Skip to main content

AMUG Newsletter January 2016

By January 12, 2016October 26th, 2018

2016 Conference

Mark Barfoot President

Mark Barfoot
President

I can almost feel the anticipation for the 2016 AMUG Conference. But you don’t have long to wait because it’s just over two months away.

If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to register. We are expecting record attendance this year so make sure you follow the link and get yourself registered (before the price increases) and your hotel room booked (before the rooms are taken).

The conference is shaping up quite nicely, and we have commitments for all of our Diamond and Platinum Sponsor spots. These top sponsors will bring 19 separate “users groups” to the AMUG Conference since each provides their own conference programs. Blending the AMUG Conference agenda with those of our sponsors offers you an event where you can learn about sponsor applications and technologies while having the flexibility to jump over to discussions covering the breadth of the industry. The bottom line is an enormous amount of presentations, workshops and hands-on training.

There is only one more month to submit applications for our scholarship programs. The Guy E. Bourdeau scholarship and Randy Stevens scholarship are for students and educators with a passion for additive manufacturing. If you know someone that fits that description, encourage them to apply today.

The Technical Competition and the failed build displays are also accepting entries. I encourage you to submit your entries for both. Details on the Technical Competition are offered below. For failed builds, please send me an email at president@am-ug.com with a picture of the failed build, a description of the failure and resolution, if you know it. We will be displaying failed builds during a Tuesday break.

If anyone has any questions about the upcoming conference, please don’t hesitate to ask. Send your inquiries to info@am-ug.com, and we’ll be happy to help you out.

All the best,

Mark Barfoot, AMUG president
President@am-ug.com

Conference Keynotes

We are bringing back, by popular demand, two keynote speakers and adding one new voice to the conversation. Jason Lopes, of Legacy Effects, and Todd Grimm, of T. A. Grimm & Associates, will once again take the stage to inform, inspire and excite AMUG Conference attendees. Both Lopes and Grimm will speak on Monday, April 4th.

Paul Litchfield, president of Ware Solutions, was formerly vice president of Rebook’s Advanced Concepts Group, which grew out of the advanced concepts team he started in 1985. From his team’s work came exciting products like The Pump and CHECKLIGHT. Paul, who has earned the reputation as one of the most influential product creation experts in athletic footwear, performance apparel and sporting goods, will step onto the AMUG stage on Thursday, April 7th.

2016 keynote speakers (from left): Jason Lopes, Paul Litchfield and Todd Grimm.

Transportation & Lodging

For those flying into Lambert – St. Louis International Airport (STL), we have set up a discounted shuttle ride through Go Best Shuttle between the airport and the St. Louis Union Station and Hilton Ballpark hotels. The rate for either hotel is $16.00 each way, excluding gratuity. Considering that a one-way cab ride will cost you about $50, this is a big savings. To get this rate, you must pre-book and pre-pay here.

Hotel

We expect to fill the St. Louis Union Station hotel so we have a backup at the Hilton Ballpark. For those that won’t be staying for the entire conference, we ask that you consider a reservation at the Hilton Ballpark. This request goes out to sponsors, exhibitors and attendees.

The room rate is the same as that for St. Louis Union Station ($129/night plus tax). The Hilton Ballpark is only eight minutes away, and we have arranged free, direct transportation between these two properties. To reserve rooms at this hotel, please visit the hotel’s AMUG reservations page.

View of Busch Stadium from Hilton Ballpark’s rooftop bar.

Extracurricular Activities

You may want to consider some pre-conference golf or skeet/trap shooting.

There are a limited number of spots, so if interested please contact Bob Dzugan (golf) or Stefan Ritt (skeet) to sign up.

Gateway National Golf Course

Technical Competition

We are now accepting submissions for the 2016 AMUG Technical Competition. Winners receive a complimentary AMUG attendee pass to the 2017 AMUG Conference. Entries will be accepted through March 28th. Visit the competition’s page for all of the details and a registration form.

The Technical Competition has two categories: Advanced Concepts and Advanced Finishing. The Advanced Concepts category recognizes exemplary work that “pushes the envelope.” The Advanced Finishing category recognizes the efforts of those that bring a part to life.

To be eligible, a company representative must be a registered attendee for the 2016 AMUG Conference. If you have any questions, send an email to info@am-ug.com.

2015 Technical Competition winners.

Sponsor News – Carbon

Carbon is thrilled to be attending AMUG for the first time this year, where we’ll be sharing our vision for the future and diving into some of the amazing possibilities and application opportunities for our technology. We’ve been hard at work over the last year building an exceptional product and customer experience. We’re continuing to grow our beta program, having recently announced BMW and our newest collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, aimed at developing custom surgical devices.

Look out for more details on our schedule coming soon and learn more about Carbon at carbon3d.com.

Close up of a lattice structure pipe on Carbon’s first commercial machine.

Sponsor News – 3D Systems

Bringing New Solutions to AMUG Conference

3D Systems is back at AMUG with our extensive portfolio of 3D printers, software, healthcare solutions and On-Demand part services. We will highlight our newest offerings, including:

  • The heavy duty ProX™ DMP 320, designed for high precision, high throughput Direct Metal Printing. Optimized for critical applications requiring titanium, stainless steel or nickel super alloy.
  • The company’s latest MultiJet Printing family. The ProJet MJP 3600 Series, new materials with exceptional elastomeric performance for the ProJet MJP 5500X and the exciting new ProJet MJP 2500 Series, which delivers professional-grade 3D printing capabilities at a breakthrough price and office-friendly footprint.

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we will provide a special technology demonstration of SLAbot-1, Chuck Hull’s latest breakthrough for high speed, automated, modular manufacturing. Presentations by customers and our experts will provide real world examples of how 3D Systems’ solutions are advancing design to manufacturing capabilities. We are here to help customers transform workflows, bring innovative products to market and drive new business models.

Sponsor News – GE

Efficient Desalination Uses 3D-printed Turbine

Scientists at GE Global Research (GRC) are working with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a super efficient desalination machine that fits in the palm of the hand.

This innovative solution involves the shrinking of a steam turbine originally designed to generate electricity. It’s also the perfect example of what GE calls the GE Store, the idea that sharing ideas across businesses can quickly lead to breakthroughs. The mini desalination system combines 3D printing with GE’s deep reservoir of knowledge of turbo-machinery and fluid dynamics. GE scientists Doug Hofer and Vitali Lissianski used them to shrink a power generation steam turbine that would normally barely fit inside a school gym.

If successful, the system could reduce the cost of water desalination by as much as 20 percent. That would begin to break down the cost barrier that has prevented more desalination systems from being built. Learn more at gereports.com.

Sponsor News – Concept Laser

Metal Additive Manufacturing Meets Quality Assurance

Quality assurance and in-process monitoring have become the latest buzz-words in additive manufacturing. However, the capability of real-time analysis of the build process is essential to move AM from the prototype phase into first-class production. Active quality assurance is one of the most important requirements of additive production users. Monitoring the key data of a laser melting system includes a number of variables — oxygen level, laser output, recoating and powder quality, among other criteria. However, a comprehensive statement about the quality of the part cannot be made simply on the basis of the machine parameters. The process itself must be monitored.

Join Concept Laser at the 2016 AMUG Conference to learn more about: in-situ quality assurance with QMmeltpool 3D®; metal additive manufacturing safety; AM Factory of Tomorrow; service and support; hands-on sessions and more.

In-situ monitoring of the meltpool with QMmeltpool 3D®: A photo diode and a camera provide coaxial monitoring of the area and intensity of the melt pool through the laser optic with exact positioning.

Sponsor News – Renishaw

Renishaw AM 400 — Flexible Metal System for a Wide Range of Metals

The Renishaw AM 400 is the latest development of the Renishaw AM250 platform. It features the most recent system updates including a larger SafeChange™ filter, improved optical control software, revised gas flow and window protection system and a new 400 W optical system that gives a reduced beam diameter of 70 µm.

AM 400 is equipped with the features of the existing AM250, such as open materials parameters, small factory footprint, class leading inert atmosphere and low gas usage, with the added advantage of the PlusPac™ upgrade as standard.

The AM 400 features an external powder hopper with valve interlocks to allow additional material to be added whilst the process is running. It is possible to remove the hopper for cleaning or to exchange with a secondary hopper for materials change, using the universal silo lift. This means that multiple material types can be interchanged on the AM 400 platform with relative ease. Find out more at Renishaw AM 400.

Sponsor News – Stratasys

Shed FDM Part Weight Smartly – Design guide helps you build light, structurally optimized parts

A new design guide authored by Stratasys and Aurora Flight Sciences offers techniques and guidance to help you create the lightest possible FDM parts. Topics include material selection; sparse, shell and hybrid parts; single-bead design methods; and support considerations.

An accompanying case study shows how Aurora and Stratasys built an ambitious thrust vectoring, blended wing-body UAV. The team employed topology optimization and part consolidation to refine its design, GrabCAD software to manage workflow and Stratasys Direct Manufacturing services to tap more technologies than Aurora had onsite. The result is the world’s first 3D printed jet-powered aircraft, which with a 9.5-foot wingspan weighs just 32 pounds.

“Nobody has ever done anything like this,” said James Berlin, additive manufacturing research engineer at Stratasys. “We wanted to push these materials and additive processes to find new limits.”

Visit Stratasys to see the craft in flight, read the full story and download the design guide.

World’s first 3D printed jet-powered aircraft

3D-Printed Ceramics Withstand Ultra-high Temperatures

ENGINEERING.com

Ceramic materials are ideal for a wide range of applications from jet engine components to intricate micro-electromechanical parts. Unfortunately, because they cannot be cast or machined easily, ceramic parts are generally more difficult to process compared to polymers or metals. Ceramic parts are traditionally consolidated from powders by sintering. This inevitably leaves residual porosity in the parts, limiting their strength as well as their range of achievable final shapes.

However, a new approach from HRL Laboratories for producing ceramics using additive manufacturing overcomes the traditional limitations on ceramic processing. Read the whole story at ENGINEERING.com.

A 3D-printed ceramic lattice. (Image courtesy of HRL Laboratories.)

And there is much more at ENGINEERING.com, such as:

TCT + Personalize

TCT Storms into CES 2016

January 2016 isn’t even over yet, but TCT has completed its first successful event; CES 2016 was, as usual, a rip-roaring success. The conference was packed, so much so that we required extra seating in the room to watch talks from the likes of Joe DeSimone of Carbon, Prof. Jenny Lewis of Voxel8, J. Scott Schiller of HP and Todd Grimm.

The TCT team noticed a total shift in both exhibitors and visitors to the 3D Printing Marketplace presented by TCT at CES 2016. Gone were the Yoda busts, and in their place were functional parts. Gawkers were replaced by people wanting to know if they could apply the technology to their specific project. Make sure you catch-up with our CES videos here.

CES also represented a great opportunity to get the first North American edition of TCT Magazine into the hands of readers. The reaction was positive, and we hope you enjoyed your issue. If you aren’t subscribed, get the next copy delivered to your door for free by subscribing here.

About AMUG

AMUG is an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. AMUG members include those with any commercial additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies from companies such as Stratasys, Somos, Concept Laser, SLM Solutions, EOS, ExOne, Renishaw, Carbon, Arcam, envisionTEC, HP Inc., Prodways and 3D Systems. AMUG meets annually to provide education and training through technical presentations on processes and new technologies. This information addresses operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make.

Connect with members on the organization’s website and LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and YouTube networks.