Materials & Raw Stock

News • April 28, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

3D printing gets faster, by jellin’

An issue slowing down 3D printing's advance into manufacturing is that the process itself is too slow to meet production requirements. Now, a collaboration between MIT, Steelcase and product designer Christophe Guberan presents a novel technique they call Rapid Liquid Printing, which can reduce the time of certain 3D printing applications from hours to minutes.

Products • February 24, 2017

Hitachi Metals America’s SLD-i Cold Work Premium Tool Steel

Diehl Tool Steel offers Hitachi Metals America's SLD-i cold work premium tool steel, an advanced tool steel grade used in various blanking and forming application where AHSS parts are processed. It is produced using the same heat treatment as D2 but exhibits better wear and toughness when used for forming sections.

News • February 16, 2017

Bunting Magnetics names HR manager

Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan., named Suzanne Hurst human resources manager. The company makes magnetic separation and material-handling equipment.

News • February 10, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

3D Printing of titanium gets off the ground

Two companies, using different 3D-printing methods, have put titanium components into extreme environments. SLM Solutions recently completed a 12.21" × 8.74" × 8.66" dia. titanium aircraft component using its two-laser selective laser melting process. And Sciaky Inc. has used its Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) technology to produce a titanium Variable Ballast (VB) tank for an autonomous submarine. Now that such critical additive-made titanium parts are out of the lab and in use, these companies and their competitors are working to speed their processes and increase their maximum build sizes.

News • February 9, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Transformer: 3D Printer becomes CNC Mill

In recent years the manufacturing world has seen numerous hybrid additive-subtractive machines. These generally are in the form of a 3D printing head combined with a CNC machining center: the additive is added. But creative additive enthusiast Thomas Sanladerer has come at the idea from the opposite direction: he has started with a 3D printer and transformed it to be able to function as a CNC mill.

Products • February 1, 2017

Self-Retaining Ball Plungers

Easily and securely installed by hand in an ordinary drill hole, self-retaining ball plungers from Carr Lane Mfg. Co. have a flexible design, and compensate for hole tolerances up to 0.008". The slotted end of the thermoplastic body expands to compensate in an oversize hole.

Products • February 1, 2017

Photo-Etched Flexures for Automotive GDi Systems

The growth in the GDi market is staggering. In 2008 it was estimated that about 2% of cars built incorporated this technology, but recent predictions suggest that by 2020, 25% will include GDi systems as standard. This is great news for Precision Micro, the photo-etching specialist, which supplies photo-etched flexures used in GDis systems and this is stimulating major growth in the company.

Products • January 31, 2017

PlasticMetal Two-Component Repair Technology

Stronghold Coatings introduces PlasticMetal, a two-component repair technology that can be mixed in various ratios for small and medium repairs to many types of metal. Unlike pre-mixed polymers, which have a set viscosity, this resin and powdered metal system can be mixed in small quantities in thicknesses to suit particular application requirements.

Articles • January 20, 2017 • Kip Hanson

Low-cost 3D printer for shop operations

A new breed of 3D printers has begun producing parts made of engineering-grade plastics and fully dense metals suitable for long-term use in a variety of applications. These include jet engine components, engine mounts, medical implants and a host of other products that were once machined or fabricated by conventional means. And, compared to earlier-generation machines, the new additive-manufacturing equipment offers enhanced part accuracy and has lower processing times and acquisition costs.

News • January 13, 2017 • Michael C. Anderson

Ames Laboratory “perfects” metal powders for manufacturing

With potential ramifications for 3D printing of metals, particularly of expensive metals such as titanium, The U.S. Dept. of Energy's Ames Laboratory has created a process for making "perfect" metal powder. Each particle is smooth and spherical, allowing it to flow without clumping and pack together more densely.

News • December 13, 2016 • Michael C. Anderson

Ames Laboratory Takes a Powder

Ames Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been awarded $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) to improve the production and composition of metal alloy powders used in additive manufacturing.

News • October 5, 2016

‘Is Manufacturing The New Startup?’

Here's a look at manufacturing from the point of view of potential investors: At Nibletz ("The Voice of Startups Everywhere Else"), Jane Brown writes, "For an idea to be commercially viable it has to be in the Goldilocks zone—one that's neither too old nor too new. And many manufacturing ideas fall within that ideal zone." She goes on to offer six ideas to consider before making the leap into manufacturing.