Additive Manufacturing.

1. APPLICATIONS OF AM
PRASHANTH B N
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Amrita School of Engineering

2. INTRODUCTION
 Additive manufacturing refers to the set of technologies that allow the manufacture of
objects in a sequential manner, usually layer by layer.
 It is defined as additive because the material is added sequentially, as opposed to more
traditional (subtractive) manufacturing where material is removed from a solid block
until the final part is left.
 Examples of subtractive manufacturing are turning/lathing, CNC or general cutting
processes such as laser cutting, water jet cutting, machine cutting, etc.

3. INTRODUCTION
 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has come a long way since it was
first developed in the 1980s.
 While 3D printing originated as a tool for rapid prototyping, it has now evolved to cover
a number of different technologies.
 The evolution of 3D printing has seen a rapid growth in the number of companies
adopting the technology.
 The applications and use cases vary across industries, but broadly include tooling aids,
visual and functional prototypes — and even end-use parts.
 As the potential applications for 3D printing increase, companies are beginning to find
ways to create new business models and opportunities with the technology.

4. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
 The Aerospace and Defence (A&D) industry is one of the earliest adopters of 3D
printing, with the first use of the technology going back to 1989.
 Now, three decades later, A&D represents a 16.8% share of the $10.4 billion additive
manufacturing market and heavily contributes to ongoing research efforts within the
industry.
 The advancement of AM within A&D is in large part driven by key industry players,
including GE, Airbus, Boeing, Safran and GKN.
 These companies and others have identified the value proposition 3D printing brings to
Functional prototypes, Tooling and Lightweight components.
 3D printing for aerospace isn’t limited to prototypes.
 Real, functional parts are also being 3D printed and used in aircraft.
 A few examples of parts that can be produced with 3D printing include air ducts (SLS),
wall panels (FDM) and even structural metal components (DMLS, EBM).

5. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
Benefits of 3D printing for Aerospace & Defence
 Low-volume production - Highly complex parts are produced in low volumes, complex
geometries can be created without having to invest in expensive tooling equipment, cost-
effective way to produce small batches of parts cost-effectively.
 Weight reduction - Reducing the weight of an aircraft can significantly reduce its carbon
dioxide emissions, fuel consumption and payload.
 Material efficiency - Produces less waste than traditional subtractive methods.
 Part consolidation - Ability to integrate multiple parts into a single component. Simplify
the assembly and maintenance process by reducing the amount of time needed for
assembly.
 Maintenance & repair - Metal 3D printing technologies like Direct Energy
Deposition are commonly used to repair aerospace and military equipment. Turbine
blades and other high-end equipment can also be restored and repaired by adding material
to worn-out surfaces.

6. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
3D-printed rocket components
 3D printing, particularly with metals, is increasingly being used in the
manufacture of rockets.
 Example: Injector head for the Ariane 6 launcher, developed by ArianeGroup, a joint
venture of Airbus Group and Safran.
 An injector head is one of the core elements of a propulsion module, which forces the
fuel mixture into the combustion chamber.
 Traditionally, injector heads are made from dozens or even hundreds of parts, which need
to be machined and welded together.
 In contrast, 3D printing enables these components to be manufactured as a single piece.
 The team took a design that originally required 248 components and reduced it down to
one 3D-printed part.
 Material used for the part was a nickel-based alloy and printed using SLM technology.

7. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
Aircraft interior components
 3D-printed plastic parts can be incredibly useful for aerospace applications, such as
aircraft interiors.
 The cabin interiors of a commercial aircraft will need to be updated periodically, a
process that can involve replacing components like wall panels.
 Example: Airbus as of 2018, produced and is set to install 3D-printed spacer panels on its
commercial A320 aircraft.
 Traditionally, new plastic components would be produced using injection moulding — an
expensive and complex procedure for the low volumes, specialised requirements and high
complexity needed.
 With 3D printing (FDM), Airbus has been able to produce components with complex
features like lattice structures, without any additional manufacturing cost and are 15%
lighter than panels created using traditional methods.

8. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
Structural components for defence systems
 3D printing has the potential to change the way end parts for military equipment are
produced.
 Current defence applications range from complex brackets and small surveillance drones,
to jet engine components and submarine hulls.
 Electronics 3D printing is increasingly growing area of interest for defence companies.
 With the technology, engineers are currently able to design and produce prototypes of
complex circuit boards and antennas in-house.
 Antennas are an important example of how 3D printing is speeding up the design process
for electronic devices.
 Take the case of Harris Corporation which, alongside Nano Dimension, a manufacturer of
3D printing electronics systems, achieved a key breakthrough in 2018 when it produced
antennas using 3D printing.

9. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
Tooling
 Aerospace companies can also benefit from 3D printing by using the technology to
produce custom tooling equipment like jigs and fixtures on demand.
 French aerospace manufacturer Latécoère previously, used CNC milling to manufacture
these tools, with lead times of up to six weeks. Now, with FDM 3D printers, Latécoère
can create production tools in just a couple of days — a lead time reduction of 95%.
 Similarly, the Moog Aircraft Group is using FDM 3D printing to produce tools like
coordinate measuring machines (CMM) in-house.
 In the past, the company outsourced this fixture, with the process taking between 4 to 6
weeks.
 Now Moog uses 3D printing in-house, making CMM fixtures in approximately 20 hours.
 Fixtures that would have previously cost over £2,000 can now be made for a couple of
hundred pounds.

10. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
Spare parts
 Heavily reliant on spare and replacement parts, aerospace companies increasingly require
short lead times for this application.
 To meet this demand, suppliers to the aerospace industry must find ways to provide
manufacturing services faster.
 Additive manufacturing enables spare parts can be produced quickly at the point of need.
 This, in turn, reduces the need for vast inventories of stock, helping to reduce inventory
costs and ensure parts are produced locally.
 Satair is an Airbus subsidiary that specialises in the distribution of spare parts, offering
additively manufactured plastic and metal parts.
 The spare parts provider uses 3D printing to produce customised parts and tooling, with
the technology helping to greatly reduce lead times and simplify complex supply chain
logistics.

11. AEROSPACE & DEFENCE
 The aerospace and defence industry makes up a significant proportion of the AM market.
 The reasons for this are simple: additive manufacturing offers enormous value, from
improving aircraft performance to offering a more agile approach to spare parts
production.
 Making the move towards production, however, requires additive manufacturing to
overcome certain challenges.
 These include the certification of 3D-printed parts, better process repeatability and
security.
 Nevertheless, with considerable investment being made to develop and certify 3D
printing processes and materials, the future of 3D printing for the aerospace and defence
industry certainly looks bright.

12. AUTOMOTIVE
 The automotive industry is a growing user of additive manufacturing: in 2019 alone,
global automotive AM revenues reached $1.4 billion.
 The figure only looks set to increase, as revenues relating to AM in automotive part
production are expected to reach $5.8 billion by 2025, according to a SmarTech report.
 In areas like motorsports and performance racing, design tools like generative design and
topology optimisation are slowly changing traditional approaches to designing parts.
 While prototyping currently remains the main application of 3D printing in the
automotive industry, companies are increasingly finding other use cases, such as tooling.
 Additionally, the several automotive companies are beginning to find innovate end-use
applications for 3D printing, signalling an exciting development for the sector.

13. AUTOMOTIVE
The Benefits of 3D printing for Automotive
 Faster product development - 3D printing offers a quick and cost-effective approach to
designing and producing parts.
 Greater design flexibility - The ability to produce designs quickly gives designers
greater flexibility when testing multiple design options. 3D printing enables designers to
make quick design changes and modifications in a fraction of the time.
 Customisation - 3D printing offers automakers a cost-effective and flexible way to
produce customised parts. Within the luxury and motorsports segment of the industry,
companies are already using the technology to produce personalised parts for both the
interior and exterior parts of a vehicle.
 Create complex geometries - With the majority of car components requiring complex
geometries like internal channels (for conformal cooling), thin walls and fine meshes,
AM enables highly complex parts to be produced that are still lightweight and durable.

14. AUTOMOTIVE
3D-printed custom seats
 Porsche has recently introduced a new concept for sports car seating that leverages 3D
printing and lattice design.
 The new seats feature polyurethane 3D-printed central seat and backrest cushion sections,
which can be customised by three firmness levels: hard, medium and soft.
 With its personalised seating, the German automaker is taking cues from the motorsport
sector, where customised driver-specific seat fitting is a norm.
 Porsche printed 40 3D prototype seats for use on European race tracks in May 2020, with
customer feedback used to develop the final street-legal models for mid-2021.
 Down the line, Porsche expanded seat customisation beyond firmness and colour by
personalising the seat to customer’s specific body contour.
 3D printing currently remains the only technology that can enable this level of
customisation.

15. AUTOMOTIVE
Prototypes
 Prototyping has been the primary use of 3D printing for automotive applications.
 With the ability to produce multiple design iterations in a shorter amount of time, 3D
printing is an effective tool for product development.
 The technology has now evolved to where it can be used to create functional prototypes
using high-performance materials like ULTEM and PEEK.

16. AUTOMOTIVE
Tooling
 To produce high-quality parts, tooling aids are needed for manufacturing and assembly.
 While tooling equipment (like injection moulds, jigs and fixtures) aren’t prototypes or
end parts, they remain a vital element of the production process.
 With 3D printing technologies like FDM and SLS, automotive companies are able to
produce tooling aids at a fraction of the cost, greatly increasing efficiency on the factory
floor.
 Tooling can also be customised for improved functionality at a significantly lower cost
than conventional methods.
 A great example of tooling innovation is Ford which, in 2018, was awarded for its use of
3D printing for tooling.
 One of the company’s award-winning tools was a lighter assembly lift assist device,
produced using FDM.

17. AUTOMOTIVE
Spare and replacement parts
 Additive manufacturing has the potential to transform the way spare parts are
manufactured and distributed — through on-demand manufacturing.
 Coordinating supply and demand could not only drastically reduce inventory costs, but
also slash delivery times to the end customer.
 German car manufacturer Porsche is taking advantage of 3D printing for this very
purpose.
 In early 2018, the company announced its use of 3D printing to produce spare parts for its
rare and classic cars.
 Combining SLM technology for metal components and SLS for plastics, Porsche has
been able to make a wide selection of high-quality rare parts available to its customers at
a fraction of the cost.

18. AUTOMOTIVE
End-use parts
 One of the major barriers to using additive manufacturing for production is the high
production volumes typically required for the automotive industry (over 100,000 parts
per year).
 AM is becoming a viable manufacturing option for certain medium-size production runs,
particularly in areas like motorsports and luxury vehicles, where production numbers are
lower than average.
 In the case of end parts, BMW has successfully used 3D printing to produce a metal
fixture for its i8 Roadster model. Engineers created an optimised roof bracket (a fixture
that helps to fold and unfold the vehicle’s soft top) that weighs 44% less than previous
versions.
 Today, the company can 3D print up to 238 of these parts per platform, making the roof
bracket the first mass-produced, additively manufactured automotive component.

19. MEDICAL & DENTAL
 The medical and dental industry is one of the fastest-growing adopters of additive
manufacturing.
 And with 97% of medical AM professionals confident that the use of 3D printing will
continue to increase within the sector, this trend seems set to continue.
 From medical devices to prosthetics and even bioprinting, the applications of additive
manufacturing for the medical industry are versatile and wide-ranging.
 The Benefits of 3D printing for Medical & Dental:
 When coupled with CT scanning, 3D printing can be used to provide patient-specific
solutions, such as implants and dental appliances.
 Enhanced medical devices helps to bring new medical devices to the market much
faster.
 Personalised healthcare devices such as prosthetics and implants can be produced
faster and more affordably than with traditional manufacturing methods.

20. MEDICAL & DENTAL
3D printing for clear aligners
 Clear aligners are dental devices used to adjust and straighten teeth.
 It is estimated that the majority of clear aligners are currently produced using 3D-printed
moulds.
 The key technologies enabling this are Stereolithography (SLA) and Material Jetting, due
to their high speed and accuracy.
 In addition to these resin-based processes, HP’s powder-based technology, Multi Jet
Fusion, is also gaining traction.
 One example of a company using 3D printing for clear aligners in Align Technology, the
largest producer of clear aligners, well-known under the Invisalign brand.
 In 2019, the company has reportedly produced over half a million unique 3D-printed
parts per day.

21. MEDICAL & DENTAL
Digital dentistry
 Traditional processes used to create dental impressions are gradually being replaced by
digital technologies, with desktop 3D printing systems, 3D scanners and materials
becoming more accessible.
 By combining intraoral scanning and 3D printing, dental labs can create dental products
like crowns, bridges and bite splints, that perfectly match a patient’s anatomy.
 The rate of success in dental implantology can be also increased with the help of 3D
printing, as custom dental surgical guides are produced.
 This improves the quality and accuracy of dental work.
 These surgical guides can be produced faster and more cheaply.
 Formlabs, a manufacturer of SLA and SLS desktop machines, has estimated that over
50,000 surgeries have been performed using surgical guides made on its machines.

22. MEDICAL & DENTAL
3D-printed implants & prosthetics
 3D printing can be used to create custom prosthetic and orthopaedic devices from a
number of certified biocompatible plastic or metal (e.g. titanium) materials.
 When it comes to implants, 3D printing is currently being used to create hip and knee
joint replacements, cranial reconstruction implants and spinal implants.
 One company specialising in 3D-printed implants is Lima Corporate.
 One of the pioneers of using 3D printing for orthopaedic products, the Italian company is
currently using at least 15 metal 3D printers to produce parts like acetabular cups, which
are essential parts of hip prostheses.
 In one example, a mountaineer needing a hip replacement, received Lima’s hip implant
featuring a 3D-printed acetabular cup.
 Ultimately, the patient was able to walk and climb again just after two and a half months
after the implantation.

23. MEDICAL & DENTAL
Bioprinting
 While 3D printing cannot yet be used to 3D print body parts, the technology can be used
to create artificial living tissues that can mimic natural tissue characteristics.
 Instead of using plastics or metals, 3D bioprinters layer living cells, referred to as bio-ink,
mimicking organ tissues.
 3D bioprinting is already being used to fabricate relatively simple artificial tissues and
structures such as cartilage, skin, and bone, as well as blood vessels and cardiac patches.
 Organovo is a US-based medical laboratory and research company that is exploring the
use of 3D printing to produce bioprinted tissue. Its bioprinting process turns cells taken
from donor organs into bio-ink. These cells are then laid down layer-by-layer to build up
small areas of tissue.
 These 3D printed tissues could provide a better way to test new drugs and therapies,
overcoming the need to test on animals or perform risky clinical trials.

24. MEDICAL & DENTAL
Surgical planning and testing
 Hospitals are increasingly incorporating 3D printing in their labs to create patient-specific
anatomy models.
 Based on a patient’s MRI and CT scans, these models are usually created using full-
colour 3D printing techniques like Material Jetting to ensure they remain highly precise
and realistic.
 Surgeons can then use these 3D-printed organ replicas to plan and practice a surgical
operation prior to performing it.
 This approach has been proven to speed up procedures, improve surgical precision and
minimise invasion.

25. CONSUMER GOODS
 To remain competitive in an ever-changing market landscape, retailers and consumer-
oriented industries must be able to adapt to evolving consumer demands and industrial
trends in an agile way.
 Additive manufacturing meets these needs, providing a cost-effective approach to
product development, testing and production.
 From consumer electronics to toys and sportswear, key players within the consumer
goods industry are increasingly recognising 3D printing as a valuable addition to existing
manufacturing solutions.
 Additionally, the recent growth of industrial desktop 3D printers has brought the
technology closers to the hands of designers and engineers, accelerating the opportunities
of what can be achieved within the sector.
 The Benefits of 3D Printing for Consumer Goods are Enhanced product development,
Faster time-to-market and Mass customization.

26. CONSUMER GOODS
Footwear
 Adidas, for example, 3D prints midsoles for its Futurecraft 4D sneakers, using Carbon’s
proprietary Digital Light Synthesis technology.
 One of the key benefits of using 3D printing is to improve shoe performance for various
sports, thanks to the various properties of the midsole.
 The one-of-a-kind design of a midsole, which features 20,000 struts for better cushioning,
would be impossible to create with traditional techniques.
 With injection or compression moulding, for example, it would be virtually impossible to
create midsoles with the variable properties needed — and require assembly.

27. CONSUMER GOODS
Beauty & Cosmetics
 French fashion company Chanel is one company demonstrating the potential of 3D
printing, having launched the world’s first 3D-printed mascara brush in 2018.
 The Révolution Volume mascara brush was created using SLS, a technology that uses a
laser beam to fuse layers of polyamide powder.
 With 3D printing, the design of the brush has been optimised - for example, the rough,
granular texture improves the adhesion of the mascara to the lashes.
 Although 3D printing might be new to the cosmetics industry, pioneers like Chanel
demonstrate show how the technology could transform the way cosmetic products are
manufactured.

28. CONSUMER GOODS
Jewellery
 At first thought, jewellery may not seem to be an obvious application of additive
manufacturing.
 However, the technology is benefiting jewellery makers in two ways.
 The first is by 3D printing investment casting patterns, which are cheaper and faster to
produce than traditional methods.
 A second approach is to 3D print jewellery directly using precious metals.
 Austrian jewellery company BOLTENSTERN has used 3D printing to produce jewellery
pieces such as bracelets, earrings, necklaces and cufflinks.
 In partnership with COOKSONGOLD, a supplier of precious metal powders,
BOLTERNSTERN used DMLS technology to create its “Embrace” jewellery collection.
 According to the jewellery maker, this is the first commercial collection on the market to
be directly 3D printed in gold and platinum.

29. CONSUMER GOODS
Bikes
 A handful of specialised bike manufacturers have started integrating 3D-printed
components into their products.
 For example, Franco Bicycles has launched a new line of eBikes, featuring a 3D-printed
composite frame manufactured by California-based start-up, Arevo.
 Part of the Emery bike range, the frame is featured in the Emery ONE eBike, making it
the world’s first bike with a 3D-printed frame.
 One of the unique aspects behind the production of the 3D-printed carbon-fibre frame is
that it was manufactured as a single part, as opposed to a multi-piece assembly that is
typical for traditional bike frames.
 Enabling this is a proprietary robotic 3D printing process and patented generative design
software, developed by a 3D printing company, Arevo.

30. INDUSTRIAL GOODS
 The industrial goods sector includes the production of machinery components, tooling
and equipment used in the manufacture of other goods.
 Manufacturers are increasingly turning to 3D printing to stay agile, responsive, and
innovative.
 Key Benefits of 3D Printing for Industrial Goods
 Design complexity - Designs that would otherwise be impossible to produce with
conventional manufacturing can now be produced with 3D printing.
 Shorter lead times - 3D printing requires no tooling so, manufacturers can reduce
the time needed to produce parts, bypassing a time-consuming and costly tooling
production step.
 On-demand production - Companies can leverage a new model of manufacturing
parts on demand since, 3D printing can produce physical parts from digital files in a
matter of hours.

31. INDUSTRIAL GOODS
End-use parts
 Major industrial goods companies are already investigating additive manufacturing as a
means of producing end parts.
 For example, 3D printing is helping to transform the production of bearings at
Bowman Additive Production, a leading UK bearings manufacturer.
 Using HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology and PA11 nylon material, Bowman has been able
to manufacture its bespoke Rollertrain cage.
 The part indicates the complexity of the manufacturing process; it contains an
interlocking structure that uses the rolling elements to pin together each section of the
cage.
 The result: bearings that possess a 70% increased load-bearing capacity and an increased
working life of up to 500%.

32. INDUSTRIAL GOODS
Tooling
 In addition to jigs and fixtures, 3D printing is revolutionising the production of hard
tooling like moulds, used in injection moulding and die casting.
 Metal 3D printing technologies like DMLS or SLM can be used, allowing tool-making
companies not only to reduce material waste but improve the functionality of a mould.
 Eckhart, a company providing manufacturing solutions, has recently adopted 3D
printing with the aim of replacing existing metal tools with 3D-printed equivalents.
 3D printed tools offer multiple benefits, according to the company, including improved
line of sight, lightweight components and improved design and ergonomics.
 Wilson Tool International, the largest independent tooling manufacturer, is another
company that has recognised the advantages of AM for tooling, after launching its 3D
printing division — Wilson Tool Additive — in late 2018 offering custom-made jigs,
fixture and tooling equipment using FDM and vat polymerisation technologies.

33. INDUSTRIAL GOODS
Spare parts
 Thanks to on-demand 3D printing, manufacturers can produce spare parts quickly and
cost-effectively.
 This approach is beneficial, for example, when legacy equipment requires a replacement
that may be out of production or difficult to procure.
 3D printing spare parts at the point of need also can help reduce inventory, bypassing the
costly storage of spare parts that have low demand.
 Siemens Mobility is one example of a company using 3D printing to manufacture spare
parts and tooling on-demand at the Siemens Mobility RRX Rail Service Centre.
 With roughly 100 trains expected to enter the depot each month, 3D printing will play an
important role in optimising spare part production.
 The 3D-printed parts are said to reduce cost and lead-times from week to hours whilst
also bringing greater operational agility.