In metal additive manufacturing, there’s a great deal of misinformation floating around. The mass media has popularized it, and made it look like a process which is capable of more than it really is, while underplaying just how advantageous it could be.
In the video above, we spoke with John Tenbusch, VP at Linear AMS, a Moog Company, an early adopter of additive manufacturing technology.
“We actually started 3D printing with metals back in 2005,” said Tenbusch. “When we bought our first machine, we used it for low volume aluminum injection molds, and we never thought it would take off like it has today. Other than General Electric, I think Linear AMS has been doing this longer than almost anyone else in North America.”
Today, metal additive manufacturing brings with it a number of advantages including cooling of injection molds.
Linear AMS has been offering conformal cooling services for nearly six years.
“If you have an injection mold, one little portion of that part could be delaying the cycle time or causing a quality defect,” Tenbusch said. “You can put a conformal cooled insert in that area and targeting that local spot could give you dramatic results in quality and cycle time reduction.”
To learn more about the advantages of metal additive manufacturing and how to approach companies like Linear AMS, watch the video above or visit www.linearams.com.