“If I have a 6 inch diameter pipe and I put 3 mm buildup on it and it’s a kilometer long, it’s about 40 kg per meter of pipe. If you extrapolate out for a kilometer, it’s 40,000 kg (of material), and I’m putting it down at about a kilogram an hour. We’re talking about the tsunami that’s being created by GE’s request for 35,000 (additively manufactured) parts a year; think about the tsunami we’re creating to clad pipe.”
Meanwhile, Biermann, of Fraunhofer ILT, discussed powder- bed and powder-fed additive processes and the importance of optimizing every step of their vertical and horizontal process chains. Noting that a metal powder-fed system might cost about 200,000 to 1.5 million Euros and a powder-bed system 250,000 to 1 million Euros, he cautioned attendees from smaller companies to “get your math done” before diving into AM. Not doing so, he warned, could result in a failed project and potentially hinder broader acceptance of AM by creating the perception of low ROI.
For diode laser maker Laserline, the tipping point for job shops to embrace additive processes could be around the second quarter of 2015, said Wolfgang Todt, vice president of US operations. That’s when “the accounts we’re talking to are going into full production with their machines,” he noted. “Job shops overall are busy like crazy, and the ones we’re dealing with are all looking for more lasers. A lot of the end users buying from job shops are looking into getting their own lasers.”
Wohlers said AM hype really took off around the third quarter of 2012. Now, “we think there are between 400 and 700 startup companies” on the low-cost side of AM. High-end applications in aerospace, medicine and dentistry contributed to the surge in interest; he noted that Boeing uses tens of thousands of polymer AM parts, while Airbus claims it will be using hundreds of AM machines to produce its parts — many
Revenues from sales of metal AM machines grew by almost 76 percent last year, Wohlers said — and most are laser-based. But in addressing the myths surrounding AM — that you can make “anything” additively, that AM is fast and just as inexpensive when building one part at a time — he concluded that AM will not replace conventional manufacturing. “There’s a lot of stuff the hype is understandable when, for example, NASA takes a 115-part rocket nozzle and consolidates it into two digitally printed components.
Beyond additive, other application highlights included:
In his tutorial on high-power laser welding, David Havrilla penetration, butt vs. overlap joints, special cuts and bends in tubing and how designing for laser welding can increase vehicle accessibility and driver visibility by reducing or example, he detailed how the Golf V featured 70 meters of laser welding, resulting in 80 percent more static torsion stiffness, 15 percent more dynamical torsion stiffness, and 35 percent more dynamical bending stiffness vs. the Golf IV, which featured only 1.4 meters of laser welds. Miyachi
20 LIATODAY FOCUS: SCIENCE & RESEARCH SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014
America’s Geoff Shannon provided a broader overview on laser welding.
SPI Laser’s Ken Dzurko illustrated how to adjust a single laser for multiple uses — cutting, marking, engraving and texturing.
Ultrafast processes were covered by TRUMPF’s Sascha Weiler and Ronald Schaeffer of PhotoMachining in Pelham, NH, while TRUMPF’s Patrick Grace delved into system costs. In detailing optimal parameters for using pico- and femtosecond systems, Schaeffer compared per-watt costs of nano-, pico- and femtosecond lasers.
All in all, LME again delivered as a laser-only showcase packed with advanced manufacturing applications and opportunities to network with the key industry players.
“Overall I was impressed,” said Bystronic product specialist Mitchell Van Zuiden, who gave a keynote address on laser cutting applications. “I was surprised by the number of exhibitors as well as the number of attendees. The Showcase Theater seemed to be very popular… there seemed to be a lot of interest. I am encouraging my superiors to consider exhibiting at this event next year.”
And for Brian Olsen, who is trying to break into the laser business through a program at the College of Lake County in found LME’s welding instruction useful “because it took a theory and applied it.”
LME returns to Schaumburg on Sept. 16-17, 2015. Follow updates at
www.laserevent.org.
REVISED! Z136.1
Safe Use of Lasers 2014
Published by:
LIA.ORG/ANSI.1 1.800.34.LASER
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