Disrupting Manufacturing One Layer At A Time | Tim Simpson | TEDxPSU
## Speaker Context
- Role/Profession: Expert on Additive Manufacturing (implied by content).
- Audience, setting, occasion of the talk: Unknown, but involves presenting technical advancements in manufacturing.
- Any framing the speaker establishes for themselves up front: The speaker starts by questioning the nature of holes, suggesting it might be due to historical manufacturing methods rather than optimal natural design.
## People
- Vincent Moran + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: On the formula race car team as an undergraduate; helped design a lightweight automotive component.
- Todd Palmer + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Faculty at Penn State; helped design a lightweight automotive component.
- Robert Cohen + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Involved in the first FDA-approved 3D printed titanium hip implant with his team at Pipeline Orthopedic.
- Abdullah Nasser + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Colleague of the speaker; worked on components with the speaker.
- Charon flank + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Colleague of the speaker; worked on components with the speaker at the company infotrac.
- Steve Lynch + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Worked on 3D printing a heat exchanger with the speaker.
- Ted royal + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Worked on 3D printing a heat exchanger with the speaker.
- David Saltzman + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Worked on 3D printing a heat exchanger with the speaker.
- Artie Custer + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Penn State alum; co-founded a watch company to use 3D printing for watch cases.
- Mack Fredrick + role/relationship to the talk + qualifying detail: Penn State alum; co-founded a watch company to use 3D printing for watch cases.
## Organizations
- Penn State + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Location where some design/lightweighting work was done.
- Pipeline Orthopedic + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Developed the first FDA-approved 3D printed titanium hip implant.
- Microsoft + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Purchased Minecraft, joining forces with HP and others for advanced manufacturing.
- Boeing + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Industry participant utilizing 3D printing.
- Grumman + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Industry participant utilizing 3D printing.
- SpaceX + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Industry participant utilizing 3D printing.
- GE + what they do + relevance to the speaker: Purchased 3D printing companies for 1.5 billion dollars.
## Places
- Chicago + relevance + qualifying detail: Location where a company (Saki) is based.
- LA area + relevance + qualifying detail: Area where a service bureau (cal ram) is located.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- Lasers and high energy sources + function + named relationships: Used to melt powder for additive manufacturing.
- 3D printers + function + named relationships: General technology for additive manufacturing; includes specific types (powder bed system).
- Computer algorithms + function + named relationships: Used to help determine where to place material for lightweighting components.
- Electron beam + function + named relationships: Used to bombard and heat up/melt material, described as "robotic welding on steroids."
- CT scanner/Computed Tomography + function + named relationships: Used to create a three-dimensional representation of metal parts via X-ray scanning.
- CAD file / Digital file + function + named relationships: A format that can be sent to a 3D printer.
- X-ray machine + function + named relationships: Used to scan metal parts for 3D mapping.
- Multi material capabilities + function + named relationships: Allows changing material within a component and tagging it for identification (visible via CT scan).
- Minecraft + function + named relationships: Block-by-block manipulation system used as an analogy for complex manufacturing capabilities.
## Concepts & Definitions
- Subtractive process + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: Starting with a block of material and removing away what is not wanted.
- Additive manufacturing + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: Building objects layer by layer by depositing material (or adding material).
- Functionally grading the material + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: Ability to incorporate features like corrosion resistance or fatigue resistance within a single component design.
- Stair-stepping + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: An issue where a circle is not perfectly round due to layer thicknesses, especially with early systems.
- Lightweighting + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: Making components lighter while maintaining necessary structural integrity.
- Lattice structure / Cellular structure + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: A pattern that can be used to create lightweight components, sometimes mimicking bone.
- IP and intellectual property + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: The legal challenge regarding digital files (CAD files) and patentability.
- Hypothese cycle + how the speaker uses it + qualifying detail: The pattern of hype surrounding new technologies (e.g., additive manufacturing).
## Numbers & Data
- 100 + number describes: Years the speaker suggests the current methods of making circles and holes have been in use.
- 30 + number describes: Years that the technology of 3D printing has been around.
- Mid 80s + number describes: When 3D printing initially started with plastic and polymer systems.
- Last five to ten years + number describes: The timeframe when additive manufacturing took off with metals.
- Smallest than human hair + number describes: The thickness of the layers being printed with metals nowadays.
- 10 + number describes: The original weight of a component that was lightweighted.
- Six + number describes: The current weight of the lightweighted component (from 10 lbs).
- Four or five + number describes: Years ago they met Robert Cohen and his team.
- 1.5 billion dollars + number describes: Amount GE bought 3D printing companies for.
- 2,000 percent + number describes: Increase in job interest for 3D printing over the past five or six years.
- 35 percent + number describes: Percentage of all engineering jobs reportedly requiring 3D printing skills, according to a foundation.
- Three feet by two feet by two feet + number describes: Dimensions of a large part made by Saki.
- Eight feet by eight feet by twenty feet + number describes: Dimensions of the big system at Saki.
- 15 percent + number describes: How much better the heat exchanger is at dissipating heat.
## Claims & Theses
- The speaker contends that the shape of holes might be due to how we've been making circles and holes for the past hundred or so years, not necessarily optimal nature.
- Additive manufacturing is changing the limitations imposed by traditional subtractive processes.
- With additive manufacturing, one of the things we couldn't make before, like changing materials, is now possible.
- The ability to functionally grade the material allows for the integration of multiple properties in a single component.
- The name "3D printing" comes from the idea of adding material layer by layer, versus subtracting it away.
- The issue of "stair-stepping" is an issue, but modern metal printing layers smaller than human hair mitigate this.
- Gravity can still cause materials to sink or sag during the manufacturing process.
- The use of computer algorithms allows for efficient material usage through lightweighting.
- The red and yellow structures around a part in the image are support structures that help fight gravity and prevent warping or curling.
- In the plastics polymer world, dissolvable supports were used, but the titanium part shown used rigid support structures.
- Complexity is free because the computer doesn't care whether you're printing a lattice structure or a solid structure.
- A lattice structure can help lightweight a component, reducing its weight from ten pounds to about six pounds.
- Internal passages can be created within a component using additive manufacturing, which is impossible with traditional methods for oil and gas applications.
- Additive manufacturing can create a cellular structure that mimics bone, allowing blood vessels to grow back into it and enabling faster integration.
- Larger 3D printers exist, capable of printing parts around 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet.
- Using an electron beam with a wire feed system is an alternative to a laser for powder metal processing.
- Additive manufacturing changes the economics of components made from materials like titanium, making them more accessible.
- Using 3D printing to create better machines (e.g., improving a laser nozzle) is possible.
- The technology can be used to add internal cooling channels to printed machines for better heat dissipation and powder flow.
- Controlling the surface roughness or surface texture is possible with 3D printing.
- The process can be augmented by using CT scanning to create digital files, which can then be printed.
- Reverse engineering components and parts via digital files is causing disruption and concern to the supply chain.
- The Department of Homeland Security noted that manufacturing infrastructure is more susceptible to breaches than other infrastructures (energy, water, IT).
- Additive manufacturing allows components to be anti-counterfeit by embedding non-visible tags detectable via CT scanning.
- A major challenge is that current design tools are not set up to handle changing geometry or material within a single component.
- The ultimate capability of additive manufacturing is likened to the ability of kids manipulating materials block by block like in Minecraft.
- Publicly traded companies producing 3D printing equipment include Stratasys, X1, and 3D Systems.
- The industry has gone through a hype cycle, currently appearing to be in the "trough of disillusionment," but heading towards the "slope of enlightenment."
- Increased job interest and the requirement for 3D printing skills are forcing changes in education and training.
- The primary benefit of additive manufacturing is that it "makes manufacturing fun again."
- Traditional machine shops are starting to incorporate 3D printers for small-run, high-end components.
- Small particles from the process can be hazardous, disrupting fire code and safety codes.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- Subtractive processes: Starting with a block and removing material.
- Additive manufacturing: Depositing material layer by layer to build 3D objects.
- Functionally grading: Designing material to have different properties in different areas of the component.
- Lightweighting: Using computer algorithms to remove material efficiently while maintaining structure.
- Support structure fabrication: Creating temporary supports (red/yellow in the example) to counteract gravity, warping, or curling during printing.
- Dissolvable support removal: A process used in polymer printing where supports can be chemically dissolved away.
- Electron beam process: Using an electron beam to bombard, heat, and melt powder metal, compared to robotic welding on steroids.
- X-ray/CT scanning process: Placing a metal part in a system to spin and X-ray it, allowing stitching together of 3D representations.
- Anti-counterfeiting process: Printing a component and then using CT scanning to detect a non-visible, embedded material tag.
- Watch case manufacturing process: Using 3D printing (powder bed system with dual lasers) to create new watch cases for old movements.
## Timeline & Events
- Past hundred or so years: Timeframe associated with current methods of making holes and circles.
- Mid 80s: Start time for 3D printing using plastic and polymer systems.
- Last five to ten years: Timeframe when additive manufacturing took off with metals.
- Four or five years ago: Timeframe when the speaker met Robert Cohen and his team regarding the hip implant.
- A couple months ago: Timeframe when GE bought 3D printing companies.
## Examples & Cases
- The process of making a circular hole/fitting: Used to question whether the shape is optimal or just a result of tooling.
- Video demonstration: Showing metal powder being deposited layer by layer to create intricate 3D objects.
- Lightweight automotive component: Designed by Vincent Moran and Todd Palmer, allowing for better fuel economy/faster race car performance.
- Component example (image): Demonstrating the necessity of support structures (red/yellow) for a part.
- Titanium part demonstration: Showcasing a lightweight component made with rigid support structures.
- Lattice component: Used to lightweight a component originally weighing ten pounds to about six pounds.
- Oil and gas component: Illustrating the creation of internal passages for fluid pumping.
- Hip implant: The first FDA-approved 3D printed titanium hip implant, showing cellular structure mimicking bone.
- Saki part: A large part (3ft x 2ft x 2ft) printed using an electron beam, based in Chicago.
- Heat exchanger: A 3D printed replica showing intricate lattice structures and cooling fins, claimed to be 15% more efficient at heat dissipation.
- Pocket watch transformation: Taking an almost hundred-year-old pocket watch movement and creating a new wristwatch case around it using 3D printing.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- Subtractive manufacturing vs. Additive manufacturing: Limitation of removing material vs. freedom of building up material.
- Traditional manufacturing vs. Additive manufacturing: Ability to create complex internal features (oil/gas channels).
- Dissolvable support vs. Rigid support structure: Support methods used in polymers versus metals.
- Original component design vs. Lightweighted design: Weighing initial bulk vs. optimized, lighter weight.
- Shipping parts overseas vs. Printing locally: Comparing international supply chain/customs hurdles to local digital file printing.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker cautions that while design freedom is great, one must still be very careful about how parts are thought out and manufactured.
- Current gravity cannot fight the effects of gravity, which can cause material to sink or sag.
- In the plastics polymer world, dissolvable supports were utilized, but this specific part was made of titanium and required rigid support.
- Manufacturing can be accomplished via abrasive methods like "caveman on it and literally throw it in a vise pack cut grind."
- The process of reverse engineering components and parts is causing a lot of disruption and concern to the supply chain.
- The process opens up manufacturing to new sorts of attacks, making infrastructure more susceptible to breaches than energy or water.
- Current design tools and analysis tools are not set up to handle the idea of changing geometry or changing material within a single component.
- Companies like Minecraft/Microsoft/HP are joining forces on file formats, which is a development, not a guarantee.
## Methodology
- Analysis based on viewing a physical component and explaining its design features (e.g., support structures).
- Comparison of technical processes: Comparing laser melting vs. electron beam melting.
- Analysis of market trends: Reviewing the hype cycle of new technologies using stock performance and job interest data.
- Scientific measurement: Using X-ray/CT scanning to determine internal structures and measure efficiency improvements (15%).
## References Cited
- Forbes: Reported job increase for 3D printing growing more than 2,000 percent over the past five or six years.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The key takeaway is that design and manufacturing are now "only limited by our imagination."
- For the future, training and educational efforts must scale up to match industrial needs ("how do we train what do we teach").
- The speaker calls for continued advancement in technology, comparing it to the capability demonstrated by manipulating materials block by block like Minecraft.
## Implications & Consequences
- Better fuel economy and faster performance for vehicles due to lightweighting.
- Quicker recovery and getting out of the hospital faster due to bone-mimicking implants.
- The capability to print components makes the original processes of sourcing and shipping potentially obsolete.
- The ease of digital reproduction means patenting or protecting a CAD file is difficult, challenging existing IP frameworks.
- Increased susceptibility to cyber attacks in the manufacturing sector.
- The ability to create anti-counterfeit components fundamentally changes component authenticity.
## Open Questions
- How do we deal with IP and intellectual property when parts can be printed from a digital file?
- Does a printed component have to go through customs or get taxed if emailed a file?
- What is the appropriate legal framework: do we need to move to copywriting laws, like the song industry?
- What are the proper safety protocols for handling fine metal particles from this technology?
## Verbatim Moments
- "I need to fit in a circle actually I contend that it's because mainly this is how we've been making circles and holes for the past hundred or so years."
- "but one of the cool things that we couldn't make with any of our current technology that now we can do with additive manufacturing is actually change materials."
- "calling it additive because we are manufacturing final goods and products as I'll see and talked about there."
- "I can't get a patent on a CAD file or a digital file so what is this doing the IP and intellectual property do we need to move to copywriting in those sorts of things like we do in the song industry."
- "I think really where a lot of the excitement from additive manufacturing comes in is because it makes manufacturing fun again."
- "time will only tell how long circles or holes will remain circular and in the meantime it's very exciting to think that design and manufacturing now is only limited by our imagination."