What is Additive Manufacturing?

What is additive manufacturing? It is a technological innovation that will and is already changing the manufacturing world. Boiled down to the basics, additive manufacturing can be most basically described as using 3D printing technology and CAD software to create a layer-by-layer design. Additive technology essentially reverses the manufacturing process, as it adds material to create a final product, whereas traditional manufacturing methods delete material to create a final product. Programmers will instruct a machine with specific geometries to create the most precise products. Additive manufacturing can provide much faster, cost-efficient, sustainable, and precise materials and parts.  It is an extremely sustainable means of production that can be repeated countless times over, and the increased efficiency additive provides will soon change many companies’ operations. With sustainability becoming a much more prominent aspect of businesses across the globe, the additive manufacturing industry has extreme potential.

United Performance Metals is proud to operate a facility dedicated to the additive manufacturing process and in the spring of 2022, UPM’s additive solutions center was unveiled by the President of the United States. UPM’s additive solutions team is dedicated to solving customer issues and creating a single stop for customer solutions. Gone is the need for customers to manage multiple vendors, spending your time and money procuring raw materials, dealing with long supply chain lead times, machining and resurfacing, part removal, and storing and scrapping used additive base plates. We have a proven solution for you—UPM Additive! Some of UPM’s additive solutions include providing new builds for your additive parts, part cut-off, and resurfacing. Stay tuned during the month of September for more posts about Additive Manufacturing and how it plays a role in UPM’s business!