Newport & Cardiff Materials Society (NCMS)

With its roots in the 1980s, 3D Printing (or Additive Manufacturing - AM), can no longer truly be called an "emerging technology”. Since its inception it has been adopted widely as a prototyping technique, however, despite its numerous advantages over traditional manufacturing processes, and significant positive media coverage, AM still struggles to gain ground as a mainstream manufacturing process. Challenges, including limited materials availability, property consistency, defect formation and poor surface quality, remain barriers to widespread adoption. This lecture highlights the ongoing work of Cardiff School of Engineering's High Value Manufacturing Group, ranging from material characterisation and new material development, to process simulation and optimisation, in aiming to bridge the gap between simply making prototypes, and manufacturing production components.

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