At Rapid: A 73-Year-Old Machine Shop’s Journey into Metal AM
Imperial Machine & Tool Co. presents at Rapid 2017 about incorporating metal additive manufacturing into a traditional machine shop environment.
“A 73-Year-Old Machine Shop's Journey into Metal Additive Manufacturing” is the title of a talk that Imperial Machine & Tool will give at Rapid, the annual conference and tradeshow dedicated to 3D printing and additive manufacturing. Rapid this year is May 8-11 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Imperial Machine & Tool is a fourth-generation family manufacturing business with a long history of investing in leading-edge capabilities. The shop was using jig grinders in the 1950s and it was an early adopter of numerical control. Current President Chris Joest sees additive manufacturing as a logical step on that trajectory; the company now has two selective laser melting machines from SLM Solutions. We’ve covered the shop’s journey into AM most recently in this article detailing how additive has come into its own in this shop, now following most or all of the same planning and workflow procedures as the traditional manufacturing operations.
Imperial’s presentation at Rapid is currently scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, at 10:15 a.m. The company will also have a booth on the show floor, exhibiting components made from the combination of SLM and precision machining.
Related Content
-
New Zeda Additive Manufacturing Factory in Ohio Will Serve Medical, Military and Aerospace Production
Site providing laser powder bed fusion as well as machining and other postprocessing will open in late 2023, and will employ over 100. Chief technology officer Greg Morris sees economic and personnel advantages of serving different markets from a single AM facility.
-
Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Machine Tools Continue to Make Gains (Includes Video)
The hybrid machine tool is an idea that continues to advance. Two important developments of recent years expand the possibilities for this platform.
-
DMG MORI: Build Plate “Pucks” Cut Postprocessing Time by 80%
For spinal implants and other small 3D printed parts made through laser powder bed fusion, separate clampable units resting within the build plate provide for easy transfer to a CNC lathe.