When I was early in my tenure at Additive Manufacturing Media (I started with the brand in 2015), most of my reporting was focused on answering the question: Why 3D printing? VIEW THIS EMAIL IN BROWSER
When I was early in my tenure at Additive Manufacturing Media (I started with the brand in 2015), most of my reporting was focused on answering the question: Why 3D printing? Whether the story centered on conformal cooled mold tooling or connectors on a custom bike frame, additive manufacturing had to be justified — and often, laying out that justification was the gist of the entire story.
Answering that “why” is still important, but as AM adoption has grown and matured, our coverage has evolved along with it. In my writing today, I spend fewer words making the case for additive and more sentences and paragraphs exploring issues related to scale production, including postprocessing, business strategy and balancing AM alongside conventional processes.
For the last episode of the AM Radio podcast for 2023, I talked about some of these themes with my fellow editors Pete Zelinski and Fiona Lawler. Together, we look back at our top 10 most-viewed stories and our favorites regardless of ranking, covering everything from machining to build plate management to the rise of the AM factory. It’s an interesting discussion of both additive wins this year and the concerns that adopters are now contending with to take AM even farther. Listen here, or wherever you get podcasts.
P.S. This is our last issue of The BuildUp for 2023. Thank you for joining us here twice a week! We’ll be back early in 2024.
C-103 is a niobium alloy with hafnium and titanium alloying elements. It is classified as a refractory material, which is resistant to decomposition by heat, pressure or chemical attack and thus retains its strength and form at high temperatures. Read more about it.
Our Followers' Favorite Posts (And a Few Standout YouTube Comments) from 2023
By Jodee McElfresh, Digital Associate Editor
In no particular order, here are some of the posts on AM social media that resonated most with our followers, as well as a few amusing comments from our YouTube channel this year. Please enjoy and let’s stay connected in 2024.
1.
The heat exchanger post: Stephanie Hendrixson visited the Siemens CATCH facility and filmed this video about a topology-optimized heat exchanger that captures otherwise wasted energy from gas turbine exhaust. (The article)
2.
The dinosaur egg post: Humtown Additive uses a 3D printed dinosaur egg as part of its workforce development outreach. (The article)
3.
The Protolabs post: Protolabs built a new facility solely for metal AM. These photos give a peek inside. (The article)
4.
The AM Radio AI post: AI was everywhere this year, including this post that lists examples of its impact on additive manufacturing. (The episode)
5.
The custom casts post: “Do you want to sign my cast?” I always wanted to, but never got to ask that question as a kid. The response to these casts makes me think there is some shared nostalgia there. (The article)
6.
The airless basketball comment: “As a desert dweller, most of my basketballs have been deflated by cacti. I would unironically buy something like this.” — @1fareast14
7.
The faster LPBF comment: “What's next? Depowdering the lower layers while the upper ones are still being printed?” — @raulkapp
8.
The F-16 clamp comment: “3D printed parts like that open the door to more legacy replacement parts being manufactured. Maybe equipment will be used longer because the military isn't beholden to the OEM's will. Maybe not a whole engine, but how about landing gear parts or a radar bracket or translucent landing light covers? Little things like that add up to the viability of platforms.” — @jmd1743
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