On the second day of the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2022, it became clear that “digitization” and “automation”, long known in 3D printing, increasingly reflect the reality in the industry.
        At the start of the second day of IMTS, Canon Sales Engineer Grant Zahorski moderated a session on how automation can help manufacturers overcome staff shortages. It may have set the tone for the event when the showroom companies presented major product updates capable of minimizing human invention while optimizing parts for cost, lead time and geometry.
       To help manufacturers understand what this shift means for them, Paul Hanafi of the 3D Printing Industry spent the day covering a live event in Chicago and compiled the latest news from IMTS below.
        Miscellaneous Advances in Automation Many technologies were introduced at IMTS to help automate 3D printing, but these technologies also took very different forms. For example, at the Siemens conference, additive manufacturing business manager Tim Bell stated that “there is no better technology than 3D printing” for digitizing manufacturing.
        For Siemens, however, this means digitizing the factory design and using Siemens Mobility subsidiary technology to digitize over 900 individual train spare parts, which can now be printed on demand. To continue “accelerating the industrialization of 3D printing,” Bell said, the company has invested in innovative CATCH spaces that have opened in Germany, China, Singapore and the United States.
        Meanwhile, Ben Schrauwen, general manager of 3D Systems-owned software developer Oqton, told the 3D printing industry how its machine learning (ML)-based technology could enable greater automation of part design and manufacturing. The company’s technology uses a range of different machine learning models to automatically create machine tool and CAD software settings in a way that optimizes assembly results.
        According to Schrauwen, one of the main benefits of using Oqton’s products is that they allow metal parts to be printed with a “16-degree overhang without any modification” on any machine. The technology is already gaining momentum in the medical and dental industries, he said, and demand is expected soon in the oil and gas, energy, automotive, defense and aerospace industries.
        “Oqton is based on MES with a fully connected IoT platform, so we know what’s going on in the production environment,” Schrauwen explains. “The first industry we went into was dentistry. Now we’re starting to move into energy. With so much data in our system, it becomes easy to generate automated certification reports, and oil and gas is a great example.”
        Velo3D and Optomec for Aerospace Applications Velo3D is a regular presence at trade shows with impressive aerospace prints, and at IMTS 2022 it did not disappoint. The company’s booth showcased a titanium fuel tank that was successfully fabricated using a Sapphire 3D printer for a launcher without any internal supports.
        “Traditionally, you would need support structures and have to remove them,” explains Matt Karesh, technical business development manager at Velo3D. “Then you will have a very rough surface due to residue. The removal process itself will also be expensive and complicated, and you will have performance issues.”
        Ahead of IMTS, Velo3D announced that it has qualified the M300 tool steel for sapphire and also showcased parts made from this alloy for the first time at its booth. The metal’s high strength and hardness are said to be of interest to various automakers considering printing it for injection molding, as well as others tempted to use it for tool making or injection molding.
        Elsewhere, in another aerospace-focused launch, Optomec has unveiled the first system co-developed with a Hoffman subsidiary, the LENS CS250 3D printer. Fully automated production cells can work alone or be chained with other cells to produce individual parts or repair buildings such as worn turbine blades.
        Although they are typically designed for maintenance and overhaul (MRO), Optomec regional sales manager Karen Manley explains that they also have a lot of potential for material qualification. Given that the system’s four material feeders can be fed independently, she says “you can design alloys and print them instead of mixing powders” and even create wear-resistant coatings.
        Two developments stand out in the field of photopolymers, the first of which is the launch of the P3 Deflect 120 for the One 3D printer, a Stratasys subsidiary, Origin. As a result of a new partnership between parent company Origin and Evonik, the material is designed for blow molding, a process that requires heat deformation of parts at temperatures up to 120°C.
       The reliability of the material has been validated at Origin One, and Evonik says its tests show the polymer produces parts 10 percent stronger than those produced by competing DLP printers, which Stratasys expects will further broaden the system’s appeal – Strong Open Material Credentials.
        In terms of machine improvements, the Inkbit Vista 3D printer was also unveiled just a few months after the first system was shipped to Saint-Gobain. At the show, Inkbit CEO Davide Marini explained that “the industry believes that material blasting is for prototyping,” but the accuracy, volume, and scalability of his company’s new machines effectively belies this.
        The machine is capable of producing parts from multiple materials using meltable wax, and its build plates can be filled to a density of up to 42%, which Marini describes as a “world record”. Because of its linear technology, he also suggests that the system is flexible enough to one day evolve into a hybrid with assistive devices such as robotic arms, though he adds that this remains a “long-term” goal.
        “We are making a breakthrough and proving that inkjet is actually the best production technology,” concludes Marini. “Right now, robotics is our biggest interest. We sent the machines to a robotics company that makes components for warehouses where you need to store goods and ship them.”
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       Image shows entrance to McCormick Place in Chicago during IMTS 2022. Photograph: Paul Hanafi.
       Paul graduated from the Faculty of History and Journalism and is passionate about learning the latest news about technology.