Ultimaker is one of the big name producers of 3D printing equipment for hobbyists and tinkerers. In homage to the manufacturer, a software engineer from Austin, TX, designed and built a 3D printer based on the Ultimaker2 utilizing aluminum extrusions as its frame. By adding an aluminum frame, he was able to create a printer […]
By Rose Eaton, Light Metal Age Aluminum is everywhere — your soda cans, airplane wings, smartphones, power lines, and even the foil wrapping your leftovers. It’s lightweight, corrosion-resistant, endlessly recyclable, and quietly underpins the modern world. But what if you found out that this silvery metal was once more valuable than gold? Or that Napoleon […]
Editor’s Note: Part II supplements the International Patent Calendar published in October 2021 on “Additive Manufacturing of Light Metals.” This second version covers selected U.S. patents on the subject that were published more recently. The rapid pace of invention in additive manufacturing (AM) worldwide is due not only to the rapid prototyping of complex shapes […]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been investigating the additive manufacturing of aluminum alloys for several years. In particular, the researchers have been focused on materials that can perform under high pressure in high temperature environments, which are needed for automotive, aerospace, defense and space applications — such as pistons within an engine. Recently the […]
As the recently granted U.S. patents presented here indicate, the additive manufacturing (AM) of aluminum and other light metals is evolving rapidly from what was just two decades ago mainly a prototyping process to a production process that involves automotive, aerospace, medical, and various domestic product industries. In my LMA article from February 2018 on AM […]
Ningbo Xusheng Auto Technology Co., Ltd., an automotive supplier in China, commissioned a new die forging press line at its facility in the Zhejiang province. The new line enables the company to expand its production capacities and also serve the growing market for high-end forged aluminum chassis components in the automotive market, especially for electric […]
NanoAL, LLC, located in Boston, MA, has commercialized its award-winning, additive manufacturing technology — Addalloy® 5T aluminum alloy powder. NanoAL is a subsidiary of Unity Aluminum (formerly Braidy Industries) and serves as its research and development division, developing new aluminum alloys. The Addalloy family of next-generation aluminum alloy powders are specifically formulated for additive manufacturing via […]
Additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly important, with cheaper and more efficient processes making the production of metal powders and additively manufactured components more attractive. As a result, printed components are increasingly being used not only for prototyping, but also as serial products. Trimet Aluminium SE in Germany has been conducting intensive research and development on material […]
