The Laser Institute of America (LIA) will present a new 1.5-hour session called Lasers in Manufacturing AM: Trends in North America on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, from 2:00-3:30 PM local time at the International Congress Center in Munich, Germany.
As part of the Additive Manufacturing subconference of Lasers in Manufacturing (LiM) 2017, LIA will add to the body of knowledge that LiM provides as a platform to share innovative insights within the laser world. Like LIA, LiM is dedicated to scientific presentations that provide the latest results in research. The larger World of Photonics Congress LiM event runs from June 26-29 and is organized by the German Scientific Laser Society (WLT).
The intent behind this distinct, North American focused AM session is to offer updates on the most current laser additive manufacturing applications and to provide a unique perspective regarding how North American companies are successfully using AM technology to reduce cost and increase efficiency. There has never been a better time for laser specialists worldwide to discover the strides that North American laser companies are making in the realm of additive manufacturing technology.
As part of the Additive Manufacturing subconference of Lasers in Manufacturing (LiM) 2017, LIA will add to the body of knowledge that LiM provides as a platform to share innovative insights within the laser world.
What can attendees expect?
Attendees will include engineers in fields such as business development, manufacturing, construction, and design, as well as system integrators, precision parts specialists, and OEMs from around the world.
Keynote speaker David Ott of the Global Humanitarian Lab (GHL), is prepared to teach on 3D Printing and the ways that it draws together humanitarian efforts worldwide to address the common challenges faced in communities that are affected by disasters. This includes private, academic, and scientific humanitarian efforts across the globe.
Additionally, author Rob Martinsen, CTO of nLight, will be speaking about the breakthrough solutions for additive manufacturing. Another featured speaker within LIA’s AM session will be author William Herbert, Director of Corporate Development for Carpenter Technologies, who will be speaking on the material requirements for additive manufacturing. To end the session, Yannick Lafue, Business Developer for Aeronautics Defense and Oil & Gas at IREPA LASER, will present on AM with LMD-CLAD process: an Industrial opportunity. These are presentations you won’t want to miss!
For more information on this session, including sponsorship options, please contact marketing@lia.org or +1-407-380-1553. To learn more about LiM 2017, visit the LiM 2017 website.
Industry veterans and newcomers from over 10 countries gathered in Houston for LIA’s ninth annual Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM®) Workshop to participate in the premier laser additive manufacturing event. The two-day meeting was comprised of invited talks and keynotes, along with a vendor showcase. About one-third of participants were at LAM for the first time, reflecting strong enthusiasm—from engineers and developers—to learn more about laser-based additive manufacturing (AM).
The two-day meeting was comprised of invited talks and keynotes, along with a vendor showcase. About one-third of participants were at LAM for the first time, reflecting strong enthusiasm—from engineers and developers—to learn more about laser-based additive manufacturing (AM).
The Program: Keynotes on Commercial Trends & Simulations
LAM General Chair, Prof. Milan Brandt of RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia), along with Workshop Co-chairs, John Hunter of LPW Technology (Pittsburgh, PA) and Prof. Minlin Zhong of Tsinghua University (Beijing, China), constructed LAM 2017’s program to highlight trends and applications of primarily metal AM, as well as key aspects of design, materials and technologies that enable those applications. Brandt stated that he intentionally emphasized powder-bed AM this year because “laser additive manufacturing approaches such as powder fed cladding as well as wire-fed AM are fairly mature and the materials and processes are generally well-understood. Today, we are still in the relative infancy of selective laser melting in powder-bed systems although industry titans such as GE and Siemens are increasing the adoption rate.”
On that theme, the workshop opened with a Keynote titled “Accelerating the Additive Revolution” by Greg Morris of GE Additive. To date, GE has invested $1.5 B in powder-bed based AM tool manufacturers and estimates a large market for AM, predicting that it will sell 10,000 AM tools worldwide over the next 10 years. Morris, a pioneer in laser-based AM, provided examples of production successes such as the well-known LEAP fuel nozzle tip, which GE is currently ramping to 40,000 parts per year by 2022. The lessons learned in making nozzles have been applied to an advanced turboprop that was made up of 855 parts by traditional methods, and can now be created from only 12 printed parts. Even with AM’s incredible promise, Morris noted that it will take a change in design mindset to achieve the full promise of AM, and that may be the biggest challenge for many companies.
Stryker’s Keynote on Additive Manufacturing of Medical Implants was presented by Marc Esformes, from the Advanced Technology Group in Stryker’s Orthopedic Division. Esformes provided some history and the current status of Stryker’s adoption of AM for medical device manufacturing. In the 2000s, Stryker began to investigate AM and initiated its own R&D efforts. As of 2013, Stryker started selling AM-based orthopedic implants, and now offer devices for the hip, knee and spine.
Biocompatible surfaces are key to medical implants, and Stryker found that it could create the proper surface structure and replicate it identically from part-to-part faster and more reliably using laser-based AM than previous methods. They also found that the bone growth process was much faster with AM printed parts than with their traditional polymer-coated implants.
Wayne King’s Keynote on Day 2 focused on results of extensive efforts to improve qualification of parts produced using laser powder-bed fusion AM by applying physics-based models. King, a widely recognized expert and Director of AM Materials at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) described the multi-scale modeling efforts of his team, focusing on powder scale and parts-scale models. The powder scale model has become so powerful that it can now predict phenomena that was unanticipated, as well as nearly every spark and splatter occurring in the powder-bed and melt pool. The parts-level model predicts manufacturing properties in 3D. Even with such powerful simulation tools, there is work to be done to create more complete simulations of every step from design to part.
The Program: Presentations on Design, Materials, Technology & Applications
LAM 2017 included many high-quality talks from academia and industry that addressed subjects critical to commercial adoption of laser-based AM, from digital tools, to materials, to tools for quality assurance. Highlights from the program included presentations about:
• Materials for laser-based AM from Arconic, LPW
Technology and Tekna
• The status of software development for laser additive
manufacturing from Laser Zentrum Nord and Autodesk
• The prospects of and need for online process control from
the University of Michigan
• Technologies that enhance laser-based AM from
various solution providers such as Plasmo, Haas Laser
Technologies and Coherent
Turning to applications, while the use of laser-based AM is relatively well-known in aviation and medical devices, talks from Siemens and Baker Hughes reminded attendees that other industries—such as Power and Oil & Gas—are already making headway in the adoption of this revolutionary technology. Ingomar Kelbassa shared updates from Siemens’s AM activities related to gas turbines, including their first serial/spare parts using selective laser melting, and a positive outlook to future implementation.
A theme that came through during the workshop is that laser-based AM is just a part of the broader manufacturing toolkit that includes subtractive, non-laser based processes. This was illustrated in talks presenting tools that actually incorporate laser AM processes with drills that can then create features on an AM part without the need for removing the part and loading it on to another tool. As developers continue to explore the best ways to implement AM in prototyping and production, many more innovations in the process of implementation will undoubtedly occur.
To round out the program, a session on Micro-Nano Additive Manufacturing offered insights into new directions for laser based AM. Robin Day of RTWH Aachen University described methods for obtaining finer features and extremely small metal-based devices, while Prof. Minlin Zhong of Tsinghua University introduced his vision of new devices with increased functionality—envisioning a whole suite of sensors for commercial and personal-medicine applications, enabled by graphene-based AM.
Connecting it All Together with Suppliers to Achieve the Best LAM to Date
An important feature of the LAM Workshop is an exhibition of the tooling, components and materials that are featured in the presentations. Attendees had the opportunity to interact with suppliers that provide solutions throughout the workshop, but especially during the Exhibitor Reception at the end of the first day. With companies ranging from powder providers, sensor and beam delivery suppliers, and laser manufacturers, to full solution providers, attendees were able to check out the latest equipment that could help them realize their laser-based AM projects.
Wayne Penn of Platinum Sponsor Alabama Laser stated that the workshop is “a must-exhibit event” for his company, and as a sponsor since the very first LAM, he has demonstrated his commitment as an early and strong supporter of the industry. Gold Sponsors American Cladding Technologies and IPG Photonics both concurred, with IPG’s Bill Shiner declaring that “LAM is a great platform for sharing the latest in laser additive manufacturing, and it will be important to continue to get the word out to end users that LAM is where they will find the latest information to help them make the decision to move to AM.”
The workshop provided an opportunity for those who are still on the fence about how and when to add AM to their manufacturing capabilities, to speak with those who have adopted the technology and developers, including academics, R&D engineers and commercial suppliers. As LIA’s Marketing Director, Jim Naugle, commented: “With that range of access, LAM is by far the best event in the Additive Manufacturing space for those who are considering laser-based AM.”
Prof. Eckhard Beyer, an LIA Board Member and Managing Director of Fraunhofer IWS (Dresden, Germany), and a longtime expert on laser-based material processing, summed up LAM 2017: “This was the best LAM conference, and possibly the best conference I have attended over the past 10 years.”
With such a ringing endorsement, remember to bookmark www.lia.org/LAM to stay up-to-date about next year’s 10th LAM Workshop!
As manufacturing practices continue to change, how will companies ensure the safety of their employees?
Manufacturing is undergoing a revolutionary phase. That is no secret, nor surprise.
Image: Illinois Applied Research Institute
The shift from traditional manufacturing practices into additive processes is creating new challenges and opportunities across a multitude of industries. It is becoming increasingly common for companies to blur the lines of what services, products, or purpose they provide. Sectors in which manufacturing was outsourced or contracted, such as the medical industry, are now finding new opportunities in additive manufacturing.
More and more companies are going into research and development, or on-site production, reshaping the way prototypes and finished products are created.
However, laser-manufacturing innovation poses an unprecedented challenge. You cannot put an employee in front of a powder bed system, wish them luck, and be on your way. Additive manufacturing machinery, often suited with a high-powered laser, requires specific education to ensure the safety of the operator and other employees.
In some cases, the standards, certifications, and proper operation methods are just now being released, especially when it comes to additive manufacturing. However, what about when it comes to the basics of safely operating and working near lasers?
Laser Safety for the Manufacturing Workplace
Working alongside Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ANSI Z136 standards outline proper laser safety protocol for the workplace. Laser education courses, such as those offered by LIA, can prepare employees for a laser-ready workplace by including hazard analysis calculations such as maximum permissible exposure (MPE), optical density (OD), and nominal hazard zone (NHZ).
For those in a supervising role, the Laser Safety Officer Course a non-mathematical look at the administrative duties regarding laser safety. LSO courses are designed for all levels of experience and fit the needs of safety professionals, engineers, laser operators, and other related experts.
LIA Offers a Variety of Laser Training Options.
Knowing how to operate laser-based equipment is not enough. Industrial Laser Safety Courses expand upon the knowledge presented within laser processes and addresses the hazards associated in detail, as well as methods to reduce hazardous environments in the workplace.
OSHA and other federal standards are also discussed in the courses, bringing to light the regulatory expectations of a laser utilization in the workplace.
Your Education Options
As the manufacturing world becomes increasingly globalized, it may not always be possible for employees to travel to receive their laser safety education. In this instance, online or on-site laser training options may be worth exploring, allowing employees to receive their laser safety education from the comfort of their home or office.
Need to train an entire crew? On-site education may be your best bet, as it allows the entire staff to be trained at once, with minimal schedule disruptions.
The Laser Institute of America is proud to help serve the industrial communities by offering flexible and convenient learning options in the classroom, online, or even on-site. Receive your laser safety training and education from the leading laser safety source, Laser Institute of America, publisher of the ANSI series of laser safety standards.
For more information on how LIA can help your laser safety program with any of the courses mentioned above, please visit LIA’s Education Page.
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.Read about LIA or contact us for more information.
Considered by many to be one of the biggest manufacturing revolutions of this century, 3D printing has captivated and intrigued individuals in a wide spectrum of fields and industries. From the independent crafter to the leadership behind some of the biggest companies in the world, to some of the most prestigious universities, it is safe to say that the future is 3D printed.
The Laser Additive Manufacturing Workshop (LAM) last month helped emphasize that point, with some of the most-talked-about presentations revolving around 3D printing innovations.
Five 3D Printing Innovations You May Have Missed at LAM 2017
1. GE Plans to Go Full Vertical by 2022, Plans Parallel Supply Chain
It is no secret that GE is investing ample time, resources, and funding into its additive manufacturing
Attendees hear about the latest AM Innovations at LAM 2017 in Houston
initiatives. The company has created additive manufacturing applications across multiple GE businesses and has earned over 300 patents in powder metals used in the additive process.
During the Accelerating the Additive Revolution keynote on Day one of LAM®, GE Additive’s Greg Morris revealed that the company plans to become fully vertical by 2022. Concerning the supply chain, Morris does not believe that the current methods will be replaced immediately. Instead, both traditional and additive manufacturing methods will exist side by side. The company is continuing its focus on being a user and developer of additive manufacturing capabilities, as demonstrated by the willingness to integrate the technology alongside existing practices.
2. OPTOMEC Debuts New LENS Machines- Making Additive Manufacturing Affordable
A challenge for many industries looking to join the 3D printing revolution is the anticipated cost of equipment. At LAM, OPTOMEC debuted a potential solution to this issue with their new LENS machines. The three new LENS systems use lasers ranging from 500W to 4kW to create 3D structures. Prices start at under $25,000; a price point that puts 3D printing capabilities into the hands of more people.
The systems are designed to help reduce the process time and cost while increasing the quality and capability for design changes- or in simpler terms, all the qualities that entice industries to explore additive manufacturing in the first place. The new systems join the existing line of LENS machines and will fill gaps in demand for low-cost additive systems, thus making the 3D revolution more accessible and affordable than ever.
3. Stryker Discusses the Future of Custom Printed Implants
“We can design anything,” Marc Esformes of Stryker, told the audience at LAM®. Stryker’s additive manufacturing efforts are revolutionizing the future for medical implants, through their focus on 3D printing to develop innovative medical devices.
Esformes discussed the potential for custom, 3D printed implants that would take a matter of weeks from 3D scan to 3D printed part. The 3D printing process allows for a more biocompatible implant, reducing the chance of rejection and infection in patients, a point of great interest for the future of Stryker’s medical additive manufacturing applications.
The cost of production using SLM Systems relates less to the complexity of the part, and more about the physical volume. The systems allow for individualization, as details can be altered before the part begins production. Should the SLM process be utilized from concept to completion, the utilization could be game changing for parts manufacturing.
5. Siemens Aiming to Reduce Production Time, Using More AM Machinery, With Less Risk
Siemens has made significant waves with their adoption of additive manufacturing processes. At LAM, Ingomar Kelbessa discussed the company’s approach and plans toward increased 3D printing adoption.
Want to keep with the latest in 3D printing, additive manufacturing, and all things lasers? Sign up for Lasers Today and have the latest in industry news, developments, and updates delivered straight to your inbox! 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. To learn more about LAM 2017 and the LAM Workshop by LIA, visit the official workshop website.
Glowforge is a 3D laser printer that can create amazing things from various materials at the push of a button. In 2014, Glowforge was founded in Seattle, Washington with the goal of making CNC laser cutter/engravers cheaper, more capable and easier to use through a low-cost desktop unit that comes equipped with cameras, accelerometers and modern cloud-based software.
Meet Glowforge, February 2017’s Featured Corporate Member.
In 2015, Glowforge launched a crowdfunding campaign at Maker Faire in New York where their 3-D laser printer made its world debut. Their booth had extremely long lines as they ran prints for hundreds of excited visitors. The campaign was intended to reach $2 million in pre-orders, which was enough to give them the confidence to mass-produce their machines.
According to Glowforge, which is an LIA Corporate Member, the product was a hit and they garnered positive feedback from small businesses, inventors and creatives alike.
“It turns out a lot of people saw Glowforge and decided it would change their lives,” said Bailey Nelson, the company’s Community Manager. “30 days after the launch, we had received nearly $28 million in pre-orders for the Glowforge 3D laser printer, making it the largest 30-day crowdfunding campaign in history.”
Today, Glowforge credits its online community for the brand’s continued success. The community offers ideas, advice, and wisdom about working with lasers and other fabrication tools and techniques. Customer contributions include feature ideas, material suggestions, and crowd-sourced tutorial developments.
A row of Glowforge printers, courtesy of the company.
Since the launch, their staff has grown from 14 to approximately 40 employees and they are not slowing down. Currently, Glowforge is looking to hire talent with a wide range of skills, including electrical engineers and manufacturing engineers.
The company is proud of the features they have pioneered. One innovation called a “trace” allows users to draw designs with a pen. The designs are then automatically converted into printable files. Precision preview is another user-friendly option that allows customers to preview their designs superimposed on a live camera view of their material so they can drag them for perfect positioning.
Products Made on a Glowforge printer, courtesy of the company.
Another feature, 3D Autofocus, allows the laser beam to automatically focus on both smooth and curved surfaces. The technology measures the height of materials placed on the bed in several places so it can maintain the laser’s focus on various surfaces.
Among the unique elements of the Glowforge brand is their product’s ability to recognize materials. The onboard cameras automatically detect Proofgrade™ materials (a line of masked and prefinished materials designed specifically for laser processing) to automatically configure power, speed, and focus. With Proofgrade materials, users can choose variations like “cut” or “dark engrave” without having to determine speed and power settings.
“Our customers are the best in the world,” said CEO Dan Shapiro. “They tell us that Glowforge was just what they needed to help them scale their small business, prototype their latest invention from just a drawing, or level up the creative endeavors that had grown stale in their 9-5 jobs. We’re inspired every day when we see what they are doing with their Glowforge units, and we are honored to provide the tool that unlocks their creativity.”
For more information about LIA’s February Featured Corporate Member, please visit: http://glowforge.com.
This Corporate Member Feature was written by Brandon Kalloo in collaboration with Glowforge.
