VIDEO: Bigger, Faster Additive Manufacturing for True Production Volumes

Quad-laser additive manufacturing systems may be the future for designing durable, complex parts.

Additive manufacturing is all the rage these days, as it’s being covered widely by both the popular and technical press.

In the video above, we speak with Glynn Fletcher, president of EOS North America about the industry trend of using larger and larger working envelopes and machines with additive technology that are fast enough to be truly called production machines.

Fletcher touches on the history of additive manufacturing and shares with us his beliefs that the technology will soon play a much more significant part in manufacturing.

“Additive manufacturing has its origins in rapid prototyping and with a lot of new innovations and a trend toward industrialization, we’re applying the technologies in ways previously not thought possible,” Fletcher said.

In the video above we explore EOS’s new M400-4 quad-laser additive manufacturing system and how with modern technology, manufacturers can achieve greater complexity and quality in designing and developing parts.

“We’re no longer limited by the shape of a part,” Fletcher said. “I come from a world where we were always asked to think about designing for manufacturing, which is now a thing of the past. Now, you can design for function – no longer are you limited by Cartesian thinking or the angular, linear way of the past.”

For more information, watch the video above and visit www.eos.info/additive_manufacturing.

Written by

James Anderton

Jim Anderton is the Director of Content for ENGINEERING.com. Mr. Anderton was formerly editor of Canadian Metalworking Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of print and on-line publications, including Design Engineering, Canadian Plastics, Service Station and Garage Management, Autovision, and the National Post. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and part design for a Tier One automotive supplier.