushing the technology effectively—of "telling generals that additive manufacturing is not like a replicator." AM is a demand issue driven by an awareness issue, Garvey said, and going into a foundry to push the technology isn't going to work. "But when GE goes in and creates a demand pool, people start listening." Mike Peretti pointed out that within the aerospace community, the promise of additive manufacturing in the aerospace sector is too great to ignore. "AM moves so fast that qualification organization is a big barrier," Peretti said. "In aerospace, we can print things of the highest quality, but getting them into application is a different story. It's the responsibility of our industry to educate. It takes a lot of time and patience and reaching out to various communities—to show them that it's not Buck Rogers, it's the real thing." Dr. Kirk Rogers, technology leader at GE's Center for Additive Technology Advancement, discusses the GE93 advanced turbo prop engine at an additive manufacturing forum hosted by the Ohio Aerospace Institute. The GE93 engine, which will power the new Cessna Denali, is being manufactured additively with no structural castings. 3D printing allowed more than 850 components to be replaced by 12.

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