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PRESS RELEASE
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3D Systems to demonstrate aerospace manufacturing leadership with end-to-end solutions
Friday, 10 November 2017

3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) announced today that it is showcasing its additive manufacturing expertise for the Aerospace and Defense industry, in conjunction with select customers, next week at the Dubai Airshow. As the inventor of 3D printing, the company offers industry-leading end-to-end manufacturing solutions designed for the Aerospace and Defense industry, which are comprised of the broadest portfolio of software, technology, materials, and services capabilities. These solutions help customers produce parts more quickly at significantly lighter weight while retaining tensile strength with lower total cost of operation (TCO) as compared to traditional manufacturing processes.

Dubai Airshow attendees will be able to see 3D production solutions developed with Aerospace customers at the 3D Systems booth, stand 1560.

3D Systems' Bryan Hodgson, advanced aerospace applications for 3D Systems, will be leading a keynote presentation at this year's event discussing the benefits of industrializing 3D printing for Aerospace. The keynote will be held at the air show's conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems on November 15 at 12:40pm local time.

SLS and New Flame Retardant Material for Interior Cabin Parts

3D Systems' new DuraForm® ProX® FR1200 nylon material delivers FAR 25.853 compliance, meeting the flame retardancy thresholds required by the Aerospace market for interior cabin parts. The material meets AITM Smoke Density and Toxicity Requirements, and its non-halogenated formulation has a favorable health profile. Parts produced with DuraForm ProX FR1200 possess excellent surface quality and a vibrant white color that cannot be attained with competitive materials making it ideal for post-processing and painting. Using this material in conjunction with 3D Systems' SLS additive technology enables very fast, tool-free, on-demand production that accelerates supply chains while reducing inventory and time of aircraft on ground (AOG). The material is currently being certified by a major international airline.

Investment Casting for Dramatically Reduced Time and Cost

3D Systems is the leader in technologies and services for 3D printed investment casting patterns. The combination of its SLA additive manufacturing platforms, QuickCast® methodology, and materials delivers perfect surface finish with a lightweight, zero-ash burnout process. Customers, including Vaupell, use the Accura® CastPro Free material to produce antimony-free SLA casting patterns for Aerospace customers, delivering unprecedented speed and quality at a fraction of the cost of traditional methodologies. Andy Reeves, a Vaupell sales engineer for new business development, estimates that a specific 26-inch diameter part pattern can be produced with QuickCast on a 3D Systems ProX® 800 SLA 3D printer in two to three days for approximately $6,000 to $15,000. A traditionally produced tool for the same part could take anywhere from several months to more than a year at a cost of $200,000 to $300,000.

Direct Metal Printing for Mission-Critical, Risk-Averse Applications

3D Systems partners closely with many Aerospace companies to research, design and certify metal additive parts for the industry. A major European satellite-based system manufacturer is one such partner that is aggressively researching the technology with an aim to transform satellite design with 3D printed metal parts. 3D Systems' Direct Metal Printing (DMP) is now qualified and fully available for titanium in this manufacturer's applications enabling parts to be significantly lighter and noticeably more compact, with equal or superior tensile strength to traditionally manufactured parts. Today, for certain products like the satellites, 80 percent of metal parts are produced using 3D printing, replacing traditionally manufactured parts.

"3D Systems has a long history in the Aerospace and Defense industry, and many successful collaborations with our customers," said Bryan Hodgson, advanced aerospace applications, 3D Systems. "At this event, we're very excited to be showcasing several that deliver productivity, repeatability, durability, and effective total cost of operation for our customers."

Software Accelerates Progression from Prototyping to Production

In addition to providing technology, materials and professional services, 3D Systems has a complete software portfolio to support the digital manufacturing workflow, from Digitize, Design & Simulation to Manufacture, Inspect and Manage. The company's comprehensive portfolio empowers customers with advanced engineering tools designed to work directly with CAD data and increase accuracy and precision in manufacturing. The company delivers industrial-strength software solutions to support the Aerospace manufacturing workflow, enabling lightweight part design, rapid production of obsolete parts, and preparation for additive and traditional manufacturing. Attendees to Dubai Airshow 2017 are invited to the 3D Systems booth to see how 3D Systems' industry-leading Geomagic® Design X and Geomagic® Control X can be used for 3D scanning applications, including reverse engineering and CAD-based inspection.

Ushering in the Next Generation of Additive Manufacturing Solutions

3D Systems' end-to-end solutions for Aerospace and Defense are part of the company's broad additive manufacturing portfolio that enables them to deliver unique solutions tailored to their customers' workflows. Earlier this week, the company announced several new offerings that significantly strengthen the company's portfolio lineup giving them the broadest set of additive manufacturing software, services, and technologies in the industry – enabling them to address the widest array of customer applications across industries.

The announcement included new production plastic and metal materials, expansion of its leading suite of workflow software, next generation of printing systems enabling customers to scale from prototyping to production using the same materials, and a new professional services capability leveraging the company's 30 years of additive manufacturing experience, advanced applications expertise and global footprint.

Contact details from our directory:
3D Systems Computer-aided Design, CIM Software, Additive Manufacturing
Related directory sectors:
Metal Processes
Design Software
Computer Integrated Manufacturing