Search Results

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as “3D printing,” is often touted as a sustainable technology, especially for metal components, since it produces either net or near-net shapes versus traditionally machined pieces from larger mill products. While traditional machining from mill products is often the case in aerospace, most of the metal parts used in the world are made from flat-rolled metal and are quite efficient in utilization. Additionally, some aspects of the AM value chain are often not accounted for when determining sustainability. Unsettled Issues in Additive Manufacturing and Improved Sustainability in the Mobility Industry uses a set of scenarios to compare the sustainability of parts made using additive and conventional technologies for both the present and future (2040) states of manufacturing. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology, also known as 3D printing, has transitioned from concepts and prototypes to part-for-part substitution and the creation of unique AM-specific part geometries. These applications are increasingly present in demanding, mission-critical fields such as medicine and aerospace, which require materials with certain thermal, stiffness, corrosion, and static loading properties. To advance in these arenas, metallic, ceramic, and polymer composite AM parts need to be free from discontinuities. The manufacturing processes have to be stable, robust, and repeatable. And the nondestructive testing (NDT) technology and inspection methods will need to be sufficiently capable and reliable to ensure that discontinuities will be detected to prevent the components from being accepted for use. As the second installment of a six-part series of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports on AM, this one discusses the need, challenges, technologies, and opportunities for NDT in AM.

Depending on the industry and application, views on additive manufacturing (AM), or “3D printing,” range from something that will transform an industry to it being another overhyped technology that will only find niche applications. Most views fall somewhere in between, with the most common one being that it depends on the application and technology. Because of the ability to directly produce parts from a digital file, views often include dependence on when and where the part is needed. This introduces the crux of the matter, which is how to determine when the use of AM is feasible and desirable, which is made all the more complicated by the fact that not only is AM technology in general changing quickly, but also the merits of the each AM technology relative to the others are also changing. Finally, non-AM technologies are continually improving and are increasingly adding AM-like capability.