Hand in Hand with Additive Manufacturing

Understanding the role and importance of material characterization

Additive Manufacturing (AM) dates to the late 1980’s when George Michael and Whitney Houston were topping the pop charts. And Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic had just entered the world. Messi and Djokovic have come a long way since then in their respective sports, and so has AM. Albeit slowly! Starting off as a prototyping tool using polymer materials, AM has now reached a level of maturity where many large companies are now using it for full-scale production. According to Wohlers Associates final part production represents 33.7% of all AM applications – the largest segment. And with that has come an expanding portfolio of materials, including composites, ceramics, metals, and even biomaterials.

So what is still holding AM back? Quality control becomes increasingly important when making parts for end-use applications – especially in risk-adverse sectors such as oil and gas, medical, and of course aerospace. These industries are highly regulated and require specific certification to get a product or component approved – which takes time. In fact, many large manufacturers have been developing and qualifying their materials and processes for 10-20 years, and only now are they starting to enjoy the fruits of that labor. Also, as AM is a relatively new approach to manufacturing many of the industry guidelines and standards required to support manufacturers are still being developed – but they’re coming!

Role of Material Characterization

What is often under-estimated when discussing the evolution and development of AM is the role of material characterization. Characterization is a key component of the certification process and contributes significantly to meeting quality standards – in fact many of the standards in development relate to material characterization. How? By providing insights into key characteristics such as particle size and shape, chemical composition, thermal characteristics, and component integrity, for example.  Materials analysis enables manufacturers, and suppliers, to ensure the quality, safety, and performance of their feedstock materials, and parts.

But it’s not just quality control where material characterization is important. It is fundamental in the research and development of novel materials, whether that be polymers, ceramics, alloys, or bio-inks. And for refining existing AM processes – as well as developing new ones. Basically, it’s important across the entire value chain.

Learn about the importance of material characterization for additive manufacturing

To highlight the importance of material characterization for AM; Malvern Panalytical, in partnership, with Netzsch and the University of Sheffield, will be hosting a virtual characterization seminar next month. It will take place between 11 am and 4:30 pm (CEST) on 13th September and will focus on the requirements and techniques for characterizing and qualifying materials (and parts) for additive manufacturing. The event will feature speakers from both academia and industry, and showcase some of Malvern Panalytical’s and Netzsch’s analytical tools for AM.

To see the list of talks and speakers we’ve got lined up, simply register for this FREE event.

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