Prabhjot Singh, Manager of the GE Additive Manufac

Prabhjot Singh, Manager of the GE Additive Manufacturing Lab at GE Global Research :

I asked Prabhjot what the issues were with using 3D printing in actual manufacturing and what technological hurdles GE needed to overcome in order to use the process more widely in production.  Prabhjot found “the lack of closed loop control very annoying.” When asked for a wish list GE would have with regards to 3D printing he wanted closed loop control , published databases of materials and material characteristics, systems to inspect parts, significant improvements to post processing, an expansion and improvement to the design tools used for 3D printing and cobalt chrome, iconel and other materials optimized for aerospace applications.

http://voxelfab.com/blog/2013/07/interview-wi...facturing/

1.  Closed-loop controller = PrintRite3D
2.  Published databases of materials and characteristics = Sigma Labs founded by metallurgists
3.  System to inspect parts = Metronic scanner used Boeing's patent and AS 1902 certified, JTDA with Sigma Labs
4.  Improvement in post processing = PrintRite3D mitigates need for post-process inspection