3D Systems’ CRDM acquisition sees additive manufacturing applied to production

The project is being undertaken through a consortium with partners McLaren Automotive, Ultra Electronics, Delcam, Selex-ES and Flitetec, and is part funded through the Technology Strategy Board. 

Known by the title of Automotive and Aerospace Part Production by Additive Layer Manufacture (AA-PALM), the project has three distinct goals; (1) the automatic application of CAD correction techniques to ensure that ALM parts are manufactured with tolerance levels similar to traditional  processes (2) the application of automatic finishing techniques to ALM components to  provide aesthetic and mechanical properties that mimic traditional manufacturing and at costs which leverage the benefits of ALM and finally (3) to help OEM users develop Production Part Acceptance Procedures so that ALM parts can be directly accepted onto production lines.

The project includes ALM components manufactured in metals, polyamides and stereolithography resins. One of the driving principals of the project is to find ways of manufacturing acceptable ALM parts at costs which are attractive when compared to those manufactured traditionally.

“The economics of ALM have historically required that we consider parts which would be manufactured in low volumes, and normally require tooling,” says Graham Bennett, the AA-PALM Project leader. “However, even though this market is still quite considerable recent developments suggest we may have an opportunity to expand our focus to higher volumes.

"Once we are able to use parts manufactured by ALM for production applications, we eliminate the requirement to produce costly tooling. Frequently, the large capital requirement of tooling costs acts as a barrier to new product introduction. We hope to address this problem, which in turn will make new product introduction a less costly affair.”

The device illustrated is a Sonar Buoy body for Ultra Electronics. It is designed to be towed behind a vessel. The parts have been made for production by Additive Manufacture by 3D Systems in High Wycombe.