Laura Ely Champions AM at IMTS and Beyond

TBGA ADDvisor® Laura Ely has many superpowers (The Captain America shield fits her well!), but her most notable is delivering intriguing content, bringing value to any discussion! Her recent panel and presentation at IMTS were no exception. Laura championed insightful discussions from her breadth of leadership experience, industry knowledge and passion for optimizing manufacturing processes. If you didn’t get the chance to attend, check out the highlights below.

Training the Additive Manufacturing Workforce

Laura joined thought leaders on an AM4U panel featuring AM education, training and the unique challenges faced by the incumbent additive manufacturing workforce. One way individuals can begin their additive manufacturing (AM) journey is through TBGA AM courses and workshops. The Purdue AM Certificate additionally allows students and eager professionals to dive into additive manufacturing essentials at their own pace. We are excited to offer students a TBGA Scholarship opportunity through September 30th. In celebration of TBGA’s 5th anniversary, we’re awarding 5 Purdue Additive Manufacturing Certificate Scholarships to 5 students!  

The Supply Chain's Vital Role in Metal AM Qualification

"How do I support qualification?" Every single player in the AM supply chain should be asking this question. Regardless of industry and final certification authority, there are several key areas that must be understood to drive metal AM adoption. When the players understand their role and are willing to work across the supply chain, the rate of AM adoption will increase, moving us from industry firsts to industry norm. 

We must: (1) Have a stable and repeatable process capable of creating a reproducible product, (2) characterize our material, both incoming and then outcoming performance, (3) not do significant material testing until we've documented a material specification and process specification and (4) use machine learning to establish a stable process window and reduce testing.


Want to hear more from Laura? Visit her at ASTM, International Conference on Additive Manufacturing (ICAM) this November in Orlando, Florida. Follow TBGA on Linked In for more details to come!