IMTS 2024 Conference: Additive Manufacturing for Production: Why Repeatability Matters, and How To Get There

Wednesday September 11 9:00 AM CST
IMTS34 Room W192-A

Learn about the presentation
As additive manufacturing expands from prototyping to production, process capability becomes a critical topic. Unlike prototyping, production demands a level of precision and reliability that hinges upon the ability to reproduce outcomes with predictable variability.

The essence of repeatability lies in its capacity to facilitate the correction of deviations in a predictable manner, ensuring that manufactured parts consistently adhere to target tolerances. When 3D printing prototypes, the goal is to make the first print iteration the best that can be achieved. When additively manufacturing production parts, the objective is to find ways to reproduce the same parts with consistent dimensions as many times as needed.

Traditional manufacturing uses several techniques to achieve predictable results, among them prototyping and simulations. 3D printing achieves predictability by using the exact same process that will be used for the production phase. This is only possible when the process is predictable.

This session discusses how to use the precision of your 3D printing process to reproduce more accurate parts - repeatedly. It will cover contributing factors like geometry, materials; how to mitigate uncertainty and unpredictability of the different causes for error using intelligent software; and how to understand photopolymer behavior. Lastly, it will focus on the most critical element of all: the process capabilities that enable all of the above.

Meet your presenters
Michal Diga, P3 Origin product director at Stratasys, is an industrial engineer with over 20 years of experience in global companies from start-ups to Fortune 500’s.  She started as a software developer and moved to product management and business roles. Her career spans across multiple domains, driving solutions from vision to the field, with industrial manufacturing, digital transformation, enterprise software solutions, and additive manufacturing. Michal published several patents on software/IoT in manufacturing. She is passionate about solving challenges with technology to help customers succeed.

Mark Savage, PhD, is the founder of 3D Printing Consultancy Services, with more than 25 years of experience in research and development. He spent 10 years in academia working for The University of Warwick's Advanced Technology Group and researching Advanced Manufacturing technologies for Jaguar Land Rover. He has more than 10 years in the 3D printing industry leading advanced technology and 3D printing with TE Connectivity, a leading company in the electronic connectors industry.  Savage drove 3D printing through TE's Corporate Technology as a senior manager and global leader for the Center of Excellence in Additive Manufacturing. He joined TE's leadership team within the Aerospace Division and created an R&D team tasked with utilizing 3D printing to manufacture connectors for the aerospace industry.

Chris Shipman has dedicated the past 15 years to advancing polymer additive manufacturing, addressing challenges across the automotive, medical, aerospace, and consumer sectors. With a foundation in mechanical engineering, Chris initially ventured into the startup ecosystem, where he developed his skills before joining TE. At TE, he has pursued ambitious goals in additive manufacturing, transforming his passion into a career. Chris thrives on solving complex and emerging challenges using cutting-edge 3D printing technology.