Just back from SME Rapid in Long Beach the INSIDE3D PRINTING Conference and Expo took place in Melbourne. The Inside 3D Printing was part of the AUSTECH, Australias largest trade fair on manufacturing, hosted in Melbournes Conference and Exhibition Center from the 26th to the 29th of May. The event started with good news from the Federal Government in Australia as the Innovative Manufacturing CRC grant got finally approved. This grant will provide AUD 40 Mio. to push R&D on innovative manufacturing technologies over the next seven years.
Some of the speakers of the conference also just flew in from the Rapid / Long Beach.
Terry Wohlers keynote was a good start into the presentation series.
The exhibition
The exhibition was a good mix of machine OEMs and service providers, showing the potential for the Australian market.
RENISHAW presented one of their three additively manufactured Titanium mountain bikes.
The frame is an assembly of 5 segments built using laser based powder bed fusion on a RENISHAW AM250 system (with extended z-axis).
The swing arm was cast and machined. Certainly a great demonstrator to highlight the technologies capabilities. Mike Brown from RENISHAW explained to me their strategy for the Australian and New Zealand market. Looking forward to see more RENISHAW machines in the ANZ market.
SLM Solutions flew in one of their SLM 280HL systems. Even the machine was not in operation it created a lot of interest. Stefan Ritt from SLM Solutions presented SLM Solutions latest developments on Selective Laser Melting technology and applications. A video showing a repair process for aero turbine / jet engine shrouds demonstrated the benefits of direct metal AM processes. The SLM system on the stand actually stayed with a customer in Australia.
Nicholas Hardman from HardMarque Future Factories showed me an interesting piston of a combustion engine.
Nicholas specialises in Topology Optimisation and 3D modelling for Additive Manufacturing.
In this case study Nicholas simulating the load cases on the part. Than he re-designing the piston accordingly, slimming the part down.
Finally the part was built it in Titanium using Electron Beam Melting (EBM).
The result is a weight saving of over 23 %, what’s actually a world on an oscillating part. This case study demonstrates clearly the benefits of the combination of Topology Optimisation and Additive Manufacturing.