Page 16 - Wire Rope News & Sling Technology - February 2019

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liquid, and solid). But plasma does
not occur naturally on earth. It takes
an electrical current or a strong mag-
netic field in a vacuum to strip or add
electrons from an inert gas to place the
molecules in the ionized state, charged
particular = plasma. When these forces
are removed the “freed” electrons emit
light, returning, and the molecule re-
claims its stable state. Plasma is fa-
miliar to us, as in neon light tubes, the
Northern Lights in the sky, plasma tv,
or the “free” nitrogen released during a
lightning strike.
When welding with a plasma arc
(which is like a little rocket engine), the
chamber inside the torch forms a vacu-
um, heating the inert plasma gas that
expands. The hot plasma ions cause the
gas to rush out the nozzle and can be
precisely aimed. Because all this takes
place inside the nozzle, there is no need
for a sealed chamber to remove the oxy-
gen to produce the plasma state of the
inert gas. In some processes, a shield is
placed over the area for protection.
Still, there are complications for
some materials. The fusion zone and
surface are subject to oxidation with
some alloys and demand additional in-
ert gas protection. Portal seals need to
be placed over the work area and filled
with inert gas for protection against
contamination. And there remain
some other drawbacks with all these
3D manufacturing processes. First,
some cannot compete cost-wise with
mass produced items on the produc-
tion line - yet! Also, the smooth finishes
necessary for some products are not
achieved. Likewise, the variations in
material types necessary are not avail- 3D Printer built with parts made from a 3D printer! Photo © Josef Kubes | iStockphoto
able. Inventors are working on it, and
processes are sprouting. 3D manufacture metal parts. If widely formed, 3D printed house. The project
Today’s hooks are reliable and are adopted, it could change the way we using Branch’s C-FAB printing tech-
cost-effective. I think we should stay mass-produce many products. Liver- nology with carbon fiber polymer.
with these proven manufacturing more National Laboratory announced GE, which has long been a user of
methods. WAAM hooks have an ad- they have a 3D printing method for 3D metal additive manufacturing, has
vantage that I see – time. It’s said a stainless-steel parts twice as strong as a test version of its new metal printer
hook can be made and delivered in two traditionally made ones. fast enough to make large parts and
weeks compared with a two-month de- Markforged, a small startup outside planned to start selling them in 2018!
livery in the cast/machine method. If a Boston, released the first 3D metal Even outer space is an option. NASA
hook is holding up a million-dollar-a- printer for under $100,000. Desktop has offered monetary incentives to com-
day job, well, it’s a no brainer - right? Metal, also in Boston, began to ship panies able to adapt the 3D additive
its first metal prototyping machines manufacturing technique to robots who
Is the sky the limit? in December 2017, which they claim could build habitat designs on Mars.
The Caterpillar Tractor Corp. is cur- is 100 times faster than elder metal Team Zopherus of Rogers, AR won first
rently producing aftermarket parts us- printing machines. place in the level 1 competition of Phase
ing the AM method which is more cost- Considerable focus has been given to 3 for NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Chal-
effective than starting up old production 3D printing with concrete and similar lenge to fabricate subscale habitats. The
lines that no longer produce the part. materials in recent years. EMJ Corp. $2,000,000 prize money for winners of
One new component which is manufac- has teamed up with Branch Technol- Phase 3, building a full-size dwelling,
tured is a complex gas turbine nozzle ogy, a Chattanooga, TN-based pioneer is underway. The goal is to eventually
used in their production equipment. in 3D printing technology, to build the house human explorers on the planet. I
It is becoming cheaper and easier to world’s first 1000-square-foot, free- guess the sky is no longer the limit! WRN

16 Wire Rope News & Sling Technology February 2019