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70 MMS April 2017 mmsonline.com ADDITIVE INSIGHTS Columnist We have all read the hype: You can 3D-print anything you want. Complexity is "free" when using 3D printing. Additive manufacturing is going to put machining facilities out of business. And so on. Anyone who has actually seen and worked in additive manufacturing—the layer-by-layer fabrica- tion of end-use parts—quickly realizes that the hype is much different from the reality. The reality is that AM is complicated, and we need agile and flexible machining facilities, along with creative and open-minded machining professionals, to help advance the technology and spur its adoption by the industry. Here's why: Consider the par t pictured on this page, a component for the front suspension of a Formula SAE race car designed and built by students at Pennsylvania State University. The part is made of titanium, Ti-6Al-4V to be exact, and was designed and optimized by Vincent Maranan, an under- graduate honors student working with Dr. Todd Palmer, a colleague of mine in the materials science and engineering department. Vincent was able to use readily available design, analysis and optimiza- tion codes to lightweight the part, which was then 3D-printed on a laser-based powder-fed fusion system, a common AM process for printing fully dense metal parts. A d d i t i v e l y m a n u f a c t u r i n g t h i s i n t r i c a t e geometry is relatively easy. The machine does not care whether it is "printing" a solid part or a complex lattice; it just tells the laser where to melt the material (a very fine powder in the case of powder-bed fusion systems) so that it solidi- fies into a solid part. There are numerous cave- ats, as one might guess, and the most important one—and perhaps the most relevant to readers interested in AM—is the use of support structures to ensure a successful build. Because the part is being fabricated layer by layer, the heating and cooling of the metal in each layer can cause the part to distort and the ends to warp up (like a potato chip) if overhanging geom- etries are not properly supported. As a result, you end up having to print the same part with nearly two dozen support structures and in the orientation illustrated in the image on page 72. Those new to Wanted: Flexible Shops and Open-Minded Pros AM is more complicated than the hype implies. It needs creative people to advance its adoption in this industry. TIMOTHY W. SIMPSON PAUL MORROW PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING DESIGN & MANUFACTURING PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY This component for the front suspension of a Formula SAE race car was 3D-printed from powdered titanium in a laser-based powder-fed fusion system.