Design World

Electrification is the hottest segment of engineering in the transportation sector right now. And it's impossible to talk about the automotive industry without discussing electric cars. But there are many in industry who feel that commercial and off the highway applications are the real sweet spot for electrification. This segment is a place where real reductions in operating costs, improvements in overall equipment efficiency and reductions in pollution can all be had at the same time. From an engineering perspective, there are several ways to generate horsepower and torque, and the energy comes from a battery as a DC source. But this doesn't mean that engineers are restricted to DC motors. Advancements in power semiconductor technology, combined with sophisticated control algorithms allow modern electric propulsion designers to enjoy the multiple control and efficiency benefits of alternating current, offering better efficiency in this battery dependent segment. Jim Anderton was joined in conversation by an expert in the field, Jonah Leason, electrification product manager with Parker-Hannifin.

Modern machine design is all about delivering higher performance at a lower cost with higher reliability. Delivering these often-conflicting performance characteristics is the mark of a great designer, and for the most common form of industrial motion, rotation, newer applications such as SCARA robots and their end effectors need torque with low mass in the smallest possible footprint. Frameless motors are an ideal choice for applications that are space-limited or must strictly control inertial mass. Kollmorgen frameless motor expert Tom Wood discusses the technology in conversation with Jim Anderton in this podcast.

The Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) published a report on Engineering the Future of Distributed Manufacturing and identifies priorities that can revitalize U.S. manufacturing with sustainability and resilience in mind. In this podcast, Tali Rosman, startup advisor and Entrepreneur-at-Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University, shares how 3D printing plays a role in ERVA's vision. Tali has worked at Stratasys, led Xerox's former 3D printing subsidiary, Elem Additive, and now serves as a business advisor with expertise in advanced manufacturing.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) within precision additive manufacturing by Design World

Micro tools play a critical role in the manufacturing of medical devices, microelectronics, semiconductors, and any miniature component where precision is essential. Darren Fox, a product manager at ANCA with over 33 years of experience in the cutting tool industry, discusses ultra-precision grinding and ANCA's FX7 Ultra.

In this episode of Design World's Technology Tuesdays Podcast, VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney chats about vision systems with Philip Freidin, an Applications Engineer with IDS Imaging Development Systems Inc. They discuss new and interesting applications, how to select the best industrial camera system, and what the future holds for this important technology area.

In our latest Technology Tuesdays podcast, Design World's Michelle Froese speaks with David Church, president of Sorbothane, about innovative shock and vibration solutions. Sorbothane has been developing materials and components that isolate vibration, attenuate shock, and damp unwanted noise for more than 40 years.

In our latest Technology Tuesdays podcast, Design World's Michelle Froese speaks with Mitsubishi Electric Automation's product marketing manager for mechatronics and robotics, Patrick Varley. In this discussion, we delve into the topic of robotic automation and software provider solutions — and, specifically, how this combination can help ease labor shortages. Patrick explains the significance of consumer personalization and how advanced technology from leading innovators can address the contemporary issues facing today's manufacturers.

Copper is viewed as a material that will accelerate future aerospace production. For example, the privately funded company Ursa Major delivered a copper-based 3D-printed rocket engine combustion chamber from its additive manufacturing lab in Youngstown, Ohio. A challenge, however, is that the existing supply chain for high temperature metal alloy components is limited. However, development continues.

Several engineering companies say we have the technology to reverse climate change, one of which is using direct air capture. Interestingly, additive manufacturing has the potential to play a major role here.

In our latest Technology Tuesday's podcast, Design World's Michelle Froese speaks with David Church, president of Sorbothane, about innovative shock and vibration solutions. Sorbothane has been developing materials and components that isolate vibration, attenuate shock, and damp unwanted noise for 40 years. In fact, the company is celebrating four decades in business this year!

In our latest Technology Tuesday's podcast, Design World's Michelle Froese speaks with David Church, president of Sorbothane, about innovative shock and vibration solutions. Sorbothane has been developing materials and components that isolate vibration, attenuate shock, and damp unwanted noise for 40 years. In fact, the company is celebrating four decades in business this year! In honor of Sorbothane's anniversary, we discuss the unique history of the company, including how the material was developed for insoles to support runners and then became essential for industrial industries to protect vital cargo and equipment. We also cover Sorbothane material's properties, the company's new standard products (launching this fall), and how its online Design Guide Calculators can support your application.

Some of the materials used in 3D printing are generally either not very, or even not degradable in the environment. Some developers and manufacturers though, are working to develop materials that are more eco-friendly, as well as delivering the mechanical properties designers look for. Here is an interview with Dr. Raymond Weitekamp, founder of the Berkeley-based 3D printing startup, polySpectra.

3D printing/additive manufacturing can help designers simplify a part, reducing assembly steps in many cases, and creating a better end product. Is it possible, though, to over engineer a part? Here are some tips to help reduce excessive engineering and get parts out to market faster.

The supply chain continues to be a story for additive manufacturing, especially with the recent news from President Biden on the new AM Forward initiative. I recently interviewed Dave Evans, CEO of Fictiv, to discuss AM and the supply chain, among other subjects.

A conversation with Jeff Blanford, a Solution Architect at Morf3D, to discuss the latest developments with additive technology. This conversation shifted to looking at additive technology as more of a digital enabling technology, not just a different way to build parts.

The scale of sizes that 3D printing machines can handle is impressive, from huge wind turbine blades to parts that are small, such as two microns. John Kawola, CEO of Boston Micro Fabrication discusses the microscale side of 3D printing.

Recently, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with ETH Zurich and Fraunhofer IGCV, IPT and IAPT, released a report on the current state of additive manufacturing (AM) and its future. Their goal was to provide a realistic understanding of what AM can deliver today and why some are achieving that potential while others are not, as well as define the most probable near-term future production scenarios and what needs to happen to make those scenarios a reality. Pat Carey, Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth for Stratasys addresses this subject.

As additive technology gains importance in aerospace innovation, it offers compelling opportunities to revolutionize critical elements of the aerospace workflow. From design to certification and to production, AM helps companies unlock innovation and maximize efficiency while maintaining the high levels of quality required for aerospace applications.

Additive hardware continues to improve in productivity, accuracy, and in ease of use. Now, the focus is on software to improve additive functions and capabilities, and to take additive to the next level.

As AM becomes more accepted as part of a manufacturing supply chain, it is altering the way engineers work and develop products. We recently had a conversation with Daniel Lazier, product marketing manager at Markforged.

3D printings effects on sustainability by Design World

3D printing makes it easy to develop tooling for production by Design World

3D printing makes it easy to develop tooling for production by Design World

The aerospace industry was an early adopter of additive technology, followed by the automotive industry. Where do these industries stand in relation to additive technology today? In a recent interview, David Giebenhain, global product director at Protolabs, shares his thoughts.

Additive manufacturing has long been used in automotive, especially in racing. AM enables designers to make fast changes when faced with rapidly changing regulations and short design times. What are some of the lessons learned by those who work with motorsports and what can you gain from their experiences?

Martin Schulz, Global Principal Application Engineer with Littelfuse Europe, speaks with us about some of the engineering issues that arise in the quest to design battery and hydrogen-powered energy efficient vehicles. Martin also held a webinar on this subject: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3191038/C28F3100C80F8D689D6BA8D6D3354C61

In this Technology Tuesdays podcast, Jonathan Cottrell, lead program manager with PTI, chats with Design World's Michelle Froese about design for manufacturing and the injection-molding process. Cottrell discusses the key factors to take into account when designing plastic parts, including the material, gate, wall, tool, and draft considerations. Listen in for: • Key considerations for the injection-molding process, including material selection • How to achieve uniform wall thickness and the significance of applying proper draft • The importance of gating, part geometry, and tool design • Variables to account for when ejecting a part from the mold • Tips for improving aesthetics without compromising a part's reliability Jonathan Cottrell BSME, MBA, has been working in the field of plastic injection molding since graduating from high school. With nearly 25 years of experience, he's developed products in several industries including automotive, aerospace, military, agriculture, medical devices, and others. Cottrell's had the opportunity in his career to follow products throughout their lifecycle — from concept to completion — which has led to valuable experience when implementing design for manufacturing practices to produce quality parts. PTI is a custom injection molder and manufacturer of plastic components and assemblies, specializing in low-volume production. The company has extensive capabilities in design, engineering, and tooling, with an array of secondary services.

As additive manufacturing gains acceptance as a production tool, the size of a typical 3D print slice data file is predicted to grow cubically. Handling all of these data could become an issue for the additive industry. Harshil Goel, CEO and Founder of Dyndrite discusses potential solutions to this problem.

Materials have been and will continue to be key elements of any additive manufacturing or 3D printing operation. New materials are emerging all the time. As vendors explore and develop materials, new information emerges about the best ways to use additive equipment.

More 3D printing vendors are introducing metal materials for their systems. One popular metal in particular is stainless steel. This material offers a number of benefits to designers. We interviewed Felipe Castaneda, Creative Director at MakerBot, on ways to make the most of it in your designs for 3D printing.

Lattice structures have not been used as often as they could be because manufacturing methods that could produce them easily did not exist until the development of 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing. Today, though, 3D printing easily creates lattice structures in helmets, saddles, shoes, nasal swabs, and in other designs.

3D printing/additive manufacturing and injection molding do not have to be competitors. In fact, 3D printing can aid injection molding. Formlabs recently commented that 3D printing is more of an accelerator for injection molding. 3D printers can introduce a hybrid approach where molds can be created fast and at low cost. Here are key points from an interview with Kathy Bui, engineering vertical lead at Formlabs

Like so many other markets and industries, the COVID pandemic has affected the supply of components used to make semiconductor processing equipment. Semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers are turning to additive manufacturing to help repair the supply chain and enable designers to design for function first. I spoke with Scott Green, Principal Solutions Leader for semiconductors at 3D Systems on this subject. Here are some of the highlights of the interview.

The DARPA Transformative Design TRADES program was created to develop foundational design tools that will help designers take more advantage of the capabilities of additive technology. Recently, Siemens Technology completed its work on a software project for this program. I spoke with Mark Burhop, principal investigator with the research arm of Siemens, to discuss the developments. Here are the highlights of the interview.

Designers in the sports world have been one of the quickest groups to adopt additive manufacturing technology. They’ve developed a few insights and perspectives that might be useful for engineers in other fields. David Woodlock, Application Development and Design Manager at HP, discusses a few of these insights.

3D Systems, a company with decades of experience in the field of 3D printing recently announced plans to significantly expand its development efforts on regenerative medicine and bioprinting. We explore this development with Mr. Chuck Hull, inventor of the Figure 4 3D printing system used in this application.

In this Motion Mondays podcast, Jeff Johnson of Beckhoff Automation chats with Design World’s executive editor Lisa Eitel about linear-motor conveyors (also called intelligent transport systems) as well as planar-motor systems from Beckhoff called the XPlanar. Jeff Johnson is U.S. mechatronics products manager at Beckhoff Automation. Based in Fond du Lac, Wis., Johnson was (prior to joining Beckhoff in 2008) an applications team leader for Danaher Motion and G&L Motion Control. Visit motioncontroltips.com and search on XPlanar to see this podcast’s show notes.

According to Pierrick Balaire, global business line leader at Intertek: “The Intertek Functional Safety mark provides Nexen a way to reduce hazards and risks to operating personnel, machinery, and surrounding environments at a time when they are facing increased demands around functional safety. We’re pleased to grant Nexen with this certification — the first of its kind in North America — and look forward to continuing to work with them and others providing the industry with high-quality products as well as peace of mind.” In this Technology Tuesdays podcast, Dave Hein — senior vice president and engineering and chief technology officer at Nexen Group — chats with Lisa Eitel of Design World about three brake options that now have Functional Safety certification. Visit motioncontroltips.com and search on Hein to see this podcast’s show notes.

A more indepth look at 2021 predictions from Shapeway, based on insights from industry insiders, strategic partners, and high-profile business and consumer customers.

Exploring 3D printing for space by Design World

When it comes to making a designed part, you have several choices: traditional machining, which covers a range of options; injection molding; and now additive manufacturing. Even more recently though, is the trend of combining metal fabrication and additive manufacturing to make parts.

What are the design challenges of developing a car that can walk? Hyundai Motor engineers recently set about exploring that idea and developed a prototype vehicle called the Elevate.

A recent interview with Daniel Lazier, Strategic Application Engineer, at Markforged, covers tips on getting the most out of your additive manufacturing project. Here are a few points from the interview.

With the recent appointment in May of Dr. Jeffrey Graves as the new president and CEO, 3D Systems will be positioned for its next phase of growth.

The additive industry is dynamic, with new techniques introduced frequently. Ethan Escowitz, CEO and founder of Arris Composites, for example, developed a technique called additive molding. This proprietary process combines additive manufacturing and high-volume molding technologies to create composite materials made of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics.

Many users of 3D printing/additive manufacturing technology are concerned with its potential impact on the environment. Often the focus is on resin-based prototypes ending up in landfills and taking years to degrade. But other materials also end up as scrap, such as that from machining and similar subtractive processes. One company has made it a mission to turn this scrap into usable metal powder for additive manufacturing (AM). The company is 6K Inc. Recently, I had a chance to interview Aaron Bent, CEO at 6K, about how they turn manufacturing scrap into additive manufacturing “gold.”

A look at recent developments with Greg Elfering, Ultimaker's newly named president of Ultimaker Americas. Ultimaker initially developed desktop 3D printers, but the company has expanded into connected 3D printers, then moved into larger systems as well as a network of 3D printing, including services

Desktop 3D printers continue to evolve. We take a look at developments in metal desktop systems with Jason Meets of Markforged.

A dozen Boston area anesthesiology residents launched an eight-week hackathon hosted on GrabCAD.com to design a rapidly deployable, minimum viable mechanical ventilator for patients with COVID-19-related ventilator-dependent lung injury. The CoVent-19 Challenge was open to teams and individuals anywhere, and finalists worked directly with Stratasys 3D printing experts and the CoVent-19 Challenge team to turn their designs into prototypes for testing.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought considerable attention to the 3D printing/additive manufacturing industry. Much of it focused on systems that work with polymer and resin materials. But what about metal additive manufacturing? How has the pandemic affected the metal side of additive manufacturing? Kevin Brigden, additive manufacturing applications engineer at Renishaw, addressed this and other developments in metal AM.