The BuildUp | One Week in Frankfurt Distilled into One Podcast Episode
The world’s largest trade show devoted to additive manufacturing is always a flurry of activity, but this may have been the most thorough and intense week that Pete Zelinski and I have ever spent in Frankfurt. VIEW THIS EMAIL IN BROWSER
The world’s largest trade show devoted to additive manufacturing is always a flurry of activity, but this may have been the most thorough and intense week that Pete Zelinski and I have ever spent in Frankfurt. With 859 exhibitors to see (not to mention plenty of side conversations here and there), Formnext 2023 offered no shortage of product launches, technology advances, interesting applications and Cool Parts.
In this week’s podcast episode, we stepped into the studio to try to make sense of all that we observed. Among the most compelling trends: access to new machine capabilities without upgrading the hardware; revived focus on tooling applications; suppliers increasingly offering “on-ramps” to additive manufacturing; new metal processes; the arrival of tool changing for 3D printers; and copper’s pivot from near-mythical to mundane and in-demand.
As always, you can find the AM Radio podcast wherever you listen — but in this case, I highly recommend visiting the blog post where you can find photos and videos of many of the things we discussed, along with the transcript and a podcast player right on the page.
AMS NYC is a 100% in-person event Feb 6-8, 2024. AMS brings together AM stakeholders from all over the world to focus on the business of AM and realizing its potential.
5G technology uses millimeter-wave transmission that cannot penetrate common objects like trees, walls or the human body without the help of radio frequency (RF) lenses. These lenses steer the RF energy toward its intended destination.
Fortify, known for its digital light processing (DLP) 3D printers, has found a way to print these lenses with less weight and labor than conventional approaches.
We interacted with dozens of technology providers at Formnext. Here is a quick list of some startups, newcomers and lesser known companies that we believe are worth watching:
1.
Conflux Technology. Conflux has fully leaned into AM’s potential for one specific application: heat exchangers. The company modifies additive equipment and engineers processes specifically for the purpose of producing components like thin-fin cold plates.
2.
Bosch. The Industrial Additive Manufacturing startup within this global engineering and technology company showcased a 3D printer capable of printing injection molding pellets including glass-filled polyamides and polypropylenes. I admit, I was curious to see if the printer resembled one of Bosch’s consistently well-reviewed home appliances — not really— but the material possibilities are promising.
3.
AI Build. Most conventional slicers assume 3D printing on a gantry — but that assumption does a disservice to robot-enabled platforms. AI Build’s toolpath and slicing software looks at material properties to more precisely dial in the movements of the print head, even making it possible to print onto a curved surface.
4.
Reinforce 3D. This Spanish startup made waves with its Continuous Fiber Injection Process, a method for strengthening and joining parts. Interestingly, parts reinforced with this technique don’t need to be 3D printed — but to also get the benefits of topology optimization and conformal fiber paths, it certainly helps.
5.
Branch Robotics. Branch co-exhibited with Print&Go to demonstrate the solutions it is developing for tending 3D printer farms with mobile cobots. The automation integrator says that just one such cobot could tend up to 100 printers — and it is preparing to automate a large print farm facility in this way.
6.
Dimensionics. This startup offers a different way of confirming the density of 3D printed parts, without CT scanning or destructive testing. Instead, use density.
7.
Valcun. This Belgian company exhibited its Minerva 3D printer, a platform for what it calls Molten Metal Deposition (MMD). The initial focus is 3D printing aluminum from standard welding wire — parts produced this way can be anodized and welded just like any other aluminum component.
.jpg;width=75;height=75;mode=crop)
Comments
Post a Comment