The winners of the annual AMUG Technical Competition, which recognises excellence in additive manufacturing applications and finishing techniques featured as its winners a fantastical figure, and a factory part.
A panel of industry veterans selected Bill Braune of Dinsmore, Inc. and Vito Gervasi of Cadens LLC as winners of the competition held at the group’s 32nd annual conference in Orlando, Florida.
Bill Braune’s winning entry in the Advanced Finishing category was a highly detailed and intricate scene titled “Death: A Horseman’s Journey,” inspired by the Darksiders video game series.
Braune turned to Carbon to print the fine details and subtle features of his creation, before applying various painting and finishing techniques to capture the essence of the dark, foreboding scene and add textures for fabric, flesh, bone, feather, stone, and steel.
Braune noted that his palette included 30 colours applied with dry brushing, airbrushing, and washes to create gradients, shades, and highlights. He applied 3D printing polymer powders to the model’s surface to add gritty textures to the scene.
Vito Gervasi received first place in the Advanced Concepts category for his “BAAM Dam,” a one-tenth scale replica of a 3D-printed turbine system that has been in operational testing since July 2020 [main image].
According to Gervasi, additive manufacturing is the key to enabling a radical cost reduction, creating more opportunities for these power generation systems to be put into service. He said: “What we propose to do in the next five years will reduce the US carbon footprint, create jobs, and help small towns to power their municipal facilities, small businesses, or add power to the grid.
“AM has the potential to empower tens of thousands of communities with limited budgets to reduce utility power costs by activating dormant hydropower facilities.”
Cadens made the smaller, higher resolution components using FDM 3D Printing, although the replica Gervasi produced spanned an entire tabletop – the real unit is 10 times larger.
As winners of the Technical Competition, Braune and Gervasi each received complimentary admission to the 2022 AMUG Conference and a commemorative award.
Those attending the 2022 conference will hear presentations from these winners that describe their projects and the processes that they used.
