Additive Manufacturing Application Trends


The development of innovative, advanced additive manufacturing technologies has progressed quickly yielding broader and high value applications. This accelerating trend has been due to the benefits of additive manufacturing compared to more conventional manufacturing processes. Some of these benefits are:

1.      Lower energy consumption

2.      Less waste

3.      Less dedicated tooling

4.      Reduced development costs and time to market

5.      Innovative designs and geometries

6.      Part consolidation (fewer parts with more complex design)

7.      Customization of parts (e.g., for medical implants, specialty repair parts, parts where other manufacturing facilities are not available such as on ships or in space.


The industries that will benefit most in the immediate future from additive manufacturing and the value provided are:

Industry

Applications and Value

Aerospace and Defense

·         Concept modeling and prototyping

·         Manufacturing low-volume complex parts (electronics, engine parts, etc.)

·         Manufacturing replacement parts anywhere

·         Manufacturing structures using lightweight, high strength materials

Automotive

·         Testing part design to verify correctness and completeness

·         Parts for race vehicles, luxury sports cars, antique cars, etc.

·         Replacement of parts that are defective or cannot be purchased

·         Manufacturing structures using lightweight, high strength materials

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Electronics

·         Embedding Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices embedded inside solid materials

·         Short lead time electronic products

·         Polymer based, three-dimensional micro-electromechanical systems

·         Microwave circuits fabricated on paper substrates

Tool and Mold Making

·         Universal tool holders with standardized pocket sizes

·         Die casting forms

·         Injection molding tooling

·         Tooling for prototyping of short lead time surgical devices

Medical

·         Design and modeling methods for customized implants and medical devices

·         Processes for fabrication of “smart scaffolds” and for construction of 3D biological and tissue models


Properties of Polymeric Materials for Additive Manufacturing


The penetration of these industries is still limited, and this limitation has much to do with the types of materials that are available. The properties of new materials must be compatible with the deposition tool as well as the application. Some of the properties for new, sought-after polymeric materials include:

·         Mechanical Stability: The material should maintain its form during processing including the support of subsequent layers. High mechanical stability of the final part allows it to be handled quickly and provides property imitation of conventionally processed materials (e.g. by injection molding).


·         Chemical Stability: The material has to have a consistent chemical structure and it must be inert when in contact with other materials during and after processing. This will allow possible combination with other materials without undesirable reactions.


·         Thermal Stability: The material should have properties (melt flow, particle size, adhesion, etc.) that are required for the additive manufacturing processes chosen. It should also have thermal properties (glass transition temperature, creep resistance, low and high temperature strength, etc.) required for the end-use application.


·         Biocompatibility: Biocompatibility will become important in AM parts that are manufactured for biological applications such as bodily implants and orthodontics. It will also become significant in parts that must be recycled or deposited in a waste facility. The parts should have low or no toxic effect on the environment and be biodegradable when necessary.


As is the case with any newly developing industry, adequate information and its dissemination to the material and machine suppliers and end-users are paramount. Especially needed in the additive manufacturing industry is the:

1.      Development of a shared, standardized third-party data repository that contains material property data that leads to the proper choice of materials and

2.      Standards and protocol for part manufacture independent of region or time and standards for material and part testing.


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