Meltio
Machinery : Additive Manufacturing : Fabricated Metal
Designed for industry without the need for industrial infrastructure. Meltio’s Laser Metal Deposition process is built around wire, the safest, cleanest and lowest cost metal feedstock in the market. Achieve exceptional mechanical properties using single wire, dual wire or wire and powder materials. Meltio’s process currently supports steel, titanium and inconel alloys.
Assembly Line
🖨️ AI and 3D printing: Ai Build’s Daghan Cam and Luke Rogers on simplifying large-format 3D printing with AI
Ai Build has already partnered with a number of leading 3D printer hardware manufacturers, including Hans Weber Maschinenfabrik, Meltio, KUKA, Evo3D, CEAD, and Massive Dimension. Through these partnerships, the company incorporates a wide range of large-format 3D printers into their Ai Lab workshop. Here, the hardware is used to test, develop, verify, and integrate Ai Build’s software for a growing range of applications. Whilst Cam could not disclose too many names, global engineering solutions firm Weir Group and aerospace manufacturer Boeing were pinpointed as key customers employing AiSync software.
Ai Build’s key product is its AiSync software, an AI-driven toolpath optimization and quality control platform. Regarding toolpath optimization, it was announced earlier this year that Ai Build had developed a process which allows users to create advanced 3D printing toolpaths using natural language prompts. This feature, called Talk to AiSync, allows users to input simple text, such as “slice the part with 2mm layer height.” This text is then translated into machine instructions to produce the desired 3D printed part.
Key to this feature is large language AI models. AiSync uses OpenAI on the back end, with GPT-4 running the software’s natural language processing. “With the addition of large language models, we are able to translate simple English words, plain sentences, into a stack of workflow that we create on our software,” explained Cam. “The goal is to make it super accessible to inexperienced users by making the user experience really smooth.”
US Navy installs Phillips Additive Hybrid metal 3D printing solution on USS Bataan
A hybrid metal 3D printing solution from Phillips Corporation has been installed on the USS Bataan. The system combines Meltio laser metal deposition technology with a CNC control mill from Haas. The solution will be used for the manufacturing of spare parts and repairs on board the Bataan.
Phillips says that the TM-1 platform that is included in the hybrid system has been proven to operate reliably in an afloat environment aboard several aircraft carriers. Integrating additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies within one system increases efficiency and reduces waste when compared with traditional machining according to Phillips.
The US Navy advanced efforts to improve self-sufficiency for deployed ships and their crews, while reducing supply chain lead times by using AM. According to Phillips, this is the first permanent installation of a metal 3D printer aboard a ship.