Meet 3 of 2016’s Selective Laser Melting Innovators

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Steven Glover

Selective Laser Melting is an increasingly important segment of additive manufacturing.

Considered by many to be the first major manufacturing revolution of the 21st Century, additive manufacturing continues to disrupt tradition and introduces new ways to shape our world. The following are a few of this year’s biggest innovators in the realm of selective laser melting:

IPG Photonics

Recently ranked on Forbes Fast Tech Top 25, IPG Photonics is making waves with their High Power CW Fiber Lasers for Selective Laser Melting and Laser Metal Deposition applications.

They use High Power CW Fiber Lasers to develop “fully dense metallic parts with improved mechanical properties.” With regular recognition for their products, IPG Photonics is a company to watch when it comes to industry innovations.

Courtesy: IPG Photonics

LPW Technology

LPW Technology offers a variety of metal powders for use in additive manufacturing. The company aims to “support, develop, and challenge the fast-growing 3D metal printing industry.” LPW Technology recently partnered with TWI, Ltd. for the High Strength Aluminum Alloy Parts by Selective Laser Melting (Hi-StA-Part) Clean Sky project. The endeavor utilizes selective laser melting to “demonstrate the viability to produce aerospace grade aluminum parts” using direct manufacturing.

LPW focuses their research and development efforts around advancing the metal 3D Printing industry. Hi-StA-Part Clean Sky is just one of the many additive manufacturing projects LPW Technology is actively participating in.

Courtesy: SPI Lasers

SPI Lasers

SPI Lasers is one of the leading manufacturers of fiber lasers. They’ve also contributed to the rise of selective laser melting. The redPOWER CW Fiber Laser is used to build “complex titanium implants and components” in a matter of hours.

Fractionalizing the wait time expected in traditional manufacturing, their systems have a lower operating cost and work virtually any sort of metal. Plus, SPI Lasers does an excellent job of outlining additive manufacturing practices and applications to educate curious minds. Between education and application, SPI Lasers is setting a standard of innovation in not only selective laser melting, but in additive manufacturing overall.

Interested in learning more about these exciting innovations in selective laser melting? Be sure to register today for the Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM®) taking place February 21-22, in Houston, Texas. To learn more about LPW Technology, IPG Photonics, and SPI Lasers, visit them along with other LAM Sponsors & Vendors at LAM 2017.

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the international society for laser applications and safety. Our mission is to foster lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide. Visit us at www.lia.org for more information.

Weekly Lasers Wrap Up – Week of November 14, 2016

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Steven Glover

The Laser Institute of America LasersToday.com Weekly Wrap-Up aggregates industry news, conference updates, and LIA happenings. Here is the latest:

LIA News

November’s Featured Corporate member is Alio Industries, Inc. Alio Industries has developed a reputation through the years for its “innovative designs” and production of precision motor systems. Learn more about this Colorado-based company, and their contributions to the industry here.

Laser Industry News

GE has been a household name for decades. However, in the last year, GE has reinvented itself, increasingly merging with the world of open-source, industrial design, through manufacturing. Take a look at what GE has recently worked on here.

Lasers Today recently featured a guest post on Beam Delivery. This in-depth look discusses the importance of a laser’s beam size, M2, beam perimeter product, and the measurements needed for each. Discover why these measurements can be a great deal of importance to those in the industry here.

Researchers at UCLA are working to “explore one of the last frontiers of the electromagnetic spectrum” using terahertz lasers. Terahertz lasers are capable of producing photons with frequencies of over a trillion cycles per second. They are, however, a challenge to create. Check out the article at Phys.org to learn more about the team’s research.

Forget scarecrows. Lasers may soon be the preferred method to keep birds away from destroying crops. Currently, sound cannons, used at random intervals keep crows from lingering too long, much to the dismay of neighbors. The solution? Low powered lasers that take advantage of birds sensitivity to moving light, which usually indicates a predator nearby. Learn more here.

As 2016 begins to wind down to an end, the first look at the shifts, growth, and the overall state of the laser market is starting to show. Take a look at the first of the predictions and analytics here.

Don’t miss a single laser industry update! Sign up today to receive the latest in lasers delivered straight to your inbox. Be sure to follow LIA on Facebook and Twitter for even more laser news.

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the international society for laser applications and safety. Our mission is to foster lasers, laser applications, and laser safety worldwide. Find us at www.lia.org

GE Puts Imagination to Work With Laser Additive Manufacturing

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Steven Glover

Last year, GE reinvented itself as the world’s foremost Digital Industrial Company. Its primary mission? To merge the world of open-source, industrial design with proven manufacturing technology.

With the help of lasers and 3D printing, GE is helping define the future of global commerce and product innovation. Here are a few ways they’re putting additive manufacturing imagination to work:

Center for Additive Technology Advancement: In early 2016, GE opened a 125,000-square foot Center for Additive Technology Advancement near Pittsburgh, PA. Here, GE engineers experiment with new ways to print industrial components through high-powered lasers.

Stake in Concept Laser GmbH: Concept Laser is a leading global supplier of additive manufacturing equipment. Recently, they reached an agreement to acquire a 75 percent stake in Concept Laser GmbH for $599 million. The agreement allows for GE to take full ownership in the long-term.

3D Printing Heats A City: A large power plant in Berlin, Germany, runs through GE Power Services’ gas turbine e-fleet. The Berlin Mitte plant heats the entire metropolitan area using 3D printed first-stage heat shields and first-stage vanes inside a single GE natural gas turbine. These vanes and heat shields help the turbine run more efficiently and burn less gas, and saves Berlin over $3 million each year.

As 3D printing is often envisioned as small, complex, or even invariable components, these technologies prove 3D printing makes a difference on a large scale. With the power of additive manufacturing, engineers can increase the capabilities of modern industrial design through lasers. It can also create much more complex pathways than through traditional metal casting.

GE will continue to invest in 3D printing, pledging to build a $1 billion 3D printing business by 2020. With no end to the momentum in sight, the Lasers Today staff is closely watching GE’s latest trends.

A representative from GE will speak at Laser Institute of America’s 2017 Lasers for Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) Workshop, February 21-22, 2017 in Houston, TX. LAM is the perfect way to stay on top of the additive manufacturing action, including when, where, and how to use laser additive manufacturing. To learn more about LAM and to register, click here.

Selective Laser Melting, Powder Metallurgy & Additive Manufacturing

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Steven Glover

Additive Manufacturing processes like selective laser melting (SLM) and powder metallurgy are on the rise – and they continue to disrupt traditional manufacturing as we know it.

While the public eye continues to focus almost solely on 3D printing, these other laser additive manufacturing methods are quite literally shaping our manufacturing future.

In the weeks that follow LIA’s 35^th International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics (ICALEO^®), Lasers Today shifts its focus to innovative and critical additive manufacturing processes in preparation for our Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM^®). Our next LAM, which takes place February 21-22, in Houston, Texas, will cover all facets of additive manufacturing, including 3D printing, selective laser melting (SLM), powder metallurgy, and more.

A recent Fortune article, which discusses the urgency of 3D metal printing and additive manufacturing processes and the challenges faced by the rise of these methods, echoes the importance of laser applications in these areas succinctly. While 3D printing is a big part of the present and future of additive manufacturing, it is equally important to acknowledge other applications that are disrupting the marketplace and defining its future.

SLM and Powder Metallurgy Are Making Waves in the Industry

In its September issue, EuroPhotonics published an article discussing the changing landscape of Laser Materials Processing. Illustrating a shift from a handful of manufacturing operations to the rapid increase of additive methods, the change is happening worldwide. The piece discusses several additive processes outside of 3D printing. The use of selective laser melting (SLM) in rapid prototyping, for example, allows early versions or low volume creations to be created without the use of complicated, often time-consuming tooling.

This feature is just one of the many additive manufacturing processes described. Find the full article here.

The use of powder metallurgy to create high-quality parts only continues to rise. LPW Technology shared a blog post discussing the quality control process of determining if unexpected results are the doing of a machine, or the powders themselves. As manufacturing experts know, a machine’s output can be disrupted by even the slightest error or change. This power metallurgy article provides a unique, first-hand perspective on some of the challenges, and the subsequent solutions associated with additive manufacturing practices.

Read the full post here.

Interested in learning about these laser applications and more at LAM in February? Review the Lasers Today LAM 2016 recap and visit www.lia.org/conferences/lam to register today.

Benchmark Laser Additive Manufacturing Against Other Technologies at LIA’s LAM 2016 Workshop

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Steven Glover

ORLANDO, FL (February 8, 2016) — The Laser Institute of America (LIA) will host their annual Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM^®) Workshop on March 2-3 in Orlando, FL. The two-day event will focus on ‘why lasers?’ in the flourishing field of additive manufacturing. There will be fascinating keynotes, sessions, exhibits and networking opportunities taking place during the workshop, as well as a line-up of notable speakers and industry experts. LIA’s 2016 LAM workshop is a must-attend event for professionals involved in manufacturing of complex, lightweight, metal and other structural materials.

Paul Denney, General Chair of LAM 2016, along with his Co-Chairs Ingomar Kelbassa and Jim Sears, have designed this year’s program around analyzing how people are using additive manufacturing, and where, when and why lasers are the best solution compared to other technologies.

“We are hoping this year’s workshop will help attendees better understand the pros and cons of laser-based additive manufacturing over the other technologies. Hopefully it will also provide direction to those looking to improve on the status of the laser additive manufacturing and what technologies need to be developed and/or improved upon,” said Denney. The program will provide an overview on the many diverse options that are available today to create formed parts, which ones to choose and why you should choose them.

The first day of the workshop will begin with a keynote by Professor Sudarsanam Suresh Babu of The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, presenting Recent Advances in Metal Additive Manufacturing at Manufacturing Demonstration Facility: Role of in-situ Process Monitoring, Computational Modeling, and Advanced Characterization. Following the keynote, speakers will come from companies involved in alternative technologies and laser additive manufacturing, including companies using gas metal arc welding (GMAW), ultrasonic welding and electron beams. Sessions on the latest in additive equipment directly from major manufacturers, including Concept Laser and Optomec, Inc., are also on the program. After a session on new additive approaches from academia and industry experts, the first day will conclude at the Exhibitor Happy Hour Reception, an excellent networking event.

‘Bridging the gap’ of laser additive manufacturing from research to application will be the theme for the second day of the workshop. Staring off, a keynote address by Professor David Bourell of The University of Texas at Austin, Director of the Laboratory for Freeform Fabrication, will discuss the current status of additive manufacturing. Afterwards, the morning sessions will provide insights from government, corporate and academic labs and how they are taking their work from the lab to the factory floor. The afternoon will discuss job shops and their use of additive manufacturing for their customers. These topics will fascinate those who may be interested in developing prototypes and production parts using additive manufacturing processes, but unsure where to begin. The workshop will wrap up with a session on the latest in process monitoring and control, two of the essential aspects to developing robust manufacturing processes.

Peter Baker, LIA’s executive director, is excited about this year’s workshop, stating “Now in its 8^th year, LAM has become a premier event in the additive manufacturing arena. We are grateful to the contributors and sponsors who create this valuable workshop.”

With growing interest in additive manufacturing, based on maturing technologies and processes, this is an excellent time to educate, network and benchmark laser additive manufacturing against other technologies. Users from diverse industries such as oil and gas, aerospace, agriculture automotive, defense, marine, transportation, power generation, construction and tool and die, can all benefit from the knowledge gained at LAM.

Those interested in attending LAM 2016 can visit the LIA website (www.lia.org/lam) for more information and register today.

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