MAY 20228MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY INSIGHTSIN MY OPINIONLooking to my "Wohlers Reports" on Rapid Prototyping (RP) dating back into 1998 3D-printing has been economically overestimated for decades. Nevertheless, bearing manifold unseen technological solutions and with the help of digitalization, Additive Manufacturing quietly overcame barrier by barrier, Computer Aided Design and Finite Element Analysis opening the door. Ever since 3D-printing is sneaking behind new software, capacity-growth of memory and ever accelerated computing now stipulating the question: Will there ever be a limit? For an answer let us have a look to the past, the state of art and the perspectives for a renowned engine maker.While testing carbon-fiber coil-structures back in 1986, we first could imagine, what the 3D-printing will offer and what is called "bionics" today: FE-analyzing the layer structure of trees and bones with respect to their loads we understood the necessity to place fiber by fiber three dimensionally. But how to manufacture? We were limited to filament winding.In 2002 I started 3D manufacturing using laser for photo polymerization of Epoxies (SLA) and got subsequently involved in printer development, mostly in use for dental applications then.POLYMER PRINTING IS COMMON FOR RP AND MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENTToday inhouse RP with polymers for R&D is common, as well as adaption components, specific fixtures, repair or optimizing modifications of equipment for our manufacturing lines. Inhouse printing created a common understanding for each process step and their interlinking: 3D adequate design, availability and type of raw materials, their properties, printing software, printer capabilities, reworking, post processing. What is hindering a mass production?Achilles heel of polymers are temperature and creep resistance. Plus having a good thermal conductivity makes metals the selected material for combustion engines. However, selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM) or binder jetting (BJ) starting from metal powders are relatively new and lack validation under fatigue load at elevated temperatures. 3D-PRINTING OF POLYMERS IS A HUB TO ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (AM) OF METALSBy Klaus Ahlborn & Thorsten Müller, Mgr. in R&D and Sourcing, Deutz AG, Cologne, Germany
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