Additive Manufacturing Media

Additive Manufacturing Media We are the media brand devoted to industrial applications of 3D printing technology. Instead, we speak to a manufacturing audience.

Additive Manufacturing is devoted to industrial applications of 3D printing and digital layering technology to make functional parts. We don’t cover 3D printing as it relates to making design models, movie props, sculpture or swimwear (sorry). We are exploring the use of additive manufacturing to make tooling, molds and functional prototypes, along with the ultimate aim of manufacturers: end-use p

roduction parts. We report on the promise of additive manufacturing in these applications. We also report on the pitfalls. Staff members write about successes with additive manufacturing and the hard roads that led to those successes.

Heat exchangers for concentrated solar power operate under some of the most demanding thermal and mechanical conditions ...
06/23/2026

Heat exchangers for concentrated solar power operate under some of the most demanding thermal and mechanical conditions in energy generation.

The challenge is materials: components must withstand elevated temperatures and pressures that conventional manufacturing methods struggle to accommodate with appropriate alloys.

3D printing changes that equation. Additive manufacturing enables the use of materials specifically suited to this application — in this case, Haynes alloys — while also allowing for the complex geometries that heat exchanger performance demands.

This intersection of material capability and geometric freedom is what makes additive manufacturing a viable path forward for concentrated solar power infrastructure, where component performance directly affects system efficiency.

The full piece by Stephanie Hendrixson examines how 3D printing enables the production of heat exchangers from Haynes alloys — materials appropriate to the elevated temperatures and pressures of concentrated solar power — and what that means for the design and manufacture of these critical components.

Read the full article to understand the materials and process considerations at work. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/850c-and-200-atmospheres-heat-exchangers-for-demanding-solar-energy-applications

For long-established manufacturers, adopting additive manufacturing is a balancing act: new technology must find a niche...
06/18/2026

For long-established manufacturers, adopting additive manufacturing is a balancing act: new technology must find a niche within established capabilities, employees must buy in to its value, and care must be taken to direct only the right business cases toward additive.

Penn United Technologies has perhaps struck that balance better than most.

The Cabot, Pennsylvania employee-owned manufacturer brought laser powder bed fusion in-house at the prompting of a key nuclear customer in 2018. What made the transition viable was not the machines alone, but decades of prior experience in stamping, precision grinding, carbide production, and regulated markets including nuclear, aerospace, and surgical devices.

Several principles now govern how additive fits within the broader operation:

- Existing quality systems were robust enough to support AM without significant revision
- Cross-trained engineers apply downstream knowledge to optimize print orientation and support strategy
- Not every inquiry becomes an additive job — conventional processes remain a standing alternative
- Employee ownership creates accountability for capital decisions and collective motivation to see new investments succeed

"We wouldn't be able to have additive if it wasn't for this," says business development manager Jake Jones, referring to the company's integrated manufacturing foundation.

Read the full article for a detailed look at how Penn United built and continues to expand its metal AM program. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/additive-manufacturing-adds-to-vertically-integrated-knowledge-at-penn-united-

The membrane in a bottom-up vat photopolymerization printer does more than separate resin from light — it defines how a ...
06/16/2026

The membrane in a bottom-up vat photopolymerization printer does more than separate resin from light — it defines how a part is built.

In this style of printer, the part forms between a rigid build plate above and a flexible membrane below. That membrane plays a direct role in layer formation, release mechanics, and overall print quality.

Understanding its function matters for anyone working with or evaluating this class of additive manufacturing equipment.

Key considerations the piece addresses:

- How the membrane interacts with the build plate during each layer cycle
- Why flexibility in the membrane is critical to part release
- The broader implications for print reliability and output quality

For engineers and managers assessing vat photopolymerization systems, the membrane is not a peripheral component — it is central to how the process works.

Read the full piece by Stephanie Hendrixson, Editor-in-Chief, for a closer look at this component and its role in bottom-up 3D printing. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/the-role-of-the-membrane-in-vat-photopolymerization-(vpp)

Proximity manufacturing is reshaping how large-format parts are produced — and supply chains along with them.Haddy, oper...
06/11/2026

Proximity manufacturing is reshaping how large-format parts are produced — and supply chains along with them.

Haddy, operating from a 30,000-square-foot microfactory in St. Petersburg, Florida, runs eight LFAM robotic systems from CEAD, printing and machining fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite parts on demand. The model is built around a clear premise: digital design files travel tariff-free; physical goods do not.

The operational logic addresses several industrial challenges at once:

- Print-to-order reduces overproduction and material waste
- Recycled and biocompostable polymers are reused for up to six cycles
- Machining chips are collected and re-pelletized for future production
- Microfactories sited within 8–10 hours of major cities cut transport dependency

Applications have expanded well beyond furniture — into architectural elements, nuclear formwork, marine hulls, and theme park structures.

AI-driven tool path generation and real-time process adaptation are central to Haddy's scaling strategy, with the goal of building a print library that automatically configures parameters by part type and material.

"Where we take it a step further is our commitment to sustainability and circularity, so that we're actually providing a net positive for the planet," says Director of Supply Chain Numa Pailhol.

Read the full facility tour for a detailed look at materials handling, robot operations, and the path to 100-plus global microfactories. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/plant-tour-haddy-st-petersburg-fla-us-2

Tungsten is one of the most demanding materials in manufacturing — and one of the hardest to process.With a melting poin...
06/04/2026

Tungsten is one of the most demanding materials in manufacturing — and one of the hardest to process.

With a melting point above 3,000°C, tungsten is heat resistant, dense, and non-reactive, making it a candidate for nuclear fusion components like divertor tiles. But its brittleness and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature make conventional machining and press-and-sinter methods severely limiting when complex geometries are required.

Electron beam melting (EBM) addresses this directly:

- The process preheats the powder bed to 1,600°C, keeping tungsten above its ductile-to-brittle transition temperature and reducing microcracks
- EBM operates at up to six kilowatts of power with beam speeds thousands of times faster than laser-based systems, enabling precise thermal control
- Because CT scanning is ineffective on dense tungsten, JEOL has developed layer-by-layer inspection using the electron beam itself as a scanning electron microscope

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and engineers at JEOL are developing process parameters and demonstrator components — including tungsten divertor tiles designed for remote handling in fusion reactors.

Full episode linked below. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/electron-beam-melting-with-tungsten-the-cool-parts-show-bonus

Scaling 3D printed bioceramic implants from prototype to production remains one of the practical barriers facing medtech...
06/03/2026

Scaling 3D printed bioceramic implants from prototype to production remains one of the practical barriers facing medtech manufacturers.

Himed, a producer of bioceramic materials, and Adva Cera, a company specializing in advanced ceramic additive manufacturing, have announced a strategic partnership to create a complete development-to-production pathway for 3D printed calcium phosphate components used in dental, orthopedic, and spinal applications.

The partnership addresses a specific gap: moving from a fully optimized implant design into qualified, production-scale ceramic AM without requalifying materials, restarting development cycles, or making significant capital expenditures in printing infrastructure.

Key elements of the partnership include:

- A domestic, vertically integrated pathway from R&D through serial production
- Access to Himed's 35 years of materials expertise through its Bioceramics Center of Excellence
- Adva Cera's serial production and near-net-shape manufacturing capabilities

Because calcium phosphate is the mineral phase of bone itself, CaP implants can bond directly to surrounding tissue in ways inert metals and polymers cannot — making scalable, reliable production increasingly consequential for the orthopedic and dental sectors.

Read the full article for complete details. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/himed-and-adva-cera-partnership-streamlines-path-from-3d-printed-bioceramic-prototypes-to-production

Depowdering is often overlooked as a pain point in additive manufacturing production — but it may need to be addressed a...
06/02/2026

Depowdering is often overlooked as a pain point in additive manufacturing production — but it may need to be addressed as early as the design phase.

Solukon debuted a special configuration of its SFM-AT350-E automated depowdering system at RAPID + TCT 2026, specifically reconfigured to accommodate the EOS M4 Onyx 3D printer and enabling the depowdering of compact metal parts.

Key capabilities of this configuration include:

- Two-axis swivel and flexible rotary table for precise motion control
- High, self-regulating ultrasonic vibration via piezoelectric excitation for gentle, thorough cleaning
- Manual depowdering through sealed glove ports using compressed air or inert gas
- Optional integration with SPR-Pathfinder software, which uses a part's CAD file and digital twin to determine optimal powder removal sequences for complex interior structures

The system is designed for parts with a Z-height below 250 mm and weighing up to 100 kg — suited for delicate applications such as medical components.

"Our most important challenge is to grow with the printers," notes Marina Haugg of Solukon — a directive that extends across part sizes, from compact geometries to assemblies exceeding two tons.

Full coverage linked below. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/ultrasonic-vibration-enables-automated-depowdering-of-compact-parts

Designing a functional metal multi-tool through additive manufacturing is harder than it looks.At RAPID + TCT 2026, a te...
05/29/2026

Designing a functional metal multi-tool through additive manufacturing is harder than it looks.

At RAPID + TCT 2026, a team of students from the University of Texas at El Paso — competing as Borderland Steel — took first place in the third annual AM in Steel competition, organized by America Makes. Their entry: a 3D printed stainless steel 316L multi-tool produced using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology.

The process was far from linear. The team navigated:

- A failed first print caused by support structure issues
- A design that expanded to 20 parts before being consolidated to five through feature integration and lattice structures
- Postprocessing challenges requiring wire EDM, sandblasting, drills, pliers, and a lathe

What the experience demonstrated is the practical value of metal AM's design flexibility — the ability to iterate orientations, geometries, and configurations without disrupting final production.

The finished multi-tool performed across more than ten functionalities, evaluated live before a panel of judges.

Full details on the design, fabrication process, and lessons learned are available to read now. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/utep-students-win-2026-am-in-steel-competition-with-3d-printed-multi-tool-

U.S.-based binder jetting contract manufacturer Azoth 3D has scaled metal additive manufacturing for end-use components ...
05/26/2026

U.S.-based binder jetting contract manufacturer Azoth 3D has scaled metal additive manufacturing for end-use components through partnerships with Elnik Systems and DSH Technologies.

The company identified sintering as the central challenge when producing corrosion-resistant parts for automotive, medical and defense applications. Meeting strict purity and qualification requirements across multiple alloys required precise equipment and process expertise.

Azoth addressed these demands by working with Elnik for batch furnaces with all-metal retorts and atmospheric control, and with DSH for debinding and sintering development. These collaborations supported consistent results and reduced operational risk.

Read the full article to examine how these relationships enabled production-scale binder jetting. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/strong-partnerships-mean-success-for-binder-jetting-manufacturer

Additive manufacturing is expanding beyond in-the-field repair to serve as an alternative or supplemental process in the...
05/21/2026

Additive manufacturing is expanding beyond in-the-field repair to serve as an alternative or supplemental process in the defense supply chain.

Conversations with exhibitors and attendees at RAPID 2026 identified specific niches where the technology is now a critical capability. These include armored vehicle components made from refractory materials, hypersonic engine parts produced with niobium and Inconel, and drone components that benefit from rapid development cycles and lightweighting through design for additive manufacturing.

Additional applications cover on-demand repair and replacement parts that reduce complexity and downtime, expeditionary manufacturing systems for deployment in depots and aboard ships, and suppressors that take advantage of geometric complexity for efficient batch production.

The full article examines these use cases in greater detail. https://www.additivemanufacturing.media/articles/what-roles-is-am-playing-in-the-defense-supply-chain-rapid-2026-takeaways

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