Brought to you by our Digital & Advanced Manufacturing Special Interest Group (DAM SIG) on the 19th of October, this event delved into the benefits and pitfalls of additive materials.

Our expert speakers led discussions on how high performance industries are being shaped by the use of advanced materials in Structural Additive Manufacturing.

We also discussed the importance to Structural Additive Manufacturing of precise quality control, repeatability and reliability in manufacturing structural and safety critical components for motorsport, automotive, space and aerospace.

High-performance parts through advanced materials science: it’s the future.

With expert speakers, presentations, case studies and panel discussions, all topped off with an optional tour of the facility.

With thanks to our speakers: 

Matt Jones, Stratasys

Matt Jones has been involved in additive manufacturing for just over 18 years, giving him a technical knowledge that is second to none. He works with design teams, engineers, and technical staff across the globe to assist them in developing their additive manufacturing know-how and roll out of the technology across multiple departments. He has a close working relationship with all sizes and types of company and has become essential in assisting them developing AM applications and overcoming technical hurdles along the way, to get them to embrace additive technologies and materials, all the way from optimising designs, to leveraging customisable tooling, jigs and fixtures on the factory floor, to getting production grade parts ready for end use.

Graham Barnes CEng MIMechE, KWSP

Graham’s structural simulation experience goes back to when computer resources were scarce. The emphasis was on understanding the limitation of the simulation and more importantly which inputs were most influential in making them a valuable decision-making tool. Taking the same fundamentals, Graham has been involved in the introduction of a wide range of simulation methodologies in both metallics and composites in a diverse range of industries.  In recent years focus has moved to the development of manufacturing simulation to control distortion in composites during infusions and cure. The development of simulation technologies has transitioned from isolated component and manufacturing studies to hybrid simulations that take the results from manufacturing to redeploy in the component modelling for increased confidence levels. This is particularly relevant to additive technologies where the build orientation influences local material properties as well as component distortion.

Ian Marsh, DMC 

With over 5 years working in Additive Manufacturing Ian has a vast amount of experience with different AM technologies. He obtained a Masters in Materials Engineering form Loughborough University. After graduating he spent time working in Spain on powder metallurgy and additive manufacturing. Following his time in Spain he moved back to the UK to join the Centre for Additive Manufacturing at Nottingham University where his research focused on high integrity feedstock for additive manufacturing. Ian now works at the Digital Manufacturing Centre as a Material Process Control Engineer, where he is responsible for process control from powder goods into final mechanical properties for finished components.

Joseph Chamberlin, MTC 

Joseph is an Advanced Research Engineer based at the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM) at the MTC with 5 years of experience in metal AM. Joseph is currently delivering the high strength aluminium pipeline for NCAM and specialises in parameter development and benchmarking studies for novel aluminium alloys in laser powder-bed fusion, with previous experience in Electron Beam powder-bed fusion. Joseph holds a Masters degree (MEng) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Liverpool and is a recipient of the IMechE Best Project Award.

Alex Champion, MoD 

With a passion for historic motorsport, Alex graduated from a Motorsport Engineering degree in 2011. He instantly got a job working as a Design Engineer, designing and CNC machining bespoke transmission components for a range of motorsport applications. In 2015 Alex accepted a role as a Manufacturing Engineer for a composites company, producing pre-preg laminated and filament wound composites for top-level motorsports and aerospace applications.  Then in 2018 Alex began working in powder-bed Additive Manufacturing as a sales engineer, working with several leading automotive and motorsport companies.  In 2021 Alex was offered his current role, working for the UK Ministry of Defence, helping with the adoption of new manufacturing technologies into Defence. In this time, he has worked internationally with NATO allies along with all Advanced Manufacturing Stakeholders in the MOD.  He is currently the lead engineer supporting Project TAMPA, a £5m project to increase the use of metal additive manufacturing by Defence Primes and OEMs.  Outside of work, Alex is an Army Officer in the Royal Logistics Corps, British Army Reserve.  He also remains passionate about Historic motorsport, with a collection of vintages (pre-1955) sportsbikes and racing motorcycles.