It’s all in the name

One day a couple of years ago, I looked up from my desk, glanced at a paper, and discovered that someone had invented 3D-Printing. Except they hadn’t.

Once I worked out what was being described I realised that I wrote about it 20-odd years ago (in a publication called Time Compression Technologies) while working with one of my CAD clients. So long ago that it’s no-longer in the magazine’s online archive.

So what’s the fuss over 3D-Printing all about given that it would appear people were using the technique decades ago? Why do I feel so annoyed by the current fashion to 3D-Print everything, and even more annoyed by the media’s fascination for 3D-Printing?

To my mind, it’s all in the name – and I’m jealous. Jealous that I didn’t think of that name at the time, because I’m sure it would have got masses of publicity for my client and made a personal fortune for me. But I didn’t, and instead focussed my efforts on writing complicated technical descriptions for niche publications read by the handful of engineers and industrial designers who ‘got it’. And because a few more of them eventually got it, we’re here today. Only it’s got a new name and EVERYONE gets it. Or do they?

3D-Printing is (in my opinion) wrongly used by the press more often than it used correctly. What is often meant by 3D-Printing is actually Additive Manufacturing or AM. This refers to manufacturing techniques where components are made by adding material rather than cutting or moulding material.

3D-Models

Dyson DC01 (source : www.dyson.co.uk)

‘Back in the day’, we called it ‘Rapid Prototyping’. 3D CAD products were just becoming mainstream (though they were still hugely expensive) and their ability to create new designs through computer models was opening new doors for engineers and industrial designers. Vehicle manufacturers were using them to create simulations of aerodynamic performance and even crash-testing designs before building a single car. Domestic appliance designers were using 3D CAD to create visually exciting products that also happened to be vastly more efficient. It was all going on.

SLS 63 AMG (C 197) 2009

Around that time, software developers created Computer Aided Manufacturing – the CAM part of CAD/CAM. Linking the two ideas meant that they could create instructions to drive computer controlled tools straight from the CAD model. The design was simply converted into the code needed to guide milling machines, lathes, etc. in order to create the moulds and other tools needed for production.

Rapid Prototyping

In the early 1980s some bright spark realised that they could use a CAD/CAM tool path to guide a laser. The laser could then be used to precisely cut materials, or to cure photo-hardening polymers. This could then be used to create prototype products quickly and much more cheaply than first creating the production tooling. Users (increasingly ‘consumers’) could react to the design before it was committed to manufacturing. The rapid prototype was born.

At the time this technology was still expensive. As well as the complex software and powerful workstations needed, you needed complex devices to manage unpleasant chemicals, and you needed skilled model-makers to assemble the parts and create a realistic finish. But it was still better than pulling a few out of a warehouse only to find the public prefers a different colour and wants it longer.

3D-Printing – so what is all the fuss about?

The buzz-phrase is ‘democratisation of technology’. Basically, as the idea has become more mainstream, people have found new ways of doing cheaper, better and simpler.

While writing about Rapid Prototyping in the late nineties, a parallel technology was also developing – Inkjet printing. This was originally designed for 2-D printing on paper and similar substrates. Combining this technology with materials that could be deposited to create a 3-D object has given rise to a whole group of relatively cheap ‘deposition’ devices for 3D-Printing and AM.

So let’s look as a few 3D-Printing technologies

Stereolithography

A prototype air vent made using stereolithography (source: www.wb-3d.com)

The Granddad of 3-D printing. Developed in the early 1980’s, lasers are used to create layer-upon-layer of the model from photo-hardened polymer resin. The laser shines on the surfaces and the printed item is lowered into the bath of polymer layer-by-layer as it cures. This technique was one of the first used by industrial designers to create ‘rapid prototypes’ of products (such as mobile ‘phones) for consumer testing.

Stereolithography – how it works (source: www.i.materialise.com)

The development of stereolithography led to the creation of the STL file format, widely used by multiple 3D-Printing technologies. It can create accurate models, but is a complex and expensive technique, and strength depends on the material used.

Metal sintering

This is really an AM technique uses a computer controlled laser to melt metal powder to form a design. It is also sometimes used with plastics. Early techhniques had names such as selective laser sintering, direct metal laser sintering, and selective laser melting, but they all work in much the same way.

Sintering (source: www.plunkettassociates.co.uk)
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (source: www.plunkettassociates.co.uk)

Items made like this can be used in production or for prototyping, but like all 3D-Printing techniques, design and the material used have a big influence on strength and accuracy, and it is therefore not always a suitable technique for all production components. Additional design work and modified tool paths might also be required to achieve desired results.

For long production runs, other techniques might be quicker or cheaper, but metal sintering opens new opportunities for customised and short run components.

Fused deposition modelling

Fortus 400mc – professional FDM system – priced around $185,000

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is the technique that most people think of when they use the phrase 3D-Prnting.

FDM most frequently refers to models made of small beads of thermoplastic resin that is deposited hot and sticks to previous layers as it cools. This is a highly scalable technique that can be used for everything from hobbyist and model making uses, to creating complex industrial components for test rigs or specialist equipment.

Fortus 400mc – professional FDM system – priced around $185,000

Again, strength depends of design and material. It often has a ‘grained’ strength like wood, which exhibits great tensile or compressive strength in one direction but might be weak in torsion, or deformable in another direction.

Finish

The resolution of the finished item depends on many factors, and use of 3D-Printing and AM techniques should always take this into account when considering any application. But let’s face it – this group of technologies are here to stay.

Industrial 3D-Printers costing six-figure sums are in common use, and hobbyist machines costing just a few hundred pounds are mainstream. There are other technologie0s, and all are becoming more refined and everyday.

I’m proud to have done my bit for stereo lithography, rapid prototyping and 3D-Printing. I just wish I’d thought of the name.

Industria Grafica quotes Brian Minards on design

Brian Minards

Industria Grafica has quoted Brian Minards, Precision PR’s branding and graphic design associate. Brian discusses the part that graphic design will play at this year’s IPEX 2017 exhibition.

Informa, organisers of IPEX, are keen to show how technologies are making print more relevant. Digital printing is making true personalisation a reality, and providing useful data for on-pack proof-of-purchase promotions. These same technologies mean that designers and printers must work more collaboratively to exploit their capabilities.

What role do you think that design plays in today’s mixed-up-media world, and particularly in your business?

Coming from America?

In 1999, when I started work for Hyperion as EMEA PR Manager, the internet had already begun to change the international communications landscape. Companies could no-longer conduct discrete communications and media relations programmes on a country-by-country basis. What was said in California on Tuesday could be known to UK and European journalists on Wednesday morning. And what was done in France on Thursday could be read about in Canada on Friday.  This immediately brought huge challenges for the co-ordination of announcements and consistency of messages that many people still find difficult to grasp.

Let’s centralise

Some organisations take the view that all communications should be best handled centrally; carefully crafted and controlled messages can be distributed across the internet through ‘wire’ services and email lists. While it might first appear that this makes global communication simpler, there are a few ‘barriers’ when it comes to Europe, particularly for international technology businesses.

Language

Europeans speak HUNDREDS of different languages and dialects. The 28 nations of the European Union alone have 24 different ‘official’ languages. And while many publications are in English, outside the UK and Ireland, most are not. The small editorial teams at trade publications or business desks rarely have time to rework your story into local language. To translate a simple press release into all of EU’s 24 official languages would cost thousands of Dollars/Pounds/Euros. You therefore need to be very precise about where your target audience resides, what they read and the best way to reach them.

Social Media

You can’t rely on Social Media in Europe. Yes, most of the search engines and social media platforms used in Europe are owned by US corporations, and Europeans are familiar with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. But uptake varies widely from country to country, and some favour Twitter over Facebook, or Instagram over YouTube. In addition you have the complexity of regional offerings such as Xing in Germany, fulfilling the role of LinkedIn for many German-speakers.

Value your Journalist

European journalists like to feel valued – just like US journalists. If you have a story for them, they like to know it is for them and not just for everyone or anyone. Most countries have ‘national’ newspapers read across the country, and many have national broadcasters such as the BBC. These top-tier publications have real impact everyday on their readers and viewers. It’s therefore important to deal with them strategically and to build long-term relationships offering value and insight. Exactly the same applies to trade journals. They may have relatively small readerships, but they are often deeply embedded in their industry.

Changes in international PR

I am fascinated by the changes within European media during the last 20 years, brought about by the internet and globalisation. But I find the things that have stayed the same are even more interesting.

The complexities by the VP of Corporate Communications / Director of PR should never be underestimated, particularity when the organisation is expanding into Europe or developing its European markets. In my experience, local understanding and a strategic approach are critical success factors.