TCT Show 2019 — the place to see the latest products, applications and key trends shaping the rapidly changing
3-D printing industry — will take place at the National Exhibition Centre (near Birmingham) from 24 to 26 September.

Now in its 24th year, this event is set to showcase the latest additive-manufacturing (AM) technology solutions and innovations from nearly 300 leading international exhibitors, including HP, Ultimaker, Trumpf, BOC, Formlabs, Siemens and Renishaw.

With around 10,000 people from 80 countries expected to attend, visitors will also have the chance to gain insights from the world-class conference and seminar programmes held across four stages: TCT Summit, TCT Tech Stage, TCT
Introducing Stage and TCT Insights Stage.

Renowned for its high-calibre speakers, TCT Show 2019 will debut the TCT Summit, a user-led conference that will bring together industry experts and innovators.

Featuring presentations on the latest technologies, innovation and market intelligence, the TCT Summit will bring together leading authorities, engineers, designers and academics from the aerospace, automotive, rail, health-care and business sectors.

The TCT Tech Stage will this year host CPD-certified sessions on topics surrounding jewellery, powder metallurgy, metrology and plastics manufacturing.

Visitors are also invited to attend the panel session dedicated to software — hosted by Women in 3-D Printing and Cyant and featuring female leaders and pioneers in the 3-D printing and AM industry.

With the rapid development of AM technologies across all industry sectors, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with all the changes.

TCT Introducing Stage will showcase inspiring talks, live debates, and interactive sessions on the latest AM product innovations.

The three-day programme is led by some of TCT Show’s exhibitors, including Formlabs, Protolabs, EOS, Materialise and Fraunhofer IWU.

TCT Introducing Stage is designed to give all visitors, but especially newcomers, an opportunity to gain more knowledge on technological progress among like-minded professionals.

New for 2019, TCT Insights Stage will shine the spotlight on the essential aspects required to understand the entire spectrum of the current and emerging AM technologies.

The programme includes the ever-popular workshop on the fundamentals of AM, delivered by Graham Tromans and ideal for visitors new to the 3-D printing industry.

This stage will also host the TCT Additive Insight Podcast, presented live by the expert TCT Content Team.

By focusing on the past, present and future of additive manufacturing, three episodes of the podcast will: explore achievements and innovative 3-D printing breakthroughs; cover influential and pioneering technology currently showcased at the TCT Show; and provide a glimpse of the next generation of developments in the pipeline.

Also new is TCT Connect, which is hosted in association with HP.

The networking platform will provide an interactive networking space for professionals in the design-to-manufacturing industry where they can meet face-to-face, conduct business and build stronger relationships.

Birmingham-based SYS Systems (www.sys-uk.com), a Stratasys UK platinum partner, will team up with Telford-based Torus Group (an engineering and measurement specialist) at the TCT Show (Stand B70).

Torus (see page 25) has developed a unique part that has not been replicated anywhere else in the manufacturing industry.

Its 3-D printed filling assembly (for its top load and volume gauge machine) is a complex construction of channels, inserts and electrodes that allow water to flow in and out during bottle volume and crush-resistance testing.

The assembly is printed to an accuracy of 50µm on the Stratasys Objet260 Connex3; according to Torus, it has not only increased efficiency but also improved accuracy and reliability, to help meet the stringent demands of international clients.

Visitors to the SYS Systems stand will also be able to discover the Stratasys Fortus range and its capabilities for printing with Nylon 12 Carbon Fiber, an extremely light but tough engineering-grade thermoplastic that is increasingly being used to replace metal tooling, fixturing and end-use parts.

Nylon 12CF contains 35% chopped carbon fibres, compared with the 15% figure of its nearest rival, and it achieves 30 to 50% higher density on finished parts.

The line-up will be completed by Stratasys’ flagship J750, one of the ‘most powerful’ 3-D printing systems on the market.

With 360,000-plus available colour combinations, it enables users to create models that look, feel and operate like finished products, so that even the most imaginative ideas can be brought to life.

SYS Systems sales manager Rob Thompson said: “The TCT Show is one of the events we most look forward to.

It always proves an invaluable opportunity for the team to speak to customers old and new about the latest Stratasys technologies.

“We are very excited to be teaming up with Torus Group this year.

“The live demonstrations will really help to bring to life how innovative 3-D printing solutions are delivering major cost and efficiency benefits for UK manufacturers.

“Investing in 3-D printing is now easier and more cost-effective than ever.

"As well as our ‘trade in, trade up’ scheme, where we offer the price of an old 3-D printer back against a brand new Stratasys model, we have a range of flexible finance options available to cater for all budgets and circumstances.”

Celebrating the innovators, technologies and collaborators behind the leading examples of AM, 3-D printing, design and engineering around the world, the TCT Awards highlight world-leading projects and recognise the influential and innovative people working in the AM industry in the TCT Hall of Fame.

Three new awards will debut this year: the TCT Women in 3-D Printing Innovator Award, the Inspex Application Award and the Inspex Hardware Award.

Hosted by tech journalist and presenter Georgie Barratt, the ceremony will see the 3-D printing world come together to celebrate winners in 15 categories.

The finalists include Sauber Motorsport AG, Ford Motor Co, the NHS, Whirlpool EMEA, BMW Group and Air New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the CREATE Education Project will join forces with Rapid News Group to once again bring the Inspired Minds Classroom back to the TCT Show.

It provides an introduction to the fascinating world of 3-D printing for school-children in years Nine and 10.

They will embark on a three-hour journey, culminating in a visit to the actual show where they will be able to interact with exhibitors and see the latest innovations up close.

After a successful TCT Show in 2018, Manchester Metrology Ltd, Ashton-under-Lyne (www.manchester-metrology.co.uk), will be exhibiting at the show again this year (Stand B71).

The company’s engineers will be providing live demonstrations on a range of industry-leading equipment and will be pleased to answer any questions relating to it.

A Creaform HandyScan Black Elite and a Solutionix C500 will be just some of the products being demonstrated, allowing
visitors to see how these and other metrology items can quickly provide engineers with the type of accurate 3-D documentation that is essential for today’s manufacturers.

Manchester Metrology will also be demonstrating a Markforged Mark Two desktop 3-D printer for composite materials.

Visitors will be able to discuss their manufacturing requirements with Manchester Metrology experts and find out how the company’s products and services can help to improve quality standards, increase manufacturing throughput and enhance production processes.

The services offered by Manchester Metrology’s team of engineers include the use of Faro Arms for on-site inspection in industries such as oil and gas, automotive, aerospace and rail.

Using non-contact HD laser scanners, the company provides CAD comparison and reverse engineering services, while its use of Faro Vantage/ION laser trackers allows the accurate measurement of large-scale objects such as jigs and fixtures, machined components and fabrications.

Among the many other services offered by Manchester Metrology are portable arm and CMM re-verification, training, CMM inspection (using an Xtreme CNC CMM housed in a temperature-controlled environment), rolling mill alignment, floor marking and robot calibration — plus jig and fixture calibration and re-certification.

Additive manufacturing in the fast lane

Global engineering technologies company Renishaw (www.renishaw.com/additive), will showcase new applications to deliver high-productivity and high-quality metal additive manufacturing (AM).

Visitors to Stand D100 will be able to see examples of this, with Domin Fluid Power’s direct-drive valves and Brunel University’s Formula Student racing car BR-XX on display.

Renishaw shared its AM knowledge and expertise with Domin Fluid Power, enabling the latter to build complex parts without the requirement for custom tooling. The direct-drive valves are now lighter and more
powerful, and they can be manufactured more efficiently.

Meanwhile, the BR-XX racing car includes a custom titanium manifold made in collaboration with Renishaw.

The Brunel Racing Team faced limitations in design geometry when producing the part using traditional methods, so Renishaw helped the team to produce and optimise a more ambitious design, which included additional features such as dual-stage fuel injection and improved port-matching between the exhaust manifold and the engine to increase efficiency.

On 25 September at 11.15am, as part of the TCT Summit, Atherton Bikes co-founder Ben Farmer will discuss the use of Renishaw’s AM technology to build its bicycle frames.

He will explain how 3-D printing is increasing customer choice and innovation in the bicycle industry, by taking advantage of the rapid pace of development that high-productivity multi-laser AM has to offer.

Robin Weston, marketing manager of Renishaw’s additive-manufacturing products division, said: “Multi-laser AM is changing the way that the technology is used.

The rapid production time, coupled with the unsurpassed process stability of the RenAM 500Q multi-laser AM system, has made it popular in applications where quality is paramount and production speed matters — either to hit a deadline, support a profitable business case, or both.

“Renishaw has gained a great deal of experience in high-quality productive AM. Combined with its 45-year history working in precision manufacturing, the company is the ideal partner to develop end-to-end metal AM solutions.”

First in-service 3-D printed parts on the UK’s railways in the spotlight

Opening this year’s TCT Summit will be Stratasys customers Angel Trains and DB ESG (part of Deutsche Bahn).

Angel Trains data and performance engineer James Brown and DB ESG mechanical-engineering manager Martin Stevens will explore how a recently launched AM collaboration with Stratasys has resulted in the first in-service 3-D printed parts on the UK’s railways.

Visitors will learn how the two companies have tested Stratasys’ high-performance production-grade materials and successfully manufactured final train parts certified to Rail Standard EN45545-2 — a pre-requisite for the rail industry. They will also reveal how, as a result, this achievement eradicates the need for obsolete inventory, improves the ability to service customers, and reduces costs.

Visitors to the Stratasys stand (Stand C50) will be able to see these components for themselves, as well as hear about other key customers in the transportation industry leveraging Stratasys rail-certified materials, including Bombardier and Siemens Mobility.

A key focal point of the stand will be a full-size business-class aircraft cabin, demonstrating the AM business case for numerous interior applications (compared to traditional production methods).

With a focus on customer success stories, such as China Eastern Airlines and Diehl Aviation, visitors will learn how this technology can be used to quickly and cost-effectively create lightweight yet durable 3-D printed ducting, or interior cabin parts customised to specific requirements.

Stratasys will also demonstrate the significant advances made in certifying 3-D printed parts for aerospace, including a recently launched public domain database Stratasys developed with the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance, America Makes and the FAA.

Stratasys’ popular aerospace-grade ULTEM 9085 resin material will also be highlighted; this is enabling both aerospace manufacturers and airlines to 3-D print flight-ready parts that comply with the stringent flame, smoke and toxicity regulations (FAR 25.863) for use on aircraft.

On display will be the Stratasys J750 — the world’s only full-colour multi-material 3D printer — which recently became the first 3-D printing technology to receive Pantone Validation.

From leather and wood effects to stitching and transparent surfaces, designers across the world today are using these ‘unique’ capabilities to innovate their design process and accelerate time-to-market more effectively than ever before.

Making its UK debut, the recently launched F120 3-D printer will be running live on the stand. The newest member of the F123 Series of FDM printers from Stratasys, the F120 brings true industrial-grade AM down to its most competitive price yet, increasing the accessibility of the technology for the next generation of designers, engineers and educators.

Stratasys will run a number of workshops detailing how users can take designs all the way from CAD model to 3-D printed model with the F120.

SLS 3-D printing service — and more

London-based 3DPRINTUK (www.3dprint-uk.co.uk) offers an SLS 3-D printing service (Stand C10).

The company, which specialises in the low-volume batch manufacture of plastic parts using ‘state of the art’ 3-D printing systems, says that if a customer requires only 1-10,000 parts and tooling costs are prohibitively expensive for the product, or the volumes required do not justify injection moulding, parts can be ordered on demand from 3DPRINTUK.

“Upload your files to our Web site for an instant quote, or go online and try our pricing calculators, which allow you to work out the costs of producing your part before you even start designing.”

Moreover, 3DPRINTUK offers a free polishing service on all orders — and price breaks for higher quantities.

Product launches

With many new product launches lined up, this year’s TCT Show is set to offer a greater learning experience for current users and those looking to acquire new technology.

The FormUp 350 will be showcased (Stand P26) by France-based Addup (www.addupsolutions.com) — a joint venture between Fives and Michelin.

This is AddUp’s first production-focused metal AM system, that sets itself apart by an industrial approach tailored to meeting each customer’s requirements for demanding high-performance parts.

Gosport-based Kingsbury (www.geokingsburyuk.com) is the appointed representative for AddUp in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East.

This technology package is particularly aimed at the aerospace and medical sectors, but it can also be applied in other industries.

Michelin uses FormUp machines as part of its manufacturing process to produce over a million tyre mould inserts a year.

Visitors to TCT Show 2019 will be able to see performance 3-D printing in action on the stand of US-based MakerBot (www.makerbot.com).

The desktop 3-D printing leader’s award-winning machines will be on display (Stand E100) — including its industrial-grade Method 3-D printer — and it will be demonstrating its new PETG material. 

US-based nTopology (www.ntopology.com) has a radical new approach to product development — computational modelling — that bridges the gap between advanced manufacturing machines and the engineering software needed to optimise designs and drive production.

On display (Stand E53) will be examples of digital designs as well as additively manufactured/3-D printed products created using the software.

Meanwhile, Oxford-based OxMet Technologies Ltd (www.oxmet-technologies.com) will introduce its range of high-performance nickel, titanium and aluminium alloys for AM (Stand F62).

Germany-based EnvisionTEC GmbH will be exhibiting with its latest range of 3-D printers and materials suitable for a range of industries (Stand E92).

On show will be its Perfactory P4K model DLP printers, which use a true 4M pixel projector and together with artificial intelligence deliver the ‘highest accuracy and an outstanding surface finish’.

Also highlighted will be the Envision One printer, which uses EnvisonTEC’s patented domeless cDLM technology.

These models are not only fast (capable of 45mm/hr in some cases) but also extremely accurate, and they are used with materials suitable for both manufacturers and the dental/orthodontic market.

For further information or to register for your free ticket for the TCT Show visit the Web site (www.tctshow.com).