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3D printing set to transform U.S. manufacturing

The Obama Administration put $30 million into the new ‘National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute’, located in Youngstown, Ohio. NAMII is a public-private partnership – $40 million is coming from a massive consortium of 40 companies, 9 research universities, 5 community colleges and 11 nonprofit organizations all working toward the goal of accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies in the U.S. 3D printing or additive manufacturing allows three-dimensional solid objects to be made from a digital file. “Additive manufacturing is increasingly important as its use is growing every year,” said Barb Ewing, chief operating officer at the Youngstown Business Incubator. “There will be a point in time where there will be an additive component in all manufacturing processes. This will allow for what we call on-shoring where more manufacturing is able to be done domestically, which will create and keep more jobs in the country.” (AP file photo)

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter

Published: November 18, 2014

Many people are familiar with Invisalign braces, but what they may not know is that they’re created using 3D printing or additive manufacturing, the technology that allows three-dimensional solid objects to be made from a digital file.

According to Michael Hripko, deputy director of workforce and educational outreach at America Makes (the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute or NAMII), the same technique that can turn a scanned impression of a patient’s teeth into more aesthetically pleasing braces has the power to breathe new life into commercial manufacturing.

“Additive manufacturing was only invented about 30 years ago,” said Hripko. “It allows for the precise layering of materials to create complex geometries, which traditional manufacturing equipment cannot do, so engineers are no longer limited to the equipment on which their designs are fabricated.”

Founded in 2012 and housed at the Youngstown Business Incubator, the U.S. Department of Defense contributed $30 million to get the former NAMII up and running. Additional funding came from the departments of Energy, Education, Commerce, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the National Science Foundation.

Today America Makes is made up of 110 members, including industry, government and academic institutions like Youngstown State University, all working toward the goal of accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies in the U.S.

“Our purpose is to mainstream the technology,” said Hripko. “To achieve this goal, the technology must be repeatable, affordable, verifiable and transferable so that it can be standardized. We want to make 3D printing as common as machining and as widespread as casting.”

The Youngstown Business Incubator is an active member in America Makes.

“Additive manufacturing is increasingly important as its use is growing every year,” said Barb Ewing, chief operating officer at the Youngstown Business Incubator. “There will be a point in time where there will be an additive component in all manufacturing processes. This will allow for what we call on-shoring where more manufacturing is able to be done domestically, which will create and keep more jobs in the country.”

The organization has initiated two related projects. Hripko said America Makes has sponsored YBI’s project entitled “Accelerated Adoption of Additive Manufacturing Technology in the American Foundry Industry,” adding YBI then leveraged this effort to secure state of Ohio sponsorship of the Precision Printed Parts Network (P3N).

The 24-month P3N project is a collaborative effort between the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University. The project’s objective is to develop a hybrid approach to produce high-value precision metal parts, explained Richard Lonardo, program manager for additive manufacturing initiatives at the YBI.

The project, which is still in its early stages, received $500,000 in funding from the state of Ohio. “3D printing can be used to manufacture a wide variety of metals like titanium, steel and other alloys for working parts and components,” said Lonardo.

He said the process would work as follows: Additive manufacturing is used to form a part into a shape, which closely approximates the final part’s specifications. After that, traditional manufacturing equipment is utilized to reach the exact parameters required.

“Hybrid manufacturing would be especially useful when a company requires a small number of highly customized parts since it could cut down on the cost and time,” said Lonardo. “This approach may enable Ohio manufacturing companies in the metal parts supply chain to establish new opportunities with original equipment manufacturers.”

In the case of the foundry project, it got underway about six months ago. It includes 10 partner organizations—Youngstown State University, the University of Northern Iowa, North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania-based ExOne, Albco Foundry in Lisbon, XL Pattern Shop in Orrville, Ohio, Janney Capital Management, Product Development & Analysis in Naperville, Illinois, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based American Foundry Society and Humtown Products in Columbiana.

“We actually went to the Youngstown Business Incubator and made them aware that 3D printing was being used in the foundry industry,” said Brandon Lamoncha, sales manager at Humtown. “We asked Barb Ewing to write a proposal for this project and submit it to America Makes.”

Humtown, which has about 60 employees, is using 3D printing of sand to provide molds and cores for metal casting.

“In metal casting, molds act as a cavity for the molten metal and the cores prevent the metal from filling channels in the cast part,” explained Brett Conner, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Youngstown State University.

“When the molds and cores are complex, the conventional method is a time-consuming and costly process to make the patterns, the core boxes, and assemble the sand molds and cores by hand.

“With 3D printing of sand molds and cores, there is no need to create a pattern saving considerable time and cost.”

In addition, he said more complex designs could be considered for castings leading to lightweight and more efficient engines.

“One project that we are working on now is a new engine block for a large OEM (original equipment manufacturer),” said Lamoncha. “This process allows them (the manufacturer) to have three design iterations in the time it would’ve taken to produce tooling for only one design.

“Many in the foundry industry are not aware of 3D printing and we want to raise awareness. We are contributing our time and services to the foundry project to help promote the use of 3D printing throughout the industry.

“By joining this consortium, small companies will gain access to the 3D printer at the University of Northern Iowa, which enables them to be more competitive.”

He said Humtown uses the printer in Iowa and also has a 3D plastic printer on site. “We believe that using a multitude of 3D printing disciplines enables our clients to have the best possible solution.”

In January 2014, Youngstown State University opened its Center for Innovation in Additive Manufacturing, which houses two ExOne 3D printing machines, giving engineering and science undergraduate and graduate students some hands-on experience.

“These printers use a similar technology to the sand printing and are from the same company, ExOne,” said Conner, who serves as the director of the center. “However, these printers print metal or ceramic instead of sand.

“We are helping our students prepare for the new revolution in manufacturing,” he said. “Whether they are interested in mechanical, chemical, industrial, or electrical engineering they need to be cognizant of this technology.”

He said the school houses two machines, one called an M-Flex, which is a production-grade system capable of printing metals such as stainless steel or engineering ceramics like silicon carbide. The other printer is called an X1-Lab and is designed for materials research.

“The nature of this equipment is that you do not need a factory to house it, which means you can bring manufacturing closer to where your customers are,” said Conner.

“Our graduate students are currently working on research to come up with a software assessment tool that will help to decide when it makes the most sense to use 3D printing versus traditional methods.

“A tool like this is especially useful on the foundry project where small- and medium-sized metal casting companies are quite cautious.

“We are sharing our findings with undergraduate students.”

He said 3D printing is currently being used in three ways: To manufacture components, fabricate tooling or fixtures used in manufacturing and to create cost-effective prototypes and models.

“There is a real opportunity to transform manufacturing so that instead of making parts in China we are fabricating them right next to the place where they will be assembled,” said Conner.

“Additive manufacturing/3D printing has the ability to reinvent the manufacturing economy in Youngstown and throughout the entire northeast Ohio region,” said Hripko. “Companies are visiting America Makes, the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University to learn more about the technology. As the technology continues to advance, we are optimistic that many will choose to stay and set up operations near this emerging technology hub.”


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