EWI is pleased to welcome Portable Solutions Group, Inc., the parent company to DropBox Inc. and Modular Security Systems Inc. (MS SI), to membership. DropBox, Inc. is a container modification specialist which provides both standard containerized products and custom builds for shipment worldwide and has a longstanding relationship serving the industrial, military and commercial markets. MS SI provides modular security entry turnstiles, guard booths, and secured entry portals. Portable Solutions Group, Inc. is based in Worthington, KY.
Temperature
Measurement in the Ultrasonic-assisted Drilling Process, a paper
by EWI Project Engineer Amin Moghaddas, A.Y. Yi of The Ohio State University,
and EWI Principal Engineer Karl Graff, has been published in THE INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY.
The
ultrasonic-assisted drilling (UAD) process is being developed due to its
apparent advantages over the conventional drilling (CD) process in terms of
thrust force and torque reduction and improvements in surface finish and hole
accuracy. However, heat generated during UAD might affect tool life, including
damage to the cutting edges of the drill. The research reported here sought to
(1) find the best technique to measure temperatures in UAD, and (2) measure the
effect of ultrasonic vibrations in heat generated in UAD. Five temperature
measurement techniques were examined, and then the best and most reliable
technique was used to investigate the effects of ultrasonic vibrations on heat
generated in UAD of aluminum 6061, alloy steel 4340, and stainless steel 316.
The effect of ultrasonic vibrations on thrust force was also studied.
The EWI additive manufacturing (AM) team attended and exhibited at AMUG 2019, the annual conference for users in all industries, across all levels of experience. EWI Director of AM Programs Mark Barfoot made note of several key innovations and applications at this year’s show. As immediate Past President of AMUG, he is in a unique position to spot AM trends and follow development of this dynamic technology area over time.
New AM technologies and existing
companies expanding their offerings
According to Mark, this year a new realm of AM players was present. “Velo3D’s new Sapphire system can print at low angles and overhangs below 10 degrees without the need for supports. Although Stratasys started the FDM technology this year they moved into SLA printing and showed their new Stratasys V650 Flex SLA printer which is their first machine offering fully open-sourced control of your SLA printing.”
Greater Speed, Greater size
Mark Barfoot
Continuing
from last year’s trend the metal vendors in particular are increasing their
print speed either through more lasers or faster tracing algorithms. “The push
to have larger build sizes was a challenge for this year’s vendors as their
machines are now getting so large that they can’t fit in the show floor,” says
Mark. “Additive Industries had to resort to a sample crate to showcase their
product.”
Big Rep’s
new machine boasting 5X the build speed as well as Essentium 3D’s new machine
can perform 10X faster “FFF” printing.
The new Form
3 and 3L machines from Formlabs boast 5 times the build volume and 2 times the
laser power than earlier models.
Superior Software
Another
trend on the upswing is more third-party software offerings to assist with the shift
into AM for production. “Dyndrite launched their 3D print software at AMUG. It
features a Python API that lets you back-end program/automate your build setup.
3YourMind offers end-to-end workflow optimization solutions including a smart
feature that can examine a bunch of parts and recommend which ones are best
suited for printing.” Mark expects to
see many more offerings for new and augmented software this year.
More Low-cost Options
“As AM
becomes more broadly adopted, we see less expensive systems entering the
market,” Mark reports. “One example is a lower-cost powder bed fusion system
from Xact Metal which offers all the performance of the larger systems but with
a smaller build size and at a sub $150k price point. This brings LPBF into the
similar price point to the “FFF” based Desktop Metal & MarkForged binder
jet printers.”
Enhanced Materials
Mark observed that more material companies are coming to light to offer powders for metal and/or plastic printing. This has also spawned new innovative materials such as Essentium’s new, innovative 3D carbon nanotube-coated material which provides superior ESD protection for jigs and fixtures.”
Mark also observed
a higher profile for ceramic printing at AMUG 2019. “Specific sessions on
ceramic AM were held this year, and there were more ceramics exhibitors.”
New Innovative Applications
Mark pointed out that some of the most interesting innovations at the show were in the realm of applications. “Brian McLean from Laika talked about how they utilized 3D printing to print over 100,000 faces for their new movie, The Missing Link, which eliminated the need for hand sculping and painting. Brad Keselowski, race car driver and owner of KAM solutions spoke about how 3D printing has potential in auto racing. Medical experts also talked about how they can now digitally plan surgeries, 3D print all cutting guides and even create representative models for training that even have the same feel as when they perform the actual surgery. These kinds of applications are amazing.”
Beyond all the cool stuff, Mark feels that AMUG is unique as a forum for networking in the AM community. “No other show allows you to sit down and have in-depth conversations with fellow additive people. It is an exhausting week of engaging with AM professionals, but no other event gives you that same feel or amount of knowledge.”
Dynetics Technical Solutions, Inc.
(DTS) has joined EWI membership. The company offers in-house machining
equipment and expertise for precision machining and fabrication used for rapid
development of hardware for R&D, prototyping, and limited production. Headquartered
in Huntsville, Alabama, DTS services aerospace, defense, automotive, medical,
and other industries.
The EWI Strategic Technology Committee (STC) for Oil & Gas is an industry-based group that works to identify gaps between current technologies and industry requirements. Each year, the STC selects, funds, and executes research projects to meet and address the technology development needs of member organizations and the industry as a whole.
A few weeks ago, we offered a sneek peek into some of EWI’s Columbus, Ohio, research labs. Now, you can take a virtual walk through EWI’s Buffalo Manufacturing Works to view many of our additive manufacturing (AM), nondestructive inspection, and advanced automation research stations.
Buffalo Manufacturing Works houses top-of-the-line AM systems used for applied R&D projects on behalf of both commercial and government ventures. As you “stroll,” you’ll see setups for the Arcam A2X, Sciaky 110, RPM 557, and the ExOne Innovent. Around the corner, you’ll spot our computed tomography (CT) cell where parts are inspected nondestructively. Take a spin down the next aisle and “Robotics Row” comes into view. Here, our skilled, experienced engineers develop automation solutions that can help support our clients’ growth and performance
Does it look crowded in there? It sure is … which is why Buffalo Manufacturing Works will move to a new facility in a few months to accommodate its growth and expand its research capabilities. Check back with us later this year to visit our new labs and find out how EWI can help your company improve its processes and productivity!
