Stefan Ritt, vice president, Global Marketing and Communications (Lübeck, Germany; Wixom, MI), is a recognized leader and expert in AM metals business and applications. Stefan travels in all of markets of the world including North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. He has seen current metal additive manufacturing (AM) applications and developments giving him a Read More
A Guide to ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING metals
Additive Manufacturing (AM) machines making metal parts have been out there for a dozen years. The machines have improved since the initial offerings and the number of companies that now produce them have increased exponentially. Many companies are now ready to invest in this maturing technology, and there are many more companies with machines that vary in technology and Read More
Additive Manufacturing Moves from the lab to the front lines
In the years leading up to World War II, the US military had the opinion that it was technologically equal to any adversary in the world. On December 7, 1941, and for years afterward, US military discovered it was not. America did have the advantage of the strongest manufacturing base but it took time to retool to military products. America mainly won the day because of Read More
Teeth Being Restored and Jobs Being Reshored
One of the early applications for 3D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) was in the medical industry. As the machines and materials have improved, the use of these technologies expanded into almost every application. In medical, there are unique challenges as patient safety is paramount and government regulation and insurance issues structure what can and will be done. But Read More
First Plastics, Then Metals and Now Composites
Impossible Objects LLC, a Chicago-based company, has brought to market a new composites material manufacturing technology known as Composite-Based Additive Manufacturing (CBAM) 3D technology which produces Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) or Polymer Matrix Composite (PMC) parts. Robert Swartz, founder of the CBAM process, derived the concept from the 2D printing industry. Read More
Where the Money is Coming From
Additive manufacturing, aka 3D printing, has taken off from its origins and grown now to be a serious business concern in manufacturing. Twenty years ago it was a $234-million market. Today it is $8 billion and is projected to be $20 billion by 2020. The technology is sexy and can do things that you just can’t do in traditional manufacturing. However, the hype isn’t always as Read More