LIA NEWS
NEWS FROM LIA I
n my experience, job shops are a vital element in the manufacturing process. A well equipped laser job shop can provide services such as cutting, welding, drilling and now
laser additive manufacturing. Te job shop will have not only the equipment but the knowledge and experience to develop a new process or part.
R
ecord attendance and spirited discussion from beginning to end marked the most successful laser additive manufacturing (LAM) workshop to date. LIA’s sixth annual
LAM spotlighted a multitude of promising developments in AM research, materials and processes, and previewed progress on the horizon. Organized into two educational tracks,
showcasing powder-bed processes and powder- fed technology, LAM 2014 brimmed with case studies and highlights from around the world. More than 200 attendees travelled to Houston, drawn by wide-ranging presentations and the opportunity to talk directly with suppliers of AM solutions. Attendees got a nuts-and-bolts look at all angles
of additive manufacturing performed with machines by Concept Laser, EOS, Phenix, ReaLizer, Renishaw and SLM Solutions with materials like Inconel 625 and 718, titanium TiAl6V4, aluminium AlSi10Mg, stainless steel 316, maraging steel, cobalt chrome and more. A 90-minute panel discussion on powder-bed processes at the end of day one provided an opportunity to quiz 10 experts. ‘It’s a broad industry, and you can see that
everybody in the world is getting into it,’ said first-time attendee Nick Vassiliou of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. ‘We’re going to start getting into it with our repair business. We’re exploring
50 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE ISSUE 23 • SUMMER 2014
Two friends for you By Peter Baker, Executive Director of the LIA Once developed, the shop can manufacture
the part for you then, as value increases, could build or specify a system for your own in house production, even taking care of extra value if needed. Job shops are your friend. Another new friend could be diode lasers. Always known for their good wall plug
efficiency, new techniques are now allowing diode lasers to produce more intense beams and smaller spots thereby extending their application to welding and even some cutting applications. Just two more friends to help you benefit from using lasers in your manufacturing processes!
LAM 2014 highlights a wealth of success stories from AM industry experts
possibilities and trying to add our knowledge to the industry when we get up and running.’ Among the recurring themes were that:
l Key players worldwide are not shy about investing significant time and money toward expanding AM capabilities in the automotive, aerospace, energy, medical and even consumer- goods sectors. A primary quest is for machines with larger build chambers to produce larger parts.
lTere remains no “cookbook” for how to engage in additive manufacturing. But novel practices like crowdsourcing design ideas for AM parts, or “printing” parts from customers’ CAD data and shipping the results, demonstrate the evolving business practices AM is fostering.
l Process monitoring and control are vital to ensure that hours of production time aren’t for naught because an error early in the layer-by- layer manufacturing process went undetected.
lData — either too much or too little — remains a core challenge. On the one hand, generating gigabytes of AM process data can impede the ability to zero in on vital manufacturing parameters. On the other hand, AM users struggle without relevant databases – for instance, those that define the properties of metal powders or ensure repeatable parts and products.
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS Chaired by Jim Sears of GE’s Global Research Center, the programme featured about two dozen speakers offering a wealth of AM success stories and spurred intense Q&A sessions. Perspectives ranged from repair and manufacturing initiatives in the US and Europe to South America and Australia. Notable global
developments included: l Keynote speaker Todd Rockstroh noted 1,000 pound weight reductions in external engine components at GE Aviation, but cautioned that in some cases post-production inspection can account for 25 per cent of AM costs. He also updated his audience on GE’s Leap engine fuel-nozzle project, which combines 20 parts into one additively manufactured component with five times the working life and 25 per cent less weight. GE expects to produce more than 40,000 per year by 2018;
l Frederick Claus of California-based Solid Concepts showed how the company additively manufactured a 1911-model handgun in 36 hours, cutting hand-finishing time from 500 hours on the first attempt to 50 with subsequent efforts. Built out of stainless steel 17-4PH with CAD data obtained from the Internet, the weapon has since been used to fire more than 3,500 rounds. However, Claus noted that the weapon costs $11,900: ‘We
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