Interview published in the January–February 2021 issue of 3D ADEPT MAG, then online in May 2021. Roles, projects and outlook reflect that period; editorial clarifications are distinguished from the interviewees’ remarks.
Customisation is often presented as a benefit of 3D printing for the objects produced. Adapting the machine itself to an application raises different questions: build volume, lasers, optics, materials and business viability. Martin Bullemer and Felix Bauer explain how AMCM GmbH approaches these requests.
Creating a business model that works.
The two interviewees met at EOS GmbH. At the time of the interview, Martin Bullemer described more than fifteen years of experience developing additive manufacturing, notably in the United States and medical sector. Industrial engineer Felix Bauer had joined EOS about six years earlier, with a particular interest in aerospace.
They explain that EOS received requests from companies seeking to industrialise additive manufacturing. Some requirements, however, fell outside the scope of standard machines.
“Such requests include for instance, but are not limited to the need for different kinds of shapes, different kinds of build envelopes, the need to process copper – a very complex material -, heating from the top and the bottom, and even the need for more powerful lasers”, Bauer states.
Bullemer saw an opportunity for a complementary offering addressing particular process or equipment requirements.
Although the idea was brilliant, it also raised several questions and uncertainties. “Those requests that were often left apart mostly require further customization. Although we wanted to address their challenges, we did not know how big the market was. Furthermore, when you are a big company, you cannot develop a new company with the same flexibility than with a start-up; you cannot start a new technology development just to market ten systems, you cannot start the development of a machine when you are not sure somebody will pay for it”, Bullemer emphasizes.
Founded in 2017, AMCM — Additive Manufacturing Customized Machines — develops customised systems based on EOS platforms. The process discussed here is laser powder bed fusion of metal, commonly referred to as LPBF.
At the time of the interview, Martin Bullemer is AMCM’s managing director. Felix Bauer, then regional director EMEA | DACH/NL at EOS, is preparing to join AMCM full time. The note added to the online publication subsequently identifies him as AMCM’s head of marketing and sales.
Innovation and entrepreneurship can come in many shapes and sizes.
Unlike industrial 3D printers from its fellow machine manufacturers, we cannot legitimately describe all the features developed in an industrial 3D printer from AMCM GmbH – and with good reason: “we focus on applications. A customer comes to us with a specific request and we work on a solution that might fit a specific need. Obviously, over time, we came to realize that some needs might be easier to fulfil than others. For instance, we received a lot of requests for machines with customized build sizes. These are relatively easy use cases because they require mechanical engineering tuning, not to mention the fact that you do not have to change the entire process”, the Managing Director explains.
“Every machine manufacturer has his standard portfolio, which might fit or not to the application of the customer – at least to a certain degree. At AMCM, we take a very close look at that application and make the machine fits into that. Of course, sometimes, the standard solution is good enough for the customer, but for those who need that ‘extra thing’ that will make a difference in their projects, for them, AMCM comes into play”, the regional director completes.
The discussion then turns to the expertise needed to turn a specific request into an industrial solution.
From system requirements, part design to material development and beyond, additive manufacturing systems require a lot to process, but some functionalities are just more pivotal than others. It is for instance, the case of laser and optical features that require extensive knowledge in the development of a machine. At AMCM, half of the team is coming from the laser industry. “We definitely have an expertise in laser tuning – different wavelength, different laser types – and in the selection of the right optical set-up, which is a key component in every additive manufacturing machine”, Bullemer notes.
An AMCM request can also lead to associated equipment development, such as the Solukon SFM-AT1000 depowdering system. That does not mean every printer requires custom post-processing equipment. Selection depends on dimensions, material, geometry and the customer’s production setup.
Price is another consideration. A machine designed for a particular requirement spreads engineering costs across a limited number of units. Its value should be assessed against the business case, rather than only against the price of a standard machine.
In a certain sense, this very-much understandable theory can be applied to the manufacturing industry. As per the words of Bullemer, “customers-dedicated machines are not often commercialized the same way that conventional AM machines, therefore, unlike their fellow machine manufacturers, manufacturers of customers-dedicated machines do not often have the benefits of a very well-established supply chain. Indeed, the less you build, the more costs you have. Furthermore, every modification requires an engineering effort that needs to be balanced. In the same vein, a customer can come with a unique crazy idea in mind. Once we have developed a solution for this idea, the chances are very high that we will no longer sell the same machine to another customer. In principle, these machines are always a little bit more expensive than the others but we make things possible and our customers only buy if their business case is working.”
Assessing efficiency for a specific application
The principle of investing only when the business case works refocuses the discussion. Purchase price, development time, quality, repeatability and total production cost need to be considered together. Efficiency cannot be reduced to machine throughput alone.
The ongoing race for space for instance has seen a boom in satellite applications. Although this industry is a very conservative one, the past years saw applications that are due to the combination of a wide range of technologies, not just additive manufacturing. According to Bauer, “young engineers do no longer rely on what has been done before, they have a much wider range of choices when it comes to production and there is a certain demand on the market for such needs. Plus, a close look at the market shows that the private space is the one that actually drives the industry.”
For the private-space applications discussed, metal additive manufacturing is considered a way to combine performance, complex geometry and production constraints. The outcome depends on design and process qualification.
“Rockets are the perfect example of such cases as they require unparalleled efficiency for commercial space deliveries”, Bauer stresses. If you are an aerospace engineer, it is certainly no secret to you that propellant is often the heaviest part of a launch vehicle’s mass (up to 90% of a launch vehicle’s mass). Therefore, reducing propellant use leads to further opportunities to reduce vehicle mass, therefore to increase payload and performance for the same rocket size. But these are just one element of the manufacturing process. The point is, those “rocket parts are very complex to manufacture. [While lightness and robustness are two pivotal factors that can be improved through AM,] it should be noted that these parts always need to be achieved within very short-lead times. Most importantly, they require a machine that can easily enable iteration, reinvention, reproducibility and a smooth process to the next stage of manufacturing. At the end of the day, that’s the most important”, Bauer continues.
Editorial clarification: propellant means the fuel and oxidiser consumed by the engine, not the engine itself. The 90% figure is an order of magnitude cited in the article, not a universal specification. Payload benefits depend on the complete launch vehicle and mission.
Launcher’s E-2 engine development illustrates this approach. NASA later confirmed that the first full-scale hot-fire tests of the injector and combustion chamber took place at Stennis in October 2020. These tests did not yet establish flight qualification of the complete engine.
“Launcher has influenced the design of our machines. The challenge was to demonstrate that we could print a one metre tall single-piece copper alloy combustion chamber, an area where companies do not have much expertise in. It’s a huge challenge because there is a high-risk of failure when you try it the first time. Such production requires a good know-how about AM and the Space startup had just started to design for AM and they were really depending on the right know-how to make their ideas come to life. The next step is to get funding to accelerate development of this E-2 engine”, the Managing Director, points out.
AMCM’s account describes CuCrZr copper-alloy combustion chambers with internal regenerative cooling channels. The M 4K, developed from the EOS M 400 platform, provides a 450 × 450 × 1,000 mm build volume. That machine envelope should be distinguished from the exact dimensions of each manufactured chamber. Launcher conducted the tests at Stennis.
“That’s the beauty of being a startup”, Bullemer adds. Not to mention that “you have a bunch of people who share the same vision and the same willingness to achieve it”, completes Bauer.
“We make it happen”
“We make it happen.” How many times have you heard these four words before realizing that a lot is promised and little is actually delivered. Today, while looking at AMCM’s business model, the precautions the team took before its implementation and above all the applications they are achieving, I am ready to take their words for it.
This interview was first published in 3D ADEPT MAG, January–February 2021. The May 2021 online edition noted that Felix Bauer had since become AMCM’s head of marketing and sales.
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