China commercializes 3D printing in aviation

[cirr]

Summary: China looks to lower the cost of 3D printing and make large titanium components to build the next-gen fighter jet and self-developed passenger plane.

By Liu Jiayi for View from China | February 18, 2013

By using laser additive manufactured titanium parts in its aviation industry, China is looking to become a global leader in commercializing 3D printing technology.

The laser additive manufacturing technology not only lowers the cost of titanium parts to only 5 percent of the original, it also reduces the weight of the components and enhances the strength of complicated parts.

As much as 40 percent of the weight can be reduced if the forged titanium parts on an American F-22 were made using the Chinese 3D printing technology, according to a a report on Chinese Web site, Guancha Zhe.

With funding from the government, especially from the military, the Chinese aviation laser technology team is making headways in making titanium parts for the country's fifth generation of fighter jets, the J-20 and J-31, by lowering the cost and raising the jets' thrust-weight ratio.

The Northwestern Polytechnical University of China is also making five meter-long titanium wing beams for the C919 passenger plane, which is scheduled to be put into commercial operation in 2016.

"As the aviation technology develops, the components are also getting lighter, more complicated, and also need to have better mechanical properties," said Huang Weidong, director of the university's laboratory, to a local newspaper. "It is very hard to use traditional technologies to make such parts, but 3D printing could just meet such demands."

This 5-meter-long titanium beam was made in a Chinese university lab. (Source: Guancha Zhe)

 

[cirr]

3D printing reshapes manufacturing

Updated: 2013-02-18 08:02

By Wang Ying in Shanghai ( China Daily)

Tulip table lamps, made by Materialise NV, a Belgium-based company focusing on 3D printing services, on show in Shanghai. A report on the development of 3D printing is expected to receive the central government's green light and funding support, a move that will encourage more small and medium-sized companies to enter the promising industry. Provided to China Daily


New technology may herald a third industrial revolution, say supporters

In Jackie Chan's latest movie CZ12, also known as Chinese Zodiac, there is an eye-catching scene in which the actor uses specially made gloves to scan a bronze animal head that once crowned the famed fountain clock of the imperial retreat Yuanmingyuan Park (the Old Summer Palace). The action star then recreates the bronze head using a printing machine that operates three-dimensionally.

Although the scenario is fictional, three-dimensioned printing technology now exists and will be widely applied in many industries soon.

With modern technology, it is possible to print anything drawn on paper as three-dimensional objects. Researchers and scientists call it "additive manufacturing" but it is better known as 3D printing.

In mid-October last year, the Chinese Academy of Engineering launched research into the prospects for additive manufacturing. Many industrial experts participating in the survey will complete their first drafts in March. Final versions are expected to be submitted to the State Council by June, some involved in the survey told China Daily.

It is expected the report will receive the government's green light and funding support, which will encourage more small and medium-sized companies to enter this promising industry.

The early development of 3D printing can be traced back to the 1980s and its inventor, Chuck Hull, the US co-founder, executive vice-president and chief technology officer of 3D Systems. A few years later Chinese experts started to explore this area. Unlike traditional manufacturing based on the removal of material by cutting and drilling, 3D printing creates objects by adding layers from materials such as wax, metal and polyurethane according to virtual blueprints from computer-aided designs.

Experts are divided on the technology's future, with some asserting 3D printing will lead to a third industrial revolution.

"3D printing technology will profoundly change the traditional design and manufacturing models. So long as you have a draft, we can print anything you want according to it," said Shi Yusheng, a professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

"In 1999, we printed the shell for a computer mouse using polystyrene. That was a really exciting moment," said Shi.

According to Wim Michiels, executive vice-president at Materialise NV, a Belgium-based company focusing on 3D printing services, over the past few years an increasing number of materials have been tested and put into use in 3D printing.

"This will mean a third industrial revolution, since localized production can be carried out on demand according to the requests of the customer. The customer will be less dependent on low-cost countries setting up production lines. We particularly see a lot of potential in the medical field, where customization is something that is opening doors for patients, doctors and researchers," Michiels said

However, Lin Feng, deputy director of the mechanical and engineering department at Tsinghua University, regards the new technology more as a supplement to traditional manufacturing.

"In cases in which only a couple of pieces are needed for a finished product, the advent of 3D printing will be highly efficient and economical compared with traditional manufacturing, which requires making the mold first and then starting mass production several months later. With 3D technology, the same product can be produced immediately," said Lin.

"It may be more appropriate to call it renovation rather than revolution," said Lu Bingheng, head of the mechanical and engineering department at Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Modern manufacturing features mass production and standardization but it has faced an increasing challenge to satisfy more individual requirements from clients since the start of the 21st century. Therefore, demand for tailor-made products makes 3D printing possible, said Lu.

"Three years ago, we spent about 1 million yuan ($160,000) in developing two models to make the outer shell of a car within three months. Similar development using traditional methods requires more than one year and will cost tens of millions of yuan from making the initial model to manufacturing in bulk," said Lu.

However, Lu also noted such production cannot completely replace traditional manufacturing, especially for products that need to be made in large amounts and feature a high degree of similarity.

In the eyes of Wim Michiels, executive vice-president at Materialise NV, 3D printing is better for the environment in that there is no need to set up a full production line, which can involve a lengthy amount of time, high costs and the possible failure of the first sample due to imperfect accuracy.

"3D printing is faster and you can bring your products to the market ahead of your rivals. In addition, you have no limitations in design with this technology," Michiels said.

Although theoretically 3D printing technology can print anything from a house to a car, it needs time to test the products before they can become practical in daily life, said Lin of Tsinghua University.

"After more than a decade's research into 3D printing, people are gradually beginning to accept this new manufacturing concept. Of the two main opposing opinions, one has doubts about the production technology while the other has excessively high expectations," said Lu of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

He added that both opinions are biased. "3D printing technology is consistently improving. It just needs more research and development to make it possible to print objects using various materials. It is also worth noting there is no technology that can do absolutely anything," Lu said.

Many Chinese enterprises are keeping a close eye on the market potential for 3D printing and have started to develop their own printers. Beijing Tiertime Technology Co is one such example. The company has so far sold several thousand sets to the United States, but only several hundreds in the Chinese market.

"Our company has nearly 20 years of history. Our products for home use are priced at 9,999 yuan, while those for industrial applications are sold at 100,000 to 300,000 yuan a set," said Lin Yuting, an employee with Tiertime's marketing department.

Tiertime's Lin said most of their orders come from overseas markets including Europe and the US.

Admitting there is a gap in the application of 3D printing between China and abroad, Shi of Huazhong University of Science and Technology said the technology is widely used in product development in overseas markets including aerospace, medical treatment, innovation and education. Shi added there was little progress in such applications in China.

In terms of applications, the US accounts for 40 percent of the global market while China has less than 6 percent, said Xi'an Jiaotong University's Lu.

Experts say it has a lot to do with the lack of innovative design in China. "Most of the mass-produced products in China do not have a copyright so manufacturers just copy the models and make more of them," said Lu.

Lu said many manufacturing enterprises are plagued by overcapacity. One solution is to put more focus on developing innovative products.

"We see a growing trend in China toward additive manufacturing where, initially, applications in the medical field will benefit and be used. Furthermore, an increasing number of industrial research and development centers are moving to China. They will also start to make use of 3D printing," said Kim Francois, managing director of Materialise China.

Francois said she saw an unlimited amount of possibilities in the Chinese market but it will take some time until they will be fully developed and integrated into society (something that is still ongoing in the US and Europe).

Additive manufacturing turned out products valued at $1.7 billion in 2011. The industry is growing at an annual rate of up to 30 percent. It is estimated the industry will be valued at $6 billion by 2020, with China accounting for between 15 percent and 20 percent of it by then.

"This size of industry cannot be called large but, if more enterprises from various industries embrace 3D printing, there will be huge capacity to work on it," said Lu.

Lin from Tsinghua University said his team is working on developing 3D cell structure printing at the moment.

"The characteristics of a cell have a lot to do with its shape. If we can imitate the cell and tissue activity in the human body, we can research how human beings work and even the processes of diseases. We can then use these research results to select medicines and even to study cancerous cells, a major cause of serious disease in human beings," said Lin.

Lu, from Xi'an Jiaotong University, has a more ideal outlook regarding the future of 3D printing.

He and his team are currently trying to bring down the cost of 3D printers. He said within one year they will be able to lower the price by several thousand yuan.

"By doing this it will become possible for such facilities to be used by middle schools and even domestically. Cultivating creative and innovative thought among the young will mean a lot for the nation's future," Lu said.

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

Awesome News from China! 3D Printing is now the future & I suggest every country to follow in China footsteps.

The 3D Printing Revolution - YouTube

Mark my word, 3D Printing will revolutionize the Military Industry around the world.

The Wiki Weapon - YouTube

 

[chinapakistan]

If we can use 3D printer to print a 3D printer...That would be good.

 

[anon45]

3d printing will revolutionize manufacturing in all countries, but its not there yet.

3d printing will not be used on anyone's next gen fighter, the technology is not mature enough yet, the quality is still too low for the precise measurements needed...maybe 7th or 8th gen fighters (US count) will use it.

 

[cirr]

China's 3D Printing: Not a Revolution – Yet

Manufacturing may never be the same now that 3D printing systems are winning awards and making money

By staff reporter Yu Dawei

(Beijing) -- Engineers, inventors and industrial futurists in China are setting sights on a new technological frontier as three-dimensional printing slowly revolutionizes manufacturing.

A Beijing University research team, for example, has been working on what industry sources say is a breakthrough technology that uses 3D printing to produce large, complicated aircraft components.

The team led by materials science and engineering Professor Wang Huaming in January won a national award from the State Council for technological achievement.

The recognition for Wang's team and its work has encouraged companies in 3D printing-related businesses. Many have seen their stock prices surge to new highs in recent months.

Like a skilled sculptor, a 3D printing system can build through a materials-layering process a fully shaped and solid object, model or component based on a designer's computerized instructions.

Theoretically, this type of system could be used to build a plane, car or even a human organ. Some forecasters predict 3D printers will be making home-cooked meals by 2020.

In reality, though, the systems have limited applications. Wang said that for now the technology can only supplement traditional manufacturing.

"It's too early to say" whether it will usher in a revolution for manufacturing, said Wang.

Printing Objects

The technology for 3D printing first appeared in the United States in the 1980s when Charles Hull invented digital computer equipment that could be used to make models with synthetic resins. He called the process "stereolithography."

Based on Hull's work, scientists later developed techniques called Fused Deposition Modeling and Selective Laser Sintering for wider applications. Then in 1993, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors Michael Cima and Emanuel Sachs patented a practical 3D printing system.

That set off a worldwide race to commercialize 3D printing technology, leading to a variety of creative applications. As a result, the process has been used in Britain to make special footwear for soccer players and in Belgium to craft a replacement for a woman's jaw.

Last year, according to 3D authoring solution provider 3D Systems Corp., the U.S. Air Force invested US$ 2.95 million in the company on 3D printing procedures for aircraft components and weapons systems.

Chinese engineers started exploring the potential for 3D printing in the late 1980s, after U.S. technology was introduced to China by Yan Yongnian, a mechanical engineering professor at Tsinghua University.

Yan said his first exposure to the technology came in 1988 when, during a visit to the United States, he heard about Hull's research. He and a colleague later bought some equipment from Hull's company and brought U.S. scholars in the field to China to give lectures.

China now has four major research bases for 3D printing technology, Yan said. They include Tsinghua, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and a Beijing-based company called Beijing Longyuan Industrial Stock Co. Moreover, each university has started a business geared toward profiting from 3D printing.

The achievement that won an award for Wang and his team is a technique called Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) for manufacturing high-density, metallic components. Their work led to the 2010 production of a wing part for the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China's C919 jetliner, for a 90 percent cost savings over traditional manufacturing methods.

Wang calls LENS revolutionary because it takes less time and costs less than standard modeling techniques. Moreover, this process could have an enormous and beneficial impact on business for manufacturers of heavy equipment, aircraft and engines.

Nevertheless, Yan said, 3D printing as a commercial manufacturing procedure has yet to really take off. Researchers are still working on the technique's stability, and hope someday it can be used for the kinds of repetitious tasks involved in mass production.

However, 3D printing is already suitable for producing military equipment such as missiles, said Cai Daosheng, a former general manager at Wuhan Binhu Mechanical & Electrical Co., which was established as a 3D printing company by Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

"We've had many military projects," said Cai.

China's 3D printing researchers are trying to catch up to counterparts in other countries, including the United States. One remaining hurdle has to do with the quality of materials used to build models and components.

China's research on materials "for 3D printing are much weaker," said Feng Tao, manager of Beijing Henglong. "Moreover, investments by companies and research institutes are small."

Satisfying 3D printing's material needs will require "long-term investment and a solid foundation" of research, Feng said.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has been laying the groundwork for a long-term, national strategy for developing 3D printing technology. The ministry is preparing to draft relevant standards and regulations. It also plans to introduce tax incentives to encourage development of the new technology.

Immature Market

Proponents of 3D printing say the technology could change the entire structure of global manufacturing, making industry more reliant on computer technology than human labor. It might even revive manufacturing in Western countries.

A report by the U.S. Consumer Electronics Association predicted 3D printing system sales worldwide would rise to US$ 5 billion by 2017 from US$ 1.7 billion in 2011. The boom would be a response to auto, aerospace and medical industry demand, the report said.

Consumer goods and electronics manufacturers are the main buyers of 3D printing systems, accounting for 20 percent of total market share. Other buyers can be found in the auto, medical and dental supply fields.

About 49,000 3D printing systems were sold worldwide in 2011, according to a Wohlers Report analysis. Some two-thirds of these were made in the United States, followed by Europe and Israel. Chinese and Japanese manufacturers each could claim about 3.6 percent of the market, the report said.

China's largest maker of 3D printing systems, Beijing Tiertime Technology Co., handles only a few thousand dollars worth of business in this area every year. Its traditional operations, though, yield annual revenues in the tens of millions of yuan.

Material quality and operational accuracy issues prevent 3D printing from reaching its theoretical potential as a means to produce anything, said Guo Ge, Tiertime's general manager.

As a result, he says, China's 3D printing sector is still at the start-up stage and needs more time to mature.

"We're a long way from starting another industrial revolution," Guo said. "But if more improvements can be made in materials and operational capacity, manufacturing will be transformed."

Industrial component manufacturers would like to see that transformation sooner rather than later, since 3D printing has the capacity to make models quickly.

For now, though, Feng thinks traditional manufacturing through mass production "is still the most economic" way to produce components. The 3D printing process can only supplement tried and true methods.

Cai is upbeat about 3D printing's capacity for "green manufacturing," as it reduces raw material demand and waste.

And although Guo admits more time is needed to fine-tune 3D printing, the technique's acceptance may accelerate if engineers and researchers achieve more breakthroughs.

"No one imagined how fast computer science would grow when it first got started," said Guo.

Yan sees key applications for 3D printing in the bioscience sector that may far overshadow engineering uses. Creating human body parts and internal organs, he said, offers a more meaningful use for the technique than making metal parts.

Yan last year launched a company in Jiangsu Province that focuses on 3D printing systems for the bioscience sector. One of the company's systems has shown remarkable potential. "It's even produced a small piece of meat," he said.

China's 3D Printing: Not a Revolution ? Yet -

 

[tranquilium]

3d printing will revolutionize manufacturing in all countries, but its not there yet.

3d printing will not be used on anyone's next gen fighter, the technology is not mature enough yet, the quality is still too low for the precise measurements needed...maybe 7th or 8th gen fighters (US count) will use it.

I think the technology will be ready before that simply out of necessity. Currently, F-22 cost $150 million per unit just to manufacture. F-35 is clocking at $236.8 million per unit and still growing. There are speculation that J-20 will be between $80 to $100 million. To simply put, fifth gen fighters are very expensive, even for nations like US and China. The sixth gen fighter crafts are gonna be even more expensive. Without breakthrough in cost-reduction technology, even the major nations won't be able to afford them.

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

3D printing with metal: The final frontier of additive manufacturing

By John Hewitt on December 27, 2012 at 9:21 am

The holidays are a great time to sit back, relax, and watch the world happen around you. Few areas of technology have seen as much development in one year as that of 3D printing. Undoubtedly, the most dramatic and challenging has been printing with metal. For your enjoyment, we have assembled a few incredible videos that showcase the power and flexibility of 3D printing with metal — to not be amazed is to be numb to the technology of our day.

3D metal printing - YouTube

The first attempts to print with metal can be traced back to the 1880s when the first welders used carbon electrode arcs to fuse two pieces of metal. It was later found that if a third sacrificial stick of material was used a metal bead could be laid down. When Humphry Davy first discovered the electric arc in 1800, he chose to call it an arc since the evaporating gases buoyed it up into an erratic but generally rounded shape. It was not until the advent of electron beams and vacuum chambers that precise metal printing would first be made possible.

The real breakthrough that has enabled 3D printing for the masses has been the laser. Spray welding is a technique that has been used for decades to build up worn motor shafts, but it is far too crude for controlled additive printing. Spray welding uses a gravity-fed powdered metal dispenser integrated into a special oxygen-acetylene torch head which melts the powder as it is dispensed. Swapping the torch for a laser gave us the powerful construction tool we have today. A powdered metal feedstream, confined and protected against oxidation with a surrounding jet of inert shielding gas, fused by a laser piped through a central bore in the head is now the state of the art technology. Trumpf makes one such device, as shown in the video below.

TRUMPF Laser Metal Deposition Welding - YouTube

NASA recently used a technique called selective metal melting (SLM) with great success to build rocket motor components out of steel. NASA’s engineers have been able to produce parts with complex geometry only previously imagined, and with dimensional accuracy beyond that possible with traditional fabrication methods.

To compete with modern manufacturing methods, perhaps the fastest method of metal printing is to deposit a powder metal matrix that contains binders. After each layer is deposited, the binder is melted and the metal is temporarily held together until it is fused in a final bake in an oven. The part can be printed entirely in this way, or just a shell can be printed which can then be used to mold metals of a lower melting point.

One of the premier organizations to capture public attention is Shapeways, which has streamlined the process to be able to provide a (metal or plastic) printed part in the shortest time possible. It has a variety of metal materials to choose from, and even offers precious metal printing in silver. Nowadays you can do a lot with a thousand dollars in the world of 3D printing — and what you can do with few hundred thousand is a whole lot more incredible.

Shapeways 3D Metal Printing - YouTube

When Apple was selling bare-bones phone cases for exorbitant prices, many people decided that it was time to take matters into their own hands — they began to design their own cases with the help of Shapeway’s tools. A price of $8.00 per cubic centimeter for stainless steel, $6.00 handling fee, and optional gold plating of $9.00 made it a no-brainer for the artistically inclined. As long as your part fit inside a bounding box of 750x380x380mm and had walls at least 3mm thick, Shapeways could probably make it. The only drawback you might find is that the stainless steel used is similar to the common 400 series steel — sufficiently magnetic to be undesirable when those properties are not wanted, but too weakly magnetic when magnetic properties might be of use. Likely that too will soon change.

The future of 3D printing with metal

Two technologies on the horizon will offer us even higher resolution parts. Two-photon laser curing permits extreme precision by using laser absorbers in the binders which are only activated by simultaneous absorption of two photons. If the laser beam is then strongly focused with a high degree of convergence, it will pass through most of the material without reaction, achieving sufficient density for curing only within a localized volume. Similar techniques have already been used to etch features inside the center of a piece of glass.

The other tool increasingly at our disposal is the femtosecond laser. Initially the province of high-end systems for micromachining or corrective eye surgery, they are now finding application in 3D printing. Femtosecond lasers are still prohibitive in cost, in part due to the sapphire crystal at their heart. They use pulse compression to squeeze a huge amount of optical energy into an extremely short pulse and give a lower power laser the ability to fuse metal. Aluminum oxide, which chemically is identical to sapphire, structurally lacks the clarity one normally associates with it. Aluminum oxide can be printed and fused — printed sapphire, now that would be something else.

3D printing with metal: The final frontier of additive manufacturing | ExtremeTech

 

[cirr]

First 3D photo booth established in Beijing

CNTV, February 7, 2013

Video：First 3D photo booth established in Beijing - China.org.cn

Want to have a little version of yourself?

The newly established 3D photo booth in the capital city, which is also the first one in the country, is offering you the chance to turn yourself into a plastic action figure.

The scanner works as the recorder, after around 10 minutes scanning, the raw data of a full-body image will be sent to the computer. It will then be modified and tweaked to achieve a better likeness and fine detail can also be added before the 3D colour print.

Morris Shao, COO of 3D Rapid Prototyping, Beijing, said, "The data will then be transferred to the printing machine which follows the layer- by-layer process. Plaster is considered as the ideal material for printing action figure. It usually takes about an hour to print a ten-centimetre-tall figurine."

Visitors from home and abroad are showing great curiosity to this rising technology...

Zhang Guoqing, Visitor, said, "I'm very interested in 3D printing as I'm also working in this field. It is nice to have a museum like this. There's still gap between domestic printing machines and those from abroad. It is a good way to learn from others."

Apart from printing yourself, much more can be done...like those tailor made products...

Liu Yang, Design Director of Ideas Design Co., Ltd, said, "For customized products, I think there's huge market potential behind the 3D technology. For example, this product is made by 3D printer. We benefit a lot from it as it can be revised from time to time, unlike the old-fashioned ones which you have to wait for the mould. And our designers become more productive as they can have their own products only in a few hours."

Making your own products is not only a fashionable way to be different from others but can be more meaningful...

Luo Jing, Designer, said, "Many products nowadays are made by factories, wasting resources is quite often. But thing's gonna change if the 3D technology goes mature. Companies will be able to make personalized products, then there will be less waste resources."