Description
Additive manufacturing (AM) is revolutionizing production processes across multiple industrial sectors. Though the world of AM and industrial 3D printing can seem daunting to a novice at first, this certificate program has been designed to help you easily learn about its fundamental technologies, exciting possibilities and bottom-line benefits.
Exploring additive manufacturing and the industrial 3D printing universe from a newcomer's perspective? This certificate program will help you make a strong start:
Learn about the systems, technologies, materials and other core aspects of industrial 3D printing.- Look at 3D printing in the broader context of the overall additive manufacturing industry.
- Discover how to search for and identify the most ideal AM applications for your business.
- Get a closer look at the future of augmented reality (AR) machine operator training for 3D printing systems.
- Share your ideas with an additive manufacturing expert.
What will you learn?
This certification program is composed of four primary phases plus an optional AR-based training session, all of which include content ranging from short videos and e-learning content to interactive quizzes, practice tasks, Q&A webinar sessions with experts and training simulations.
The course begins with a high-level overview of AM technologies and materials, and a summary of the 3D printing workflow. It also explains key AM value propositions —e.g., superior design freedom to traditional manufacturing, sustainability benefits, supply chain streamlining through decentralized production and more. From there, you'll delve into examples of several industries where industrial 3D printing (with both polymer and metal) has become prominent and look at the specific advantages that organizations in each sector can realize.
As valuable as it will be to see successful examples of industrial 3D printing and examine quantitative and qualitative examples of its benefits, you'll glean the greatest value from this certificate program by understanding how the technology can strengthen your business. This course will teach you how to evaluate AM's potential for your organization from multiple perspectives (strategy, budgetary, technological capability and so on), using EOS-developed methodologies to determine its ideal application.
Last but not least, learners who take this course can enjoy a truly hands-on experience as they sample an AR-based training session for the EOS M 290 3D printing system (via a separate mobile app). This portion is not required for completion of the course, but will be valuable for anyone new to the technology who wants a real sense of what using an industrial 3D printer can be like. If you opt out of the printer training, you'll skip right to your one-hour expert webinar.
Once you have completed the phases, had your expert session and completed all tasks that require your direct input, you receive a certification verifying completion of the course. But even more importantly, you will have a firm foundation upon which to build your path to the successful adoption of AM technology.
Upon completing this certificate program, participants will be able to:
- Speak with authority about the essential methods, systems and materials used in AM and understand its overall value propositions..
- Know about successful uses of industrial 3D printing within specific sectors and have an idea of how you could achieve similar goals in your own industry using AM.
- Understand a proven methodology for discovering potential AM applications in your business, accounting for technical, economic and strategic concerns.
- Begin developing plans to smoothly incorporate AM into your current manufacturing operations.
Course Breakdown
Here is a detailed breakdown of each phase and what it offers:
This portion of the New to Industrial 3D Printing certificate program begins with a widescreen overview of the fast-growing sector. It addresses the additive manufacturing methods most common to industrial applications — e.g., the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technologies used in EOS systems — and their vast differences from consumer-level 3D printers. It also provides details regarding the primary AM materials (polymers, metals and ceramics). The phase rounds out with a look at AM's overall benefits (including cost control, sustainability, design freedom, resource efficiency and more), especially in comparison to subtractive manufacturing. Quizzes throughout help you sharpen your knowledge.
After the table-setting of the course's first phase, this portion of the certificate program delves further into AM's usage within specific industries: aerospace, advanced mobility, medical devices and consumer goods. You must choose at least two of these sectors and go through their e-learning materials to complete this phase. Learning about the successful applications of industrial 3D printing in highly specialized fields will be helpful when you start thinking about your own potential AM use cases. You'll be able to communicate the value and popularity of specific AM applications to others — i.e., business partners and potential customers. You'll also learn about specific organizations that have become thought leaders in additive manufacturing within the sectors you focus on.
In this phase of the course — the "heart" of the program — you'll learn a method to confidently identify which applications are suitable for additive manufacturing. It emphasizes how careful evaluation of the technical and economic factors affecting the project (and your business as a whole) will lead to the right decision about whether using AM will add business value. Notable considerations include material requirements, part size, complexity, cost per part and more. Like previous phases, this portion of the certificate program includes several quizzes and tasks that must be completed to move forward. The tasks will require more effort than previous assessments, including the submission of a Part Screening and Selection Scorecard for your proposed application, but it will be worth it in the long run.
As previously mentioned, this phase requires downloading a corresponding mobile app (available for Apple and Android devices) and is optional. But we recommend it for any learner who is seriously considering adoption of the technology, especially for metal-based production. The first module allows you to explore the M 290's principal components using augmented reality (AR), including the process chamber and powder bed. This helps you get a better sense of its scale and will show you how essential functions work. In the next four modules, you simulate more intricate operations, such as actual 3D printing build jobs.
Whether you skipped the M 290 training or not, this phase offers you the opportunity to speak to an additive manufacturing expert from EOS. Your assigned expert will have examined your task submissions from the Identifying AM Applications phase and can discuss your proposed application implementation strategy with you. They can also offer advice on any broader, more strategic AM plans and answer any lingering questions you may have had from the course (or in general).
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