3D print show

Consultant Editor Ken Brookes visited the recent 3D Print Show in London and finds that additive manufacturing is proving addictive. The low-density, high-temperature, high-strength titanium alloy Ti/6Al/4V alloy is a good choice for demonstrating the process and was used by Loughborough for most of the samples displayed. More mundane but also more commercial were the jewelry exhibits of ES Technology of Daventry, Northants, part of the Hofmann Innovation Group and manufacturers of the ConceptLaser additive manufacturing machine. With advanced computer programming, each could be customized to suit the needs of a specific customer. With more elaborate or complex designs, fewer components are made at a time, but may use fewer, more strategically placed supports requiring less postproduction clean-up.