51 Additive Manufacturing adoption in the foundry market has been accelerating, at least from what I can see over the past 5 years. This is largely due to the advances in hardware, and the maturity of the solutions for metal casting. The improving trends driving adoption are: 1. Advanced capabilities are coming way down in price points 2. Print quality is remarkably better for surface finish and accuracy 3. Build speed has improved across the board 4. New materials options are expanding old uses, and enabling new applications 5. Hardware is available to make larger foundry grade tooling for molds and cores 6. The AM Market is consolidating, but new entrants continue to introduce new solutions Stacker, Mark Forged, and Formlabs provide entry level industrial 3D printers, with more than enough capability for most pattern shops. While several times the price of the hobby systems, the commercial options come with higher end materials and customer support. You’ll also find these printers in student foundries, so new graduates are available with hands-on experience using the printers to make tooling. Industrial solutions, such as the product lines by Titan3D, Roboze, and Massive Dimension have similar fundamental principles as the entry level systems but operate on an entirely different scale. These systems also integrate additional post processing steps such as machining for improved accuracy and surface finish. Printers with plastic pellet feeders can make use of feed stocks at 1/10th the price of filament fed systems, and a wider range of plastics. Nozzles up to 10 mm in diameter (Compared to 0.2 – 1 mm) build parts 10x faster (or more) than any of the entry level systems. Additionally, hybrid systems that can build and machine a pattern without the operator transferring the part from the 3d printer to a CNC machine avoid hours of setup and post processing labor. Upsized systems like the Big Rep and Titan can build furniture sized parts (bigger than 3x3x3 FEET). In the extreme, systems such as those by Ingersoll Rand and Thermwood can print and machine the hull of a boat over 20 feet long as a single piece (price tag in the millions). TECHNICAL TOOLBOX ISSUE WILL SHAMBLEY President New England Foundry Technologies ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS: • Additive manufacturing technology improvements bring higher quality and reliability to accessible price points. New hires can use these tools already. • Large hybrid systems and automation accessories reduce labor requirements and training needed versus historical pattern and mold making solutions. TOOLS & TIPS: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING UPDATE Continued on next page Hobby and Pro-sumer grade printers, those between $1,000 to $20,000 now consistently deliver professional grade results, owing to improvements in software, controls, and materials. The systems are routinely found in high school and university classrooms. Creality K1 Max is a plastic filament printer that makes almost 12 inches (300 mm) cubed. It prints up to 12 x faster than regular filament printers, and has a host of Lidar, optical, and AI solutions to eliminate many of the problems that plagued early filament printers. On the light cured resin side, Phrozen released the Sonic Mega 8K S. Primarily marketed for figurines and jewelry, it has production scale capabilities and a full suite of accessories. Pixel resolution is down to 43 µm for a build volume that is L 13 x W 7.25 x H 11.81 inches. While the thinner, slower build might not sound that fast – these parts don’t need sanding. Solid pattern and wax-like Investment casting materials are available.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDI4Njg=