“Life is sort of a field of candies…”, Forrest Gump famously mentioned. Nevertheless, Additive Manufacturing can usually really feel extra like “a field of jigsaw items”.
These of us invested in AM can see the general image on the lid of the field (an analogy for figuring out what it’s able to), however generally even we actually don’t know if all the items are current to finish it.
It’s solely generally if you get to that difficult part, the place it’s troublesome to search out simply the suitable piece, that you just realise that maybe it’s not within the field in any respect.
Incomplete jigsaws are very irritating and unsatisfactory, particularly if you’ve put a lot time into them. So, what are you able to do if you recognise that you just’re lacking a bit of the AM jigsaw?
One possibility is that you just await it to be recognised by one other a part of the ecosystem earlier than you possibly can keep on. An instance of that is the necessity for these utilizing 3D printing within the Meals & Beverage business the place they want manufacturing line gear produced utilizing shiny blue, metal-detectable supplies. This materials permits any breakaway from these elements to be detected by imaginative and prescient and X-ray methods to make sure they don’t depart the manufacturing facility within the meals chain.
As a part of my work I used to be usually requested if it was doable to 3D print this materials, the reply to which was “sorry, however no”. It wasn’t that the fabric didn’t exist, it simply didn’t exist in a kind that suited AM strategies. Then abruptly a fabric provider within the sector recognised that want and launched blue PA metal-detectable materials in filament kind and it’s pleasing to see it’s availability has now additionally expanded into powder kind to be used in SLS methods.
So, a bit of the jigsaw was discovered and finishing the image on the field continued.
An alternate is to just accept that you could be have to create the lacking piece your self. Certainly, initially with the instance above, I obtained that materials in pellet kind and tried (unsuccessfully because it turned out) to get it extruded into filament kind. Generally, should you can’t await another person to create the answer, the one means would possibly contain taking the DIY route.
‘We’d like one thing recent.’ | Why AM customers are backing AdditiveIQ
Steve Cox, 3D technologist marketing consultant; Luke Fox, Technical Specialist for Additive at JLR; and Alex Champion, who works with the UK Ministry of Defence, discuss to TCT about why they’re supporting AdditiveIQ.
There’s a 3rd approach to discover the lacking items although, and that’s to speak to your friends utilizing AM in the identical sector, and even these working with it in different sectors. Possibly they’ve seen the lacking piece, know the place it may be discovered, or have managed to create the piece themselves.
That’s the place the brand new AdditiveIQ occasion happening subsequent 12 months suits in. Constructing on the success of three years of the TCT Consumer Group, this occasion will facilitate these conversations that may unlock the jigsaw puzzle for you by discovering the lacking piece by way of face-to-face discussions and evaluating notes with different AM customers
So be a part of us subsequent June at AdditiveIQ and perhaps it is going to assist you discover that piece that you’re lacking from your personal AM jigsaw puzzle.
Steve Cox
Steve Cox is a 3D Applied sciences Guide & Coach whose main goal is helping shoppers with the profitable adoption of additive manufacturing and 3D printing, along with the newest in 3D design creation methods.
