DIRECT METAL DEPOSITION uses inert gas as part of the additive manufacturing process to spray powder onto a surface where it can be melted by a high-power laser beam.
Image: Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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The U.S. wants back into the manufacturing game, but the industry has had to weigh this desire to create new jobs and stimulate the economy against the reality of competing against lower operating costs elsewhere in the world. Whereas traditional assembly-line work may never return stateside in a big way, manufacturers and government agencies have begun placing bets on additive manufacturing technologies—including 3-D printing—that they believe could represent the industry’s future.
Just what this future will look like and how the U.S. might get there is the subject of a technology showcase this week at The Pennsylvania State University, sponsored by the school’s Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital Deposition (CIMP-3D), along with the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).
Additive manufacturing processes create 3-D objects based on a computer file by sequentially depositing thin layers of liquid or powdered metals, polymers or other materials on a substrate. Three-dimensional printing is either synonymous with or a subcategory of additive manufacturing, depending on whom you ask. There are significant differences between the two, however. There are 3-D printers now available for as little as $500, but they produce relatively low-quality objects, suitable as toys, jewelry and other novelties. Industrial additive machines, in contrast, cost at least $30,000—and the laser-based units that make high-quality metal products can cost as much as $1 million.
Of course, additive processes and materials are not nearly mature enough to sustain an entire industry. Layer-by-layer printing of items is simply not possible today at the speed and scale required to replace casting, molding, machining and other traditional manufacturing methods.
The greatest successes in additive manufacturing are taking place in the biomedical industry, particularly in the making of implants that take advantage of the technology’s design flexibility to match a patient’s particular needs, such as a customized hip implant, says CIMP-3D Co-Director Richard Martukanitz. “You could use the high-definition capabilities of additive manufacturing to put scaffolding on the surface of the implant so that you have greater interaction with the patient’s bone material,” he adds. “This is being done in Europe because officials have certified additive manufacturing for use in making biomedical devices and implants. The U.S. is catching up in that area.”
NAMII, the hub of the U.S.’s catch-up efforts, is the first of 15 “innovation institutes” to be established by Pres. Obama’s $1-billion National Network for Manufacturing Innovation strategy introduced in March. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, NAMII is focusing on the development of additive manufacturing technology and processes with help from a planned $45 million in federal funding. The Defense and Energy departments have already provided $30 million of that amount, with NASA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Science Foundation expected to kick in the remaining $15 million over the next four years. A consortium of manufacturing firms, universities, community colleges and nonprofit organizations has promised NAMII an additional $40 million.
Penn State’s CIMP-3D performs research into the use of metals in additive manufacturing for NAMII. At this week’s conference, “we’ll be inaugurating our new center for innovative materials processing, an 8,000-square-foot facility on campus dedicated to additive manufacturing for metallic components,” Martukanitz says.
Such investments are only the beginning if additive manufacturing is to have much impact on the industry as a whole. Still, there are high hopes that additive technologies will play a significant role in manufacturing in the coming decades. The Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds report issued in November by the National Intelligence Council (pdf) predicts that additive manufacturing will by 2030 advance beyond its current functions of creating models and rapid prototyping in the automotive and aerospace industries to transform how some conventional mass-produced products are fabricated.
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8 Comments
Add CommentIt is cool to see my family's hometown mentioned positively in SA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOverall, this is impressive technology.
to Alferaz,
It is way too late for any ban to truely be effective. And such would be bad economically in the long run. America essentially perfected economic competition. This looks to be one way of improving our economy for the long term. let's win by running the race, not by diqualifying other runners.
Time passes, things change. The US has worked its way out of trouble by advancing science and technology before. Of course sometimes the results weren't exactly what we had planned or hoped for. We can do that again.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can't wait for the day that i can go down to the local additive manufacturing plant and ask them to print me a new watch, and, oh, while you are at it, how about a new car. And my wife would like a dress like the one in this picture in red and black, size 8 please.
We could bring all manufacturing back to this Country and it would be local and on demand.
Of course it would destroy the entire retail business, along with wholesale, shipping, and everything that supports our current business structure in the US. But I guess that's just a minor detail.
Be careful what you ask for. As far as I know, no one has yet repealed the law of unintended consequences.
Campbell,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNice remarks, especially about the law of unintended consequences.
You really missed the boat. That ship sailed long ago. It would be better to require that companies that use outsourced overseas manufacturing to pay the foreign workers the same in total compensation and with the same safety standards as American workers. This is a double win because it will bring a lot of manufacturing back and at the same time, in cases where it is still economically feasible, boost the economies of other countries and thus demand for American products.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBuy an ad you cheapskate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, we should, but our corporate overlords will never let that happen because it would cut into their paychecks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat kind of kickback is BO demanding? Something like Solyndra?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat I don't see here is another method.Using bacteria to grow what we want.DNA instructions could tell the cells to lay down atoms in any shape or form we design.Every thing from food to cars to houses can be programed.This technology is not as far off as many might think.
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