Teacher of Aviation Technology (Martin Kampinga) and students at Inholland University have been using the Ultimaker 3D printers. They have been using this along side Cura software, with great results. They’ve printed two rockets so far- one that returned safely from space.

The students pointed out that the majority of what they do is design. The advantage of 3D Printing is that they can rapidly design something to see if it works. This allows them to quickly iterate in their design process. Machining takes a lot of time and money and 3D printing makes things faster as well as cheaper. Martin Kampinga suggested that every University should offer 3D Printing in their curriculum for design. He stated that “Students need to know that alternative production methods exist”.

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Metal additive manufacturing is a powerful new technology. It has the potential to revolutionize industries from transportation, construction and engineering. One of its biggest barriers has been that it cannot produce large parts until now.

At Incodema3D, director of business development James Hockey argues that metal AM is a cost-saving opportunity. The opportunity of this is to reduce material waste. He says his customers have approached him for additive ready designs. This is because they know the benefits in production time and costs significantly compared to traditional manufacturing methods.