11th IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems FrDT1.

1
The International Federation of Automatic Control
May 22-24, 2013. São Paulo, Brazil

3D Printing, a Maturing Technology

Karel Brans

Materialise NV, Technologielaan 15, 3001 Leuven Belgium (Tel: +3216396758; e-mail: [email protected])

Abstract: It is likely that more articles on 3 D Printing (or Additive Manufacturing) have featured in
mainstream media over the past two years than during the entire 25 years that the technology has been
around. This paper briefly introduces the 3D Printing technology and explains the unique benefits
compared to traditional manufacturing methods. Some of the most important reasons why the technology
is currently attracting so much attention are discussed. Significant improvements in equipment, materials
and software have enabled high end applications for 3D Printed end use parts. This is illustrated by
examples of some of the most successful applications. Moving towards real manufacturing also brings
new challenges in quality assurance. This paper presents a software solution for data management and
quality assurance in 3D Printing. At the same time, low end variants of the technology are becoming
more and more affordable for consumers. The question is raised whether people will be printing their
own parts at home in the future.
Keywords: 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, Applications

1. SHORT INTRODUCTION TO 3D PRINTING There are many material options available, ranging from
plastics to metals, ceramics and even eatable substances like
1.1 3D Printing Technology chocolate.

In contrast to traditional 2D printing, where only one layer is

printed, 3D Printing builds several layers on top of each other 1.2 Benefits of 3D Printing
in order to get a three dimensional model layer by layer. For
most processes, the individual layers are very thin (10 – 200 Many books have covered the benefits of 3D Printing, e.g.
µm is a common range) so that the staircase effect across the “Fabricated: the new world of 3D Printing”, by H. Lipson
layers remains limited. The original Computer Aided Design and M. Kurman. The most important ones, which support the
(CAD) is converted into slices which represent the layers that applications discussed in section 2 are summarized here:
will be printed and which are sent to the machine. Figure 1 Because no tooling or traditional machining is required, it
shows two examples of 3D Printing processes, one using becomes possible to have single lot sizes at affordable costs.
powders as raw material (a laser or electron beam sinters and
melts powder together) and one that uses a liquid resin as raw Complexity is for free. In sharp contrast to traditional
material (a UV light solidifies exposed material in each machining, there is no additional cost for a much increased
layer). Dedicated software solutions, such as Magics by geometrical complexity. The complex features can fulfil a
Materialise, have been developed to prepare the CAD files number of functions, for example cushioning, as shown in the
for 3D Printing. topology optimized chair in Figure 2.

Fig. 1. 3D Printing: layer by layer (example of a powder bed Fig. 2. Complex light weight design, enabled by 3D Printing
process above and a resin based process below) as presented by A. Kawamoto (Toyota) in 2012.

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Although it might take up to several hours or even days to
make an object, this still results in a short lead time to obtain
a physical product from a CAD file.
In principal, all it takes to set up a manufacturing facility is a
computer and a 3D printer. Except for some finishing
operations, no manual labour by skilled technicians is
needed.
The unique benefits of 3D Printing have also been covered
extensively in mainstream media over the past few years.
Well known papers and magazines such as The New York
Times, the Economist, and many more, including Jeremy Fig. 3. Surgical guides used for a malunion case (Materialise)
Rifkin, have hailed 3D Printing as the enabling technology
for a third Industrial Revolution. About 5000 patients are treated every month with this
technique by Materialise and the numbers are only expected
2. END USE PARTS APPLICATIONS to grow in the coming years.

Research institutes worldwide are focussing on how to make

2.2 Hearing Aids
the process even more performing in terms of speed or
material properties.
One of the greatest success stories of 3D Printing can be
found in the hearing aid industry. Every person’s ear is
This is important, but this section discusses very successful
unique and so is every hearing aid design because a high
business models that can already be achieved by
quality (in the ear) hearing aid needs to match the inner ear
understanding the benefits of 3D Printing and selecting the
shape perfectly. Before the introduction of 3D Printing these
right application.
custom hearing aids were made via silicon moulds, a very
labour intensive process. The process was also not reliable,
Even without having the optimal material or process
many parts were recalled (up to 25%) and the quality
performance, some of the main benefits that every 3D
depended purely on skill of technicians (L. den Hartog).
printing process offers are so significant that they easily
outweigh the potential drawbacks. One of the biggest challenges in the digital manufacturing
route is the data handling and design. An impression of the
2.1 Surgical Guides ear is taken and scanned which results in a point cloud. This
point cloud needs to be turned into a hearing aid design in a
Because every person is unique, 3D Printing and medical short time frame. Thanks to a dedicated software solution,
applications form a natural match. Surgical guide technology developed by Materialise and Phonak, called RSM, this can
offers significant benefits for the patient and the surgeon. now be done in about 3 to 4 minutes. The workflow is shown
in Figure 4. This software solution is key to the success of
The example in Figure 3 represents a “malunion” case which this business model. Over a million custom hearing aids are
will be used to illustrate the application. The radius of the designed every year. The design can be done in any location
patient grew back into a wrong position after a fracture. To worldwide and the part can be printed locally, close to the
correct this, the bone needs to be cut (osteotomy), customer.
repositioned and fixed with a standard implant.
In a first step, the surgeon receives a 3D model from the
patient’s bone which is obtained from 2D medical scan data.
This can be done with Mimics by Materialise. The surgeon Software to design
can then perform the surgery virtually in a dedicated software Scanning of the
impression
the hearing aid

environment (SurgiCase). He indicates how to cut the radius 3D Printing of

and reposition the bone and this is translated into drilling and the hearing aid

cutting locations on the current shape of the bone. Finally, a

dedicated guide is designed so that it fits perfectly on the
surface of the bone and identifies the locations for cutting and Taking the
impression
drilling. The guide is printed in polyamide and the entire Quality Control &
assembly
process can be completed in only a few days.
With this instrument, the surgery can be performed in a much
more secure way and in a much shorter time (as shown by Fig. 4. Process flow for the production of 3D printed custom
Pietsch et al.) which is more cost efficient. Thanks to reduced hearing aid shells
blood loss (Pietsch et al.) and reduced swelling after surgery,
the patient’s recovery time is also reduced.

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The availability of small 3D Printers which could be eliminate transportation costs and related CO2 emissions
deployed locally in combination with the automated design of because part files can be sent via internet and printed locally
individual hearing aid shells caused a revolution in the and there would never be a shortage or over supply (and thus
hearing aid industry. As an example given by Phonak, one of scrap) because only the parts that are needed would be
the main players in the market, Figure 5 shows the transition produced on demand.
of about 20% of 3D printed custom hearing aid shells to
almost 100% within about two years. One of the main conclusions was that, in order for the
business model to be economically feasible, it is important
that the spare parts are designed for 3D Printing, exploiting
all the benefits this technology offers, rather than making
exact copies of the original parts (made by traditional
technologies). A great example of this is the drive pedestal
designed by Siemens, Figure 7. The original part is made of a
rigid frame with a flexible rubber ring within it to absorb
vibrations. The design for 3D Printing is a single part which
contains several elements that emulate the rubber element.
The outer frame is topology optimized so that a minimal
amount of material is used. It is a complex part which could
not be made with traditional techniques but, as discussed, the
complexity does not add to the cost.
Fig. 5. Adoption of 3D Printing for custom hearing aids at
Phonak (L. den Hartog)

2.3 Spare Parts on Demand

Over the product life cycle, there are two phases were
relatively small series are required: the prototyping phase and
the wear out phase, as shown in Figure 6. This last one occurs
after the part has been taken in use and spare parts are
necessary. 3D Printing has been used since the beginning of Fig. 7. Siemens Drive Pedestal: original design (left) and
its existence for prototyping, but why not for spare parts? design for 3D Printing (right) as designed in DirectSpare
There would be important benefits compared to traditional
spare parts supplies.
DirectSpare also highlighted the need for a dedicated data
management system to assure part quality and traceability.
Demand Making sure the printed part has the required mechanical
properties and that these can be repeated every time the part
is built, is where the big difference with prototyping lies. A
Product Life Cycle data management system for 3D Printing is an important part
Prototypes Spare Parts of the solution. Such a system was developed by Materialise
and is discussed in section 3.
Fig. 6. Evolution of product demand over the lifecycle of a As 3D Printing processes will improve in terms of available
product, indicating the potential for 3D Printing and the shift materials and process speed, it will become more realistic to
from prototyping to manufacturing of end use (spare) parts not only redesign and print the spare parts, but also to design
the original parts for 3D Printing and provide the customer
Currently, spare parts are produced along with the actual use with CAD files of the parts so that he can print his own spare
parts and are being kept in warehouses. When spare parts are parts when needed.
needed they are shipped worldwide to the required location.
The amount of available spare parts is never right, i.e. or Some companies, like Nokia, are already starting to apply
there are too many parts so that the overstock needs to be this business model. For their Lumia 820 model, Nokia made
turned into scrap or there are not enough spare parts so that CAD files of the phone cover available for printing in 2013.
valuable equipment cannot be repaired.
Considering the evolution of low cost 3D printers, customers
The concept of using 3D Printing for Spare Parts was could even print their parts at home in the future. This is
investigated in “DirectSpare”, a European project, discussed in section 4.
coordinated by Materialise, with 16 partners from various
European countries and four companies who tested the
concept for some of their products: Eurocopter (EADS), 3. QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR AM
BMW, Flying-Cam and Siemens. It could potentially
eliminate all warehousing costs because parts are kept Setting up processes that guarantee the quality of large series
digitally in software databases instead of warehouses, of end use parts is something that is relatively new to the 3D

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Printing industry. Certainly for these applications, Additive 3.2 A Dedicated Software Solution
Manufacturing (AM) is more suitable term. A striking
example is that, until 2011, no dedicated AM industry All of the requirements described can be covered with the
standards were available. Every company was working dedicated system which was partially developed in
according their own principles and habits which made it DirectSpare: StreamicsTM.
impossible to compare qualities between different processes,
service providers, material suppliers, etc. Datasheets were Figure 8 shows the different departments in an AM factory.
always made according to different measurement techniques. Streamics brings all relevant data from all departments
Today, this situation still exists to a large extent, but change together in a central database.
is coming. The American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) started with an initiative for standards for AM in
2011. Also in several European countries, national initiatives
for standards were established and recently the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) also started to work
on global ISO standards for 3D Printing. This is another
example of how the technology is maturing.

3.1 Data Management Complexity

AM needs a dedicated system for data management and

quality assurance because of the complex and process
specific way data are moving through the factory.
In the prototyping phase, there will be many design iterations,
all of which need to be stored individually. Also every small
modification of each design iteration needs to be stored Fig. 8. 3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing environment
individually, such as rescale operations. Parts are placed on with central data management system connecting all typical
the build platform of the machine. Sometimes, sacrificial departments: design and research, project management, data
support structures are needed and also these data need to be preparation, AM Build shop floor, Post Processing,
stored. Because the exact position and orientation of parts on Management and Quality Control
the platform might influence the part quality, every prepared
platform needs to be stored along with process settings and With this system, the complete history of every physical part
environmental conditions (temperature, oxygen levels, laser that comes of the machine can be traced. To link the right
power if applicable, etc.). Beside the 3D files, also the slice data to the right physical part, the physical part gets a label
files need to be kept in the database and there are many more that corresponds to a unique part ID in the database. This
factors which relate to the material and process. Once the part label is applied automatically on a predefined place on the
comes off the machine a set of finishing operations are part design. This is illustrated in Figure 9 which shows a
required with according quality tests which all need to be platform of turbine blades with unique labels.
saved as well. For certain medical applications (e.g.
orthopaedic implants) it is a common requirement to save
data of each produced part for up to 70 years. The aerospace
industry has similar requirements (P. Gennaro). It is clear that
generic data management systems cannot cope with the
specifics of AM.
In a research environment, the machine operators typically
want to have access to as many parameters as possible in
order to tune their process. Companies who are active in
prototyping for many years and who have skilled operators
also like to be able to optimize process parameters. However,
for real manufacturing, once the part has gone through a Fig. 9. To ensure data traceability, each turbine blade gets a
research and validation cycle, the number of options to unique label from the data management system
machine operators should be very limited and ideally, the job
files should be sent directly to the machines without much
interaction in order to avoid human errors. Especially in The users who work together on the central software system
can be assigned different roles: e.g. researcher, operator, etc.
medical applications or aerospace, this is important to have a
process certified. The access rights for each role can be set so that, for
example, a machine operator cannot change the process
parameters anymore on the shop floor. The system also
enables a more direct link to the machines which improves
automation and reliability. This link is established via a

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component that is called a “Build Processor” and it is also offered to the users is always agreed upon together with the
this component that can retrieve information back from the machine manufacturer.
machine in order to save it in the database as logs (reports)
after each build or as real time data (Figure 10). Low cost 3D printers are already being sold in quite large
numbers (23.265 estimated installations in 2011 by Wohlers
Associates), but it would be challenge for consumers to get
quality parts from these machines. To print parts like the
Build Processor
Export Nokia cover, discussed in section 2, the more realistic
•
•
STL
Slices
scenario for the short term, is that customers will rely on
• Job file local 3D print shops, similar to the copy centres we know
today.
MACHINE
Settings retrieval
5. CONCLUSIONS
Log retrieval RT Monitoring
• Reports • Sensors
• Images This paper illustrates how 3D Printing is maturing and
attracting much attention from main stream media. The main
benefits are discussed and examples of successful business
Fig. 10. Two way communication between dedicated AM cases for 3D Printing are given. A dedicated data
software and AM machines via Build Processors management system for 3D Printing to support the
manufacture of end use parts is presented. Some components
of this system can also be used in the low end market which
Another advantage of the build processor is that it can is growing rapidly at the moment.
communicate slice files from the dedicated AM directly to
the machine. This is relevant because the size of standard 3D REFERENCES
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slicing software on the machines would often be unable to P. Gennaro, Serial Manufacturing of Certified AM
process these files. Magics works with advanced file formats Aerospace Components at Avio: Phased Implementation of a
which represent these same complex models in much smaller Quality Assurance System, Materialise World Conference
files which can be sliced much more easily. 2012
Kawamoto (2012), Prototyping lightweight car seat structures
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Build Processor, can play an important role here. As in real
manufacturing, consumers do not want to be overloaded with ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
options and settings, they just want to get their part printed in
the easiest, most automated way. The Build Processor can in The DirectSpare project was funded by the European
this case be compared to print drivers as we know them in 2D Commission under the 7th Framework Program. (Grant
printing. The Build Processor will connect to the 3D printer Agreement 213424-2). The project partners wish to thank the
and offer only a limited set of relevant options to the users, European Commission for their support.
perhaps with the option of going to “advanced settings”,
similar to 2D print drivers. The exact workflow and options

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