Additive manufacturing 2015: is this the year changer for the manufacturing industry?
Riccardo FERRARI
CEO at MET COMPANY Srl
www.e-manufacturing.it
2015: is this the year changer for the manufacturing industry? Here’s the state-of-the-art and future potential of additive manufacturing.
At this point, it’s fairly safe to assume you’ve heard of 3D printing. Not necessarily because the technology has been around for 30 years, but because it’s gotten considerable coverage over the past few. People will no longer be surprised that something was made using 3D printing. Why? Because of course it was! 3D printing is an exceptionally versatile tool, and as we perfect the technology, expand its applications and enhance its integration, it will reach a level of ubiquity that only common sense can dictate.
“Additive manufacturing” (AM) is the industrial way to see “3D printing”. AM is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. AM uses an additive process, where materials are applied in successive layers. AM is distinguished from traditional subtractive machining techniques that rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or milling. AM has a 30-year history for plastic objects – the capacity to make metal objects relevant to the engineered products and high tech industries has been around since 1997. A “3D printing” machine costs around 200€ and produces small objects without any industrial scope. An AM machine costs more than 300.000,00€ and it can produce mechanical components with performances similar to the conventional production technology like forging, extrusion, …
The study therefore focuses on metal AM technologies. 3D printing has made a tremendous strides in 2014, let’s take a moment to reflect on the highlights of the future potential of AM.