That is why Materialise has launched its very own Vendor Management System (VMS) within its CO-AM software platform. The goal is to enable additive manufacturing organizations to unify and scale their supplier experience from initiation to delivery of production requests. 

Carpenter Additive’s team of world class metallurgists and additive manufacturing experts support their customers with end-to-end metal AM solutions, including specialty alloys atomization, powder lifecycle management solutions, and end-to-end manufacturing services focused on materials data generation and qualification to help customers accelerate applications of AM. With a wide set of capabilities under one roof, from powder production to hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and heat treatment, Carpenter faced a real challenge–data consolidation.

As Co-founder & CEO of Link3D, I am excited to announce that Materialise has acquired an option to purchase Link3D. The acquisition would be a continuation of our mission - to help companies unlock the full potential of additive manufacturing into their existing supply chains.

Daniel joins Link3D with an extensive background in digital transformation for additive manufacturing. He was previously with 3YourMind, Materialise, and Autodesk. Link3D will be focusing its efforts on helping organizations and clients in the EU to maximize their return on additive manufacturing investments through digitization of their supply chains.

Link3D will work directly with ACAM to build a showroom to demonstrate in real-time its AMES & Additive Workflow Software across facilities of ACAM’s research partners such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and the RWTH Aachen University Chair for Digital Additive Production DAP, facilities with over 50 metal and polymer 3D printers.

The expanded collaboration will reportedly centralise EOS’s AM workflows globally, enabling it to track and trace in real-time all benchmark requests, scheduled jobs, machine set-up and post-production quality data across EOS sites in Krailling, as well as in Pflugerville, Texas, and Novi, Michigan, USA. With these capabilities, EOS expects to be able to review key metrics at a facility-level or on a global scale to identify opportunities that will enable new market development in cost and production management control.

By partnering with Link3D, 3D Systems will be able to set up one “single source of truth” for its AM value stream. It can get rid of manual and redundant systems by implementing Link3D, which will in turn increase customer satisfaction by making the entire 3D printing workflow compliance and post-production process, from job request all the way to delivery of parts, more efficient and transparent.

PostNord’s, via its subsidiary PostNord Strålfors, continued expansion into additive manufacturing is driving the need for an integrated offering within the medical market. Link3D provides the technology that allows companies like PostNord to scale their end-to-end additive manufacturing operations and increase customer satisfaction. Link3D has been working over the last year to develop its offerings for the point of care and medical device sectors.

Published in AM Metal Magazine's Summer 2020 issue, Shane Fox shares how Organizations Can Utilize the ‘Additive Manufacturing Maturity Model’ to Enable an Agile and Resilient Supply Chain

Click to read Manufacturing Tomorrow's article on the Digital Additive Manufacturing Marathon

Click to read 3D Adept's article on Shane Fox's Advice for Mitigating Supply Chain Risks

Click to read 3dnatives' article on Additive Manufacturing in Times of Crises

Click to read Metal AM's article on Link3D's Digital Additive Manufacturing Conference

Click to read 3D Printing Industry's article on <brief description of article>

Click to read 3D Printing Industry's article on Link3D's $7 Million in Funding

Click to read 3D Prints' article on Link3D's Funding of $7 Million in Venture Capital

Click to read make Parts Fast's article on Link3D's new Material Tracking System

Click to read 3D Printing Industry's article on

Click to read 3DPrints' article on Additive Rocket Corporation's use of Link3D's Manufacturing Execution System

When there are so many Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies and materials in the market, it could be overwhelming for people to identify the ideal technology for specific applications. Since there are many technologies available in the market, the goal of this article is to help categorize and summarize each Additive Manufacturing technology.

To prevent your additive manufacturing facility from becoming a statistic, it’s more important than ever to invest in your IP protection. Blockchain security fills this void, protecting your parts and machines and encrypting all your data from unauthorized access. Without holding the actual file (so it can’t be breached), blockchain retains a ‘fingerprint’ to uniquely identify the actual file for IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) storage or another cloud. This, and the fact blockchain is based on cryptographic and consensus based protocols, makes it an impenetrable cyber storage mechanisms to keep your data safe. 

What is the best material for 3D printing? Is it ABS, PA12, PLA, IN718 or AlSi10Mg? Every additively manufactured part is different. It all depends on the individual material properties as it relates to the production output goals.

Link3D enables teams to work on a single platform to collaborate on research and development, rapid prototyping to series production projects. Improve communication and increase speed-to-market in a secure environment built specifically for Additive Manufacturing.

Industrial manufacturers often have a large inventory of spare parts within its portfolio. Often times the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive and Off-Highway industries require a long-term service contract, implying businesses must delivery spare parts for a number of years, even if the product is no longer being manufactured. As a result, organizations have incur inventory and warehousing costs, which costs millions of dollars. As spare parts requests are low and unpredictable, many parts become obsolete overtime. Thus, organizations have been turning to additive manufacturing to deliver spare parts on-demand.

Consumer Products businesses are using Additive Manufacturing to rapidly produce prototypes to finalize new concepts before deciding on the most economical manufacturing process for low-volume or high-volume production. Brands often work with industrial design firms or in-house industrial designers to finalize concepts. Majority of these firms run through tens of thousands of 3D Printed parts throughout the product development lifecycle to craft the ideal look and feel of the product until the team is satisfied.

What used to takes weeks and days to manufacture, now only takes hours. Over the last 30 years, Additive Manufacturing has truly transformed the Medical Devices landscape with advanced industrial 3D Printing technology. Today, many parts ranging from orthopedics, prosthetics, spines, hips, hearing aids, knee caps, implants and surgery tools are produced using the Additive Manufacturing processes.

As automotive companies begin adopting additive manufacturing technologies for rapid prototyping, manufacturing tooling, jigs and fixtures, low volume customized parts to series production of street-ready parts, they’re often looking for a digital strategy to help them scale their industrial 3D Printing supply chain. Link3D Additive MES & Workflow Software connects additive manufacturing ecosystems across facilities and suppliers from order management, production planning, machine scheduling, post-processing, QA management, shipping until part delivery.

As a key leader in the adoption of Additive Manufacturing, Aerospace and Defense companies that took advantage of Additive Manufacturing technology 30 years ago are now seeing a boost in product innovation and supply chain efficiencies in producing lightweight, high-performing and cost effective products.

As Additive Manufacturing production starts to scale, companies are facing many problems due to homegrown workflow systems developed over the years. In-house solutions often lead to disconnected workflows due to siloed technologies and inefficiently planned production that results in poor operational insights. These pain points are seen in companies across many different sectors and show an increased need for a centralized digital system to streamline upstream and downstream manufacturing processes. Uncovering solutions to these problems is now becoming a top priority for organizations as they scale or enhance their R&D efforts. MES software is becoming a crucial part of additive manufacturing as it can help organizations track and trace data from print-ready files through production and delivery with a single source of truth.