ADDITIVE

5 Big Themes in Additive Manufacturing at Formnext Forum: Austin

As manufacturing advances with additive, the advance increasingly emphasizes these five themes.
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Adding Additive Manufacturing to a CNC Machine Shop

With many types of metal and polymer 3D printing methods available, it might be difficult to identify the type that could be best implemented in your shop. Here is a rundown of these 3D printing processes along with how each can be used together effectively in a CNC machine shop.
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Contest Seeks Innovative End-Use 3D Printed Parts

The Cool Parts Showcase is looking for 3D printed components that are currently in use or show promise as future solutions.
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Gift a 3D Printer to an Employee?

Some shops have purchased inexpensive polymer 3D printers for their operations. Does it make sense to take this a step further and give (or loan) a sharp young employee one to experiment with at home? This small investment could pay off for your shop in different ways.
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Cutting Tools

Get an Inside Peek at 3D Printed Tooling

Booth features 3D-printed milling cutter, both a complete tool and a partial tool, to show internal cooling channels and other complex features.
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Turning Machines

3D Printing Creates a Window of Automation Opportunity

For this Omaha shop, periodic part inspection required an automated turning cell to pause production. Printing a plastic parts collection chute for delivery outside the cell solved this problem, and it turns out the shop has found 3D printing to be valuable in many other ways.
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5 Ways to Use Polymer 3D Printing on the Shop Floor

A low-cost desktop 3D printer has many potential uses in a production manufacturing environment, as a means of making durable tooling to support machining, inspection and more.
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Is 3D Printing in Your Shop or on Your Radar?

Recent shop visits reveal that some machining businesses have added/are considering adding 3D printing equipment, while others are content sending that work — for items such as polymer fixtures and jigs — to outside vendors.
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Swiss-Types

Video Tech Brief: Vacuum-Assist Collection of Small, Machined Parts

Marubeni Citizen-Cincom offers an optional vacuum collection system for very small parts machined on its Swiss-type CNC lathes to avoid losing or damaging parts. Main system components are 3D-printed made at its U.S. headquarters.
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Non-Machining Processes Worth Considering

Here are three in-house processes outside of machining parts from which your shop, employees and customers could benefit.
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