Small manufacturers discover 3-D printing
The Pittsburgh region’s long history of metals manufacturing could soon be entering a new era in which many components will be made with 3-D printing technology, a conference Thursday at Southpointe showed.
Hosted by Pittsburgh-based Catalyst Connection in conjunction with America Makes, Carnegie Mellon University, NASA Glenn Research Center and the University of Pittsburgh, the conference, which drew 125 area manufacturers, featured a range of experts and industry leaders who discussed the latest technologies and practical applications in additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3-D printing.
The process involves depositing layers of material to create three-dimensional solid objects of virtually any shape from a digital model. It is increasingly used to produce components in the architectural, aerospace, automotive, dental and medical sectors.
While not completely new to the industry, the process is revolutionizing design and manufacturing as technological advances allow companies to develop complex parts at a lower cost and time than before.
Engineers and scientists from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and NASA discussed their research into the material science challenges involved in the process, which can produce components that are lighter, stronger and less expensive than identical parts made by traditional casting.
But everyone on the dais stressed that additive manufacturing has expensive upfront equipment costs, is complex and requires patience to achieve successful results.
“This is a field that’s exploding, but it’s also a field that’s becoming very complex,” said keynote speaker Greg Morris, an early additive manufacturer who eventually sold his companies to General Electric’s aviation division, where he works today.
And Morris cautioned that 3-D printing, despite some of the ways it has been depicted by the media and some companies, is not magic.
“There are a lot of steps along the way; it’s not just that you press a button and bam, out comes the part,” he said.
Despite that caveat, Morris said practically every major manufacturer of parts is using 3-D computer-aided design to program computer numerically controlled equipment and additive machines.
He said smaller manufacturers need to explore the technology – machines can cost up to $2 million – and determine if they can cost-effectively incorporate it into their operations.
Morris, who saw GE’s engineers successfully use additive manufacturing to transform a 20-part fuel nozzle for jet engines into a one-piece part that lasts far longer than the original component, said additive manufacturing is finding use across GE’s other divisions, including power and water, energy management, oil and gas and health care.
“Additive manufacturing really shines where you have part complexity,” he said, explaining that the process enables the production of the part as one piece at a lower cost.
Petra Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of Catalyst Connection, which works with small and mid-sized manufacturers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, said the region’s heritage as a metals manufacturing center positions it well for adaptation to additive manufacturing.
Mitchell was successful earlier this year in having the Pittsburgh region designated as part of an investment in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Communities Partnership initiative. Her work showed that the region has 62,000 high-paying jobs in the metals manufacturing sector responsible for $2.1 billion in exports. Her study also found that the jobs can be grown to 77,000 positions in the next decade.
“Additive manufacturing is at a tipping point,” Mitchell said, noting that it can help with the plan to grow advanced manufacturing in the region by 2 percent annually as well as replace another 16,000 jobs due to retirements.
Dr. Jack Beuth, professor of mechanical engineering at CMU, passed around samples of a bracket made by GE that is mounted on the side of jets to hoist an engine into and out of the plane. The bracket made by traditional casting methods was large and heavy when compared to one made by the additive process that was smaller, weighed 80 percent less and was less costly.
While the bracket was a small example of the benefits of additive manufacturing, Dr. Ajay Misra, chief of the materials and structures division of research and engineering directorate at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, said his group is looking at the possibilities of additive manufacturing for building large-scale projects.
But some who came to Thursday’s presentation were there to see how additive manufacturing might work for their production operations.
Jim Romano, sales manager for titanium producer Perryman Co., said the company was interested in seeing if the process might fit in its medical device contract manufacturing division.
“It’s a good technology, but it’s got a long way to go,” Romano said of advanced manufacturing.