Wohlers Associates helps organizations take advantage of technologies and strategies that enhance the rapid product development and manufacturing process.
On March 8, 2012, the White House announced a proposed investment of $1 billion for a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation involving up to 15 institutes across the U.S. An investment of this size requires congressional support, although a pilot institute has been funded by the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce, and the National Science Foundation in the amount of $30 million. With required matching funds, the three-year program…
ASTM International Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies was organized in 2009 to develop industry standards. To date, new standards on terminology, testing, a new file format (as an alternative to STL), and a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) have been completed by the committee. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) also has a technical committee on additive manufacturing, called TC 261, with an almost identical focus and charge. Many of the…
There’s a reasonable chance that you have not yet heard about the Additive Manufacturing Consortium (AMC), which was launched in 2010 by EWI in Columbus, Ohio. EWI is a 140-employee, non-profit organization that develops and commercializes advanced manufacturing solutions, especially materials joining technology. Tim Caffrey, associate consultant at Wohlers Associates, and I visited EWI in November 2011 and we were very impressed by the people, equipment, and organization. EWI is…
Additive manufacturing (AM) is going places that many of us never anticipated. Frankly, I believe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. The more I explore the future potential of AM and 3D printing technology, the more excited I become. I truly believe that AM will develop to become the most useful technology for the development and production of products than any other. The need for AM education and…
The February 28, 2011 issue of Plastics News explained that the U.S. continues to lead the world in manufacturing output. It is ahead of Germany and Japan, and exceeds China by 40%, which I found surprising. The source of this information is economic futurist Jeff Thredgold. He said that the output per U.S. worker is three times what it was in 1980. The report from Thredgold and Plastics News is…
EuroMold was held December 1-4 in Frankfurt, Germany. Every EuroMold that I’ve attend has not only been worthwhile, it has been filled with planned and impromptu meetings and important discoveries. People from around the world use it to get together, rekindle and strengthen relationships, and conduct business. EuroMold also provides the opportunity to see and better understand the most interesting developments and trends from the recent past. When I started…
CAD solid modeling has been the source of data for most additive manufacturing (AM) parts. I estimate that at least 95% comes from CAD, but it could be closer to 98%. Increasingly, we are seeing more data from medical scanners, primarily CT, and 3D scanning/imaging systems for reverse engineering applications. In the future, video games could become a major source. World of Warcraft players, for example, can have their character…
The CAD industry has been experiencing a rough period. Installations of CAD solid modeling seats declined by 7.9% in 2008, according to our research. Sales were an estimated 190,000 commercial CAD solid modeling seats in 2007 compared to 175,000 last year. This comes after years of solid growth since 2003 when Wohlers Associates began to track CAD sales worldwide. Recent figures show that the industry continues to suffer. Seat sales…
The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences led the development of a roadmap for the additive manufacturing (AM) industry in 1998. The effort was supported by many industrial, government, and academic organizations in the U.S. and it led to a report titled The Road to Manufacturing. It served as a useful guide, although I believe it was the work leading up to the document that was of most value. As Dwight…
ASTM unites with the Wohlers brand to build on its market influence and access to top advanced manufacturing industry decision-makers worldwide.
Under the leadership of the R&D team, the AM CoE partners plan and conduct coordinated R&D projects, prioritized annually and targeted to expedite...
Provide a comprehensive program that educates and trains the additive manufacturing workforce at all levels, while continually incorporating new advances...
