Some of the most recent and fast growing technologies in the polymer industry are the Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. The term Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers broadly to loose group of dissimilar technologies, but each serving different needs with very different capabilities and material types. Stereolithography (SL), one type of AM technology, debuted in the early eighties and is still expanding into new markets at a very high rate.
Initially developed for the rapid prototyping world, AM technologies can also be used for manufacturing very small functional batches (e.g.: spare parts, special customized series). From the very first beta tests of AM technologies until now, numerous advances have been made. SpecialChem wanted to have insights on these advances and to understand where these technologies stand today, and how AM technologies will evolve. A renowned AM expert, Rob Connelly, founder of FineLine Prototyping, Inc., agreed to an interview with SpecialChem to give us his insights. Thanks to his more than twenty years of experience with AM technologies, Rob had a lot to share on the strengths and weaknesses of currently available AM technologies. He was also involved in the very first stages of medical parts/applications made with AM technologies in general, and stereolithography in particular.